Can PSLE change your life?

Taken from schoolbag.sg

I currently give tuition to two primary 6 students and I have got to say that the amount of stress on a kid who takes PSLE is pretty overwhelming especially if the parents expects good results from them. One of my tutee performs pretty well for her mathematics, averaging an A most of the time and to me, she faces quite a lot of pressure from her parents to perform well. She also expects much from herself and hence places a lot of emphasis on scoring well for PSLE. She has also broken down a few times during lessons due to not performing well enough.




My other tutee although not performing as well as the others but he definitely doesnt face as much stress as his parents doesn't really emphasize so much on results but only that he needs to get into express in secondary school. He is definitely a happy go lucky guy every time I see him for lessons but he does panic at times and ask me if I think he is able to get into express. I have heard of many stories nowadays of how parents prepare their kids for PSLE.

From taking leave of up to a year for the children or even quitting to be a stay home parent, we can see the impacts of PSLE and all other major examinations in families with children taking the examinations. I do admit that PSLE to a certain extent can determine how your future pans out but it really also depends on the individual. For me, I am someone who is easily influenced especially when I was at age 13 so when it came to my school choices, my mum helped me out and made the choices that she felt fit me best.




I remembered that we both had conflicting choices for my first choice, I wanted to go to a school that was near our place which was a mixed school but she wanted me to go to a girl school that was affiliated with my primary school which was also a girl school. In the end, I lost out to my mum and went to the affiliated school. After a few years, I am grateful and glad to my mum for helping me in my choices. Not because I would have turned out worse if I went to the the other school but because I went to an affiliated school, most my classmates remained the same and I was a really shy girl so being in a environment I was comfortable in helped especially at such a young age.

Primary to secondary school can be a huge hurdle for some esecially if you require a lot of time adjusting to new environment. Secondary school is also when puberty happens and emotions can fluctuate. Overall, it's important to evaluate what the individuals really wants and can he/she handle the stress if they were to go to the 'elite' schools where tuition and good grades are a must. I believe a happy childhood is also essential in the process of growing up. 




Here's a short video that I found online that is pretty interesting for me.



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