Exams, Fear and Victory!

Exams, Fear and Victory!

Above the Fear...

For God didn't give us a Spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7

For the first time I met her, She was stucked in midway, unable to find the further path, just because of mathematics.  Her parents told me about her unsuccessful attempts of last two exams in CPT (Common proficiency test as Intermediate level exam for CA). As a lecturer, my job was to guide her to another level. She had fear of mathematics and I was wondering what shall I do to let her fear go away?

Like many students that I have found in my very short career of teaching, she was one of them with extreme phobia of Mathematics. Mathematics, No way! She never could gather any courage to solve or practice, not even the simplest sum, thus making it more difficult for her to understand the subject. As a teacher, I had to eradicate this fear, but the situation was making me afraid wondering if I can really bring that change in her life!

 In the month of September when I started teaching her Mathematics and Statistics, I realized every small concept had to be taught. She had habit of reciting the formulae which she often find confusing during exam time because of exam phobia. She had to use calculator for smallest calculation and for most of the multiple choice question she solved during exams, she used trial and error method to solutions. All these methods were not only against high scoring strategy, they were fatal as they had lower accuracy.

I started teaching mathematics from the basic level, either that was calculating LCM or that be derivation of formula. I showed her how those formula came and what happens if they were further modified. I made her understand that every mathematical term resemble some or other meaning with real life and hence they are to be understood, not recited. For every of the questions she solved, I allowed her to use formula book that relieved her from reciting. All these activities were big challenges for me, but as a teacher who need to show guide, It was my responsibility and duty to help the most needy student.

Days passed, week passed by and months went away. By the first week of November, I realized things had changed lot. She had started practicing mathematics on her own. Though she still used calculator for some calculations, she was confident in what she had solved and she had matured with clear concise of finding where she had gone wrong.

Few weeks back she was telling me that for now her real problem are some other subjects. She need to bring confidence back in subjects like accounts and economics. It was not that she was low confidence in them but her confidence level of mathematics was so high that she was finding low confidence in other subject.

Today is her examination of CPT. And simultaneously it is mine also, as her progress report will show how I have fared in them. But only one thing I know, She has won the race with Mathematics and whatever be exam result of CPT, she will never feel low confidence for mathematics.

Often and Often we try to prepare our children just for examination which works only for temporary moment. If such situation faced, we need to work as if we need to face fear (not mere exams) and As we rise above fear, there is win.

This post is written for Happy hours of indiblogger under the topic of Rise above Fear. Visit the link for the post as https://www.facebook.com/mountaindewindia

Regards

Suraj