Term 3 Blog Comments

Comment on Lee Liak Ghee’s Blog (10), “Should Leaders be judged by their Private Lives”, Aug 7

“In my opinion, everyone is judged by everything they do. I feel that it is perfectly reasonable for a leader to be judged by their private lives. Some may say that he is good at leading, but how would you like a man who cheated on his wife to be your president? A person's morals directly influence his actions. If a leader were to have a sex scandal, it would reflect on how bad his morals are, and thus he is not fit to be a leader. In any case, I also agree with your point about how normal people are judged by their private lives. If your relative or friend did something morally wrong, would you still be his friend or even want to relate to him/her?”

- August 9, 2011

Comment on Jonathan Ng’s Blog (17), “eBooks vs Traditional Books”, July 25

“Personally, I would prefer real books to eBooks. Firstly, as you said, the eBook lacks the physical attributes that normal books have. I like the feeling of the paper against my palm when I read a book, because it feels more real compared to an eBook. Besides, I'm not the kind who would regularly read, but the type that will read when I'm exceptionally free or when I want to, so I guess the eBook isn't for me. Despite that, I agree that the eBook is a really convenient device. It takes a lot of trouble for me to find a book at a library, but with an eBook, the book I am finding would probably only be a feel clicks/taps away. Also, books at the library aren't always in good condition.”

- August 9, 2011

Comment on Kervin Tay’s Blog (23), “This is Believe --- What are your beliefs?”, Aug 8

“I feel that it is really good that you know how to work smart! I know that you have been working really hard but sometimes you just don't get the results that you want. These methods that you listed above are really helpful! Sometimes, practising and practising and practising isn't going to solve the root of the problem. The point about practising is so that you can allow that thought to flow into your mind faster (to think faster). However, if you have no idea on what you are practising on, it is basically useless to practise! Also, I agree that there are different ways to study. Personally for me, I HAVE to create notes. Looking over all my worksheets wouldn't help because I really need a clear view and my worksheets are just a jumbled-up mess of stuff. The point about me creating notes is to organise things in a coherent manner so that I can study better. Find you own way of studying and start excelling by the end of the year!”

- August 9, 2011

Comment on Gaw Ban Siang’s Blog (06), “Justice – Retributive or Rehabilitative”, Aug 7

“In my opinion, I feel that sometimes capital punishment is rehabilitative justice as well. By getting rid of the assailant for life, the victim will be at ease (instead of thinking that the person who once tried to murder you is still living and coming after you). Although some may argue that life imprisonment would be enough, the victim will still not be at ease. How many prisoners break out of the prison each year? Mas Selamat is a good example of it. I feel that in all cases, rehabilitative justice is the better option. Vengeance will only lead to more hate, and more hate leads to more wrong-doings, which makes everything chaotic. However, I do not agree that everyone can turn over a new leaf. Sometimes, the person has already sunk too deep and cannot get out. Also, not every victim is able to forgive and forget. Physical scars may be lost, but emotional scars last for as long as a lifetime, and this is why some people choose retributive justice.”

- August 9, 2011

Comment on Wei Kiat’s Blog (12), “Plagiarism #10”, Aug 7

“I feel that it is pretty hard to define plagiarising. What if you were to be finding an answer to a question and, Bam!, there goes you find everything that you need in there. How would you try to get the information without plagiarising then? Does switching words (but essentially the meaning is still the same) count as plagiarising? I guess it means that you have to add in your own opinion as well for it to count as not being a plagiarised work. For example, for many of my blog posts, I actually get the idea and the story from the Monday's newspaper article, IN. However, I add my own reflections and opinions to the issue.”

- August 9, 2011

Comment on Gaw Ban Siang's Blog (06), "The choice I made", Aug 1

"Ban Siang, it's great to know that you love your CCA. I am from Chinese Orchestra, and I find that my CCA suits me a lot as I'm not very active. I feel that how much a person likes his CCA depends on his interest and passion for this certain CCA. Chester's passion for drama faded soon after he joined his CCA. I feel that choosing a CCA should not be a hasty decision. One must clearly know what he wants to choose the appropriate CCA for oneself. For me, I already knew Sports and Uniformed Groups were out of question. As such, I picked my CCA from performing arts."

- August 13, 2011

Comment on Gaw Ban Siang's Blog (06), "Why?", Aug 15

"Actually, I really agree with you on this point. Fortunately for me, my parents are not really the sort to focus on my grades, and instead they focus on my overall well-being. I feel that parents should not get so worked up about grades. The most important thing about learning is about the progress and the process. The way I see pupils ask so many questions during lessons, I can't help but think again that it is just because of the OP and not because they want to learn. And no this is totally NOTNOTNOT insane. Or delusional. It's critical thinking :)"

- August 16, 2011

Comment on Gaw Ban Siang's Blog (06), "The Future School: What's the point?", 25 July

"I agree with you to some extent. There are flaws in this system. For example, teachers who have no need for students to use their laptops during Online Lessons are forced to come up with something for them to do during the Online Lesson, obviously, on their laptops. This only brings more trouble. For my Chinese teacher, she really dislikes people handing up soft copies of assignments to her. This is because some students make use of technical issues to hand up their work late. Emails are sent by students, yet not received by teachers. I have seen students lie to teachers about handing up their work online when they did not. This are examples of unnecessary use of the laptops. However, this system is not entirely useless. The use of Geogebra software has enabled me to understand math concepts better. For Science, it would be convenient if I could do some searching on the Internet anytime."

-August 9, 2011

Comment on Lu Wen Hao's Blog (14), "Symbolism of the Three Caskets", 26 July

I feel that it is good that you have done your background research, and it has enlightened me about some points in Merchant of Venice that I didn't know before. However, I would like to point out that you made an assumption. How would you know if the Princes of Morocco and Arragon are Christians? Despite that, I feel that it is an interesting idea that you have about how the caskets represent the three different characters. Awesome :)"

- August 10, 2011

Comment on Loh Wei Kiat's Blog (12), "Euthanasia", 1 Aug

I believe that the doctors actually do have to check if a patient is in the right state of mind to decide whether he wants to have euthanasia carried out on him. However, I disagree with euthanasia to some extent too, as the patient can also use his remaining time left to try to reflect on his past years living. There is always something you can do no matter what state you are in."

- August 16, 2011

Poetry Analysis - Walking Away

Walking Away

It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day –

A sunny day with leaves just turning,

The touch-lines new-ruled – since I watched you play

Your first game of football, then, like a satellite

Wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away

Behind a scatter of boys. I can see

You walking away from me towards the school

With the pathos of a half-fledged thing set free

Into a wilderness, the gait of one

Who finds no path where the path should be.

That hesitant figure, eddying away

Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem,

Has something I never quite grasp to convey

About nature’s give-and-take – the small, the scorching

Ordeals which fire one’s irresolute clay.

I have had worse partings, but none that so

Gnaws at my mind still. Perhaps it is roughly

Saying what God alone could perfectly show –

How selfhood begins with a walking away,

And love is proved in the letting go.

This poem describes the sadness of a child leaving his parent. This is actually part of growing up, something that is inevitable for every child, like me.

This poem, however, focuses more on the sadness of the father. When reading it, I can put myself in the shoes of my parents, and understand the sadness that I have not experienced myself.

Poem Analysis

Language –

• Usage of enjambment
• Evokes a sense of lack of control in persona
• This allows the sentences to be stretched longer to fit in more descriptions as well
• Rhyme scheme A,B,A,C,A
• The rhyming goes like this: start, middle, end. This allows the rhyming to balance out through the poem.
• Flashback
• Evokes a sense of nostalgia in the reader, making the reader look back when they first left their child at school
• Repetition
• “walking away” is repeated twice in the poem.
• The first “walking away” is a physical movement, the parent leaving the child for the first time
• The second “walking away” is a mental/emotional one.
• “walking away” is thus both literal and metaphorical

• Metaphor/simile
• “like a satellite, wrenched from orbit”
• The child is compared to a “satellite”, “wrenched from orbit”, meaning the child has been forcefully taken from his parent
• “a half-fledged thing set free”
• The child is compared to the “half-fledged thing”, a young bird, leaving its parents, just as the child is leaving his father
• “Like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem”
• The child is compared to a “winged seed”, which is slowly drifts away as it loosens from its parent stem (the child leaves the father)
• NOTE: As the poem goes on, the usage of metaphor/simile to describe the child leaving the father slowly becomes less strong. “wrenched” à “set free” (fly away) à “loosened”
• Notice that the word used at the start, “wrenched”, is more forceful than the one used towards the end, “loosened”
• This shows that the father’s emotions slowly calm down after a while.
• “the scorching ordeals which fires one’s irresolute clay”
• Ordeals faced in life is compared to a kiln, while the child’s mind is compared to clay, which is normally soft and mouldable when unfired, but solid after firing in a kiln.
• Usage of onomatopoeia
• “gnaws at my mind still” This enhances descriptions because the reader can almost “hear” the sound of it gnawing.

Imagery –

• Metaphor
• With the various metaphors, there are a few images seen that can be compared to a child leaving his parent.
• Flashback
• The flashback eighteen years back creates an image of nostalgia (as if looking at a sepia/black and white photograph).

Poetry Analysis - Three or So

Three or So

Is that child in the snapshot me?

That little girl in the woollen dress

By a broken door in a tiny yard

She’s shy and laughing and ready to run

And shielding her eyes from the morning sun

I’ve forgotten the dress, the colour of it

I’ve forgotten who took the photograph

I’ve forgotten the little girl, three or so

She’s someone else now, to be wondered at

With my mother’s eyes and my own child’s hair

And my brother’s smile, but the child who’s there –

The real soul of her – fled long ago

To the alley-way where she mustn’t go

Through the broken door in that tiny yard

Rough men on motorbikes, not to be looked at

Scrawny cats scratching, not to be touched

Down to the railway line, never to go there

Nor up to the road where the traffic rushed

Stay close in the yard with the sun in your eyes

Come and be still for your photograph

I hear now the drones of those bikes

And the loud dark voices of men

I can hear the scream and shush of the train

And the whooshing of the traffic on the road

But the summer buzz in that tiny yard

And the child who laughed with her best dress on

And the voice that told her t stand in the sun

And the click that pressed the shutter down

Have gone

As if they had never been

This poem shows childhood memories. However, instead of the light and happy mood like “Snapshotland”, this is an adult looking back in her happy memories and it has a sad mood. In the poem, it is stated that she has forgotten her child self. The poem has a nostalgic feeling, causing one to look back into his or her childhood.

Poem Analysis

Language –

• Usage of enjambment
• Helps evoke a sense of lack of control of the persona.
• “Stretches” the sentence, creating a feeling of nostalgia, as if one is looking back to his own past.
• Rhyme scheme is totally random
• Again, helps evoke a sense of lack of control of the persona.
• Repetition
• “I’ve forgotten the dress, the colour of it, I’ve forgotten who took the photograph, I’ve forgotten the little girl, three or so”
• The repetition of the word “forgotten” emphasizes the feeling of sadness and nostalgia.
• “shy and laughing and ready to run” This repetition
• Strong emphasis
• Instead of just saying “I’ve forgotten the colour of the dress”, the poem says “I’ve forgotten the dress, the colour of it”. This effectively creates emphasis on the sentence itself. This technique is used on other sentences as well.

Imagery –

• Detailed descriptions
• The image created by the poet is very clear because the description is very detailed.
• This is probably to show how the persona actually remembers her childhood clearly. A few examples are shown below.
• Instead of just saying dress, the poet says “woollen dress”
• Instead of saying door, the poet says “broken door”

• Instead of yard, the poet says “tiny yard”
• Sound
• The usage of onomatopoeia creates a stronger image, as if the reader is hearing the sound as well.
• “summer buzz”

• “click that press the shutter down”
• “shush of the train”
• “whooshing of the traffic”
• “drone of those bikes”

Home Room system - Pros and Cons

Every hour, one can hear murmurs and footsteps. Students carrying their school bags, files in hand, hurrying up and down the staircase. This scenario is being played out day after day in several secondary schools and even primary schools. This is the home room system. The teachers remain in the classrooms and students move from class to class to attend different lessons. In the Gifted Education Programme that I was in when I was in primary school we also practised such a system. I will now talk about the pros and cons of such a system.

Pros:

• Student can adopt the mindset that they are "coming to learn" and not that "the teacher is coming to teach us". This gives them a desire to learn.
• Teachers can set up the home room in preparation from lessons. This saves trouble for the teacher and also provides a conducive working environment (posters and noticeboards are only filled with stuff from the particular subject).
• Students are able move around after lesson, counting in as a short break from lessons, to prevent them from getting restless during lessons.

Cons:

• Troublesome for students to move from class to class.
• As I have observed in HCI, some students prefer to stick to their own table as they keep many of their worksheets and textbooks under their own table. Shifting class to class every hour would be very troublesome them.
• Also, students have to lug their heavy bags along, which is tiring.
• Space in school is limited. Small schools are not able to implement such a system.

From these, I have reached a conclusion that the home room system is a good idea. My own experience as a student has allowed me to reach such a conclusion. On Wednesdays, Conversational Malay, Chinese and Language Arts lessons are all carried out from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. 3 hours of work without any breaks makes me feel very tired and lethargic and I feel that it would help if we moved a little. For example, when we are told to go to the Space for AAT lesson, I would feel more energetic and awake after talking a short while to walk there. As such, I can concentrate better. Breaks in between also allows us to clear out minds and prepare for the next lesson.

Tuition - good only if you want it

Tuition is only good if you really want to learn. Nothing can stop a passionate heart. Currently, I only have tuition in one subject, which is Chinese, one of my worse scoring subjects. This is fairly different from most of my other classmates, who have about 3 tuitions to attend each week. In my tuition class, I realised that some of the students in the tuition class do not really pay any attention.

When told to write a composition, they would only write the minimum number of pages (that's how they count it in the tuition) required. To meet the requirement, they would have a lot of paragraphs and leave a few lines after each paragraphs. It was then I realised that they only attend tuition classes to meet parents' expectations.

Is tuition really helpful? By attending more tuition classes, can a student excel in his/her studies automatically? There is a Chinese saying “耳到，眼到，心不到”, which roughly means that despite having your physical body here, you are actually not paying attention (your mind is elsewhere). This behaviour can be found in many students who are forced by their parents to attend tuition classes.

In my opinion, this does not apply to tuition only. If forced to do assessment books/exercises by their parents, children will not improve because they are not putting it the effort (due to their reluctance). The child himself must have a desire to learn and to improve for him to excel.

Here's where the problem comes in. What if the child is unable to focus and give priority to his studies? Even with failing grades, he or she still has no desire to learn. What can he/she do? This is a question that I am still unable to answer for myself. Comment please!

Home schooling - Pros and Cons

Some teens do not attend school, yet they still get an all rounded education. In this blog post, we'll be finding out what their lives are like.

Most parents of home-schoolers want their children to be free of the national school system because they think that it is too stressful and grades-driven. They also prefer their child's education to have a greater emphasis on family and moral values. However, home schooling also has its disadvantages.

Pros:

• The best teachers are parents. Parents can guide their children instead of having the child turn to their peers to solve problems, which sometimes result in trouble.
• Parents are also able to give their full attention to the child, while a teacher has to teach more than 20 pupils at once.
• Not exposed to negative influences in school (e.g. vulgarities)
• Flexible time schedule

Cons:

• No Edusave money
• Students home schooled at secondary level get no student concession for public transport.
• Some experts say that home schooling potentially limits the teen's opportunities for socialisation.

Extracts from IN article - Matthew Lim, 13, aspires to be a American Olympic gold medallist. Unlike other teen swimmers of his age group, who juggles the tough training tuition and homework, Matthew balances between both swimming and studies. Matthew is a home-schooled child, and thus has a more flexible time table to allow him to have more time to swim. Studies take up four hours each day from Monday to Friday, leaving him with plenty of time to pursue his hobbies and of course, swim.

In my opinion, home schooling is good for different children. For a child who would like to pursue academic qualifications, I believe going for the national school system is a good choice. In a case like Matthew's, he aspires to be the next Michael Phelps, as such, he will need a more flexible schedule and thus home schooling is more suited for him.

Debate on embryonic stem cell research

I believe that embryonic stem cell research is sustainable.

I will start with some background information. Embryonic stem cells are stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the embryoblast or inner cell mass (ICM) results in destruction of the fertilized human embryo, which raises ethical issues.

Most may be thinking that it is cruel to end a life like that just for experimental research. However, we must think, when does life actually start? Does the embryo know what is happening? Unlike abortion which is usually done much later during pregnancy, the embryo of 4-5 days old has barely developed any of its sensory organs. Besides, embryos are cultivated by in vitro culture, meaning they aren’t even placed in a parent’s womb, and it has been proven. “If the pre implantation embryo is left or maintained outside the uterus, it cannot develop into a human being.” Also, More than a third of zygotes do not implant after conception. Thus, far more embryos are lost due to chance than are proposed to be used for embryonic stem cell research or treatments.

Also, when harvesting the stem cells, consent from the involved parties is required. If all parties agree to it, why not? It is for the greater good of everyone. The stem cells can be used for research to cure people who are in need of these cells, people who are already on the verge of dying.

ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease due to its special property of being able to replicate infinitely. Diseases that could potentially be treated by these stem cells include a number of blood and immune-system related genetic diseases, cancers, and disorders; juvenile diabetes; Parkinson's; blindness and spinal cord injuries.

With all the above reasons, I believe that embryonic stem cell research is sustainable.

In this debate...

I learnt about the Lincoln-Douglas Format.

1. The Affirmative (almost always) reads a pre-written case

2. The Negative asks the Affirmative questions.

3. The Negative (almost always) reads a pre-written case and (almost always) moves on to address the Affirmative's case.

4. The Affirmative asks the Negative questions.

5. The Affirmative addresses both his/her opponent's case and his/her own. This speech is considered by many debaters to be the most difficult.

6. The Negative addresses the arguments of the previous speech and summarizes the round for the judge.

7. The Affirmative addresses the arguments of the previous speech and summarizes the round for the judge.

Holiday Reading (Book Review - Fortune's Folly)

“Fortune’s Folly” is written by Deva Fagan. This story is about a girl, Fortunata, whose mother has passed on, and she is left with her father. Her father was once a master shoemaker. However, after her mother passed on, he lost all his skills, claiming that “the fairies magic was lost”, that his tools weren’t automatically cleaned in the morning. The fairy magic turned out to be Fortunata’s mother cleaning his tools every morning before she passed on. Fortunata is left to be the only one supporting the family. She offends a military lord and she is forced to leave the city for fear he would come after her and her family. On the road, her donkey is stolen by a troupe, who denies it vehemently. She is unable to travel on; fortunately, “Alessandra the All Knowing” takes her in as an apprentice to her craft as her fortune teller. In fact, she reveals that there is no magic in fortune telling, and there is only trickery. The story progresses to tell about how Fortunata has to tell a prophecy for a prince, and if the prophecy did not come true, she and her family would be slain. It leads her to an adventure with the most unexpected results. She ends up falling for the prince in the end and they marry happily ever after.

This might seem like a classical fairy tale story but I like the way they weaved the story together, and about how Fortunata manages to trick clueless people and how she manages to make the prophecy come true in the weirdest way one would never imagine. I think that is an extremely fun and interesting book.

Holiday Reading (Book Review - In a Heartbeat)

“In a Heartbeat” is written by Loretta Ellsworth. This book is about two girls, Eagan and Amelia. They are completely unrelated. Amelia is in need of a heart transplant due to her heart condition. Eagan is a skilled and talented figure skater. Eagan dies in a figure skating competition at the start of a story, missing a triple lutz by half an inch and hitting her head on the edge of a board. Her heart is eventually donated to Amelia, on the day she is declared dead. However, after the heart transplant, Amelia feels different. Amelia begins to like and dislike different things. She talks back to her parents, just like Eagan did. She likes purple, just like Eagan did. She starts to find and interest in sports, particularly skating. As donors and receivers are meant to be anonymous, Amelia doesn’t know who donates the heart to her. By the end of the novel, she eventually finds out and she meets with Eagan’s family.

The story constantly shifts between both girls perspectives. I find this story interesting because it touches on a topic that is unknown to us. Is there life after death? What is it like to be dead, yet part of you is still living in someone else? To write this novel, she has interviewed many people and she has taken into account some real life experiences of other heart transplant patients (for example a woman who started liking beer although she never drank beer before, it was found her donor loved beer).

Holiday Reading (Book Review - In Search of Mockingbird)

“In Search of Mockingbird” is written by Loretta Ellsworth. This book is about a girl, Erin, whose mother is dead. She lives with her father and two brothers, all who totally different from her. While they excelled at sports, she was a bookish person, and would always be reading her favourite book, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It was her mother’s favourite book as well, and it was her only memory of her mother, the only thing she left behind (or at least that was what she thought at the moment). Despite her mother passing away when she was very young (she has little or no memories of her), she still loves her mother. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her father announces his engagement to his volleyball coach girlfriend, and she is presented with her mother’s diary, as a way to make up for it, and of course as a birthday gift. Erin found out that her mother was also liked writing and even wrote a letter to Harper Lee. She impulsively boards a bus from her town to Alabama to see Harper Lee, to find out the meaning of life. On her trip she meets Sedushia and Epp, two interesting people that thought her a lot about life and encouraged her dreams to meet Harper Lee. Epp even helps her get away from the police (her dad reported to the police that she was missing) so that she could meet Harper Lee. Erin goes to Harper Lee’s home, but she is not in. She writes a letter and puts it in her mailbox. However, after the whole bus trip, and meeting Sedushia and Epp, she doesn’t feel a need to meet Harper Lee anymore. She goes to a shop with Epp and they sit down to get a drink. Unknowingly, she meets Harper Lee there, but doesn’t know that the person is Harper Lee. They had a brief chat and she leaves. After coming to a realisation that she just met Harper Lee, she doesn’t feel sorry, but she is happy that she had met her.

This novel is about the idea of a teenager who would travel more than a thousand miles to meet someone, and she finds on her trip she meets two amazing people, and found the meaning to life.

Holiday Reading (Book Review - My Sister's Keeper)

Title: My Sister’s Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult

Plot: This story is about a girl, Anna, who was born a designer baby, to save her sister’s life. Kate suffers from leukaemia and she requires blood transplants and unfortunately her blood type doesn’t match with either her parents or her brother, Jesse. Anna is born so that she can provide blood and bone marrow transplants for her sister, Kate. For her whole life she has been helping her sister unquestioningly. However, there comes a point where Anna stops, when she was told that she would have to donate a kidney. Eventually, it escalates to a court case of medical emancipation, where she is against her mother, who wants her to save her sister’s life by having her donate the kidney. The novel shows the difficulties that both parties faced. The way the author does it is by telling the story in different perspectives, regularly switching among the different characters. Anna is constantly pushed aside because of Kate’s medical condition, and she has to undergo numerous medical procedures for Kate. Sara, Anna’s mother, finds it difficult to express her love for Anna due to Kate’s condition (she has to constantly give her attention to Kate). She has to constantly struggle between Kate and Anna, which puts her under great stress and she is unable to make a choice between them because they are both her daughters. It is eventually revealed that Kate convinced Anna to go to court, because she thought that she wouldn’t live long either, and she wanted Anna to have a normal life. At the end of the novel, Anna is involved in a car accident. The moment when the doctor announces that Anna is brain dead, Sara breaks down. She is told that once she turns off the machines that keep her alive, Anna will be dead. Eventually, Anna still donates the kidney to Kate.

Issues and Themes: Death, Organ Donation, Family Conflict

I would recommend this book for any teenager or adult. This is a touching novel that can spark anyone’s interest. One is able to sympathise with both sides and understand their predicament as the author has carefully balanced the struggles both faced. Anna is torn between saving her sister and saving herself. Sara is torn between saving both daughters. This book sets us thinking about what is really morally correct.

Blog Comments (Term 2)

Comment on Koh Yi Da’s Blog (08), “Thoughts about Libyan Crisis (Gadaffi)”, March 31
“I agree very much, I would protest as well. In my blog I posted a post on issues that foment political unrest and stated various factors. In the case of Libya it would be authoritarianism. Gaddafi kills anyone in his way, thus you could say its "ruling with fear". The way he kills his own citizens really shows what he is. He is similar to the ousted presidents in Tunisia and Egypt, who suppressed political opposition. I believe such methods will not work for long. Sooner or later, just as with Egypt and Tunisia, the citizens will start to protest and will overthrow him. And yes, he's definitely not a nice guy.”
- April 9, 2011

Comment on Samuel Wong’s Blog (21), “Blog Prompt 8” [My Favourite Poem], March 2
“I would like to add that there is repetition through the poem to create emphasis.”Childhood is ....” which emphasises the meaning of childhood. Additionally, the poem states that childhood is "easily moulded", but manhood "breaks, but seldom bends". It shows that a child can be changed easily, and must be taught early, before he grows up to an adult, where he will be difficult to change. I agree with you about the fact that a child should go unrestrained. The poem compares restraining a child to damming a river. This creates emphasis and also imagery. The image of damming a river comes to your mind. You can imagine the water (the child's adventurous spirit) gushes at the dam, throwing itself on it, yet it only trickles over the dam slowly. This shows how restraining the child will affect him. Overall, I really like this poem, as it has a great use of metaphor, which entices the reader.”
- April 9, 2011

Comment on Low Wei Yang’s Blog (13), “Annotating Text – Why is it crucial?”, March 27
“I agree with you very much. I believe annotating text can go beyond simple highlighting and underlining (as many people do). For me when I annotate "To Kill A Mockingbird", I write a chapter summary of each chapter so that it is easy for reference. This also applies to any IH notes given to us by Ms Yeo. I believe that by annotating text, it makes it easier to memorise and we can familiarise ourselves with the text. In addition, as you mentions, it helps us find some important details we might have missed out if we were to just simply read. Other than annotating, there are various ways to help us with understanding a text or topic, for example, creating graphic organisers like concept maps, etc.”
- April 10, 2011

Comment on Low Wei Yang’s Blog (13), “ACE Journal Reflection: Words Go Round 2011”, March 11
“I would like to disagree with you about how literature us all about talent. Does it mean that people that are not talented are not able to write good pieces of work? I believe literature is about creativity. You mentioned that a good piece of writing should have little descriptive language, but I would like to rebutt this point. Surely descriptive language is important in a piece of writing. Although it is one of the key points, having a creative idea alone does not make one a good writer. We must be able to express ourselves so that the reader can understand us. The use of descriptive language will help the reader understand the piece of writing.”
- April 11, 2011

Comment on Lee Liak Ghee’s Blog (11), “Capital Punishment”, April 11
“Although you make sense in saying about how capital punishment does not allow the person to repent, however, if we were to put ourselves in the shoes of the victim, the victim will feel a sense of insecurity. If a serial killer was close to killing the victim, and was later caught but not hanged (not dealt with by capital punishment), the victim will feel that the killer would come again and harm him/her. Also, for the society, if there was a serial killer on the loose, would you feel safe walking on the streets at night? Just as with the incident of Mas Selamat, who escaped his cell. The government had to spend so much resources just to find him, even informing the Malaysian police to help as well. With the reasons above, I would like to rebutt your point about capital punishment not being allowed.”
- April 11, 2011

Comment on Low Wei Yang’s Blog (13), Expository Essay, April 22
“I think that you could have done a better job on paragraphing. Your first point states that television programmes are violent. However, you end the paragraph saying how teenagers might become addicted. Perhaps you could split the paragraph into two?
Also, I agree with Liak Ghee. How the television being less influential than the computer make it less influential ITSELF? As a counter-argument, you should state how is IT not too influential, not other things being more influential.
Some work needs to be done on grammar and choice of words too :) Otherwise I think it's quite a good essay.”
- April 24, 2011

Comment on Ivan Ong’s Blog (19), Expository Essay, April 22
“Good use of a hook but thesis statement is not stated. Your first point is ok.
However, your second point is invalid. There are too many points in there, and they are all not related either. If the company has to pay so many people to produce the show, why would they pay the celebrity so much money? If the company has to pay the nutritionist, doctor, etc. AND the bodybuilder, why would they pay so much to the bodybuilder? This is not clearly stated.
Your third point is also a repeat of your first point, about how celebrities are highly skilled and sought out.
Your argument is not strong enough to support your stand.”
- April 24, 2011

Comment on Nicholas Teo’s Blog (18), Expository Essay, April 22
“Opening quote totally does the trick. Your stand is very clear - supported with many examples that we can relate to, making your points stand out.
HOWEVER, I suggest that you have different points, instead of simply just saying that computers have improved our quality of life. Break down improving "quality of life", and you get "medical facilities", "variety of leisure options" and "convenience". Of your three paragraphs, instead of harping on quality of life, focus each of the paragraphs on each of the points. Then finally in your conclusion, state that these helps improve the quality of life.
There is a huge variety of ideas in there, BUT please work on organisation, don't clump everything together. It makes it difficult to understand. Still it's quite a good essay, was really caught by the hook :)”
- April 24, 2011

Comment Lee Liak Ghee’s Blog (10), Expository Essay, April 21
I feel that you could have done a better job on providing different examples of the topic, which makes your essay more credible and realistic. However, I think you should have a stronger stand on your point of view if you had a better starting, for an instance, having a better hook. To say honestly, I didn't really want to read on when I saw the start of your essay. Despite this, I should note that you ended off your essay quite well as there is a clear conclusion, which helps you have a stronger stand in your argument. Like Wei Kiat mentioned, a good start and end would have enhanced the effect of the essay on the reader.
- April 29, 2011

Comment on Koh Yi Da’s Blog (08), Expository Essay, April 25
Firstly, I like the way you look at things in different point of view. It shows that you have analysed the essay question extensively. The idea of balance between work and play is conveyed clearly, making your stand more solid. Your conclusion was effective and further amplified the effectiveness of your argument, which is good.
However, you have exceeded the 500 word limit by more than 200 words. Also, your counter argument is not effective. You could have provided more examples throughout the whole essay to make it more realistic and thus more effective.
Language-wise, you have a few spelling and grammar errors. I would like to comment on the wide use of vocabulary though, which is good. The structure is alright as well. Overall, I think this is a good essay.
- April 30, 2011

Poetry

Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Figurative language is used in this poem to describe the author's emotions. It describes the author’s feelings taking the road less travelled by. Symbolism is used in this poem. It describes the different elements affecting his decisions as well as his emotions.
This poem uses figurative language in an interesting way. It uses metaphors and similes to more effectively describe the author's decision to take the road less travelled. This poem can be applied to a person's life. The traveler is a person who has two choices, which are represented in the poem by the two roads in the woods. The person takes the time to consider both choices and all sides to them by examining the paths. The traveler cannot come back to the other road because in real life, time cannot be reversed. In this case, the person takes the path where “few travelled by”.

Poem - The Lesson (Please google it, the paragraphing doesn't work when I copy it over)
The teacher sees the students as naughty and disrespectful and that they need to be taught a lesson. The teacher does not care the least for the students and uses violence to teach them a lesson. The teacher's strategy has both good and bad points. It can teach the students not to be so naughty and disrespectful. However, it may teach the students that violence is the answer to everything, which is wrong. Thus, this method may not be effective. It is also considered “ruling with fear”. A teacher should be teaching the students to be respectful without using violence. (This reflects the idea of a Tiger Mom – refer to another of my blog post on that J)

Mark Zuckerberg – Because Facebook can be a lifesaver

Many might argue that Facebook is a waste of precious time, a platform for cyber-bullying, and many other negative points. This leads us yet again, to answer this question – Should Facebook and other social networking sites be banned? (refer to blog post on Intifada page)

However, I read in a Times news article, about how Facebook can be a lifesaver. Below is recount on the incident.

Many would have heard about love stories, and how couples have met through Facebook. But for April Capone, it would be a love story unlike any other. He never knew that when he created a Facebook account to connect with his family and friends, he would find that one of his residents needed a kidney. Carlos Sanchez, who was looking for a new chance at life, was desperately looking for one. And of course April Capone donated his kidney!

Would Carlos have found a kidney without the help of Facebook? We wouldn’t know, but he definitely was saved because of Facebook this time.

Facebook is a platform for communication. Every new technology has its good points and bad points. If there was no new technology, how would the world even improve at all? Additionally, It is not because of the technology that is causing all the troubles, but the human that is abusing the technology that is meant for good. I believe that many of us would agree that Facebook does greater good than harm generally.

Every year, nearly 7000 people die in U.S while waiting for a transplant. Now we know of one person who survived, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg, and his idea of Facebook J.

Analysis of Killing my Sister's Fish (Just another poem that I like... Enjoy! :D)

Killing My Sister’s Fish

I picked the bottle with its gladiator shoulders –

inside its shirred greyish plastic

ammonia, more muscular than water, pungent –

I poured one dollop, gleaming genie,

into the bowl with my sister’s goldfish

just because they were alive, and she liked them.

It was in the basement, near the zinc-lined sinks

and the iron-board, next to the boiler,

beside the door to the cellar from which

I could get into the crawl space

under the corner of the house, and lie

on the dirt on my back, as if passed out.

I may have been on my way there

when I saw the bowl, and the ammonia curled

for a moment in the air like a spirit. Then I crawled up

under the floor-joist, into the tangent

where the soil curved up, and I lay there

at the ends of the earth, as if without

regret, as if something set in motion

long before I had been conceived

had been accomplished.

This poem shows sibling rivalry, where one sibling is angry with the other. Being in a family with 3 siblings, it is not rare for me to have disagreements with my siblings. I have chosen this poem to be in the anthology because it closely relates to my life. In the past, after quarrelling with any on my siblings, I would usually take, damage or throw away an object that they like a lot to spite them.

In this case, the persona, is angry with his sister because of something, and decides to kill his sister’s beloved fish by pouring detergent into the water. This poem effectively describes the emotions and feelings of the persona using imagery.

Poem Analysis

Language –

• Usage of personification
• “gladiator shoulders” refers to the detergent bottle. This shows that the persona thinks that detergent is “strong”.
• “more muscular than water” refers to the detergent.
• “gleaming genie” refers to the detergent, as if like a gleaming genie.
• “ammonia curled for a moment in the air like a spirit” shows the detergent as being magical, having the power to take away the life of the fish
• Usage of enjambment
• Helps evoke a sense of lack of control in the persona
• Emphasis on certain words that ends at the end of the line but the sentence continues on the next line. “curled” in “ammonia curled for a moment in the air like a spirit”. “crawled up” in “I crawled up under the floor-joist”
• Allows a rise and fall in tonal progression.
• No certain rhyme scheme
• Indicates that the persona is probably too confused or angry to bother to have a rhyme scheme, showing emotions.

Imagery –

• Uses detailed descriptions
• “shirred grey plastic” describes the detergent bottle
• From such a detailed description, we can see that the persona is probably having strong emotions (nervousness, excitement, fear, anger, etc.) while carrying out the act of killing his sister’s fish, since the detergent is also part of this killing of the fish.
• “zinc-lined sinks” goes to the extent of describing the lining of the sink, which shows how well the persona knows the place.
• From this, we can infer that the persona almost refers to this place as a sanctuary and a secret place for him to contemplate his deeds.
• “ammonia curled for a moment in the air like a spirit” shows the detergent as it diffuses into the water.
• From this, we can infer that the persona probably thinks that the detergent is somehow magical, like a “gleaming genie”

Analysis of Flanders Field Poem

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

First I think that this poem is very well-written because it properly describes the soldiers’ emotions about the war.

The poem starts off with Flanders field and the poppies that grow in abundance. The poppies mentioned in the poem grew widespread in Flanders, in the battlefields and cemeteries where war casualties were buried, thus representing the soldiers. The larks in the sky represent the hope of the dead soldiers, the soldiers that are still fighting on, thus “bravely singing”.

The second stanza shows how sudden can the change in life be. Just days ago the soldiers were alive, well, loved, but now their dead and they lie in Flanders Field. Also, the usage of short instead of another word in “short days ago” (despite it not being grammatically correct), is to show how these days were passed shortly, with all the fighting, where there is no peace.

The third stanza is a plea from the dead soldiers, for the ones still alive to fight on. The use of the torch as a metaphor and to “hold it high”, is the dead soldiers passing the responsibility to the ones alive, for the ones alive to “take up quarrel with the foe”, to fight the enemy. “We shall not sleep” if “ye break the faith with us” means that if the soldiers alive fail to defeat the enemy, the ones that are dead will not rest in peace.

Should Singlish be recognized as an official language in Singapore?

Today, Singlish is spoken by almost every Singaporean, and is severely abhorred by the government it causes Singaporeans to appear to have a bad command of the English language. I think that Singlish should not be recognised as an official language in Singapore.

Singlish as an official language will make Singaporean’s standard of English drop. As a result, we might weaken our global connections as English is an international language of communication. The Speak Good English Movement by the government already shows that Singlish has affected our Standard English, so much that the government has to step in.

Recognising Singlish as an official language of Singapore will make students think that it is alright not to learn Standard English because Singlish is an official language of Singapore. This will result in our standard of English dropping even further. Even without Singlish as an official language, there is a widespread use of Singlish by the student to the teacher, and for some even when they are presenting in a formal occasion. Thus, we must not further worsen this negative trend by making Singlish an official language in Singapore.

Currently, television shows in Singlish are subjected to severe criticism from the better educated part of society, due to its detrimental effects on the education of their children. This supports the point the Singlish affects our standard of English.

One may argue that Singlish is an important part of our culture. However, it being an important part of our culture does not mean we must recognise it as an official language. The Singapore government has not banned Singlish as they have recognised that Singlish is an important part of our culture as well, to show our multi-racial ties. We can still use Singlish in conversations with other Singaporeans.

All in all, I think that we do not have to abolish Singlish completely, but Singlish should not be recognised as an official language in Singapore.

I also have provided the other side of the argument.

I think that Singlish should be recognised as an official language of Singapore.

The Singapore government has therefore proposed movements to encourage students to “speak good English”, but in my opinion, these initiatives lack substantial driving force, for it is virtually impossible to encourage someone to stop speaking what they have been speaking all their lives. The difficulty is analogous to a situation where Americans are required to speak English like the British. These difficulties arise simply because the different figures of speech and expressions used in the same language are already deeply rooted in each culture.

Many people are for the idea of banning shows in Singlish, and at present, local actors are required to speak in good English, which in many cases sound unnatural and does not reflect the true context of the Singaporean setting.

Making Singlish official also has the effect of boosting national identity. With everyone speaking a common language, Singlish (which we are already doing), we can connect ourselves with each other. Just like how Malays speak to each other in the Malay language, us as Singaporeans can do so as well. This increases our closeness as a community.

In the future, Singlish would play an ever increasing role to characterize Singapore, as Singapore evolves from a nation with humble beginnings to a country with a distinct culture. Singapore should proud of our true national language, Singlish.