MAJOR exams and revision

[AnneM]

My 15 year old son Sam is just starting 2 weeks of the "mocks" for his major exams (which will happen in June). This is a BIG year for him in the UK and the exams he takes in June are his GCSE's which set him up for college and dictate whether he gets to do what he wants to do ....

... so please wish him luck!!

However, the reason for the post is to talk about "revision" .... this doesn't really seem to exist in Sam's world ... He "Means" well ... he "talks" about revising ... but the reality is he just always... but always .... finds himself occupied by something else instead!! Admittedly his time for revising at home is when his meds are worn off and I do know they are doing a lot of revision at school ... but his idea of revision (at home) is to sit down with his revision book whilst at the same time doing something else (i.e. on the internet, playing a game, watching tv etc.etc.!) ....

Does anyone else have this problem and does anyone else have any suggestions for getting him to REALLY do some proper revision ? OR should I lay-off and allow him to revise whilst doing these other things?

Oh yes and p.s. Exams themselves do not worry him AT ALL ... in fact I think he finds them quite 'fun' ... Do you find this or does your child get very worked up and worried about exams??

[mskris]

Dear Ann:

My son is in 3rd grade and his teacher asked me about his study habits - I laughed!! I didn't really learn how to study until I was in college. If your son's grades are good during the school year, I'm sure he'll do alright on the exams. I found that if I had a good grade in the class, I'd retain most of the info and get about the same grade on the exam.

Although it would be nice to get your son to study/review more, it seems to me that he's acting like a typical 15-y-old!

Good luck to him (and you!)

Kris

[AnneM]

Thanks Mskris!! Your reply did make me smile AND feel better!! ... We had a (standard) letter from the school the other day saying "We hope you will support your child during this crucial year" .... and I thought "Way... hey... of COURSE I support my child (100%) but you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink" !!

Grades wise - well ... COULD be better! ... a bit of a "whizz" in physics and chemistry but fortunately more "in the lower-middle" in Maths and English (the subjects which REALLY seem to count! )