the day is here. the time is now.
i know how examinations are seen as a chore, a bore and a sore. i myself disliked taking exams when i was in college. i mean, who wants to memorize all those principles, those formulas and those stories? wouldn't it be better if we spent our time playing our DotA's, fantasy basketball leagues, ragnarok's and final fantasies? don't even get me started on the delight of our ds's and the whee(!) of our wiii's.
for some, the most meaningful and painful question they hurl to the cloudy heavens (apart from "why are they airing those political commercials?") are "why are there exams? why? why? why?"
since we have been holding exams for over a millenia (did you really think you were the first students to complain about tests?), heaven has answered with finality. to our ceaseless "why?!!!", heaven responds with an enigmatic "why not?"
while it may seem that heaven is being deaf to our cries and supplication, the heavens are actually being sensible. exams are part of the rules of the game called "school life." you can't participate in a game and then all of a sudden question its rules. imagine a basketball player suddenly hugging the ball in the middle of the court and demand that "hugging the ball" merited 5 points in his opinion... or a DotA player suddenly saying, "you know what, instead of attacking the enemy's frozen throne/world tree, i just wanna bash my other teammates"... or a fashion designer suddenly saying, "i wanna be unconventional and unique. for my next runway show, there will be no models! clothes will be paraded using moving hangers on a wire!"... to complete the picture, let's imagine a theater director who is supposed to mount a musical suddenly say, "I'm the director and I say for this musical, actors should be silent and mime their lines! This should snag me a Tony!"
for our class, we had just finished the final stretch of the oral exams last tuesday. i must say, i am very impressed with students who really made their own outline and gave a relatively concise presentation of the discussion so far. i was equally impressed with the answers i received for the follow-up questions i sent your way. lastly, i was edified by how people handled their nerves by just speaking in front of an instructor and several members of the class.
which brings me to our points of discussion for this blog entry.
(1) what have you realized while preparing for the orals and the written exams? what were the feelings, emotions and reactions you had when you had to prepare your own outline?
(2) did the lessons make more sense as you were making the outline and preparing your presentation? or did things become muddier and more confusing?
(3) what are some lessons, principles, insights that you can share after going through and surviving the oral exams? were there confidence/self-esteem issues? do you feel you were able to express yourself enough?
reactions, comments and what-have-you are most welcome. post. reply. share.
remember: you're not the only one making the journey towards understanding.
all of us are.
