Project Work Lite

How would a 7 year old do Project Work?

Well, first you come up with an idea. And you draw it on a whiteboard to visualise how it would look like.



Then when you are satisfied, you get all your materials and develop the Product.



And when you can do it all with minimal adult supervision, you get an A+ from me (spelling mistakes notwithstanding).

This is Project Work, H0.2 level.

Focus! Focus!

It's my favourite word at the moment, and I'm not just saying it to myself.

I mean it really for the lot of you who are still not out of the Mordor-land called the O levels. This weekend, I was hounded by some anxious people who wanted to know the meaning behind the purple and the yellow forms I had given out.

Really, what would you like to hear from me - that I had a really complicated algorithm behind my selection of which coloured form I gave to whom? If I say I have a secret formula, or that my daughter helped me decide (based on whose names she could pronounce), would you be able to sleep better? Is it important at all?

The really important thing is not what coloured form you got. It is an assessment of how well or badly you have prepared for your mid-year exams, how your studying strategies (if any) have worked, how you have managed your time, how you have pushed yourself, and whether you think you deserve the marks you are going to get. And how in the process of trying to get your As, you have been a helpful, compassionate, understanding and unselfish friend to those around you. You have friends who are not coping very well with the pressure, a classmate who has just lost her father, and compatriots who have to prepare for a national competition in the midst of all that studying. What have you done to help or encourage them? Surely that is a more crucial measure of how you have performed?

* * * * * * * * *

I am saying "Focus" to myself as well because in the midst of having to mark 14 classes of exam scripts, I also have to
- help my daughter with her exam
- write your report cards
- plan your holiday lessons
- do housework

and it didn't help when my daughter came back with a score of 50/100 for her Maths paper.

Sometimes I feel like everything is hanging precariously on a string, and at any one time something will drop. And I just pray it's not my daughter.

We all need to focus on the really important thing in our lives, don't we?

I'm not any better

How are all of you? I see you buried in your books every morning and with the recent news of one of your classmates' recent bereavement, and one other feeling she can't take it any more, I am somewhat concerned about how you are coping.

I know you are all high achievers and you give yourself lots of pressure to perform. Some of you will be able to withstand the stress of forcing your brains to perform optimally in these 2 weeks. Some of you will begin to see fault lines in your usual composed demeanour. The latter group is a source of worry for me and I want to be able to help you if I can. So do come and talk to me if you are one of them. I can't perform miracles but I can try to show you some light in the tunnel you are in.

One student asked me how I can be so relaxed with my daughter where her studies is concerned. You don't know how far from the truth you are. I am not exactly so nonchalant about my daughter's studies. I am anxious, impatient and even paranoid at times. I just try not to consciously pass my neurotic inclinations to her. Because she's only in Pri 2 and I don't want her to feel demoralised at such a young age. So I rein in my frustrations, and I pray a lot to God for patience and gentleness when I deal with her. I also tell myself not to be sucked into the relentless pursuit of academic excellence at the expense of her own self-esteem and enjoyment of life. It is a very conscious effort I make. Sometimes I manage to do it, sometimes I lose it too. I haven't told you how I threw her books on the floor in anger once when she took too long to finish her homework? That is not one of my proudest moments.

So do be a little patient with your parents or whoever is giving you a lot of stress. It's not easy I know and not all parents are reasonable all the time. If your parents do not care about you, they won't even bother to pay attention to how you're doing academically, right?

When the going gets tough, talk to someone. And focus on other things for a change. Take life one day at a time.