"24 out of 30!"

The current school term is coming to an end. As a teacher, I am happy to hear praiseworthy reports from my students. In this short post, I will highlight one.

"Cher! I've scored 24 out of 30 for my English!" exclaimed one of my Secondary One student. The broad smile on her face said it all.

Kem is now studying at GMSS. When I first saw her back in early 2017, she was a reticent petite Nepalese girl. Unlike most Nepalese children I know who carry their unique cultural identity with pride and honor, this young girl had a tint of inferiority complex and diffidence about her. Unfortunately, it had stemmed from her being streamed into Normal (Academic) course via the PSLE route. When she came to me, she was almost failing her Secondary One English.

However, after months of English tuition with me, she has become more confident and articulate. Her reading comprehension level has soared. Once that is taken care of, her summary writing and free writing proficiency level have also improved. Therefore, her result in the latest English Common Test is a testament of her considerable effort.

During the past few months, I have seen her conscientious hard work at attempting all the English exercises I have assigned to her and her classmates in the tuition class. I have seen her tears when one of her schoolmates died in a tragic accident. I have also seen her dejection when her parents opposed her dance training vehemently.

"My parents do not like me spending much time in dance," she said sadly. At one point, she was adamant about enrolling herself at SOTA just so she might dance.

I dissuaded her by offering her other avenue. Like many other teenagers in Singapore, she likes Hip-Hop. However, there is no Modern Dance CCA in her school; there is only Cultural Dance Group. Therefore, she felt that she could not fit in. I encouraged her to speak with her school teachers and principal, to explore other platforms for her kinetic expression which happened to be hip-Hop. She might also consider participating in non-SYF dance competitions such as "Break Out", part of the national anti-drug campaign among youths.

Seriously, given a choice between drugs (or tobacco) and dance, I would prefer my students to pick the latter -- any time, any day, anywhere, even if it is Pole Dance. Think Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA.

Weeks later, she was delighted to tell me that her teachers wanted her and her schoolmates-and-fellow-Hip-Hop dancers to perform at major school functions.

Now, Kem continues her dance training. At the same time, she has been delivering consistently good academic results. As such, her parents no longer object to her dance pursuit.

I am proud of you, Kem. Keep up the good work!