and so, psle is approximately 3 weeks away. i am stressed. i haven't mentioned about the 3 psle kids i'm tutoring, have i? alright, let's start with that.

the first is a girl from china. she's the smartest kid i have so far. she's scoring mostly As for her subjects and she's the most diligent student. she's also the most talkative and erm violent. i guess it's cos she doesnt get to play much; the poor girl is literally stuck in her room the entire day doing homework. sad life, considering that she's only 12. the only thing i am afraid of is that she will suffer a breakdown from all the stress and pressure of getting Astars instead of As (like, my goodness. i would just die) or go on some rampage. already, i can see some small signs of rebelling.

the next is a singaporean boy. he's an average student who can do much better if he puts his heart and mind in it. but, at this stage, it's not surprising. he loses his focus easily and he cant sit through a 2-hour tuition session. so i end-up having to give short breaks and pray that his mum wouldnt come storming in one day and grilling me about it. heh~ i hope that when crunch time comes, he really sits down and concentrate and really really do his work. he gives up too easily especially when it comes to maths problem sums, and he just rushes through english. so my only worry is that he does the same during psle.

the last is a china boy. this boy is my greatest worry. i am stressed most of time because of him. he's the only one in em3, and he is failing his subjects. time and time again, i have to remind myself that i cant push him the way i do the rest because he lacks the foundation. when i first started tutoring him, i nearly suffered a heart attack from the horrid english. how does one construct a sentence? a simple sentence like, 'he was studying in his room' became 'he was. studying in his room.' that is at best. so yes, he lacks serious foundation and considering that he only started tuitions in mid-june (i think) and it is now less than 1 month away from psle, i fear that he won't be able to at least pass his exams. most of my friends tell me to just do my best and not be so stressed over it, my parents (esp my mum) ask me to forgo teaching him since it's so hard to teach and sometimes, he gives me trouble, but when i think about it, if i don't tutor him, who will? and while i know that in the event that he fails, it wont be my fault because i have to start teaching him the foundations first, stuff that kindergarden kids would have learnt. but yet, if he does fail, i would feel guilty and responsible because i AM his tutor and my job is to ensure that he at least passes english and science and goes on to normal tech. he is a good boy, he does his work quietly, his problem is that he does not understand 95% of what the questions are asking because they're all in english. it was a pity that when he first arrived in singapore, the mother didn't put him through all the basic english tuitions, like what my tuition girl's parents did.

tutoring the boy today, i felt tired, sad and frustrated. i had to remind myself constantly that i am tutoring a boy with zero foundation in english and i have to be extremely patient with him. but it is so frustrating when you have to sit through session after session after session going through the same darn thing over and over again, and having to balance between science and english when 1 and a half hours (even 2 - which i usually end-up tutoring him for. 30 mins free for him) is simply not enough, even when it is twice a week. simply put, i am worried, i am scared for him, and i am stressed. if i could tutor him every single day, i would. honestly. except i have 2 other kids to tutor on top of school and kendo. unless i skip this entire month's training and get killed (if not kicked out of kendo) by the seniors. plus, the boy isn't free every day, i don't know why. that's another thing that frustrates me.

3 weeks. i hope i have the strength and patience to last through this. i hope that i don't snap at them unfairly, nor in my haste to ensure that they pass/do well, i end up pushing them too much. this is going to be trying for me, since i have to cope with doing my term essays and tests and tuitions and what-nots. sigh. but i will persevere! *nods head*

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cycling outing tmr! hoot! darn my blister. :p