'Those who call others stupid are stupid themselves': Mark Lee on not stressing son for his PSLE

As local actor Mark Lee prepares his son Maksonn for his PSLE this year, he also makes sure that the latter has ample time to rest and relax before and after his revision.

In a recent interview with AsiaOne, the 54-year-old said that he will give his children about 60 to 90 minutes of rest time spread into half-hour breaks throughout the whole day.

He shared: "For children, if you keep getting them to study, they have already completed their studies, what more is there to study? They should have a break to do what they like to do, even to nap for half an hour, play badminton or basketball, anything, just have their own fun time.

"I cannot have my children revise their work for three to five hours, because adults also need a break after sitting in front of the computer for two to three hours."

Mark also said the 12-year-old just received his prelim results, which was "pretty good", but he also reminded the boy that it is not his actual PSLE results and encouraged him he can "do better".

Mark also shares two daughters, Calista, 15, and Calynn, 10, with his wife Catherine Ng, 50.

'Don't stress them, let them grow happily'

Despite that, Mark added that he doesn't set an expectation about the grades that his children should get or what school they should get into.

He said: "I won't set expectations, it depends on their attitude towards learning. If you have the correct attitude, then your results will be okay, because this is a habit.

"If you do not have a good attitude, when you graduate and work in society in the future, nobody will like you. This is something that must be nurtured from young."

Mark also understands that the children have different learning abilities.

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He said: "Everyone wants to be first, but we can't force someone who can't do it to get first. There can only be one first place; there are 30 students in a class, you can't expect everyone in the class to get first place. It depends on their individual learning abilities.

"We definitely should not force them. Even adults can't take stress sometimes, not to mention children. Don't stress them, let them grow happily. Learning is important, but sometimes you just have to let go."

Mark, who said that he was in the Normal stream in his secondary school days, also stressed the importance of not letting children lose their self-confidence by scolding or labelling them just because they have different learning abilities.

"If your child's learning ability is not that strong, then give them one more year to build up their confidence and learning. Don't force them or call them stupid, because this may lead them to lose their self-confidence and cause them hurt.

"Your children have your genes, so it means that you are also stupid. In this world, those that call others stupid are stupid themselves, especially towards children, so don't scold them," he said.

'What grades you get, you go to what school'

Mark shared that his son has visited a few elite schools and discussed his preferences.

"I told him if he likes the school, then he must work hard. Because I feel that it is very important whether a child likes a school environment. If you like the school, it means you would like to go to the place every day," he added.

However, he also reminded Maksonn not to feel dejected if he can't get in.

He shared: "I told him, if you can't enter the school in the end, don't feel hurt because it doesn't mean anything. What grades you get, you go to what school. That is most important. Maybe you might find you like that school better."

Mark is also currently preparing for the Love 972 musical show 29 Zheng Jingcai (Battling for Glory 29), where he said the experience is vastly different from the hosting and acting that he is normally involved in.

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He said: "In addition to singing, dancing and stunts, the lines are very different from hosting in variety shows and acting in drama, movies or skits, because they are fixed and can be cues for lighting, curtains, props or for other actors. There are a lot of things to take note of."

Despite that, he added that all the DJs put in a lot of effort during rehearsals and the musical is a good opportunity for all of them to meet each other.

"Usually we will leave when our radio segment ends and it is hard for us to meet each other. So it is only during this musical or during Love 972's birthday celebration that all the DJs have the opportunity to get together, so it is really fun," he shared.

29 Zheng Jingcai, which also stars Marcus Chin, Dennis Chew, Chen Biyu, Violet Fenying and other Love 972 DJs, will open on Sept 29, 8pm at The Theatre at Mediacorp and will also run on Sept 30 at 3pm and 8pm. Tickets are now available on this website.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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