Memoirs of a Saudi Ph.D. student: Our wrong approach

I am aware that it has been a while since my last article. I am in a transitional phase. I am on my way to earning my Ph.D. and the memoirs of a Saudi Ph.D. student are drawing to an end. They, however, could be changed into reflections of a Saudi Ph.D.

After passing my viva voce, I promised myself that I would never allow anybody to scrutinize my work like that ever again. It’s enough. No more examination-related stress. I think it’s too late for taking such a decision, as Ph.D. is a terminal degree. Anyways, it is never too late. The thought of never sitting any exam is so wonderful that I cannot describe my feelings in words. From now on, I will set examinations for others. Time has changed. Now, I will have the upper hand.

Seriously speaking, after sitting so many different examinations at different educational levels, I now realize that I wasted such precious time in anxiety prior to exams. I mean, what’s the point in getting all stressed out and anxious over exams?

The problem is that this anxiety is just part of our culture. I remember when we were kids my mom would get so anxious during exam times and our house would turn into a war zone where the kid who scored the best was considered the winner. What was the point of all of that? We were educationally competitive; we wanted to be better than others rather than competing with ourselves. That was unfair. Differences in children’s personalities were never considered, teachers used to set goals based on preconceived ideas that the child who memorized the best was the most intelligent one. I look back sadly at our childhood and wish that this generation would be taught differently. I remember when we used to ask each other in class about our scores. We used to feel disappointed over other students’ achievements, as they would be openly praised in the class and those with “less-than-satisfactory scores” had to face public humiliation. This approach affects a student’s personality and needs to be changed. We should understand the psychological implications of our attitude on students.