Should U.S have dropped the bomb on Japan?

Many claimed that the dropping of the two bombs on Japan on the 6th and 9th of August 1945 is crucial to the ending of World War II, while others claimed that it was wrong as it claimed many innocent lives. I feel that U.S should have dropped the bomb on Japan as not only ended the war that killed many innocent lives. Furthermore, the ultimatum which was issued on the 26th of July 1945 which outlined the terms of surrender was rejected by the Japanese. The ultimatum stated that if Japan did not surrender, it will face "prompt and utter destruction".

Japan had put up a strong resistance, not willing to lose the battle. They did not want to surrender even though Hiroshima had been bombed on the 6th of August 1945, resulting in a high death toll. Hence the best way was to launch another attack on Japan to force them to surrender. In addition, the U.S had been fighting a massive war since 1941, hence morale and resources were very low. However each of them refused to stop, and both of them were determined to win. The best thing to do is to bring the war to a quick end, reducing the number of casualties. The war would have continued if they did not drop the bomb, causing many more to be injured.

I will be honest; I do not agree that the bombs should be dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, due to the high number of civilian members.However I do still believe that the atomic bomb had put a stop to the World War. Once more I bring in the picture that a longer war would be equal to more casualties, and that is what Japan intended to carry out should they not surrender. Japan would have continued to fight if given the chance, and they would. They strongly believed in their country, and the scary thing is that everyone of them would fight hard to the bitter end, laying their lives down for their emperor and their country.

Some people might argue that there is a chance that Japan would still continue to fight after the bombs are dropped. Let's face it; nobody knows. The strong resistance that they have put up is proof. For example, "kamikaze" pilots load their planes with explosives and are willing to kill themselves by nose-diving it into their enemy targets. There might be a chance that they would fight back, but they surrendered due to the fact that they do not want a high death toll for their country. Hence U.S should have dropped the bomb on Japan as it put an end to the war, reducing the number of casualties which would have occurred if not for engaging in battle.

What would the main character be likely to do if s/he visited your classroom?

I have just read finished "Scorpia Rising" written by Anthony Horowitz, which is about a teenage boy being recruited against his will into the world of espionage and is sent on a mission again. However, the mastermind of the criminal operation Alex is sent to uncover is Scorpia, which is a criminal organisation which was considerably successful until the arrival of Alex. They, needless to say, wanted to get revenge, as he had uncovered 2 of their operations, and survived an attack by a sniper sent by them. In addition, he feels tired as he has been sent on missions for countless of times, and it took up nearly a whole year. As such, he is forced to keep quiet about what he is doing.

What if Alex were to step into our classroom? I guess he would be very shy as he has constantly has to lie to his old friends at school when he was away for missions. In addition, he would also need help in studies as he was on missions. He would most likely sit at a corner and not talk to anyone. However, he would be very friendly and respond politely if one greeted him. Though he is shy and friendly most of the time, he would definitely help people he sees in need. On one occasion, a sniper miraculously positioned himself on the roof opposite the school and "tried" to take a shot at him. However, Alex managed to defend his good friend by pushing him down to the floor, out of range from the bullets.

Alex is now fifteen years old, and he has ,fortunately, left the world of espionage for good. He is also an expert in martial arts. He hopes to be just a normal boy, to go for his examinations, and to behave like a normal boy. However, he has recently suffered an emotional trauma as his housekeeper was killed by Scorpia. I hope he would be able to recover from it as time passes, and leave at last free from the world of espionage which had been manipulating his childhood from the start

Should cigarette smoking be banned?

Everybody knows that smoking is harmful to our health. However, there are still many people who smoked regardless of the health warnings given to them. They repeatedly smoke a great number of cigarettes every day. Hence should cigarette smoking be banned? In my opinion, it definitely must be banned.

Firstly, smoking poses a danger to our health. Smoking not only causes lung cancer, it also increases the risk of miscarriages in pregnant mothers, ruptures our lungs, and causes other lethal cancers. Research has also shown that one in 2 lifetime smokers die from their habits, and half of the deaths occur in middle age. Many smokers suffer from heart attacks and strokes due to the strain in blood vessels and the heart caused by nicotine and carbon monoxide.

Secondly, second-hand smoke exhaled from smokers also poses a threat to the health of others. People round the smoker have a general increased risk of heart disease and cancer. Some children are even found to have brain tumours caused by such second-hand smoke. In additon, people are found to have skin disorders due to the second-smoke of smokers. The smoker is not only putting his life in danger, he is also placing other people's life in danger.

Therefore, more bans must be placed in public places to improve the health of the people, with severe consequences to offenders who infringe the ban. Imposing a higher cost in purchasing cigarettes would also help to reduced the number of smokers. Hopefully the number of smokers in Singapore would be reduced; we would then live in a clean and healthy environment.

When should parents let teens make their own decisions?

Many teenagers are often complaining that their lives are restricted as their parents control them in almost every aspect of their lives. However, many teenagers are unable to understand that whatever their parents do is for their own good. Many teenagers, if given the right to make their own decisions, would make the wrong choices in life, and if it is serious, it might affect their whole life. They are indeed not yet mature enough to have control over their own life. Hence I feel that parents should let teens make their own decisions only if they know that he/she is mature enough.

Many teenagers are often influenced by their peers around them. hence they might be easily convinced into making a wrong decisions. It is definitely crucial that their parents are there to stop them should they make a wrong choice. Teenagers should also obey their parents and not shout at them, as although their actions might seem unreasonable at first, but they are still for the well being of them. Hence unnecessary conflicts can be prevented this way and the parent is able to ensure that the teenagers do not make a wrong choice.

In addition, many teenagers are often distracted by the "latest trend" up and about. For example, if some people in class got the newest version of iPhones, the rest might be influenced to purchase such phones too. Therefore, parents are there to stop them from getting influenced. After all, parents have also been through childhood and worked in the harsh society, hence they would definitely know the best choice for their children.

Many might argue that being restricted by parents makes teenagers to dependent on them. I do not agree. When the teenagers grow into mature young adults, they would understand their parents' words and not make the same mistake again. Therefore, parents should only let teens make their own decisions only when they have reached a certain maturity.

Should cell phones still be continued to used?

Nowadays, practically everyone owns a cellphone which one can carry around for easy contact with others. There are even features such as cameras and games in newer versions of phones. Many teenagers also own different kinds of phones. Indeed, cellphones play an essential part in many people's lives. Therefore one might think that cellphones should continue to be used as it has a lot of benefits. However, I do not agree as there are also negative effects to carrying cellphones around with us, particularly the harmful effects to our health

Research carried out recently has shown that cellphones does have harmful effects to our health. The consequences of being exposed to the microwave radiation through mobile phones is that electromagnetic waves "alters activity of the brain, cause disturbance in sleep, and causes difficulty in concentration". In addition, the usage of mobile phones have been related to Alzheimer's Disease and Cancer. I do not think that we should not take care of our health just for the sake of communicating with each other. Our health is of utmost importance as without a healthy body, we are not able to survive.

In addition, cellphones are also very distracting to people. Some teenagers might not bother to listen to their teachers in class; instead they spend their time either texting messages to each other, surfing the internet or playing games on their cellphones. Therefore, the students might not be able to learn what the teachers had thought them that day, and that lesson is considered a waste of time. Nowadays, some students also show off by buying the latest versions of handphones, which is in fact a waste of money. Many people also tend to abuse their phones if there is an internet connection.

Furthermore, cellphones might also pose a danger to people. There have been many car accidents as drivers talk on their handphones as they are driving. They tend to lose focus on driving if they talk on their phones, hence there is a high possibility of car accidents happening. Also, it reduces the number of face-to-face times together with friend and families.

Therefore I do feel that mobile phones are harmful for us and should NOT be continued to be used. So next time, when you see your friends playing with their handphones, do not forget about the harmful effects it has to our body and the disadvantages to having one.

Home Learning---War Diary

Dear Diary,

Another blood-splattered day. I can't practically imagine what is going to happen from the future if this were to continue. I keep having nightmares almost everyday, and I could even suddenly wake up in the dead of the night, my body drenched with perspiration, the bloody scenes of soldiers dying ingrained in my mind, their screams echoing through my ears. What has the human come to? Why do we invent such artillery just for the destruction of mankind? Why do we go against our beliefs, and slay countless of innocent men, who wish for peace and tranquility?

Had a terrifying experience today too. As me and my comrade, Roran ran into the battlefield, we saw bullets strafing almost everywhere. As we fired our guns and used knives to slash our enemy, a bullet powered deep into Roran's legs and he collapsed like an axed tree. He was howling in pain, but I could not do anything to help him. If I carried him back, I would be endanger my life and his as we would be sitting ducks as we walked through the battlefield. But I couldn't just leave him alone. But better me than both of us killed. I could not stop remembering the despaired look on his face as I left him. The emotional torture is too great. I feel that my soul had been mutilated beyond repair.

I could only wait. And see. Hope I would survive.

Yours truly,

Saphira

Error in date of blog posts

I had just realized that the date given to the latest three blogs were given at a wrong date. They are posted on the 20th of April, 24th of April and 26th of April respectively. This blog post is not on the 6th of May, it is on the 7th of May.

Gambler's fault or Casino's fault

Many people claimed that the casinos in Singapore should not be set up as compulsive gamblers might take the chance to sneak in and gamble all their money away. Although the government has tried its best to deter Singaporeans from entering the casinos such as imposing a fine on Singaporeans who enter, some still say that it is not enough. However, I personally feel that this is caused by the gambler's lack of self-control and his inability to stop his addiction.

The casinos itself, has a lot of advantages to the country. First of all, it will be attractive to tourists in other countries as Singapore explores more innovative ways to make Singapore a excellent tourist attraction. In addition, it helps to improve the economy. From the casino operators, the government is expected to collect tax revenue thus this adds more money to the government. Legalising gambling could also hamper the growth of underground activities. Impulsive gamblers might turn to illegal gambling dens to satisfy their needs.

However, gambling is a malicious habit. A person who is addicted to gambling will first be addicted to it as he gains a lot of money through it. However, as he continues to gamble, he would begin to lose again and again. However by then, the gambler cannot stop gambling, and would still continue to gamble and give reasons to assuage his conscience. Therefore it would definitely be more of the gambler's fault than the casino's fault

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Will Singapore forever escape the wrath of nature?

Recently, there has been a lot of catastrophic natural disasters happening to other countries, such as the Japan earthquake. Fortunately, Singapore has been safe from the wrath of natural disaster for such a long period of time. Will this tranquility continue to persist, or will Singapore encounter natural disasters in the upcoming future? Nobody knows. However, are we prepared to face natural disasters should the need arises? The answer is a definite no.

People in Singapore, are generally selfish and only think about themselves. Should a natural disaster strike, the people will panic and chaos will reign. They would only think about escape and are not willing to care for others, as opposed to Japan. In Japan, many people are still willing to help each other even when there is a disaster. People do not panic and run around like mice being chased by cats. They queue up orderly to receive their food and water given by other countries. There is no sign of pandemonium being shown when the disaster hit Japan. Singaporeans had proved themselves to be selfish people, for example, not giving up seats to the elderly or pregnant ladies on public transport. What would happen to Singaporeans should a disaster happens? The answer is obvious.

Hence, we should all try to curb the selfishness and "kiasu"ness in our hearts. Singapore would definitely be a better place if we all do so.

Should capital punishment be carried out in Singapore?

Capital punishment, or also known as the infamous death penalty or execution of a criminal, is a sentence of death upon a criminal. A criminal who is sentenced to death is hanged. Some might say that capital punishment is useful in deterring crime in Singapore. However, it also brought about several issues as some people do not agree to the use of capital punishment.

Some people see capital punishment as a violation of human rights. It is seen as the most degrading, cruel and ultimate sentence a criminal could have. It denies and overrules the most basic of human rights--the right to life. Life is considered as precious, yet it is denied through the capital punishment. In addition, there might be a risk of error. Innocent people had got the death penalty in the past, and as the purpose of the death penalty is to serve justice, it completely defeats the purpose of hanging.

Also, capital punishment, is in itself, murder. This is perceived by others as unacceptable even though it is passed by the state of authority as people feel that it lowers the value of life greatly. This might result in the society having a "revenge is good" attitude. By giving capital punishment on a criminal, it also has a negative traumatic effect on the his/her family members.

Therefore as people are affected and disagree to capital punishment, it might not be a useful sentence to deal with crime in Singapore.

Blog Prompt: Should students be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum

I feel that students should be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum. This way, students would be more interested as they tend to put more of their favorite subjects into their curriculum. However, every subject is important, hence students must still study the subjects they dislike, for at least a fixed period of time in their curriculum. The students would definitely have more enthusiasm when studying, as they could study their favorite subjects more.

Students should be given the autonomy to develop their own curriculum, as they would definitely feel that school is more enjoyable after filling their curriculum with what they themselves want to learn. Hence, they would study with more interest, and not think that daily school life is boring. The students would definitely be motivated to study hard, and will thus get better results. Hence this would definitely benefit the students as a whole. However, they must study all the subjects for at least a certain period of time in the school-curriculum, so as to make sure the students understand at least the foundations of each subject.

In addition, the teacher also could coach the students better in certain areas to excel more, and encourage them, provide opportunities for them to research more and gain more knowledge through the process. People want their children to grow up as independent learners, yet they structure their children's days to a minute and give them few opportunities to do anything but answer multiple-choice questions, follow instructions and memorize information. They could think of what they would really want to be in the future, and work hard in that area required for them to do a job.

Although some might say that the students would only focus on their favourite subjects but not the others. That is why, although students are allowed to study more on their favorite subjects, they still have to study at least all the subjects for a period of time in the curriculum. I feel that my reasons are justified and feel that each student should be allowed to develop on his potential by being given a chance to develop his or her own curriculum.

Blog Prompt: What do I look in a future leader of the nation?

I feel that a good future leader of our nation should have great foresight and is able to predict what would happen. Through that, he can plan carefully with meticulous care, and would not make any mistakes which might result in dire consequences. In addition, when implementing and carry out laws, the leader also can predict the responses of the public, hence he would try his best to impose a law that would cater to the needs of the citizens. He also could motivate citizens to strive hard to improve the economy of the country, thus improving the welfare of the country which would be beneficial in the upcoming future. Furthermore, I feel that a leader of the nation must be upright, and must not commit any illegal offences. How can a leader set a good example to the citizens of the nation if he acts only to satisfy to greed and only think for himself but not the welfare of others? Then his nation would be corrupted, full of people who infringe the law all the time. A leader who is upright would definitely be thinking about how to benefit his country, and not for earning money or solely for his own. People would definitely prefer a leader who is upright. He must does what he knows is right, instead of commiting wrongdoings. A leader of the nation also must be committed to leading Singapore to its success. If he is not committed, he would definitely be selfish and only carry out actions for his own selfish gains. Therefore, everything he does would definitely be for the country if the leader is committed in what he is doing. He will do it for the benefit of the country.

What if there was not enough time? What if I could not get out in time? Those were the questions that ran through my head umpteenth times as I laid the dirty little devils on the floor. Ten seconds is all you have. Only ten seconds. As I set the things going, I bolted out of the house. Ten...my shoelace fell off...nine...I dropped my pistol.....eight....picking it up....seven,,,tripped and fell....six....FASTER...five...four...NO THERE'S A LOOSE FLOORBOARD....three....yes got my leg out.....almost there....two...almost there.....one...YES I AM OUT ALIVE.... The explosion was colossal, the house vanishing in to a massive fireball that sent up a fist of smoke that punched a heavy fist into the overcast sky. The roof of the house disintegrated, a spray of terracotta skyrocketing in the air. One moment the house was standing erect there, the next moment it collapsed as a blinding white light seemed to streak across the sky, as if it never seemed to exist once before. Broken cement, bricks and shattered glass shards flew in the air in all directions, with such a velocity that they turned into vicious shrapnel and missiles, slicing through a nearby passer-by and killing him instantly. I ducked behind a sturdy wall to avoid the dangerous missiles that spun in all direction. Now the whole place was a disastrous mess of rubble and strewn materials. As I signalled, the soldiers marched in to search for dead bodies on the floor. A heavy weight of exhaustion sank on me. Why am I doing this every day? Why am I sent to blow up people's houses all day long? Is it necessary, after even the opposing country had surrendered, to cause their citizens so much harm, so much despair? I hoped the war would end. Not because I might be blown up due to the fact that i might set off a dynamite by accident, but it was the despair on the peoples face as they saw their broken house. Nothing. There's nothing they can do. Nothing. It just a sense of hopelessness and despair. But it hurts my heart all the time.

Blog Prompt 24/3: Should we take note of other things happening around the world????

I do tend to pay attention to what is happening in other parts of the world, as it is of vital importance to understand what is happening around us as they may have some impact on Singapore. Also, when a country is facing a major crisis, our country could lend out a helping hand if possible. It could also raise our awareness to current affairs, and we could also reflect on it after know about it, making us be critical thinkers. We would also not lose out to the society if we keep abreast of whatever things are happening in the world. The world is steadily progressing forward, and as it changes; human should change positively as well.

For example, look at the crisis in Japan. We lent Japan a helping hand as it struggled to overcome this major crisis. In addition, we know now that the sea near the disaster area is contaminated, hence the AVA would definitely take note of the seafood being imported to Japan and give them a thorough check; therefore this shows that the crisis is indeed having an impact not only to Singapore, bu to the world as a whole. One should not be ignorant to whatever is happening around the world as whatever happening around the world, be it turmoil or conflict or crisis, would definitely in turn affect the welfare of Singapore. The Japan crisis, for instance, would definitely cause food prices to rise, making it harder for people with a meagre income gain. Therefore, it is definitely important to take note of any specific major events happening around the world.

Can a robot ever replace a human teacher?

Can you imagine listening to a boring monotonous voice of a robot teaching you daily about your daily studies such as mathematics and chemistry? Wouldn't it be very weird? First of all, it would not be able to see your emotions, hence it would not know if you do not know how to do a question. Second of all, since robots are made up of machinery, what will happen if it would to malfunction one day and being unable to teach? It would disrupt the lesson and impede the learning progress.

In addition, if you have any troubles or woes, you can talk to the teacher, but NOT to the robot, as the robots would not be able to express any emotions, hence there is a barrier created between the robot and the student. Therefore, the student would feel that he is just talking to a non-living monotonous boring thing, and it does not reduce the emotional burden inside the student at all. I feel that there is totally no benefits at all if one lets a robot teach. Is the robot programmed so as to detect someone raising his hand as someone wanting to inquire something? It would indeed be very hard to program such a function. A human teacher is much much better as she has emotional responses and feedback about our progress. If you have troubles, you would also feel at ease talking with the teacher too.

After listening to the song,"Where is the love?" by Black-Eyed Peas, I felt that the society has changed drastically from last time. Indeed, now the society is corrupted, filled of people full of greed and deception. Articles of unspeakable crimes such as rape, bribing and deceit fill the newspaper everyday. There are more political conflicts arising now, such as the one in Egypt, and people would start rioting once they are dissatisfied with something, and they would not stop until they got what they want. Chaos reigned in politically conflicting countries, and innocent people got harmed and injured every time this happens. What has become of our world? Why is our world becoming such a place?

Terrorists now roam the streets, causing catastrophic disasters to occur wherever we go. Colossal bomb explosions happening in trains, buildings and hotels. In addition, there is racism in everyone, and everyone goes about judging others by one's "purity of skin colour", claiming that people with coloured skin are evil; they claim that," they(the coloured people) are the ones commiting the sins, not us. People are having an insatiable lust for money, and would risk anything just to get it. This shows that people are now different, totally without a shred of warmth, not caring for others, only taking care of themselves. Students speaking vulgarities wherever they go. Teenage gangs going on streets to attack people, to imitate the action-packed moves of the avatar they see on their violent computer game. What is happening? Why has human beings changed so greatly? Where are all the virtues that are inculcated in us?

The world has become a totally different place.

If a gangster says what he does is right, is he really right? What is really the definition for righteousness?

That day, I was, as usual, going online on face book and I saw this very interesting post my classmate, Shuin Kang, had put there: Tell me what right is, and why right is." He also brought up an example: if a gangster says he is really right, is he really right? Well, I feel that righteousness is, to put it simply, not to commit any sins or wrongful actions. The law has been set to enforce righteousness in the first place, and while there are undeniably certain loopholes in the law itself, it states clearly the principle of not committing sins, of not do actions that are clearly against moral value and conscience. Hence, I feel that the reason why we should even obey the law in the first place is not because we do not want to be punished by the higher authority, it is we, as humans, want to live side by side in peaceful harmony, and not go around doing wrongful actions that affects others negatively

I decided to bring up a quote from Shuin Kang himself," What is right is unchanging. How can you persecute someone and later claim that he is right? No. Right does not change. People change. What they think is right change. Right is free from error, and free from humans." I agree with him only partially, as I feel that this statement is, in a way (at least, only to me), very pessimistic. What is right, indeed is unchanging, and when people change, to be more selfish and greedy, their definition of right changes correspondingly too. I don't really agree that right should be free from humans though (no offence shuin kang XD). Righteousness has been displayed by certain noble people, who spend almost all their lives trying to benefit mankind (like Thomas Edison),and hence this shows that right is a virtue that is displayed by people (though sadly, not all), hence it is, therefore, associated with humans.

In fact, right does not have a real definition, right is just shown through examples such as God, who goes around helping others and does not commit sins. We should just try our best not to commit as many sins as possible, as I believe that one would soon have his own punishment and retribution if he goes around doing sins.

Bribing--causing one to end up in jail

As I was reading the newspapers again, another newspaper article caught my eye, and this time it titled,"Illegally-modified vehicles: he turns a blind eye, end up in jail". A former principal vehicle inspector who accepted bribes to turn a blind eye to illegal vehicle modifications, who also accused of endangering the public safety on the roads through his actions. Motor vehicles must be sent to be inspected first before being allowed to drive on the roads.

I felt what he did was not only selfish as he endangered other people's lives on the road, but he also have inevitably embarrassed the STA inspection totally, and have also cast doubt on "the integrity of the regulatory framework as a whole." And it is only through his selfish and embarrassing actions that led people not to trust, rely and believe in the STA Car Inspection anymore. This further shows that he was the troublemaker who had made the downfall of the pride and credibility of the STA Inspection, and ought to be responsible for his own actions.

Unbelievably, he even pleaded leniency by claiming that the amount of bribes collected was only a small sum. I feel that he should have thought of the eventual yet dire consequences he will face should he commit an offence to violate the law, and the small amount of bribes he was receiving was just an excuse from saving himself from punishment. He was needless to say, still caught by the long arms of the law and is now facing charges against him for corruption. Senior District Judge Liew Thiam Leng agreed with the conviction and said the implication is that public safety is at stake hence actions must be taken against him. I totally agree with him. The inspector's greedy heart has caused the public safety to be endangered due to the eventual increase in car accident thanks to the illegally-modified vehicles,hence he has to be punished for what he has done

Parents picking up their children late persistently??

On the 8th of February, I was reading the newspaper when an article on the first page caught my eye. It titled,"PCF kindergarten ready to fine parents who pick up their children late".It stated that the kindergarten had had enough of parents who were consistently late despite countless warning from the staff to parents. I feel that they are very irresponsible as they themselves were responsible for their own children, and that they should make arrangements beforehand so as to fetch their children on time.

While some people have valid reasons such as being stuck and traffic, it would most likely only occur once in a while. However, there have been instances of parents who have being persistently late, some even being later then an hour. Those parents are not only irresponsible, they are also very selfish and ignorant to the difficulties and troubles they created to the staff members and teachers as well. For example, The teachers' lunch break would of course be cut off as a result, and even teachers who are going on course in the evening may have to forgo their dinner because they have to rush to attend their classes.

I feel that this problem may not be necessarily be solved by using a fine. If only it gets too serious should a fine be imposed. There are other ways, like talking to the parents first and make them understand their difficulties. Parents, on the other hand, also have split views of this rule. Some say that some circumstances were beyond their control, especially those with more than one child, but others say that some parents were taking advantages of the situation instead, seeing that the principal and teachers stay behind to look after the child.

Blog Prompt 7/2/2011.

Today, as I was reading the newspapers in class, an interesting article caught my eye. It states that parents need not have to study to a high degree to have outstanding children. In my opinion, I feel that this is true indeed, and also feel that if the parents would be able to coach, motivate and encourage the child effectively, it will allow them to cope bothe academically and mentally. Having rich and highly-educated parents does not neccessarily mean that the child would grow up to be as outstanding as his parents. Instead, the parents might even unintentionally spoil the child and he would grow up being a spoiled brat who would not be as excellent as the parents.

Indeed, most students from Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles Institution have parents who are university graduates. However, I do not feel that having smart 'genes' is essential for people to succeed in life.Indeed, people from neighbourhood school also have an equal chance to succeed together with students who study in elite schools. The students just need to put in more effort to strive hard, and they would all be able to succeed

Blog Prompt 31/01/2011

I, myself, have friends from other races, and I feel that having friends of another race is very important. In this way not only can we enlarge our wide social circle, we can also know and understand about each race, and be able to behave appropriately when together with this race. If one does not know the religious rules of a race, we might end up doing something disrespectful against their race unintentionally in front of them. Hence, in order not to cause such conflicts, we must also try our best to learn about other races' religion as well.

I also feel that some people, though racist at heart, should not openly state that he dislikes certain races, or even try to be rude to them. Courtesy always comes first. Once, I saw someone asking in front of a Malay food store, "Do you sell pork?" I feel that that is very disrespectful and insolent, as the Malays could not eat pork, it was wrong to ask from a Malay pork. We might end up hurting other races or religion. Therefore, we must be mindful about what we say in front of different races too.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

I agree that Chinese Mothers are definitely more superior than other mothers, as generally they are more strict than other mothers. They have high expectations for their children and expects that their children should have the capability to achieve satisfactory results and there should be no reason at all for blunders or careless mistakes. They are also not allowed to go to any occasions such as sleepovers in other friend's house.

There are pros and cons to this kind of behavior I guess. The good thing is that the children will learn and study well and not at all slack down due to their parents' high expectations. Therefore, they will be smart and definitely reap in satisfactory results due to the large amount of hard work they put in their work. The bad thing is that the child might feel restricted by his parents' rules and regulation and under a lot of stress to meet up with the requirements of their harsh parents because they know if they don't, they will definitely receive a spanking and a lecture from their parents. Henceforth, it causes a lot of emotional burden for the child too, as the child might feel no freedom at all.

Annotating and Descriptive Writing

Today, we learned more about descriptive writing in a story. It consists of a plot, a setting(mood or atmosphere), point of view and characterization. It must also have a theme. The supporting of characterization make uses of figurative language, diction sentence structures and paragraphing. She went through with us the story," All Summer In A Day", and made us annotate the points that the writer used to raise the tension of the story, give a 3-dimensional image to the a character, so on and so forth. Our composition piece was largely annotated after that, and that shows that every single word, paragraph, or line can make a huge difference to a composition passage. She also gave us more pieces to anootate about, so as to increase our word power.

Mindmap

My Mind map. This topic may be related to the story To Kill A Mockingbird.

poem strip.

This is a poem about a boy being bullied in class for a certain purpose. Prejudice is evident even here. I know my drawing is atrocious, but it shows someone throwing a rock at a boy, and the whole class taunting him. He is dismayed and does not know what to do.

Is it betterto have never known something than to know something and ultimately lose it later?

Hmm....what an interesting question. In my opinion though, I feel that it is better to know something and ultimately lose it later, instead of not knowing it at all. One gets to at least experience with it and share fond memories together with it before losing it at the end. As such, I believe that the person would have a more enriched life than a person who does not experience anything out of the ordinary at all. It is good that we try out different sorts of experiences (not wrongful actions though) in our lives, and as we can only live our lives only once, why not make it a more memorable and fruitful one by being adventrous and try out different things even though you know that there is an element of risk of losing it later? And anyway, on the other hand, all good things often come to an end, don't they?

Losing something you know later is needless to say a painful process for one. It is indeed hurtful for one to completely sever ties with something that he has shared fond memories with, which he has a good relationship together with. Nevertheless, one can still cherish and remember the fond memories that they had shared together. Having a feeling of something before losing it totally is definitely better than not having a taste of it at all.

A blog prompt given by my LA teacher

Yes, I have been in a company of a group of which I clearly wasn't a member. But before we go into the details, let us think: why in the first place are certain individuals treated unpleasantly by the rest? Usually, this is because they are considered to be different from us in some ways, for instance being taller/shorter than most of the people in class, being fatter/thinner than most of the people in class, and so on. To me, it seems to happen almost everywhere.

Not being treated like a member would indeed be a torture as one would feel alone without the warmth of the company of others. That time, a friend of mind (Richard, if you happen to come across this, don't worry, it's not you)invited me to his birthday party.Other than recognising my friend the other day, I did not know anyone present at the birthday party at all. I thought perhaps we might be able to interact with each other, and maybe be friends with them. However they seem unwilling to talk to me. The longest conversation I had with one of them was: "Hi, I'm Gavin, what's your name?" "Oh, my name's ........., pleased to meet you." Nothing much was said between me and them anymore. Worst of all, everytime I laughed at one of their jokes, they would look at me as if I was a strange and queer specimen being examined under a microscope. If I acciendentally did something wrong they would stare at me with evident hint of hostility. Unfortunately, my friend did not know about it, and I did not had the heart to spoil his special day by telling him about it.

It was evident that just because I didn't know them, they just ignored me or even worse, look at me strangely or with hostility. This shows that people behave to others different from them unpleasantly most of the time

Prejudice

Yes, this word. A main theme not only in storybooks like"To Kill A Mockingbird". An attitude that not only occurred in history, but is also evident in modern society. It rests on negative stereotypes about individuals because of their background, be it cultural, religious and so on.

Our teacher said that prejudice, discrimination and stereotyping are though commonly used at the same context most of the time, but they have a difference in their meaning. Prejudice means to have a problem with certain people, though not taking any action against them. Stereotyping is overgeneralising statement with people of similar characteristics. Discrimination is th ACT of doing something against a certain group of people, e.g Xenonphobia. Hence, although they are used at the same context, they do not have the same meaning.

We also discussed on how prejudice is evident in our society, how it has affected history, and how it still affects our lives.

This time, we watched a video for the first 7 minutes of the film Big Fish. The storyline revolves around a father and a son,and the son grew up from a small boy who believed in his father's incredulous lies to a person who feels that his father was not telling the truth from the very start, that had never cared for his family. The father repeated his tales over and over again to his friends, even to everyone on the son's wedding day. The son was so frustrated that he did not speak to his father ever again.
The father's quote,"A big fish in a small pond",shows all the more that he is arrogant and pompous, concealing the insecurity and inferiority that he has. This shows that he wants to be in the limelight all the time. Hence our teacher gave us a question to think about,"When do you think a lie is justifiable?" In my opinions, I feel that lying is definitely wrong, but telling a "white lie", in other words a lie used for good intentions, may not be always right. Like the example that my teacher gave: if one day after I grow up, my mother asked me if she was very fat; then I would see the situation: if she was indeed plump but still in the pink of health, it was not wrong to tell her that she wasn't; but if she was obese and unhealthy, then it would be harming her to tell her that she wasn't. However, all in all, telling a lie is definitely wrong as it does not allow people to trust you anymore.
Also, exaggerating an account would definitely undercut the credibility of the story itself, and it would make people think that you are always making the mountain out of the molehills. People would also as a result, not believe whatever you say again just in case if you are exaggerating again.

First lesson....

Well, for the first lesson, we did nothing much, but I learnt that poems do not really convey its underlying meaning directly, it is to be inferred indirectly as a hidden meaning. Let me give you the example our teacher gave us......

The little boy and the old man by Shel Silverstein
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Said the little boy,"Sometimes I drop my spoon."
Said the old man,"I do that too."
The little boy whispered,"I wet my pants."
"I do that too."Laughed the little old man.
Said the little boy,"I often cry."
The old man nodded,"so do I".
"But worst of all," said the boy,"it seems,
Grown-ups dont pay attention to me."
And he felt a warmth of a wrinkled old man,
"I know what you mean," said the little old man.

This poem shows that both the boy and the old man are not being paid attention by grown-ups obsessed with their pursue of wealth. It highlights indirectly that while it is true that technology is advancing swiftly, people are becoming more and more self-centred, giving more to themselves only while neglecting their parents, even their children. It also makes one infer that as adults were once children, their parents might have neglected them, causing them to not take care of their parents well after they grow up. This hence turns into a malignant cycle which repeats itslef over and over again as people steadily become more selfish than ever. Presumably the poet had observed this and it inspired him to write about this poem.

Self-Reflection for last year

1) What went well for last year?

Well, I managed to score an A2 for my EOYA, and I have also attained A2 for term 1 and 2, which was my intended target after I fared badly for my English for term 1. I strived hard so as to achieve the satisfactory mark I got for term 2, 3 and my Eoya.

2)What went wrong last year?

I did not fare very well for my English in term 1, getting only a B4.I was disappointed, as the comprehension passage which I had actually thought to have scored well attained only a pathetic 19 upon 45.It caused my overall results to plummet as a result, getting me an unsatisfactory grade for English in term1. It was indeed a disappointment as I had scored rather well for my other subjects that term.

3)What is my target msg this term?

At least a 2.00. I also want to achieve at least a A2 for my English again.

4)How do I intend to achieve this?

I would definitely read a diverse range of booksto benefit myself, and I would try my best to take the effort to read the newspaper to keep up what is happening around us.I would also put a lot more effort in my work, and not hand it in sloppily, I would revise for my examinations adequately should there be any near the corner.

Intro

Hi I'm Gavin Goh. This is just a short introduction about myself. I study in HCI and I am from class 2O1......And this would needless to say be my LA blog of the year. In this blog I would post subjects that my class has discussed in class. I hope that by the end of this year, I would improve my English standard and through the process, gain knowledge from the process. We would be touching on topics affecting the world as a whole, like prejudice, and study meaningful novels like To Kill A Mockingbird. Through these topics can we analyse the ultimate reasons resulting in them occuring in our society. Henceforth I hope that we would definitely benefit from the english lessons and make this year a fruitful one.