The dread of most students is normally during the periods of examination and the kind of meaning given to examination now has generated unnecessary fear in many people and specifically those in the academic environment. Some believe one cause of this unusual fear can be allocated to the kind of exposure in terms of advice and training a student might have undergone. Has it turned out to be true that the true meaning of education is being overshadowed, by some empty sensual assumptions that cannot even be explained?
Right from the basic level of education, some pupils are almost always afraid when it is time for examination, and some also due to the fears fall sick among other terrible experiences. It is high time the true meaning of education is understood and imbibed into the mind of everyone so that it becomes part of the personality of people who have something to do with education in order to walk in a unique way to attain the desired success.
Education is acquiring knowledge that builds the mind towards the achievement of specific goals. It should be noted that education further transcends the stages of knowledge acquisition to the point where the acquired knowledge becomes experimental, experiential and applicable in the life of an individual and the surrounding society at large.
Examination, on the other hand, is part of the process involved in education and it is the process where an individual who is being educated is taken through a series of assessments of different kinds, exercises, etc. to ascertain and measure progress in acquiring knowledge at a particular stage in the educational process. Some have misconstrued the value of examination thereby misplacing priorities and engaging in all manner of activities that do not in the end bring out the essence of examination.
Why partake in an examination?
For every educational institution whether formal, informal, or any other kind, there is a set goal for both the learners and tutors at the end of a clearly defined period. At the end of a definite period of an educational cycle is an end goal which is always broken down into goals that are distributed within the time frame of the whole period. All institutions that offer any kind of education have learners at heart and so measures are put in place to make sure whatever the learners are paying for is gotten and if in any case this is not achieved then there is inequity. You pay for a product that is sold and you definitely must get it but if you do not get the product and you leave the buyer, then there might be something wrong somewhere because this can't happen anywhere.
You pay for knowledge but if at the end of a period, the knowledge is not acquired then whose fault can it be?
Observe it from this point of view where athletes in their periods of preparation measure progress and if it is realized the posture that must be achieved before a contest is not yet in view, then more effort is put into the preparations to enhance good performance in a contest. A popular adage goes, "Hard training easy battle". To achieve success in anything without proper means of measuring progress can be disastrous because there will be an illusion or mirage of steady progress when this is actually a misconception.
Students who learn to pass examinations only may in a sense be trying their best but it is actually a wrong path to take if the mindset is only about passing the examination and not keeping the knowledge or more importantly making use of it. No one is employed only because he or she has a white sheet that has good recommendations on it but what an individual is made of is what the employer seeks and will significantly pay for. Learning takes time and anyone in the educational environment has to understand the truth that you are learning to become well-resourced to solve problems and not to only have nice characters on that white sheet. If you do not know about this white sheet being mentioned, try finding out. It was some time ago listening to a program and one guest was talking about how some really well-educated folks in his company that he employed could not live up to expectations even though they have high academic qualifications. The academic qualification was highly acceptable or employable but the human resource does not match and it was a serious issue he was talking about. Now that there is the cry everywhere for opportunities, how is it going to be and how can the well-resourced people who have adequately prepared themselves for the roles be differentiated from the ones who do not meet the standard? It is just nothing but the truth that some people really know what they have studied but only the white sheet might be a little poor or unattractive. There is nothing to worry about, continue to build yourself the right way you know and be particular about the benefit you can offer society, and with this mindset, opportunities will be unleashed. Be aware, that God never sleeps or slumbers and He sees whatever is done in secret so you have nothing to be afraid of.
Romans 8:31 [What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ESV]
- Shortfalls are easily identified and improvements made
The road is of course muddy and rough with diverse experiences for every individual that embarks on the journey. Climbing to the top where goals are achieved, weaknesses, mistakes, and failures are inevitable and these can be managed when there is a mode of assessment to expose the challenges for any needed amends to be made ASAP. No one can travel the road to success so smoothly without encountering hurdles but the right kind of mind towards examinations is very crucial to promote productivity and efficiency than striving for false and temporary success.
I remember at a very young age when we had heavy rainfall that resulted in flooding and some houses around our place of dwelling and even our school was flooded with fishes like tilapia inside the water. Together as friends, we went to catch some of the fish using a catapult fishing net. There was also another method we used in which we used brooms made from coconut branches to create a hollow structure that is well-enclosed but a strategic opening created at one side where a fish can enter but after entering cannot escape. After making this structure, it is placed at a spot where the fishes coagulate and it is supported with sticks to prevent it from being carried away by the water current. This is a memory of over 10 years now but the reason for bringing this event back to remembrance is to reiterate the fact that opportunities can come but not always and also not at the time we think we are well prepared for them. If that moment of tilapia and the rest were brought so near me that I can easily catch them were to be now, I would have been able to catch plenty of them for our use but that time is past and gone. So our school was flooded but we were not allowed to be absent from school meanwhile other pupils didn't think about school again because there is a flood. The school is available to provide equal opportunities to all to acquire knowledge but no one will force you to get the knowledge and just because you won't be forced does not also mean you will not pay a price for it. Whether you were lazy, reluctant, or put up a bad attitude, a time will come when you will reap the outcome of how you made use of the opportunities you were given.
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