One of the questions I've always pondered about in my life is: Why do some people not perform well in school, in exams blah blah.

I mean, even though there's a multitude of theories and explanations to explain this point, I can't really empathise. You may now be thinking, wah, this guy so yaya, think himself damn smart, condemn all the other pple who don't do well.

Erm, i must admit this might be true to a certain extent, but wait, let me finish my story. Coming from a good school, and having friends who are mostly high flyers, it is indeed quite hard to take the point of view of people that are quite foreign in my life, even though i always try, i can't say that i always succeed. I digress.

You know, i always believed that learning is fun, and i always fail to see why some people keep on say they dread learning. I mean, how can there be something that is more fun than learning in this world, to know more about ourselves, the world around us, how every nut and bolt turn in life (Wah this guy so arrogant, think his own view is the truth). To me, humans are born to learn, the thirst for knowledge is inherent, unless of course, the person has some brain damage or personality disorder blah blah. And if you like to learn, definitely you should score well, because learning is supposed to have a direct correlation with grades, right? (well, this is debatable i realise)

Slowly, i began to realise, actually i was a bit wrong, but not that wrong after all. A child's mind is fresh, a clean state. Out of all the children i've encountered, i realise almost every children desire to learn, to be taught; and they like to learn pretty much EVERYTHING, from languages to maths and sciences, from arts, humanities, music to even the vices (not recommended though). The problem is, most of them like to learn at their own pace at their own speed, and with people who can inspire them. They don't like to learn at an accelerated speed, to learn with certain people (esp critical pple), especially if their results or performance are not good, because it only highlights and enhances their flaws. It is the misfit of individuals into an education system that ultimately leads to their failure to perform, or the losing of their passion for learning. I realise that ultimately, people still like to learn, and they are pretty much self-driven in the process and i'm pretty much heartened by that realization.

Unfortunately the problem is still very much alive. We have children who actually do not dislike learning, they just don't like to learn in the setting they are in. Knowing that they are still passionate about learning enhances my own understanding but does little to help them; they cannot choose their parents, their teachers and schools (ok there is a bit of choice here, but most people do not exercise it), their peers, their country, and their education system. The result is, some people are still going to flunk at the system, and lose their enthusiasm for learning even though they were once passionate about discovering the world around them. Some of these people may even be so bitter that they let their view be tainted and be tormented for the rest of their life, while others are fortunate enough to change sometime later in their life.

Because a lot of things are largely beyond a child's sphere of influence, i believe a lot of things are just fated. Some people are just fated to meet the right person and system to liberate his mind, while some people are just unlucky enough to be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. If you are one of those lucky ones, count your blessings; if you are not, bear in mind the world is large and who knows, you'll find your heaven one day, as long as you never stop believing.