Taking my education seriously

This week I tried something new. It actually was a silly thing to try. I have always been a good student. I usually receive A's with an occasional B. I've rarely gone to class unprepared. But, this week, I felt very tired and run down. I have had 4 concerts in two weeks time, and it has worn me down. So, I tried an experiment. I went to take an exam without studying for it.

In a way, this was a twofold decision. First, I honestly felt too worn out to study. Secondly, I have a student/mentee who never studies for school. Sometimes he is very frustrated with the school experience. Going to take an exam without having studied is very unsettling, particularly for someone who always does study. It was a totally distressing experience for me. I had a small glimpse of what a student goes through when they come to school unprepared! I think this was a worthwhile thing to try, though I never plan to do it again!

If we are working to have every student learn and to have every student learn their strengths (not just their weaknesses), then perhaps we need to rethink how we prepare students for exams and other assessments. Students should feel prepared. Of course, there are students who never will feel prepared, but we should make sure they have every opportunity to feel as prepared as possible for success.

I know in the case of my non-studying student that he is actually a very smart boy. I worked with him to learn some English terminology (Greek prefixes and suffixes) one day. He had failed every terminology test he'd taken during the semester. We worked for 10- 15 minutes on a list of 20 terms, and he had them all completely memorized, including correct spelling! So, obviously, he is more than capable. He was very proud of getting back a "perfect" paper. It had probably never happened before. I keep wondering, why is a student this smart failing English?

Back to my experience of taking an exam without preparation... as I said, I never want to do this again, but it was an eye-opening event for me. I think I will be much more patient with my struggling students after this disconcerting experiment! And, I think I will be even more apt to prepare properly than before, if that is possible.