Many of us have come to believe that having a high I.Q and getting into a "top" school help in achieving good grades. However, the truth is, they aren't the main determinants for academic success. The real secret of great learning lies elsewhere - inside children themselves. Numerous studies conducted around the world have shown that test scores leap, often by more than 10 percent, when children a
re encouraged to develop good attitudes towards themselves and their learning. Children with the attitude and disposition that encourage good learning will flourish even in a mediocre school, while those who come with a mindset that hampers learning won't be able to make much of even the best educational opportunities. Being in the industry for more than a decade, I realised that as students (and many parents as well) get more and more competitive, schools and tuition centres reacted by spending more and more time giving their students impossible homework loads and uncountable practice papers, neglecting the growth of their students' inner core. And at the same time, I noticed a distressing trend: children nowadays are getting more and more self-centered and are apathetic towards others. I started out Augustine's English Classes with the goal in mind to solve these two problems. I began researching and experimenting with different approaches to teaching, finding ways to allow our students to continue to learn and grow beyond the stipulated class timings. Helping the young ones not just to attain short-term academic success, but for the long-term goal of helping them understand, empathise and to take care of others who are in need. Of course, I take pride in my students achieving the top results in their respective schools. But I find an even greater satisfaction in finding out what their goals and dreams are for the future. From my first few batches of students, 3 of them are taking up Medicine in NUS, 2 of them are studying Law in NUS while another is offered a Law degree in Cambridge, 3 of them has taken up Social Studies, and another 5 in Engineering. But one thing about this particular group that struck my heart is that all of them have made a pact with each other to take a year off together upon graduation to do volunteer work overseas. Augustine's English Classes has been set up to be more than just a tuition class. And as adults, we should do whatever we can to ensure that our young ones not just achieve academic success, but to become caring, respectfully, and responsible for their communities.
