After coming into contact with more different breeds of students, I kind of have a better understanding of why certain students constantly underperform.
There are people who expect to do well just by engaging a tuition teacher and by having 2 hrs of revision on that subject per week during tuition. Seriously, without any effort and initiative on the part of the student to revise and to do practice questions, they cannot dream of even passing their exams. Here I'm not talking about doing WELL. I'm talking about just a PASS. If you know you're weak, and you wish to improve, it means you'll have to work doubly hard because you need to do a lot of catching up. If you expect your tuition teacher to be some magician or rocket scientist who can pack a rocket booster within your brain and transform you into the best student overnight, then I'll tell you I am no God. I do not wield such godly powers to carry out these magic tricks you dream of. I only know of one method to boost your grades, a tried and tested way, albeit a slow but steady one - work hard. There's no secret success formula. Unless you are ZB number 2, who can mug overnight and trash everybody else the next day, I suggest you stick to the old method. I'm not asking you to be a mugger, but please, at least show some effort and interest in your studies, and stop daydreaming about scoring aces by just having tuition.
Some people have consistently failed in the past, and one big reason is simply their learning attitude. Lazy, complacent, over-confident, total disregard and arrogance - a deadly mix of attitude problems that inhibit any learning and improvement. There is a maximum limit that teachers can do - we can impart them with knowledge, equip them with skills and technique to do well in exams, and motivate and hopefully inspire them to learn. But if the student decides that there are more important things in life at this stage, like to socialise excessively, enjoy the luxuries of life, shopping, sipping coffee at Starbucks, or playing computer games without regard to studies, there is really nothing much that a normal teacher can do to veer the student back on course. Counseling might help, but ultimately the change must come from the student. Without clearing the main stumbling block first, it's hard to see the student's grades improve.
There is also another group of students, who repeatedly struggle to do well, because of their lack of confidence. Arguably, these students are the most hopeful lot to improve with appropriate help. Their basics might be weak, they might not be the fastest learners, but they have a correct attitude which is very essential. However, there are several things that may threaten to dampen their fighting spirit. One threat that is prevalent in many top schools here is the overly tough test papers. As discussed by many concerned parents and educationists recently in the newspapers, repeatedly failing in exams that are nearly impossible to pass will do more harm than good to students. Students might become demoralised, disorientated and disillusioned. Repeated failures might reinforce the student's pessimistic beliefs that he/she cannot do well, add on to the stress of students and anxious parents, who then add even more pressure upon the students to perform, resulting in a vicious loop that further dashes the students' hopes and morale. Confidence is the key to winning half the battle. If these students do not believe that they can do well in the first place, they are already losing half that battle. The worst can happen when such students decide to seek attention and confidence elsewhere, by joining teenage gangs or getting hooked on online games where they strike to virtual fame and glory via their avatars. Such cases are not unheard of, and I think it is time that something be done to curb this phenomenon.
There are many more reasons that can account for a student's poor performance, but as you might have realised, this post is getting rather long and I don't wish to discuss all of them here. Honestly any interested party can go publish a book about this, and send me a copy of it when it's done. I'll be glad to read it.
There are people who expect to do well just by engaging a tuition teacher and by having 2 hrs of revision on that subject per week during tuition. Seriously, without any effort and initiative on the part of the student to revise and to do practice questions, they cannot dream of even passing their exams. Here I'm not talking about doing WELL. I'm talking about just a PASS. If you know you're weak, and you wish to improve, it means you'll have to work doubly hard because you need to do a lot of catching up. If you expect your tuition teacher to be some magician or rocket scientist who can pack a rocket booster within your brain and transform you into the best student overnight, then I'll tell you I am no God. I do not wield such godly powers to carry out these magic tricks you dream of. I only know of one method to boost your grades, a tried and tested way, albeit a slow but steady one - work hard. There's no secret success formula. Unless you are ZB number 2, who can mug overnight and trash everybody else the next day, I suggest you stick to the old method. I'm not asking you to be a mugger, but please, at least show some effort and interest in your studies, and stop daydreaming about scoring aces by just having tuition.
Some people have consistently failed in the past, and one big reason is simply their learning attitude. Lazy, complacent, over-confident, total disregard and arrogance - a deadly mix of attitude problems that inhibit any learning and improvement. There is a maximum limit that teachers can do - we can impart them with knowledge, equip them with skills and technique to do well in exams, and motivate and hopefully inspire them to learn. But if the student decides that there are more important things in life at this stage, like to socialise excessively, enjoy the luxuries of life, shopping, sipping coffee at Starbucks, or playing computer games without regard to studies, there is really nothing much that a normal teacher can do to veer the student back on course. Counseling might help, but ultimately the change must come from the student. Without clearing the main stumbling block first, it's hard to see the student's grades improve.
There is also another group of students, who repeatedly struggle to do well, because of their lack of confidence. Arguably, these students are the most hopeful lot to improve with appropriate help. Their basics might be weak, they might not be the fastest learners, but they have a correct attitude which is very essential. However, there are several things that may threaten to dampen their fighting spirit. One threat that is prevalent in many top schools here is the overly tough test papers. As discussed by many concerned parents and educationists recently in the newspapers, repeatedly failing in exams that are nearly impossible to pass will do more harm than good to students. Students might become demoralised, disorientated and disillusioned. Repeated failures might reinforce the student's pessimistic beliefs that he/she cannot do well, add on to the stress of students and anxious parents, who then add even more pressure upon the students to perform, resulting in a vicious loop that further dashes the students' hopes and morale. Confidence is the key to winning half the battle. If these students do not believe that they can do well in the first place, they are already losing half that battle. The worst can happen when such students decide to seek attention and confidence elsewhere, by joining teenage gangs or getting hooked on online games where they strike to virtual fame and glory via their avatars. Such cases are not unheard of, and I think it is time that something be done to curb this phenomenon.
There are many more reasons that can account for a student's poor performance, but as you might have realised, this post is getting rather long and I don't wish to discuss all of them here. Honestly any interested party can go publish a book about this, and send me a copy of it when it's done. I'll be glad to read it.
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