IB Tips: Dealing with exams
I just arrived home from my first maths paper at school. I'm positive and relaxed, but I know that I have to get down to some work later on. Knowing that I have only a few minutes before lunch, I want to blog about something that has been bugging me recently.
I felt rather happy about my test paper. I studied hard, and although I don't know how to do some of the questions I did do it to the best of my ability. At that point after the exams there was no point regretting about anything: there was no way to go back in time and fix whatever mistakes I may have just realised I made. This feeling was not shared however, and many of my friends walked away quickly to cry in the corner. Everywhere all I heard was "This question was so hard!" or "Oh man I lost 20 marks!" This contrasted with my comments which were "Question 3 was so interesting! (This was a question which the solution only came to me at the end of the test, and its procedure was indeed interesting and applied only to those who knew properly understood the concept)"
This atmosphere does not help you with your exams, and it certainly doesn't help with my mood as well. So I quickly left the school, only grouping with friends who were talking about the paper objectively and laughing together when one of us made a stupid mistake. It was because of this that I could come home feeling the way I did.
In IB, you're gonna find a large majority of people like this. They study hard, but don't know how to study smart. They regret every mistake that they make even if its natural, and they wish that they knew something that they would never have studied for, even for a test that has no real weightage in your IB exam grades or your life.
In IB, I feel that the most important thing is keeping your spirits up and acknowledging your mistakes. There is nothing left that you can do after the exams, and every mistake is a learning point. Make as many (honest) mistakes that you can so you know where you are weak at and what needs working on (I know what are mine even before going into the test). And if there is anyone that gets you down about your exams after you finish it, don't talk to them. Distance yourself and keep on the positive side. Life is too short for you to feel down about anything. If you think about it, the smartest and most successful people are almost always happy, and that's how life should be.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
I felt rather happy about my test paper. I studied hard, and although I don't know how to do some of the questions I did do it to the best of my ability. At that point after the exams there was no point regretting about anything: there was no way to go back in time and fix whatever mistakes I may have just realised I made. This feeling was not shared however, and many of my friends walked away quickly to cry in the corner. Everywhere all I heard was "This question was so hard!" or "Oh man I lost 20 marks!" This contrasted with my comments which were "Question 3 was so interesting! (This was a question which the solution only came to me at the end of the test, and its procedure was indeed interesting and applied only to those who knew properly understood the concept)"
This atmosphere does not help you with your exams, and it certainly doesn't help with my mood as well. So I quickly left the school, only grouping with friends who were talking about the paper objectively and laughing together when one of us made a stupid mistake. It was because of this that I could come home feeling the way I did.
In IB, you're gonna find a large majority of people like this. They study hard, but don't know how to study smart. They regret every mistake that they make even if its natural, and they wish that they knew something that they would never have studied for, even for a test that has no real weightage in your IB exam grades or your life.
In IB, I feel that the most important thing is keeping your spirits up and acknowledging your mistakes. There is nothing left that you can do after the exams, and every mistake is a learning point. Make as many (honest) mistakes that you can so you know where you are weak at and what needs working on (I know what are mine even before going into the test). And if there is anyone that gets you down about your exams after you finish it, don't talk to them. Distance yourself and keep on the positive side. Life is too short for you to feel down about anything. If you think about it, the smartest and most successful people are almost always happy, and that's how life should be.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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