Episode 15 - Why I Love Exams And Why You Should Too

Hello, this is James Davey, The Exam Coach and Welcome to Episode 5 of Davey Discusses a new podcast series I'm putting together in time for the 2016 Exam Season. This short podcast series is designed to tackle everything to do with exams from preparation to performance whether you're at school, college or Uni there is certainly something of value to be taken away. It's designed to fill that period of down time you may have when walking to school in the morning, in between lectures at Uni or whenever else you have 5 minutes to spare and put it to good use. Let's get stuck into this one then.    In today's episode I thought I'd talk a bit about exams - yea I know a bit surprising seeing that I'm Exam Coach.  The purpose of this episode is to lay out a really important conversation I had inside my own head when I was taking my exams - this conversation took place around the age of about 15/ 16 to give you a rough estimate. It was about why exams are worth it, why bother trying, why learn all this information that your probably never going to use in a practical way again, why put yourself under pressure to perform well, why get up early and stay up late and make sure have covered the material and then put in all the pre exam prep to make sure you execute a top performance. I believe this is a conversation pretty much every young person, student or anyone remotely involved in education has with themselves at some point.Some people take longer over it than others but everyone comes to some sort of decision whether they realise it or not. They either decide to crack on get their head down and go for it, or they decide not to bother or what most people do is they decide to kind of sort of try, they dangle a foot in, not willing to fully commit but also not willing to put no effort in at all. So what's the point of doing it all, of putting in all the hard work, I used to be a chiller and chilling was nice, no hard work, no pressure and the occasional telling off from the teachers and parents - why is this second best to cracking on and getting the job done. Why do I think exams are actually a really good thing and a superb opportunity for anyone who wants to get on in life and actually make something happen instead of just accepting whatever is given to them.    There are a number of reasons why I like exams and what they represent. The first is because exams represent the ultimate meritocracy. Meritocracy is very simple, its the system whereby people are favoured based on merit, i.e. what they have actually achieved that is worthy and measured under an equal fair and just system. That is the Exam Coach definition as it relates to exams but I think you'll find the dictionary definition to be very similar. I am always going to support anything that is based on meritocracy.    I love that there's a mark scheme in pretty much every exam, a clear guide to stick to and total anonymity with that - it's a fair and consistent system. There's a way to succeed and a way to fail and it isn't based on someone's opinion, its based on object fact, the amount of subjectivity and opinion allowed for in an exam situation by a marker is very little - they either give the mark or they don't. Those who work hard and apply themselves are rewarded, if you do these two things you will be rewarded, you will get good grades. It doesn't matter about anything else that may determine your prospects, all the examiner cares about is whether you deserve the marks and you can be judged fairly against everyone else.    I thought I'd bring up a bit of History here just because I wrote about his topic quite a bit in my dissertation at University. Exams were in fact initially designed to make the process of applying for officer positions in the armed forces fair, previously people were chosen based on who they were, what family they were born into etc. Exams served to level out the playing field so that the people who had proven they were fit for a role as an army officer got the positions instead of those who were lucky enough to be born into the right family.  I'm interested in what you actually do rather than what you think you are entitled to for whatever reason and so is the examiner, the examiner doesn't care what you look like, who you know or whether you think you're pretty cool or not. And exams provide the platform to get deep on this topic - the people who are the best at preparing for and taking exams will be rewarded and that's how it should be in a just and fair environment. The cream rises to the top.    Please note I don't think people who achieve great exam results are better or more intelligent than others. I've touched on my views about exams and intelligence in earlier episodes in case you're interested but I also plan to create an episode where I do into detail on this topic at some point. I simply think that anyone who does well in exams has shown a degree of hard work and understanding of what it takes to prepare and perform for an exam which, in today's society is heavily rewarded. Remember, exams are the way education works at the moment - this may well change in the future - but at the moment exams are here to stay and it's your job to effectively play to the 'market conditions' created by the existence of exams. The most valuable assets you can have in this market are hard work and an understanding of what it requires to pass an exam - its a technique and it can be learned, you're not born with it, and you have a chance to compete on a fair basis just like all those potential army officers way back in the 17th and 18th centuries who had the first opportunity to be judged by their ability and not any other factor they had no control over - that's why I think exams are something worth buying into.    You may have already guessed the second reason why I love exams - it's because they reward hard work.    I love hard work. I love the fact that exam success boils down to how bad you want it, how many times you are prepared to revisit the desk and figure something out, the amount of repetitions you do in order to memorise something and all those times where you went above and beyond what was expected to ensure you got what you wanted on results day. I like it because when you see how it works there are actually few secrets left to tell when talking about any form of success either now or later in life. All great ideas are simple ideas as many people often say. One of the key ingredients if not the key ingredient is hard work. It's the ability to actually do stuff and not just talk about it, talk is so cheap and there's so many people who do this, they kid themselves and they try to kid others. This remains true for exams, careers and beyond. Executing the action of hard work is the first step, it seems so simple and so many people will tell you this but there are very few who actually do, after the hard work you can then start thinking about working smart and making things easier and more efficient - many people think too much. Just do, look at the results you're getting and go from there.    The third reason why I love exams is because they the perfect teaching tool to instil discipline.    Discipline is so important, I'm not talking about discipline enforced on one person by another, I'm talking about personal discipline, self disciple. Today its really about controlling what you focus on and where you spend your time and attention in a digital world. It's not going to be the smartest people who get on the most in life. It's going to be those who can control their attention - see episode 4 for my take on this... I believe the ability to control where you spend your time and attention at any moment is the new global currency and anyone who invests this wisely will be rewarded at a future day.    Discipline in the modern context of the exam game is all about what you allow into your head on a daily basis. It's mental. No one can really see it or diagnose it. That's part of the beauty of it, it requires self assessment, reflection and diagnosis. Are you happy with how you are investing your time and attention at the moment? If not, rearrange your investment portfolio so to speak put some time and attention where it matters. Where you can see some big return coming in from in the long term? I'd argue exams offer both short term and long term returns. In the short term you feel like your making progress whilst you're at school or university and then, in the longer term after you graduate, doors are opened! Procrastination is a bigger killer of exam dreams than ever before its a poor investment but the easiest one to make, you invest large amounts of time and attention into a distraction, it gives you a temporary feeling of comfort by not having to get down to work and then after the procrastination session is over you are back to panic stations. In financial terms this is like being a day trader who is always looking for the short term wins but at the end of every day they make a combination of poor transactions and lose everything they had earned and the cycle happens over and over again. Be a both a short term and long term investor.    Don't mistake my love of self discipline for conformity. Exams do instill conformity. They don't allow for much creativity and this is something I think everyone would like to change. But there's one problem with creativity. It's so subjective, you can't really measure it. Think of art for a moment, paintings by both Picasso and Monet are adjudged to be superb but it's a matter of opinion which artist you think is more creative and therefore a better artist so to speak. It's a matter of perspective and opinion as to which artist you think is better. As long as we live in a competitive capitalist society people will want to know who is better suited to do certain tasks and jobs, and the only way we have figured out to do this so far is by standardised exams - a test that is fair and objectively marked by an examiner.   Self discipline as a skill is not only useful in the exam preparation and performance process. Beyond education this element of self discipline is needed. Even if you don't want to conform to a traditional lifestyle or career path you will always need an element of discipline to stick it out and make it work for you. So many students think they can just turn on behaviours they have never practiced before. So many people think they can just go straight out of school, college or university - come up with a business idea and then just start performing at the exceptionally high levels needed to succeed in such a field. Let me tell you this. I've been out of university for just under two years now and this isn't how it works. People fall flat on their face, even those who have been honing and refining their ability to work exceptionally hard and streamline the way the work and their personal self discipline slip trip and often fall. Exams are a training ground for these qualities, and they need to be learned and practiced over an extended period of time, there are no hacks, no secret master recipes or mastermind seminars - people go looking for answers, they want to find the magic ingredient that is going to suddenly create that unbelievable education, life whatever it may be... what they don't realise is that all progress is incremental, it takes time, its for the long game players and it's difficult. That's why those who get cracking on this journey now, when they are taking their exams will have a much better chance of seeing this through. This Chinese Proverb sums up what I've just said nicely, here it goes: 'The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is now' - remember to water that seed and give it some sunlight everyday and don't lose sight of the bigger picture no matter how many people try to tell you their is a miracle recipe that you are missing out on - there isn't.      I'll using a sporting analogy to help summarise the jist of what I've been talking about, you'll know by now that I like using sporting analogies to help better explain things - life without some of the key principles that exams represent would be a bit like the barclays premier league moving all its games to night games and then turning off the floodlights, no one would be able to see a thing or influence the result of the game in any skilful or deliberate way. It's boring. Everything would be down to luck and chance. And therefore, in my opinion it would be a game not worth playing and I'm sure you'd agree. I like it when the cream rises to the top because with exams everyone has that opportunity presented to them. If you work hard, get your head down and do what's necessary you will be rewarded it really is that simple! Again, it's not a case of some people being better than others because they do well in exams. Some do take the opportunity and some don't - and that's fine, it's always going to be that way, people have their own views about exams and what they mean to them. What I'm saying is that what a lot of students don't fully understand is the wider benefits of trying to do well in exams, they miss out on the bigger picture and they see them as an inconvenience  Exams are the best way we have discovered so far in making sure the people who deserve to be rewarded are rewarded and the knock on effect of exams they have instills the basic building blocks needed to achieve. People often say to me oh but I don't like this subject or that subject, or I'm just not suited to exams, or I think it's unfair that society tests for intelligence in this way and it's mandatory so I have to do it. I'd say that's great, learning to achieve and succeed in something you may, one not be totally and utterly passionate about and two may not be suited to, is vital. Its superb training for the real test, when you do try to follow whatever it is that you really want to do, because I can guarantee you there will be numerous large and immovable road blocks in your path - as long as other people would like to do what you want to do there will always be competition and when there's competition being the cream that rises to the top is always tough. But if you can ply your trade have a practice run, lay some markers down early doors by practicing these skills through top exam preparation and performance then you're going to be at a massive advantage to anyone who thinks they can just go into a situation fresh and just start executing high performance without any practice, training or reference points. It just doesn't work like that.   Exams are the perfect practice ground for this and I believe too many people miss out on the opportunity to practice the key life skills of participating in a meritocratic system and learning how to win, the not so secret ingredient of hard work and the importance of consistent self discipline and control. That's all for this week, see you next time!