Sunday 15 August 2010

What Star Wars teaches us about passing the Eleven plus exam

An impossible workload, evil distractions at every corner and never understanding if you are going to succeed.  Master Yoda himself would have a tough time passing the eleven plus exam, so take these Jedi lessons on passing the eleven plus to heart.
It's difficult to use the Force to pass the eleven plus. Threats of turning headmasters to the Dark Side sound hollow and that Jedi mind trick parents have been working on for the past two thousand years doesn't seem to be getting anywhere.

So what's left? Well as parents you should ensure that children use the implicit wisdom and shared experiences of those inhabitants of a galaxy far, far away to improve your child’s eleven plus exam technique, improve the speed of their responses and make sure that they are better prepared than other would be Jedi’s to sit the eleven plus exam.


Jedi Lessons

Lesson Number 1 – Children taking the eleven plus exam (and parents) should think carefully about the child’s most gaping vulnerabilities. Understanding a child’s strengths and weakness is paramount to passing the eleven plus. Parents must not under any circumstances allow those weaknesses to exist on exam day.

Star Wars Moment: Rebels are able to acquire a secret set of plans to the Empire's Death Star and eventually a known weakness is exploited, which destroys the moon-size battle station.


Lesson Number 2 - There's a wealth of value for eleven plus children and parents in listening to the wisdom of others, especially if those experienced Masters have been mentoring students taking the eleven plus for 800 years.

Star Wars Moment: Yoda sagely instructs Luke Skywalker during his training on Dagobah, with guidance such as: "Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say.... You must unlearn what you have learned." Skywalker says that he'll try. "No!" says Yoda. "Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try."


Lesson Number 3 – Using only one type of training or preparation for the eleven plus may sometimes not be enough.  Children and parents should be ready to take guidance from a number of sources, be prepared to be radical with your eleven plus preparation to be better prepared than competitors.

Star Wars Moment: In Episode V, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO are thwarted as they try to get away from the Empire (again) as the Millennium Falcon fails to make the jump to light speed. Damn hyperdrive! Solo makes a bold move and gets creative about hiding out from the Empire.


Lesson Number 4 - There are times when it's a good strategy to be a "fast-follower" rather than the first one to jump to a new or risky assignment. Perhaps another parent has found a good eleven plus learning resource or preparation technique; don’t be too proud to follow.

Star Wars Moment: At the beginning of Episode IV, storm troopers blast through the door of Princess Leia's starship and come charging in. The first ones through the door are killed by Princess Leia's loyal guards, but the followers are not.


Lesson Number 5 – If there' are a number of stars in your local circle who have already passed the eleven plus and they are willing to give advice or take you under their wing, you'd better oblige. In other words: Stay close to the guy who's the "eleven plus Jedi Master" in the family.

Star Wars Moment: As our heroes are about to be pushed into the digestive tract of the all-powerful Sarlacc in Episode VI, Luke instructs Han Solo to stick close to Chewbacca and Lando because, as Luke says, "I've taken care of everything."


Lesson Number 6 - If you have trust in your present tutor or eleven plus exam preparation technique, don't let a rival sway you into another method of learning or to taking on a new tutor if you are not comfortable with their advice.

Star Wars Moment: In Episode VI, during a verbal spat with confused and proud-papa Darth Vader looking on, The Emperor derides Luke Skywalker, claiming that his biggest weakest is his "faith" in his Rebel Alliance friends, and that Skywalker is foolish for not joining the Dark Side.


Conclusion

So the message is clear, if you want to really understand your child’s weaknesses before they sit the eleven plus, be better prepared than others sitting the exam and have access to the best learning resources on the market.  There is an answer - Click Here.

No comments:

Post a Comment