Dedicated to all students taking the O Levels exam, I sincerely hope that you may get some insight from this article.
YES! The big O is coming. For many of the students, they are filled with the same emotions that hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of students have faced over the past 20-30 over years. Fear, Excitement, Uncertainty, Worry, Enthusiasm, depending on which side of the fence you are standing on.
But, whichever side you are on, I would like to just nag at you a little on the Importance and Benefits of this exam, plus the amount of effort which you need to invest for the mass returns. And I can only hope that you would finally dig out that 0ld, hidden "drive" and "motivation" to do the final dash of the race.
The O level result slip, small as it is (with prints that are even smaller), is a major determinant of your life between 17-25 years old. It determines which tertiary institute you go to (JC, Poly, ITE or private colleges) and this choice would then determine what sort of environment you enter into and what sort of friends you make and mix around with during your tertiary studies. And it would in turn, affect the sort of study life you decide to have, the sort of results you aim for and get. And that would affect the choices you have after your tertiary studies, such as which Universities you can go to or what sort of work you enter into, and possibly, affecting the sort of life you can enjoy up until the age of 25-30 (for some, it actually affected their whole life!)
While what I just said is broad and wide (but definitely not exaggerated), I suppose you do see the extent of how this simple slip of paper, can affect you. Scary ah, what a little piece of paper can do to you life...
BUT frightening, and sometime daunting, as it may be, don't be paralyzed by it. Because, you truly have enough time to catch up...so NEVER GIVE UP! So, what I would like to ask for you to do first, is simply see it from the other perspective.
Instead on focusing on the fear, and the uncertainty, why not focus on the possibilities, and what you can do instead? You still have 5 more months to prepare and revise for this exam. While some may ask, is 5 months enough? Well, my answer would of course be a Yes. Not because I want to give you false hope, but rather, it has been done before, and if you think in depth about it, you can even calculate mathematically how it can be done. (BTW, a research was done in one of our local schools, and the teachers found out that, a months effort can help increase the subject grades by 1 point. Which means, if you are getting a b4 now, in 4 months time, you can get at least an A2 or even A1!)
So, start by FOCUSING on the OUTCOME, and TAKE ACTIONS Now! (after you finish this article, of course) SERIOUS and MASSIVE ACTIONS. And below, are some guides to help you with your work, before we go back to your schools again.
1) Look at yourself in the mirror and BE HONEST. Look deep into your own eyes, and ask, "How do you really feel about the upcoming exam?" "Have you done your part so far to prepare for it?" "Can you truly be honest that you are doing your best?" "Can you do better?" "Can you face up to yourself?" "Are you willing to accept lousy results for the upcoming exam?" "Do you want better for yourself?" Ask all the direct, no-holds-barred questions, and start digging out all the emotions that you have about your exams, good and bad, buried or surfaced.
Stop avoiding it. BE HONEST with yourself. Even if means you may start to feel ashamed, embarrassed, shocked, disappointed or even hate at yourself, admit those feelings first. Face up to them. ACCEPT that they are real. Now it not the time to avoid, or use softeners to make yourself feel good. Get Disturbed.
Can you imagine if you were to avoid these emotions and feelings, and choose to do nothing about it (There are many students who are as such, putting up a "strong" and "secure" front to others, even though deep down, they are fearful, very fearful of their own future)? The consequences would usually be more such negative emotions and feelings, PLUS "interests" coming in the form of "failures". It just keeps building up! And sometimes, it even compounds.
So, DON'T, I beg of you. You deserve better. So, start by FACING UP TO THE FACTS! And the good, GREAT, thing is, once you acknowledged your feelings, you also start to realise that, "HEY, I can do something about it! I can decide my life as I have choices!" Which is true. You can really do something for each of the negative feelings. Only when you face up to these fears of yours, and not avoid them, will you be able to overcome them and have fun at the same time. (Gee, I feel old saying this though. Make me feel like one of those ancient chinese shifu. :P Ken and his weird philosophies.)
2) Don't just get disturbed. Forgive yourself, and move on to doing what needs to be done. So, after step 1, you should really take some time to list down, the problems you face with each of the subjects you are taking. For example, Chemistry - Is it the concepts which you cannot comprehend? Atomic structure? Calculations? Mole? Ratio? Bonding?
Physics - Is it the memorising part?Knowing what's the important points?
Bio - Is it the functions? Cause and effects?
History - People, events which you are unclear and uncertain of? Factors? English - Essays? Compre? Summary? ETC.
For each of the subject, chapters, and sections, write out the problems you face. So, rule of thumb which I will suggest to you, start with your stronger subjects first. And once you get the momentum, it will drive you even more.
And importantly, you would know where you are standing in your preparation for your work.. That leads to point 3.
3) After getting out the problems you face with each topic, and clearly identifying the problems, attempt to understand how to solve the problems first.
ATTEMPT.
Make the first effort to do it on your own first. Even if you make mistakes, it is ok. BUT DO ATTEMPT. Otherwise, if you skip this part, and go to step four, you would still be lost. So, please, MAKE ATTEMPTS to solve the problems first.
4) For all those problems which you still can't clear, identify people and resources which can help you explain them. So who can you approach? Well, the answer in most of your head would be your friends, top students of your classes, and teachers. You are all correct. So, with your questions, ASK.
Now, some students may face some challenges when wanting to ask, if they didn't first perform step 3. Firstly, they are afraid or paiseh that they will bother their friends/teachers, and they don't want to look "stupid" in front of their friends/teachers. Now, you will only feel this way, if you didn't do your homework in the first place. Step 3 would at least allow you some groundwork, and background into the problem, and so, you will be asking relevant questions. And these questions would most probably be questions that are faced by other students. So, they are "smart", "related" and relevant questions. The people you ask may even appreciate you for asking such questions as it allows them to see from another perspective.
In addition, Step 3 is important as, when you have attempted the problems, can't solve it, and then ASK, you will be rewarded with the answers, you will have what I would call, the "AH HAH" effect. Because, you have worked on the problem previously, your brain is challenged by it. And when you finally get the answer, it is like a tight knot that was suddenly untied, and you tend to appreciate the answer and register in your mind easier. There are emotions involved here. But if you skip step 3, chances are, you won't appreciate the answers even if it is directly in front of your face.
5) After step 4, then, you proceed to practise. Now, if you want to know how to practise, please, send me an msn email, to hura_kurama@hotmail.com. I will then, tell you how to practise correctly for each paper (excluding Language papers as they are prepared a little differently). In your email, please state your school, class, full name, and also, Ernest's, Peter's and my famous quote (this is just like the password).
I am sorry for being so secretive, but as recently, I found that there are "spies" from other companies, and they have been "stealing" ideas from us. So, I have to safeguard this. (Anyway, kinda appalled at the type of integrity that people may have. Stealing other people's ideas, intellectual property, and claim it to be theirs.) But, I am sure the infinite intelligence will take care of these people. :)
Back, so, please send me the email, if you are keen. I will just share one simple secret with you on how to score for your exam. Remember, EXAM IS JUST A GAME. And it is one of the easiest game ever!
To wrap this up. Let me just do a simple maths calculation for all to see.
What this 5 months could mean.
It I were to use 10 years as the impact that this O levels would have.
Then, it would amount to 120 months (10yrsX12mths).
So, using 5 months to O levels as the Investment you have to make, then, the returns of investment would be 120 Div 5. 24 times returns.
BUT NOTE, this 24 times returns may even compound to a few times more! And usually it does compound. BUT, this return, could be a good investment, or a lousy liability.
If you choose to do well, it is a great Return of Investment, if you don't, then, it can become your greatest liability. It is your choice. So please....PLEASE...choose wisely.
The choice is clear. Small investment for years of gain! Go for it!
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