Spring Break! What a joyous concept.
Could there be a better time of the year to take a little break and
just go play? I hope those of you are still looking forward to your
Spring Break are planning time to get caught up on sleep, play a lot
and give yourself permission to check out for awhile. For those of
you returning, I hope you had a great time and are feeling
rejuvenated.
There are only two problems I can see
with Spring Break. The first is that when it is over, there is a
good long stretch of hard work ahead of you and many students (and
teachers) do not feel much like working at this time of year. This
really isn’t too big of a problem because of one of my grandmother’s
favorite adages “work creates it own mood.” It used to make me mad
when she’d say that when it was time to do chores but I have to
admit that she was right. Once you get into the business of work,
the work itself generates a certain amount of energy that moves
things along. The opposite, however, is not true. If you wait for
a work mood to happen before you get into a job, you may be waiting
a long time.
You might want to discuss this concept
with your students. Many a homework assignment or study time has
gone undone for the waiting for the perfect “mood” to strike.
Adolescents in general rarely come upon a “let’s get to work” mood.
It can be helpful to teach them that the main way to get work done
is to ignore your mood, pick a time and start. Get it done. Now
that does create a good mood.
The second problem with Spring Break
is that when it is over it is time to prepare for all manner of
tests. This is the time of year we start trying to measure how much
students have learned or failed to learn. The difficulties with
trying to get this measurement is that many students who have
actually learned the material taught cannot prove it on a test
because of test anxiety. Even teachers are having test anxiety
these days because so much is riding on test results. Dealing
effectively with test anxiety can help both students and teachers.
Remember that most anxiety is exacerbated by negative self talk.
Help students learn positive self-talk and a few simple skills to
get them through the next test.
Suggestions for managing fears related
to testing:
1) First recognize
that fear is only a feeling. It is not a fact. Just because a
person is afraid that he/she doesn’t know something does not mean
that they don’t. Fear is a natural response to the unknown and is
only an emotion. Repeating, “fear is a feeling, not a fact” can
bring anxiety levels down.
2) Affirm that “It
is okay to do your best.” Perfection is not necessary.
3) Take deep
breathing breaks throughout the test. Answer 5-10 questions and
then take three deep breaths. Deep breathing can clear away
confusion and reduce worry.
4) Move quickly
through the test to answer all the easy questions first. There will
be time to finish the rest.
5) Time always seems
too short when one is taking a test. The fear of running out of time
is even more prevalent than the fear of not knowing the answer. It
is important to be reassured that there is enough time. Repeat “I
have all the time I need to answer all the questions correctly” over
and over.
6) Tell yourself
“This is only a test. I will do my best and that will be good.” It
is not a full scale measurement of everything about me. The test is
important but not the end of the world
April 21-22, 2006
