Dealing with poor PLE results

Jan 20, 2009

Cindy, a senior three student, is still nursing the emotional wounds she sustained when her mum criticised her PLE results three years ago.

By Jamesa Wagwau

Cindy, a senior three student, is still nursing the emotional wounds she sustained when her mum criticised her PLE results three years ago.

“My mum was angry and disappointed. I let the family down by failing to score aggregate 4 like my elder siblings. I am afraid history might repeat itself once again when I join O’ Level,” Cindy explained as tears rolled down her face.

Having scored aggregate 6, Cindy felt like an outcast in a family where children have never scored anything but aggregate 4 at PLE.

PLE results are out. It is time when some parents shed tears of joy while others turn blue with rage. There are heartbreaks and disappointments as many parents think about the difficulties involved in hunting for schools. In a society where the school your child attends lays foundation for their future career, exam results have become a key to a child’s destiny.

Has your child attained aggregates that are below your expectations? Any failure to hit the mark can be very disappointing. The temptation to pour out your anger and blame the child for ‘wasting your money’ becomes irresistible.

Statements you make about your child’s exam results remain with them for life? Do not disregard the power that your tongue wields on your child’s destiny. It is a power that can either build or destroy depending on how you use it.

Your child perceives your word as the gospel truth and both positive and negative statements are equally believed. Whether the child has scored distinctions, credits, or passes, one fact remains: he or she is still your child. You cannot change the fact that the child’s future largely rests in your hands.

Secondary school is a different level of education and PLE results are rarely a true reflection of how your child will perform. If a child fails to hit the mark, it does not destine him or her for failure later. Disappointed as you may be, please resist the temptation of criticizing or blaming the child for wasting your money. Even after three decades, your child might not remember the exact words you used but clearly remember how the words made him or her feel.

Disappointing PLE exam result is like a knife that has both the handle and the blade. If you hold it by the blade, it can ‘cut’ you, but if you hold it by the handle it can ‘serve’ you appropriately.

That aggregate that has failed to meet your expectation has the potential of propelling the child to an excellent performance at O’ level. It all depends on how you receive it.

No child is born a ‘failure’ and examination cannot make them so. Keep it mind that it is your responsibility to sow the first seeds of success in your child’s life.

Believe in your child and let the child know you believe in him or her then the whole world will believe with you.

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