Dear Madam,

I am 19 years old – a science student. I have not been able to clear my II PUC exams. I should have passed in 2006 but failed in PCM. In 2007, I failed in Maths and Biology. I cannot understand why I am unable to pass, as I have never failed in my exams before. I was easily passing in all subjects and was an above average student. Please suggest some remedies especially in Maths. When I practice Maths at home I feel it is very easy but at the examination hall I find it very difficult to get the right answers in spite of knowing all the required formulae and methods. Every year PUC exams are getting tougher – Should I go for individual classes or what should I do?

Aishwarya

Dear Aishwarya,

I can understand why you are puzzled at not being able to pass your PUC when you were an above average student earlier. You are possibly a victim of the school educational system that focuses on rote learning.  

Schools (most often) drill and drill the students so that they know their textbooks inside out. The questions in the Board Exam also tend to be rote oriented. Have you seen the trend these days of having three to four pre-board exams? And why? To get 100% results with ‘X’ distinctions and ‘Y’ first classes with no 2nd classes or failures.

Parents are by and large short sighted and want a high school leaving percentage, so that they can get admission with science/commerce into a good college for PUC and thereafter if a child does not do well, then they call the child ‘lazy’. Have the parents and school managements thought to ask themselves, - Have we prepared our children to comprehend, to think, to reason so that they can face any kind of assessment in the future?

Do you know why IIT’s and IIM’s conduct their own entrance tests? They realise that school boards or university exams are not true/definite indicators of a students’ ability. So Aishwarya, that is the first reason. Secondly your schooling did not teach you adequate Language skills to be able to comprehend any subject, any topic that you set out to read. You were made to learn by rote that gave you a false sense of comfort.

Connected to the above reason are poor learning strategies. I am sure you were and are told to learn, but possibly no one has told you ‘how to learn’.

And as for Maths, I get the feeling that you are doing your Maths mechanically. You know your formulae and methods but you do not know how and where to apply it. But all is not lost for you. Here are a few tips to improve –

You must read newspapers, magazines, anything really. Try and read material slightly higher than your level; this will facilitate/ force you to think and comprehend and improve your language skills.

Answer Question papers under examination standards, i.e time etc. correct it yourself, then ask someone else to assess it. This will ensure that you know what kind of mistakes you are making so that you work on improvement. It will also help you to have realistic expectations of yourself. Studying also involves working on your method and approach of answering your paper.

As for the Learning strategies – Try and use the three main sensory gateways of learning, which are the eyes, ears and skin. What I mean by this is that you must read and write the important points, you can use colour while writing or drawing flowcharts and mind maps.

Maths is not a mechanical subject – it should be reasoned out. If you are through with the chapters, now it is time to start answering question papers at home. Keep away all your textbooks etc so that you are not tempted to refer to them. Put an alarm clock on to the required time and answer under examination conditions. This way you will be able to practice application rather than just following a method.
All the best.

Dear Madam,

I am 15 years old. I am very weak in Social Studies. Every time I sit to study the tough subject, I get some kind of fear that I may fail and my percentage may drop down without a distinction. Till now I have not failed but have remained at 50%. I just can’t avoid the feeling of fear of failing.

I feel its my luck that I am good in other subjects which are keeping me up to 80 per cent but I want to cross 85 per cent to reach at least 90 per cent. Please help me.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

You must be doing very well in your other subjects to get 80 per cent overall with 50 per cent in social studies.

So, I am going to start out with the assumption that your ability to grasp concepts is high, and therefore it is something else that is coming in the way of your performance in social studies.

The word for your block is ‘attitude’ towards the subject. Your attitude is that it is a ‘tough’ subject and anything tough can create fear. First, read History like a story. If it is not in story form in your textbook then you create the story. This will help you to visualise and picturise the story in chronological steps like a serialised TV programme.

You must draw time lines or flow charts to get the sequence right.

If you cannot remember the big complicated names – give the rulers nicknames to help you connect.

Also you could try reading the relevant Amar Chitra Katha as a base – then read your text.

As for Geography – it is quite scientific and logical and follows the cause and effect method. If you know the location, you will know the climate and so on. Try learning Geography as you learn your science subjects
How about taking Social Studies as a challenge? Do you know the reason for studying Social Studies? Figure that out for yourself and it will make a difference. Maybe you should try teaching it to someone else. In your teaching you will understand it better.

You are feeling fear because while you are studying your mind is on the future exam. Please keep your mind on the present and what you are doing in that moment.

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