Thursday, April 7, 2011

Before the storm...

I remember several years ago I was living in a city which suffered from flooding. While there was a large amount of damage caused I believe that few lives were lost if any. However what was interesting to me was the way that the animals behaved. Apparently they could somehow sense in advance that something was wrong and were attempting to flee in advance of the disaster. Indeed many of the animals in the local zoo could not be saved by the attendants because they were in such a state of panic that the handlers could not safely move them to another location. I have to admit that students in advance of coming exams react in a similar manner.

Next month we are due to sit our exams for the law school. For many this will be the first exams that they sit at the school. Most of the students I know are relatively experienced and have been studying for some period of time. Yet they seem to still act in way similar to the animals before the flood. Most have withdrawn from contact, bunkering down for what is to come. Some seem to have withdrawn altogether sticking their heads into the ground as the fabled ostrich. Some run frantically around yelling 'the exams are coming' 'the exams are coming' as if others were blissfully unaware of such a clear fact. A few seem to be moving towards higher ground, a vantage point where they can prepare for what is to approaching. What is apparent in all of them however is that they have become more focused. There seems to be less willingness to reach out to others, to communicate and share information. Interesting to see how animal instincts are so ingrained in all of us.