How to manage exam stress and meet parental expectations

We live in a competitive world and the rat race for getting to the top is always on whichever field one is on. These are also the times of following the herd mentality, where if/when one is not clear about one’s objectives in life, one usually goes by what the crowd is doing at large, and we all have been subject to this one time or the other in our lives.

Students of today are no exception to this.

While, of course, learning is an ongoing experience in life, and we are all learners for life, academics is one area in a student’s life that sometimes burdens them in more ways than one. It is not just about scoring well in the exam and maintaining a good rank throughout, but also navigating through the parental expectations that could get formidable at times for the students.

The dynamic nature of exams sometimes gets taxing for a learner as they are required to juggle between multiple things at the same time with the syllabus being churned out for a better one constantly.

Needless to say, the kind of demands it would make on the calibre of the learner. Moreover, parents, who always have the best for their children at their heart, want to always see their children at the top, which makes it difficult to balance for the learner.

Darshana, Senior Verbal Faculty at T.I.M.E., offers valuable guidance for students handling exam pressure and parental expectations.

NURTURING CONFIDENCE AMIDST ACADEMIC PRESSURE

The outlook that parents have towards their child’s education does come from the prism of having a successful life ahead, which, of course, involves being competitive and beating the competition. Having said that, it sometimes might take a toll on the students’ minds, since balancing the two at such a tender age with the distractions that are present in today’s times might not go down well with them.

The competition that the students face amongst their peers for better scores and better ranks eventually may already be a lot to deal with for them.

At such times, parents could be their sounding boards and maybe cut them some slack and empathise towards their kids so that they have the confidence to go out and face the world as they know they have their parents by their side who would never feel let down by their kids.

It is this confidence that would give the child the wings and the wind beneath them to fly and reach soaring heights. Students need to focus to the best of their ability on their academics for a better tomorrow with the belief that their parents have their back when the chips are down.

Transparency and empathy would help both parents and students navigate along this path more constructively. An honest and empathetic feedback from parents after a patient hearing, out, of their children, with, of course, the children being true to themselves and to their parents about their progress and bottleneck would help both parties come to a common ground where both would feel heard.

As a student, one needs to be an attentive learner and take things one at a time so that there is not too much pressure mounting on them. This will also allow them to learn to take things in their stride because there is no better teacher than the situations that challenge us.

This experiential learning with constructive feedback from parents can help the students navigate the situation very efficiently and effectively.

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