Emily Of Emerald Hill - Peranakan

This term, my class was given a text to study. And it was the Emerald of Emily Hill. The photo above shows the an image of the Emerald Hill.

This text is in line with the Peranakan as they characters in the text are Peranakan. They practice the culture of the Perankan. Thus understanding of the Perankan tradition, culture will help us more in understanding the text. For example, understanding that they will have to kneel down to the elders, being a Matriarch of the family and etc. This will help us understand Emily more, especially on the reasons, the motive behind on what she did. For example, kneeling down to her parents during Chinese New Year. Despite the fact that her father-in-law said that they did not need to kneel down in front of him, but Emily kneel down to her so as t manipulate the rest of the family members because if she kneel, the rest of the family members have to kneel, thus showing that she is gaining her power in the Gan family.

To understand the Peranakan more, our Literature teacher brought us to the Peranakan museum in Singapore, somewhere near the City. But unfortunately,I have competition and could not go for it. But after hearing from what my classmates shared in class, I had a better understanding of their practices, such as marriages and their dinner practices .

Emily of Emerald Hill is a text worth reading. It's also an interesting book to read as the plot of the story gets out attention. In the play, Emily is a Chinese Peranakan, who by dint of her native wit and cunning, emerges as the matriarch of a large and distinguished household, but only at the expense of her son’s suicide and her estrangement from her husband. The end of the play sees her alone in a much reduced mansion. She is old, and wistful, and the remnants of her family have moved to the suburbs while she is surrounded by the urgent hammering and pounding of an expanding inner-city construction. Well, and i will recommend to you all to read.

If you are interested to know more about the Peranakan, you can go to the website @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peranakan or http://www.peranakanmuseum.sg/home/home.asp

School Re-Opening Tomorrow!

School is re-opening just tomorrow! I believe that many students are feeling the same as the picture above. And also, at the same time at home, trying to finish their homework. That is commonly seen among students, last minute work. But why?

Personally, being a student myself, looking from a student perspective I feel that because student feel that it is holidays, and they deserved a break. Holidays are meant for them to rest instead of work. Another reason is that they procrastinate a lot. When they made up their mind to their homework on a particular day during the holidays, they often think that there is still a lot of time and started dragging, until the last day of holiday then the realized the urgency. And thus, they tend to rush their homework. This greatly affects the performance of the students, as rush work sometimes might not be of good quality. And thus, what I feel that students should finish their homework early, so that they can really enjoy their holidays, even if it is the last day of holiday. But of course, do not forget about your revision! I know that now saying all these is of no use, but well, remember to do so the next holiday! :D

For myself, I feel that my holiday was awesome. I finished all my homework early, and did some revision. I feel that I really enjoyed my holidays, and I even went Malaysia for holidays. Even though it is not somewhere very far, but I like Malaysia a lot.

But well, school re-opening tomorrow is an unchangeable fact. I am feeling all the stress now. That is because I have to face many tests, and also being prepared to absorb more knowledge. Most importantly, the ending of this holiday is also an indication that the End-Of-Year exams are nearing. I believe that most of the students agree on this, right?

But most importantly, having stress is normal but you must know how to cope with it, then it’s all right. Lastly, over here, I would just like to wish all students good luck, good luck in your tests and exams. Let’s work hard together! :D

Any comments? Simply comment !

Hwa Chong Institution - Bilingual Camp

Hello readers. I am back! Well, any idea where i have been to this few days? Alright, I went for a camp called the the Bilingual camp organize by my school, Hwa Chong Institution. My role there was to facilitate and help the teachers. But today, i will just like to share with you the importance of bilingualism.

This camp is meant for the primary 5 and primary 6 students. They are selected by their teachers to attend the camp, and they come from different schools such as Nanyang Primary, Tao Nan Primary and etc. The purpose of them attending this camp is mainly to understand the importance of bilingualism. And in this case, the two languages is English and Chinese. These two days one night camp is a great experience for all participants and I feel elated when the said that they have learnt something from the camp. You may ask, why is there such camp?

This is because students nowadays are finding hard to cope with two languages, and they often concentrate on what subject and forget about another subject. But being in such a competitive world, we should know at least two languages in order to communicate with more people. This will greatly help in enlarging your social circle, and also in your future. Thus, bilingualism is very important to a student.

Through this camp, students learn to present presentation in both Chinese and English. And also, they had a chance to experience how handling a problem, such as oil spill is like. This programme is also known as the future problem-solving programme. It helps to mature the thought of the students. This camp is seriously a great experience for all primary school students. They also might have chance to be shortlisted in our school! And thus, I urge all primary school, especially primary 5 students, to join us in this wonderful camp in the years come. It is a very great experience for you!

Well, do you have any opinion to share on bilingualism? If yes, simply just comment!

Diesel Spill In River Almond

Hello Everybody. I just read an article on Diesel Spill In river Almond and i would like to share my views on it. It really saddens me when i read this article. This pollution did cause a really great impact or rather damage on the Earth.

Recently, a diesel spill at Kirkton in Livingston. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) received complaints from members of the public on Tuesday, 15 June of a diesel spill at Kirkton in Livingston. Initial investigations were carried out by the officers have identified that the source of the pollution was a vandalized diesel tank in the derelict Buchanan House on Kirkston Road North, the former EDS print centre in Livingston. After identifying the source, they stopped the spill on Wednesday, 16 June. But by the time they stopped it, an estimated 2000 litres of diesel escaped, running into the drains on site, which then escaped into the River Almond, causing the occurrence of extensive pollution of the River Almond.

You can read more @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/scotland/edinburgh_east_and_fife/10354658.stm

According to what I have read, the spill, or rather pollution did caused an impact on the surrounding, especially the wildlife. Local residents reported seeing dead and dying fish at the river gulping for air while the RSPB also had to rescue a group of ducklings covered in oil. The spill is thought to have spread around two to three miles along the path of the river.

Based on my knowledge, water pollution can also triggers off a chain reaction in the environment and has serious consequences for all living things. Just an example using this case, the diesel spilled into the river can be accumulated in the bodies of fish and shellfish. These poisons may be passed on to us when people consume the contaminated animals. People may also suffer from many types of illness when they consumed the water. Beside that, water pollution also leads the economic loss. Take for example in this case, the spill threaten fisherman’s livelihood as well as the fishing industry. Furthermore, cleaning up spills requires huge effort and is very costly. This is because the diesel can be spread over a large area and is not easily broken down.

From my point of view, I feel that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has done their best in clearing the pollution. But I feel that they could have done better in preventing such serious pollution to take place. In this case, I feel that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) realized the pollution too late and before they knew, over 2,000 litres of diesel were spilled into the water, causing a very serious pollution. I feel that they should monitor the rivers and seas closely, and as soon as they find that something is wrong which in this case, they can observe that the dead fish, they should start to investigate and try to minimize the spill as much as possible instead of waiting the members of public to inform them. And ‘Vandals’, which is the organization that is responsible for this diesel spill should have taken up the responsibility to check if the container holding the diesel is in working condition and should be alert at all times, and if such spills occur, action must be taken immediately in order to minimize the amount of diesel spills.

All in all, I feel that this serious water pollution did made a great impact on the environment.

Actually, there are many other more pollution happening in this world. This is one of a more serious pollution. But if such pollution keeps happening, very soon the world will come to an end, just like the movie 2012. *sigh*

If you do have anything that you want to share with me, you can do so by simply commenting ! Comments and feedback are much appreciated !

World Cup - Illegal Betting

Recently, there was an uproar in a lot of countries that Illegal Betting is taking place, and even among teenagers below 18 !

Illegal betting is defined as predicting the sports results and placing a wager on it, only through bookies who are not recognized legally. It is not uncommon to see cases of illegal betting for various sport competitions, such as the World Cup, MBA and even the English Premier League.

The nature of illegal betting is similar to that of gambling. People get involved in such bettings for many different reasons. Some of them bet just because they want to win, while some of them bet just for the thrill of it.

And thus, I would like to justify if Illegal Betting is a morally right or wrong act.

To me, personally, I feel that illegal betting is morally wrong act. This is because it involves money. And when it comes to money, it is a very sensitive case. This is because the root of many problems in this world is money, or rather interest. (Don’t you agree? :D) And when betting comes in place, fights and injuries happen very often. This is because of a conflict that is between the person who receives the bets and the person who bets. Both of them care for their own interest, and thus, they tend not to pay up, or pay the winning side. Such cases result in fights, which may also results in serious injuries or even death! And thus, I feel that illegal betting is morally wrong as it brings many negative consequences.

Alternatively, I feel that if you really like to have a bet with your friends or family, you may use a lunch as your chips instead of money. This will be a much healthier bet instead of money.

Then what about Legalized bet? Is it morally right? Well, to be true, I don’t find anything wrong about betting with money. But if you bet excessively, and whether the law recognizes it, I feel that it is still not right to do so. It’s all right to bet, but as long as you know your limits and control yourself. A hundred bucks per month, especially during the MBA season and the world cup season is considerable acceptable, or rather is a bit too much. But other then that, it might be overboard I fee that it is not right for the person to bet so much. No matter what, I feel that he or she should not bet away all his or her assets. Instead should have self -control when they bet.

And thus, my conclusion is that if it is legalized betting, and the amount of the bet is not too high, I feel that there is nothing wrong in betting. But illegal betting and excessively betting is totally unacceptable and morally wrong.

Do you ave any views to share ? Simply do so by commenting !

Floods @ Orchard Road

Hello readers. Today after my training, I went to Plaza Sing with my friends to catch a movie. But my post today will not be on the movie, instead the ‘famous’ Orchard flood.

When I was on the bus, making my way to Plaza Sing, I realized that I saw a lot of police officers, traffic police around the streets of Orchard road. Then I saw some parts flooding. So I was thinking, it must be that orchard road is flooding.

Then, when I read the news from this link - http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_541057.html , I realized that it my prediction was correct. For more information of the flood, please read from the link.

Amazing isn’t it, Singapore’s famous city flooded! It may look as if nothing, people may think that it is just a flood, nothing much, after the flood is cleared everything will be fine. But my concern here is that will the flood affect the image of Singapore’s famous city? Will it affect tourism? And does it affect people, especially those that are working there?

Well, personally I feel that this flood is a very ‘hot’ topic among many people. Many people are already discussing why is there a flood when it is known to be a city of the country. Even my friends are talking on it on Facebook. The cause of the flood is still not known yet as it is still being investigated. Even though the amount of rainfall is approximately more than 60 per cent of the average monthly rainfall for June, but what I feel that the drainage system at Orchard Road should be world class, and floods should not take place there as that location is known to be the city of Singapore. A city is very important to a country as it more or less portrays the image of the country. I believe that this flood leaves a bad impression of Singapore among many people, and so will it affect tourism?

I feel that it will not affect tourism very greatly, but just that the flood becomes a very ‘hot’ topic among many, especially those who had came to Singapore before. But it affects the people greatly, especially those working there! I believe that many who are at Orchard Road are badly drenched, even those in vehicles! It really turns the mood down there.

All in all, I hope that such floods will not happen again anywhere, especially Orchard Road as it is the City of Singapore, and hope that the government will improve, or rather upgrade the drainage system :D

Any comments or suggestion to share? Simply do so by commenting!

Task 2 - Critical Analysis of Children in the Darkness

1. Point of View

Evidence - "Children in the Darkness"
Elaboration - It is trying to say that the children is living in darkness and not exposed to light, making the point that the children live in a dangerous place and the have to hide from the light at all times in order to stay alive.

Evidence - "From this life they can not flee / And these children are not free"
Elaboration - It shows that the children could not choose their life and have no freedom at all.
Details - "Chalk and blackboards will not be / To this door there is no key"
Elaboration - It shows that the children were not given a chance to study. This can also be seen the next stanza.

Evidence - "Or will a war consume them / Their body and their soul" "Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole"
Elaboration - The author is trying to make a point here saying that the war is so cruel that it will take away many children lives. It is so cruel that it will will never stop as was is an 'endless thirsty hole' that will keep taking away lives.


2. Situation and Setting

Evidence - "Darkness"
Elaboration - The word 'darkness' gives the reader a feeling of 'afraid/scared' by the setting the surrounding dark. When it is completely dark, one tends to be afraid, afraid that what will happen the next moment. Afraid that they might die. And often they feel helpless. In this case, it is referred to the children that are struggling in the war. Children, often to be timid especially when they hear the gun sounds tend to feel helpless, as if they were living in a complete darkness.

Evidence - "From this life they can not flee / And these children are not free"
Elaboration - The situation here is that the children have no freedom, they have no right to say about their life, they have no ways to change their life. This makes the children living in the war, living in the darkness pitiful.

3. Language / Diction

Evidence - "Could We...Could We...Could We...Could We..."
Elaboration - The repetition of 'could we' in stanza 3 emphasize that the children have no chance to do the things they want, the things they should do as a children or they want to do as a children. For example, to study, to read. COULD they be given this chance? The answer is no. As a children at that times, their responsibility is to learn how to operate a gun in order to eliminate the opposing enemy, to keep themselves living.

Evidence - "Back into the darkness From which there is no flight Back into the darkness Into which there shines no light "
Elaboration - The word 'back' makes it sounds that the children belong to the war place originally, and they were fated to live in darkness, and they will not be given a chance, a chance that exposed to the light as 'there is no flight' that brings them to. And also, the word' light' and 'darkness' contrast each other, showing the importance, the difference between 'light' and dark'.

4. Personal response

After reading this poem, deep in my heart, I really sympathize the children in the war. They should not belong to the place in the first place. But the cruelty of this world, of the war, forces them to live in complete darkness. Force them to live in a place, which make them worry everyday. Force them to face the cruelty facts of the world at a very small age. It shouldn't be that way. I feel that they should not be involved in the war. I feel that they should be like us, happily, given a chance to study in schools and lead a better life. From this poem, I can at least feel how the children lives were, for example darkness. It also make me understand that how fortunate we are, and we should learn to cherish life more instead of complaining how bad is life.

Task 1 - Background of Children in the Darkness

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight

Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance

Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole

Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light

Henry M Bechtold
2010

Background:
Henry M Bechtold was in Vietnam in 1967 - 68 and again in 1969. He go back often because his soul lives in Vietnam and he go back to visit it from time to time.

He was sitting in his hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009 and he was trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. He was angry but unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. He looked at the TV and the news was on. He did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. This poem flowed out. The words just came to him and he typed as fast as he could to get it all down.

Resource taken from - http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Children_

To put it in simpler words, the poem is trying to convey the message that the children live in darkness. They are not exposed to the light. They were not given a chance to learn. A chance to study. A chance to do what they like. Instead, they have to start to learn on how to use a gun since young in order to survive. Imagine young children have to start fighting at a very young age, the hardship that the children have to go through; it really catches the reader sympathy for the children. It shows that war is a very dangerous, a very cruel fact to many, especially to the children.

Teachers' union concerned

Hello readers. Just a few moments ago, I came across this article on stratistime and decided to share with you all, regarding the weighting of the Mother Tongue Language, in particularly chinese, for PSLE, should it be halve or remain ?

OFFICIALS of the Singapore Chinese Teachers' Union (SCTU) have met Education Minister Ng Eng Hen to express their concerns over a possible cut in the weighting given to mother tongue languages in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

They had a 11/2-hour dialogue on the issue, which has stirred up strong, polarising reactions in recent days.

The union, which represents the 1,600 Chinese teachers in Singapore, yesterday released a statement about the meeting on Monday evening, which was also attended by Mrs Josephine Teo, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.

Currently, mother tongue has a weighting of 25 per cent, similar to that for English, mathematics and science, the other three subjects in the PSLE.

The union called in its statement for this weighting to be preserved 'so that it is more in line with the principle of bilingualism and further strengthens the competitive advantage of Singapore in developing bilingual talents'.

At the dialogue, Chinese teachers shared their concerns with Dr Ng and gave their feedback on how the teaching of the Chinese language could be improved, particularly for weaker pupils.
(adapted from http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_522725.html)

Upon reading on this article, i feel that the union has came out with a right conclusion. I totally agree that this statement 'so that it is more in line with the principle of bilingualism and further strengthens the competitive advantage of Singapore in developing bilingual talent'. Even though some may not like it, but that's a fact. Bilingual talents are better than people who only knows one language. And of course, they will go even further in their career in the future. I know some may have objections to what i have said. Well, feel free to share with me your views by simply commenting. :D

HIV Discrimination

Today in school, i had an interesting thinking lesson on HIV Discrimination. And thus, i want to share my views with you.

Well, before that, you may be wondering what is thinking lesson? Well, it's a lesson that i would say is reviewing on anything, which allows you to think from different perspective. This is a lesson conducted in Hwa Chong so as to develop our thinking. So back to the topic - HIV discrimination.

Why HIV discrimination is one of a hot topic in the society? Well, I personally feel that it is because the number of people contracted with HIV are increasing, and HIV discrimination is getting more common and obvious.

HIV is transmitted through sex. That’s a fact known by many. Until now, there is no cure for it. If it is serious, it causes death. And thus, you can see why people discriminate HIV. Firstly, it causes death and there is no cure for it. Secondly, it involves sex, which is also very sensitive. And this, people’s fear for the disease often turn to discrimination in order to keep the HIV positive people away, and keep themselves safe and away from the disease. But is this an effective way to keep one away from the disease? Is this fair towards the HIV positive people?

Everybody should be responsible for their actions. Since one ignored to have safe sex, they should face the consequences when they contracted HIV. In this case, the consequence will be being discriminate by the society, or even ostracized by the society. These often pressurize the HIV positive people and they might not even feel like living. But is this a fair treatment to them? After all, they are still humans. Human do make mistake and they do deserve a second chance. And also, they also do deserve our pity as everyday in their life, they are just waiting for death.

I feel that since HIV is only transmitted through Sex and blood, I feel that it’s still safe to interact with them. This disease is unlike SARS, or any diseases that spreads through the air. Well, I understand that one is afraid, but even so, we should muster our courage and help them get onto life, help them instead of discriminating them. Before discriminating a person, think of what’s the point of discriminating them? To keep them away? To make ourselves feel better? Personally, I feel that it does not make ourselves feels better, and also, I feel that there is nothing to be afraid of to the extent that we have to keep them away from us, or even from this earth. I feel that that’s too cruel. They are also part of the Earth, they also have a life. We should be fair to them. We don’t have the right to take away their rights.

And thus, I also agree the ‘red ribbon’ project that is carried out in Singapore. It reminds people to give the HIV positive people a second chance, and help them instead of discriminating them. So I would like to emphasize my stand that I feel that it is not right, it is not the best way to discriminate a person with HIV. Instead, we should help them, encourage them, give them a second chance.

I am sorry that i may sound a bit 'fierce', but this is what i personally feel, deep in my heart. We should always give people chances, even if they commit a mistake, and not discriminate them. So how far do you agree with me? Do you think we should discriminate people with HIV? Share with me your views by simply commenting. :D

Elite Education

Hello readers, I am back to post again. Today, I am like over the moon. It really feels great to receive great results. I got back my history, maths, and Chinese tests results. I scored an A1 for both my Chinese and maths test and a B3 for my history test. This is considered quite good results among our class. Well, can say that it’s above average. But at the same time, I do see a lot of people, crying over their results. But why? I feel that this question somehow relates to the topic on elite education for the principal’s dialogue during my Level Assembly held today.
There is a difference between an elite education and an elitist education. HCI offers the former because the HCI education framework aims to support holistic development of students.

An elite education means providing the best (facilities, education, teachers) to groom the best. Intense competition may be one major mode of sharpening the skills of the members in such a community.

Collectively, the best efforts of the students can move the organisation forward as well as benefit the students in achieving their goals. But would such intense competitions create blind spots for the people in the competition such that while they succeed in their endeavours, they don’t know how to connect with people beyond their communities? If that is the case, how can HCI students overcome such blind spots?

While holistic education is offered as in HCI, students may not leverage on the provisions. Instead they narrow their own options especially when their career aspirations have been preset by their parents. It will be good for HCI students to reflect on how they can make use of these provisions for growing up to be true leaders instead of putting blame on parents and systems.
And thus, the pressure from the parents, the intense competition, I think it is one of the causes that made one cry over their results. Well, is this a good thing or a bad thing? People always say ‘you only grow when you experience failure’, and in this case, failure is referred to failing your tests, losing to the ‘competition’, how far do you agree? Share with me your views.

hello readers ! I am back ! Guess what, my school does not have MYE ! But of course, for tracking our progress purpose, we have class test. Even though the weighting for it is quite low, but everyone of us work very hard for it. And finally, we gone through it. After a long and tedious month, we are only left with science and Infocomm Studies test. Well, even though we have not received our test results, but i feel that we deserved a break before the next test, which is one week later. Well, through out the weekend, i went to catch a movie with my friends from my class.

The movie is named Ice Kacang Puppy Love. It's in chinese, and made in malaysia. Well, indeed it's a nice movie. It's a romance love story, of a complicated relationship. It is a profoundly emotional tale of teenagers puppy love, parental love, generation gap, truth and make-believe. Set in a unique small town of 1980s Malaysia, the story evolves between a nice, shy boy - Botak and a brave and adventurous girl Da Jia Yu. The story brings you back to their experience of first love and crushes or what we call puppy love. The first love feeling is like the popular ice-kacang (shave ice) melting away even before one can truly taste it, only its sweetness painfully residing in our memory. I can say it's rather touching especially towards the end of the movie. It's worth to catch the movie. So readers, if you have the time, i urge you to catch the movie. you will not regret it!

Well, its time to say goodbye. I will be positing soon, so keep a lookout ! :D

Labour Day!

Today is Labour Day!! Well, i bet many are enjoying their long weekend. It's indeed a great weekend. But while we enjoy, we must also learn the origins of it, why is there labour day?

Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from the labour union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. The majority of countries celebrate Labour Day on May 1, and it is popularly known as May Day and International Workers' Day, while some celebrate on the first Monday of September.
The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the Eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

As you can see, its celebrated among so many countries, either on May 1 or 2. But it is a great day for many, especially to labour workers. Throughout the year, the put in so much efforts to make our life easier, better. They might not have as much holiday as us, but their hard work, their sweat really bring us a more comfortable life. And thus, i think they really deserve a break.

All in all, i would like to wish everybody, especially Labour workers, Happy labour day and hope you enjoy your holidays !

Lowering the weighting for Mother Tongue?

At a recent interview with the media, Education Minister Ng Eng Hen shared that his Ministry is studying the possibility of reducing the weighting given to mother tongue languages in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Currently, mother tongue languages carry equal weightage of 25 per cent as the other three examinable subjects, English, Mathematics and Science. The combined aggregate score is used for admission into secondary school.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has been receiving feedback from parents who expressed concern that their children who are weaker in mother tongue languages have lost out on a place in top secondary schools. In this regard, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will review teaching methods of the mother tongue language to ensure that lessons are tailored to the needs of different groups of students, and at the same time, encourage and incentivise students who are proficient in mother tongue languages to progress further. It was noted that such a move will strengthen Singapore’s bilingual edge, since mother tongue lessons will be pitched at the correct level for the students.

Below is a real-life scenario. This is found when i was reading the news online on straitstime.

MINISTER for Education Ng Eng Hen's revelation that his ministry is reviewing the weighting given to mother tongue in the PSLE score was good news for Lesley-Anne Tan, even though the 13-year-old would not benefit from the possible change of policy.

Lesley-Anne, who struggled with the Chinese language throughout her primary school years, even breaking down in tears when she could not memorise some of its characters, eventually scored an A.

But the teenager, who comes from an English-speaking home and is on the Gifted Education Programme, felt that her mother tongue results could have pulled her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) results down last year.

Now 13, the student from a top girls' school here, scored A*s for the other subjects, and describes studying Chinese as a 'challenge'.

She said: 'Lowering the weighting of mother tongue will benefit those who are good in other subjects, but are only weaker in MTL (mother tongue languages).'

Like Lesley-Anne, students who are finding it hard to cope with mother tongue languages told The Straits Times they welcomed the possibility of lowering the weighting for the mother tongue in the PSLE.
(extract taken from http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_517699.html)

Well, in my opinion i feel that lowering mother tongue language weighting for PSLE helps a lot in improving one's aggregate in PSLE. But lowering it makes it seems 'less important'. In Singapore, the education emphasize on at least two language for primary standards. But lowering of the standards might caused one to feel that it is unimportant and might not even study for it because the weighting of it is lower. But as one progresses, when he or she goes up to the secondary standard, they will face troubles coping with their mother tongue, and their overall results. On top of that, he or she may take up another language such as malay, japanese or even french. But if one could not even manage his or her mother tongue language, how could he or she manage another language?

Well, many people have different views. But i personally feel that lowering the weighting of mother tongue in PSLE is not a wise decision. It will affect one's future more or less. So what do you think? Do you think it is wise for the Ministry of Education to lower the weighting for Mother Tongue Language? Share with me your views by commenting. Thank you .

FYI- Ministry of Education has yet to decide on lowering the weighting of Mother Tongue Language in PSLE.

Rugby fight breaks out between ACS (I) and St Andrew's School

There is a recent news, well i would say shocking news, happened in Singapore. This is non other then the Rugby fight that breaks out between ACS (I) and St Andrew's School.

A fight between opposing players and a pitch invasion that ensued, marred a keenly-contested Schools National B Division Under-17 rugby final between Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and St Andrew's School (SAS) yesterday.

The post-match clash, which erupted immediately after the final whistle at the Old Police Academy at Thomson Road, left ACS(I) flanker Leonard David Wee with a bloodied nose and mouth.

The supporters had just started applauding the splendid display when the fracas erupted. According to ACS(I) sports secretary Chan Chee Wei, Leonard was punched in the face by an opposing player.

You may pity the player, Leonard, who was injured. But if you looked at the full picture, it was Leonard Wee who started the fight, insulting one of the SAS players. He insulted one of the SAS player , a loser.

Well, we can understand why a fight broke out. Even though SAS started to use violence, but i feel that it is understandable. If someone were to call you, or even your team loser, after losing just by one point, i feel that, i mean i really feel that only people with really high self control will then be able to cope with the anger that is building up.

But well, i wouldn't say that SAS wasn't at fault at all. They were wrong to resort to violence to appease their anger. They could have walked away, even though its difficult for them to do so.

As for ACS(I), i personally feel that they display no sportsmanship at all. Despite the fact that they wasn't the first to start to fight, they called the losing team, SAS a looser. This shows that they did not win graciously. Instead of going up, shaking their hand, or even saying 'good game', they called SAS a looser. This is the straw that broke the camel back. It spark off the fight.

Thus I feel that it is understandable for SAS to resort to violence and i feel that ACS(I) is at fault in the first place. Well, you may have different views, but do share with my by simply commenting :D

Founder's day - Old Folks Home

Hello, yesterday was founder’s day. In Hwa Chong Institution, it is a practice that we do something for the society on founder’s day. This is also known as our Community Involvement Programme.

For our school, different levels did different things such as newspaper collecting, old folks home & children home visit and others. As for my level, my class, we went to the old folks home at Lentor residence. The purpose of going to the old folks home is to accompany, entertain the elderly and also understand certain values.

Before going to the old folks home, we did some preparation. We prepared a mini performance, which includes singing, reciting of poems and playing games. And also, we even raised some food and drinks like Milo and biscuit for them.

The day came very fast. It was 24th March 2010, the founder’s day. Everybody was excited until we reached the old folks home. To many of us, it was our first time visiting a home. We were all shy and embarrassed when we first face the elderly. Our performance was the first item. We had to sing in front of them, and slowly start to interact with them. But instead, we crowd among ourselves, and start to hope that someone doesn’t spot us.

But we got the teacher really angry and we started to interact with them. Even though we could not communicate with them properly, but under the help with the adults, we still manage to understand a little bit. And slowly we started to interact more with them, by hands signs or by verbal.

Because of the short of time, we decided to take off the reciting of poems and decided to go into the game. The game really entertained them, especially the game ‘bingo’. Although not all participated, by seeing them enjoying the game, and having a smile on their face, it really reliefs us. It means that our efforts we put in were not wasted.

After that, it was their lunchtime. So we help to do some cleaning by cleaning the stacks of chairs they had. Despite the face that it was really dirty and full of disgusting bird shit, our class worked together closely, and helps to scrub and dry the chair. It was really touching to look at that sight, the playful and naughty 2o3 actually did work together and clean the chair. I think that’s because at the moment, we had a same target in mind - really serve the elderly to the best we can!

Very soon, it was time to say goodbye. We left the place and headed back to school, feeling a little sad for the elderly, the lonely elderly.

Of course, like I mention in the previous post, there is always a learning point for everything you do. For this trip, I learnt that we should learn to spend more time with our families, especially with our parents. And also, we should take care of our parents in the future no matter what condition they are in. This is because it really hurts them if we leave them in the elderly home. Like the elderly in the home that we visited, they all seemed very lonely. Even though I don’t know why they are in the old folks home, but I know that if they were given a choice, they would rather live with their children instead of staying in an old folks home. Same things for me, if I am a parent next time, I will not want my child to leave me in the old folks home.

And I also, I learnt that staying healthy is also very important. Looking at many elderly on their wheel chair or when their movement is being restricted because of the physical conditions and feeling restless, I really sympathize them from the bottom of my heart. Thus, one’s healthiness is very important.

Well, many of you all may have different views. Share with me!

The Nationals, Water Polo C Div Finals

Hello, I am back to post . The Nationals, Water Polo C Div Finals took place 2 days ago, 23th March 2010 at CCAB.



This was my first finals ever since I join Hwa Chong water polo team, same for my team mates. Sad to announce, we lost against ACSI. The match was between Anglo Chinese School ( Independent ) and Hwa Chong Institution. The final score was 10 - 4 .

I shall not further elaborate on the match itself. But you can find out more at here.

We, Hwa Chong team put up a good fight in the match. This was agreed by many of our teachers and our coach. Truthfully speaking, they are faster than us. They are stronger than us. They are better than us one or another way. Even though we lost, but we, the Hwa Chong team, feel happy losing. That's because we tried our best, and to us, the scores isn't the main point. As an athletic, winning or losing maybe important, but enjoying the game is still the priority. We enjoyed ourselves during the game, and we learn a lot of things, both technically and mentally.

After this match, we promised that we will strive even harder in the coming years and we will give our best again in 2 years time!

Personally, I feel that we could have done better, or even we might have won ACSI. But 'no regrets'. Since its over, we should look forward in meeting ACSI in two years time instead of looking back and keep thinking about it. Well, the same things goes for life. We should not have 'ifs' . When we done something wrong, it is too late to regret. But instead, we should look forward and think of how to resolve the problem. And also, we should not push the blame to others, like we did not blame ACSI for being better, as after all, resolving the problem is the priority and is the most effective way to resolve the problem.

Well, there are many learning points for many events happening around us. Different events requires a different point of perspective to understand the lesson behind it, just like the water polo i mentioned above. So share with me! Share with what you have learnt through the things happening around you. Feel free to comment !

☺ End of School Holidays ☺

Yeah! It’s time to say goodbye to the bear. Today is the last day of the school holiday. Time flies, seriously. One week of holiday has past so quickly. So how did I spend my holidays? Well, I return to school for training in the morning everyday, and in the afternoon, I go home to study, and most importantly, to sleep ☺. It’s like a routine. From Monday to Friday, I do the same things. Training, lunch, study, naps, dinner and study, but with the exception of one or two days, the days which I went out for movies with my friends. This week, I watched two movies, ‘Kidnapper’ and ‘being human’. I really enjoyed the time I spent with my friends catching those movies and also, I enjoyed sleeping thoroughly this week. During school days, a lot of students lack of sleep. That includes me. We often scarify our sleep time just to rush out our homework. But during holiday, plenty of time for me to sleep. I realize that able to sleep is also a blessing. Don’t you agree with me? But of course, I am not a pig! So today, the last day of school holidays, everybody is complaining why is the holiday so short! And today, the last day of school holiday, many are rushing their holiday. This type situation is commonly seen among students nowadays as they tend to get lazy☺ As for me, I finished most of my homework during the weekdays, and I am left with one maths worksheet that I am stuck with.

So how did you spend your holidays? Share with me simply by commenting ☺ I appreciate if you could share with me.

Well, got to go off and continue my maths homework. I will be back. *Blink*☺

Being Human (Chinese, English subbed)

‘Being Human’ is a movie released recently. Today, I went to watch this movie at Plaza Singapura with my water polo friends.

This movie is about Max (Mark Lee), a hardworking but unscrupulous employee for a mildly successful slimming centre Natural Beauty. In his efforts to increase company profits, Max decides to purchase supplies from a counterfeit brand. When he was found out, Max was fired. In his retaliation, Max decides to open a rival company Max Beauty, using the same counterfeit beauty products and imported slimming pills. Max's conscience (played by Taiwanese celebrity Nono) appears to advise him against these actions but is duly ignored. Max will eventually realize that what comes around, goes around and what it means to Being Human Being.

Well, I would say that this movie is more of a Singapore comedy show as they speak in a very funny way with mix languages and dialect. But every, or rather most movies and shows, there is always a lesson behind it. For this movie, the main lesson learnt is ‘what we do is what we get’. In this movie, it portraits two scenario. First scenario is when Max did something wrong by selling counterfeit brand slimming product. In the end, he lost his wife. He lost his career. He lost his unborn son which he long wished for. That is the retribution he got for doing the wrong thing.

Another scenario was that when he did not sell counterfeit brand slimming product. He got a better career. He got his Son. He got a warming family.

Although there are many other scenario, but this two are the most significant ones. People only learn their lessons through the hard way. And they will then realize what they do is what they get.

Overall, I find this movie nice and meaningful. I would recommend, you, readers to watch!

Water Polo C-div Nationals

It’s been long since last posted. Well, recently I am busy having water polo competitions. In Singapore, there are only 6 schools having water polo as a form of Co-Curriculum Activity and most of them, in fact all of them are boys schools. You may wonder why a mix school doesn’t have water polo. To be true, I also don’t know why. Maybe you can find and tell me why! 

The school national is help once in year. Instead of just looking at the scores and the results, it is also a good time to see how far we fair by having matches with other schools. Well of course, many still sees the results as the number one factor. As usual, it is held at Anglo-Chinese Independent School.

The competition starts officially on 2nd March 2010 for the C-division 14 years-old and below). Our first match was against Anglo-Chinese Independent School (ACSI) was one of the crucial match for Hwa Chong as ACSI is a strong team with a batch fast swimmer. But despite the fact that they were very strong, we put up a good fight by closing the match with a score of 8(ACSI)-3(HCI). Well, the teachers and the coach were quite satisfied with the results as they know that we really played well.

Even though we lost the match, but we still had another chance to go to the finals. That’s because there is total of 6 teams in Singapore. Every team has to play against another, once, or twice. Every match won, three points will be awarded. Thus, we can afford to only lose one match if we want to play the finals.

Until now, we played 4 matches, including the ACSI match. The score is as follow …
HCI v ACS Ind (C div) 3-8
HCI v ACSBR (C div) 11-3
HCI v OSS (C div) 15-0
HCI v RI (C div) 13-5

Keen to know more? You can visit the website at http://www.schoolsports.sg/sssc/waterpolo/results

As you can see from above, we manage to win every match except for the ACSI match. The last match will be against San Andrews (SAINTS)before going into the finals. Our team is confident in winning the San Andrews match and we are now all excited to play the finals, against ACSI. Looking at the situation now, you may think that we will get at most a 2nd position. But I can tell you, with the Hwa Chong spirit, the polo team spirit, I, or instead the team, believe that we will try our very best to beat ACSI and secure the 1st position. We believe that we can make it. We believe that miracles do happen.

Linguistic

Imagine you are one of the characters. Deliver a speech on what you think of the above question.

Is Maycomb a good place to live in?

Character - Tom Robinson

Maycomb is definitely not a good place to live! In Maycomb, there are no justice, no rightness, no equalities. This is worse than living. We, the black, have no right to speak. We have no right to complain And we have no right to decide our fate. We suffer under the whites. We were discriminated by the whites. We were bullied by the whites but we have no right to say a single word. We can only suffer. Maybe this is our fate.

I was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. I am handicap person. One of my hands is disabled, and I could still rape a thick-bodied girl. What a ridiculous joke is that. And that jury, believed Mayella Ewell. He believed that I could grab Mayella Ewell and slap her at the same time. He must be pulling my legs. No justice was given to me. No rightness was seen. I was sentenced death. It is because I am a black. It is because of the prejudice between the white and black. The black has always been discriminated by the whites. So what if I am a black? Am I not a human being to them?

But I must thank a person. A person who stand for me. A person full of courage. He is non other than Atticus Finch. He is a white, but he stood up for me. He did not really care whether am I a black or white. What he only cares is rightness and justice. He stood up for me in the trial in front of the whites and blacks, and took up a lot of courage to give speech which really spoken off what we blacks have been thinking. I know he tried his very best to protect me. But its Maycomb. The prejudice between the white and black still exist Whether Atticus gave his speech or not, it changes nothing. I am bound to be sentenced death.

Maycomb, we might have such courageous, such good person like Atticus, but how many Atticus does Maycomb has? How many whites does Maycomb has? We the black can only wait, and wait, hoping that one day that equalities and justice will be seen one day. But when will this day come? I think it only comes when we leave Maycomb and seek for a better place .

Intrapersonal

Who would you want to be friends with in the novel? Explain.


Atticus Finch

Why Him ? He is Atticus Finch in the novel, To Kill A Mocking Bird.Atticus Finch, one of the main characters. He is the lawyer of the defendant, Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Despite that fact that Tom Robinson was black, he still put up a good ‘fight’ in the court. The fight refers to how he speaks up during the trial to defend Tom Robinson, to defend a person who is not related to him, to defend a black!

During Atticus Finch times, black was known to be discriminated by the whites. Atticus Finch, who was a white, should not have even helped a black in the first place. That is because he will be in a state like no other blacks, discriminated by the white as he helped the black. But out of many reason, his courage and rightness make him stand for the blacks. He feels that equalities and justice must be seen among all races, among everybody, and most importantly among the white and the black. Thus, when he is so sure that Tom Robinson is innocent due to many suspicious points (e.g. Tom Robinson, who had one of his hand handicapped, could actually grab a thick-bodied girl and slap her at the same point of time), he decided to stand up for the justice and to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence by taking his case.

His courage displayed through helping a black allowed people, especially the black, to see him as a hero. His courage to stand against the white discrimination and help the black deserve the respect of ours. And also I feel that the way he actually spoken in the trial actually takes him a lot of courage to say as he will have to be prepared to receive many negative comments of him and his family from the whites.

Just this two points, I already want to make friends with him. This is because in this century we are living, there is hardly anyone who is like Atticus Finch, who puts others into consideration before himself, and willing to scarify for a person who is not related to him, scarify for nothing, scarify because of justice and rightness!

From this question, I feel that Maycomb can be a good place to live in there is more courageious people like Atticus but also, it also might not be an ideal place for us to live in due to the prejudice, black vs white. Justice or rightness or not seen due to prejudice !

IT Home Learning T1W9 2010

Multiple Intelligences

As you can see from my learning profile, I am a person with high Kinesthetic, Linguistic, Logical, Intrapersonal and Visual/Spatial. Well, I am so proud of myself! Okay, that was meant to be a joke. So by taking the multiple intelligence test, I learnt more about myself. Well, I shall not explain all but rather 2 or 3, and I will relate to myself. And YOU, as an audience, I have an important task for you. Which is… help me to find out if the test is accurate and see if I have misinterpret the meaning.

I join water polo as my Co-Curriculum Activity in Hwa Chong. I am an average player in my team. I can define the word ‘average’, but if you want to know, you are most welcome to see us training at Hwa Chong Poolside. Well, I believe that a water polo player should have high Kinesthetic as we need a lot of energy to play a full game of 24 minutes It is very tiring, especially when one have swim up and down the pool. Thus I can say that we are active, but we will not get tired easily. Of course! Kinesthetic does not just refer to sports. It also refers to our work, to our studies, able to think smartly for long without getting tired is also another form of being a person with high kinesthetic. And I think I am weak at this point. This explains why I am unable to score higher than just 20 points.

Intrapersonal- I know myself well. I know what I want. I know what my target is. I know myself best than anyone. I guess you must be thinking ‘of course I know myself best, because I control my own thinking’. Well, I feel that being Intrapersonal means that one knows clearly how he or she wants to walk his life. Many times, people get loss or change his path very easily. This is because the influence of the surrounding, which includes the situation that happen and the people around one. But a person who has high Intrapersonal, knows himself the best, and will want not change his aim of life so easily. A person who has high Intrapersonal always has a target in mind, and will never get loss. As a student, I think I can say that I am sure enough of my education path, and I know what I want. I want to go to finish my studies in Hwa Chong Institution and I want to complete my studies with at least a degree in NUS. But I have only rough ideas of what I want to be in the future. Thus, I think it explains why I only score 20 but not higher.

I think its enough of myself, right? You must be getting really bored. But well, so how do you find the multiple test? Is it reliable and accurate? Feel free to tell me by dropping a comment.

Well, I feel that some questions are not clearly stated, but I still manage to get the gist of what it is trying to ask. I feel that this test is not that accurate for me. I feel that for other areas, its quite accurate but for vitual or spatial learner, i feel that i am not because i cannot draw very well. I can remeber photos or image quite well, but not to the extend of getting a 20 points for that area. Well, i did answer the question trufully, but maybe because i might misinterpreted the question. However, I will still recommend this test to people who does not know their strengths and weaknesses. This will help them by knowing themselves more.

If you wish to try out, please go to
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/questions/choose_lang.cfm
It’s free and no harm trying out !

Introduction

Hello guys. I am Wen Bin from class 2o3 and i will be reviving this blog agian ! So show some support by following this blog and i will really REALLY appreciate that. In the meanwhile, i am thinking of changing some things on my blog such as the blogskin, chatbox desgin, adding gadgets and so on. So stay 'tune', and come to my blog whenever you have the time :)

And let's watch a video, which will be related to the post i will be posting in the near future !



That's right! I will be posting more of the novel 'To Kill A Mocking Bird'. I promise it will not be bored, and i will try to keep my post interesting. So please do spend some time to read my post. Thank you .