As I walked to school, I noticed the general lack of people. When I arrived at the border of this particular education facility, I was surprised that there were hardly any people loitering outside. Isn't that some kind of social thing at school? Sitting outside and waiting for the bell? Do they only do that in movies? I later realized this was because I was late and the exam had started.
To the office I went, and, after some explaining, I was directed to the gym. The gym was filled with following tables and chairs. It was all very weird and formal and had a sort of stressful atmosphere. The creaky chairs and whispering teachers didn't help. I waited for someone to tell me where to go and then was told to wander around until I found the table with my name on it. What a joyful experience that was. I was also told with an undertone of exasperation that I was late and supposed to have been there fifteen minutes ago*. I found my table and sat down and then was silly enough to think I could just start. No. Exasperated Lady stormed up the aisle towards me and told me that I couldn't have my stuff with me and then lead me to the front of the gym to set it. As I was putting away my iPod, she told me there was no electronics allowed as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. It probably was to her.
What I did not do:
- Tell her that I was sick of impatient beauracrats like her and storm out of the gym.
- Respond in an equally impatient tone that I was home schooled and new at examinations and that she really wasn't making the experience all to enjoyable.
- Sarcastically mutter under my breath.
Okay, so maybe I did the last one... small success.
I then returned to my chair and read the front page. It said not to open the booklet until I was instructed to do so. And so I waited. I must have sat there for two minutes, trying to make eye contact with this woman when another teacher comes up and asks me what I'm waiting for. And so I tell him that I'm waiting to be told to start. And he tells me I didn't have to do that.
ARG! Bureaucratic goons! Get your freaking act together!
The English exam itself was fine. I read the lame pieces and shaded the multiple choice bubbles accordingly. Then I wrote a kickass essay on how important competition is to our lives. *coughit'sallbullshitcough*
With about half an hour left in the exam, I realized with horror that the phone in my bag was set to the highest volume. Then I proceeded to concentrate on making sure no one called. Of course, I couldn't go turn it off because I didn't know if I was even allowed to leave my chair. That was a bit stressful.
But I figured out that when you're finished, you just get the attention of one of the people that are constantly walking up and down the aisles watching you and then you can leave. As I reached the gym door I turned back and looked over the remaining students. And then I thanked my mother that I was not usually one of them.
Things I didn't do but really should have:
- Ran up and down the aisles humming and doing airplane arms.
- Turned around at the door and yelled "THIS ISN'T HOGWARTS! THIS IS A CONCRETE BOX!"
Math in the afternoon was somewhat less tumultuous. I got there fifteen minutes before I was told to and I sat down and I shaded the bubbles and I think I did well but I won't really be sure until I see my mark. The lady seemed to have forgotten that she was frustrated with me and I even had a bit going with one of the teachers that I was "special". The only bad part was when I was finished the nice guy practically snuck up on me and I jumped out of my seat. The worst part of this exam is that I had Road Trip by Molly Lewis stuck in my head. ARG! Try doing geometry when all you can think is 'I just grab some rubber tubing and I pull on my Depends and then I drive. It's time for a road trip.'
This has been quite long. As has been my day. My blogging life seems to have all clogged up and so I have a lot to write about (nearly finished To Kill A Mockingbird!!) and haven't actually taken time to get it out. I need to sleep now. School is so exhausting. Plus it makes me hungry. How can you survive from 8-12? I need SNACKS.
*Even though my paper clearly said to show up at 8:30am for the exam that started at 9am.
2 comments:
Ahhh, yes. It's things like this that show how stressful school naturally IS and how we've all conformed to it. Yours sounds a smidge worse, being in a gym instead of a normal room, with extra people and The Exasperated trolling the perimeter.
Oh, and about the essay, only skill those teach you-- how to throw together an essay structured the way they want it, containing the crap they want you to say in an hour and 45 minutes. Toss in some BIG WORDS for show and BRAVO.
All finals are a test in just dealing with stress, rather than correctness, if you think about it. I did take some sick pleasure in reading that though. We're even, now you can appreciate it. ;) (I go from 7:45 am to 3:11-- Why not 3:10? BECAUSE. My lunch starts at 12:47 or some such unround number.)
While I don't LIKE exams, I do think that they make sense as far as continuity goes. You have to take the class so you have to take a summative test that proves you did learn something after all. I think they cause unnecessary stress among students (and teachers, really), but I don't know what a realistic alternative could be.
I most definitely prefer writing essays as a part of the class than as a part of an exam. Personally, I feel like the entire POINT of writing an essay is to prove that you know what you're talking about; that you know how to convey your opinion and/or information in an effective way; that your essay has decent vocabulary and sytax; and that you know how to think critically. Given over the period of a few days or a week, essays make sense. However, when they're crammed into a 2-hour block along with two paragraph responses and forty multiple choice questions, I fail to see how they prove that have any skills at all besides the ability to BS effectively.
Sorry your experience was less than ideal, though. Some schools are better than others, I suppose. :(
Post a Comment