The Sunday News
Charles Dube
Examinations are drawing nearer by each passing day. Generally, students are ready for them. There is no need to panic, after all they have had almost two years preparing for them. Of course, there are always those who prefer to work at the last minute.
These are in panic mode. Readiness does not mean cramming what one thinks will come in the examinations, but having the techniques of answering various types of questions.
“Experience is the best teacher”. I have come to believe this statement through observation. At this eleventh hour experienced teachers know which areas to tackle for students to pass the examinations. It is easy to revise the theoretical part of examinations. For example, you can switch back to the text books or notes made on topic concerned. The opposite is true with practical subjects as resources are not easily available to allow continuous repetition of practicals.
Many students are uncomfortable with science practicals. They conduct practicals throughout the year but they still send shivers down the students’ spines. That is where constant practice is needed but as earlier indicated resources do not permit such extravagancy. Use of text books works well in such situations as students need to read more on different experiments and be fully equipped for the examinations. Being knowledgeable of the subject helps do better. The whole syllabus should be covered in any subject.
Students at times find themselves in trouble because a syllabus has not been covered. The worst harm teachers could do to students is failure to cover syllabi and never disclose that to students. On top of that, is implying to students that certain areas of the syllabi will not come in the examinations. Such wrong advice has been given to the students and to the shock of the teacher and the students alike questions have come from the ignored areas. Cover the whole turf if you are to do well in the examinations.
In subjects like Literature both in local languages and English where schools are to make a choice from a number of books it is wise to choose those texts with familiar backgrounds first before moving to the unfamiliar. It is easier for students to understand African Literature texts because of familiar backgrounds and cultures than Literature in English texts in the form of Shakespeare’s writings. Such texts should come in later when a local text has been studied.
It is unfair to hear a teacher saying s/he starts by teaching Shakespeare texts at Form Three level because they are easier for the students to grasp. I have always doubted the ingenuity of such a teacher and questioned whether they have any feelings for students. In local languages literature where students are required to answer questions from at least two books from a total of four I believe it is wise to do all the four so that students have a wider choice of questions to answer from.
The argument proffered by some is that there is no need to study the four texts instead of choosing two and mastering them. A valid argument indeed at face value especially if questions from those two are always user friendly. But in a situation where the two questions are very tough, students have no choice but to struggle on with what they are unsure of. The choice of texts depends on the teacher’s taste which might not go well with students. In a situation like this students will not enjoy the text hence not perform well in the examinations.
This is revision time for examination classes except for a few who might not have exhausted their syllabuses in different subject. These are in a catch-up situation. And we wish them well. I take this opportunity to offer reminders on certain topics in English Language. Writing a story: All stories have character, setting and plot. Characters are the people or animals in a story. Setting is the time and place of a story, and plot refers to the action and conflict in a story. Experts say good story writers do more than tell about a character, setting and plot. They use vivid or specific details to show the readers the character, setting, and the action that makes up the plot.
A story writer uses sense details of sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell to describe characters, setting and action. Writing reports: The purpose of a report is to give information about a subject. You report on factual subjects. Practice questions on reports are from sources such as books, magazines, and interviews with people to gather information. We get questions asking students to write reports based on notes, statistical data, reports based on pictures, maps and diagrams.
Students need to be taught all these not only on writing speeches only. It should not be forgotten that students can be asked to write friendly letters and business letters in the examinations. Remember business letters come in various ways like writing job applications, writing letters to the newspaper or letters of complaint. All these should have been covered in the English Language syllabus. We will try and give more reminders to key areas of study as students get closer to the examinations.
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