Topic 14. Mark is a school weapon

Task 33. Read the text and make up 5 questions to it.

Mark – a School Weapon

Marks are the basic way of evaluating school work and a powerful weapon to make students learn.

The school reports indicate which subjects we are good at and what we are interested in. When we get good marks, our parents are very pleased and the atmosphere at home is nice. When we receive bad marks, however, we can expect punishment, complaints and comments on our laziness and the lack of self-discipline. We are often compared to our school-fellows who achieve better results at school and hear that, contrary to us, John or Mary do not cause any trouble, they are praised by all the teachers, responsible, ambitious and very bright indeed.

There are many reasons why we may not do well at school. The problems are often caused by missing classes, playing truant, and working by fits and starts, insubordination, thoughtlessness or weak parental guidance. It also happens that instead of learning we day-dream during classes, do not listen to what teachers say and have got everything except studying on the brain. Of course, it is understandable that we all have stronger and weaker points. Some students do not have much talent for figures while others cannot spell well. This depends on our inborn capacities. However, if we lag behind in all subjects, we should set to work or be prepared for repeating a year.

Good marks encourage us to make progress and to achieve better and better results. They also strengthen our positive attitude to studying. Therefore, it is important that our school records should be plausible and well-founded. Unfortunately, very few teachers give their whys and wherefores for the marks and sometimes students feel that the assessment of their work is subjective and unfair.

The way in which we are informed about our achievements is characterized by our relationships with teachers. We feel pleased when they praise us and when they are satisfied with our work. Some teachers are convinced that they should be firm with the class, keep discipline and set high standards for students. However, sometimes it is desirable to give better marks to weak students just to stimulate them to learn.

The problem of marks as a principal way of the evaluation of school work has always been controversial. The fact that a student gets promotion for example, usually less depends on his own performance than on the average achievements of the class as a whole. Some students hold the opinion that it would be better if marks did not exist at all.

 

Task 34. Find in the text the equivalents of the following words and word combinations and learn them by heart:

1) пропускать занятия, 2) прогуливать занятия, 3) оценки, 4) основной способ, 5) врожденные способности, 6) позитивное отношение, 7) непослушание, 8) оценивать, 9) оценивание, 10) создавать проблемы, 11) хвалить, 12) ответственный, 13) остаться на второй год, 14) крепко держать класс в руках, 15) поддерживать дисциплину, 16) устанавливать высокие требования, 17) средние достижения, 18) жалоба, 19) стимулировать, 20) отношения с кем-либо, 21) поощрять, 22) окрепнуть, 23) приступать к работе, 24) работать нерегулярно, 25) сильные и слабые стороны, 26) правдоподобный, 27) иметь способности к математике, 28) наказание, 29) грамотно писать, 30) слабый родительский контроль, 31) отставать по всем предметам, 32) мечтать / фантазировать, 33) хорошо учиться в школе, 34) сообразительный, 35) самодисциплина, 36) целеустремленный / амбициозный, 37) крепкие знания, 38) мощное оружие, 39) обоснование, 40) быть довольным чем-либо.

 

Task 35. Questions for discussing.

1) What is your attitude to marks?

2) Can you imagine school without marks? What problems could students face in such a school?

3) Do you think it is easy to evaluate a student’s work? What might influence the teacher when he or she is giving a bad mark?

4) Suggest some alternative ways of evaluating students’ progress.

5) Do you think that marks are the best way of evaluating school work?

6) What are the disadvantages of this traditional evaluation?

Task 36. Read the text and answer the questions after the text:

Exams

Exams are for many for us a real horror. They are usually accompanies by a sense of uncertainty and the powerlessness to control the situation. The negative stress reaction is heightened, the heart pounds, the breathing quicken and the body pumps out adrenaline. We have a sigh of relief when everything is over.

Exams are considered to be the greatest anxiety-makers. Still, we all have to muddle through them in different stages of our life. Students have probably the hardest task. They know that the fact of passing or failing exams has a great impact on their whole future and therefore they take them under enormous pressure.

How to cope with the feeling of fear or panic before an exam? If we cannot eliminate stress altogether, we can at least make it work for us. Stress does not have to be bad if we only know how to handle it. In fact, it can even be positive because it is a kind of energy which, channeled constructively, can help us to concentrate better, think more clearly under pressure and work more creatively. The question arises, however, how to turn negative stress reaction into positive actions. We should start by identifying destructive thought patterns. Instead of thinking “I can’t”, we should rather think about what we can do right then and there.

We should also try to visualize the exam situation and ask ourselves: “What is the worst that could happen in this situation?” Then, “How likely is that to happen?” We will almost always find that the worst is not that bad, and that the examiners are not monsters but merely friendly people who wish us well.

We should compose ourselves to achieve success. Most of us forget how good we really are. We dismiss our past successes and remember only the failures, losses and weaknesses. Such a negative attitude diminishes our confidence in what we know and what we are able to do. When we are in the midst of a stressful situation, we often forget that we have been in similar situations in the past and have done well.

How to prepare for the exams? Here are a few obvious principles:

· If possible, we should study in a group. This enables us to compare our state of knowledge with others.

· We should not study in the evening but rather during the day. The best time for learning is from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Long term memory is best then and the ability to absorb new information peaks.

· We should not cram the day before the exam. If we do not restrict ourselves to repeating what we already know, our ability to reflect on old knowledge sharply decreases.

· In the evening we should relax, go for a long walk or read a book.

· On the day of the exam we should not hurry up or cram but eat a regular breakfast, take all the necessary things and leave home.

· During a written exam we should first read the instructions carefully. It is also advisable to begin with the easiest tasks and then proceed to the more difficult ones.

· When we take an oral exam, we should assume the same posture as the examiner because this enables us to establish closer mutual contact. We should avoid the moments of silence and even if we do not know a correct answer, we should think aloud because in this way the examiner becomes convinced that we ponder over a question. Sometimes we feel that our knowledge is not sufficient to pass the exam. In such cases it is desirable to show some cunning in making the examiner satisfied.

 

1) How do you feel when you hear the word “exams”? What feelings does this word evoke?

2) How do you cope with a stressful exam situation?

3) Are exams an inseparable part of our life? Are exams necessary? Explain why.

4) Is stress always bad for a person? What is the first step in turning negative stress into positive actions?

5) What is the best way to prepare for exams in your opinion?

6) What should one do on the eve of the exam and what should not?

7) How should one behave during the exam to pass it successfully?

8) Are exams fair or unfair? Justify.

9) Do you usually write cribs before the exams? Do you use them at the exams?

10) Should the students cheating at the exams be disqualified?

Task 37. Find in the text the equivalents of the following words and word combinations and learn them by heart:

1) зубрить, 2) усваивать новую информацию, 3) экзаменатор, 4) продемонстрировать ловкость, 5) желанный, 6) достаточный, 7) задуматься над вопросом, 8) размышлять вслух, 9) взаимный контакт, 10) понять психологию экзаменатора, 11) письменный экзамен, 12) устный экзамен, 13) ограничивать себя, 14) долгосрочная память, 15) стрессовая ситуация, 16) уверенность в себе, 17) уменьшать, 18) негативное отношение, 19) визуализировать, 20) достигать успеха, 21) слабость, 22) возникает вопрос, 23) большое влияние, 24) справляться с чем-либо, 25) сдать экзамен, 26) не сдать экзамен, 27) избавиться, 28) страх, 29) огромное давление, 30) преодолеть что-либо c трудом, 31) то, что вызывает беспокойство, 32) вздохнуть с облегчением, 33) чувство неуверенности, 24) бессилие, 25) сердце бьется, 26) дыхание ускоряется, 27) увеличить, 28) настоящий ужас, 29) сердце выбрасывает адреналин, 30) превращать негативную стрессовую реакцию в позитивную.

 

Task 38. Decide if the following statements are true or false.

1) One should study on one’s own, because other people disturb one’s attention.

2) We should not study late in the evening before the exam.

3) The day before the exam is the best time for studying.

4) We should take a rest in the evening before the exam.

5) It is better not to eat before the exam.

6) During a written exam one should start with a more difficult task.

7) Even when we do not know the correct answer during the exam, we should try to answer the question.