When we first had to decide what to do, we did not know how much assistance we would need from our son. We were certain that we could not pay someone to do it for us, and if we hired someone, how would we know if they were really qualified? In the end, we decided to spend the money we saved each month and prepare our son for the Prince2 Foundation and Practitioner Exam.
Linda worked with my son’s teachers on finding the right tutor. When we finally found a tutor, I asked her to write down all of the things she had seen with our son. She immediately went through everything, including all of the areas that our son was struggling with. After working on a few of the issues, Linda came back with a list of questions that she had researched on and asked to be included on the test.
As our son was already in his high school years, he started this process at his friend’s school. At that point, he was doing OK, but he still needed some work done to get him ready for the practice examination. Our son chose a tutor at the private school, which we visited in person.
The first, primary thing I saw when I arrived was the number of girls in the classroom. Linda recommended that we contact the school office and find out if there were any special programs for girls in the area that the girls could use to help their writing skills. Our son was thrilled to learn that there were a lot of girls in the class, and he enjoyed spending time with them and participating in their activities.
Second, we need to make sure we know what time our son can be there. There were times where he was so excited to get to come to class and make new friends, but our schedule prevented him from showing up. I suggested he should go to class every day, but I told him that if he had a very special friend that needed a tutor, he should call him and see if he could make it possible.
Third, we should know the materials our son needs to learn. We could ask for the specific materials that were required, but Linda said that we needed to know what he needed to know, not just the exact material. Again, we were thankful that we made sure to ask about the required materials and the special items that were needed.
Fourth, our son needed to be in good physical condition to do well on the practice examination. The teacher always said that he had a great attitude, but he wasn’t very healthy, so the teacher encouraged our son to do his best on the practice examination to give himself a chance to pass.
Fifth, our son needed to prepare properly for the practice examination. For example, he didn’t need to practice with paper and pencil like the other students, because he was the only one who didn’t have an exam on that day. He had to study and practice during the school day, and he needed to have studied enough material to pass the exam.
Sixth, he needed to be motivated and focused on doing well in the exam. We used to have a saying at home: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.”
It is important that our son had good preparation before taking the exam. We can do that by letting him choose when he wants to sit down and study. Or we can talk to him during the day and see if he needs to bring a book to work on.
And we can all agree that preparation is better than luck, especially if it is a practice examination for the practice examination. It will probably be a lot easier for our son to pass this one.
