Introduction
Athletes, artists, professionals at all levels have certain rituals they perform when embarking on their professional duties. Students also have their rituals and superstitions to take them through exams. Some of these rituals and superstitions are stupid, amusing and bizarre yet they still embark on it.
The rituals vary from one region of the earth to another, while some are as a result of learned behavior from parents, peers, or group members, others are personal rituals and superstitions. Even after preparing so hard, students still believe that good luck or bad luck can cause them not to pass the test they have prepared so hard for.
Students' Stupid and Amusing Rituals
- We bring together some of the rituals students from different parts of the globe embark on before the day X. However, this list is not exhausted, and you can share yours in the comment section. So what rituals do students have?
- 1.General Students Rituals
- Lucky Charms: One way or the other students rely on some form of lucky charm to make them perform well during exams. For some, it may be a particular jacket or relic, cross etc. These lucky charms happen to be items the owner can associate with successes in life. For good luck, some students even use the same handkerchief throughout the exams no matter how dirty but it must be in their lucky color and placed in the right pocket.
- Fashion Statement: Many students dress in particular ways during exams. Some choose to dress very comfortably that's why some students appear for the exam in their pajamas. In my student days, I loved to rock the business power look – suit, shirt and a power tie. And honestly, this look never failed me.
- School Rituals: Many schools have students' exam rituals peculiar to them. The rituals get passed down from year to year by students and form part of their school belief. Examples of such according to Odyssey include:
- a)The University of North Carolina at Greensboro – It is a ritual during the exam that students leave apples at the feet of the Minerva (patron goddess of wisdom and a symbol of the school). You can see apples there throughout the semester – those are sacrificed fruits!
- b)The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – If you are a student here, you would have drunk out of the well on the first day of classes in hopes to have a good semester.
- c)The University of Texas at Austin – If you just gained admission to this school you might want to watch out for an albino squirrel on campus. It is generally a belief that if you see it, you will get lucky in your exams and end up with an A.
- d)Tufts University – If you drop a penny in the Jumbo mascot statue, you will pass your finals.
- Bad Luck Prevention Rituals: Many students take every step to ward off bad luck on exam day by involving in some form of bad luck repelling activities. For example, a parent told their son not to reverse the car while going to an exam because doing so brings bad luck.
- Sleep Therapy: Scientists have proved that if you have a short sleep after you study, all your newly learned information will be written in your long-term memory. Hence, many students like to nap after reading several hours in a row. However, it can be dangerous if you are yet to cover the whole textbook. You can miss the exam because of not hearing the alarm too, so it makes sense to change the alarm tune before a serious exam.
- 2.Asian Students Rituals
- One Lucky Apple: In Hong Kong Universities, canteens turn the menu to an all apple affair, serving apple and varieties of apple dishes. The reason being that apple in the Chinese language is "ping guo" meaning "safety." Thus, the saying goes, you will safely pass your exam.
- No hair washing: South Koreans hold the belief that washing of the hair washes out all the knowledge. Do not be surprised when students from that part of Asia during exam leave their hair greasy - they fear the risk of washing away what they read. However, after the exams, the story will be entirely different.
- Wearing red underwear: Chinese people seem to be in love with the color red, they even call it a lucky color. Many Chinese students choose to wear red apparel or underwear during the exam to give them luck. Why not just buy yourself some red bikinis right now!
- 3.African Students Rituals
- Avoid handshakes before exams: Some students in Africa hold the view that exam time is not a perfect time to shakes hands with people because if you do, you end up transferring your knowledge to them.
- Observing the ritual of silence: During the exams, some students will maintain a disposition of personal silence until the exam is over else, they risk forgetting all they read when they talk.
- Fasting and Praying for exam success: Some spiritually oriented students declare fasting and prayers during exams calling God to intervene in their exams. Besides the spiritual aspect, there is the belief that fasting allows oxygen to flow freely to the brain which aids easier understanding and powerful retention of what one's reading. In exam periods, you will find out that the number of students flocking the school chapels goes way up compared to none exam periods.
- Success Pen and Pencils: Many students use success pen and pencils during exams. Such pens or pencils might have been gotten from their parents from a spiritualist to bring them success in exams. When I was in primary school, I had this special pen my dad gave me once with the advice to visit Edusson. One day I had a test and didn't have a proper pen, but I found this one at the bottom of my bag. I wasn't quite prepared for the test, so I was worried, I remember. Surprisingly, I passed. Since then, I started using this pen during every exam I had to pass, and, yes, it worked each time.
How True Are Those Superstitions?
While many hold the idea that superstitions are true, scientifically it is not because, without preparation, all superstitions will fly through the window. If your mind is empty no matter how lucky you think your lucky charms is, it would amount to nothing. The brain will only remember what you store in it; so if you store there nothing, it will produce nothing.
Furthermore, can a lecturer not teach a whole semester and hope for these superstitions before tests? I believe the answer is an obvious No. There has not been any scientific proof that these superstitions work. People need to boost their confidence level and believe in something to help them succeed.
Conclusion
Interestingly, but at the same time, there are students who have never ever embarked on rituals or superstitions to help them pass. They believe the only rituals they need is to study, revise, read the instructions and answer the questions correctly.
Do you have any rituals you practice when preparing for the tests? Have any of them worked? Don't hesitate to share them in the comment section - we all want to know what brings luck and high grades!
