Assessment of Secondary Students’ Academic Cognition after Every Two Months

Day 1 (Aug. 5): Accelerated Chemicals

As rain drizzles down, my tired eyes yearn to close and retreat into the realm of dreams. However, the pressing need to prepare for the day's activities overpowers my drowsiness.

I step out of my sleep chamber, clutching a mobile communication device. My first contact is Agent Soy Bun. In a few hours, a group of eager young learners will converge upon my humble abode to have their minds refreshed and refueled. I require assistance.

Agent Soy Bun apologizes for her unavailability as she is undergoing training in her new job. It may be for the best, as her presence might serve as a distraction to the male students. They need to concentrate on their studies, not their adolescent desires.

After a quick glance at my phonebook, I reach out to Agent M, an expert in covalent bonding and rapid acceleration. With her extensive tutoring experience, she is a valuable ally in this chaotic time.

Agent M arrives shortly after, and together we set up our equipment. Three chemistry references and review materials provided by our higher command should suffice. We infuse caffeine into our veins to shake off our zombie-like weariness. And then they arrive...

One by one, knowledge-hungry individuals fill our learning space, seeking to catch up on what they missed in the classroom. It is now our duty to reinforce those lessons, hoping to rekindle their memories. We are essentially like review centers for board exams.

Agent M skillfully navigates through significant figures, conversions, and kinematics. I ensure that the students retain the information in their minds.

Day 2 (Aug. 6): Grammatically Mathematical

Due to excessive caffeine consumption the previous day, sleep eludes me. It's 4 AM, and I find myself aimlessly wandering around the house.

There is a silver lining to being awake so early: I can enjoy the most important meal of the day, breakfast. It brings back memories of my time working night shifts at a call center, where breakfast was dinner for me.

One of my students arrives a few hours later. He was not part of yesterday's group, as he and his family had just returned from his grandmother's funeral in Ormoc. He missed his morning exams and will take them this afternoon. We have less than five hours to review two months' worth of lessons. It would be a breeze for any other student, but he is not like the rest. It takes him two hours to memorize a page of information, only to forget it all in two minutes. I dub him "Two-minute Tom."

Two-minute Tom embarks on the arduous task of saving data in his brain, while I prepare my materials for this afternoon's quadratic equations study session. Agent M will handle the grammar review, so I forward the necessary topics to her. She confirms her understanding and brings her own reference materials. Additional review materials will be provided by our higher command. Everything seems to be going according to plan. Or so I thought...

After assisting Two-minute Tom with his lessons, he hurries back to school before his metaphorical hard drive gets wiped clean again. In that moment, I receive a message from Agent M, explaining that she cannot attend today due to maternal obligations. It feels like the roof has collapsed inside my head. I realize that I will be teaching students from two different grade levels in two subjects all by myself! It's going to be a challenging situation, but deep down, I believe it's possible with proper time management.

Day 3 (Aug. 7): Social!

Surviving yesterday's ordeal remains a mystery to me. The aftermath leaves me with a headache compared to a hangover. I sip my coffee

 and further torment my head by solving the Sudoku puzzle in today's tabloid.

I can't recall how I managed to teach yesterday. Thankfully, today's study session will be much simpler... for me, at least. The focus will be on reviewing one subject: Social Studies, mainly involving memorization of terms.

Damn, my head is throbbing...

Good luck, my young padawans. May the force be with you.