Your kids aren't lazy; they just don't know how to revise independently

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Elisa Chia

SINGAPORE - Your children's weighted assessment results are back.

They could have done better, you tell them, had they not been lazy and revised their school work consistently.

You are not alone in grumbling about your kids' laziness when it comes to studying.

Some mums and dads are also frustrated that their children are not ramping up revision in their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) year.

These were common refrains that Dr Wong Hwei Ming heard from parents when she was a teacher at Singapore Chinese Girls' Primary School.

Dr Wong was also a part-time pro bono counsellor at a primary school for 18 years and an educational psychologist at the Ministry of Education. She is now an assistant centre director and senior education research scientist at the Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice in National Institute of Education (NIE).

What she understands from some pupils is that they put off revision because they struggled to get started or felt unsure about what to practise at home.

Another former teacher, Dr Lee Ai Noi, who has more than 20 years of teaching experience at primary and secondary schools, adds: "There are no inherently 'lazy' kids."

Dr Lee, who is now a senior lecturer in Psychology and Child and Human Development at NIE, notes that some kids may lack the drive to study and become disengaged.

"But adults often label unmotivated kids as 'lazy', incorrectly implying a flaw in their character," she says.