I will be discussing about this topic through the perspective of a sports champion, which is also my CA role.
Sports is about winning competition
As a sports champion, I firmly believes that the main role of sports in schools is to train athletes to win competitions. In my opinion, the meaning of the word “sports” itself is just about competitions. Sports is an organized, competitive, and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. There are rules and regulations in sports that one has to follow. But why are there rules and regulations? This is to ensure that the players win fairly and only the player who deserves it can raise the trophy in his hands. The spirit of sports itself is about winning.
The purpose of sports is also to win. Let’s face the fact. We play sports because we want to win. We want to defeat the opposition and come first. Sport is about winning.
I think that school sports should continue to be an arena where athletes can challenge each other. School sports should be more competitive as competitions would encourage and motivate us to work hard and play the sports well. It is due to the desire for glory and honour that compels us to be serious about training and do our best when we play the sports. It is the fear of losing that hinders us to be lazy and not train up our skills. Hence, competitions are important as they raise our standards and we would strive for the better.
Elite sports in schools select the best players when they are recruiting members to the CCA. Why best players? This is because they would be able to win more competitions. They want highly potential players that could help them to win competitions. If not, they would be selecting them based on interest than skills instead. Hence, the main role of sports in schools, as well as in national context, is to train athletes to win competitions.
School sports should also be more competitive. Competition is good for us as without it we would not evolve, we could not better ourselves and world records could not be broken. Competitions push our limits and we will improve ourselves. Competition drives us forward and it is a way to strive for continuous improvement whereby we tries to do the best you can and doing even better next time.
Professional Coaches inculcate sportsmanship in players
Competition is harmless and most of the time it is, but there are times whereby competition becomes violence and we do not respect our opponents. An example is the incident on the students from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Saint Andrews’ Secondary engaging in a major brawl after an ill-tempered rugby match. I think that this incident could have been prevented if they had developed sportsmanlike behaviour and were able to lose graciously. Hence, I strongly believe that players require professional coaching. Professionals would do a better job in imparting sporting skills and inculcating soft skills. These soft skills include teamwork, building of character and sportsmanship. Learning to become a graceful loser is certainly an important lesson.
Furthermore, these coaches would demand good sportsmanship from their players and this help shape the moral, ethical, and spiritual character of the players. Young players look up to their coaches as role models and are likely to observe their coaches’ behaviours. Professional coaches who show respect to officials and opponents before, during, and after games can truly expect their players to do the same.
Professional coaches engage the athletes in the sport, making it interesting for them and teach good sportsmanship through competitiveness. Therefore, I think that professional coaches should be hired so as to solve the problem of players being scared to lose and their resentment towards their rivals and opponents. This would then prevent incidents such as the conflict between ACS(I) and SAS.
Safety standards in Singapore School Sports
There also had been a spate of injuries and accidents that took place and the present safety standards of sports in Singapore was questioned. In my opinion, I think that it is inevitable that injuries happen and there are no safety lapses in sports in school. It was also reported that since 2007, the post-final celebrations of the B Division rugby have been incident-free. This shows that such injuries happened rarely, and these accidents occur as a low rate. There have been 54 games in the B Division Rugby Championship this season but such accidents happened in only two games. Such low percentage of the accidents happening shows that there are no serious safety lapses in school sports.
In conclusion, I think that the purpose of having sports in school is to train athletes to win competitions and for school sports to maintain as a platform for athletes to challenge each other. I also think that school sports should be more competitive and the players will be able to cope with professional coaching. They would have the right mind-set from such coaching. I also think that the current safety standards and practices do not have to be revamped.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ranting about Projects Day
Our Projects Day experiment just ended and this is the last time we will be doing the experiment! Yay! Enough of looking at crickets and crickets and crickets. After calculating, I just found out we did 416 trials with maximum of 5 minutes each for only experiment! Imagine the amount of time we spent on the experiments. I have spent approximately 35 hours observing the crickets going out of the hole for 416 times! The time and effort spent on this is epic.
Before the semi-finals, we finished experiment 1 and 20 crickets for experiment 2. The teacher judge was not sastified with the little number, and even said that for professionals like scientist, when dealing with life science (like crickets), normally do 200 of the subject matter. We certainly do not have time, hence she suggested 50. So we have it, we did a total of 52 crickets for the experiment and for richer data.
Experiments aside, there are still discussions and research that had to be done before the experiment. This causes much more time to be spent. Furthermore, during the discussions, our group members are not contributing much, causing the slow progress of the discussions. Other than the leader (the rick), the others just want to slack. The slacking included not doing of the google docs tasks and it dates back to term 1, including the research notes, experiment ideas, extensions ideas and now the discussion document. If the google docs task were completed, the work would of low quality and does not benefit much to the experiment.
Things are worse during meetings. People (with exception of the leader) only wants to kill time and hope that the meeting will end early so as to go home. I do admit that I am sometimes one of them but at least I do contribute to the meetings. This causes the whole meeting to be unproductive and to be a waste of time. Furthermore, people also finds excuses to not come for meetings. This includes deliberately arranging CIP to be at the day of the experiment or meetings.
However, come to speak of it, our group members is actually better than other groups that I know of, these include giving up of the whole projects day finals and finding lame excuses to skip meetings. That's all for the ranting..
Before the semi-finals, we finished experiment 1 and 20 crickets for experiment 2. The teacher judge was not sastified with the little number, and even said that for professionals like scientist, when dealing with life science (like crickets), normally do 200 of the subject matter. We certainly do not have time, hence she suggested 50. So we have it, we did a total of 52 crickets for the experiment and for richer data.
Experiments aside, there are still discussions and research that had to be done before the experiment. This causes much more time to be spent. Furthermore, during the discussions, our group members are not contributing much, causing the slow progress of the discussions. Other than the leader (the rick), the others just want to slack. The slacking included not doing of the google docs tasks and it dates back to term 1, including the research notes, experiment ideas, extensions ideas and now the discussion document. If the google docs task were completed, the work would of low quality and does not benefit much to the experiment.
Things are worse during meetings. People (with exception of the leader) only wants to kill time and hope that the meeting will end early so as to go home. I do admit that I am sometimes one of them but at least I do contribute to the meetings. This causes the whole meeting to be unproductive and to be a waste of time. Furthermore, people also finds excuses to not come for meetings. This includes deliberately arranging CIP to be at the day of the experiment or meetings.
However, come to speak of it, our group members is actually better than other groups that I know of, these include giving up of the whole projects day finals and finding lame excuses to skip meetings. That's all for the ranting..
Mug Mug Mug
Haven't blogged for quite some time and I just found out that my latest blog post has been spammed with comments from anonymous users. So I decided to repost it as the some of the content of the comments are undesirable. This is the effect of leaving your blog dead for a long time!
Coming back to the topic, this post is not to promote the initiative of the Ortus Council (selling teachers' mug) or to advertise for Ms Lim's personally designed mug (although it had been sold already). I will be looking into the another (singaporean) meaning of "mug" which is what we, HC students like to use to connote studying, revising, doing homework, looking at notes, flipping through notes and even taking out your files, books, etc.
From wiki, it says that the term "mugging" is a Singapore colloquial term for intensive studying; a person who is studying intensively - derived from British colloquial term to mug up. The real meaning of the word "mugger" is someone who robs and attacks another in a public place. In HC, the term "mugging" when used on others seems to be a form of discrimination and people detests muggers. We often hear phrases such as "Can you stop mugging?!"
Everything time I am online on MSN, people would be telling me to go and "mug", and the way he puts it seems to be a stereotype that I am a mugger and I should go and mug. I hates it, especially when I was just playing the computer or not mugging.
I also think that the term "mugging" is similiar to that of a "nerd" and it actually shows that one is only capable of studying and do not know how to enjoy life. It is as if that if you mug, you will for sure get the highest grades but less likely to do well in other aspects, showing that you are not an all-rounder.
However, I do agree that there might some positive things about being labeled as a mugger. You can treat it as a compliment to show that you are hardworking and do not slack. It also shows that you are preparing for test and that gives you some kind of confidence that you can ace your test. Furthermore, when you are playing a computer and your friend expects you to mug, it could be a reminder for you to mug and stop playing.
Or is it that I am just thinking too much and that mugging is simply a plain word used to describe someone who is studying and does not carry any negative elements in it?
Coming back to the topic, this post is not to promote the initiative of the Ortus Council (selling teachers' mug) or to advertise for Ms Lim's personally designed mug (although it had been sold already). I will be looking into the another (singaporean) meaning of "mug" which is what we, HC students like to use to connote studying, revising, doing homework, looking at notes, flipping through notes and even taking out your files, books, etc.
From wiki, it says that the term "mugging" is a Singapore colloquial term for intensive studying; a person who is studying intensively - derived from British colloquial term to mug up. The real meaning of the word "mugger" is someone who robs and attacks another in a public place. In HC, the term "mugging" when used on others seems to be a form of discrimination and people detests muggers. We often hear phrases such as "Can you stop mugging?!"
Everything time I am online on MSN, people would be telling me to go and "mug", and the way he puts it seems to be a stereotype that I am a mugger and I should go and mug. I hates it, especially when I was just playing the computer or not mugging.
I also think that the term "mugging" is similiar to that of a "nerd" and it actually shows that one is only capable of studying and do not know how to enjoy life. It is as if that if you mug, you will for sure get the highest grades but less likely to do well in other aspects, showing that you are not an all-rounder.
However, I do agree that there might some positive things about being labeled as a mugger. You can treat it as a compliment to show that you are hardworking and do not slack. It also shows that you are preparing for test and that gives you some kind of confidence that you can ace your test. Furthermore, when you are playing a computer and your friend expects you to mug, it could be a reminder for you to mug and stop playing.
Or is it that I am just thinking too much and that mugging is simply a plain word used to describe someone who is studying and does not carry any negative elements in it?
Analysis of the poem "Rainbow Death"
1. Point of View
The voice of the poet is dramatised. This is evident from "Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri". The poet listed the colours, "green, pink, purple" to emphasise on the different types of chemicals used and each had their negative effect on people. This presented chemical warfare in a dramatic way. "Death potpourri" makes it more dramatic as it showed that the chemicals not just had negative effects on the people, but it can and it will led to death.
It is also evident from "Generations untold WILL pay". The intentional making of the word "will" in caps show the exaggeration and emphasis on this word. This is to show that even people that are borned after the war will suffer from the war as well. The poet was particular sure of that from the word "will".
2. Situation and Setting
Social conflict between the Vietnamese and the American. This is evident from "omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn". The Americans thought that they have unlimited power and could do what they want to the Vietnamese, mostly whom were innocent. They disregarded the sufferings that would occur just because of an instant release of the gas.
There is also emotional conflict in the poet. He was an American yet he criticised America for killing the innocent. Furthermore, he was one of the personnel involved and sent to Vietnam. The criticism is obvious in "nefariously America led astray". He criticised America for being extremely wicked and evil.
3. Language/ Diction
The use of the word "potpourri". Potpourri actually is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material. "Potpourri" is often used to refer to any collection of miscellaneous or diverse items. The word "pourri" means rotten. This implies that because of the chemicals, a lot of people died and the corpses start to rot. This resulted in a "mixture" of people who died, ranging from children to the eldery.
The use of the word "innocent". This emphasises the fact that the Americans are killing the innocent who was not harmful in any ways or did not offended them. They are not of any danger to them so why do the Americans still kill them. Furthermore, using chemicals like that causes the unborn to suffer as well, which were free of evil or any sin. The word "innocent" also shows that negative side of Americans and they were oblivious to the suffering of the innocent.
4. Personal Response
I agree very much with the poet. War is a harsh and cruel thing and we should try to avoid war as much as possible. War does not solve any problems. In fact, it causes more problems and suffering to the people, the government, the victim, the offender, etc. It is a lose-lose situation for both sides. Nobody would benefit from war and it is not worth it to start a war. One's decision can cause a lot of harm to millions and millions of people.
1. Point of View
The voice of the poet is dramatised. This is evident from "Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri". The poet listed the colours, "green, pink, purple" to emphasise on the different types of chemicals used and each had their negative effect on people. This presented chemical warfare in a dramatic way. "Death potpourri" makes it more dramatic as it showed that the chemicals not just had negative effects on the people, but it can and it will led to death.
It is also evident from "Generations untold WILL pay". The intentional making of the word "will" in caps show the exaggeration and emphasis on this word. This is to show that even people that are borned after the war will suffer from the war as well. The poet was particular sure of that from the word "will".
2. Situation and Setting
Social conflict between the Vietnamese and the American. This is evident from "omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn". The Americans thought that they have unlimited power and could do what they want to the Vietnamese, mostly whom were innocent. They disregarded the sufferings that would occur just because of an instant release of the gas.
There is also emotional conflict in the poet. He was an American yet he criticised America for killing the innocent. Furthermore, he was one of the personnel involved and sent to Vietnam. The criticism is obvious in "nefariously America led astray". He criticised America for being extremely wicked and evil.
3. Language/ Diction
The use of the word "potpourri". Potpourri actually is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material. "Potpourri" is often used to refer to any collection of miscellaneous or diverse items. The word "pourri" means rotten. This implies that because of the chemicals, a lot of people died and the corpses start to rot. This resulted in a "mixture" of people who died, ranging from children to the eldery.
The use of the word "innocent". This emphasises the fact that the Americans are killing the innocent who was not harmful in any ways or did not offended them. They are not of any danger to them so why do the Americans still kill them. Furthermore, using chemicals like that causes the unborn to suffer as well, which were free of evil or any sin. The word "innocent" also shows that negative side of Americans and they were oblivious to the suffering of the innocent.
4. Personal Response
I agree very much with the poet. War is a harsh and cruel thing and we should try to avoid war as much as possible. War does not solve any problems. In fact, it causes more problems and suffering to the people, the government, the victim, the offender, etc. It is a lose-lose situation for both sides. Nobody would benefit from war and it is not worth it to start a war. One's decision can cause a lot of harm to millions and millions of people.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
IT Home Learning T2W10 Task 1
The poem I chose is Rainbow Death by Hubert Wilson.
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
About Hubert Wilson
Hubert Wilson was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. He was prepped for about 14 months, before he was sent to Vietnam in 1970. About half of those who accompanied him ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron which was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang. Being involved in the Vietnam War, he was particularly familiar with chemical warfare, as well as the effect of it.
He started to have health problems, with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Around 10 years later, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. He deduced that it was the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst that caused the problems. Because of this, he have turned to writing just like his late Father.
About Chemical Warfare
The poem is about Agent Orange and chemical warfare, so I researched more about it. The title of the poem, "Rainbow Death" actually means the deaths and diseases caused by this type of warfare, particularly the Agent Orange. Agent Orange was the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the chemical warfare program. The term "Rainbow Herbicides" explains the use of the word "Rainbow" in the title.
During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. This implies that the effect of the Agent Orange and the war still continue even if the war ended. "This poem remind us that wars aren’t over when the wars are over."
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
About Hubert Wilson
Hubert Wilson was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. He was prepped for about 14 months, before he was sent to Vietnam in 1970. About half of those who accompanied him ended up in Da Nang (an Agent Orange hotspot) in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron which was a MORE contaminated environment than Da Nang. Being involved in the Vietnam War, he was particularly familiar with chemical warfare, as well as the effect of it.
He started to have health problems, with unexplained headaches and limb pains. Around 10 years later, his central nervous system radically deteriorated with Parkinsonian type tremors, severe headaches, progressive limb pains, etc. He deduced that it was the heavily contaminated drinking water at Shemya during his year there as an intelligence analyst that caused the problems. Because of this, he have turned to writing just like his late Father.
About Chemical Warfare
The poem is about Agent Orange and chemical warfare, so I researched more about it. The title of the poem, "Rainbow Death" actually means the deaths and diseases caused by this type of warfare, particularly the Agent Orange. Agent Orange was the most widely used of the so-called "Rainbow Herbicides" employed in the chemical warfare program. The term "Rainbow Herbicides" explains the use of the word "Rainbow" in the title.
During the production of Agent Orange (as well as Agents Purple, Pink, and Green) dioxins were produced as a contaminant, which have caused numerous health problems for the millions of people who have been exposed. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. This implies that the effect of the Agent Orange and the war still continue even if the war ended. "This poem remind us that wars aren’t over when the wars are over."
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Attitude and Discipline
In this post I will be talking about these two words that are my "core values" in my life. They are attitude and discipline. Attitude here refers to one's positive working attitude, to do something to the best of my ability. Discipline refers to one's moral values and self-discipline. One focuses on work-efficiency (academic/non-academic) while another focused on moral values.
I think that a good attitude leads to success. Some may think that "good attitude" refers to optimistic or cheerful. However, I think that good attitude refers to having right mental attitude, in whatever things you do, be it academically, or non-academically. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, says, "Having a positive mental attitude means that your actions and thoughts further your ends". A good attitude is the right attitude for the circumstances. It isn't necessarily gleeful. Therefore, Attitude helps you to excel in academic or non-academic areas.
"Training to act in accordance with rules", this is the definition of discipline. This is especially important because we should follow the rules and not make trouble. I always see "discipline" as having moral values, and this is essential to our personal development. Moral values lead us to differentiate right from wrong and we would be able to make the right decision. Self-discipline is also important as self-discipline is ability to get yourself to take action regardless of whether you want or not. When you know that you are going to commit a crim, for example, you would be conscience-smitten. This also applies to our studies. Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply get yourself to follow through and complete your best intentions no matter what.
I think that a good attitude leads to success. Some may think that "good attitude" refers to optimistic or cheerful. However, I think that good attitude refers to having right mental attitude, in whatever things you do, be it academically, or non-academically. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, says, "Having a positive mental attitude means that your actions and thoughts further your ends". A good attitude is the right attitude for the circumstances. It isn't necessarily gleeful. Therefore, Attitude helps you to excel in academic or non-academic areas.
"Training to act in accordance with rules", this is the definition of discipline. This is especially important because we should follow the rules and not make trouble. I always see "discipline" as having moral values, and this is essential to our personal development. Moral values lead us to differentiate right from wrong and we would be able to make the right decision. Self-discipline is also important as self-discipline is ability to get yourself to take action regardless of whether you want or not. When you know that you are going to commit a crim, for example, you would be conscience-smitten. This also applies to our studies. Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply get yourself to follow through and complete your best intentions no matter what.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Busy Bees
This post is going to be about being busy, which I have been for the past few weeks. The reason which is the most common, is the revision for tests. Before the end of Term 1 tests, I was basically just doing homework, revise, eat, revise more and sleep after I reached home. There are even more thign to do such as CMC meeting, ACE, research for project's day, etc.
However, revision does not take up most of my time. Even before the tests dates were revealed, the homework itself is a lot due to the new teaching technique called JITT. This requires massive researching and homework before/after lessons. Anyway, I didnt expect me to be have so many homework to do as there was a sharp contrast between the first few months of Sec 2 and the first few months of Sec 1. I do expect some differences, but not to this extent.
All this decreases my free time, be it time to rest, time to play and time to sleep. It is very tiring after a day full of work and I would have to wake up early in the next morning which siginifies the start of another day with similiar things to do.
One who is busy would be irritated easily, such as when he is finishing or "chionging" his ACE or online research, he is disturbed by people who are asking him other non-important things. This is one of the cons of being busy. Another is that one whoulf be frustrated when he is unable to acheive his target (eg. to finish homework by 8pm). This leads to emotional unrest and may be harmful to our mental health.
This is also the case when all the tests are over. This week is the sabbactical week, which meant to be a relaxing week for us. However, yesterday, I had to stay back all the way to 4pm for Sci Olympiad and I had to finish the homework, CMC meeting minutes, Geog Ace, etc. Haixx. Anyway, busy is defined as "actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime" so I am also busy typing this post now. :D
Hope that I can get to enjoy more free time in the coming days~~
However, revision does not take up most of my time. Even before the tests dates were revealed, the homework itself is a lot due to the new teaching technique called JITT. This requires massive researching and homework before/after lessons. Anyway, I didnt expect me to be have so many homework to do as there was a sharp contrast between the first few months of Sec 2 and the first few months of Sec 1. I do expect some differences, but not to this extent.
All this decreases my free time, be it time to rest, time to play and time to sleep. It is very tiring after a day full of work and I would have to wake up early in the next morning which siginifies the start of another day with similiar things to do.
One who is busy would be irritated easily, such as when he is finishing or "chionging" his ACE or online research, he is disturbed by people who are asking him other non-important things. This is one of the cons of being busy. Another is that one whoulf be frustrated when he is unable to acheive his target (eg. to finish homework by 8pm). This leads to emotional unrest and may be harmful to our mental health.
This is also the case when all the tests are over. This week is the sabbactical week, which meant to be a relaxing week for us. However, yesterday, I had to stay back all the way to 4pm for Sci Olympiad and I had to finish the homework, CMC meeting minutes, Geog Ace, etc. Haixx. Anyway, busy is defined as "actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime" so I am also busy typing this post now. :D
Hope that I can get to enjoy more free time in the coming days~~
Monday, March 1, 2010
Intrapersonal
Since there is no "logical" section in the task, I shall do my third highest one in the test, that is, intrapersonal.
"Intrapersonal [pick one]:
a. Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain."
For me, I would gladly want to be friends with Boo Radley. This is mainly due to the lack of description of Boo Radley in the novel. Although there are some kind of mention in the novel about Boo Radley, they are all others' perceptions with no evidence. This increases my curiosity about how Boo Radley behaves, why he is "emo" or anti-social. He appeared at the end of the novel, showing his particularly shy character which I seemed it as his way of showing politeness and friendliness.
Other people in the novel think that it is abnormal to be anti-social, thus criticizing Boo Radley and made up myths and stories that are false. This is especially unfair to Boo Radley. They think that he is scary and was seen as a demon or a monster. However, this is not true. It is ironic that since Boo Radley is in his house all the while, how would they know what he is doing in the house?
I want to be his friend as I want to know more about this mysterious character. What is his real character? Is he really a scary person like what they say? From the last chapter, he does not seem to be so. Is he a friendly person then? Why did he choose to stay in his house all the time? I want to know more about his lifestyle. How is life like for him?
Given his character, I guess it might be impossible for me to be friends with him. If I could, this would mean that he is sociable which he is the opposite. Even Scout or Jem did not manage to see him after the incident. Perhaps he just want to live life without any interferences from others.
"Intrapersonal [pick one]:
a. Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain."
For me, I would gladly want to be friends with Boo Radley. This is mainly due to the lack of description of Boo Radley in the novel. Although there are some kind of mention in the novel about Boo Radley, they are all others' perceptions with no evidence. This increases my curiosity about how Boo Radley behaves, why he is "emo" or anti-social. He appeared at the end of the novel, showing his particularly shy character which I seemed it as his way of showing politeness and friendliness.
Other people in the novel think that it is abnormal to be anti-social, thus criticizing Boo Radley and made up myths and stories that are false. This is especially unfair to Boo Radley. They think that he is scary and was seen as a demon or a monster. However, this is not true. It is ironic that since Boo Radley is in his house all the while, how would they know what he is doing in the house?
I want to be his friend as I want to know more about this mysterious character. What is his real character? Is he really a scary person like what they say? From the last chapter, he does not seem to be so. Is he a friendly person then? Why did he choose to stay in his house all the time? I want to know more about his lifestyle. How is life like for him?
Given his character, I guess it might be impossible for me to be friends with him. If I could, this would mean that he is sociable which he is the opposite. Even Scout or Jem did not manage to see him after the incident. Perhaps he just want to live life without any interferences from others.
Interpersonal
"Interpersonal:
a. Conduct an interview with a friend (not from HCI) or family member. Find out from their point of view on prejudice and discrimination. Either record the interview or write out the interview transcript."
Alright, the task is as above and since my highest was interpersonal, I decided to embark on this. The interviewee was my ex-primary school friend, now she is studying in RGS. Ok, let's begin.
What do you think of when you come across the word “prejudice”?
Racial discrimination? One example of prejudice which is very common should be racial discrimination aka racism. People have prejudice against certain races; they don’t like them with no reason.
What is discrimination in your opinion?
Discrimination is just to unfairly dislike this certain person/group of people.
So, do you think there is a difference between prejudice and discrimination?
The intensity of prejudice is greater. The feeling of prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed towards someone without reason therefore the intensity of the feeling is more intense. It is not merely “don’t like”, but its becoming like detesting.
Do you think that there are problems pertaining to discrimination in Singapore?
There's a serious case of discriminations to indians. They are thought to be untrusted and people sort of relate them to perverts.
What are some examples of prejudice?
Prejudice towards people who are poor or towards a certain race, such as adolf hitler and nazis.
What are some of the existing types of prejudice in real life?
There is age discrimination, in relevance of the recent pastor news. Perhaps height discrimination? A well as weight discrimination.
What kinds of discrimination do you know?
Gender, racial, religious, age
Do you have any form of prejudice towards any group of people?
Yes, and actually I think that everyone discriminates.
She didn't want to elaborate on the last question so, oh well, this would then mark the end of the interview.
a. Conduct an interview with a friend (not from HCI) or family member. Find out from their point of view on prejudice and discrimination. Either record the interview or write out the interview transcript."
Alright, the task is as above and since my highest was interpersonal, I decided to embark on this. The interviewee was my ex-primary school friend, now she is studying in RGS. Ok, let's begin.
What do you think of when you come across the word “prejudice”?
Racial discrimination? One example of prejudice which is very common should be racial discrimination aka racism. People have prejudice against certain races; they don’t like them with no reason.
What is discrimination in your opinion?
Discrimination is just to unfairly dislike this certain person/group of people.
So, do you think there is a difference between prejudice and discrimination?
The intensity of prejudice is greater. The feeling of prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed towards someone without reason therefore the intensity of the feeling is more intense. It is not merely “don’t like”, but its becoming like detesting.
Do you think that there are problems pertaining to discrimination in Singapore?
There's a serious case of discriminations to indians. They are thought to be untrusted and people sort of relate them to perverts.
What are some examples of prejudice?
Prejudice towards people who are poor or towards a certain race, such as adolf hitler and nazis.
What are some of the existing types of prejudice in real life?
There is age discrimination, in relevance of the recent pastor news. Perhaps height discrimination? A well as weight discrimination.
What kinds of discrimination do you know?
Gender, racial, religious, age
Do you have any form of prejudice towards any group of people?
Yes, and actually I think that everyone discriminates.
She didn't want to elaborate on the last question so, oh well, this would then mark the end of the interview.
MI test
I took the Multiple Intelligence test and my results are:
1st place goes to ... Interpersonal! People Smart!
2nd place goes to ... Logical! Number Smart!
3rd places (tied) goes to ... Intrapersonal and Linguistic! Myself and Word Smart!
Well, think that this is quite true, because I also think that I am a more social and logical person. I like to interact with my peers and I love getting to know more people. However, I didn't expected it to be the first and it should not be. I am not really a very "opened" person which means that I can't go all out to socialize and make new friends. Howevr, I like to maintain a friendly relationship with others. Thus, I value relationship with my peers, as well as my family members.
Now to logical. I was expecting it to the first, reason being that I like mathematics. Since the term logical is linked with "number smart", so is it that being good in maths makes me a logical person? Maybe that's the case for me. I also like to think about maths, and I enjoy the process of that. It trains my thinking skills. However, my thinking extends, not just in maths but in everything. I think about a lot of things and starts to have my own views about certain things. When I have the time (eg. on a bus), I would reflect on the day or the past and I often have many thoughts about the particular issue. Coming to maths, there is truth in the MI test that I am a logical person, but I was expecting it to the first instead.
Lowest: Musical and Naturalist. This is very true because I have few interactions with the nature nor music. At the very most, I only listens to music, but not composing one which sounds impossible for me. About naturalistic, I seldom observe the nature, I don't bird-watch nor anything else. I guess the reason is that I have little interest, as well as time to do that.
What do you think of the MI test? Share your views!
1st place goes to ... Interpersonal! People Smart!
2nd place goes to ... Logical! Number Smart!
3rd places (tied) goes to ... Intrapersonal and Linguistic! Myself and Word Smart!
Well, think that this is quite true, because I also think that I am a more social and logical person. I like to interact with my peers and I love getting to know more people. However, I didn't expected it to be the first and it should not be. I am not really a very "opened" person which means that I can't go all out to socialize and make new friends. Howevr, I like to maintain a friendly relationship with others. Thus, I value relationship with my peers, as well as my family members.
Now to logical. I was expecting it to the first, reason being that I like mathematics. Since the term logical is linked with "number smart", so is it that being good in maths makes me a logical person? Maybe that's the case for me. I also like to think about maths, and I enjoy the process of that. It trains my thinking skills. However, my thinking extends, not just in maths but in everything. I think about a lot of things and starts to have my own views about certain things. When I have the time (eg. on a bus), I would reflect on the day or the past and I often have many thoughts about the particular issue. Coming to maths, there is truth in the MI test that I am a logical person, but I was expecting it to the first instead.
Lowest: Musical and Naturalist. This is very true because I have few interactions with the nature nor music. At the very most, I only listens to music, but not composing one which sounds impossible for me. About naturalistic, I seldom observe the nature, I don't bird-watch nor anything else. I guess the reason is that I have little interest, as well as time to do that.
What do you think of the MI test? Share your views!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
How should teachers teach?
I came across Kenneth's post on how should teachers teach. I find this very interesting so I am post about it. How should teachers teach? By strictness? By humour? By being fierce, students would be well-behaved and thus pay attention in class? By being humorous, would students love the class and thus be keen to learn and be interested in the subject?
I agree with Kenneth that teachers should teach with humour. This makes the lesson more lively, thus causing lesson not to be boring.. (or sianzz..). Being humorous also means that the teacher looks more easier to approach, thus we could consult him or her when we face any challenges. We would be more active in class participation, thus learning more through this process. A friendly teacher would certainly help if we have a hatred to the particular subject. We would start to enjoy the lesson more and more. This is especially important as we would be "loving what we do" rather than "do what we love".
However, I have to agree that being friendly or less strict have its own disadvantages. Students tend to place a lesser importance of the subject because the teacher is easy-going and negotiable. They would also not treat the subject seriously, thus causing grades to deteriorate. We would have the mentality that there is no need to do this or that because the teacher would not scold. If this is to continue, we would also be rowdy and rude because we have no respect for the teacher anymore. This is especially the case if the teacher was teaching to a group of more than 100 students, even more than 400 when there is an assembly. Since there are many more students, the voice produced would be much louder. Hence, if the teacher is not fierce and not strict, the situation might go out of control.
How about being strict then? This would be the opposite of what mentioned above. Let's take a look at the advantages. The students would be very well-disciplines as they were scared that the teacher would be pin-pointing at every mistakes they do. Thus, the whole class would be quiet and thus making learning a more conducive environment for all with no disturbance. The class would be more serious about work, thus producing better standard of assessment.
However, there still disadvantages in this. I mentioned about the class being quiet, but sometimes, it might be TOO quiet. Nobody would dare to make a sound, let alone participation in class discussions. Even the most obvious questions would take sometime for any response. Even if there is an immediate response, only a few "brave souls" were the ones that gave the response. With a strict and fierce teacher, there would be "hatred" for the teacher, and the subject. There would be and "inaudible" groan, or even complaints if that lesson was in the next period.
From what I have said, having teacher with humour has a lot of disadvantages, as well as having one who is very strict. So, what do I think a teacher should be? Well... I think that it have to depend on the situation. I think that a teacher should be humorous all the time, with a few times being strict when one does not meet his standard. This would allow other students to know that there would be punishment if we do not finish our work on time, or give a low-quality work.
I agree with Kenneth that teachers should teach with humour. This makes the lesson more lively, thus causing lesson not to be boring.. (or sianzz..). Being humorous also means that the teacher looks more easier to approach, thus we could consult him or her when we face any challenges. We would be more active in class participation, thus learning more through this process. A friendly teacher would certainly help if we have a hatred to the particular subject. We would start to enjoy the lesson more and more. This is especially important as we would be "loving what we do" rather than "do what we love".
However, I have to agree that being friendly or less strict have its own disadvantages. Students tend to place a lesser importance of the subject because the teacher is easy-going and negotiable. They would also not treat the subject seriously, thus causing grades to deteriorate. We would have the mentality that there is no need to do this or that because the teacher would not scold. If this is to continue, we would also be rowdy and rude because we have no respect for the teacher anymore. This is especially the case if the teacher was teaching to a group of more than 100 students, even more than 400 when there is an assembly. Since there are many more students, the voice produced would be much louder. Hence, if the teacher is not fierce and not strict, the situation might go out of control.
How about being strict then? This would be the opposite of what mentioned above. Let's take a look at the advantages. The students would be very well-disciplines as they were scared that the teacher would be pin-pointing at every mistakes they do. Thus, the whole class would be quiet and thus making learning a more conducive environment for all with no disturbance. The class would be more serious about work, thus producing better standard of assessment.
However, there still disadvantages in this. I mentioned about the class being quiet, but sometimes, it might be TOO quiet. Nobody would dare to make a sound, let alone participation in class discussions. Even the most obvious questions would take sometime for any response. Even if there is an immediate response, only a few "brave souls" were the ones that gave the response. With a strict and fierce teacher, there would be "hatred" for the teacher, and the subject. There would be and "inaudible" groan, or even complaints if that lesson was in the next period.
From what I have said, having teacher with humour has a lot of disadvantages, as well as having one who is very strict. So, what do I think a teacher should be? Well... I think that it have to depend on the situation. I think that a teacher should be humorous all the time, with a few times being strict when one does not meet his standard. This would allow other students to know that there would be punishment if we do not finish our work on time, or give a low-quality work.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Revival of my blog
After many months of leaving my blog dead, I am back to blogging. I officially declare that my blog is revived! That might be too exaggerating, but I am elated to be back to blogging and of course, giving readers the best of my blog posts. Now, the first blog post of the year, I shall firstly reflect on my blogging experience of the past year. There are two questions that I asked myself, ‘What do I like about blogging?’ and ‘What do I hate about blogging?’
What I like about blogging
Well… The main reason why I blog is for ACE, that’s basically the main purpose of this blog. It is the main reason but not the sole reason. From blogging, I could improve my writing skills as there are more opportunities to write and express myself. By using this blog, I could express my personal thoughts and feelings about a particular topic which I have no opportunities to voice them out. When I observe or consider about a particular thing, it would be a pleasure if I could write it or to show what my thoughts are. That’s what I am doing now, “typing my thoughts”.
What I hate about blogging
The time taken for a blog post. Sometimes, it would be troublesome to post something because it takes time to write a blog post. I would be impatient to convey what I am thinking about. Another thing I hate is that it is troublesome to change to the blogskin so that my blog would be unique and stands out from the rest. Looking at the complicated HTML is such a bother! Another thing is that I would have to come up with things to write but sometimes there would be a lack or inspiration for me to write blog posts.
With this very simple reflection, let me begin my “blogging journey”~~
More posts coming up:
- Teaching techniques of teachers: How should teachers teach?
- Future Class: JiTT
- My view on the tiring NPCC trainings
What I like about blogging
Well… The main reason why I blog is for ACE, that’s basically the main purpose of this blog. It is the main reason but not the sole reason. From blogging, I could improve my writing skills as there are more opportunities to write and express myself. By using this blog, I could express my personal thoughts and feelings about a particular topic which I have no opportunities to voice them out. When I observe or consider about a particular thing, it would be a pleasure if I could write it or to show what my thoughts are. That’s what I am doing now, “typing my thoughts”.
What I hate about blogging
The time taken for a blog post. Sometimes, it would be troublesome to post something because it takes time to write a blog post. I would be impatient to convey what I am thinking about. Another thing I hate is that it is troublesome to change to the blogskin so that my blog would be unique and stands out from the rest. Looking at the complicated HTML is such a bother! Another thing is that I would have to come up with things to write but sometimes there would be a lack or inspiration for me to write blog posts.
With this very simple reflection, let me begin my “blogging journey”~~
More posts coming up:
- Teaching techniques of teachers: How should teachers teach?
- Future Class: JiTT
- My view on the tiring NPCC trainings
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Eating or drinking is not allowed in stations and trains
"Eating or drinking is not allowed in the stations and trains. Thank you for helping us to keep the stations and trains clean for the comfort of all passengers" the PA system in the MRT stations and trains says. We hear this everytime when we board the train. So, to what extent is drinking and eating is not allowed? Is it really what the PA system says, totally not allowed? Apparently, commuters are not allowed to even drink plain water or eating sweets. The reason is because of the potential risk of spilling of sweet drinks and might cause a fall of commuters and the attraction of ants and pests if there is spillage of food and drinks.
However, why plain water? When I first know that drinking plain water was not allowed, I was a little bit surprised and shocked. Do plain water causes any inconvenience to other commuters? I found out the reason, the staff could not identify whether the drink is sweet drink or just plain water unless they really try it. Therefore, they might as well ban plain water. There are also FINES, starting from July.
I do agree with the act of the SMRT to fine those who violate the ban. This is to ensure a conducive environment for commuters. If the ban is not strengthened, not many would take the ban seriously and continue with drinking and eating in trains and stations. Imagine that it is the peak hour and someone accidentally spill some plain water on the floor. People would not want to step on the puddle of water and nobody would be able to occupy the space of the puddle. Furthermore, when people accidentally step on the puddle of water, shoe prints will follow them and the floor will be dirty and wet. I would certainly not want to enter a train like that.
Especially in trains, people are more prone to spill water as the train might be unstable. Therefore, I agree with the actions of SMRT. However, what if there is an emergency? For example, babies might want to drink water or milk, or patients might want to eat their medicines, acompanying with some water. Especially for babies, the feeding time should not be delayed or else the baby would cry and create disturbance to others. It would be very troublesome for them to alight from the train and leave the station. I suggest that they could allow such cases to eat or drink in the trains since the SMRT staff would confront them first before any fines are made.
However, why plain water? When I first know that drinking plain water was not allowed, I was a little bit surprised and shocked. Do plain water causes any inconvenience to other commuters? I found out the reason, the staff could not identify whether the drink is sweet drink or just plain water unless they really try it. Therefore, they might as well ban plain water. There are also FINES, starting from July.
I do agree with the act of the SMRT to fine those who violate the ban. This is to ensure a conducive environment for commuters. If the ban is not strengthened, not many would take the ban seriously and continue with drinking and eating in trains and stations. Imagine that it is the peak hour and someone accidentally spill some plain water on the floor. People would not want to step on the puddle of water and nobody would be able to occupy the space of the puddle. Furthermore, when people accidentally step on the puddle of water, shoe prints will follow them and the floor will be dirty and wet. I would certainly not want to enter a train like that.
Especially in trains, people are more prone to spill water as the train might be unstable. Therefore, I agree with the actions of SMRT. However, what if there is an emergency? For example, babies might want to drink water or milk, or patients might want to eat their medicines, acompanying with some water. Especially for babies, the feeding time should not be delayed or else the baby would cry and create disturbance to others. It would be very troublesome for them to alight from the train and leave the station. I suggest that they could allow such cases to eat or drink in the trains since the SMRT staff would confront them first before any fines are made.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Favourtie Poet
My favourite poet is Charles Simic. He was born on May 9, 1938, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, where he had a traumatic childhood. He was born during world war 2, whereby the German and the Allies took turn to drop bombs after bombs at his country. He immigrated to the United States in 1953, at the age of 15 and it was then that he spoke English for the first time. He has lived in New York, Chicago, the San Francisco area, and for many years in New Hampshire.
He was an immigrant who didn't speak until he was 15 and yet he managed to be recognised in poetry, winning several awards in writing and poetry. This could not have been achieved without hard work and determination to strive. His memories of his childhood in a war-torn country did not prevent him from striving to the best, but an inspiration to motivate him.
Despite his childhood, he is a very humorous person. This is evident from one of his interview when he reflected on his childhood, "Germans and the Allies took turns dropping bombs on my head while I played with my collection of lead soldiers on the floor. I would go boom, boom, and then they would go boom, boom". His first impulse to write was actually when he saw his friends writing a poem to attract the best-looking girls and that was what he said in the interview. He knew that sobbing and crying in his pillow won't help anything. Therefore, he maintained his humor and carry on with life.
The following is 3 of his poems:
Against Winter
The truth is dark under your eyelids.
What are you going to do about it?
The birds are silent; there's no one to ask.
All day long you'll squint at the gray sky.
When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw.
A meek little lamb you grew your wool
Till they came after you with huge shears.
Flies hovered over open mouth,
Then they, too, flew off like the leaves,
The bare branches reached after them in vain.
Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier
Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post,
Head bared to the first snow flake.
Till a neighbor comes to yell at you,
You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.
Clouds Gathering
It seemed the kind of life we wanted.
Wild strawberries and cream in the morning.
Sunlight in every room.
The two of us walking by the sea naked.
Some evenings, however, we found ourselves
Unsure of what comes next.
Like tragic actors in a theater on fire,
With birds circling over our heads,
The dark pines strangely still,
Each rock we stepped on bloodied by the sunset.
We were back on our terrace sipping wine.
Why always this hint of an unhappy ending?
Clouds of almost human appearance
Gathering on the horizon, but the rest lovely
With the air so mild and the sea untroubled.
The night suddenly upon us, a starless night.
You lighting a candle, carrying it naked
Into our bedroom and blowing it out quickly.
The dark pines and grasses strangely still.
Read Your Fate
Little street,
You were too narrow,
Too much in the shade already.
You had only one dog,
One lone child.
You hid your biggest mirror,
Your undressed lovers.
Someone carted them off
In an open truck.
They were still naked, travelling
On their sofa
Over a darkening plain,
Some unknown Kansas or Nebraska
With a storm brewing.
The woman opening a red umbrella
In the truck. The boy
And the dog running after them,
As if after a rooster
With its head chopped off.
Sources: http://www.cortlandreview.com/issuefour/interview4.htm
http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/27
http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-simic/
He was an immigrant who didn't speak until he was 15 and yet he managed to be recognised in poetry, winning several awards in writing and poetry. This could not have been achieved without hard work and determination to strive. His memories of his childhood in a war-torn country did not prevent him from striving to the best, but an inspiration to motivate him.
Despite his childhood, he is a very humorous person. This is evident from one of his interview when he reflected on his childhood, "Germans and the Allies took turns dropping bombs on my head while I played with my collection of lead soldiers on the floor. I would go boom, boom, and then they would go boom, boom". His first impulse to write was actually when he saw his friends writing a poem to attract the best-looking girls and that was what he said in the interview. He knew that sobbing and crying in his pillow won't help anything. Therefore, he maintained his humor and carry on with life.
The following is 3 of his poems:
Against Winter
The truth is dark under your eyelids.
What are you going to do about it?
The birds are silent; there's no one to ask.
All day long you'll squint at the gray sky.
When the wind blows you'll shiver like straw.
A meek little lamb you grew your wool
Till they came after you with huge shears.
Flies hovered over open mouth,
Then they, too, flew off like the leaves,
The bare branches reached after them in vain.
Winter coming. Like the last heroic soldier
Of a defeated army, you'll stay at your post,
Head bared to the first snow flake.
Till a neighbor comes to yell at you,
You're crazier than the weather, Charlie.
Clouds Gathering
It seemed the kind of life we wanted.
Wild strawberries and cream in the morning.
Sunlight in every room.
The two of us walking by the sea naked.
Some evenings, however, we found ourselves
Unsure of what comes next.
Like tragic actors in a theater on fire,
With birds circling over our heads,
The dark pines strangely still,
Each rock we stepped on bloodied by the sunset.
We were back on our terrace sipping wine.
Why always this hint of an unhappy ending?
Clouds of almost human appearance
Gathering on the horizon, but the rest lovely
With the air so mild and the sea untroubled.
The night suddenly upon us, a starless night.
You lighting a candle, carrying it naked
Into our bedroom and blowing it out quickly.
The dark pines and grasses strangely still.
Read Your Fate
Little street,
You were too narrow,
Too much in the shade already.
You had only one dog,
One lone child.
You hid your biggest mirror,
Your undressed lovers.
Someone carted them off
In an open truck.
They were still naked, travelling
On their sofa
Over a darkening plain,
Some unknown Kansas or Nebraska
With a storm brewing.
The woman opening a red umbrella
In the truck. The boy
And the dog running after them,
As if after a rooster
With its head chopped off.
Sources: http://www.cortlandreview.com/issuefour/interview4.htm
http://poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/27
http://www.poemhunter.com/charles-simic/
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Figurative language
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud by William Wordsworth
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
1) The figurative language used are simile, personification and metaphor. Simile is used in the title of the poem, as well as at the start of the poem, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud '.It is used to picture how she was wandering, alone, like clouds in the sky, no one to accompany them and drifting aimlessly as the wind blows. There is also metaphor, 'I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils'. The daffodils are compared as a crowd of people. Another example of metaphor Personification is used as well, 'golden daffodils' 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze'. Imagine a yellow flower fluttering and dancing as the breeze caressed the the daffodils.
2) I like this poem because it depicts the nature, the daffodils by the lake. I also like the way the poet describes the 'crowd' of daffodils. Due to the number of them, they remind the poet the milky way and the endless line of shiny stars. The fluttering of the daffodils was humanized as them engaging in a dance. In their fluttering and dancing, the daffodils outdo the waves of the lake while the poet enjoys the show and appreciated the nature.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
1) The figurative language used are simile, personification and metaphor. Simile is used in the title of the poem, as well as at the start of the poem, 'I wandered lonely as a cloud '.It is used to picture how she was wandering, alone, like clouds in the sky, no one to accompany them and drifting aimlessly as the wind blows. There is also metaphor, 'I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils'. The daffodils are compared as a crowd of people. Another example of metaphor Personification is used as well, 'golden daffodils' 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze'. Imagine a yellow flower fluttering and dancing as the breeze caressed the the daffodils.
2) I like this poem because it depicts the nature, the daffodils by the lake. I also like the way the poet describes the 'crowd' of daffodils. Due to the number of them, they remind the poet the milky way and the endless line of shiny stars. The fluttering of the daffodils was humanized as them engaging in a dance. In their fluttering and dancing, the daffodils outdo the waves of the lake while the poet enjoys the show and appreciated the nature.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Is progress beneficial for the society?
Well, I agree with this statement. If you have read my previous posts, someone of you may conclude that I prefer urban to rural. It's the same for this post. I could use this as one of my reasons to support my argument on urban vs rural. Firstly, let me define progress.
The government wants progress for the society, for the nation. So, what is progress?Slide 6 Progress means different things to different people. People evaluate progress in their own opinion, some people thinks that progress is one step further to their own ideal world. Many believed that America is the most progressive country, so what constitutes America to be the most progressive country. Well, progress is an advancement in a positive way, not necessarily a monotonically increasing advance. Sustainability... Well-being ... Quality of Life, these are the things that constitutes progress. The progress for society means changing of society toward the ideal. With that, let us analyse progress for the society, in my own opinion.
Yes, progress is beneficial for the society only. With progress, technology and improvement to our daily areas occurs. A simple thing like changing your old normal phone to an i-phone or any phone with 3G services is a progress, with improvement to any area, personal or global. Throughout the past, technological innovations have helped humankind improve their standards of living, beginning with the simple invention of bone tools in prehistoric times, continuing on to and beyond modern air conditioners, computers, internet, etc. These are examples of progress and benefitted the society.
In the past, people are troubled with communicating in a distance. That's why phones are invented to solve the problem. Imagine that you are in grave danger and needed help immediately. That's when phones are used. Doesn't it benefit you and the society? Because of progress, modernisation occurs and we have lights, which creates the artificial day in the night and therefore we can study at night. We also have computers whereby important documents are made everyday and we have little worries about losing them.
However, there are also disadvantages as well. With handphones, radiation given off them and other hi-tech gadgets might have caused the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. With technology, there are global warming, pollution of the water, land and the air. A geography essay might follow this. Therefore, progress also causes environmental problems in terms of technology and modernisation.
With the above points, I conclude that progress is beneficial for the society but not at all beneficial for the environment.
The government wants progress for the society, for the nation. So, what is progress?
Yes, progress is beneficial for the society only. With progress, technology and improvement to our daily areas occurs. A simple thing like changing your old normal phone to an i-phone or any phone with 3G services is a progress, with improvement to any area, personal or global. Throughout the past, technological innovations have helped humankind improve their standards of living, beginning with the simple invention of bone tools in prehistoric times, continuing on to and beyond modern air conditioners, computers, internet, etc. These are examples of progress and benefitted the society.
In the past, people are troubled with communicating in a distance. That's why phones are invented to solve the problem. Imagine that you are in grave danger and needed help immediately. That's when phones are used. Doesn't it benefit you and the society? Because of progress, modernisation occurs and we have lights, which creates the artificial day in the night and therefore we can study at night. We also have computers whereby important documents are made everyday and we have little worries about losing them.
However, there are also disadvantages as well. With handphones, radiation given off them and other hi-tech gadgets might have caused the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. With technology, there are global warming, pollution of the water, land and the air. A geography essay might follow this. Therefore, progress also causes environmental problems in terms of technology and modernisation.
With the above points, I conclude that progress is beneficial for the society but not at all beneficial for the environment.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Favourite character in VBTS
My favourite character in VBTS is Lila. This is because of the fact that she sacrifices a lot for her family. Due to the sick mother and perpetually drunk father, Hari and her had to take on the parental role with four people to take care of. Hari's leaving for Bombay without a notice makes matters worse for Lila. She had to take care of everyone in the family but she is only a child. She was deprived of her childhood, and could not enjoy education while the younger children, Bela and Kamal could.
Though not mentioned in the story, she must be bothered with a lot of problems that her family is facing. She had to worry about the financial problems and where do she get the income to maintain the family? What should she do with her mother whose illness is getting worse everyday? How is she going to take care of her? How are Bela and Kamal doing in their studies and the demand for sweets, etc? How is she going to provide enough food for the whole family? All these are examples of the problems. Most of these problems are solved by the De Slivas who are the fairy god- parents for Lila.
Though the circumstances, Lila could still take care fo her family well. This is evident from Bela and Kamal being spoilt and still having a happy childhood. She also takes very good care of her mother both before Hari leaves for Bombay and after. She also sacrifices for the family without any complains as she scrimps and saves for her family while working in the mansion.
From the above points, it is obvious that Lila is an admirable character in VBTS and that causes Lila to be my favourite character in VBTS.
Though not mentioned in the story, she must be bothered with a lot of problems that her family is facing. She had to worry about the financial problems and where do she get the income to maintain the family? What should she do with her mother whose illness is getting worse everyday? How is she going to take care of her? How are Bela and Kamal doing in their studies and the demand for sweets, etc? How is she going to provide enough food for the whole family? All these are examples of the problems. Most of these problems are solved by the De Slivas who are the fairy god- parents for Lila.
Though the circumstances, Lila could still take care fo her family well. This is evident from Bela and Kamal being spoilt and still having a happy childhood. She also takes very good care of her mother both before Hari leaves for Bombay and after. She also sacrifices for the family without any complains as she scrimps and saves for her family while working in the mansion.
From the above points, it is obvious that Lila is an admirable character in VBTS and that causes Lila to be my favourite character in VBTS.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
City rat or Country rat?
Would you rather be the city rat or the country rat? The theme would be urban vs rural. I would rather be the city rat than the country one. Some of you may differ from me especially after reading Village by the Sea. So, the following are my reasons.
When living in an urban place or living as a city rat, we have modern-day facilities like the Internet, telephone, television etc for communication and entertainment purposes. Can we live without them? People living in urban areas lead a luxurious and economically stable life as compared to those living in rural areas. We have greater availability of modern facilities due to the advancement in technology in the city.
Furthermore, if we are living in the villages, would you be looking at what I am typing to know about my opinion for urban and rural areas? If we are living in rural areas would we be able to browse others' blogs to acquire knowledge? There are a lot more educational facilities in urban areas than in rural areas. There are also a lot more career opportunities in urban than rural areas. There are also change in the city whereas there is little in villages. Would not it be boring if there are little change in your life?
Villagers in rural areas had to worry for their financial difficulty, causing them not to have enough food, leading to the fact that they are more prone to diseases due to malnutrition. Even if they have enough, how can they ensure that they are nutritional. Whereas in city areas, people are more conscious about their health and have a wide variety of food to choose from, because of the imports of resources from many different places. However, some may argue that we will be dependent on others for resources rather than being independent whereby we will grow food for ourselves in villages. My take would be that country rats have to work in the field to get food, just food or perhaps some money. However, city rats work to get money and the company would have economic development by developing in their respective field.
Not convinced? Beg to differ? Share your views!
When living in an urban place or living as a city rat, we have modern-day facilities like the Internet, telephone, television etc for communication and entertainment purposes. Can we live without them? People living in urban areas lead a luxurious and economically stable life as compared to those living in rural areas. We have greater availability of modern facilities due to the advancement in technology in the city.
Furthermore, if we are living in the villages, would you be looking at what I am typing to know about my opinion for urban and rural areas? If we are living in rural areas would we be able to browse others' blogs to acquire knowledge? There are a lot more educational facilities in urban areas than in rural areas. There are also a lot more career opportunities in urban than rural areas. There are also change in the city whereas there is little in villages. Would not it be boring if there are little change in your life?
Villagers in rural areas had to worry for their financial difficulty, causing them not to have enough food, leading to the fact that they are more prone to diseases due to malnutrition. Even if they have enough, how can they ensure that they are nutritional. Whereas in city areas, people are more conscious about their health and have a wide variety of food to choose from, because of the imports of resources from many different places. However, some may argue that we will be dependent on others for resources rather than being independent whereby we will grow food for ourselves in villages. My take would be that country rats have to work in the field to get food, just food or perhaps some money. However, city rats work to get money and the company would have economic development by developing in their respective field.
Not convinced? Beg to differ? Share your views!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Favourite part in Village by the Sea
For me, my favourite part in Village by the Sea is in chapter 6 and 7, where he first came to Bombay.
-Why?
His first impression of Bombay was rather interesting and it relates to us, while living in a similiar urban town as Bombay. The hill glittered like a great mount of jewels and the roads were lined with double rowed electric lights. These show how bright the electric lights is and the difference between his village Thul and Bombay. It shows the theme of modernisation and the debatable topic of the pros and cons of modernisation. He also described the elevator as a tiny cell which shows his lack of sophistication.
Bombay's pace of life is faster as compared to Thul's. This is evident from he pushing and shoving while they hurried to the Black Horse. Isn't this similiar to our pace of life in our city? There were reports about Singapore being the 'fastest city' with a time of 10.55s to cover 0.02km, if I had remembered correctly.
I also liked the speech made by Sayyid Ali and others. Sayyid Ali talked about the negative impacts of modernisation which I agreed. Factories pump deadly chemicals into the air and this pollutes the air for miles. There would also be water pollution whereby the fishes would be poisoned by the pollution and the fishes would poison the people who consume them.
Since the factories would be built at the villages, many of the villagers would have to move somewhere else but where could they move to? Bombay which is so crammed that people have to push and shove? There would also be not enough of jobs and many would be reduced to beggars on the pavements of the city instead of their life in green paddy fields and coconut groves.
I shall end here. Any comments?
-Why?
His first impression of Bombay was rather interesting and it relates to us, while living in a similiar urban town as Bombay. The hill glittered like a great mount of jewels and the roads were lined with double rowed electric lights. These show how bright the electric lights is and the difference between his village Thul and Bombay. It shows the theme of modernisation and the debatable topic of the pros and cons of modernisation. He also described the elevator as a tiny cell which shows his lack of sophistication.
Bombay's pace of life is faster as compared to Thul's. This is evident from he pushing and shoving while they hurried to the Black Horse. Isn't this similiar to our pace of life in our city? There were reports about Singapore being the 'fastest city' with a time of 10.55s to cover 0.02km, if I had remembered correctly.
I also liked the speech made by Sayyid Ali and others. Sayyid Ali talked about the negative impacts of modernisation which I agreed. Factories pump deadly chemicals into the air and this pollutes the air for miles. There would also be water pollution whereby the fishes would be poisoned by the pollution and the fishes would poison the people who consume them.
Since the factories would be built at the villages, many of the villagers would have to move somewhere else but where could they move to? Bombay which is so crammed that people have to push and shove? There would also be not enough of jobs and many would be reduced to beggars on the pavements of the city instead of their life in green paddy fields and coconut groves.
I shall end here. Any comments?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Move in please!
While on my way to school by bus, something interesting happened. The bus was rather crowded at that time. A female Caucasian boarded the bus and noticed the 'always empty' rear of the bus. The bus was crammed at the front of the bus and the rear was however vacant. She was infuriated by the sight, from the way I see it. She exclaimed,"Move in please!" for several times. Maybe she added,"Singaporeans, come on", I was not too sure as I did not hear what she said properly, due to the distance between her and me.The commuters standing moved to the rear as what she had told them to do.
It was quite an embarrassment for Singaporeans though. With the shouting and the commotion, many turned their heads and tried to catch a glimpse of what is happening. Many stared at the rear of the bus, trying to find out who was the 'guilty one'. With the posters written 'Please move to the rear' on buses, I don't understand why people still not want to go all the way to the back. What benefits are there if they stand near the front?
It is an act of courtesy to move to the rear, for the benefits of the people who had just board a bus during peak hours. I also noticed that sometimes people like to talk to their friends who are sitting, while they are standing. This blocks people from moving and inconvenient to try to squeeze and get past him or her. Some just do not want to move, for unknown reason. People around him(her) can tell him(her) to move, or try to get past him(her).
Although many will move in, but just one person is enough to have the negative impression of the people in the whole bus or even as Singaporeans. Therefore, let's be courteous and move in to the rear so that the commuters at the front will not be crammed.
Just a slight note, please comment or at least tag at my blog if you don't have any. I appreciate it, at least I know that there are readers reading my blog. :D
It was quite an embarrassment for Singaporeans though. With the shouting and the commotion, many turned their heads and tried to catch a glimpse of what is happening. Many stared at the rear of the bus, trying to find out who was the 'guilty one'. With the posters written 'Please move to the rear' on buses, I don't understand why people still not want to go all the way to the back. What benefits are there if they stand near the front?
It is an act of courtesy to move to the rear, for the benefits of the people who had just board a bus during peak hours. I also noticed that sometimes people like to talk to their friends who are sitting, while they are standing. This blocks people from moving and inconvenient to try to squeeze and get past him or her. Some just do not want to move, for unknown reason. People around him(her) can tell him(her) to move, or try to get past him(her).
Although many will move in, but just one person is enough to have the negative impression of the people in the whole bus or even as Singaporeans. Therefore, let's be courteous and move in to the rear so that the commuters at the front will not be crammed.
Just a slight note, please comment or at least tag at my blog if you don't have any. I appreciate it, at least I know that there are readers reading my blog. :D
Monday, May 18, 2009
CA Discussion - Video Gaming (part 2)
(Kindly read the post below this one to get a better idea of what the post is about)
I agree with topic that video gamers will benefit the society and there is not much harmful effects on gamers.
If the gamers have a sane mindset, they would not be addicted to the video games and would not play more and more when they are not supposed to. I also would like to take the opportunity to ask readers of this blog if they play violent video games before. I am sure that some would say yes, and of those of you, none of you went to the streets to kill people due to video gaming. Therefore, how can video gaming lead to violence?
There are also many benefits of video gaming. Video games are an excellent way to relieve stress. They provide a fun and social form of entertainment. Reading a book or watch a movie are ways to get our mind off of our problems. Basically, they allow people to be transported to a fictional world for awhile. Video gaming works the same way as well or even better, so why should video gaming be criminalized?
Video gaming is also mentally good for children. It encourages teamwork, cooperation and creativity when they are playing with others. Video gaming will also improve logical thinking that had been neglected in these days. Nearly all video games train our mind in thinking logically. Video gaming increases children's self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games too.
Quicker decision making is trained when you play video games. Most games give you a time limit on reaching a decision, either in the form of a formal timer or in the form of somebody rushing at you with a shotgun or sword. Video gaming also develop skills in reading, mathematics and problem-solving.
Video games can improve eye-hand coordination, reaction time and fine motor skills. Researchers found that surgeons who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37% less mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27% faster than their counterparts who did not play video games. This shows that eye-hand coordination is improved when we play video games.
From the above arguments, it is actually enough to show that there are many benefits in video gaming.
I agree with topic that video gamers will benefit the society and there is not much harmful effects on gamers.
If the gamers have a sane mindset, they would not be addicted to the video games and would not play more and more when they are not supposed to. I also would like to take the opportunity to ask readers of this blog if they play violent video games before. I am sure that some would say yes, and of those of you, none of you went to the streets to kill people due to video gaming. Therefore, how can video gaming lead to violence?
There are also many benefits of video gaming. Video games are an excellent way to relieve stress. They provide a fun and social form of entertainment. Reading a book or watch a movie are ways to get our mind off of our problems. Basically, they allow people to be transported to a fictional world for awhile. Video gaming works the same way as well or even better, so why should video gaming be criminalized?
Video gaming is also mentally good for children. It encourages teamwork, cooperation and creativity when they are playing with others. Video gaming will also improve logical thinking that had been neglected in these days. Nearly all video games train our mind in thinking logically. Video gaming increases children's self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games too.
Quicker decision making is trained when you play video games. Most games give you a time limit on reaching a decision, either in the form of a formal timer or in the form of somebody rushing at you with a shotgun or sword. Video gaming also develop skills in reading, mathematics and problem-solving.
Video games can improve eye-hand coordination, reaction time and fine motor skills. Researchers found that surgeons who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37% less mistakes in laparoscopic surgery and performed the task 27% faster than their counterparts who did not play video games. This shows that eye-hand coordination is improved when we play video games.
From the above arguments, it is actually enough to show that there are many benefits in video gaming.
CA Discussion – Video Gaming (part 1)
I have decided to express my view on the topic in a self debate which is to rebut against myself after stating my stand. I will be separating this into mainly two posts, one agreeing to the topic while the other disagreeing.
To refresh your memory, here is the debate topic:
Video gamers should not be generally criminalized as suffering from a medical condition, as they have much to offer that will benefit society.
Firstly, I will be disagreeing with the topic. I believe video gaming is easily addictive and the authorities should recognize the social threat posed by the increasing number of video game addicts.
Let us define the word, ‘addiction’. It is when a person needs more and more of something to keep him going and if the person does not get more of something, he becomes irritable and miserable. Some of the game addicts actually commented that when they were playing the game, they can’t just get up and walk away. From the above evidence and my definition, it is evident that video gaming is easily addictive. Others commented that the higher level they get, the longer they have to stay on it to move onward, and they would be addicted when it wasn’t fun anymore.
In violent video games, games characters which have been killed are brought back to life. Therefore, players who have learned to use violence to solve problems in these video games may start acting violently in real life, causing them to be aggressive and out of control. Some children do not understand that when you kill someone, they cannot come back to life, as depicted by many video games. Players also kill enemies, vanquish rivals, and overcome obstacles in video games. Therefore, players will relate it to real life and think that using violence is alright.
Although players compete with friends online, the fact is that they are still sitting alone in front of their monitors. This isolation will cause an increase in the separation from their family and friends. Players will drop out of their social networks and giving up other hobbies. There are also chances for adventure and heroism and romance in video games which are rarely found in real life. They will start to think that video games is real life, or at least a more interesting place to be than in the real world. However, that’s the virtual world.
I also believe if game addicts are banned playing video games, they will become more interested in real life, and less interested in the conjured up fake life.
Form the above pointers, I believe that video gaming is easily addictive and that authorities should recognize the social problems and take action to control video games in the same way that tobacco or alcohol use is restricted.
To refresh your memory, here is the debate topic:
Video gamers should not be generally criminalized as suffering from a medical condition, as they have much to offer that will benefit society.
Firstly, I will be disagreeing with the topic. I believe video gaming is easily addictive and the authorities should recognize the social threat posed by the increasing number of video game addicts.
Let us define the word, ‘addiction’. It is when a person needs more and more of something to keep him going and if the person does not get more of something, he becomes irritable and miserable. Some of the game addicts actually commented that when they were playing the game, they can’t just get up and walk away. From the above evidence and my definition, it is evident that video gaming is easily addictive. Others commented that the higher level they get, the longer they have to stay on it to move onward, and they would be addicted when it wasn’t fun anymore.
In violent video games, games characters which have been killed are brought back to life. Therefore, players who have learned to use violence to solve problems in these video games may start acting violently in real life, causing them to be aggressive and out of control. Some children do not understand that when you kill someone, they cannot come back to life, as depicted by many video games. Players also kill enemies, vanquish rivals, and overcome obstacles in video games. Therefore, players will relate it to real life and think that using violence is alright.
Although players compete with friends online, the fact is that they are still sitting alone in front of their monitors. This isolation will cause an increase in the separation from their family and friends. Players will drop out of their social networks and giving up other hobbies. There are also chances for adventure and heroism and romance in video games which are rarely found in real life. They will start to think that video games is real life, or at least a more interesting place to be than in the real world. However, that’s the virtual world.
I also believe if game addicts are banned playing video games, they will become more interested in real life, and less interested in the conjured up fake life.
Form the above pointers, I believe that video gaming is easily addictive and that authorities should recognize the social problems and take action to control video games in the same way that tobacco or alcohol use is restricted.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Should Bela and Kamal be sensible? - Village by the sea
Tests are over and it is time to post! This time I am going to talk about this particular topic which was given quite some time ago. There was quite a discussion on this topic and therefore I decided to post about it. In case you are not sure what is this about or to refresh your memory, here is a brief summary from Village by the sea Chapter 1.
Hari's two younger siblings attend school and they are both impatient and playful, like what typical children behaves. However, because of the family's impoverished conditions, the younger sisters' immaturity are not accepted by readers. They should behave more sensibly. One example of their immaturity is that when they walked past a shop, they wanted Hari to buy them sweets, in spite of their family's financial conditions.They bargained and Hari insisted that he had no money and therefore no sweets for them.
Coming back to the topic, I think that the younger siblings should be more sensible. Hari and Lila were trying their best to make ends meet, one trying very hard to look for jobs and earn money, another taking care of the house and their sick mothers. However, the two girls were immature and even asked for sweets which is unnecessary.
However, 'my' sensible is not that they go to work and stop their education or follow what Hari and Lila did. That was what most of the people who agreed with this topic said. I believe that they should focus on their studies and not complain or ask for sweets. Being sensible does not just means that they have to work or stop their education. If they stop their education, they will not find higher pay jobs due to their literacy level and become poor and the whole cycle will restart again and again. This was also what we discussed in class. Therefore, if they focus on their studies, they will get higher pay jobs and not be poor anymore. Isn't this more sensible?
Due to the word limit, I shall end here. I welcome comments so kindly comment! :D
Hari's two younger siblings attend school and they are both impatient and playful, like what typical children behaves. However, because of the family's impoverished conditions, the younger sisters' immaturity are not accepted by readers. They should behave more sensibly. One example of their immaturity is that when they walked past a shop, they wanted Hari to buy them sweets, in spite of their family's financial conditions.They bargained and Hari insisted that he had no money and therefore no sweets for them.
Coming back to the topic, I think that the younger siblings should be more sensible. Hari and Lila were trying their best to make ends meet, one trying very hard to look for jobs and earn money, another taking care of the house and their sick mothers. However, the two girls were immature and even asked for sweets which is unnecessary.
However, 'my' sensible is not that they go to work and stop their education or follow what Hari and Lila did. That was what most of the people who agreed with this topic said. I believe that they should focus on their studies and not complain or ask for sweets. Being sensible does not just means that they have to work or stop their education. If they stop their education, they will not find higher pay jobs due to their literacy level and become poor and the whole cycle will restart again and again. This was also what we discussed in class. Therefore, if they focus on their studies, they will get higher pay jobs and not be poor anymore. Isn't this more sensible?
Due to the word limit, I shall end here. I welcome comments so kindly comment! :D
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Track and Field Finals
This topic was given quite some time ago but I did not have much time to post about it.
I went for the Track and Field Finals at Choa Chu Kang Stadium last Thursday. 9 Sec 1 classes were supposed to go there to cheer for HCI and show the Hwa Chong Spirit. We went to the Stadium and expected to win, since the seniors told us that HCI has been winning in the 'C' divisions for the eighth consecutive year, now ninth. We had also been winning in the 'B' divisions for the eighteenth consecutive year, now nineteenth. HCI triumphed in both 'B' divisions and 'C' divisions Boys and clinched second and third in 'A' division Girls and Boys respectively.
The finals started without my knowing, since there wasn't any announcement to commence. I thought they were warming up but the real match had already begun. I am referring to the high jump and javelin throws. It was not very obvious who the winners of the both events were since we did not know the individual distance of their throw/ height they jump. However, the obvious one would be the race.
The seniors also told us that 90% of event is already over, with the points recorded down and becoming history. We will for sure win in the 'B' divisions Boys, even if we lose this 10%, according to them. They are not so sure about the 'C' divisions Boys, but we should be able to win. However, it was quite dangerous for the 'A' divisions.
In the end with the results release (refer to the top for the results), HCI cheered and sang the school song with our principal, Dr Hon. Everyone shouted and demanded for a holiday. It was granted with a thumbs-up by our principal.
I went for the Track and Field Finals at Choa Chu Kang Stadium last Thursday. 9 Sec 1 classes were supposed to go there to cheer for HCI and show the Hwa Chong Spirit. We went to the Stadium and expected to win, since the seniors told us that HCI has been winning in the 'C' divisions for the eighth consecutive year, now ninth. We had also been winning in the 'B' divisions for the eighteenth consecutive year, now nineteenth. HCI triumphed in both 'B' divisions and 'C' divisions Boys and clinched second and third in 'A' division Girls and Boys respectively.
The finals started without my knowing, since there wasn't any announcement to commence. I thought they were warming up but the real match had already begun. I am referring to the high jump and javelin throws. It was not very obvious who the winners of the both events were since we did not know the individual distance of their throw/ height they jump. However, the obvious one would be the race.
The seniors also told us that 90% of event is already over, with the points recorded down and becoming history. We will for sure win in the 'B' divisions Boys, even if we lose this 10%, according to them. They are not so sure about the 'C' divisions Boys, but we should be able to win. However, it was quite dangerous for the 'A' divisions.
In the end with the results release (refer to the top for the results), HCI cheered and sang the school song with our principal, Dr Hon. Everyone shouted and demanded for a holiday. It was granted with a thumbs-up by our principal.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
PUB CIP
Yesterday, the HCI NPCC Sec 1 Squad went to CIP with a few of our seniors. We were working with Public Utilities Board (PUB). The area that we were doing on is in Clementi. We were split into groups of 2 or 3. We had to knock on the doors of the apartment that were assigned to each group and ask them whether they want us to install water saving devices to help them reduce water consumption. The students were supposed to promote water saving habits while the PUB officers install water saving devices. There were also pamphlets about water saving habits to be given to the residents.
For this post, I am going to talk about good water saving habits. I am sure that everyone knows a few of water saving tips so I am going to talk about some that we are not so familiar with. There were a lot of good water saving habits that were mentioned in the pamphlets but I am only going to touch on 2 due to the word limit and the length of the post.
1)Monitor your water bills. Check your monthly water bills to monitor your family's water consumption. From what I understand, there is also a graph at the back of the bills to show you the water consumption of the past few months and the national average for the type of apartment you are in. If your consumption is more than the average, re-look your family's water usage habits and try to keep it under the national average.
2) Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Some people like to dispose tissues, insects and other similar waste into the toilet. Dispose them in the trash rather than the toilet.
Apart from the above tips, I will also like to share some facts about how easy it is to save water.
For this post, I am going to talk about good water saving habits. I am sure that everyone knows a few of water saving tips so I am going to talk about some that we are not so familiar with. There were a lot of good water saving habits that were mentioned in the pamphlets but I am only going to touch on 2 due to the word limit and the length of the post.
1)Monitor your water bills. Check your monthly water bills to monitor your family's water consumption. From what I understand, there is also a graph at the back of the bills to show you the water consumption of the past few months and the national average for the type of apartment you are in. If your consumption is more than the average, re-look your family's water usage habits and try to keep it under the national average.
2) Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Some people like to dispose tissues, insects and other similar waste into the toilet. Dispose them in the trash rather than the toilet.
Apart from the above tips, I will also like to share some facts about how easy it is to save water.
1)You can save 9 litres of water just by cutting your shower by 1 minute.
2)You can save 11 litres of water by rinsing your teeth with a mug instead of under a running tap.
3)You can save 14 litres of water by washing vegetables and dishes in a filled sink instead of under a running tap.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sec 1 Camp
Back from Sec 1 camp! Home sweet home. Going to talk about my Sec 1 camp this time round. We went to the Sarimbun Scout Camp from 11th March to 13th March. The Sec 1 cohort was split into 24 groups and I was in a group with 6 1O2(my class) students and the rest are 1O1 students. The group was numbered 14 and we called ourselves 'LOL2' as the group consists of 1O1(looks like LOL) and 1O2(2) students.
On the first day, we set off to the campsite. It was like a forest with many trees and tents. My group was told to sleep in tents. I heard that some other groups( If I am right, groups 1-13) sleep in dorms and A harts(hope I spell it right). Unlucky. Why don't they take in one more group and we don't need to sleep on floorboards and the grass and soil?
The activity that was the best on the first was the 'Milo Pond'. It is actually a mud pool. We have to wear a PFD whereby it helps us float on water for around 4 hours (for safety reasons). We had to climb the ladder up(quite high) and slide down on a slide to the mud pool. If I was given the opportunity to try it again, I would certainly will. I don't know how to describe the feeling when I slide down and hit the water but it was very trilling. When I came out of water, I was soaked with my clothes sticking on my skin. However, we were not allowed to take a shower yet. We still had to do one more activity before showering.
On the next day, there were many activities that was not really fun but it needs our group's teamwork and co-operation with each other. One of them was the giant's finger. There is a kind of a pole on the ground, about 3.5m and there is also a tyre. I am not sure how to explain, so I surf the net and got this picture on http://www.recreation.ku.edu/programs/adams_campus/elements.shtml :
We had to lift it over the pole and put it back again. After many failed attempts, we still couldn't get that tyre out of the pole. One of the teachers told us the method to solve it and we follow it. After some guidance by that teacher again, we manage to get that tyre out. I was the one of the base people whereby Yu Siang was standing on me with his shoes on!
On the last day, it's time to say farewell to the camp. However, before that, there is something we need to do. We have to strike down the tent and clean the canvas. The canvas was very big and it was very tiring to clean the dirt off. Some use dry cloth, some use a wet one and the rest use their bare hands. After 2 hours or so, we then manage to done everything.
On the first day, we set off to the campsite. It was like a forest with many trees and tents. My group was told to sleep in tents. I heard that some other groups( If I am right, groups 1-13) sleep in dorms and A harts(hope I spell it right). Unlucky. Why don't they take in one more group and we don't need to sleep on floorboards and the grass and soil?
The activity that was the best on the first was the 'Milo Pond'. It is actually a mud pool. We have to wear a PFD whereby it helps us float on water for around 4 hours (for safety reasons). We had to climb the ladder up(quite high) and slide down on a slide to the mud pool. If I was given the opportunity to try it again, I would certainly will. I don't know how to describe the feeling when I slide down and hit the water but it was very trilling. When I came out of water, I was soaked with my clothes sticking on my skin. However, we were not allowed to take a shower yet. We still had to do one more activity before showering.
On the next day, there were many activities that was not really fun but it needs our group's teamwork and co-operation with each other. One of them was the giant's finger. There is a kind of a pole on the ground, about 3.5m and there is also a tyre. I am not sure how to explain, so I surf the net and got this picture on http://www.recreation.ku.edu/programs/adams_campus/elements.shtml :
We had to lift it over the pole and put it back again. After many failed attempts, we still couldn't get that tyre out of the pole. One of the teachers told us the method to solve it and we follow it. After some guidance by that teacher again, we manage to get that tyre out. I was the one of the base people whereby Yu Siang was standing on me with his shoes on!
On the last day, it's time to say farewell to the camp. However, before that, there is something we need to do. We have to strike down the tent and clean the canvas. The canvas was very big and it was very tiring to clean the dirt off. Some use dry cloth, some use a wet one and the rest use their bare hands. After 2 hours or so, we then manage to done everything.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
My Reading Habit
I am back blogging at this blog. The one I call the 'Lang Art' blog. I created a personal one recently.
Talking about my reading habit this time round. I just created a weRead account under the supervision of Ms Lim. You can created one too with the link at the link list.
I don't read much english books since the PSLE. Therefore, I am quite worried about what I should write for this post. I don't have a reading habit! Took a look at weread.com and found out that almost all the book titles are there. I saw some books that I really like to read in the past there as well. I don't mean fairy tales but books that are really good. For example, some books written by Roald Dahl like Matilda, James and the Gaint Peach when I was in around P4.
Later in the year, I read some of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia. The next 2 years, I started to read widely under the recommendation of my primary school teachers. One of the books that I really like is "Bridge to Terabithia". It is about a boy named Jess and a new girl in school named Leslie or something like that. I can't remember clearly. Jess and his fellow schoolmates were having a race to see who runs the fastest and Jess had practiced all Summer for it and the new girl, Leslie actually beat the boys.
It turns out that Leslie was Jess' neighbour and that was when their frendship began. They invented a new magical world like Narnia, which they called Terabithia. They reigned as king and queen in Terabithia. Nearly to the end, Leslie died in an accident when she was going to Terabithia. What happened next? What happened to Jess? I am not telling. :D You have to read it yourself to find out.
Some of the books that I would like to read is "Tuesdays with Morries" and "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" both by Mitch Albom. These books are recommended by my friends which I believed that they are quite nice. It has been a long time since I want to read it but I just don't have the opportunity to do so.
Talking about my reading habit this time round. I just created a weRead account under the supervision of Ms Lim. You can created one too with the link at the link list.
I don't read much english books since the PSLE. Therefore, I am quite worried about what I should write for this post. I don't have a reading habit! Took a look at weread.com and found out that almost all the book titles are there. I saw some books that I really like to read in the past there as well. I don't mean fairy tales but books that are really good. For example, some books written by Roald Dahl like Matilda, James and the Gaint Peach when I was in around P4.
Later in the year, I read some of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia. The next 2 years, I started to read widely under the recommendation of my primary school teachers. One of the books that I really like is "Bridge to Terabithia". It is about a boy named Jess and a new girl in school named Leslie or something like that. I can't remember clearly. Jess and his fellow schoolmates were having a race to see who runs the fastest and Jess had practiced all Summer for it and the new girl, Leslie actually beat the boys.
It turns out that Leslie was Jess' neighbour and that was when their frendship began. They invented a new magical world like Narnia, which they called Terabithia. They reigned as king and queen in Terabithia. Nearly to the end, Leslie died in an accident when she was going to Terabithia. What happened next? What happened to Jess? I am not telling. :D You have to read it yourself to find out.
Some of the books that I would like to read is "Tuesdays with Morries" and "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" both by Mitch Albom. These books are recommended by my friends which I believed that they are quite nice. It has been a long time since I want to read it but I just don't have the opportunity to do so.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Three ways to save the environment
Sorry for neglecting my blog for so long. Tests are coming and I had to study for them thus I do not have much time to blog.
Three ways to save the environment:
Shower instead of bathing. An average bath uses about 80 litres of water, whereas a shower uses between 30-50 litres depending on the type of shower and how long you shower for. In other words, taking a shower uses an average of 40-60% less water and energy than a standard bath!
Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth. Brush your teeth first and then turn on the water to rinse. You can use a glass of water to rinse your mouth. You can save up to 8 gallons of water a day simply by turning off the tap while you brush your teeth in the morning and at night.
Turn off lights when you're not using them. If you are out for 15 minutes or more, you should turn off the lights. Leaving your lights on when no one is in the room is a huge waste of energy and money. You can even put little reminders around your switch plates to remind your family. A normal bulb will use 60 watts of energy an hour, meaning that you could conserve nearly 22,000 watts of energy per year by just switching off one bulb for one hour every day. That’s enough energy to power one month worth of evening TV viewing!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Who "killed" Adeline?
It’s Chinese New Year! Quite busy during this few days, spring cleaning, going to my relatives and friends’ houses, playing and most importantly, getting red packets! Haha. Going to be rich by the end of the month!
Coming to the main topic, who “killed” Adeline? Those who do not know, it is based on Little Ironies by Catherine Lim. So, what caused Adeline to commit suicide? I think that there are many reasons which lead to Adeline’s death. One of them could be the fact that Adeline’s teacher did not give the 1 mark for Adeline’s English Language examinations which is needed for her to pass the examinations. Another could be that her parents were demanding her to study and often compare Adeline with their friends’ children and caused Adeline to be stressful.
However, I think that the one who really killed Adeline is herself. It is actually her attitude towards studying. She could have be more optimistic and look through her paper to see where the mistake lies and improve, rather than to commit suicide.
According to her teacher, she was good and stable in secondary 1 and 2. However, the year before the incident happened, she suddenly changed. That year, Adeline did not seem able to concentrate and interested in her work. That could be the reason why she failed the examinations. So, why did she suddenly change?
I think that it is the fact that she is not emotionally stable. In her diary, she wrote that her parents were demanding her to study and that she really wanted to study. One could read from her diary that she was almost crazy when she wrote that diary entry. As I had mention earlier, she was probably stressed out by her parents. However, her parents’ advice to study hard should act as a motivation to Adeline. In conclusion, I think that no one is to blame for Adeline’s death but herself.
Coming to the main topic, who “killed” Adeline? Those who do not know, it is based on Little Ironies by Catherine Lim. So, what caused Adeline to commit suicide? I think that there are many reasons which lead to Adeline’s death. One of them could be the fact that Adeline’s teacher did not give the 1 mark for Adeline’s English Language examinations which is needed for her to pass the examinations. Another could be that her parents were demanding her to study and often compare Adeline with their friends’ children and caused Adeline to be stressful.
However, I think that the one who really killed Adeline is herself. It is actually her attitude towards studying. She could have be more optimistic and look through her paper to see where the mistake lies and improve, rather than to commit suicide.
According to her teacher, she was good and stable in secondary 1 and 2. However, the year before the incident happened, she suddenly changed. That year, Adeline did not seem able to concentrate and interested in her work. That could be the reason why she failed the examinations. So, why did she suddenly change?
I think that it is the fact that she is not emotionally stable. In her diary, she wrote that her parents were demanding her to study and that she really wanted to study. One could read from her diary that she was almost crazy when she wrote that diary entry. As I had mention earlier, she was probably stressed out by her parents. However, her parents’ advice to study hard should act as a motivation to Adeline. In conclusion, I think that no one is to blame for Adeline’s death but herself.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What is education?
Although the topic is given to us quite a number of days sgo, I am still going to touch on this topic: What is education?
Education is actually the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Moral values are taught too. Education can be done in school (public education), self-education or homeschooling.
In school, teachers may draw on many subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Public education is education mandated for or offered to the children of the general public by the government, whether national, regional, or local, provided by an institution of civil government, and paid for.
It is possible for man to educate himself without help or support from others. That is the self-education. Self-educated people are not dependent on others for knowledge. If they need a specialized skill, they know how to acquire it.
Homeschooling is the education of children at home, typically by parents or professional tutors, rather than in a public or private school. The motivations for homeschooling range from a dissatisfaction with the schools in their area to the desire for better academic test results.
Education is actually the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Moral values are taught too. Education can be done in school (public education), self-education or homeschooling.
In school, teachers may draw on many subjects, including reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Public education is education mandated for or offered to the children of the general public by the government, whether national, regional, or local, provided by an institution of civil government, and paid for.
It is possible for man to educate himself without help or support from others. That is the self-education. Self-educated people are not dependent on others for knowledge. If they need a specialized skill, they know how to acquire it.
Homeschooling is the education of children at home, typically by parents or professional tutors, rather than in a public or private school. The motivations for homeschooling range from a dissatisfaction with the schools in their area to the desire for better academic test results.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The first...
This is the first time I am blogging, although I do have space but I seldom (to speak the truth, almost never) use. Because of that, I am a greenhorn at blogging. I created this blog because I was asked to(or rather, forced to) and it was compulsory or else u won't be looking at this now. I mention that I do have space, but I only post 2 entries a year and the only people reading it is me! :( We were told to write proper english for the blog entries, not sms language and I think I will need to take quite some time to change. Having a hard time changing from small letter 'i' to the capital letter... We were also given a handout during lesson on how to write killer blog posts! Maybe I will be writing killer blog posts in a few months! After reading this post, look at the top of the screen. Remember my blog's web address and come back soon!
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