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From Inertia to Action

Learning Life Lessons from Team Singapore

Learning Life Lessons
from Team Singapore

by Liang Hwee Ming

LEARNING valuable life skills while mingling with young, promising sports personalities…this is one of the key highlights of ITE College Central’s “Breaking Barriers – In Sports and In Life” project.

The “Breaking Barriers” project focuses on how ITE students can learn valuable life skills activities by interacting with young sportsmen and women from Team Singapore, who are their peers. From the interaction, ITE students learn skills like time management, team building, interpersonal skills and career planning. Some 20 Team Singapore athletes are involved in this project.

The project was officially launched by Mr Oon Jin Teik, CEO of Singapore Sports Council recently. A group of Team Singapore athletes and ITE students attended the launch.

A Meaningful Time of Learning and Sharing
ITE students who participated in this project found the interaction sessions meaningful. “It’s very refreshing to learn lessons outside a classroom setting,” said Sherwin Edgar Tam, 19, a Higher Nitec in Business Studies (Administration) student, who attended a tennis clinic by national tennis player Marc Lim. “It gives me a chance to meet up with Marc, as well as other students. From them, I’ve learnt to present myself better. And talking to Marc was very inspiring, too, because I discovered how he picked himself up after failures, like after losing a crucial game. This will inspire me to do likewise when I encounter setbacks.”

Added Higher Nitec in Business Studies (Accounting) student, Khoo Wee Kuang, 17, who interviewed national bodybuilder Travis Neo: “At first, I felt he was just a regular guy, but as I spoke to him, I was impressed with how he coped with being both a bodybuilder and a student. For example, he is determined and focused, and sets very specific goals for himself. And he make sacrifices – like giving up TV completely – just to find time for his sport.”

The Team Singapore athletes felt that they, too, have much to learn from the ITE students. Said national tennis player Marc Lim: “The session with ITE students was certainly an eye-opener. It was heartwarming to realise that they actually respect me a lot and look up to me as a role model. I tried my best to answer their many questions on various topics.”

Added national bowler Rena Teng: “I was most surprised that the ITE students asked me so many questions. I was inspired by them. To me, life is a continuous learning process and I felt that they have much to teach me, too.”

Life Skills Training – Going Beyond the Classroom
All full-time ITE students undergo Life Skills modules as part of their training. The modules in Life Skills cover topics like Communications Skills, Personal & Interpersonal Effectiveness, Customer Service, Thinking & Problem Solving Skills and Career Development & Planning. While these topics are traditionally covered in the classroom, the “Breaking Barriers” project has now enabled selected students to pick up valuable life skills beyond the classroom, in line with ITE College Central’s belief that “life skills are caught, not taught.”

So far, about 100 students from Bishan and Bedok campuses – including student leaders – have been selected to take part in this Life Skills training programme.