My daughter sent me this message yesterday. Note that it was all in small letters without any punctuation.
Guys I hate Economics. I got 5/15. I am going to cry. The prof made it unnecessarily tough. Ugh!
Just a little background. She is intelligent and very conscientious. She will attend classes even with 8 stitches for a cut in the leg. She has never gone to tuition classes. She is more wound-up during exams than I am. And she is an achiever. This was an opportune moment to teach her some of life’s lessons. At 18 it is difficult to convey all of these effectively. We have to choose the words carefully. But at a younger age it is a huge opportunity.
1. Recognise and Acknowledge the emotion that they are experiencing– I know you are feeling bad especially after all your efforts.
2. Thank them for the courage shown in sharing the news.
3. Appreciate them for their efforts - You gave your best efforts. That was within your control and you exercised it. What marks you will get is not within your control because the exam paper (what the prof is thinking while setting the paper) is not in your control. So let go! OR accept the results as prasad – the approach will depend on what resonates with your child and what is the cultural upbringing.
4. Let them find out the answers to what they did not know - You will now learn 10 new things which you did not know and therefore lost the marks.
5. Teach them that tomorrow is another day and we should face the day with the same attitude and consistency as the Sun.
What would you add to the list?
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