Pride comes before a fall.

There was this young boy of twelve who made excellent progress in standard six despite a lack of time to study. He was offered a place in the best school in the country then, the Penang Free School.

He was fortunate that he had a keen interest in books at a very young age. With a great interest in health and other topics, he frequented the British Council Library in Bishop Street and the USIS Library in another street nearby. He read a lot, learned a lot and did very well in school.

He thought he was very clever as he could talk in excellent English. In fact, at the end of standard six, when pupils were divided into groups, he was selected to be the leader of one of the groups. He was so good at conversing in English that he astonished everyone with his ability to speak to British tourists whenever he had the opportunity to do so.

When someone is good at the medium of instruction in a school, he/she finds no difficulty in understanding the subjects taught. So, he did very well in every subject.

When he was sent to the Penang Free School, de developed a pride in himself. He believed in his own ability so much that he began to neglect the teaching of the teachers, spending more time in talking with fellow students. He became a chatterbox.
His school work became sloppy and he spent more time on comics. Although his results dropped in the first and second year, he was still not bothered as he still managed to pass in all of the subjects. And when it came to the English Language, he was still good.

It was only in form three that he realised he was slacking in his studies. It took the words of a caring teacher to awaken him.

The teacher gave him a lecture and ended it with,"If you talk less and pay more attention, you can be good at your studies. It's time you wake up and realise that you're throwing away a good future."

The truth of those words sank in and for the first time in many years, he realised that he had to change his ways. He was thankful to the teacher for the lecture he received.

Since that day, he went back to listening attentively to what was taught. He put in better, more conscientious work.

He was lucky as it got him better marks and results. Eventually, with the good results he got academically, he achieved his ambition to be a teacher, to help other students just as that and other teachers had helped him.

I know that to be true for I was that student.

Looking back, I believe I have done a good job. My English Language, English literature and Art and Craft students as well as my gymnasts would know what I had done for them.

Thank God, realisation came in the nick of time.