Take 5: 12 Jan 2015 by Mr Teo Kok Keong

Good morning Mdm Tan, Mr Lee, Mr Tan, Fellow Colleagues and Gessians,

The main focus of today’s Take-Five will be the school’s core values. In each term, we will emphasize one core value, i.e. Discipline in Term 1, Integrity in Term 2, Respect in Term 3 and Resilience in Term 4. In addition, the quotes that appear in your weekly calendar in each term in your student’s handbook will also be based on these core values accordingly. Henceforth, I will only touch the core value of “Discipline” today.

First and foremost, I will like to stress the importance of discipline. Discipline builds inner strength, character and stability. It helps you to control impatience, anger and instinctive reactions. It enables you to resist all kinds of unnecessary temptations, such as over watching too much TV, gossiping, or taking unnecessary risks. Most importantly, possessing self-discipline enhances considerably your chances of achieving success in whatever you do.

Why would I say this? This is because all the good things in life need time to grow and yield fruit, which means you need tolerance, patience and persistence, all of which are the by-product of self discipline. What is even more interesting is that people nowadays, often want instant results and gratification, but this is not always possible. We have to realise that people, who excel in their chosen field, usually study, make experiments, make mistakes and learn from them. They prepare and train themselves, sometimes even for years, such as in sports for example. If they lacked discipline, which supplies the inner strength and patience, they would have given up in the early stages.

In addition, a self disciplined student usually commands respect from other people, and does not easily feel hurt or insulted by what people say or do. A self disciplined student has more control over his/her thoughts and reactions because they can manage their own behavior and regulate their negative impulses. With this ability it is easier to go through life and achieve goals. A student with a disciplined mind controls what he/she says, and can therefore keep good relationships with other people. This ability can definitely help you in your relationship, in study, in sport, at work and in everything else. And conincidentally, this is in line with our gessian philosophy.

With this, we have set a few expectations for each and every student. We will start on these few expectations and slowly build upon this foundation during your GESS journey. So, I will need you to listen intently and penned down the following guidelines to help cultivate self discipline :

1. Class attendance.
We need you to attend and actively participate in classes, as these are the keys to college success. This requires the discipline to attend school on time every morning, to make education a priority and to give the maximum effort during the classroom experience. Disciplined students come to class prepared and ready to participate in class and small group discussions. They also take notes and ask questions.

2. Good Studying Habits
We do observe that some students attend classes, but lack the discipline to read their textbooks and study. In fact, successful students do schedule study-time to ensure they consistently prepare for classes and complete assignments. Typically, we would advise students to spend two to three hours of time outside class on reading, homework and other class commitments. Discipline in these areas usually leads to more complete homework and projects, better test preparation and a better overall learning experience in combination with classroom engagement.

3. Utilizing Resources
Disciplined students also make use of available resources as necessary. The library, academic support programs, teachers and school support staff are some of the resources students can access. Meeting with teachers periodically or with questions and doubts is a great way to stay on top of grades and areas for improvement and helps students and their teachers to build a general rapport. Academic support programs offer tutoring services and provides test taking strategies and help with papers and coursework. These available resources generally aimed to help students succeed. Henceforth, students should cultivate the discipline to seek help when needed and make full use of the resources.

To end off, I will like to stress that “Discipline” is the ultimate truth of success. It acts as our compass to put us back on course every single day, so that we are moving closer to our definition of the “best’ life we could possibly live. Most importantly, I believe that “Discipline” is also a value that you would probably like to see in your children one day. At this juncture, I will like you to ask yourself this question : If you cannot even demonstrate such values, how are you going to expect your children to even uphold such values next time. Henceforth, I hope that all Gessians will live up to the portrait of a true Gessian of excellence, standing and significance by living a legacy and leaving a legacy. It is only then that you will “know the good”, “desire the good” and ultimately “do the good”.

With this, I end my Take-5 for the day. Thank you very much.

Onwards Gessians