Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The road not taken
The thought that came to we as I read this poem was the decision making of the persona. Apparently, the persona feels that a single decision can change him for his whole life. The persona is taking the scene in the forest as an example. He probably faces two similiar roads, taking one ans tells himself that he may take it next time, however, it was unlikely.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sacrifice to make someone happy
It all happened during my primary 6 year.
My class had a vase that was made and designed specially by my form teacher, to beautify the class. She made it clear to be extremely careful in class not the break, or else we will have to stay back in school for three hours of corrective work order.
That day, I was sitting in the class, with only my tablemate, Jovin whose mother was fatally ill. As such, he had trouble focusing in class, as he stayed by his mother almost every night, moreover, he was extremely worried about his mother. He was a relatively shy boy, he told me about his condition only because I was his close friend, he disliked talking about his family matters, a requested me not to tell others about his condition. As I was doing my homework, I happened to see Jovin walking hurriedly towards the exit after picking up a call. He appeared to be shocked by the call as he whole face was pale white. I thought that it may his mother’s have worsened suddenly.
However, a loud “CRASH” was soon heard. Jovin had accidently knocked the vase to the ground in middle of his confusion and anxiety. It happens so coincidentally that the form teacher walked past the class to witness the sight of the broken vase.
I knew I had to do something. Knowing Jovin, he will not tell the form teacher that he was in hurry to the hospital, and rather does the corrective work order. However, what if it was his last moment with his mother? I believe, it will become his greatest regret in life. Hence, I decided to take the blame for breaking the vase.
“Did you do it? You should have been much MORE careful. I suppose you know the consequences well right?” I nodded silently as I stole a glance at Jovin. I could tell that Jovin was extremely grateful to me. I signaled him to leave immediately.
The next day, Jovin came to me.
“Thank you for what you did yesterday, I did not expect you to do that. Even though my mum passed away, I’m sure she’d leave peacefully after seeing me for the last time.” Upon hearing, I felt sad for him. I had not regret making such a sacrifice as I am sure the Jovin was happy to be able to see his mother off her last journey. Also this sacrifice was worthwhile, to be able to prevent my close friend from having a regret for his life.
My class had a vase that was made and designed specially by my form teacher, to beautify the class. She made it clear to be extremely careful in class not the break, or else we will have to stay back in school for three hours of corrective work order.
That day, I was sitting in the class, with only my tablemate, Jovin whose mother was fatally ill. As such, he had trouble focusing in class, as he stayed by his mother almost every night, moreover, he was extremely worried about his mother. He was a relatively shy boy, he told me about his condition only because I was his close friend, he disliked talking about his family matters, a requested me not to tell others about his condition. As I was doing my homework, I happened to see Jovin walking hurriedly towards the exit after picking up a call. He appeared to be shocked by the call as he whole face was pale white. I thought that it may his mother’s have worsened suddenly.
However, a loud “CRASH” was soon heard. Jovin had accidently knocked the vase to the ground in middle of his confusion and anxiety. It happens so coincidentally that the form teacher walked past the class to witness the sight of the broken vase.
I knew I had to do something. Knowing Jovin, he will not tell the form teacher that he was in hurry to the hospital, and rather does the corrective work order. However, what if it was his last moment with his mother? I believe, it will become his greatest regret in life. Hence, I decided to take the blame for breaking the vase.
“Did you do it? You should have been much MORE careful. I suppose you know the consequences well right?” I nodded silently as I stole a glance at Jovin. I could tell that Jovin was extremely grateful to me. I signaled him to leave immediately.
The next day, Jovin came to me.
“Thank you for what you did yesterday, I did not expect you to do that. Even though my mum passed away, I’m sure she’d leave peacefully after seeing me for the last time.” Upon hearing, I felt sad for him. I had not regret making such a sacrifice as I am sure the Jovin was happy to be able to see his mother off her last journey. Also this sacrifice was worthwhile, to be able to prevent my close friend from having a regret for his life.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Schools should place more emphasis on character development than academic excellence. Do you agree or disagree?
I disagree that schools should place more emphasis on character development than academic excellence. I feel that character development will be more effectively developed at home, schools are meant for the students to study in, and lastly, schools are not able to develop students in different aspects of students on character development.
Character development will be more effectively developed at home. Majority number of students will spend more time at home than in school, and character development takes a long period of time to be inculcated into students hence, in the homes of the students can their character be effectively developed. The parents of the students are also closer as compared to their teachers, as such, they will better accept words from their parents. Moreover, teachers have to face more than 30 students in a class, and cannot handle every single student, while parents will only have to face at most a few children and are able to focus on the student’s character development.
Schools are also meant for the students to study. Every student on average spend about 7 hours in school every day. 7 hours in school is not a lot, and hence time in school is extremely precious for the students to gain knowledge. If the school were to focus too much about character development, in would then give less focus to the academic excellence of the students, affecting the capabilities of the people as a whole.
Lastly, schools are not able to develop students in different aspects of students on character development. I feel that not every teacher understands their student that well, and knows what aspect the student is lacking. Every student is unique, and has different shortcomings, as such, same measures may not be applicable for every single student. Also, values such as filial piety can be really hard to be explained to the student, as it is not something that can be understood by students merely through explanation. Hence, with more emphasis on character development, students may not be able to fulfill their shortcomings and hence proving the measures useless.
Hence, in conclusion, I disagree that schools should place more emphasis on character development than academic excellence. I feel that character development will be more effectively developed at home, schools are meant for the students to study in, and lastly, schools are not able to develop students in different aspects of students on character development.
Character development will be more effectively developed at home. Majority number of students will spend more time at home than in school, and character development takes a long period of time to be inculcated into students hence, in the homes of the students can their character be effectively developed. The parents of the students are also closer as compared to their teachers, as such, they will better accept words from their parents. Moreover, teachers have to face more than 30 students in a class, and cannot handle every single student, while parents will only have to face at most a few children and are able to focus on the student’s character development.
Schools are also meant for the students to study. Every student on average spend about 7 hours in school every day. 7 hours in school is not a lot, and hence time in school is extremely precious for the students to gain knowledge. If the school were to focus too much about character development, in would then give less focus to the academic excellence of the students, affecting the capabilities of the people as a whole.
Lastly, schools are not able to develop students in different aspects of students on character development. I feel that not every teacher understands their student that well, and knows what aspect the student is lacking. Every student is unique, and has different shortcomings, as such, same measures may not be applicable for every single student. Also, values such as filial piety can be really hard to be explained to the student, as it is not something that can be understood by students merely through explanation. Hence, with more emphasis on character development, students may not be able to fulfill their shortcomings and hence proving the measures useless.
Hence, in conclusion, I disagree that schools should place more emphasis on character development than academic excellence. I feel that character development will be more effectively developed at home, schools are meant for the students to study in, and lastly, schools are not able to develop students in different aspects of students on character development.
My Ideal School
I feel that my ideal school would be one that provides a good environment to study, develops its students in their strengths but not merely in terms of academic and lastly, understands its students.
An ideal school provides a good environment for studying. How do I define the word "good"? I feel it means that the school is clean and comfortable such that a student will feel that he or she is as though at home or even better than their homes. It should also be quiet such that the student can have their full concentration when revising or doing work. It should best be fully air-conditioned, and provide much convenience, for example, the canteen should not be too far from the classrooms.
Then, the school should nurture all-rounded students and not merely in terms of academic results. To achieve this, academic results should not be the sole criteria for promotions. The combinations for the subjects chosen by the students should have a great variety for students to choose from. Teachers then aim to push their students to the greatest potential in the strengths and not try to improve on the weaknesses. In my opinion, to become successful, what one needs is not to be good at everything, but to excel and be outstanding in just one aspect. Hence, for the students to be able to achieve their fullest potential, the school should help the students to find out what are their strengths, be it in terms of academic, sports or arts.
Lastly, a school should accept changes, and not stubbornly uphold traditions. For example, the school should openly accept reasonable suggestions that are supported by the majority number of students. For example, in terms of the outfits of the students I believe students should have a choice of what kind of shoes, socks of spectacles to wear. For the uniform, I think slight modifications can also be accepted. As though I agree that traditional moral values should be passed on, students should not be compared as of the past, since different generations have different perspective. I do not think that a school can progress if it were to aim to become like the past.
Hence, in conclusion, I feel that my ideal school would be one that provides a good environment to study, develops its students in their strengths but not merely in terms of academic and lastly, understands its students.
An ideal school provides a good environment for studying. How do I define the word "good"? I feel it means that the school is clean and comfortable such that a student will feel that he or she is as though at home or even better than their homes. It should also be quiet such that the student can have their full concentration when revising or doing work. It should best be fully air-conditioned, and provide much convenience, for example, the canteen should not be too far from the classrooms.
Then, the school should nurture all-rounded students and not merely in terms of academic results. To achieve this, academic results should not be the sole criteria for promotions. The combinations for the subjects chosen by the students should have a great variety for students to choose from. Teachers then aim to push their students to the greatest potential in the strengths and not try to improve on the weaknesses. In my opinion, to become successful, what one needs is not to be good at everything, but to excel and be outstanding in just one aspect. Hence, for the students to be able to achieve their fullest potential, the school should help the students to find out what are their strengths, be it in terms of academic, sports or arts.
Lastly, a school should accept changes, and not stubbornly uphold traditions. For example, the school should openly accept reasonable suggestions that are supported by the majority number of students. For example, in terms of the outfits of the students I believe students should have a choice of what kind of shoes, socks of spectacles to wear. For the uniform, I think slight modifications can also be accepted. As though I agree that traditional moral values should be passed on, students should not be compared as of the past, since different generations have different perspective. I do not think that a school can progress if it were to aim to become like the past.
Hence, in conclusion, I feel that my ideal school would be one that provides a good environment to study, develops its students in their strengths but not merely in terms of academic and lastly, understands its students.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Online lesson 12
Step 2:
The common theme among the scrolls in the caskets are that the scrolls represented what is hidden under a glorious surface can be different from the outer covering, and all the scrolls were of exact opposite that of the caskets. The gold box represented the most glorious surface, which indicates how valuable it is. However, inside the casket, is a picture of a skull that is worthless. Prince Morocco did not put in a deep thought, thinking that Portia is a gem and hence her portrait must be in the gold casket. It was also his greedy thoughts that had influenced him to choose the gold casket what thought to be most valuable. Then, the silver casket was chose by Aragon. The silver should have indicated the wisdom of the person who chose it. For Aragon, he thought that he was wise to choose the silver casket, and that he was of a higher class, and hence will not want what “many men want” and he does not think that Portia is good enough for him risk all he has. As a result, inside the silver casket, was a fool holding a scroll. It had named the chooser’s foolishness. Lastly, for the lead casket, was chosen by Bassanio. Bassanio was not fooled by the appearance of the gold casket, nor was he too arrogant and chose the silver casket. However, he chose the lead casket that looked extremely common. However, what led him to the answer was that he thought that Portia deserved him to risk all he has, and was able to understand that all that glitters is not gold.
Step 3:
Every day I am making decisions such as what to eat, what to wear and so on. However, until the last year have I met my toughest decision of my life. I received my Primary Six leaving examination result, and my result was acceptable. However, I was stuck in a situation that my aggregate score just met the cut-off point for my dream school. Hence, it was a tough decision that has to be made, should I take the risk in putting my dream school as my first choice? Or should I choose another “IP” school in which my aggregate score can allow me to safely get in?
I approached many people to seek for more suggestions, including my teacher, parents and friends. There are both pros and cons of the respective schools that had made my decision even harder. To get in my dream school, I will have to take the risk of not getting into it and end up in a neighborhood school. Moreover, the school is located very far away from my home, and I will spend a lot time travelling if I were to enter the school. However, the school provides a more conducive environment to study and it would give me a brighter prospect. As for the other school, I will not have to take any risk. The school was also quite near my home. However, the school may require me to take the ‘O’ level examination and does not provide a balanced learning.
If my aggregate score was any higher, I would have chosen my dream school without any doubt. However, now that such situation occurred, the cons of my dream school were and the pros of the other school were highlighted.
Finally, my cousin gave me a great way to make my decision. I decided to face this logically. I asked myself several questions: “Is the risk worth it?”, “Would I regret not making the choice?”, “Would I be happy studying in the school” and such. As a result, I decided to choose my dream school as the first choice. The reason being, I feel that it is worth taking the risk, even if I do not get into the school, I can still work hard in a neighborhood school. It was indeed a rare opportunity for me. Hence, what I would have to do now is to await the result and hope for the best…
The common theme among the scrolls in the caskets are that the scrolls represented what is hidden under a glorious surface can be different from the outer covering, and all the scrolls were of exact opposite that of the caskets. The gold box represented the most glorious surface, which indicates how valuable it is. However, inside the casket, is a picture of a skull that is worthless. Prince Morocco did not put in a deep thought, thinking that Portia is a gem and hence her portrait must be in the gold casket. It was also his greedy thoughts that had influenced him to choose the gold casket what thought to be most valuable. Then, the silver casket was chose by Aragon. The silver should have indicated the wisdom of the person who chose it. For Aragon, he thought that he was wise to choose the silver casket, and that he was of a higher class, and hence will not want what “many men want” and he does not think that Portia is good enough for him risk all he has. As a result, inside the silver casket, was a fool holding a scroll. It had named the chooser’s foolishness. Lastly, for the lead casket, was chosen by Bassanio. Bassanio was not fooled by the appearance of the gold casket, nor was he too arrogant and chose the silver casket. However, he chose the lead casket that looked extremely common. However, what led him to the answer was that he thought that Portia deserved him to risk all he has, and was able to understand that all that glitters is not gold.
Step 3:
Every day I am making decisions such as what to eat, what to wear and so on. However, until the last year have I met my toughest decision of my life. I received my Primary Six leaving examination result, and my result was acceptable. However, I was stuck in a situation that my aggregate score just met the cut-off point for my dream school. Hence, it was a tough decision that has to be made, should I take the risk in putting my dream school as my first choice? Or should I choose another “IP” school in which my aggregate score can allow me to safely get in?
I approached many people to seek for more suggestions, including my teacher, parents and friends. There are both pros and cons of the respective schools that had made my decision even harder. To get in my dream school, I will have to take the risk of not getting into it and end up in a neighborhood school. Moreover, the school is located very far away from my home, and I will spend a lot time travelling if I were to enter the school. However, the school provides a more conducive environment to study and it would give me a brighter prospect. As for the other school, I will not have to take any risk. The school was also quite near my home. However, the school may require me to take the ‘O’ level examination and does not provide a balanced learning.
If my aggregate score was any higher, I would have chosen my dream school without any doubt. However, now that such situation occurred, the cons of my dream school were and the pros of the other school were highlighted.
Finally, my cousin gave me a great way to make my decision. I decided to face this logically. I asked myself several questions: “Is the risk worth it?”, “Would I regret not making the choice?”, “Would I be happy studying in the school” and such. As a result, I decided to choose my dream school as the first choice. The reason being, I feel that it is worth taking the risk, even if I do not get into the school, I can still work hard in a neighborhood school. It was indeed a rare opportunity for me. Hence, what I would have to do now is to await the result and hope for the best…
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Stereotype: Are all Hwachongians like that?
I feel that the post on stomp, about the students of Hwa Chong eating ice-cream on the public transport should not represent the behavior of all the elite schools’ students but merely the behavior of the students objectively. The writer stated that “Even elite schools’ students cannot behave?” in which I highly condemn as it was an early generalization of the whole cohort of students of Hwa Chong or even elite schools.
I feel that it had been unfair to the students mentioned, mainly the students of Hwa Chong and the elite schools as a whole. This is because the actions of the students who ate ice cream on the bus does not reflect the all the students’ action, neither does it reflect the education of the school. Any action done should be held responsible by the students involved and not anyone else. However, what the stompers responded was disappointing; they criticized not the students but the school heavily. To top off, they labeled the students of elite schools as “rich and spoiled” Moreover, the person who posted the entry circled the badge of the school, with the intention to highlight the school but not the student.
Hence right now, I would like to revoke their statement made, in which to prove what the stompers said were irresponsible generalizations. Firstly, they mentioned that the school had not taught the students properly, questioning the school’s education given to the students. However, with reference to a research done by the Australian Teenage Studies, it says that “teenagers aged between 12 to 17” tend to be more rebellious, and teachings are often futile. As such, it is proven that it was not the schools failure to educate. Moreover, with regards to students in elite schools as “rich and spoiled” However, nearly 15% of the population in the elite schools is under the financial assistant scheme and 67% under the middle-income. As such, I do not think that the statement made by the stompers were true.
I am highly against such judgment towards to innocent students. There is no evidence to prove that the school had not done their job in educating nor were the rest of the students just as bad. Such generalization can permanently affect the reputation of the school and is an injustice made on the students. The people should not hold their words inappropriately.
I feel that it had been unfair to the students mentioned, mainly the students of Hwa Chong and the elite schools as a whole. This is because the actions of the students who ate ice cream on the bus does not reflect the all the students’ action, neither does it reflect the education of the school. Any action done should be held responsible by the students involved and not anyone else. However, what the stompers responded was disappointing; they criticized not the students but the school heavily. To top off, they labeled the students of elite schools as “rich and spoiled” Moreover, the person who posted the entry circled the badge of the school, with the intention to highlight the school but not the student.
Hence right now, I would like to revoke their statement made, in which to prove what the stompers said were irresponsible generalizations. Firstly, they mentioned that the school had not taught the students properly, questioning the school’s education given to the students. However, with reference to a research done by the Australian Teenage Studies, it says that “teenagers aged between 12 to 17” tend to be more rebellious, and teachings are often futile. As such, it is proven that it was not the schools failure to educate. Moreover, with regards to students in elite schools as “rich and spoiled” However, nearly 15% of the population in the elite schools is under the financial assistant scheme and 67% under the middle-income. As such, I do not think that the statement made by the stompers were true.
I am highly against such judgment towards to innocent students. There is no evidence to prove that the school had not done their job in educating nor were the rest of the students just as bad. Such generalization can permanently affect the reputation of the school and is an injustice made on the students. The people should not hold their words inappropriately.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Online lesson 10
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/27/israel.iran
The link above talks about the conflict between Israel and Iran. The Iran president had made it official about their unacceptance towards Israel. This is similiar to the Merchant of Venice as in the story, the Christian hated the Jews and vice versal.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/352565
The link above shows example of an interfaith marriage, similiar to that of in The Merchant of Venice where Jessica, a Jew was married to Lorenzo.
Story:
Henry walked around the market patronizing the stalls. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a beautiful fair lady, accompanied by numerous guards and followers. He dared not look up directly into the eyes of the lady, as he knew that she was someone of a high status and he was a Jew. She walked past him, however, accidently knocked him down.
Henry fell badly, but he expected no help from anyone. But to his surprise, the lady gave him a hand, as asked with great concern if he was fine. With that, they got known of each other. Henry soon knew that the lady was called Tiffany, and was the daughter of a Christian commander of the German Army.
With days of interaction, they fell in love and decided to declare marriage. However, both families objected to this marriage.
“Are you crazy? How can you be married to a filthy Jew? That’s a huge disgrace to the family!” Tiffany father objected vigorously after the request from Tiffany to be married to Henry. Tiffany pleaded for agreement in tears, but it did not move her father.
“No! Do you know what kind of criticism we will receive if you marry that women? I beg you, no!” Henry’s mother pleaded Henry to put this marriage to a stop. Despite Henry’s numerous request once and again, Henry mother did not agree.
However, this couple were adamant and insisted on their marriage. News soon spread around the town, while Tiffany only received criticism, Henry often got beatings from both the Jews and Christians. Tiffany’s father chose to break his relationship with his only daughter, than to lose his reputation as a commander.
The marriage was soon held, the families from both parties did not turn up. They had a quiet wedding, however, they were so in love that it did not bother them. But after that, they had to face the harsh reality that the townspeople did not accept such a interfaith marriage that they had to leave the town for other country.
The link above talks about the conflict between Israel and Iran. The Iran president had made it official about their unacceptance towards Israel. This is similiar to the Merchant of Venice as in the story, the Christian hated the Jews and vice versal.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/352565
The link above shows example of an interfaith marriage, similiar to that of in The Merchant of Venice where Jessica, a Jew was married to Lorenzo.
Story:
Henry walked around the market patronizing the stalls. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a beautiful fair lady, accompanied by numerous guards and followers. He dared not look up directly into the eyes of the lady, as he knew that she was someone of a high status and he was a Jew. She walked past him, however, accidently knocked him down.
Henry fell badly, but he expected no help from anyone. But to his surprise, the lady gave him a hand, as asked with great concern if he was fine. With that, they got known of each other. Henry soon knew that the lady was called Tiffany, and was the daughter of a Christian commander of the German Army.
With days of interaction, they fell in love and decided to declare marriage. However, both families objected to this marriage.
“Are you crazy? How can you be married to a filthy Jew? That’s a huge disgrace to the family!” Tiffany father objected vigorously after the request from Tiffany to be married to Henry. Tiffany pleaded for agreement in tears, but it did not move her father.
“No! Do you know what kind of criticism we will receive if you marry that women? I beg you, no!” Henry’s mother pleaded Henry to put this marriage to a stop. Despite Henry’s numerous request once and again, Henry mother did not agree.
However, this couple were adamant and insisted on their marriage. News soon spread around the town, while Tiffany only received criticism, Henry often got beatings from both the Jews and Christians. Tiffany’s father chose to break his relationship with his only daughter, than to lose his reputation as a commander.
The marriage was soon held, the families from both parties did not turn up. They had a quiet wedding, however, they were so in love that it did not bother them. But after that, they had to face the harsh reality that the townspeople did not accept such a interfaith marriage that they had to leave the town for other country.
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