Educating what we know

My Background

My background is in philosophy and then working as a researcher for a centre where I wrote on how to help others and talked to future teachers and ex-colleagues on education. As a student, I wanted to strive to do well in exams, yet had limited advice in the lead up to them on how to cope with the relevant stresses that accompanied them.

My aim here, then, is to help others from my experience to limit the concerns that affect so many at school or at university, whether it is for important tests or exams. I hope that you find the suggestions helpful; again my hope is, as Emerson suggested, that if I can help even one person, to have succeeded by doing that. I do hope you benefit from my suggestions and personal experiences.

- Michael Roberts

How to lessen or prevent unnecessary worry in schools and at university

My advice would be, it’s a mindset of; When you come to school or university, you want to fulfil your potential, and after that, whatever happens, happens because whatever that may be, you can be proud of it given you cannot do any better than this. That is, it’s not always possible for everyone to get the grades or marks aimed for but they can fulfil their potential which is attainable and so by realising they cannot do any better than that, then hopefully there is limited unnecessary pressure on them.

Also in terms of the pressure many feel from considering what they may want to do after school or university, it is not always true that we can all be whatever we want to be (if we put our minds to it enough) as some have been told in America, for example: Many may put pressure on themselves to be a celebrity, a successful politician, or a professional athlete, for instance. But this simply is not possible; for everyone (to do what they ideally want to) in our society, as this generation shows. And if there is a gap between what they want to and what they actually do, this can lead to disappointment, or depression. But again, their potential (whatever that may mean) is possible to realise so I would suggest to aim for that first and if you do what you wanted to for a living as a result of that then hopefully it makes you as fulfilled as you had hoped.

On success

A family member of mine is a big tennis fan and I was watching a pre-match interview once while Novak Djokovic was asked "So Novak, what's the secret to your success?" And he answered briefly,

“Honestly, dedication and application.” And having thought about it since, what I got from that was many people know how to be consistently successful in theory but Novak applies it and he dedicates himself most days of the year to being the best player he can be which is a huge part of what makes him one of the greatest players of all time - much of it is in between the ears. This is also true of succeeding in education: dedication and not just knowing what to do in theory but applying what you know in practice as well.

An important way to be in the best state of mind to learn a subject

One important way to be in the best state of mind to learn a subject can be through considering why to learn about it in the first place. A significant flaw in modern education is that we don’t apply the knowledge we have enough so that students can relate to the material better by having powerful reasons to learn a subject to begin with. For instance, to choose an example, if a teacher wanted to inspire someone to learn a modern language, they could say:

“You may be able to go to this country whereby many will appreciate you even just making an effort with their language, you may meet people who you could become friends with that you would not have met from that country had you not learned their language, you could learn first-hand about that culture more and you may meet a partner, or even the person of your dreams, who you would never otherwise have met if you had not studied this language, is another possible reason. Also you will be able to explain yourself better in a number of different situations if you visit the country (unless you know someone with you, or have a translator who speaks that language well) and scientists have proven for some time now that learning a language literally makes you more intelligent as it opens up a different part of the brain.” Of course, the reasons are likely to vary for different people, such as for some it may be that you could have a better time on a night out with friends if you speak a language well and visited that country, whereas for others it could be to get a good qualification for their future employment, for instance. In other words, such reasons for learning, whatever the subject, should be bespoke to each person so that ideally they enjoy (and want to learn) the subject where possible and as a result they can learn it more effectively, too.

On different kinds of intelligence and believing in yourself

If someone is ever told, “You’re not very intelligent”, the response on their behalf could be; “Well first, there are many different kinds of intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, practical, social and sporting intelligences, for example. And second, scientists nowadays talk about neuroplasticity which is just academic jargon for saying the brain is like a muscle that can grow (and learn better) over time.” That is, many can get much more intelligent, especially if you have the self-belief that you can and the right strategies from educators. If you don’t have that belief, however, realising your potential is a lot more dependent on chance and less likely for many.

On developing strong foundations by being a student of learning

As students, you can save yourselves time by having strong foundations. If you don’t work on strengthening your mental foundations, though, it could be the equivalent of wanting to get stronger physically but lifting the same weight for years. Of course, there is a limit to both kinds of strength from working on your foundations through the desire to grow and ideally having motivating reasons to make things easier for yourself but by doing this students can be better learners and therefore save time as well.

Recommended books to research and apply what makes a good learner (among others) include:

On managing Stress

Further, the question concerning stress management remains as to why we have not applied different stress management techniques to education more when it could be helpful for so many and it could strengthen the economy, too (given stress has been said to be very costly to the economy every year):

The following relaxation technique was developed in Germany during 1930s and has been studied by scientists who have shown it can help significantly with stress levels and therefore I believe it should be applied more in schools, including being taught from a young age:
 

With both eyes closed, repeat the following suggestions three times:

1. My left arm is heavy… My right arm is heavy.
2. Both arms are heavy… Both legs are heavy.
3. Arms and legs heavy… Arms and legs warm.
4. Breathing calm and easy… My heartbeat calm and easy.
5. My solar plexus is warm… My forehead is cool.
6. I am at peace.
7. The return: Clench both fists. Take a deep breath. Flex both arms up in a stretch. Breathe out slowly.
8. Return arms. Unclench fist.

Also just being, even for five or ten minutes a day can be good for stress. A lot of people find slowing down their mind a difficult thing when they are stressed over exams but they don’t have to meditate (which many people don’t want to do) to relax. If they can do exercise such as jogging, and then just be afterwards i.e. lying down with no aim in particular other than relaxing, nowadays scientists may say that blood is going away from their brains to their legs and core muscles, for instance, which can allow their minds to rest.

How to hopefully avoid tradegies and being overly stressed for the relevant people at school and at university

At my local university there have been a number of suicides during the exam period, including in the family of a friend of my mum’s whose daughter died some years ago now which is tragic for both her daughter and for those she left behind. Sadly, there are many other universities internationally where this has happened and if I could have spoken with them, I would have liked to have said the following (as well as to help anyone who is overly stressed during exam time) under the assumption that it’s fine to value education as important but not as too important:
 
(Read - How to lessen or prevent unnecessary worry in schools and at university).
 

What is the right attitude towards pressure before and during exams?

I am suggesting that it’s a sense of reminding yourself; This is just one more exam. If I do well and realise my potential, I’ll be glad about that. If I don’t do as well as I was capable of doing, hopefully this can be just another experience in my life to learn from. But no more than that in terms of feeling bad about it. This is just life. This is school or university. (That is, one or more exams do not have to define me).

Further, for those who feel depressed or too stressed at school or at university and that they are not good enough as a result, if you are trying to do your best as a student, even if you are having a difficult time, you could also say to yourself honestly that ‘I am enough just as I am’ insofar as being a student goes (given you are trying to do as well as you can).
 
Finally, remind yourself to write down what you know and let what you don’t know take care of itself in your exams.’

What is the right attitude towards pressure before and during the exam period?

I am suggesting with every exam that it’s a sense of reminding yourself; This is just one more exam. If I do well and realise my potential, I’ll be glad about that. If I don’t do as well as I was capable of doing, hopefully this can be just another experience in my life to learn from. But no more than that in terms of feeling bad about it. This is just life. This is school or university. (That is, one or more exams do not have to define me).
 
Further, for those who feel too stressed at school or at university and that they are not good enough as a result, if you are trying to do your best as a student, even if you are having a difficult time, you could also say to yourself honestly that “I am enough just as I am” insofar as being a student goes (given you are trying to do as well as you can).

Finally, remind yourself to write down what you know and let what you don’t know take care of itself in your exams.’

To conclude, I heard a metaphor a long time ago now that if a ship changes course by 10 degrees, say, then even if it is a fifth of the way, it can end up in a very different destination. That is the hope for people, then, from what I have written here - hopefully for the better, particularly at this difficult time.