Overcoming PSLE: Journey of a Teacher and Parent

As I was spring cleaning my house some time ago during the December school holidays, I came across a class photo of my former students.

Memories immediately flooded my mind as I looked at my former P6 students in the old photo.

A particular girl in the photo caught my attention straightaway as she is the one who has “taught” me an invaluable lesson in my career as a teacher – There is hope for every student!

There is Hope for Every Student!

This girl who was in my class many years ago used to fail her Math examinations all the time from P5 to P6 Prelim exam.

Her marks were as low as 20+. This pupil was already not doing well in P4 Math and her confidence in Math was at a low when she was my pupil in P5.

To be frank with you, I was very worried for her back then as I thought that she might score a “U” grade for PSLE Math and need to repeat P6 again.

However, I could not give up on her as a TEACHER and carry on to guide her as much as possible, even during recess time.

I praised her specifically for small steps taken and effort put in to build up the fundamentals in Math.

She would come to me to clear her doubts whenever there was time too.

Over time, her marks started to improve little by little and she managed to get a low score of 30+ marks in one of the P6 exams.

Still, it was not enough to pass Math and in my mind, I thought this was perhaps the best she could achieve given that there was not much time left before PSLE.

This student of mine did not give up even though her mark was still hovering around the “E” grade. She tried to clear her doubts with me whenever there was time.

I had to help her as much as I could too… seeing her perseverance.

My only hope was that she could at least score a “D” grade and not fail badly.

Soon, exams were over and it was PSLE results release day. When I received her PSLE results slip early in the morning, I could not believe what I saw!

She actually passed her PSLE Math with a “C” grade which I did not expect.

It was a miracle to me! I was more happy for her than the other pupils who did better.

From her case, I have learnt a valuable lesson NOT TO “sentence” someone too quickly.

If your child has been doing badly for Math, do not give up. There is still hope!

Take small steps at a time, fix the fundamentals first and proceed on from there. Let your child see and celebrate small achievements to motivate him.

Do not throw your child into the deep end and expect him/her to solve the more challenging 4-marks or 5-marks Math problem sums or open-ended Science questions when he/she is already struggling with the basics.

Importance of Patience

It is the same as coaching your own child to swim.

My son had a phobia of putting his head under water and I have a lot of difficulties getting him into water. There were times when I lost patience and I pressed his head under water.

Needless to say, it backfired and his reluctance to learn to swim got worse.

It took me a few more weeks to get him back to the swimming pool again as he was afraid that I would force his head to go under water again.

I got “wiser” and more patient the second round. Lots of patience, coaxing, role modelling and encouragement were shown to my son and a breakthrough was achieved.

Finally, he could lower his whole head into the water and I could teach him the basics of kicking and blowing bubbles under water.

Many a time, we need to put ourselves into the shoes of these young children and understand the difficulties they are facing.

What seems to be easy for us might not be the same to them.

Do we make discouraging or negative comments on our children when they do not know how to do their homework or when they do not meet our expectations?

From my son’s example and this former student of mine, I have learnt to be realistic, patient, more encouraging and take small steps at a time.

Do not kill the interest. Build up the basics first and overcome one hurdle at a time!

If a “miracle” could happen to this student of mine, I am sure the same thing can happen to your child if she/he is also struggling with Math!

Of course, miracle does not happen overnight. A lot of effort and determination was shown from this student to overcome the odds.

Every student needs to have proper guidance. It is also very important to receive support and encouragement from teachers and loved ones around, especially parents.

Conclusion

Lastly, I sincerely wish you and your child success in the preparation for PSLE. Remember, no matter how tough the going gets, hang on. Persevere with the right attitude and guidance.

I am sure you and your child will see light at the end of the tunnel.