GRIT INSPIRATION

Seen as failures or troublemakers in school, these individuals persevered and found success in different ways and in their own time

- Stephanie Yeo

When Mr Dayn Ng was younger, he took six years to complete his O levels after he was retained in Secondary 3 in the Normal (Academic) stream.

He struggled to find his place in the education system here. An alumnus of Temasek Primary School and Coral Coral Secondary School (now named Meridian Secondary School), he was regularly disciplined for bad behaviour.

"I didn't get the point of school.

Even if I went there, I would just sleep," says Mr Ng, 36, who scored 178 for his Primary School Leaving Examination in 2000.

What kept him in school was the Chinese orchestra, where he played the erhu and, later, the suona, a double-reed traditional Chinese woodwind instrument.

Even though he skipped classes, he would turn up without fail for his co-curricular activity (CCA). His Chinese teacher, who was in charge of the CCA, fought for him to become chairman of the orchestra despite his discipline issues. It was a responsibility he bore with pride.

According to Ms Tan Su-Lynn, principal educational psychologist at Promises Healthcare, parents may get frustrated with such kids who act up and think they are just not trying hard enough, but there are many reasons a child or teen does not fit into the school system here.

Some may have a different learning style and appear disengaged even though they are capable and curious. Some are not motivated by external achievements like grades, while others may lack executive functioning skills like planning and focus.

Parental pressure to do well can also lead to a fear of failure and, ironically, an avoidance of schoolwork.

"Schools do encourage holistic development, but balancing academic demands with other aspects of growth is not always easy for students," Ms Tan adds.