Been speaking alot with my players recently and heard alot about the tons of homework , remedials and tests coming up . Reminds me of my own secondary school days and I wanna blog about it today =)
note: sec denotes secondary , and the age of sec 1 is 13
Coming into sec 2 was what most would call “luck” for me, because I failed alot of my subjects and barely passed the overall grading(from sec 1). I remember my dad was quite disappointed after seeing my teacher and as for me, I couldn’t care less.
The story below recounts how as a sec 3 student I failed to cope with the changing environment and got myself into a nightmare I thought was over. Does it sound familiar about your own life as a sec 3 student? Read on…
The Story
During sec 2 period of my life, I really worked hard – at least i felt so , i would bury myself in homework and revisions before my exams in a bid to try and pass my exams plus I had 2 tutors (cost up to S$ 300 monthly) to assist me in my chinese and maths. And it would all seem like my hard work paid off when I made it to the sec 3 express stream !
When I made it to sec 3 express, I was indeed very happy and I truly believed that ,
If I kept up my efforts as I had in sec 2, I would achieve the same results – boy was I in for a rude awakening.
What followed in sec 3 was a total shock for me. There were at least 3 times more tests, twice as much homework and the teachers was teaching at a unreasonable pace – as compared to secondary 2. Plus this time, I dismissed all my tutors.
As someone who hardly – if ever – go out on a frequent basis, I was finding it hard to cope. Imagine! everyday I would just go to school and go home – period , end of story. And somehow, I couldn’t even cope with sec 3 work . It was a shock to me.
What subsequently happened was a grim reminder of my past – in sec 2 , my grades rapidly dropped and our teachers weren’t making things easier. They gave tests that were seemingly impossible to pass (much less score) and their reasoning was that if tests were tough , exams would be easy.
And A Maths (higher level math) was so difficult to comprehend , A maths alone could take up my entire day – not trying to finish the work but just figuring out what the question was even asking.
The only subject I had a bit of confidence in was physics back then, because we had an outstanding physics teacher by the name of Mr Tan P.Y . He made lessons fun and we often scored quite well – we did better than pass – in his tests and he truly made lectures interesting.
So throughout my entire sec 3 days, I was living homework to homework (the only good thing was there is no more ARTS ! yes ^^) , barely scraping passes for my tests and living day-to-day like a fire-fighter, doing everything that’s urgent.
A convenient procrastination reason I found for myself – whenever I had free time - back then was
“okay, I’ve worked hard enough, this isn’t due till 3 days later, I’ll do it tomorrow”
The end result? I barely scraped through sec 3 – and I was totally exhausted. I can’t remember the number of red lines I had in my report book – denoting a failed test or subject – and I was not proud of it.
After my exams was about the time when I took up the sport of basketball as well – on a side note.
Looking back at my experience, I was a total wreck ! If I could coach myself, things would’ve been very different. And I do have credentials for it too!
| Sec 3 | L1R4/R5 – 25 / 30 |
| “O” Levels | L1R4/R5 – 6 / 10 |
| Poly | Average GPA – 3.65 / 4 |
| Now | Secured a place in NTU |
How did I miracously turned my results around? Actually this is an open secret, however, most students only unlock this secret a few months before “O” levels – and things revert back to old ways after “O” levels – and after their exams, they return back to the nightmare days of failing tests once again in their tertiary education.
Point In Case:
“A” students are not born, they are ordinary students who take one extra baby step more than others on a consistent basis
Yes, Bold this, tape it, and seal it into your mind.
“A” students are ordinary students like you and me who takes one small little extra baby step on a consistent basis. Isn’t that amazing?
All you need to do , is take one small baby step on a consistent basis and you’re an “A” student!
To find out more about this miraculous first baby step, stay tuned to my blog
Coming Up Next : Sec 3 to Sec 4 Transition - The End Of The Tunnel
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