"Just one mark away..."
PJ is a quiet Secondary One girl from CHIJ (SJC).
When her parents first brought her to me back in early June 2017, anxiety was written all over their faces.
Why?
She was right smack in the danger zone in almost every subject. She had failed English Language and all the Humanities in the MYE, After the school's PTM, her parents pressed SOS button. Surely, their daughter would risk being transferred to Normal (Academic) course if she could not cope with the Express course.
With the help of a "June Holiday Tuition Class" brochure, her parents found their way to the centre where I was teaching. After a round of PTM to understand their concern, my co-teacher and I placed PJ in an intensive PSLE/Lower Secondary June Revision Class.
When it comes to saving a student from D7/E8, I don't mince my words and waste my time.
A girl of few words, PJ has a natural velvety voice that reminds me of the queen of Bossa Nova music, Ms Lisa Ono. I made it a point to tell her, "Your voice is your asset. Use it where it counts." That is perhaps the closest thing to a praise I gave her.
Intuitively, I know she can perform well under the right amount of pressure.
After June, PJ continues to see me at least once a week, with the other Secondary Four students. Be it Reading Comprehension, Visual Text Comprehension, Report Writing or Formal Letter, she has to do them all. I have not set her apart from the other older students of mine. In fact, the multi-age learning environment works for her as she learns much from the older ones.
In the recent conversation I had with her, she shared her a good news.
"How is your Term 3 English Test result?" I asked.
"Just one mark away... from an A2," she replied, with a coy smile. Clearly she was more than DELIGHTED!
"I used to fail. Now I am one of the above average..." she added. I congratulated her.
I am very happy she has reached our common target of B3 in less than 3 months.
Keep up the good work, PJ!
Picture from https://www.maxaboutsms.com/greetings/quotes_sms/page-5
