13 and ready for university

A wonder kid. A smart genius. A child every parent would wish for. Muhammed Haikal Abdullah Zain. He is only 13 years old but has scored straight As for his Math, Chemistry, Physics and Biology A levels examinations. Now, he is aiming for a place to study medicine in the National University of Singapore. NUS has decided to assess him and would love to accept him as he has shown himself to be exceptional. Based on Haikal, he had dreamt of studying medicine since six years old and he wishes to become a neurologist as he is fascinated by the brain.
When I read of this news, I was wondering why the name sounded so familiar. Then, I realised that I had been in the same Math Olympiad class as him before! I had met this wonder kid, sat beside this wonder kid, studied the same concepts as this wonder kid! So why didn’t some of his ability rub off on me… Haha, just joking! Indeed, ever since I have met him, I knew he had a flexible mind. He could think in many different directions and come up with solutions you would never think of! During Math Olympiad competitions, he would always be one of the winners of individual prizes! Thus, this piece of news did not come as a great surprise to me.
Yet, this led me to think about something. Haikal is pursuing his own interests. He is involved in studying the subjects and topics he is passionate about. He wants to become a neurologist as he finds the complicated brain fascinating, thus he aims to study medicine in NUS. However, if he did not have such an interest and was merely forced by his parents to work hard, then he would not have achieved such amazing results. Let us think about it this way. If his parents had wanted him to become a lawyer and disregarded his ability in Maths and Science, would he be as successful? No. No matter how smart he is, he would not wish to engage in something that entirely does not interest him. Interest results in passion. Passion results in willingness. Willingness to work, willingness to put in effort, willingness to try your best. Willingness results in great achievements.
Now, let me return to my point about parents not pressurising their children. Of course, a little pressure is encouraged and would cause the child to work harder, but too much pressure would cause one to tire out and lose interest easily. Different people have different abilities. Not everyone would be able to achieve what someone else achieves. Thus, parents should, as Confucius says, 因材施教, to provide the children with the type and standard of education they need. A little more enrichment would of course benefit the child, but too much might result negatively. It is almost impossible to make a weaker student try to understand the concepts and solutions to math Olympiad and hope they win individual prizes during the competition. Indeed, hard work would pay off and it may be possible, but the amount of effort needed is overwhelming.
Hence, it is more practical to let the child pursue their own interests. This is exactly the purpose of subject combination. As we advance to Secondary 3, we would then be allowed to select the topics that we would like to pursue and study deeper into it. This has allowed for the training of specialists in different areas. As for schools like ITE (Institute of Technical Education), students are generally weaker and are thus given a specific choice of subject to study in further detail. This would equip them with essential skills to survive and have a proper career, and many students from ITE have excelled to become excellent in their professions, such as internationally renowned chefs, artists, musicians, etc.
Another thought that came to my mind when I read this news was that our society has improved. We have become more civilised and united; there is less segregation, division and racism. Although Singapore’s population consists mainly of Chinese, a coloured child like Haikal can still be given equal opportunities to further his education. Equal. I stress on equal. He is not just given opportunities, but is given equal opportunities. There is not a single rule in Singapore that stops a particular race from taking part or enjoying a particular activity. Hence, anyone, regardless of race and religion, would be given equal chances to excel. This results in racial harmony, less prejudice and of course, the development of more talents.
In conclusion, Haikal is a genius, yet as Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” I hope that Haikal would continue to work hard and gain glory for Singapore. I also wish that more potential would be discovered to be developed into more talents!
-Ho Jin Yang, Golden Sheep-