“Exams”

(Wrote the following “ranting” this morning whilst supervising the IS326 exam)

Hate the bastards!

The moment of truth!
A short few hours,
to demonstrate and prove
one’s competence.

Pass or Fail??

Hate the bastards!

What is knowledge?
And understanding?
What does it mean to be intelligent?
…to find one’s way around things.

Crunch time!!!

My future hinges on how well I perform,
my livelihood will be determined.
Success or failure?
And by whose standards?

Stress…
Incredible stress!!

Memorise the topic
and you’ll be OK.
Learning, understanding and experience,
what is it all about anyway?

Institutions,
mass production.
Authority and Control!
Surely, there must be a better way.

Exams… hate the bastards!!

It’s time time of the year again…
exams, exams and more exams.
Except…
this time:
I set, I supervise and I mark.

And although the roles have changed…
still hate the bastards!

To sit and watch others…
to control and oversee correctness,
to inflict upon others
what I so loathe.

Hate is strong a word…
…perhaps.
A word nevertheless,
a description.

Three hours…
looking like a dick,
just sitting there
watching others suffer!

Three hours…
trying not to fall asleep.
Time slows down,
but I endure,
I persist,
and I watch.