An incredible guy in an incredible environment

A new start for my Blogging-Journey!

2011-01-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hi guys!
2010 has ended in a blink of an eye and 2011 is here! Do expect posts from me this year as I will try my best to post at a weekly basis.
See you soon! :)

Singapore-Reasons of Success

2010-08-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Singapore can be regarded as a success now, even though there were incidents, such as the escape of terrorist Mas Selamat or the increase of crimes these years, affect the country’s image in a negative way. However, most of us take these successes for granted and think that all these were what our forefathers should do.

Singapore, from a mere Third-World country in the 1960s to a famous First-World country in 1990s is not an easy feat. Also, being the pioneers to host The Formula One Night Race and the Youth Olympic Games is certainly not by luck. Singapore legalized casinos and this means that Singapore’s society put behind these traditional values and transformed into a vibrant environment.

But do we achieve all these by sheer luck? No and our Minister Mentor will tell us more…
Our minister mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave a speech at the post-National dinner in his Tanjong-Pagar constituency regarding the reasons of the Singapore’s successes. Being father of Singapore, his opinions is by far the most reliable as he witnessed the young country growing into a world-class economy. He said that the four factors leading to Singapore’s successes are ‘Capable leaders’, ‘meritocracy’, ‘a level playing field’ and ‘the use of English as a working language’.

In my own opinion, the other factor is multi-racial Singapore, where there are equal rights for each races. Unlike Malaysia which is a racist country, the Chinese especially do not get to enjoy several privileges and the leaders are mostly Muslims. However, in democratic Singapore, capable men are the country’s leaders and they are made up of different religions.

The other factor, ‘Capable leaders’ is the biggest contributing factor as Singapore has undergone big changes under the leadership of PAP. One major change will be Singapore’s welcoming attitude to attract foreign talents to reside here. PAP has always been considering old policies and amend them if they are too traditional or deemed unfeasible.

No doubt it is not easy for Singapore to come this far and we should not take this for granted. Instead, why not try improve Singapore as a better society by doing your part as a citizen?

Violence Incidents during Sports Competitions in Singapore

2010-08-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

This shall be the fourth post and shall be the last post I will post today. I will talk about the several brawls that happened during the sports competition in Singapore and the ways to curb this problem.

I was shocked and appalled when I got to know of the brawl between ACS (I) and St Andrew school. I cannot imagine this happened to such prominent schools in Singapore as they are thought to be both intelligent and morally stable.

Because of the immense pressure faced by the school and parents to win the match, players nowadays are fixated on medals and only have the “must-win” mentality in their minds. They do not care about the sportsmanship values that they should possess during their competitions. They think that by winning these matches, their school and parents will feel proud for them and favour them more. However, they are totally wrong as I feel that win or lose does not matter in the game, instead the important part is where players get to learn from setbacks, sportsmanship values and know more friends. There are several violent incidents such as the Judo Finals involving St Joseph Institution which caused a Judoka to be sent to the hospital ICU. From here, we can infer that most of the Singapore players lack sportsmanship values as they cannot respect themselves.

I do understand that teacher-coaches do not play a great part in teaching their teams hard skills because of their busy curriculum schedule. Thus, the external coach does most of the teaching and he may not concentrate on teaching them the correct sports values that the players must possess on the arena. The external coaches only care about the teams winning the matches because when the teams win, it means higher salaries for them. But so what if the sports team get the medals, do they end up with the right set of values eventually? No, they do not.

I feel that teacher-coaches are in the best position to inculcate values of sportsmanship to their players, rather than external coaches who only focus on the teams’ hard skills. To achieve this, rules and regulations are not the best way because this will prevent the players from failing on their own and the true objectives for learning these sports values. Of course, some rules must be implemented, such as no fighting on the arena so that accidents can be prevented. Implementing rules like caning the players if they act violently are compulsory during the competitions. The best way to impart real sports values to them is by teaching these players, just like how classroom teaching is done in schools. We should explain to them the importance of sportsman ship so that they can practice it on the arena.

Another case study will be the players in India. Most of the Indian players will touch the arena ground with their hands before they start competing so as to show respect and give the assurance that they will practice sportsmanship during the match. I am not saying that Singapore players have to do the same thing as the Indians, but at least they should show respect to themselves and also to their opponents. By respecting the opponents, violent incidents and strained relationships will not occur. Also, our national youth soccer team is made up of players from different schools, and this shows that players from different schools can still be friends after their match, and not enemies like the ACSI and St Andrew players.

Being the teacher-coaches for school players, they not only have to teach them the hard skills used on the arena, we also have to teach them moral values that can last them their lives. As said by a retired coach in a news report, coaching players is a full-time job as we have to teach the players both physically and mentally.

In conclusion, sportsmanship is essential for the game to be carried out smoothly. If the Youth Olympic Games participants do not posses these values, do you still think the event will run smoothly? Hence, to train our players for international competitions, we need to impart the hard and soft skills to them. For this, teacher-coaches play the most important part.

The YOG Spirit

2010-08-14T09:21:00.001-07:00

This is the fourth post for term 3.

Last Tuesday, the whole school gathered at Kah Kee Drive to witness the “YOG torch relay”. We expected the torch relay to be very grand and majestic, like having the police escorting the torchbearer and the media.

However, we were all wrong as the torch relay was only less than five minutes when a not-so-famous man walked to the clock tower carrying a torch. Can you believe it? We waited for about two hours just to see this “spectacular” torch relay that will “goes down into the Olympic history”. If what the government said was true, I can only say that the Olympics’ efforts has gone to waste. Well, all these were my thoughts during the two hours!

You can’t blame someone who stood under the sun for two hours to say all these. The whole school, like me, was quite angry over this incident as we were merely ‘cheerleaders’ who couldn’t catch a glimpse on the performances put up by our school. However, this was a ‘slack’ period for us and also a study break as we got to chat with our friends. Also, what pissed me off was not the long waiting under the burning sun; it was the propaganda the media instilled in us. Upon seeing us sweating and grumbling, several cameramen told us to smile and be happy as they said “Guys, smile! Be happy for Singapore!” before they started filming us. What hypocrites! From here, I can infer that the torch relay we see in the TV is ‘false’ and ‘hypocritical’.

Mr Balan changed the class’s mindset after giving us an impromptu lecture on the road. Being an inspiring teacher, I could remember his words vividly. He understood our plight and he said, “The school has its reasons for doing this. But what really is the main aim for standing under the hot sun doing all these? Can you write me an essay on this and submit to me by Friday?” Firstly, he was witty (haha!) as his move meant more homework for us! Secondly, I thought through his words, about the real aim of the YOG-a small-scale event, compared to the Olympics.

I know that everything that the school does has its aims and rationales. But what really is the rationale to waiting under the hot sun to witness the torch relay? Is it to tell the world that Singaporeans are enthusiastic about this upcoming YOG? Or is it to let us witness the event that will goes down into history? Yes, all these are some of the reasons but the main reason is that we are Singaporeans.

Every countryman supports his country’s actions in whatever she is doing, just like the Germans supporting Hitler’s ‘immoral’ actions. Now that Singapore has managed to get a chance to host the first YOG, don’t you think we should feel proud of her as she is only a ‘small red dot’? Although YOG is a small-scale event that caters only to the youths, Singapore has made a big step by being able to host it. Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia do not get a chance. Since this is the first time Singapore hosts this sports event, it is normal to witness some hiccups, just like the torch relay. In the Olympics, the torch is considered to be holy as it is blessed by the Greek Gods. That is why Singapore should publicise the torch relay to the public as I believe not all of us know what is going on.

In a nutshell, we should support Youth Olympics as it is hosted by our dear Singapore. No matter how many mistakes is made during this event, YOG is still hosted by Singapore.

National Day Celebrations

2010-08-14T00:14:00.000-07:00

This is the second post for Term 3 and it was posted 30 minutes after the first post!

National Day Celebration happens annually but all the concerts or parades are somehow similar. They always consist of performances, singing sessions and marching parades. Even in the

National Day Parade held in Padang this year, the 3 hours-long parade is a special one to me as that was the first time I saw the NDP being held in the Padang.

Now let’s get back to topic. What is the rationale behind all these similar parades and concerts? Well, in a school’s context, the main aim to instill the patriotic spirit in the students so that we “may better serve our country” (evidence from the National Pledge). And in the country’s context, the aim is to tell the world that Singaporeans are united, strong and posses a powerful patriotic spirit that celebrates the independence of Singapore.

I will talk about my experiences and feelings for the NDP@HCI and NDP@Padang.

Since Singapore is the 'mother' of Hwa Chong, I shall discuss about the NDP@Padang first. There were all the same stuff, such as the parade, marchpast of Singapore’s military, performances by several organizations and the singing sessions by Singapore-born stars. I watched the NDP on Channel 5 and my friends initially planned for an outing at the Marina Barrage so that they can watch the beautiful fireworks at night. However, I backed out as I had a lot of studies to catch up on and partly due to the fact that Marina Bay area will be thronged with thousands of people. Sure enough, they called me at midnight to tell me that they are still on the train going back home and I laughed like a mad horse on steroids! As a NCC cadet, I liked the parade most as I can witness the standards of marching by the several contingents. The NCC contingent’s marching was 100 hundred times worst than our school’s as they could not hold the rifle properly. I somehow feel they are a disgrace to NCC as NCC is known for their marching among the uniformed-groups.

There were a few singing performances by Singapore Idols like Sezari, and the 2010 Theme Song singer Corrinne May. I feel that this year’s theme song is much sentimental and soothing, compared to the previous ones. The performance depicting the army in the future is performed by the Singapore Armed Forces. The performers were dressed like superheroes and the spectators will be shocked to see this performance as the arm is thought to be serious and strict.
Now is about the NDP@HCI. The Organising Team of this event did a good job as the school seemed enthusiastic and interested during the concert, which is a good sign because it was a different case compared to the concert last year. Last year, most my classmates were playing their handphone games and chatting around. We had history test afterwards, which was a wet blanket to our jovial spirits.

In conclusion, the annual NDPs that we watch has a lot of hidden rationales, such as sending a message to the world that Singapore is a strong country. Even though NDP is propaganda-related, we should still celebrate wholeheartedly as 9th August was the day Singapore grew independent.

16th Student Leaders' Convention

2010-08-13T23:18:00.001-07:00

Okay, this shall be the FIRST post for Term 3!

16th SLC was held on the 1st -4th June, which aims to gather student leaders from the Asia-Pacific area to discuss social issues pertinent to youths. This majestic event was organized by the student councilors from HCI and NYGS and mentored by several teacher advisors, such as Mr Edmund Teo.

Eventually, this event was well-planned and it went smoothly, although some minor-hiccups occurred sometimes. The Organising team was mainly made up of 20 Sec 3s and 7 Sec 2s. Thus, you can see that I am the minority and both sides (sec 2 and sec 3) did have trouble communicating with each other due to some reasons, which I would elaborate further later. The selection of the OT took place in December when Samuel and I were the two selected Sec 2s from Ortus.

At that point of time, I had mixed feelings in my mind-both jubilant and stressed. My seniors told me that the planning of SLC (not the Service Learning Club! Haha) will be taxing and stressful, but as the Chinese saying goes “一份耕耘，一份收获”, the ending results will be enjoyable. When the event ended, I finally understand that it is worth the immense efforts that we had put through for the past 5 months.

Through the planning of SLC, we held uncountable meetings and the one that I remembered most vividly was the first General Meeting. It was the only meeting that we played icebreakers so as to let us ‘break the ice’. However, this was not the part which I enjoyed the most. In fact, it was Mr Edmund Teo’s words. I could still remember every word he said and they are still etched in my mind. This was what he said, “The Student Leaders’ Convention is the biggest event in Hwa Chong that is solely organized by the student leaders, and the teachers do not play a part in it.” Of course, teacher advisors still play a part as they were in charge of vetting our work and proposals.

During HCNYATFM (the name sounds nice and professional and I still prefer CSM though), the OT took a group photo.

I thought that the planning of this event would take up most of my time and my results would drop drastically. Surprisingly, my MSG for the first semester improved since last year. Maybe it was sheer luck that got me a 1.** MSG but “sheer luck” has helped me to get a 1.** MSG for two consecutive terms!

As this event ended in a blink, I somehow think something went missing in my life, such as attending weekly meetings in the King Albert Park Macdonald’s at 7pm and burning midnight oil to complete proposals. However, as time goes by, all these vanished but will always stay in the back of my mind.

I hope to join the 17th SLC Organising Team as the experience is really enriching and enjoyable.

2010-08-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

It's time to post new posts soon. Hooray, blogging spree has started since the last one was during Term 1.

Stay Tuned....

Conditions and Impacts of WW2

2010-06-22T02:21:00.001-07:00

Homelearning 25 May 2010

2010-05-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

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!

Task 1
This poem “Rainbow Death” is written by Hubert Wilson, a soldier during the Vietnam War (American versus Vietnam). He was sent to Vietnam to fight for USA and stayed there for about 18 years. As he stayed there, his heath started to deteriorate greatly, and doctors then could not diagnose the disease. Having limb pains, Hubert Wilson’s mobility deteriorate and retired as a soldier. Like his father, he turned to writing poems as his pastime and wrote many poems, mostly about war.

The poem “Rainbow Death”, a war poem, depicted the modern warfare during the Vietnam War. As trench warfare was not common during that time, both sides, especially the US used ‘Agent Orange’-a highly dangerous contaminant. ‘Agent Orange’ was made using several man-made and natural materials, which was invented by an American Scientist. ‘Agent Orange’. This method had killed millions of people, and also affected the health of the living.
This poem tells us that the impacts of modern warfare (in this case, gas attacks) are great and not only will it kills many lives, it will also affect the younger generations. From “Generations untold WILL pay”, unborn babies will suffer from birth defects and the word ‘WILL’ emphasises on the huge impact Agent Orange will bring to mankind.

The poet’s intention of writing this poem is to tell readers the dangers modern warfare can bring to mankind. This is caused by the cruelty of men who want to win at all costs. As war ended, it may seemed that people would not be affected anymore and they could therefore lead back a normal life, however, they were wrong as younger generations would also be affected. The poet is trying to convey the message to us that “Think twice before starting a war!”.

Task 2 (Critical analysis of poetry)
**I merged the points Evidence and Elaboration together as it is easier to visualise.**

1) Point of View:

-An American soldier: As “America did not foresee” the great impacts of ‘Agent Orange’, an everlasting war was created and many generations were affected. All these were caused by “Nefariously America led astray”. The actions of the Americans were cruel and unhumane. As the war went on, USA were “expecting others (The Vienamese) to pay a high price” but the price was just too high for Vietnam to pay. “All the deceit continues to spread”. The hatred and sadness of the Vietnamese would continue to spread to younger generations. This war would never end.

-A neutral person: When the poet wrote “toll on the innocent and unborn”, we can know that he was writing in the view of a “by-stander” watching this war, supporting neither sides. If he were an American, he would have rejoiced as Vietnam had lost but he did not. However, if he were a Vietnamese, he would not have asked the Americans to “think twice” before their actions, inferring that .

2) Situation and Setting:

-Emotional: “All the deceit continues to spread” The poet felt this way as he thought it was unfair for Vietnam to suffer this horrendous treatment.

-Saddening: “Generations untold WILL pay” In reference to the story ‘To kill a mockingbird’, the younger generations of war are ‘mockingbirds’ as they suffered when they did no harm to the society. In the poet’s opinion, this was saddening.

-Hatred: “Toll on the innocent and unborn” and “All the deceit continues to spread” As Vietnam ‘tolled’ on the innocents, their minds would naturally be filled with hatred and revenge on the Americans. The word ‘deceit’ refers to hatred that the people would continue to spread so that one day, Vietnam could seek revenge on USA.

3) Language/Diction:

-“Potpourri” It means a mixture of materials or substances. However, in this poem, ‘potpourri’ means the mixture of deaths inflicted as a result of war.

-“Toll” It means a payment or price people have to pay. In this poem’s case, “toll on the innocent and unborn”, the Vietnamese would grieve and regret for their decision to fight the Americans. Now, they would have to pay the price.

4) Personal Response:
War is cruel and both sides will resort to anything just to defeat the enemy. In the case of ‘Rainbow Death’, the Americans resorted to gas attacks to defeat Vietnam. As a result, Vietnam had to pay a huge price that would even affect the younger generations.

Done by: Andy Lim (2o219)

References: Wikipedia (Information about Hubert Wilson)

2010-04-18T08:37:00.001-07:00

Interpersonal (Interview)

2010-02-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

I have done my interview with my neighbour (a fourteen-year-old), regarding prejudice and discrimination. Below is the transcript of the interview.

Me: Do you know what prejudice means?
Her: I think it means to have an unfair opinion on a group of people or someone basing on their skin colour, sex or country they live in.

Me: What is discrimination then?
Her: Isn’t this the same as ‘prejudice’?

Me: Discrimination is when a group of people is treated unfairly by the rest.
Her: …so ‘prejudice’ is to have an unfair opinion and ‘discrimination’ is to treat some people unfairly?

Me: Can you give me examples of discrimination?
Her: The treatment towards Blacks in the 1950s and the first-class citizens discriminating the second-class citizens

Me: How would you feel of you are discriminated?
Her: I would tell my parents or settle it myself by telling the people who discriminated me to stop their insults?

Me: Is there any way to solve discrimination?
Her: There are a lot, like killing, threatening and so on. But the best way is to sort out the differences between the two parties.

Me: Have you read the book ‘To kill a mockingbird’? If yes, can you give me examples of discrimination or prejudices?
Her: There are lot as this book was written in the “Unfair treatment towards Blacks”-era. Some examples would be the treatment towards the Negroes and the prejudice feelings towards the Boo Radleys.

Me: Is there any discrimination in Singapore?
Her: We are indeed very lucky to live in Singapore because it is discrimination-free!

Me: Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me

Please comment on what some questions can be asked during the interview. Thanks!

Intrapersonal (Diary entry from Atticus)

2010-02-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

I will be writing a diary entry of Atticus in TKAM. Below is my diary entry.

Date: 1 March 1948

Time: 9.47pm

Mood: Disappointed and learnt something at the same time

Dear Diary,

My children just slept. I could really see they were disappointed about the verdict but I was glad to let them see the true side of people.
Today, I represented my client, Tom Robinson to court today, regarding Mayella Ewell’s case. Before the trial, I knew Tom would surely be sent to jail because he was a Negro. However, I just could not believe that people of Maycomb could be so prejudiced towards Negros. The prejudice feelings among the white people are so strong that no matter how many times I proved that Tom was innocent, they still remain ignorant towards it.

The verdict of this case solely depends on the colour of the accused, and not the evidence produced during the happening of the case. What has this world changed to? Why is this world so unfair? Negroes are humans too, and they deserve human rights like us, the white people.

During the trial, I know I cannot lose because this concerned the life of a Negro and his family but I also know that this was the time of “unfair treatment towards Negroes”. I was reluctant to tell this to Tom before the trial, but I knew he knew this too. Still, he remained optimistic and told me “Atticus, I hope to see this change for the better.” My eyes went wet because I expected him to be angry and would kill the Ewells.

I attempted to potray an image of the Ewells’ family background and also proved that Tom was a cripple. Actually, I knew that the judge and the jury knew that Tom was innocent but they could do nothing due to the fact that white people were pressurizing them. If I were the judge, I would acquit Tom and face the insults from my fellow white people. This is because I know that there is nothing wrong in acquitting an innocent fellow.

What I can do now is to sigh. I am sighing because of the unfair treatment towards Negroes. I am sighing because no one dared to speak up for Negroes. Now, I can only hope that in the future generation, there will be a democracy and prejudice-free place!

I am going to turn in now.

Goodbye.

Regards,
Atticus

About my learning profile

2010-02-28T16:22:00.000-08:00

(Click on the picture to zoom out)

My two best intelligence are interpersonal (people smart) and logical (numbers smart) and my two weakest are musical (music smart) and linguistic (word smart). I feel that it is quite true because I am good in mathematics and also communicating with people. I don't really like music because I will go dizzy after looking at music scoresheets.

For Maths, I like solving puzzles or word problems, because it gives me the sense of satisfaction when I managed to complete difficult maths problems. I was exempted from Maths last year and hope to be exempted again this year. I don't really like all types of maths problems. I like geometry the most and algebra the least.
I am really weak in music, ever since I was primary one. I think I am not born with a musical 'brain'! When I was told to play the pianica (the small piano), I was completely buffled and failed my test in the end.
I feel that we should really thank the person who created the multiple intelligence test because from his test, people now know that we can be intelligent in many ways, not just IQ. After doing the test, we know our talents and also, our weaknesses. As a result , we can better know ourselves and therefore, improving faster than before.

Fourth post for 2010

2010-02-27T00:51:00.000-08:00

Hi again, I read an online newspaper (www.asiaone.com/news) just now and decided to write about it.
The post in the newspaper said that a honest student admitted to carrying a cellphone to the College Entrance Exam (CEE). This is a serious offence because this exam is important because it decides the college that you will enter. You will think that since this student admitted his mistake, the school will let him off or just give him a lighter punishment. However, you are wrong and the school accused this poor student for cheating during the examination and punished him accordingly. When I read this, I was totally shocked and questioned the Taiwan's examination system. Moreover, when I read on, the post says "There are 30 such cases in Taiwan, which students are like him, getting punished because of honesty."
I nearly fainted and reprimanded the Taiwan's MOE. Is this how they catch people cheating in exams? Is it wrong for students to admit their mistake? Do they rather want students not admit their mistakes? Are they so stupid to think that "cheaters" will admit to their offences after the examination?
As a result, this student is given a straight 'zero' for that subject, affecting his results greatly. This is really unfair because, instead of trying to catch cheaters in the examination, the school went to punish honest students.
Is honesty an offence?
Luckily, justice went all out to help that poor and HONEST student. As this matter spreads to the media, many people went to appeal to the Examination Board and the Directors of Education were now involved ! All I can do is to hope that the school will not punish the student but reward him for his honesty!
So what is your view about this matter? Should the school really punish the student?

3rd post for 2010

2010-02-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

Hi people, this will be my third post. Hurray! I will be talking about the censorship of pornography materials if it should be exercised fully.
Pornographywhich can be any form like pictures or videos, convey sexual messages to audience. It is common in the world, especially in the Internet; a vast forum for people to communicate. Some pornographic materials convey messages to people that women really want to be raped and they are degrading. Usually, people engage in porn to get monetary benefits.
Pornography gives people the wrong impression that women really want to be raped or they are treated as 'sex objects'. This is false as the women did it just for money.
In addition, pornography today is more male-orientated. By doing this, more and more people will treat women as 'sex objects' and the society will turn worse if this is not stopped. There is more pornography today than the previous generation because the media today is wide and people can access pornography materials anywhere, anytime.
In the view of people who read sexual content, they think that doing this can satisfy they desires, which is totally wrong. They think that pornography advocates sexual experimentation therefore regard pornography as "scientific materials".
The media, with the help of government should exercise full censorship pertaining to pornography materials by blocking the sale of pornography materials into the country/state. This can therefore prevent sexual materials from circulating in the country. Although some people may think that some pornographic materials are useful to one's learning, I feel that all pornographic materials are harmful to one's knowledge of sex. If teenagers want to know more about sex, they can approach their teachers or parents, who will be very willing to help them.
Censorship of pornography materials should be banned totally, by media and government so that the society's mindset towards sex will not be influenced in a negative way.

2nd Post for 2010

2010-01-30T01:16:00.000-08:00

As all of you have read the newspaper recently, Haiti has encountered an massive earthquake, 7.0 magnitude and most of the buildings collapsed to the ground, killing hundreds of thousand of people. Shelter, health aids, food, water and families breaking up are problems for the people of Haiti.
Although many countries went to help them by sending aids like food and water or sending doctors there to cure the injured. Many countries commented that Haiti was disorganised because distributing food was very chaotic. I can understand the plight of the Haiti people but staying calm is the best way to solve the problem. When I see the pictures during the earthquake, I was shocked to see the injuries and the people being stuck under collapsed buildings.
Work to save the victims under the ground will stop in 4 days time and corpses will be remain there forever. The Haiti people, obviously are angry and went strike against their government. In my opinion, the work should continue until all were saved or at least dug out from the debris.
However, this is an international rule: Work to save the victims can only last for 3 weeks because of resources needed.
I really hope that Haiti will continue her life and remain optimistic as life must goes on somehow. Countries should keep sending them aids until Haiti can become independent. Although this earthquake is not serious as the one in Sichuan, I really hope that everyone can lend the Haiti people a helping hand, either by monetary means or going there to help the victims.
Andy (19)

First Blog post for 2010

2010-01-23T01:19:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog post for 2010. I need to revive my "dead" blog so that I can resume my blogging journey.
I am going to discuss with you the relationship between the Blacks (African Americans) and the Whites. A hundred year ago, blacks were used as human slaves to the whites. The slaves aminly worked for the farmers. Their salaries were low and insufficient. Also, the treatment to the blacks by the whites was worse off than that to maids or servants. To the whites, the blacks were not human beings and they were considered as "Three fifths of a human".
After the "black slavery" era, things started to change a little better. Most of the whites had stopped buying slaves but a minority continued as the slaves were cheaper then hired labourers. However, places like cafeterias, cinemas and amusement parks were only reserved for the whites. Signage like "We don't serve coloured." are common. The blacks could not lead a normal life and had to be despised by the arrogant white people. As the blacks paid the same tax as the whites, the government had no choice but to "reserve" Thursday as the coloured day. This was when blacks were allowed to patronise stalls or cafes, etc.
Twenty years later, a famous Black decided to change the miserable lives of the Blacks. He was none other than Martin Luther King, an eloquent speaker and a minister's son. He spoke the words that were hiding in the black people's hearts. He spoke that there should be one America, and not two. Segregations should end so that the Blacks could enjoy the same life as the Whites'. Martin succeeded his dream after a long struggle.
Although now America treats their fellow black Americans fairly, there is still some conflict between the two parties. Obama, being the first black president, has caused anger among some white people. I hope that some time later, Blacks can be treated fairly as the Whites as they are human beings like us. We have no right to treat them like dirt.

My favourite poem

2009-06-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

O Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
1
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

2
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up-for you the flag is flung-for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths-for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

3
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

1) How are the figurative language used in the poem?

This poem “O Captain! O Captain!” written by Walt Whitman uses a lot of figurative language. The phrases "O Captain”, “O heart” and “O Shores” are the use of hyperbole. Hyperbole is a form exaggeration as the author wants to make a great impact on the readers. When the author keeps repeating the words, it make the reader feel sad for him as his father is dead. The phrase “the vessel grim and daring” is an example of personification. By writing that, the author wants to portray the image of the vessel as a daring person, which in turn makes the readers want to respect the vessel. For the use of metaphors, the phrase is “fearful trip”. I think that the symbol used is the vessel because the vessel is daring and victorious (victor ship).

2) Why do I like this poem?

I like this poem because it shows a contrast between happiness and grievance. Happiness is the fearful trip being accomplished and the grievance is the death of the author’s father. The author felt joyful at first and later, he felt crestfallen due to his father’s death. This poem uses a lot of figurative language, which is personification, hyperbole and symbolism. These factors make the vessel and the trip more life-like, which in turn makes the poem interesting. Also, this poem does not have any difficult words, and is readable for all ages. From the poem, I can feel that the author is trying to manipulate the readers’ feelings between happiness and grievance. (112 words)

My favourite Poet

2009-06-10T02:13:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Ferlinghetti
"Poets, come out of your closets, Open your windows, open your doors, You have been holed up too long in your closed worlds... Poetry should transport the public to higher places than other wheels can carry it..."
This was what Lawrence Ferlinghetti said because he thought that poets should be engaged in the political and cultural life of the country. Sounds intriguing, right? I think so too. Also, other than being a famous poet, do you believe that he was also a philosophical painter, army soldier and a politician? I was shocked when I realised it too. When he was in his twenties, he served the US Naval Reserve and was in charge of to defend the Pearl Harbour. That was in the time of World War II. He fought bravely, and fortunately, he survived and escaped back to American after the Japanese won the war. Then, throughout his life, he was a philosophical painter and a poet.
In my opinion, I think that Ferlinghetti is a selfless man who likes to contribute to the society. From what I know, he was the most active poet as he had a lot of occupations and made significant contributions to his country. From his poems, I infer that he is a sensational man as he knows how to write different types of poems.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919. After spending his early childhood in France, he received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina, an M.A. from Columbia University, and a PHD. from the Sorbonne. He married in 1951 and has one daughter and one son.
Ferlinghetti is the author of more than thirty books of poetry, including Americus, Book I (New Directions, 2004), San Francisco Poems (2002), How to Paint Sunlight (2001), A Far Rockaway of the Heart (1997), These Are My Rivers: New & Selected Poems, 1955-1993 (1993), Over All the Obscene Boundaries: European Poems & Transitions (1984), Who Are We Now? (1976), The Secret Meaning of Things (1969), and A Coney Island of the Mind (1958). He has translated the work of a number of poets including Nicanor Parra, Jacques Prevert, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Ferlinghetti is also the author more than eight plays and of the novels Love in the Days of Rage (1988) and Her (1966).
In 1994, San Francisco renamed a street in his honor. He was also named the first Poet Laureate of San Francisco in 1998. In 2000, he received the lifetime achievement award from the National Book Critics Circle. Currently, Ferlinghetti writes a weekly column for the San Francisco Chronicle. He also continues to operate the City Lights bookstore, and he travels frequently to participate in literary conferences and poetry readings.

Poetry as Insurgent Art

I am signaling you through the flames.
The North Pole is not where it used to be.
Manifest Destiny is no longer manifest.
Civilization self-destructs.
Nemesis is knocking at the door.
What are poets for, in such an age?What is the use of poetry?
The state of the world calls out for poetry to save it.
If you would be a poet, create works capable of answering the challenge of apocalyptic times, even if this meaning sounds apocalyptic.
You are Whitman, you are Poe, you are Mark Twain, you are Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay, you are Neruda and Mayakovsky and Pasolini, you are an American or a non-American, you can conquer the conquerors with words....

The Changing Light

The changing light
at San Francisco
is none of your East Coast light
none of your
pearly light of Paris
The light of San Francisco
is a sea light
an island light
And the light of fog
blanketing the hills
drifting in at night
through the Golden Gate
to lie on the city at dawn
And then the halcyon late mornings
after the fog burns off
and the sun paints white houses
with the sea light of Greece
with sharp clean shadows
making the town look like
it had just been painted

But the wind comes up at four o'clock
sweeping the hills

And then the veil of light of early evening

And then another scrim
when the new night fog
floats in
And in that vale of light
the city drifts
anchorless upon the ocean

To the Oracle at Delphi

Great Oracle, why are you staring at me,

do I baffle you, do I make you despair?

I, Americus, the American,

wrought from the dark in my mother long ago,

from the dark of ancient Europa--

Why are you staring at me now?

in the dusk of our civilisation--

Why are you staring at me

as if I were America itself

the new Empire

vaster than any in ancient days

with its electronic highways

carrying its corporate monoculture

around the world

And English the Latin of our days--

Great Oracle, sleeping through the centuries,

Awaken now at last

And tell us how to save us from ourselves

and how to survive our own rulers

who would make a plutocracy of our democracy

in the Great Divide

between the rich and the poor

in whom Walt Whitman heard America singing

I rather be the city rat than the country rat

2009-06-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

I would rather be the city rat than the country rat. Why is this so?
It is because I can get to eat more food and have a nice and comfy place to live in. If I were to live in those dirty villages, I would not have enough food to eat as the rubbish disposed by the villagers is little. The villagers not wasting resources so easily causes the low amount of rubbish disposed by the villagers, sadly for me, food for rats is insufficient. Also, due to the presence of my enemies such as snakes and cats, I cannot find a safe and peaceful place to live in.
However, if I were to live in cities, where buildings and transportation are common, I would then able to find plenty food and a safe place to live in. It is because the city folks do not treasure resources as much as villagers do and as a result, the amount of waste disposed is high. I can then able to find food from the rubbish in the bins, such as half-eaten fish and expired canned food. Also, I can find a safe place to live in by hiding in man-holes or buildings, where snakes and cats are not around.
That is enough. Let me change back to myself; a student! From the words above, I think you can guess the irony between the village and city.
In villages, people cherish things and they would not dispose things just because they are useless. For example, if a canned food has expired, the villager will not throw it away, but to either feed it to dogs or eat it himself. For city folks, it is a different case. Due to the ample amount of resources, they do not cherish them and can bear to throw them away without hesitation. This shows the good point of living in villages from the view of a rat.
Next, there are no snakes or few stray animals in the streets of cities as the people want to have a clean and peaceful environment to live in. However, in the case of the villages, there are a lot of snakes and wild animals. It can be due to that the villagers do not really care or they do not emphasis on hygiene. From this piece of evidence, we can infer that cities is better than villages in terms of hygiene.(I know it is a long post. Pls bear with it. J)

Confessions of an alcoholic

2009-06-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce myself first. I am a manager, working for Fedlex. My monthly salary is two thousand dollars. I am married with two children. Everyday after work (about 8pm), without fail, I will go to a coffee shop to drink beer, the shop which I patronize the most.
Okay, I know you will say that I should go home right after work to play with my kids, but I really cannot control my urge to drink. Moreover, the so-called “drinking session” is the only time for me to take a good rest after the long day at work. Also, if I go home too early, my wife will start nagging at me for coming home too early, and she will say that I should spend more time working overtime and earn more money, instead of coming home to slack.
I started drinking beer when I started working as I really could not cope with tremendous stress that my boss gave me. Therefore, I can only drown my sorrows with beer. Of course, I know that drinking too much beer will harm me and family a lot. I may have lung cancer in a few years’ time but the beer seemed as drugs to me and I really cannot control myself.
Normally, I will spend one hundred bucks after every “drinking session” and I don’t really care about it very much. I know, I am not supposed to drive after consuming beer as I may harm the lives of road-users and myself. However, how should I go home if I cannot drive? Taking a cab home and abandon my car?
By drinking beer, I feel high and all my worries are gone. Beer is the only thing that I can think of when I am sorrowful. Although some of you may say that the effects of drinking beer is the same as consuming drugs, but the only thing different is that drinking beer is legal but not for drugs. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Playing sports or exercise will not help as I do not have any friends to play with and I hate to sweat (haha!).
I have confess to you all of myself being an alcoholic. Can you really understand my plight?

My favourite character in Village by the sea

2009-06-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

My favourite character in Village by the Sea is Lila, one of the main characters in the story. She contributed to her family by assuming the role as the mother as her mother was severely sick.
Lila has to wake up early in the morning to make tea for Bila and Kemal before they go to school. In the afternoon, she has to wash their clothes and prepare the meals for the family. At night, she cannot sleep peacefully as her father will make a lot of noises by breaking the clay bowls. In other words, she received nothing in return for her contributions to them. If I were Lila, I would surely feel unfair as I cannot receive education, unlike my younger siblings, who study and will have a bright future. Her spirit to persevere makes her want to continue her “mundane” lifestyle. She can choose to throw tantrums at her parents for the unfairness they treated her or abandon her family for Bombay, like Hari. I dare to say that if Lila abandon her family and leave for Bombay to find a job, her life will be better and more meaningful. Sadly, she did not as she wanted to stay with her mother and siblings to take care of them. Therefore, I really admired her spirit of selflessness and perseverance.
Some people might say that Hari is the same as Lila, as they both contributed much to the family. However, Lila’s case is somehow different from that of Hari’s. Hari hated his father so much that he wanted him to die, but for Lila, she accepted the fact that their father is an useless man. Also, Hari left for Bombay in anger as he hated his father very much, neglecting the feelings and welfare of his family. Who will be the breadwinner if Hari leaves? It is obviously Lila, thus, her “workload” increased. However, Lila did not grumbled as she knows that being the eldest silbling in the family, she has the responsibility to take good care of her family.
Now, do you know why she is my favourite character in the story?

Is progress necessarily beneficial for the society?

2009-05-31T01:19:00.000-07:00

iPhones, iPod, Vista, PSP, these are the so-called fashion stuff nowadays. Can people die if these gadgets are not invented? However, if computers or handphones were not invented, communication among the people in the world will not be possible and I am sure we will have trouble surviving in this planet. Therefore, do you think progress is necessarily beneficial for us?
In my opinion, I think I am near to the disagreeing side. Let me tell you the reason. Let’s take Village by the Sea as an example. As Biju’s motorised boat was being built, a lorry transporting timber tried going into the sandy beach. However, it got stuck and needed the help of the villagers to make it going again. As a result, a boy joked that the lorry driver should send his timber in a bullock cart as it will not get stuck in the sand like his “modern” lorry does. This shows that progress may not always make the lives of people more convenient. Another example: Biju’s motorised boat. Do you think Biju can catch so much fish if his boat is not motorised? No, he cannot. Therefore, this shows that progress or invention may make the lives of people more convenient.
As society progresses, many pros and cons appeared. The pros are the convenience it brings to us and the cons are that we may become too reliant over that invention and cannot live without it.
Think about it. Since the ancient people can survived happily without any invention or progress, why can’t we?

My favorite part in Village by the Sea

2009-05-31T00:57:00.000-07:00

I think that my favorite part in Village by the sea is the part where Hari left for Bombay to find a job and to earn money.
Let me give a summary of that part:
Just as Hari reached Bombay, he was enthusiastic about everything in Bombay; the lights, vehicles and the many buildings. However, it surprised Hari that he and the other fishermen were not chosen to give the petition to the Chief Minister. Then, Hari had no choice but to stay in Bombay as he could not afford a boat ticket. He met Billu, a coconut seller, who gave Hari a small coconut to quench his thirst. Then, he attempted to look for the De Silvas for help but it failed. As a result, he got to know Hira Lal, a security guard working in the De Silvas’ flat. He brought Hari to Sri Krisna for food and shelter. Jagu, Hari’s boss, was a selfless man, who gave Hari a job and a shelter to live in. The watchmaker, who has a shop beside Jagu’s one is the person whom I think is Hari’s biggest benefactor. The watchmaker not only gave a high-salary job to Hari, he still taught him on how to repair watches and imparted him life values. It was also him who made Hari feel not so lonely in Bombay. Moreover, if he did not teach him watch-repairing skills, Hari cannot be a watchmaker when he went back to Thul.
In my own opinion, I think that it is Anita Desai’s intention to write this part of the story so as to show that Bombay is not a place full of evil people; it also has some kind people too like Jagu and Hira Lal. With the benefactors’ help, Hari could then settle down in Bombay and earn a living.

Are we really nerdy?

2009-05-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

During the previous Sec 1 assembly, we had the Principle’s Dialogue session. It was about a quiz on Facebook which commented on various schools. The topic was “ Are HCI really nerdy or reserved, just like what the “Facebookers” label?”
I have two points to support my decision.
First, if we were nerdy and reserved, can our school even survive for 90 years, without any setbacks? Okay, this means that a lot of parents wanted their children to study in HCI. Then, will it mean that they want their children to become nerdy or reserved? I know, the temple-like gates, students wearing short and brown khaki shorts make the people think that we are reserved and nerdy. However, these “traditions” had been ongoing since the opening of HC and we had to keep them as they are our symbols.
Secondly, I think, in my opinion, the “Facebookers” are jealous of our success. Well, just like Dr Hon said, people will always find chances to find fault with successful ones. (okay, I am not boasting) Wonder how they would feel if they were in our shoes? Usually or always, people, mostly from the press, like to “find fault” with elite schools so that they can attract attention from people and earn money.
Let me give you an example. If there are two students in Macdonald’s and they come from an elite school and a neighbourhood school and they speak vulgarities. And there is a Straits Times reporter there… Let me ask you, will the reporter want to write the title “ HCI caught in action” or “ ABC school caught in action” Which one is more catchy? The answer is obvious.
Therefore, let me give HCI students a piece of advice. Don’t ever commit a mistake or the school’s reputation will be ruined!

CIP in Clementi

2009-04-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the Ortus sec 4s and the HCINCC went to Clementi for a food drive, organized by the Ortus Service Learning Club. There were 55 of us and I earned 8 hours of CIP.
Our aim was to collect food (such as instant noodles, rice) from various houses and donate them to the needy and helpless elderly who are living in Clementi. We were divided into four groups. The three groups, which comprises about 45 students, was in charge of collecting food whereas the second group was in charge of classifying the collected food into groups such as instant noodles, oil and canned food. All the sec 1s were in group 1.
The SLC had rented the nearby RC for convenience and a place for us to rest. To be frank, it was my first time approaching so many houses to collect something. Our group was given three black garbage bags and off we went!
Usually, most of the doors were closed as it was 9pm then, which I think that it was quite early as it was a Sat. The people would normally give instant noodles as they were cheap but some kind Samaritans gave food like rice, oil and canned food. Unluckily, for my group, we met an unreasonable Aunty……
We saw an apartment which the door was opened. We approached it and rang the doorbell. Out came an obese Aunty. My friend said that we came from HCI and were here to collect food and … Do you know what her reply was? She replied in Chinese, “ I can give the food to the elderly myself and not need middlemen like you all! After all, I am an elderly and you all not only do not give me food, you all still want me to give you food! Tell me, is this world fair?” Having heard her words, we stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to say. “Aunty, come on, your house is so well-furnished and you still claim that you need those food? Morever, you can just gave us a straight ‘No’, instead of telling us a long story!” I muttered to myself. After calming ourselves, we thanked her and left in a hurry, not wanting anymore ‘trouble’!
With the strength of so many people, we managed to collect quite a large amount of food for the needy elderly. I think that when the elderly receive these food, they will be elated as they know that there are people around to help them.
From this CIP opportunity, I not only earned some CIP hours, I also get to learn on how to socialise with all sorts of people. Also, I had learnt that being a salesman is not easy as they will be rejected or rebutted when they attempt to sell their products.

Sec 1 NCC Camp Feast

2009-04-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

On 2o-21 April, we, the sec 1 of HCINCC went to Ang Mo Kio where the NCC HQ is located. We spent a fun and interesting 2 Day- 1 Night camp there. Alot of schools were there like New Town, West Spring, Nan Hua High and the one that I can't forget most--- Crescents' Girls. The Crescent girls really gave me a deep impression and they let me think again what NCC is like. They were so disciplined, more "obedient" than boys.
They even had their own club water bottles and attire. Maybe I should suggest this to my seniors. I was so-called traumatised when they could 'stone' under the hot sun for two long hours, and they neither moved nor talked! For the boys, including our school, we just chatted happily, as if no one was watching. Unluckily, one of the 'Sirs' saw our act and he decided to 'knock us down' ( which means to make us do push-ups). At first, all the boys were pumping and the girls continued being statues. Then, a Malay boy from Kent Ridge shouted, "Sir, u taught us the meaning of 'one for all, all for one', so I think that the girls should pump with us to show team spirit!!!" After hearing his words, my eyes widened and jaw dropped, body still in the pumping position. I think it was not only the boys, the girls were shocked too!(Haha!!)
After much consideration, the Sir ordered the girls to pump. Giggles could be heard among the boys. The boys were told to do 30 whereas the girls---15. This was the most interesting and shocking experience I had in NCC!
The food provided there was not too bad( since the name of the camp is Camp Feast). Surprisingly, we slept on beds and I thought it was tents at first. For the whole of two days, we did abseiling, flying fox, shooting paintballs at targets and the night performance! Actually, when I was told to go up the 5-storey building for the flying fox, my legs really wobbled and went numb instantly! After all the safety measures were checked, I was told to sit on the edge of the building, ready to jump. I really felt like backing out but it was all too late. The staff pushed me down with his legs and here I went!! The experience was really thrilling and fascinating. My newly- made friend from West Spring did the Flying Fox for three times as he joked in improper English, " Why u so stupid? U know, outside, one trip costs 70 Bucks and I can save 210 Bucks if I go for three times!" What a typical Singaporean!
After all camp, we exchanged contacts with one another. We reached the school at 4pm. What a fun and exciting camp I had!

My Reading Habits

2009-03-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm...... My READING HABITS?..... let me think...
I think I like to read fiction books more than non-fiction ones. Why?? It is because fiction ones are more interesting and not boring. In non-fiction books, they just give you the scientific facts which are rather boring. And, I can learn new vocabulary from fiction ones, thus helping me in my literature essays. Lastly, it is because there is a story in fiction books, which can make me 'go into their world', but not non-fiction books. How nice it would be to have a story in non-fiction books so that I could learn new vocabulary and scientific facts!
Recently, I read a book called Holes, which is rather interesting and uncommon. It is a story about an unusal Boys' home, where rebellious boys stay. The main character(I forgot his name) was sent to there because he was a theft. The master of the Boys' Home told the boys to dig holes because there was a rumour that there was a valuble treasure near the Boys' Home. Then, one day, the main character found that treasure, which was a gold gun. Rather angry with the master, he decided to keep it to himself. However, his 'best' friend betrayed him and went to tell on him. Knowing that, the main character escaped with the gold gun. His adventure began...

Ways to save the environment

2009-02-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

Some people might think it is ironic to save the environment because they think that their efforts are not enough to save it. We need the whole world’s effort to save the environment. Here, these are some of my suggestions to save the environment:
First, in homes, we can use energy-saving bulbs instead of normal light bulb to save energy. We can also use fans instead of air-conditioners. And, switching off electrical appliances when not in use. These can not only save the Earth, we can also save money on electrical bills!
Secondly, we can choose to sell our cars and use public transport like buses and MRT. If not, we can also save car fuel by not using cars if the distance is near.
Thirdly, we can reduce things like plastic bags, clothes and paper. Instead of using plastic bags for groceries, we can use environmentally- friendly bags. For the use of paper, we can use both sides of it. By saving paper, less trees will be cut down and global warming will not take place.
Fourthly, we can recycle stuff like aluminum cans and paper. Dumping these stuff into the recycling bins is a contribution to our society. Of course, recycling is not the best way. If we recycle, but we consume a lot, it is useless.
In conclusion, by contributing to save the environment, we can make the Earth a better place to live in.

What is the difference from Singapore's education system from other countries?

2009-02-04T04:21:00.000-08:00

I think that the main difference in the education system between Singapore and other countries is that Singapore has a lot of major exams like PSLE, ’O’ Levels, ’A’ Levels, which can decide on which school you will study in. We also have the IP Programme, which last for six years . The bad point of having so many exams is that the students will have lots of stress. In most other countries, they only have the ‘O’ Levels exams. The bad point of having a few exams is that the students will ‘slack’ and become lazy. Well, in my opinion, I prefer Singapore to other countries. Because, by having more exams, we can know what our weaknesses through the mistakes made in exams are and to improve on them.
Another difference is that, in Singapore, there are various ways to enter a good school like your grades or your sports talent. However, in other countries like Malaysia, the students’ parents can pay a sum of money to the school such that the principal of that school let their children enter it.
I think that no matter what country you are in, the education system will do good for us and not ‘harm’ us.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

My Chinese New Year resolution is to have lots of hongbaos and my target for this year is $250!
On Sunday, which is the CNY Eve, my family and I had our reunion dinner in a Chinese restaurant. We had chili crabs, steamed fish, cereal prawns and of course, shark fin’s soup. After the sumptuous dinner, we took a walk in Labrador Park, to aid our digestion. My grandparents started their long-grandmother-story while we walked. We had heard this almost every year! Then, we went home, though tired but jubilant, to watch the New Year’s countdown show.
On Monday and Tuesday, we went to our relatives’ houses to pay them a visit. I gave them two mandarin oranges and said some CNY greetings in exchange for a hongbao. The feeling of counting the hongbaos at night was truly thrilling. On Tuesday, we went to Johor Baru (JB) as most of my mother’s relatives were there. Luckily, there is no school for me on Wednesday so I can do my homework the next day.
On Wednesday, we mostly spend our time at home, thus, I used this time to do my homework.
Happy Chinese New Year to one and all!

What caused Adeline(Based on Little Ironies) to commit suicide?

2009-01-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

What really caused Adeline to commit suicide? Was it because that one mark which her teacher did not give her, even though Adeline pleaded her? Or was it because she did not want her demanding parents to ‘lose face’ in front of their friends?
Well, in my opinion, she died because her parents were too demanding and unreasonable. Imagine, if Adeline’s parents had not been so demanding, would all these had happened? No, it would not. Her parents had to take the blame for losing her daughter. If all the parents in the world were as demanding as Adeline’s parents, all the children would have commit suicide!
Some people say that her teacher was partly to blame. I somehow do not agree with that. When Adeline went to her teacher for a mark, just to pass her grades, she rejected Adeline, without asking for the reason why she wanted it so badly. However, her teacher would not know that Adeline would kill herself because of this. And, if her teacher had known earlier, I believed she would give her that one mark.
From this touching story, I learnt that parents should not force their children to get high grades if they are not clever or so-called ‘study-type’. Dear Parents, try putting yourselves in their shoes, and how would YOU feel?

What is the difference from Singapore's education system from other countries?

2009-01-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

Please give your comments regarding the question above. I will give mine someday. Thank you :)

What is Education?

2009-01-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

The meaning of the word ‘education’ found in the dictionary is the process of teaching and learning, usually at schools, colleges and universities. But I think that its meaning is to impart knowledge to someone anywhere, anytime. Normally, this word is associated with ‘teaching’ and 'learning’. Every time the word ‘education’ comes to people’s minds, they will think of schools and other education centres. However, they never think that education can come from homes.
Well, in my view, learning can come from anywhere you can think of. Learning from homes such as parents teaching their children how to use the computer or telling them what is right and what is wrong. It can also be during school outings to zoos and the teachers teaching them the characteristics of animals. There are a lot of examples of education. Teachers in schools teach more on studies and not on moral education whereas parents in homes are more on moral education.
But together, teachers and parents play an essential role in making the child’ future brighter.

Hi everyone!

2009-01-07T04:00:00.001-08:00

Hihihihihihi