“Pandemic and Education”- 19 February 2023.

Ankit.

Q. My board exams are coming and I am feeling exhausted. After studying for two hours I feel like lying down and sleeping. I am nervous and tired. I think I will fail. All negative thoughts coming to my mind and scares me. My friends are also saying the same thing as we meet in the tuition classes. Please give us tips to help us out.

Ans. If you have not studied your subjects the year around, then the backlog is huge and difficult to make up. A disciplined approach with revisions of lessons learnt on a daily basis improves the memory and the learning process and does not allow backlogs to pile up. Make a daily habit from next year onwards. For this exam, take an approach of studying with short breaks after each hour of study. The break should be only five minutes each and during the break you should take a small bite of something light and nutritious, such as, a fruit or a glass of milk or juice. You could also do some quick stretching exercises such as, skipping, jogging inside the house etc. Come back to the study table and relax your mind for a minute, concentrate and start. Think positive, work hard round the clock with short breaks and don’t give up. You are bound to succeed.

A Mother.

Q. My child does not want to go to school and is afraid of the final exams. She has less interest in studies and starts crying. Sometimes she complains of stomach aches, sometimes she gets nausea and headaches and all such things. We took her to the school counsellor but it did not help much. Should I bring her to you? She cries a lot and throws her up her arms and legs. I am seriously worried about her. I took her to the doctor and he said she is fine physically and has anxiety. Please help.  

Ans. The Covid pandemic and the two-year school lockdown has children quite a bit. It has changed the learning habits of children, upset their daily discipline of going to school, following a schedule, and revising lessons. Most children have developed a huge backlog of learning as they have taken it easy. The younger children have also suffered a lot. Her anxiety may be due to fear of exams and also due to some difficulty in the learning process, such as, reading, writing, comprehension, memory etc. She may have difficulties specific to a specific subjects or all subjects. Kindly bring her for an assessment and we will evaluate her. Do not worry- once we identify her problem, we will help her solve it. Take it easy and re-assure her that all will be well.