Wake-up Call

So the Mother Tongue O Level results were released yesterday. Some of you were pleasantly surprised. Some of you sat in stunned silence, wondering what happened. A few of you were in tears.

Guess what your teachers felt? I saw your MT teacher shaking her head and I knew we had to seek solace from each other. It's hard not to take things personally, to some extent, although we try to tell ourselves it's really not our fault. That we had tried our best, and the rest is really up to you. So if our students did not rise to the occasion, took things too lightly, or over-estimated themselves, then it's time they wake up.

Many of you admitted you have still not found the momentum to prepare for your O levels. I had told you it's not a matter of whether you feel like studying. It's a simple case of discipline, working out a time table for revision, and plain, simple DOING IT. You just have to stop watching TV, or playing the computer, or even cutting down on your SMS-ing. If you don't even have the willpower to discipline yourself in this way, then you'll get another rude shock next Feb. Do you really want to learn things the hard way?

Sometimes, I wonder how I should pitch my message to you. Some of you are studying hard, but take things with such seriousness I hate to be in your shoes. I don't remember being so miserable about studying before (except in my JC days and many people I know have confessed to feeling the same way about the A levels). I had lots of fun, while preparing for my O levels and University exams. And given a choice, I'd want to relive those years, rather than face the pressure of meeting performance targets, or a demanding boss in my job. But looking at you now, there's a palpable sense of dread pervading the classroom. It doesn't have to be this way. But very few of you seem to have found the secret to joyful, meaningful studying yet.

I can't impart this secret joy to you. You have to discover it for yourself. I think I found mine in secondary school and university by simply taking the time to cultivate very close friendship. A burden shared is a burden halved (and I have many close friends in my school days). I also have an unshakeable belief in the value of knowledge. There isn't really anything that is not worth learning. Hence I love to study because it means learning many new things. Some people don't agree with me, of course. So they onerously plough through trigonometric ratios or the periodic table, or whatever, and find it all an unbearable ordeal. You may not embrace studying to such an extent like me, but it is to your benefit that you see some value in acquiring some knowledge, at least. So instead of whining, get your act together and hit the books.

P.S. Mdm Sng is currently studying for her Masters, and thinking of learning many other things as well, like a foreign language, piano, and an Advanced Dip in Chinese Language. I am trying to find the time to accomplish all these (and more) in my lifetime, in between being a mother, a teacher and a wife. Surely younger people like you have no excuse to complain of exhaustion?