Kuuliza si ujinga

My chemistry Form II students have their national exams in November. But there are regional mock exams in September. And district mock exams a little over three weeks from now. They're stressed out.
Every day I hear, "when will we reach balancing equations? when will we reach ionic equations?". They study past exams and so have a good idea of what questions are asked a lot. And they're very, very worried we won't reach certain common topics before the district mock exams. Namely, balancing equations.
Now, let me point out that I had a teaching plan. A good, logical teaching plan, where I carefully teach one topic before starting a new topic whose very foundations depend on the previous topic. Also in this plan--which looked great back in January--we would have reached chemical equations back in May.
Well, things happen. Days of school were missed, sometimes weeks of school were missed. The plan fell a little behind. At our current rate, we'll reach chemical equations just about when the district exams start.
Mwalimu, tutafika chemical equations lini? When are we starting chemical equations?
I never before appreciated how much pressure high-stakes national exams put on the teacher. And these exams are much, much more high-stakes than any we have in the U.S. The students know very well that their future depends on the outcome. I know very well that their future depends on the outcome. And while I realize that their success or failure depends on a lot more than just me, I'd like to do my best to make sure they succeed.
Mwalimu, tutafika chemical equations lini?
(Sigh). It messes with my teaching plan and my general ideas of the best way to teach, but we might just skip covalent compounds--which admittedly you don't need to know to balance a chemical equation, though they're rather important in chemistry--and go straight to chemical equations. Otherwise, my students will be so panicked they won't hear a single thing I say.