Education, we are told, is a life-long process. So it should be, because there is always much new to learn while some earlier knowledge becomes outdated and no longer of value.
And so, I try to keep on picking up new information, although it is now many years since I have sat for any formal examinations. I have also been successful in avoiding mandatory refresher courses, training programmes and the like, which seem to occupy an inordinate amount of time in some professions. One wonders whether these are often of much use. For instance, can a trainer in his or her twenties, thirties or forties have much to teach me about allegedly essential topics such as "D and I" (diversity and inclusion for the uninitiated)? I have, after all, worked side by side with people of different nationalities, cultures and beliefs, and personal orientations, for the whole of my working life.
Despite having escaped formal examinations and tests since finishing university, I do remember not just the value of the qualifications that I gained – and the limitations on that value, when set against experience – but also the stress and strain that accompanied my colleagues and I, as we studied for, and then sat for, the exams.
It seems a long time ago now, but I was reminded of it last weekend when my teenage daughter had to take her SAT test.
She was, unsurprisingly, a little nervous, aware that she had perhaps not prepared as well as she might have usually done. She had displayed panic during some earlier mock exams a few years ago, and that something similar might occur this time did worry me.
When it came to the crunch, fortunately, she seemed to be able to keep her nerves more or less under control – although not until the results come through will we know whether she had actually done enough preparation. But she is aware that, while we may be disappointed if she doesn’t do as well as we believe she should, we do not view this exam as a marker that will determine, for now and for ever more, whether she is going to make something of her life. She has stumbled before and may well do so again. However, provided that we are satisfied that a proper degree of effort has been put in, we – and she – will work with the results that she achieves.
While we may be disappointed if she doesn’t do as well as we believe she should, we do not view this exam as a marker of whether she is going to make something of her life
While trying to keep her own nerves under control as she waited for the examination hall to be opened, my daughter got a good lesson in what panic under pressure could really mean. A fellow student was almost shaking with nerves, clutching her exam paraphernalia tightly to her chest and scarcely able to talk. My daughter, relieved, perhaps, to find someone more nervous than she was, tried hard to reassure the girl, eventually walking with her into the exam room and wishing her good luck.
The underlying cause of the problem, apparently, was that the girl’s parents had put her under enormous pressure, telling her that she must achieve very high results or she would be a failure and a deep disappointment.
It’s well known that this kind of pressure is often placed on students by their parents. High-achieving parents eager for their children to follow suit and parents who hope to lay their disappointments in their own past record to rest through their children excelling – both can adopt such an approach.
Having realistic expectations is, perhaps, a more helpful approach, but there are always cases where parents will set the targets too high, without taking into account the stress that this can cause to their offspring. Some students can, and do, reach them. For others, though, the pressure can be brutal and the impact of failure severe.
Over the years, watching my own extended family and others, I have seen early stars who fizzle out, late developers and others who steadily, with a few hiccups, have moved onwards and upwards. I certainly caused my own parents considerable disappointment at one stage in my own education. I have seen modest parental assistance and encouragement and benign neglect, both of which seem sometimes to have worked.
Fortunately, I have never had to observe at close hand a situation in which parental pressure to perform well in exams leads their offspring to arrive on the day of the exam in a state of fright. It's very hard to believe that this can be in the best interests of the student or an ideal way of producing the best exam results.
More exams lie ahead for many thousands of students. For many, thanks to Covid-19, it will be the first "normal" exams they have faced. I wish them well. And I hope that their parents will encourage them, not burden them with expectations. Whether results are good, bad or indifferent, the process of learning will continue for the rest of their lives.
THE%20SPECS
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Squads
Australia: Finch (c), Agar, Behrendorff, Carey, Coulter-Nile, Lynn, McDermott, Maxwell, Short, Stanlake, Stoinis, Tye, Zampa
India: Kohli (c), Khaleel, Bumrah, Chahal, Dhawan, Shreyas, Karthik, Kuldeep, Bhuvneshwar, Pandey, Krunal, Pant, Rahul, Sundar, Umesh
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
Results
4pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Dirt); 1,400m
Winner: Solar Shower; William Lee (jockey); Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
4.35pm: Handicap; Dh165,000 (D); 2,000m
Winner: Thaaqib; Antonio Fresu; Erwan Charpy.
5.10pm: Maiden; Dh165,000 (Turf); 1,800m
Winner: Bila Shak; Adrie de Vries; Fawzi Nass
5.45pm: Handicap; Dh175,000 (D); 1,200m
Winner: Beachcomber Bay; Richard Mullen; Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,800m
Winner: Muzdawaj; Jim Crowley; Musabah Al Muhairi
6.55pm: Handicap; Dh185,000 (D); 1,600m
Winner: Mazeed; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap; Dh205,000 (T); 1,200m
Winner: Riflescope; Tadhg O’Shea; Satish Seemar.
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Racecard
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Other key dates
-
Finals draw: December 2
-
Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
-
Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
-
Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
RESULTS
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
