Parents share GSAT pressure with kids

Jody-Anne Lawrence, Outlook Writer

Scrambling to get those hours in, burning the midnight oil, and getting up the next morning to go to work and then do it again the next afternoon, is the routine for parents whose children will be sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) later this month.

Yes, the children are the ones taking the exam, but they are not the only ones under pressure. Donna Graham-Gayle had two children who did their GSAT consecutive years in 2012 and 2013. Both children were successful and are now attending Wolmer's High School for girls and boys, respectively. However, this was no easy feat.

"With my daughter, she was busy doing classes seven days a week," recalls Graham-Gayle. She also got to know the material as well. "I was back at school. I stayed up with her studying and practising," said Graham-Gayle. "I am not a maths person, so when there were areas in maths that I did not understand, I would check with the teacher the next day; have her explain it to us, so that I could set questions for them."

She admits that the pressure became too great for her daughter and she had a small breakdown a month prior to the exam. This caused her to change her routine when it came to her son. "He did not go to school seven days a week. He only did extra lessons at the school," she noted.

One thing that did not change was her nerves and the anxiety she had on the days of the exam. "They had a special devotion on the day of the exam and, both times, I left. I was too nervous and I think that I was just going to add to the pressure for them rather than encourage them," she notes, her voice laced with emotion as if she were reliving the experiences. Having gone through it twice, like many parents, she believes that the examination is too demanding of the children and maybe a revisit to Common Entrance should be considered.

Encourages her daughter

Merline Ferguson does not believe that she is coping well with the anxieties associated with the upcoming exams. However, she tries to encourage her daughter as much as possible.

"I try to encourage her and be honest with her. I tell her that the pressure is something that we all have to go through at different stages of our lives when we want to move forward," Ferguson explains.

She admits that she has a large workload, so she cannot take on the role of second teacher. But she does devote her evenings and weekends to helping with homework. For her, it seems like her life has been temporarily put on hold.

"It is not that I don't think that she will do well - I know she will. She knows her work and has the content, but you can't help but be nervous. I just want the day to come and go," ends an exasperated Ferguson.

One parent that seems to not be going completely off his hinges is Peter Henry. He tries his best not to let the pressure overwhelm him. "I give him allotted leisure time to play his games and then we get to work," he said. "I am anxious, but I try my best not to let him see it."

Took time off from work

His life is still all about his son and he has taken more than a month off from work so that he can be there for him during this period.

"The nerves are less for me now as they day draws closer. It was much more tense before, but from grade one he has been a very good student and is also deputy head boy. I have faith in him and can't wait for it to pass."

Child psychologist Gemma Gibbon understands the pressure parents are under when it comes to the GSAT. People take for granted that it is easy for the parents looking on, but they have their fair share of worries. This, however, can cause the line between pressure and encouragement to be blurred.

"Parents should apply less pressure and more encouragement. I know that it is hard because of the anxiety, and we have that yearning for our child to succeed, but we have to be careful. Instead of standing over the child with knitted brows nitpicking and telling them what to change, it is better to sit beside them and ask them where they need help," advises Gibbon.

Gibbon also noted that parents should not force their children to sit through extended study periods. A child between the ages of nine and 12 can only remember 30-minute chunks of information. Thus Gibbon suggests that studying should be broken into 30-minute sessions with 20 minutes between.

The day and night before the exam, Gibbon recommends that the parents relax with their children. She suggests that they do nothing, but think of something pleasant or somewhere they want to go and share it. Take their minds completely away from the exam process.

Good luck!