Chapter 63 - Delinquent Diaries (7)

Ahoy Ship Wreckers!

Today I bring you Simba - the self-proclaimed King of Football. This delinquent earned his nickname not because of his ferocity but because of his wild mane. Why not hair? Believe me, if I could tame it I would call it hair but I can't. It doesn't matter, I can't tame it with water and I certainly can't put it down with hair mousse. It just has a stubborn personality of its own much like Simba.

Simba is nothing like the cub in the movie. He is tall, athletic and dark-skinned much like Scar. However, his good points are more aligned with the young lion cub. For example, he can be quick to start a fight but also quick to forgive. Simba doesn't waste time on the big picture, he chases birds he can see in front of him. If Math concepts go over his head, Simba doesn't even pretend to try. He acknowledges defeat and moves on with life. While I quite admire his attitude, this certainly won't do for the upcoming test.

Long story short, Simba is quick to make friends and despite his flaws, is easily likeable. I find myself liking Simba as a person too... just not as a tutor. That boy simply cannot function without some sort of external pressure. Hence, Casper and I devised a plan to help him get motivated about Math.

The first thing we tried is to convert algebra into footballers. While it initially worked with the simpler concepts, Simba gave up when he had to solve the quadratic formula. You'd be surprised by the influences of money if I told you we borrowed some from Prince Charming to prepare a few tricks and treats. Halloween might be over but the gifting season isn't. We thought that it might be alright to have Christmas early in November if the passed the upcoming test.

Simba loves watching his idol play. So we got him one of Fandi Ahmad's oldest videos - his very first gameplay. It wasn't costly but it wasn't cheap either. In fact, ordinary school children couldn't afford it. Unlike the rest of his classmates, Simba didn't come from a very wealthy family. He was accepted into Joyville International because of his football talent. He kicks a ball well enough for the teachers to ignore the rot in his brain most of the time. Sadly, that's not going to roll well with us.

While Casper carried on with his lessons for the masses, I took one afternoon to sit down with Simba and a few of the slower ones who needed more one-on-one attention. It turns out, Simba has a terrible memory and have difficulties remembering the formulas. However, Casper and I believed that nobody is born with a terrible memory. Surely there can be a way to help him with it. And so the research began.

The first memory technique we tried was the Chunking technique. That meant that we broke down the huge information into smaller parts at a time for Simba to get familiarised. It also helped that there were plenty of repetitions and an environment that promoted pop quizzes at any moment to keep Simba on his toes. In fact, after researching how to improve memory, Casper and I started encouraging power naps after memorising. You wouldn't believe it. The before sleep test and after sleep test has significant results. Of course, we couldn't confirm if the nap helped or if these kids are simply getting better. Also, the one thing that all students do - last-minute cramming, actually helps.

Casper and I decided to use nap time to review the learning progress for the delinquents and we were pleasantly surprised that within two days of the new study technique, there were significant improvements. All but two students in the class were passing and we still had about a week more before the topical test. Casper and I agreed to start cranking up the difficulty of the questions and prepare them for greater challenges - the mid-term examinations.

Designing word problems was a fun process because it was a little like storytelling. I even took the trouble of making it amusing by using some of the names of some students in the class. I hope they'll be as amused as I am, especially Junior. He better not get that question with his name in it wrong!

Simba almost cried when he finally saw double-digit marks on his papers for the very first time. It wasn't easy to teach this aspiring footballer because I had to start teaching him from the basics of what fractions were. Simba's teacher had given up on him a long time ago so there was a lot of catching up to do not that we minded. When broken down and put into the right context for him, the boy was very quick to understand new things.

However, that's only the side of him that I know in class. As an observer, it would be a shame not to find out what my targeted specimen is like outside of the caged environment. So I asked Simba to take me to a friendly match he was having one afternoon with a neighbouring school. Simba was what they called a mid-fielder but he can also play the role of a defender well. His collectedness in the heat of the game makes him extremely reliable and it made him appear extremely mature. Now, if he could apply this to the tests and stop freaking out whenever he saw a blank paper, that would be perfect.

Needless to say, Simba and his team won that friendly match with the score 1-0. I studied the team and just found it a pity. If Simba hadn't been such a great team player, the opponent would have many chances to score. The strikers in Simba's team weren't bloodthirsty enough and hungry enough to win. I don't know the sport very well but I know darn well that if the ball is free, you chase it. Don't let it go to the goalie! That's just a giveaway...

Well, enough complaining from me. What's important is that Simba enjoys himself on the field.

That's all from me about Simba. I hope you can share with me if some of the memory techniques worked for you too.

Until next time, fair winds.

Pirate S.