"Keep Up The Good Work!"

"Keep Up The Good Work!"

I came across my old report cards from GiS. It basically runs along the same lines.

Sample the following:-

In the world of business:
Year 9 (or your Form 3 equivalent)
“He always works well in class, but assessment results do not indicate this” – Mrs. Ng, Elementary Accounting, Term 2, March 1997 (Exam percentage – 58)

“…he would make better progress with a more conscientious approach. More effort is desirable” – Mrs. Ng, Business Studies/Economic, Term 3, June 1997 (Exam percentage 42; Year average – 65)

In getting to know the world in Geography:
Year 8:
“…did not achieve his potential this year due to poor time management, poor organisation and a lack of commitment” – Mr. Sutter, Term 3, July 1996 (Exam Percentage – 73; Year average – 71)

Year 9:
“…struggles to meet deadlines and produces work that is sometimes incomplete. He needs to focus on organisational skills and reading his major texts in order to improve his level of attainment. A much bigger effort is needed in class and at home” – Mr. Whitaker, Term 2, March 1997 (Topic Tests, coursework and homework: All Ds. Term Grade – D)

“A capable student with potential to do well in this subject at IGCSE level. Preparation for the recent examination needed to be more detailed. Always polite, friendly and works well” – Mr. Clynt Whitaker, Term 3, June 1997 (Exam mark – 55; Year average – 53, Term Grade – C)

This is Art.
Year 8, Term 2, April 1996
- Effort: A
- Conduct: A
- Term Grade: A
- Examination Mark: 75

Year 8, Term 3, July 1996
- Effort: A
- Conduct: B (I think it was the Richard Marx cassettes I’d put on)
- Term Grade: B

Year 9, Term 2, March 1997
- Drawing from observation: 2 (that means good)
- Effective use of materials: 2
- Research and develop ideas: 2
- Evaluation of artwork: 2
- Effort in class: 2
- Commitment to course: 2
- Completion of work: 2

Year 9, Term 3, June 1997
Exam Percentage – 80%
Year Average – 64%
Term Grade: 2
- Drawing from observation: 2 (that means good)
- Effective use of materials: 2
- Research and develop ideas: 2
- Evaluation of artwork: 2
- Effort in class: 3
- Commitment to course: 2
- Completion of work: 2

At this point, I think I would’ve been happy with doing Art for the rest of my life.

Blowing things up in Science:
Year 8:
“Foo Hing can do better than this result”.
“Foo Hing can achieve higher marks with effort”.
- Miss Usha Nair, for Terms 2 and Terms 3

Year 9:
“…has the potential to do much better. He has to acquire some serious working habits”.
- Mrs Louis, for Term 2.

Apparently, I was a “joy” to teach in P.E. and I/T. And now, the round-up. The summation of two semesters from two years. We had the same class tutor for 4 years. God Bless Miss Kaur; she was young and hip. And then she got preggers. Sigh.

Term 2, 1996: “I am pleased with Foo Hing’s progress this term. With greater confidence and participation, I believe he can achieve much academically and socially. Keep up the good work, Foo Hing!”

Term 3, 1996: “Overall, Foo Hing has made good progress in most of his subjects this term. He interacts well with his classmates and is a pleasure to have in the tutor group. Keep up the good work, Foo Hing!”

Term 2, 1997: “Excellent progress has been made this term. However, I am concerned with Foo Hing’s performance in Geography. He is not achieving the standard of which he is capable of as in his other subjects. Therefore he must make every effort to improve in this subject next term”.

Term 3, 1997: “Foo Hing has progressed well in some subjects this term. However, he needs to put more focus on subjects that he finds difficult mastering and to ensure that he is well-prepared for his examinations. All the best in Year 10!”

Life went arguable downhill from there. My IGCSEs were awful; I managed to attain more than decent forecast results from my mocks, but my finals put me down significantly. I suppose that this is a long term lesson of sorts…or another case of a leopard never really changing its spots. I guess I didn’t have much faith in being a studious kid; I know I still don’t have it.

Asking yourself “what’s the point?” at 14 is fatalistic. Still, I suppose that I didn’t really want to slave away, and just wanted to have fun. A wee bit too much…? I still do. Ah, the past has caught up to me again. Private education. Where everything’s sugar coated. I bet they really wanted to say how fucking daft I was (translate that to “concerned” in the report cards). And they probably did. Just that they were probably scared that my dad would have sued their asses. Irony is, he probably would’ve agreed with them.

Oh, well. Onwards and upwards.