The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines stress as "a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation." I hope this does not mean I am going to get a disease, but exams (and teachers) are experts in stressing people out. I remember my first semester exams in 7th grade when I was even more of a "try-hard" than I am now. The weekend before exams I locked myself in my room and studied for about 8 hours straight! How in the world did an 11 year old focus on one thing for so long? IT'S STRESS I TELL YOU! I definitely liked my results, but I didn't see how the hours of studying paid off. I thought the exams were easy and that the teachers should have warned us not to waste a whole weekend of Christmas cheer to study for them. This year I will be in seclusion studying from 8:30 to 12:30 because I will be busy the rest of the day. On Sunday I will probably do even more studying. Monday night I will attempt to cram even more knowledge into my head. The rest of the week I will probably slack off and worry about the tests. So Basically, I cannot wait until 12:30 on Thursday when stress ends and Christmas begins. On top of all this, I have a Christmas piano recital on Sunday. So if I am not studying for exams, I will be practicing Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring."
I do not think that exams and piano recitals are healthy. I mean Mr. Merriam Webster says I'm going to get a disease. The body tension will come from sitting around for eternity staring at every little snippet of information our teachers want me to know. After a while of sitting down, your back gets tired of sitting and your head gets tired of looking down. Eventually you have to stand up and take a "little break" which usually ends up lasting for 3 hours. Then you go back to stooping over you notes again. Also, 90% of the stuff I have to know for my exams will never be needed again. My favorite method of studying is osmosis. This is when you rest your head on the information you need to learn and the words go through your skull and are ingrained into your memory. This method has not proved me well in the past, but you know what they say, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"
Although stress does make me study hard, there has to be another way for teachers to test our overall knowledge of the material. A student's stress may not be the same as that of an adult's (taxes, work, and such), but it is still very real. Now I will watch the last 3 minutes of NCIS plus some frivolous commercials, and go to bed ASAP in order to be ready for study day! :)
