Studying for Exams

In an attempt to organize my work for the next few days, I will share a few revision tips - stuff that served me well last year. I don't really have a lot of experience in sitting exams, but I seem to be good enough at it, so here are my tips:

• Throughout the year: 
• make the most out of classes (if they are any good) - stay focused, answer questions and ask doubts, always take notes and do the exercises. 
• keep your notes well-organised - they don't need to look all pretty and girly, but it is far easier to study if they are clean, in the right order and easy to read. This is something in which I failed this year, and I felt it really contributed to me feeling less motivated for school.
• start at the foundations - if you're struggling, it's often useful to revise the basics. Don't be ashamed to admit to yourself that you don't know stuff that was taught three or four years ago: it happens to everyone! Besides, in just a few hours of studying, you can master those skills and get a real boost in your confidence in harder topics.
• don't let work pile up - revise enough to make sure you are following and absorbing the main ideas.
• establish connections between topics - take your time to think about what you're learning. Ask yourself questions that probe deeper and try to build a wider picture of your knowledge. You have to memorise far less data this way and you can apply what you know in a much more pointed way.
• trust yourself - it's near impossible to study if you think you won't be able to do it, because you just can't concentrate, so keep positive!
• don't rely too much on others - you are the one who has to learn, and, in exams, there won't be anyone to help you, so get used to solving problems/learning on your own. Ask for help only when you are really stuck.
• work, but not too much - avoid feeling burnt out or exhausted. It's better to solve a single problem/answer a question which contains the core topics and methods, and understand it thoroughly, than to solve a million ones without grasping the essential ideas.

• Revision before exams:
• plan a timetable - decide what you are going to do each day. Be realistic when planning and set yourself work you can actually finish. This way, you make sure that you cover everything before the exam.
• don't overwork - give yourself breaks to rest, eat, talk to someone else, do a bit of sport. Your performance will be much better while studying, and you'll avoid unproductive stress. Also, sleep enough: you'll profit more from a good night of sleep than from torturing yourself in front of an open book until 2 a.m.
• do past papers, and pay a lot of attention to the mark scheme and solutions - this allows you to answer exactly what the examiners want, and maximise your points. Besides, being familiar with the type of questions gives you self-confidence.
• avoid last minute revision - the afternoon/morning before the exam, try to relax as much as possible. Whatever you study at this point won't improve your performance: what matters is your continuous, year-long work.
• use your notes to make sure you know the full syllabus.
• be critical and honest with yourself when doing past papers - when you get something wrong, make sure you understand why, go back to the question and discover the line of thought that would have led you to the right answer. This way, you can train yourself to think in the right direction. Ensure you do past papers in the set time, and check what grade you would have had.

• While doing the exam:
• read and understand the questions - often, the way a question is worded suggests the answer. Underline the important parts of the question, and think of the topics you know that are connected to those. If you have no idea of what you should answer, read again and again and write down all the data given to you to try to find what connects the different pieces.
• stay calm - don't panic. If you don't know what to answer, leave it and try again after doing everything else, so as to have as many points as possible. Then, read and re-read; if you get stuck at the middle, think coldly of what is the next logical step. It will generally be something you've seen before, so you'll be able to get there!
• always think back to things you have done before.
• organise your answers before writing them down - create a list of main ideas and check how they are related to each other. This way, you'll make sure you're not forgetting anything.
• write clearly and be obvious - if the topics they want to read are muddled, probably the person who is correcting won't recognise your knowledge there, so be very precise. Write down even the most basic ideas - you don't want to lose points in things you do know.
• do everything the way they ask - don't write more or less than the word limit; use the method they ask for in the question; etc. This is obvious, but it can mean a significant difference in your grade.
• check all your answers carefully - re-read both the questions and your answers to make sure you have answered in the right direction. However, don't panic and start correcting everything - if you're in doubt, don't change your answer.

Best of luck to everyone!!

School is out!

I have to say this is a frankly anticlimactic climax to 12 years of full-time schooling: no teary goodbyes, no prom, no party, no speeches (by the way, this is a very interesting and relevant speech which articulates a wise ethical perspective in a clear, humorous way) - which means, unfortunately, that I had no occasion to wear a silly dress and pathetically high stiletto heels. It felt pretty much like any other day. 

I feel happy school is over (well, let's pretend there aren't exams...). First of all, I know I have worked well throughout my education, and this gives me an inner sense of calm satisfaction that doesn't require outside recognition or compliments for it is based on the progress I sense within myself and in my knowledge and communication with the outside world.

I am very lucky to be in a position where I no longer need to worry about my future for the next three or four years, because everything is set already. And it is exactly what I had dreamt of, believing at the time it was a wild fantasy. The end of classes has made next year - with the biggest change in my life up to this moment - seem more real, because there is only the Summer between me and University. However, as it is so hard to imagine my life come October (me + University = ?? - I can picture a girl who looks like me living on her own in Oxford, but that scenario changes the girl into someone who does not seem to be me), the Summer seems an infinite extent of long sunny days with a kind breeze coming from the sea and bringing with it a serene and complete joy of the senses, a feeling of being alive and embodying in myself each second that passes. 

I don't feel nostalgic at all about school. I felt relief when I walked out, knowing I will never again have classes there. I suppose I never felt at home at school. Actually, the space and the faces I saw were always alien to me, unknown and seemingly unknowable, and thus often made me uncomfortable. It is liberating to know that it is all over now, and that my mind will cherry-pick the beautiful memories and inspiring people I met there, and allow me to forget the dullness and restlessness of most days, and the people who never meant anything to me. I am happy about my life, but I believe there are much better things in store for me, and that I will be wise enough to appreciate them.

And I can now breathe in deeply, feeling the body I am and the outside world in harmony, and perceiving only future through that warm Summer mist. I am moving ahead.

School is (almost) out II: worst fictional schools

As I mentioned in my last post, most schools depicted in films and books range from unwelcoming to downright dreary. I think this is partly because many (most?) people have experienced feeling socially awkward, inadequate or excluded at school at some point, and it can be therapeutic / fun-in-a-mean-way to see characters enduring unpleasant situations which remind you of real-life ones; and also because, historically, students were deprived of freedom, care and companionship at school in favour of ideas of "discipline" and "respect" which were imposed through physical violence and rigid hierarchies. The first type of schools is the one you see in teenage comedies, and it is broadly similar to any high school; the second one is far darker, and luckily unlike my own school experience.

Honourable mention: Hailsham, Never Let Me Go

Looks lovely, doesn't it? Well, and it is, but there is a dark secret at its core. Read the book to find out - it is a masterpiece.

3. Westerburg High School, Heathers

Heathers is a brilliant teen comedy - in its very twisted and dark way. The high school where it is set is the stereotype American suburban one, with the stupid jocks, nerds wearing glasses, fat kids sitting alone, and a venomous clique of icy blond girls with extremely sharp tongues. The atmosphere is stifling, with rigid social separation, everyone behaving in a very artificial way to try to fit into a specific group and the constant threat of abuse at the hands of the ones who are at the top of the social ladder. It is an extremely lonely place, where everyone is unhappy. Oh, and then people start dying at the hands of a very charming psycho. 

2. St Peter's School, Boy

I have always found Roald Dahl's books delightful, and part of their charm is undoubtedly the dark,  even violent undertone of the situations that the characters go through. This book of childhood memories sets a light on the origin of his unique literary world: though it includes many moments of joy, he also gives details on his rather miserable years at boarding school, including frequent beatings and acting as a servant for whatever older pupils wanted (apparently, this used to be the norm at boarding schools, which weren't quite as charming as in Enid Blyton books). Though he writes, as usual, in an upbeat tone, exploring situations for humour, it is clear that it is not a school experience he would recommend.


1. Prufrock Prep, The Austere Academy

As one would expect from a Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events book, the school depicted here is a surreal nightmare (and makes for an extremely entertaining read - this is marketed as a children's series, but I think the dark humour, sense of absurd, intricate plot, original narrative voice and cultural references make it a joy to read for anyone who is into funny dreariness). This is a school which has a its cheerful motto Memento Mori (remember you will die), and where classes are held in buildings shaped like giant tombstones. The three heroes are made to live at the Orphan Shack, which is filled with crabs and dripping fungus; during the day, the baby Sunny is put to work as a secretary for the tyrannical principal Nero, while her older siblings attend very dull classes where they listen and copy short stories about a man eating bananas and measure countless objects. Then, every evening, they are forced to spend six hours listening to Nero playing the violin. Finally, every night, the villain Count Olaf, disguised as a PE teacher, forces them to run until dawn.

This is definitely the most absurd, unpleasant school I have ever had the joy to read about and to not attend.

School is (almost) out I: best fictional schools

I have been counting the days to the end of school: this school year has been the dullest ever, making me want it to end fast so I can move on to new challenges and academic motivations. To celebrate the fact that there are only three days to go, here are three fictional schools I would have liked to attend. Though the first choice was very obvious to me, the fact is that most schools captured on film and literature are settings to teenage angst and existential misery, often populated by charismatic, entertaining to watch bullies who no one would like to cross paths with. I will also post the fictional schools I am most glad I did not go to.

I am not unhappy about my school life in general - I have been lucky to succeed at school, to make good friends, and to have had a few teachers who truly inspired me. That said, I never felt at home at school: it was always just a place where I went for a few classes, a place where I spent many hours but which was still a fringe of my life. The following five fictional schools are just the opposite, places where the characters' life is intense, where learning is an all-absorbing, precious experience, where people are mysterious and charismatic, where there are secrets waiting to be uncovered, where what happens at school takes central stage. On the other hand, I think these schools are appealing settings to flights of fancy, not for real life (for example, I am very glad I did not go to boarding school and grew up close to my family) - but isn't making us dream one of the jobs of fiction?

Honourable mention: Malory Towers
I liked this series of books so much when I was younger! They have a lovely old-fashioned charm, and I suspect every eight-year-old girl would dream of going to boarding school, playing tricks on teachers, having midnight feasts, staging theatre plays or going swimming and horse-riding.


3. St Gallway School, Special Topics in Calamity Physics

I loved this novel, an erudite, thrilling mystery set at an exclusive school where the leading character becomes friends with a group of rich and alluring teenagers and is eventually led to question her whole life story. The plot is an extraordinary structure, intricate, dream-like and filled with life. You can't help being surprised and thrilled at each extraordinary plot twist, while emphasising with the smaller, more normal components of the characters' life and being provoked to think by the philosophical asides. This book combines so many things I like it seems it was written specially for me - most notably, the leading character and narrator has a voice which sounds very similar to my inner monologue, which gave me the illusion of being inside the book, participating in the action. This is a fascinating romance - I really recommend reading it. If you want a taste of its brilliance, you can read a few brilliant quotes here, e.g. 

I was aware too how strange adults were, how theirs lives were vaster than they wanted anyone to realize, that they actually stretched on and on like deserts, dry and desolate, with an unpredictable, shifting sea of dunes. 

Having said so, why would I like to have attended St Gallway's? It is a typical example of the elite American high school or college captured in literature, a luxuriously beautiful set of ancient buildings stretched out across vast meadows, with a mountain range in the distance to add up to the rich melancholy of the place, and filled with students who combine intelligence, culture and confidence far beyond what's usual. 

2. Cutler's Grammar School, The History Boys

The History Boys is a witty dramedy on a group of British boys working to get into Oxford to study History. Thanks to the intelligent dialogues, strong performances by all the actors and fun soundtrack (amongst other factors), it's a fun story that leaves you with a smile on your face and makes you value education as a way of expanding your mind and sharing with others. It helps that school is a familiar place where classes are zany, creative and stimulating, including long strolls and open discussion, role-playing, playing music, debating, saying poetry and hopping between a variety of intellectual themes with the guidance of teachers with a vast culture and enthusiasm. 

1. Hogwarts

The very, very obvious choice. Well, what can I say? Hogwarts is literally magical, filled with surprises  and an unparallelled childish sense of wonder (classes in transfiguration! spells! etc; moving staircases and paintings!; secret passages!; flying broomsticks!; invisibility cloaks!). JK Rowling also profited from the traditional - and lovely - image of the British boarding school, and she populated it with characters anyone would love to become friends with (or to have as enemies - proper enemies make life so interesting in fiction...). In a way, I spent so much of my fantasy life as a child there that I did go to Hogwarts.