LEARN TO HANDLE PRESSURES

Learning to Learn

"This is a two-day course with a 40-
question test at the end," the teacher
barked.
I groaned. It had been a busy week. I
wanted to spend the weekend alone. I
wanted to relax and make a good meal
for myself and prepare for next week.
But I had to take this course I was
attending once every two years and
without pay. Why the test when we had
taken this course before? Why not just
review? And I discovered there was a
practical aspect to the test as well. I
wasn't up to it.
But life had taught me many things and
at forty-four, I was finally learning how
to handle pressure. I immediately got
out my pens, several colors of them.
Highlighters also appeared out of
nowhere. I began to write everything the
teacher was saying. The notes he gave
us with all of the power point slides on
it would be reviewed later. I was going
to create a second set of notes.
Secondly I asked questions. Classes are
always dynamic when I am in them.
Teachers rarely have to have anything
structured - I create the structure with
question after question after question.
Thirdly I talked on the breaks to the
other students - about the material. "If
you don't know it, teach it," is the old
adage, it works.
Forget about the weather or the latest
movie. I began to ask questions. And
the other students responded. Now we
were both learning and that felt even
better.
I had been told, while getting my
certificate to teach English, that it takes
a person about seventeen occurrences
to learn a word in another language.
Repetition is very important in learning.
In writing my own notes, in asking
questions of the teacher and in turn
asking questions of my fellow students -
I had already reviewed the material
three times. That evening I would make
up and administer a test for myself.
That would be two more times. And
more opportunities would arise as the
students pleaded with me the next day
to study with them.
That weekend is over. I passed the
tests, both written and practical. But I
also passed another test, the test of
stress. I've never handled stress well.
Having had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
during the earlier years of my life was
not helpful but I am learning to take
things once step at a time, to break
things down and make them smaller
and manageable.
More and more aspects of my life are
being handled this way. If a payment is
too much, divide it into chunks. If a
course of study is too long, divide it into
days. If an art project is too big, divide it
into modules of some kind.
I am also learning how to handle myself
and understand how I learn, how I feel
and what works for me. I am learning
also that sometimes I should I ignore
my feelings for a while. I was weary on
Saturday morning. I was excited on
Sunday afternoon.
Life was good that weekend. Life is
good.