Doing Our Best

Met an ex-pupil on the MRT today. She was wearing the uniform of my alma mater, RJC. The sight of the familiar white and green uniform brought back many wonderful memories. We started chatting about life in RJ.

I shared with her that the teachers did not really exert pressure on us to perform well academically. Instead it was the peer pressure that propelled us to study hard. I would be awed by my brilliant classmates.

When I was schooling, I was very "kiasu". I did my best. I worked hard. When I was in the education service, I was not ashamed to tell my pupils that I was a "kiasu" teacher. I always do my BEST to coach my pupils so that I can stretch their potential. Likewise, I expect a certain amount of commitment from my pupils. I expect my pupils and my tutees to have the desire to do well.

Year after year, I have seen different batches of pupils graduate. What sets one pupil apart from his or her peers? Even in a high ability class, there will be some who will be way ahead of the rest despite the streaming or banding exercise. I feel that what sets these pupils apart is their mindset. Usually, these kids are very self-motivated. They want to do well. It is not their teachers or their parents who force them to do well. Instead, they themselves have set certain targets for themselves and want to achieve them. They want to do their BEST. Yes, these kids have the hunger or desire to do their best and succeed. They are willing to work VERY hard to achieve their goals.

Hence, as parents and educators, I think it is important to instil in the kiddos the importance of doing our best. It is not enough to give our second best. It is not about winning the rat race. It is about doing our best so that we can fulfil our own potential. It is about doing our best so that we do not look back at our lives in regret and lament that we could have done better.