As our society focuses so much on academic results, it is likely that your child might define their self-worth based on their grades. It is very important for parents to be prepared for both the best and the worst outcome.
BEST OUTCOME
If your child passed the examinations well and attained their goals, congratulations! However, there are still things which you can do to make sure that your child does not let the success lead them astray. Speaking to your child about their academic success is just as important as speaking to your child about their not so desirable results.
Here are 2 things that you can do.
1. Define Success
Doing well in their PSLE results may also lead your child to define their success and self-worth with their grades. This exercise is important to remind your child that success in life goes beyond academic grades. It is important for them to understand that success takes many forms and their success in PSLE is just one of the many more successes they will attain in future. Helping your child to define success will help them to go a long way in their secondary school days.
2. Keep Your Child Grounded
The second thing to do is to keep your child grounded despite their good grades. This will prevent further disappointment in their life since you will not be able to predict how they will do in secondary school. By teaching your child to be grounded, you will also encourage them to be humble and compassionate towards others who may not have done as well. Begin by reminding your child that despite their success in PSLE, they need to continue their hard work and consistently good attitude towards studies and school next year.
WORST OUTCOME
However, if your child’s results turn out to be lesser than expected, it is going to be a crushing blow on their young mind and soul.
It is very likely that for your child, his biggest fear is that their poor exam performance has let you and the family down. Since they are feeling guilty and miserable, it is crucial to handle this sensitive issue sympathetically.
Here are 5 things that you can do to help.
1. Acknowledge The Situation
Keep calm, avoid showing signs of frustration and give your child the time and space they need to process their feelings.
2. Find An Appropriate Time To Talk
You’ll need to make the environment safe and comfortable for them to air his thoughts and feelings with you at an appropriate time. Some might find it more relaxing to talk before bedtime, others might prefer to do so while engaging in their favourite activity.
3. His Results Don’t Define Them
Tell them the grades are just a means to help them decide which secondary school to go to, but that they will surely get into a school.
4. Good Grades Alone Does Not Make A Person
Remind junior that it’s more important to have good character as a person with good grades cannot compare with someone who has good values.
5. Inspire Them
Tell them that one is not useless simply because of poor school results ― show them YouTube stories that talk about the personal life of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, college dropouts who have achieved phenomenal success.
At the end of the day, no matter the results, keep in perspective on what’s really important to you and your child. If you ask me, there really isn’t anything more important than being happy. After all, life is too short to spend dwelling on one single failure or on one single success. And since there will always be new challenges ahead of us, why not deal with them with a smile on our faces?
You may find out more about our English tuition for primary school students here.
For over 15 years, Augustine’s English Classes has helped hundreds of students fall in love with the subject and excelling in school exams. If you are interested to know how our classes work, or what our secret winning formula is, do feel free to drop us a message or give us a call.
