Failure in exams is not failure in life

The Primary School Leaving Examination results that were released recently sparked a discussion on the downsides of the exam and the stresses it brings ("PSLE system needs further change" by Hasel Soh Wan Qi; Voices Of Youth, Nov 30).

Should parents shoulder some of the blame? Parents should be more open-minded.

It is detrimental to focus so much on academic performance. This may lead to children thinking they are failures when they do not excel in exams.

The fact is that not all of us are suited for academic life. Some of us may be wired for maths and science, while others do well in the visual arts, design and technology, and many other areas.

Instead of changing the system, we should think about changing ourselves.

We can take the PSLE as a milestone to reflect on our career paths.

Teo Chen Wei, 15,

Secondary 3 student

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 14, 2016, with the headline Failure in exams is not failure in life. Subscribe