Chapter Pancyprian exams: When a 17-year-old has to make a life decision

Every year, around this time, almost all media outlets are bombarded with various survival guides about student stress in pan-Cypriot exams. Although generalized stress management guides are legitimate, they distort reality to a great extent. And the reality is that at the end of the day, it does not matter how much you wrote or whether you passed the Cypriot exams. Although no one denies the value of higher education, the fact that we see 17-year-olds having panic attacks or being stressed because they have not yet decided what they really want to do with their lives should at least concern us. Pancyprian exams are not the end of life. It's just a small starting point for something else. Doubts, insecurities, and question marks are also in the game. And it's perfectly normal.

“No one's value is judged”

Mrs. Maria Nikolaou, a registered school/educational psychologist, speaking to “P” explains the feelings that students are experiencing at this time and analyzes why they should calm down and see the examination process more calmly. According to her, the beginning of the examination period is for each student a separate source of intense and emotionally charged situations, as well as a state of imbalance in terms of their daily and social functionality, experiencing intense emotions and stress. Stress, which is felt to a great extent and rekindled by the thoughts and beliefs of each student, is a normal physical reaction of the body to a new and demanding stimulus such as tests, but also an adaptive mechanism that is activated when we feel we have to deal with some danger. In this case, the risk that a large portion of the student population may feel is stagnation or failure in exams and, consequently, the belief that they are unworthy to achieve their goals and aspirations. However, passing exams has at times been identified by many students as an achievement that defines their value and subsequent transition to university communities, as well as their future socioeconomic status. However, each student is a unique person in the environment in which he lives and develops, having the strong and weak elements in his character and personality, which allow him to adapt and survive regardless of the possible difficulties that will arise. Undoubtedly, the value of each student is not determined by his grade or performance in the exams, but by personal motivations that each sets individually. Therefore, everyone's value is subjective and is determined based on personal beliefs and thoughts about themselves and their environment.

Positive thoughts are key

Ms. Nikolaou emphasizes that each person reacts in his own unique way and that everyone's thoughts and beliefs differ depending on the expectations he sets for himself, therefore the quality of life and value of everyone varies from student to student. . What plays a decisive role are the thoughts that the students make and the beliefs that they have created around the meaning of the exams and not the exams themselves. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Acquired, “people are not disturbed by the events themselves, but by the views and attitudes they have adopted.” So if a student is constantly thinking negatively about the exam, such as “if I do not write well in the exam, it means that I have failed in my life” or “if I do not pass the lessons, I will not be worthy as a person” or “if I do not pass the lessons, I will embarrass my family “, this has the effect of increasing the pressure that the person feels, to develop phobias and to behave in a dysfunctional way, as well as to experience intense stress. At the same time, every student who is called to be examined, it is helpful to remind himself that an examination is not able to judge his life and value, but the knowledge he has acquired and to adopt a positive attitude towards the examination process. , thinking that through it he will receive another experience. Equally important, for each student, is to focus on the effort he makes both for himself and for his desires, reminding himself that effort, beyond any result, always brings him more and pushes him to get better.

“It's normal for them to have no idea”

On the same wavelength is the study counselor and director of Study Abroad Education Counselors, Georgia Marta, who speaking to “P” states that it is completely normal for a young person not to know what he wants to do in his life. She emphasizes that the job of the study counselors is to help each child to find his inclinations and, consequently, to make a conscious choice for the professional path he wants to follow along the way. “Writing well in the exams is definitely the ideal scenario. However, the child who has come to what he wants to study, it is necessary to have other plans/options, in addition to passing the specific exam which gives access to specific options only. At the same time, children who have not yet decided what they want to study, are provided by our office with proper guidance, explanation of various options in terms of studies and professions. We also provide specially designed diagnostic tests that help us diagnose the inclinations and skills of each child, which will lead us to the issues of career choice and/or further studies of the child. My suggestion for children to be cooler and more comfortable as & # 8217; throughout their final exams is, when they take these exams, to know that they already have a place for their studies and elsewhere, so if they do not do well, to know that they have not missed their chance to study what they want. The psychology of the child who knows that he has already taken a position elsewhere is very different and positive, compared to the psychology of the child who, if he does not write well, will not have many options to study what he wants in a prestigious university. Children should not compromise on anything less or inferior in terms of their studies. They should always have a good and worthwhile plan B that meets their own capabilities. This will help them to be able to give their best in the exams and not be pressured by the stress that, if they do not write well, their dream will go to study what they want! In addition to the above, my suggestion is for children to try to manage their stress calmly and understand that excessive stress locks the brain and even though the knowledge and answers are there and the child knows them, stress prevents it. than to write what he already knows on paper. “

Source: politis.com.cy

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