PSLE Results: Sharing is Caring?
PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination), the dreaded 4-letter acronym dreaded by most 12-year-olds and parents alike. The results for this year’s examinations were out last week and immediately social media lighted up with pictures of smiling kids in uniform, happy parents and even the occasional full-frontal capture of a results slip with grades and aggregate scores in full glory for all the world to see!
That’s the awkward situations that arise – even within families where you aren’t quite sure if you should or shouldn’t share the scores. Some kids feel they did very well and don’t want to brag, and some the other way around. And if you share, you’d then expect the other party to share, which they might not want to, hence producing a circular situation of not-asking-not-telling, smiles and blank faces.
But of course, if your child tells you they don’t want you to tell anyone, then you need to respect their wishes and keep the number to yourself. It is their number and they will need to determine what they want to do with it.
For me, and maybe it is because I can’t remember what the situation was like when I did the PSLE, it’s not really too big deal. I think it’s because:
Life moves on and you take what you have and do what you have to do with it. For those who did well, build on that momentum and do not assume that past success guarantees a bright future. For those who did not meet their expectations, keep on trying. Your brains are still growing, developing, forming the numerous folds of neural processing capabilities and one day you’ll realise that things just click – just hang on while the machine continues to be upgraded. There’s still time to learn.
 |
| PSLE results day, what excitement, what relief. |
But of course, if your child tells you they don’t want you to tell anyone, then you need to respect their wishes and keep the number to yourself. It is their number and they will need to determine what they want to do with it.
For me, and maybe it is because I can’t remember what the situation was like when I did the PSLE, it’s not really too big deal. I think it’s because:
- You should be proud of your achievements – if you worked hard (which I believe most students do) and you received a score, then you should be proud of it. It’s like your name (unless your parents gave you something like GobblePoop), you should accept it, tell everyone what it is, and own it like a boss.
- It is just a number and doesn’t define your life. No doubt it might determine which secondary school you go to and have some short-term implications, but you still have a long way to go and lots of chances to change things, either for the better or worse. There are many who have scored badly but gone on to succeed and sadly, many who have gone the other way too.
Life moves on and you take what you have and do what you have to do with it. For those who did well, build on that momentum and do not assume that past success guarantees a bright future. For those who did not meet their expectations, keep on trying. Your brains are still growing, developing, forming the numerous folds of neural processing capabilities and one day you’ll realise that things just click – just hang on while the machine continues to be upgraded. There’s still time to learn.