This weekend went by so quickly, but I guess a cold and an upcoming test will do that! Thanks for all of your well wishes for my cold to go away. It will feel better and then it feels worse. I hope it will go away quick so that I can enjoy my Labor Day weekend!
Today was my first test of the school year. I studied and felt really good about it...until last night when I could not sleep at all! I have decided I must have test anxiety! I don't know why I should have it because I am a good student that does well on tests. I read the chapters, did the exercises after the chapter, read the summaries, read my notes, and understood it. I still was terrified for this test. I guess it was the unknown of what the test questions were going to be like. I tossed and turned all night long and kept getting up to get a drink of water and then later to go to the bathroom. I am so tired now and miserable! I took the test and wouldn't you know, I knew every answer! I am sure I got an A...hopefully this won't jinx me now! I turned in my test and then I looked around the room and saw so many people cheating! The professor leaves the room when we have a test and goes to his office. He very rarely checks on us, so he really makes it easy to cheat. There were at least 5 people cheating and there are only about 15 in the class. I was irate! I study so hard and when I don't do well, I can only blame it on myself. These people are just riding on others coattails. I kept looking at them and shooting them looks so that they knew I knew. This caused them to get a little flustered, but they did keep on. I am now in a dilemma. I don't want to tell the professor because I don't want all these people to look at me differently. They would know it was me and our department is very small therefore I have at least 3 to 4 of these people in my classes this semester and have had almost everyone in a class before and I am sure I will in the future. Our department has us work on a lot of things in groups like homework assignments and they encourage us to form study groups. If I tattle, it will make the next 2 years a living nightmare. However, I really don't want them looking at my paper when I work so hard. It is also really distracting when I can hear people whispering in groups about how to solve problems and relate that to a graph. It just isn't the type of thing you can suddenly learn in 15 seconds of whispering to your neighbor. They just keep whispering the whole time trying to explain how to do it and what the answers are...by the way, they were wrong. I know some of these people got As in other classes I took with them, and I always wondered how? Now I know. So what should I do? I guess ignoring it is the best choice, but it is very difficult. What would you do?
I wouldn't tell b/c they are only hurting themselves in the long run. Just don't let them cheat off you & make a mental note of who the slackers are for your group assignments.
ReplyDeletethat is a hard dilemma. Are you sure they will know it is you? I guess you could say something to him about maybe he should stay in the classroom during the test and leave it at that? I would be mad if I were you too!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you did well on your test! The first test of the semester was always the hardest for me. I can't believe people were cheating. I would be so mad!
ReplyDeleteso sorry about the pickle you are in! But glad you did well on your test!! Hope the rest of the week goes great for ya!! = )
ReplyDeleteFirstof all congrats on what will most likely be an A for you! Secondly, I agree with Semi-Slacker Mom. I'd sit far away from everyone else during tests and be very choosy on who I partner with on group assignments. This sends a clear message without getting yourself ina sticky situation.
ReplyDeleteI have the same test anxiety issues. I'll be on a roll for a while and then I'll suddenly decide I know nothing. Once I take the test though, I do just fine. I guess I'm just too hard on myself!
ReplyDeleteYou sure do have a problem. How about an a note without your name?? Maybe that would help. Hope things get better and your anxiety is gone!
ReplyDeleteI would recommend to the professor that he stay in the classroom and leave it at that, without having to give him any names. The cheaters will have to pay their dues in the long run. It will catch up with them at some point or another. Glad you did well on the test. You can be proud that you earned your good grade. Love & blessings from NC!
ReplyDeleteHello. I read your post on test anxiety with much interest. I'm a performance coach in California specializing in test anxiety, with a new book coming out on the subject.
ReplyDeleteIt's important to realize that some anxiety ("nerves" can actually boost performance. It charges up the system and gets us ready for the event. However, when anxiety grows too much -- like what you were experiencing when you couldn't sleep -- it puts you in a difficult spot and can hurt your performance (though you did well -- congrats! -- still it's not something you wish to repeat, right?).
There are ways to work on your ability to stay calm-- specific tools you can use-- breathing, grounding, sensing. When used properly and consistently these can help considerably on keeping you in "the zone" with just the right amount of "nerves."
Have a look at my website and book and let me know if you have any questions. Kind regards to you,
Ben Bernstein, Ph.D.
a/k/a "Dr. B"
http://www.workbookfortestsuccess.com