The Five Truths You Need To Hear Right Now.

Just two days ago, Singapore announced the extension of its circuit breaker measures which essentially made schools closed further till 1 June. Furthermore, the school holidays have been brought forward by a month earlier, causing greater disruption to student’s life.

For the majority, this may seem like a blessing, but for those sitting for their final year exams, this has caused a major overhaul in their plans as people often prepare way in advance (usually a one year time frame).

If you are a student out there right now that is panicking, fret not. Like your counterparts sitting for their exams, many O Level kids have been lamenting about the changes in school holidays as this has affected their Mother Tongue O Level papers.

Similarly, there’s one component as well which will greatly affect IB Students: the coursework aka EETOKIA or your preparation for prelims if you are a final year student.

Right now, we have decided to list 5 tools you may adopt in order to play the catch up game during this circuit breaker period.

Truth #1: Your Current Grades Do Not Matter… But Here’s The Catch.

Yes….. your grades before your final exams may not have as much of an impact compared to the actual IB. However, bear in mind this may not be the case for those intending to apply to overseas universities.

For majority of these universities to the US/UK, they are dependent on your predicted grades which are based on your current performance in school. Based on your teacher’s assessment, they’ll be evaluating your performance, and if you wish to get those predicted grades for early applications, your prelims do matter to a great extent.

Instead of idling away and making it as another ‘experimental exam’, treat it as if you are sitting for the real one in order to fill in your knowledge gaps right now.

Even more so if you are gunning for early admissions to top-tier universities, this is the ‘make it’ or ‘break it’ moment.

Truth #2: Acknowledge That Time Is Not On Your Side

Human desires are infinite, but resources are finite.

Additionally, there’s only so much S***** one can give to his or her studies. With little time on your hands, and if you’ve spent most on it away on your coursework, the worst that can happen to you is trying to fill in those knowledge gaps.

The best way to get by is to find the most effective method in learning the content.

Some may be slow, others faster, but find your pace, your style within the quickest amount of time.

If there’s a need to boost productivity, find your own studying space at home. Block out those random Zoom calls and Houseparty if you want to make a change.

…. Because when school reopens on 1 June, what’s going to happen is a mad rush in content preparation for prelims, and then straight to exams without any form of revision or catch up at all.

Without seeking any clarifications, you are losing the greatest opportunity cost: time on your side.

Truth #3: This Is The Worst Time For “NLB/Starbucks” Study Hoggers

If you have cultivated the habit of only being able to do work in public libraries or Starbucks, this is the worst possible time to be trapped indoors.

Instead of going out to become ‘productive’ in your work, you are trapped indoors. This means a drop in your concentration spans, which is the worst case that can happen to you right now.

Hence, it is imperative you have someone who can “push” you to do the work. Be it an online call, or turning on some Lo-fi music with an appblocker, find your way of studying during this uncertain period of time.

Truth #4: Your Teachers/Friends May Not Be The Best Assets Anymore

Without any physical meet up with your friends or teachers, it’s hard to have those group sessions where your peers edit their work for you.

Before everything returns back to normalcy, you are stripped off the privileges of having written feedback on your drafts, your peers pointing at your screens on where you should edit/paraphrase this sentence here and there.

Even though many are able to do it over Zoom and Google Hangouts, many have agreed that it’s just hard to have the ‘same feels’ all over again.

For schools that have not successfully set up an online infrastructure before, it is understandable because online learning as never been so relevant till before. However, online consultations can be made easier with the necessary tools required such as forums, e-whiteboards and online webinars.

What’s worse is if you have a teacher that can’t teach in a classroom…. Imagine him or her teaching in an online setting again.

An example of how we did it even before the pandemic can be found here. So, if there is a cry for help, you may be able to ask people that can provide you individualized attention, in terms of coursework, or working on building up your content.

Truth #5: There’s Still Time To Change Things

If you have read till here, it means you have the desire to better yourself. Whether panicky or not, it doesn’t matter. However, it’s all a race against time right now.

Throw away those “I can’t make it”, “I’m going to fail”, “My coursework will go to shits” into, “Okay, it’s time to play catch up”.

Even though you may not have gotten the best mid-year grades, prelims is the next chance for your assessment. To those applying for early admissions, there’s no better time to better yourself right now.

And even if you felt like you could’ve done better, it’s okay because you are already in a brave storm which will eventually pass. This is a program that will make you feel academically rewarding, as you seek to unearth what you can explore within the wider community beyond school in the future.

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