Warriors of the Entrance Exams | Hideyuki Tokuda (Dean, Graduate School of Media and Governance)
2005.02.22
Every year around this time, I help with proctoring the general entrance examinations and other administrative duties, and every year, all sorts of things happen. Lately, we've seen a noticeable increase in complaints, particularly requests to warn someone about a neighbor's "nervous leg shaking." For the person making the complaint, it's an unbearable problem, and it becomes a serious issue if they can't concentrate and organize their thoughts for the short essay. On the other hand, in the tense atmosphere of the examination hall, it's very difficult to judge whether the case is severe enough to warrant a warning. There are cases where the shaking stops as soon as a proctor goes to check, only to start again a short while later. Warning a student who is thought to have been shaking their leg, when they have in fact already stopped, could conversely cause them unnecessary anxiety. In the examination hall, we have to make these judgments efficiently. However, in very severe cases, we may have no choice but to have the student take the exam in a separate room.
On another note, at last year's short essay examination, I encountered a real character. This male student quickly glanced at the short essay question and then, in the blink of an eye, buried his face in his arms on the desk and seemed to fall asleep. This was a mere 10 minutes after the exam had started. At first, I thought it might be a pose to gather his thoughts, but it appeared he had genuinely fallen asleep! I watched nervously, worried he might start snoring and disturb the other students, but he showed no sign of waking up. Even though the short essay exam is three hours long, it's astonishing to see someone fall asleep with such gusto. He may have had his reasons, but I couldn't very well wake him up, which left me feeling anxious.
In the afternoon session, the outside temperature rises, and the heating in the room can become a bit too strong, so we often have to open the windows to adjust the room temperature. Even as we opened and closed the windows, I glanced at the student in question, but he didn't move a muscle. With about 30 minutes left, just as I was thinking he would run out of time and turn in a blank paper, he suddenly sat up and looked around. He probably realized where he was and that he had fallen asleep. The next moment, he gave a big stretch and began writing his answer at a furious pace. From then on, he just kept writing silently and intently. When it was time to collect the answer sheets, it seemed he had finished successfully.
Having only tough characters like him would be worrisome, but having only sensitive people would also be difficult. So, I wonder what kind of people will be taking the exam this year.
I'm praying that this year's entrance exam duties will also conclude without any incidents.
(Date Published: 2005/02/22)