I like to keep to myself during work and charge through my to-do list, but today, I did something uncharacteristic. I joined my senior colleague for a power break.

She’s 76, so I grabbed the opportunity to seek her opinion on something that I have been pondering over. Do I spend an additional $160 to enrol my boy in academic support at his student care centre?

My son is an anomaly. He has zero enrichment classes. I would like to keep it this way, but given the relentless pressure of the Singapore educational system, I wanted to know if I was being naive.

“No,” she finally ventured after I coaxed her to speak her mind, “boys especially will be so sick and tired of the worksheets that they anyhow do.”

Normally I just make decisions on my own (or with the wife) and roll with the punches. So, I feel kinda proud of myself for being mindful enough to seek counsel from those more experienced than me. Maybe I have evolved as a human being.