PSLE in Singapore is the most dreaded examination for all
primary 6 students. Whether they will end up in a neighbourhood school or a
“high-class” novelty secondary school is all depended on their performance in
this one examination. It is like a crossfire where children are caught in
between the menacing parents and teachers on either side. Struggle and stress
for those who are not well-prepared, and conceit for those who achieve.
Basically, this examination decides whether you are “smart” or “dumb” in life. One might ask, “Why at this early age? The
children are only twelve!” I am sure that this is the question which is running
through everyone’s minds. Maybe PSLE is there to strengthen the child’s adversity
quotient? Nobody knows the answer for this question yet. PSLE has been around
since the 50’s. Of course, nobody really
bothered about scores and grades back then! But now, it has become a
significant stature in life. Social status or the more relevant, Facebook
popularity comes with how you aced the PSLE !
So, being
the “kiasu” person I am, I started to prepare for this examination early.
During what was supposed to be the December holidays of the previous year, I
was studying. By the way, you might not understand what I meant by the word
“kiasu”. This word belongs to the language Singaporeans invented called, SINGLISH.
It is the second identity of a Singaporean to speak singlish. It means, to be
ahead of everyone else because you are afraid of failing. Anyways, I bought all
the assessment books I could carry from the store. I could barely make it to
the bus stop and when I reached, I felt as if I was carrying the entire bus
stop on my shoulders. My Mother thinks that practice makes perfect and that’s
why she made sure I bought all the books before everyone else did. She wanted
me to be the best academically, considering the fact that I had been always on
top in studies. I got trophies and medals for the various subjects I did well
in the past. She knew that I could not have achieved without practice and
forced me to do all the work within the 2 months of “holidays”. It was absolute
torture!
Unlike my
friends, I had to work hard during the holidays. Although, it did pay off when
I got good remarks from my teachers when they realised that I knew everything
before they even started teaching it! Although in other developed countries
this kind of behaviour is regarded as Nerdy, in Singapore, it is considered
very good. I have not even gotten to the main part of the endeavours of my
dreaded year, 2012. I had to hire a tutor because I thought that I needed some
assistance nonetheless, as the going got tough. My tutor ended up being my trusted
counsellor apart from person who helped me with my studies. She was a good
role-model and I aspire to be like her one day. I imbibed some good qualities
from her such as responsibility and patience, which I would say without doubt
that helped me throughout the year. I
was having some problems with Science,
it was never my strongest subject. I persevered to excel in the subject.
I knew that one bad grade in a subject would pull down my overall marks and I
worked as hard as I could. Burning the midnight oil, I would sit down and do
sample test papers all day, together with the countless sheets of homework I
was given at school. I swear I had stress lines on my forehead at the end of
this miserable year.
Finally, all
this hard work paid off when I got my PSLE results. It was a nerve wrecking morning.
I started to chew my nails like I
usually do when I am anxious. When it was my turn to collect my scores, I was
absolutely thrilled! I ran over to my parents and thanked them for guiding me
throughout the year. I had gotten 2 A* and 2 A’s! Which is considered quite
good by the way. At least I did not get a B for any of my subjects! My tutor,
parents and I were so overjoyed that we threw a party the very same day with
all my classmates and friends to celebrate the good results we all achieved.
This is the story of how hard work does not kill anyone but never fails to
reward.
Thank you.
More laters in the next post! :)
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