Josephus Tan scored a 183 for his PSLE back in 1991. Despite such a setback, he is now a successful lawyer.
In his Facebook post, Josephus talked about looking pass one’s PSLE results and focusing on putting in effort and not giving up. A success story that has Josephus rising from scoring only 183 to getting a post-graduate diploma in Law from NUS.
While MOE’s statement have 66.2% of students qualifying for the express stream, not every student has managed to score so well.
Josephus’ words of encouragement to all PSLE students hopes to alleviate parents’ fears that the grades will mean the end of the kid’s future. His personal story is a good case study of how one can bounce back from having a bad PSLE grade to become a successful individual.
Josephus is a lawyer now – THE signature dream job that all Asian mums wish their child to be.
Josephus shares with theAsianparent:
“I’ve personally find it very sad that 12-year olds should have to go through such an ordeal – of living up to the expectations of adults, feeling overly accomplished or defeated over an examination that probably has the least impact on their adult lives. I also think we should not be encouraging “paper chase” and stigmatisation at all.
No man is an island as the saying goes so no person can ever do it alone. If he/she did well, we should encourage humility. If he/she did not do well, then we should encourage perseverance. These should be the focus and not what stream or school he/she goes into.
We should be encouraging their thirst for knowledge instead of an illusion of success based on aggregate scores.”
In his Facebook post below, he now shares some words of advice to the graduating cohort.
Josephus, manager of his own law firm called Invictus Law Corporation, encourages students that regardless of your current scores, take heart that it’s just a number, and to focus on a bigger and brighter future.
Image source: Facebook (Josephus Tan)
However, Josephus also notes that you should try your best and not to be complacent.
Image source: Facebook (Josepheus Tan)
It’s easy to disregard his words as someone who’s had an easy life and has a great job now. But Josephus reassures students that he knows what it’s like, and barely passed his PSLE.
The team at theAsianparent wishes to thank Josephus for his words of encouragement. To all mums out there, do not lose heart for the journey ahead is still long with a range of opportunities possible for your child.
*This article is from our archives.