Education

Today during our level assembly, we had a principal's dialogue on this year's assessment method. The discussion on this topic brought up certain thoughts that I have made some time ago, which was on the suitable study environment for students to bring out their true potential in them.

In today's education, many students are made to follow a system, which sometimes is not suitable for certain students. Certain students are just not able to adapt to the structural, fast-paced system, therefore "switching off" as they are not able to absorb anything and cannot keep up, therefore losing out. This systems also gives little time to explore and discover their potential in other areas besides academics. These students need to take things at their own pace, to have a personal space, as stress is created to perform well, thus pressure is created, preventing them from unleashing their potential in certain areas. This kind of flexible system is difficult to achieve as this is very costly, requiring a lot of resources.

Therefore, I want to conclude with this, that everyone is good at something, only time will reveal to them their special ability. Hence, you do not necessarily have to excel in academics, an all-rounded to be successful in life, but with diligence in trying to improve your talents, and a little luck, will you be carried far in life.

North West Run!

This event was held at woodlands, in hand with this years' YOG. I was there to run as my coach needed to use this as a gauge to select next year's cross- country.

And so, we arranged to meet at the train station. Then, we did our warm-up, stretching and necessary drills before moving off to the start line. We lined up at the front, and when the siren was blown, we took off! During the beginning phase of the run, I felt relaxed and composed, but soon my legs got tired and and felt like there were bricks being piled up onto my thighs. Nevertheless, I pushed on further, telling myself that the heavy feeling was only temporary. And true enough, when I spotted the finishing line, the weight was taken off my thighs and I flew off.

This one of the most memorable event as the atmosphere there was wonderful. Seeing everyone donning the SYOG T-shirt lining up at the starting line, itching with excitement, unable to wait for the time when they could run. Music blasting at ear-drumming levels, seeing everyone being happy just made it better. Also, I got to spend time with my mother. After the run, we had dinner at together, something that I have not done for a long time since graduating from primary school. It was the best day ever.

Book Review

Hi! Its great to be back again! Now I'm going to with you about a book that I read over the four-day long weekend - Overload.

This 500-page book, written by Arthur Hailey, talks about a possible energy calamity, "when nature's crippling forces and man's dangerous passions merge to create a crisis of major proportions, the fate of Golden State Power & Light (A utility) becomes a matter of life and death for thousands." This story warns of the ultimate catastrophe - a world without light and power - just a terrifying millisecond away.

Basically, this story takes place in California, America, and told through a guy by the name of Nimrod, or Nim for short. It talks about America being in a state where it was running low on oil supplies, as countries that used to sell them oil has imposed an embargo on their precious 'black gold' unless America agreed to trade oil for gold. As a result, the possibility of having no electricity seems to draw nearer, with rolling blackouts occurring and power disruptions going off unexpectedly. Golden State Power & Light (GSP & L) then has to come out with solutions for an alternative source of energy, which was always met with opposition - the press, producing one-sided stories to attack GSP & L's policies, Friends of Freedom, a four-team fanatical terrorist group which constantly plans and organised bomb attacks on GSP & L's substations and power plants, and the Sequoia club, an environmentalist club known for its sound and well-drawn arguments, which would stop at nothing until they accomplish their goal.

In the end, the press switched sides, Friends of Freedom eliminated, and the Sequoia club disbanded.

I know this may sound cliche, but remember to save electricity in any way you can. Though your effort may seem small, but with everyone's effort brought together, the difference is greater. Do your part, for future generations, and for the Earth.

Happy Birthday Cousin!

Hey! I'm back! Now I'm going to share with you on the celebration of my cousin birthday.

My cousin's birthday falls on the eve of national day! How cool is that? Celebrating his birthday brought back all the memories we shared together. When we we younger, and when we vistied out grandmother, the two of us together with our brothers would be at the void deck of the block playing soccer! And I still remembered that during those times, our mums would always made sure that they had brought an extra set of clothings for us to change.

However, when we grew up, we grew distant from one another, as we had more work and so the times we saw each other were lessened. But anyway, the time spent there was great. We managed to catch up by playing soccer and game consoles together. How lucky I am to have such a wonderful cousin!

My Holiday Review

Wow how time flies! It feels like the June Holidays have just started moments ago, and now we are back to school again! Back for the third phase of shelling from teachers, bombardment of homework and a barrage of tests. Though I am quite disappointed and irritated at the fact that the holidays are gone, I have resolved to let it go and move on.

Now the question is - What did I do over this four weeks of holiday? Truthfully speaking, I did nothing meaningful. I'm a planner, but not a doer, which is irritating as I've spent almost the whole of the last week of the second term sketching out the things I have instructed myself to do, and in the end, virtually nothing was completed.

Well one of the things that I have told myself umpteen times to do is to read books. Yes, books are useful tools if we want to improve on our languages, and I'm glad that I have at least managed to complete one, but what gets me all worked up is not reading a Chinese book. As most of my friends know, I am not really good at Chinese. My parents have been telling me to read one, but no matter how many times I tell myself to do it, I just can't bring myself to do it, but simply deceive myself by saying, " Oh don't worry, you've still got time, just do something more interesting." In the end, I never got started.

Secondly, I have planned to clear my room. On the surface it might look clean, but search my closets and shelves, and you get a whole different view. During the school term, sometimes I rush to pack my bag after completing an assignment, and in the process leaving unneeded books and notes on my workplace, before dozing off in bed. As a result, my work is left everywhere. Thankfully, I still managed to locate my things when I need them. But with piles of paper stacked over my desk, it becomes rather unsightly. And what irks me is that it still remained the way it was when the third term started.

Thinking on how much discipline I lack in completing task, I despised myself and began going into depression. But I pulled myself out of it as I told myself - Being depressed is like sitting on a rocking, being stuck at one spot, unable to move forward. It wasn't worth crying over spilled milk. And so I've learnt to face my problems with confidence, and to not be knocked down by previous failures, but to grow out from them and learn from them.

Rainbow Death Analysis

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert WilsonBackgroundThis poem was written by Hubert Wilson, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Hubert along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, were prepped for around 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating to be deployed in Vietnam or elsewhere in southeat Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in Da Nang, which was an Agent Orange hotspot, in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, which eventually became a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.
ConflictThis conflict occurred during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971, where the Americans were supporting the South Vietnamese in their battle against North Vietnam, in an attempt to restrict the spread of communism. Why this poem is significant to both the Americans and the Vietcong (North Vietnam) is because Herbicidal Warfare was engaged, in which a chemical weapon known as "Agent Orange" was used. Agent orange is the code name for an herbicide and defoliant,contaminated with TCDD, which was used by the U.S. military in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War. Its intended purpose was to remove the leaves of the trees in the dense jungles of Vietnam, to destroy the Vietcong's hiding locations. However, it contained certain chemicals that harmed the humans body system. Birth Defects and other disabilities were present with those who had contact with this herbicide weapon. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.
Point of View This poem is written in an intellectual point of view. It roughly summarises the situation, which depicts the horrors and agony of both the innocent and the convicted. This is shown from almost the entire poem, which explains their wrongdoing and urgent need to stop such herbicide warfare to prevent any more of such horrors to take place. It might have been written in a third person point of view because “America”, which is repeated in the poem for could instead be personified as another person in the poem.
Situation and SettingThe situation as stated in "Rainbow Death" combines both emotions and social matter. The nature of this conflict is a combination of ethics and social characteristics. "America did not foresee” that “Green, pink, purple and other colour deaths potpourri” shows that America sincerely did not intend the effects of their different coloured herbicides to be extremely deadly. “Generations untold WILL pay” and “Execrable effects of the Orange Spray” shows that the unsightly effects of “Agent Orange” will be passed on to the next generation and the next of Vietnamese people, affecting the innocent lives of the children yet to be born. Thus, this shows the low ethic level of the Americans as they did not care for the next generation, which would forever be a negative impact on the Vietnamese society.

Language and Diction The poet presents conveys his message in a rather straightforward way, which makes the readers understand it easily. There tone used was also rather humorous and chirpy, as we can see from “America did not foresee”, “Now thinking twice?” and "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!". Though America was not being able to foresee the pain and agony the herbicides would cause to the people to such a great extent, they failed to think twice , which implies that even after the Americans realised the horrific effects of herbicidal warfare , they continued to implement such a measure, signifying their little regret and guiltiness. It also shows that America had gone against its principals it had uphold, which is freedom and to ensure the welfare of its people.
Personal ResponseI have learnt that war is a terrible thing, and that we should resort to war only as the last choice. Matters and disputes should be resolved politically and diplomatically, when possible. As it would not only affect the present generation, but future generations as well. Bloodshed and suffering could be avoided if we as humans learn to compromise, to love and share, and to empathise with one another. War causes us to override our principals which govern our lives, to go against our conscience and ultimately, it will reveal the inner evil of us that we try so hard to conceal, and turn us into savages and barbarians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orangehttp://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow

OPSL Movie Nite

This event was held primarily for the secondary ones of Ortus, and I had to attend it was felt that this was a very meaningful way to get to bond with the Sec ones through this movie. The duration of this event was 3 hours, from 5.30pm to 8.30pm. Due to some preparations, the movie did not start screening until 6. During the movie, snacks were provided and the lights were out.

The point of showing the movie is to promote teamwork, as we believe that teamwork is a key factor to completing a project. This was shown when a group of thieves were challenging another thief who was working alone, in stealing a golden 'egg', and that the group of thieves eventually won, despite the odds. I particularly enjoyed the part where some of members of the group were arrested and while the rest of the team were still fixed on trying to complete the task, and used a very innovative idea to try and pull the job off. Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie and spending time with Sec 1s and I hope such an event would be organised again.