“Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.” Are you familiar with this saying? What does it mean? It speaks to us about the importance of nurturing our skills. But let’s add a bit of innovation to these wise words. What if the man likes to learn fishing but struggles at it? What if he was more likely to succeed at some other activity, say like growing carrots. Concentrating on that would also serve the purpose of feeding him, wouldn’t it?
So what should we do? Should we focus on nurturing new skills or just try to build and improve the ones that we naturally possess? Do we face this same issue while choosing and trying to get into Co-curricular Activities (CCAs)? Since we are taking a break from our CCAs now due to Covid-19, let’s take a dive into whether Nature or Nurture of skills and talents matters more.
Nature vs Nurture: The different perspectives!
Recently, the Ministry of Education announced a pilot project that would allow students to get into the CCA of their choice without having to go through auditions. This scheme will be rolled out in a few schools during this year and the effects will be studied. This makes sure that kids get to do what they love to do. But is everyone enthusiastic about this? Some athletes and coaches aren’t. They are concerned about the likely dip in quality or output in sport and other activities. However, the new move could help our kids lead more happy and content lives at school.
The importance of stressing on nature
What are the benefits of making kids pursue things that they tend to fare better in? The most important advantage is that it becomes easier to train kids for such activities. Since he or she would have a natural talent for the activity, the job of the coach or trainer becomes a lot easier. By this logic, those who possess genuine talent in a particular sport or art form must join the activities devoted to the same, those who tend to be more disciplined must try joining the uniformed groups (Boys’ Brigade, Girls’ Brigade, Red Cross etc) and so on. This would improve the performance of the various clubs at the school level.
From a long term perspective, this should logically translate into better outcomes for Singapore in different realms, particularly when it comes to sports.
The case for nurturing
But what if you have a deep interest in the theatre but are not that good enough to make it into the theatre group? Or what if you love playing volleyball but do not have the skills to make it into the team? These things happen with the conventional CCA system that has auditions to select students.
What happens when you get rejected for some activity which you always wanted to do? It leads to a great deal of sorrow for many and might kill your self-confidence. We definitely don’t want this happening to our kids.
Letting kids pick the CCA of their choice, therefore, lets them enjoy a great deal of happiness. They will also be able to improve their skills in the domains with the training that they would receive. Education is, after all, a process of imparting values and skills to students, isn’t it? Trying out different or unknown activities widens the perspectives and knowledge base of students.
Last year, at the South-East Asian(SEA) Games, Singapore won two golds in underwater hockey. Our team was captained by Jonathan Chan. The funny thing is that during his school days, Chan was rejected numerous times for the CCAs that he joined. It was only after changing schools that he could get into the water polo team. He was a novice. But with time, he picked up the required skills and later on moved to underwater hockey. Jonathan Chan is today a national sporting hero and his tale is the biggest testimony to the fact that nurturing a skill is possible and it can also give you great results.
Hard work: The common requirement
At the end of the day, whether you go with nature or nurture, one thing is absolutely unavoidable – hard work. When you have a natural talent in a particular activity you need to put in the required hard work to make sure that you polish your skills and be the best in the business. A lack of dedication and hard work can make even the most gifted talents go to waste. Even when you are not particularly gifted with a talent in a particular activity, tireless hard work can help you improve your skills and be better at what you are doing. Such an attitude ensures that you do not have to put any restrictions on your dreams.
As we have seen, both nature and nurture factors have their own advantages when being considered while selecting a CCA. Regardless of which CCA you have selected, there are certain essentials such as hard work and dedication which you will need in order to succeed. So let’s work on our weak areas, and hone them for an ultimate success story! 🙂
Why are extracurricular activities so important?
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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