Exams and Mental Health
I’m taking a break from marking IB exam papers, partly because it’s one of my more boring jobs, but mainly because I need to take a break to reflect on the fact that I have just failed countless students of their entire IB diploma and that just makes me incredibly sad. These children have most likely been in formal education for the past 13 years, they most likely have amazing skills in many areas, they are most likely to be kind, and warm human beings but right now they will be feeling crushed, knowing that they have walked out of a 2 hour exam which will prevent them gaining their entire IB Diploma. I’m also sitting here writing this while my 10 year old Home Schooling son spends his 3rd hour of the day wakeboarding, making friends with children and adults of all ages, and feeling great about his achievements. How can we empower children to follow their dreams and interests, and build on their strengths, without crushing their spirit and belittling them to a criteria of narrow grades?
For certain, home schooling is not for everyone, and by no means a perfect alternative for us as a family. I do however, see it as the best option for my children, at the moment. My neuro-diverse son is able to flourish in the areas he chooses, whether that be skateboarding, wakeboarding, back flipping, making robots, engineering, conducting science experiments, nurturing relationships with people he chooses. My 4 and 6 year old daughters are curious, fun loving and creative, looking for their own learning opportunities in everything they do.
As a Maths teacher, I am proud to say that my teaching constantly evolves as I learn more about more effective and creative ways to teach. I teach with the goal of building confidence in the students I am lucky enough to work with. It is incredible how motivated children are when they have someone who truly believes in their abilities. Children are naturally curious about the world around them, they want to find out how things work and they want to find these patterns and relationships for themselves.
For certain, the entire education system of grading children and taking exams needs to change. We are putting children under an extreme amount of pressure, some from a very early age, and judging all school going children on a set of criteria designed to test a persons ability to memorise and perform under pressure. Which jobs does the future hold which require this? Some jobs, yes, but most jobs? No. We actually want forward thinking, compassionate people who will make good decisions for a better future. We want children and adults to be able to have creative ideas and follow their dreams to live a happy and fulfilled life. So let’s work together to achieve a brighter future for our children.
