Building the Confidence and Resilience to Face Life’s Tests 

Stage fright. Falling down. Being laughed at. Many of life’s greatest tests happen outside the classroom. Here’s how to help our kids ace those tests.

When the MOE announced last year that they would stop ranking and giving tests to students in Primary 1 and Primary 2, many parents in Singapore (including one of our own Sassy Mama team members) cheered the move, praising the shift to more holistic evaluation based on discussion and homework, along with an increased emphasis on developing social skills.

Yet some parents still fretted, concerned that this lessened focus on tests and grades would somehow set their children back, and put them at a disadvantage.

As one of Singapore’s leading education providers for preschool, primary, secondary, and junior college enrichment programmes in English, Mathematics and the Sciences, The Learning Lab has seen both sides of this coin. Through their programmes, TLL has long prepared children with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to take on life’s challenges.

TLL’s approach is all about building confidence and resilience in young children, because this prepares them equally well for whatever tests they face in life – academic, athletic, social or otherwise.

At the preschool level, building the confidence to learn is essential. TLL’s preschool English programme doesn’t just help students build foundational reading, oral communication and writing skills. It also teaches them how to overcome challenges like getting along with others, getting over mistakes, and getting over the fear of trying something new. In their Math classes, the “Junior Mathematicians at Work” book helps young learners build confidence in their number sense and mastery. This foundation also helps children eliminate hesitation in exploring concepts like addition or subtraction and number relationships.

We’ve long sung the praises of resilience and a growth mindset, knowing that praising a child’s effort on a task is actually proven to elicit better long-term performance. TLL’s curriculum is specially designed to equip children with not just the knowledge to excel academically, but also the resilience and confidence to handle life’s tests beyond the classroom. This is accomplished through a wide range of programmes that give kiddos the opportunities to participate in activities that extend beyond just pure academics, via contextual, hands-on learning.

The Learning Lab knows that our children can only grow in life when we encourage them to push past their fears, insecurities, and failures. When students feel truly empowered, they understand that life isn’t just about test scores, but also about facing real-world tests and making strong, character-defining choices. Because the most important tests in life don’t take place in the classroom – they take place in our children’s minds.

Want to know more? Visit thelearninglab.com.sg/tests to find out more about The Learning Lab, or visit one of their eight locations islandwide. Look out for their June holiday programmes, too! 

The Learning Lab, email [email protected], www.facebook.com/TheLearningLabSingapore, www.thelearninglab.com.sg