Exam fever really can make you feel quite ill

Press, 24 October 1984, Page 12

Exam fever really can make you feel quite ill

Arthur is a fairly average university student. He has passed all the year’s work so far with few problems, getting C plus to B grades. On the basis of these grades he should pass the end-of-year exams with no problems. But Arthur is one of many students, both at school and university level, who suffer from exam stress. He failed School Certificate the first year because of stress, despite having been told he should pass easily. Two years later he was accredited University Entrance with no problems. “It’s the culmination of a whole year’s work in one piddly three-hour exam,” he explains. f ‘As soon as I become aware that the pressure is on and the study has to be done I start losing sleep, feeling nauseous, smoking twice as much, and feeling generally run-down and uptight.” Another problem is worrying about whether all the study in the world will be enough to answer the questions. Standing outside the examination room and hearing other students discussing what they have learnt can be decidedly off-putting, particularly if you’ve never heard of what they are talking about. "When I actually get into the exam room I tend to become very casual about the whole thing to avoid getting stressed, so I don’t do as well as I could." “There is so much pressure to do well. My father had never actually sat School Certificate. He couldn’t understand that you could get so stressed up about exams as to actually fail, them through stress.” Arthur’s experience during exams is by no means unique. Some students get so worked up because of stress they develop severe cases of exam phobia. The thought of sitting in a room with 200 others for three hours turns them into quaking wrecks.

Not all students suffer the ill-effects of exam stress. Some actually thrive on it, according to one university counsellor, Alison Gibbs. “Tension can be a positive force. There’s an excitement about it. “For the majority of students it’s just a case of going in and answering the questions, but others really go to pieces, even though they know the work.” “Most students spend too much time cramming more and more knowledge into their heads, and not enough time on how to get it out again.” Stress can affect students in a variety of ways. Some will have difficulty sleeping, get nervous and uptight, and cut themselves off from a normal social life, says a counsellor at Burnside High School, David Matthews. “Others take the opposite view. They decide they don’t have a chance and give their studies away" before they even get to the exam. “They talk themselves out of any chance of success.” One of the increasing pressures on students is the relationship between getting qualifications and getting a job. “Even with all the talk of training programmes and alternative forms of employment, kids still see the normal job situation as their goal. “Exams are seen as leading to qualifications which are seen as leading to jobs," he says. Although schools now offer many alternatives to exams, society, particularly employers, still sees School Certificate as the yard stick. Many people measure success in terms of whether or not a kid has passed his or her exams. For university students it is important, not just to pass, but to pass well, says Alison Gibbs. This is simply because of the competition for jobs. Exam stress can have a spin-off effect on students’ families. Parents feel the stress of wanting their chil-

dren to be successful and" pass exams.

“Some parents have not had the experience of sitting exams. They want their children to be more successful than they were,” says David Matthews. “Others who were successful themselves cannot understand why their kids are having problems.” More and more schools now run programmes for parents to help them understand what study and exams are all about. “Parents can be enormously helpful by being encouraging and commenting on the positive things,” says Anne Munro, from Papanui High School. “One of the problems with an exam like School Certificate with a “pass-fail” concept, is that it is a totally unrealistic goal for many kids. “They are working for something they know they will fail. “Parents can help kids set realistic goals. It may not be realistic to aim for all subjects, or even a pass,” she points out. Parents can also help with the physical conditions of study — letting their teenager off his or her chores during exams, providing a quiet place to work, and helping to check over work. “It all centres around helping a young person feel good about her or himself. You are an O.K. person whether or not you pass School Certificate English, or whatever,’” says Anne Munro. She has three main pieces of advice for students. 0 Be realistic about what you are aiming for. Even if. you’ve entered for five subjects it might be more realistic to aim for a pass in only two, or a mark of 40 per cent rather than 50 per cent. © Don’t give up. Even at this stage it’s possible to do something. ® Ask for help if you need it. Counsellors and other teachers can teach relaxation techniques and

schools do have tutoring programmes for extra help. Ask your parents if you can have the bedroom to yourself or if you can get off your chores while swatting. Alison Gibbs also has some positive advice for the day of the exam. “Don’t arrive hours early and hang around outside the exam room. You’ll only hear other students discussing things you’ve never heard of. / “Don’t indulge in postmortems, they are a real waste of time.” va3 © 0© Ideas for I.Y.Y. In preparation for International Youth Year the Y.W.C.A. is now planning programmes it hopes will be of interest to young people. Canoeing courses, mime and drama classes, a kitemaking competition and gala day, modern jewellery making, and a computer skills course are just a few of the programmes planned. Other ideas being looked into are a national video competition for high school, polytechnic and university students, and the setting up of a large outdoor chess set. This would be designed and built by young people as a permanent reminder of I.Y.Y.

Lorraine North is organising the youth programmes for the Y.W.C.A. She would like to hear

from young people about their reactions to these ideas, and any other suggestions they might have. A Youth Advisory Bureau is one idea she is particularly keen to see get started. “Effective communication is vital to the success of next year. The advisory bureau would be a way in which people could keep in touch about what they are planning. , “It would also be a central information office for any members of the public who had any queries about 1.Y.Y.,” she says. Anyone who has any. ideas or. suggestions can contact Lorraine at the Y.W.C.A. Telephone 63-063. “Rebel Print” Malcolm Tanner, aged 19, is organising a newspaper for young people in Christchurch. “Rebel Print” will be a free, local paper. It will include information on the latest bands, and the involvement of young people in the arts in Canterbury. A section on games and clubs, a literary section, cartoons and comic strips, interviews with local personalities, and other information for young people will be included. Through the newspaper Malcolm hopes to establish a network system. Young people with similar interests will be able to

contact each other, plan their own activites and work mainly on their own, but with access to more experienced people. Malcolm would like to hear from anybody interested in contributing to “Rebel Print.” He can be contacted through Lorraine North, at the Y.W.C.A. Scouts on the move Fifteen hundred scouts are taking part in the Scout Association’s annual Spirit of Youth Trek this Saturday. After gathering at the Burwood Forest carpark and Waikuku Beach, the scouts will walk 20 kilometres to the association’s Kaiapoi training and camping centre, Blue Skies. Money raised from the sponsorship of the hikers will help fund a conference centre being built at Blue Skies. A fourth former at Hagley High school has been appointed as this year’s Mayor’S Scout. Andrew Blaikie, who is in the Ferguson Scout Group, will attend various citizenship functions with Sir Hamish Hay during the next 12 months. Compiled by youth reporter, Liz Rowe Any ideas or contributions for “Forum” should be sent to Liz Rowe, “The Press,” P.O. Box 1005, Christchurch. ■