First in a C class OR last in an A class? Part II

OK folks, here’s the conclusion to “Last in A Class or First in C Class?”.

Being the last in A class :

Good when you can rub shoulders with the best and you can (hopefully) learn from them. But child may end up having a self esteem problem when the pressure to perform builds up or the child may feel that she/he is not making progress. This factor depends on the parents as well - Do the parent(s) put undue pressure on the child is the question. May need a lot of attention and encouragement.

Being the first in a C class :

Builds self esteem but the downside is that the child may be mixing with the “bad hats” and pick up the wrong habits. We can only hope that our child end up influencing the rest rather than the other way around.


Which option to go for really depends on this child. If she/he is matured enough and able to handle competition or perhaps even exhibit a competitive spirit then being in an A class would do no harm.

I was in A class in primary, B class in most of my secondary years but I ended up being top 10 in university. I got thrown into a C class once when I was tranferred to a school in K.L. but I climbed up from there but never quite got the the A class. I excelled in that C class and it does feel good to be on top of that hill, for once!

I was a slow learner or a late developer, may be because I’ve always been a playful child! I’ve got the taste of real success during my years in university, scoring a distinction average in my final year has spurred me on to want to excel in my career and later in my MBA.

I think Jean did bring up a good point – peer influence carries higher weighting in the child/teenager’s mind. Therefore parent should get to know what sort of people the children are mixing with. A good idea would be to throw a party and see who he/she/they invite.

But all of this … to what end ? That is the question.

Everyone agrees that we want the best for our children, but seldom do we agree on what constitutes the best. And too bad we will only know these answers in retrospect.

As parents, we’d like to see our off spring doing well in life, in whatever they choose to do. But most of the time, parents have a tendency (intentional or otherwise) to steer the children to some where they want to succeed i.e. live their lives through their children e.g. “I have always wanted to be a doctor, I am sending my son to medical school.” I have heard this story so many times and I pray that I will not become like that.