Unmotivated Kid..
Upon hearing his 'O' level results, I was stunned. Not so much for his L1R5 (kind of expected), but rather his Elementary Maths grade. 5 months ago, I was just telling my students that it was nearly impossible to flunk E.Maths. Now, here I was, being proven wrong by a cousin of mine. He owns the 'honour' of breaking the impeccable record set by all his elder cousins: scoring an L1R5 of less than 20 and entering JC/Poly.
I wasn't sure how he would react upon getting such atrocious results. Thinking back, I realised that he probably expected it. When he told us a year ago that he expected to go through the ITE-Poly route, I thought he was joking. But now, I know he's not. He ain't stupid, just plain lazy with no focus in his life, preferring to spend his whole life in front of the computer screen playing some senseless game and talking to the virtual world while killing demons.
In my next few years, I would probably be facing teens like him. Unmotivated, aimless, complacent are the few traits prevalent in these kids. Of course there are kids who have really tried their best. But there are a handful like my cousin, who have not even attempted to maximize their ability. Despite having tuition and parents nagging at him, he prefers to shun away from reality and coop himself up in his room, hiding behind the computer screen. I've never heard of anyone who hasn't woken up even when the tutor has arrived at his doorstep. And being complacent is what I can't tolerate. His favourite line: "I passed without studying!" People with low expectations are truly a headache for teachers. He still has the cheek to say that expectations are the roots of all headache. What kind of expectation was he having? If he was a Normal Technical student, I would have told him that wanting to enter ITE was realistic. An Express stream aiming to go ITE? You don't have to aim to go there. Anyone who doesn't study would end up there by default.
After seeing and speaking to my cousin for the first time after the release of the results, I'm not sure he has changed for the better. He confidently told me that it's quite easy to get into Poly from ITE. After all, most of the people in ITE are from Normal Technical and Normal Academic streams while he is from the Express stream. His attitude seriously needs checking if he wants to fulfill his dream. I wish him all the luck that he needs.
I wasn't sure how he would react upon getting such atrocious results. Thinking back, I realised that he probably expected it. When he told us a year ago that he expected to go through the ITE-Poly route, I thought he was joking. But now, I know he's not. He ain't stupid, just plain lazy with no focus in his life, preferring to spend his whole life in front of the computer screen playing some senseless game and talking to the virtual world while killing demons.
In my next few years, I would probably be facing teens like him. Unmotivated, aimless, complacent are the few traits prevalent in these kids. Of course there are kids who have really tried their best. But there are a handful like my cousin, who have not even attempted to maximize their ability. Despite having tuition and parents nagging at him, he prefers to shun away from reality and coop himself up in his room, hiding behind the computer screen. I've never heard of anyone who hasn't woken up even when the tutor has arrived at his doorstep. And being complacent is what I can't tolerate. His favourite line: "I passed without studying!" People with low expectations are truly a headache for teachers. He still has the cheek to say that expectations are the roots of all headache. What kind of expectation was he having? If he was a Normal Technical student, I would have told him that wanting to enter ITE was realistic. An Express stream aiming to go ITE? You don't have to aim to go there. Anyone who doesn't study would end up there by default.
After seeing and speaking to my cousin for the first time after the release of the results, I'm not sure he has changed for the better. He confidently told me that it's quite easy to get into Poly from ITE. After all, most of the people in ITE are from Normal Technical and Normal Academic streams while he is from the Express stream. His attitude seriously needs checking if he wants to fulfill his dream. I wish him all the luck that he needs.
posted by The Aspiring Chef @ 12:57 PM
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