Exam Fever

It's that time of the year again when school days are coming to a close and examinations are looming large on the horizon for students of all ages. Private academies, tutors, and cram sessions are the order of the day, and the air is abuzz and crackling with examination fever everywhere. The kid at home is taking his exams as well, but unlike other homes, there is a relative calm and eerie quiet here, something that startles me as a parent and scares the bejesus (sorry God!) out of me! In one of my earlier posts about learning styles, I'd commented on how different my approach to exams was from my son's. Nothing has changed much since then, as I school myself not to panic about his nonchalant attitude to exams.

The kid has taken on an ambitious challenge this year. As a student of the International Baccalaureate Program, he has completed the Grade 11 subjects in Grade 10 itself, so in addition to the regular Grade 10 Provincial Exams, he is also taking the Grade 11 exams, all within ten days' time. After 5 days of rest, he plans to start the Grade 12 classes in Math and Biology or Physics during the summer vacation, then take those exams as well. So that makes it three Grade Level exams in two months' time. Though we worry that he might probably be biting off more than he can chew, he seems confident that he can pull it off after all. He's aiming to do the best he can, and seems to think that even if he misses out on a mark or two in any exam, he can always take it a second time with the other regular students and improve his score.

Mom, as always, is a nervous wreck, unlike the cool kid who always treats an exam day just like any other regular school day. There is no compromising on his sleep at any cost - "I need my regular hours of sleep, you know," is his usual comment. He wakes up only at 6.45 every day to take the 7.30 bus to school, and it's the same even on an important exam day like Math or Science. No waking up early, no reviewing the books in the morning, no cramming till the last minute before he enters the exam hall - all of which are his mother's usual style. It completely confounds me how one can remember what one studied the previous night, without having to look at the books in the morning for a last minute review! Well, that's my son for you! I feel as if I've gone through a wringer every exam period, while the kid's nonchalance carries him through with aplomb and he emerges unscathed, with nary a scratch. To be very honest, the exam fever in the title is just for the Mom, and definitely not for the kid, I must confess! :)