During high school exams and school exams, parents are exposed to school emotions and fears of children. Sometimes they themselves provoke them. Too much pressure is placed on students, which they cannot always cope with. And the exams should be approached wisely - says psychologist Monika Werwicka.

Bożena visits more schools in Wrocław. Then the family will sit down and decide together whichschoolsKarolina will apply to. Why so many? - Because the regulations allow it. And the child must be given a chance - explains Bożena, a clerk. The atmosphere of the race spread to all the good students in Karolina's class and their parents. They even fuel it, because they run around the open days and report at home what they have seen and heard. Anyone who would "bet" on only one school would be treated like a freak. So the school market is on: where is it best to pass and why. And this further aggravates the stress associated with the change of school and with the tests at the end of junior high school.

Be reasonable with your exams

- This problem concerns people from big cities - says Monika Werwicka, head of the pedagogical and psychological clinic in Warsaw. - There is no such choice elsewhere, so the information noise around secondary schools is smaller. In her opinion, even if a child attends three schools, one should approach the exams wisely. - A child needs to know that his parents are proud of him when he has ambitions. But they should behave in such a way that it feels safe, even failing.

- The young man takes over the vision of the world from his parents, and the message is clear: you have to be great - says Sławomir Murawiec, a psychiatrist from the Warsaw Mental He alth Center. - But the way you get to the best position can be different. Often overworked, tired parents show that the world is a great struggle and a constant struggle. Young people, children from everywhere hear about the "rat race". If their parents themselves do not feel forced to prove their professional usefulness, the media nevertheless fuel the myth of constant competition. You have to be the best from an early age. Young people follow this idea. and are successful or failing.

- Parents come sometimes and say "fix it", as if the child were a refrigerator or a washing machine - he saysdoctor Murawiec. - They do not see their child, only their own image of him. And they make demands not on the child, but on these images. Exams, when life is treated as a constant duel, are even more stressful. - In addition, they are treated as a challenge on which the entire future of the student depends - adds the psychiatrist. But she points out that fortunately not all parents do this: many have time to listen carefully to their children.

According to an expertJolanta Bielec, pedagogue at the Sports School Complex No. 300 in Warsaw

Students often have trouble concentrating due to poor eating habits. They eat too little foods with magnesium. Besides, I would like to remind you that listening to baroque music allows you to concentrate. They should be instrumental, not vocal.

Children find it easier to learn in tidy rooms. Clutter is distracting.

"Owls" should not learn in the morning, and "larks" in the evening.

After learning a science, you have to go back to the humanities. Finally, the ability to relax is just as important.

The exam is not everything

- Children and adolescents must be allowed to choose a school - says Agata Rusak, psychologist at Zespół Szkół im. Rejtan in Warsaw. - How many students hear from their parents that their interests do not count. Here the young man can still defend himself and stand by his side. Worse, when he hears: we invested in you, you had biology and chemistry plugs. All this to get you into medicine. And you don't even try. The child becomes helpless in the face of such persuasion, and frustration grows in the parents as well. The high school graduate, instead of mobilizing his strength for the final exams, thinks whether it will work or not.

- Parents should, however, make sure that the child does not succumb only to emotions and impulses, says Monika Werwicka. - If a fifteen-year-old loves horse riding, wants to breed horses in the future and insists on studying at a horse breeding technical school, let's not be categorically against it. Let's ask the child to gather as much information as possible about the dream school. Let him talk to five students (the best and the worst), check the graduates' professional careers, find out what the apprenticeships look like. Only when he knows all this, he can make a decision.

- Parents and students focus too much on the exam itself, and not enough on the goal it leads to - claims Jolanta Kaźmierczak, teacher at the gymnasium and high school. Żmichowska in Warsaw. - And the exam is not everything. After all, of the best who got there, there are Friday students in the classes, but there are also weaker ones. Thistherefore, when helping their child choose a school, parents should find out how caring for the weakest students works. Because this information also shows the value of the pedagogical craft.

Important

Some students believe they work as hard as they can. So if adults keep trying to convince them that they are not giving enough of themselves, they may become counterproductive. A young man will think: if I work hard and I am not able to cope, it means that I am not talented enough. Teachers and psychologists point out that the student experiences failure more after diligent preparation for a test or exam than when he is not prepared. Therefore, parents should also appreciate the effort itself. Even in families that maintain a he althy distance from changing schools, exams are stressful. There is no point in learning intensively at the end. It makes sense to check whether the student can read the tests with understanding and solve them.

Exercises to help you prepare for exams

How to remember a short story

  • Ask what the story is about, what is the main thought.
  • Remember the important details and the order of the main events, i.e. their sequence.
  • Think about how the characters are feeling and why.
  • When reading, stop here and there. Think about what you are reading. If you are reading out loud, listen to yourself.
  • Don't worry if you fail to remember the details of the story. Stay calm and relax. Try again after an hour.

Easier understanding of the text

Exercises for those who learn only by repetition (they read the text many times, rewrite notes):

  • Change the reading pace: faster easier parts of the text to quickly orientate in the main assumption, and slightly slower difficult parts.
  • Refrain from judging. If something seems unclear to you, keep reading. Probably the author will fill in the gaps, add more information or explain these points elsewhere.
  • Read difficult passages several times. This simple strategy can be effective, especially when the data appears at first glance to be contradictory or equivocal.

Notes in margins

Don't be afraid of underlining in textbooks. Circle unfamiliar words, mark definitions, number thoughts, causes, events one by one. Place asterisks next to important fragments, question marks next to unclear ones. Draw arrows to show relationships, write comments, mark summaries, summaries. Take some colored felt-tip pens for this. But be careful: underlining the wrong information will get in the wayimportant restoration.

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Child's he alth