To Drop Or To Persevere On, Read the "Don't Quit" Poem

With the release of mid year exams, there are often only 2 scenarios : students are happy, students are unhappy.

I certainly want more happy students then unhappy but sometimes things are just reverse of what we want them.

Some schools might be using the mid year as a gauge to determine if students are able to handle the workload especially the graduating classes. From a school point of view, I understand where they are coming from.

Instead of focusing your energy on the many subjects you have on hand, why not drop the subject(s) which you have seemed to under-perform? Schools have their concern for their students. There is no right or wrong here. But before you decide to Drop or Perserve on with the subject(s), I have a major factor for you to consider:

Have you put in 100% effort and commitment for the subject(s)?

Many a times, examinations might not be reflecting the true potential of the students' capability. Unsatisfactory results could be due to so many many excuses! like "insufficient preparation as there wasn't enough time" (most often heard of excuse), "totally lack of interest in the subject", "teachers didn't teach well" (totally unjustifiable!), "cannot understand lots of things" (Why wait till eve of exams to realize that?), "totally unlucky"(hello! luck is 0.0001% in exams), "the papers are so tough"...

Are you truly not able to do satisfactorily for your subject or are you burdened by your own many excuses?

I have been in some of your shoes before. I have done badly for my subjects, really bad. But I was glad that I was NOT given the option to choose. I had only 1 route to take - Perserve On to ensure that I complete what I start on. This is the poem on a card my friend sent me when my road was uphill. This poem inspires me, I hope it makes a difference for you too.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!

Photo by Monica's Dad

Ai Ling Ong

Hi, I'm Ai Ling Ong. I enjoy coaching students who have challenges with understanding and scoring in 'O' Level A-Maths and E-Maths. I develop Math strategies, sometimes ridiculous ideas to help students in understanding abstract concepts the fast and memorable way. I write this blog to share with you the stuff I teach in my class, the common mistakes my students made, the 'way' to think, analyze... If you have found this blog post useful, please share it with your friends. I will really appreciate it! :)