Teenagers trying to study in the library to revise for GCSE and A-level – a little story about by my Easter break
Just a little story about by my Easter break – seeing teenagers trying to study in the library to revise for GCSE and A-level.
I was able to sneak away from the family for a couple or so days over the Easter break. As we live near Brighton, in my time off work, when we were not walking or cycling along the seafront, walking in the South Downs or having a barbecue in the garden, I’m indulging in one of my favourite activities – spending time in the library! Actually, I must confess that I really do like spending time in the library – it’s so liberating being around books.
As a parent, with a teenager who has exams to do in the summer of 2019, you may be considering encouraging your son or daughter to go to study in the library. At least that will get them off that smartphone, where they are messaging and browsing non-stop, or their PS4, where they spend all the time playing Fortnite or whatever!
After all, the library is a place to study – away from all the distractions of their bedroom and all that.
The time that I spent in the library this Easter took me down memory lane, as I could relate to the teenagers I saw in the library – trying to study in preparation for their GCSE and A-level. Many of them were studying quite diligently; some were reading from proper books – I’m talking about those bulky things – with a rather nice smell, in my view! Some were using those slimmer revision guides, some were making flashcards, some reading from their computer and some, supposedly reading from their so-called smartphones! I’ll come to this in a moment.
Sadly, too many of these teenagers in the library were also chatting or doing what we in society consider to be normal these days – interacting with their smartphone non-stop – not at all smart in my view!
When I reflect back to my own youthful days and studying for exams and my parents and all that, there are two or three things I could pick up from watching those young people in the library.
I could relate to even the distracted teenagers as, I must confess I’m not too proud of aspects of how I used the time that I spent – supposedly studying in the library – as a teenager. Here are some of the ways I could relate to those teenagers and the aspects of their behaviour that, perhaps, match the story of my teenage years.
In the late 1970s and early 80s, between the age of 14 and 16, I used to go to the library to study myself, but, sadly, I got very little studying done…
There were no mobile phones at the time – but transistor radios – which were trendy at the time – were just being mass produced and cost a fiver. They looked a little bit like a mobile phone, but bigger and it was cool to listen to music on FM stations on those things. They were one of the things that distracted me from my studies at the time – apart from looking and talking about girls to my mates!
In the next part of this two-part blogpost, I explore the issue of revising and studying further – including effective use of library, smartphones and related technology.
See here for the next and concluding part of this blogpost – due to be published on 24th April 2019: http://excelinkeysubjects.com/revising-and-studying-for-gcse-and-a-level-unproductively-ineffective-use-of-time-spent-in-library-and-technology