Faith Meets Life: Distractions come before studying
Every year around this time, with exams around the corner, the pressure mounts to study zealously. Students are encouraged to crack open the textbooks and read notes as if there's no tomorrow. Instructors, apparently without any pangs of conscience, burden students with course reviews and potential exam questions, sometimes barely stopping short of giving away the whole exam.
The temptations are strong to ignore the more important aspects of life. Too much study can seriously undermine the development of other essential life skills such as Facebooking, hallway chatting and watching The Office online. What can be done?
I have a few suggestions. Granted, some study is necessary, but students are able to take steps to ensure that life remains balanced — even as exams threaten to turn Fanshawe into a virtual think tank.
First, consider reviewing your study locations. Study enthusiasts often try to find a quiet place to work in, say, a library. But think about it. How will your friends find you to share their latest angst over the unfolding drama of Survivor Ingersoll (or wherever)? You see the point.
Second, maintain what I call your technology equilibrium. With the relentless hounding to finish end-of-term assignments in addition to preparing for exams, students may succumb to many forms of weirdness in managing their technology. Some go so far as to turn off their cell phones for extended periods of time, 45 or even 60 minutes. This is where loss of technology equilibrium can set in. Don't go there! When studying, keep your MSN account open. Update your Facebook profile as your life changes hour by hour. Be sure the volume on your computer is not muted so you can be alerted if a friend emails you with a message indicating that her pet rabbit is beginning to shed. Don't deny yourself the necessities of life such as suitable background music or background video when studying. Remember, the important thing is to keep things in balance.
Finally, don't blindly accept everything your instructors tell you. For example, instructors have been known to give out a number of questions during the last class and then state that some of them, not all, will be on the exam. You can see right through this. Obviously this is a rouse, a transparent attempt to get you to learn more than the bare minimum to pass the examination. This can lead to a lot of unnecessary work. You may find that you have much better success getting together with friends to second guess the teacher. With some careful thought, you can probably come to a pretty accurate idea of exactly what will be on the exam. This will allow you to study the five per cent of the course work you will need to know to ace the exam.
So, I hope you find this helpful. Watch for a future article on another problem frequently encountered by students: How to handle parents who express disappointment that your grades have slipped below their (somewhat unrealistic) expectations.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
The temptations are strong to ignore the more important aspects of life. Too much study can seriously undermine the development of other essential life skills such as Facebooking, hallway chatting and watching The Office online. What can be done?
I have a few suggestions. Granted, some study is necessary, but students are able to take steps to ensure that life remains balanced — even as exams threaten to turn Fanshawe into a virtual think tank.
First, consider reviewing your study locations. Study enthusiasts often try to find a quiet place to work in, say, a library. But think about it. How will your friends find you to share their latest angst over the unfolding drama of Survivor Ingersoll (or wherever)? You see the point.
Second, maintain what I call your technology equilibrium. With the relentless hounding to finish end-of-term assignments in addition to preparing for exams, students may succumb to many forms of weirdness in managing their technology. Some go so far as to turn off their cell phones for extended periods of time, 45 or even 60 minutes. This is where loss of technology equilibrium can set in. Don't go there! When studying, keep your MSN account open. Update your Facebook profile as your life changes hour by hour. Be sure the volume on your computer is not muted so you can be alerted if a friend emails you with a message indicating that her pet rabbit is beginning to shed. Don't deny yourself the necessities of life such as suitable background music or background video when studying. Remember, the important thing is to keep things in balance.
Finally, don't blindly accept everything your instructors tell you. For example, instructors have been known to give out a number of questions during the last class and then state that some of them, not all, will be on the exam. You can see right through this. Obviously this is a rouse, a transparent attempt to get you to learn more than the bare minimum to pass the examination. This can lead to a lot of unnecessary work. You may find that you have much better success getting together with friends to second guess the teacher. With some careful thought, you can probably come to a pretty accurate idea of exactly what will be on the exam. This will allow you to study the five per cent of the course work you will need to know to ace the exam.
So, I hope you find this helpful. Watch for a future article on another problem frequently encountered by students: How to handle parents who express disappointment that your grades have slipped below their (somewhat unrealistic) expectations.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
