A small glimpse of our services

Hey. For this post, we have something quite special for you.

Today, we are fortunate enough to take a small glimpse at our Bedok branch, spearheaded by our affiliates Chris and Dinah. (Dinah is busy with teaching a key concept in class at the time of this photo)

The Bedok branch of MindCentre is a two-minute walk away from the Exit B of Bedok MRT, which is pretty accessible for many of our students who live in the East. They have helped many kids achieve excellent grade improvements and attained desirable scores in their endeavours. Don't let the Bedok centre's simple office design fool you; even as I write, I am enlightened by the interesting applications of techniques our affiliates use in their classes.

From the obvious stories of students who went from E8 and F9 to a consistent A1 and A2 in E-Maths and Chemistry, to the hidden stories about children worried that they would score poorly for their exams, their personal struggles and perseverance (yes, Elizabeth and Jeslyn, we remember you!) that cannot be captured with words easily, many memories of our youths are lived in this centre. Both fun and tough times were weathered as all students struggled with their adolescence, the growing expectations, the difficulty spikes within Singaporean education content as taught by schools, and many other complications such as peer pressure and the juggling of their ever-expanding schedules.

This experience has been relayed to me, Cozy, and some of the teachers in our centres as well. Kids would come and feel a bit bad about scoring poorly compared to their friends, their plans for activities bungled by remedial lessons and tuition classes, and some lamenting their lack of talent. I too, have worked with children who suffered from a defeatist attitude, and I am glad that Chris and Dianah can relate to my own experience. If it has become this commonplace, perhaps I should give voice on the tutors' side, to hopefully help the kids.

Should individuals be expelled for lacking talent, to prevent them from suffering further? To have them accept a path in life that does not involve as much hardship? Some people have chosen so, to avoid meaningless effort from hardships, as they believe themselves statistically likely to fail. One might even argue that if people cared about other people, they have a duty to prevent them from experiencing suffering; they could abandon thought and simply delegate the part of thinking to their loved ones.

But I would disagree: What matters more than the pain you might experience, is using one’s willpower and giving it your all. Those who do so, be it for better or worse, will have lived a good life, a life free of regrets. While effort doesn’t always lead to success, so long as you give it your all, effort is never a waste because you develop fortitude and the virtue of temperance, which you can use for the rest of your life.

You won't always use your knowledge of alkanes and alkenes in life. But, you will never find a situation where temperance and fortitude isn't useful. The experience of challenging difficult things itself helps you develop the mental resilience to stand firmer. For those who do endure, all of a sudden, everything else in life seems that much easier in contrast; not all paths in life demand the same level of effort and hard work as, for example, becoming a future Member of the Parliament. Giving your all at something difficult means that everything else would be easier by comparison.

As the adage goes, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." - Les Brown