don't stop, make it pop

Saturday, July 31, 2010

STOMP - Hwa Chong teachers take students' belongings 'to teach them a lesson' @ 11:04 PM

School. This is the place where we study, but is it right to post something about our school on the net? Where everyone can see and comment on? The topic I will be talking about today will be on the recent STOMP incident that happened in my school. It was very controversial and the topic has even been brought up during my level's assembly.

Here's a brief overview of the matter.

Students' viewpoint:

Deans and teachers went into the classrooms which were unlocked.

They took away many electronic and valuable stuff such as iPods, PSPs and Laptops.

RAIDED their bags.

Students were informed later.

Forced to write apology letters on the incident before the items were returned to them.

Teachers'/School's viewpoint:

Dean went into the classroom, surveyed the class, took away some items. Called more teachers to help.

Did not RAID the bags.

Students informed and made to write reflections on the matter. A EMB message was also sent out to inform them about the taking away of the things.

Items all returned promptly.

As the matter was raised in the level assembly, it is of a significant value. However, to me, it felt that the discussing of the matter was more of a 'propaganda' to show that whatever the school does is always correct, and we, as students do not really have a say in this matter. I heard some good and reasonable reasons during the talk, but they were all rejected and criticized. I was a my seat, feeling very confused, and at the same time, felt that all this was very ironical. Since a discussion with the student body is for us to raise our views and opinions, I do not understand why all the views were rejected. Thus I ask, why bother to have a session when all that you all do is to try to change our mindset to suit yours. It's all futile in the end.

I think that why the school did that, was because 'STOMP' is a public website and of course, anyone from anywhere who has the access to the internet can view it easy within a few clicks. The school is probably in a lot of pressure to try to convince people of its 'Good' public image, and at the same time, not making it seem like a pushover towards a students post on the internet. I have then decided on a few conclusions and opinions that we should all think about carefully.

1. Why cant there be a sense of trust among the students and teachers? We must all know the feeling of what it is like to know that you lost something, and in the end, it is actually your teachers who took it. We will feel as if we are being 'played' around by the teachers. Next time, we will also not know whether it is a real theft case or whether it is the teachers who tool our stuff. Thus this method will lose its efficiency, as students will think that their stuff are merely confiscated and will eventually be returned to them. Instead, I think that a better and more efficient solution is to issue demerit points and give them a stern warning.

2. By doing this, what do the teachers have to prove? That they are superior? That they can take our things without our consent? That we have to abide by all the rules? Could they have simply alerted the class first, and give them a warning, like the next time the same scenario happens then they will take action? Ultimately, the teachers are trying to teach the students a lesson, but it is the WAY they do it which makes a huge difference and impact.

On a side note, just to remind all of us, before we post anything about our school on the net, please think twice. Maybe there is still another method to salvage the problem? Ranting around the net is useless. So you could maybe SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP and go do other things. YEAH THANKS

Saturday, July 3, 2010

1st week in school @ 12:22 AM

The first week of school has just ended and as usual my teachers have laden me with homework. I am not sure how to finish all of them in time. Luckily, there is still a 'Youth Day' holiday on Monday to allow us to relax and finish our homework.

My projects day semi-finals competition is next Wednesday and I hope our flash website can be created in time. Most of our resource package is finished and I am confident that I can get into finals of the competition.

So just to sum up this week's events, I think that the workload now is considered to be very little already and I'm hoping to take this 'long' weekend off to revise my work hehe:D

World Cup update:

Remaining teams in the tournament: Uruguay, Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, Ghana, Spain, Paraguay.

In today's 10pm semi-final match, Netherlands overcame all odds and came back from a half-time deficit of 0-1 to score 2 goals in the second half and win the game 2-1.

I will be posting more of the world cup updates so check here daily :)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Regurgitating nostalgia @ 2:15 AM

Hey guys its me blogging again.

I know its like the last days of the holidays, but we should think of the bright side yeah? At least we had 30 days of slackness to enjoy our lives. Like everyone, during the June holidays, it was not only study, study and study. I went out with my friends and also went overseas to Hong Kong (My 5th time haha).

Since the June holidays have passed so fast, I have came out with a few points to sum up my boring/enjoyable holidays.

1. THE FIFA WORLD CUP!! I'm sure that everyone knows about the world cup. Just to give a brief introduction on the world cup this year, it will be held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July. Yeah "11". WHY? Because it is to reiterate the 11 places where the world cup will be held in South Africa, also that there are 11 official languages in South Africa. And lastly, the "Jabulani" ball will be the 11th world cup ball that Adidas had created. Cool much ? This year's world cup has taken a major turn of events(in my point of view) as both finalists from the 2006 world cup are, as you know, out of the world cup. France and Italy, the major hopefuls to win the cup this years, are out even before the last 16. For France, it might be due to the fact that there are arguments between the players and coach, and their star player, Anelka, was forced to go home even before France finished playing their matches in South Africa. It was solely due to a spat between him and the coach, which was never to be leaked to the reporters. This incident shows the instability in the team, that the trust is missing in the team.

For Italy, it might be due to the fact that the players are very old, but they were beaten by Slovakia 3-2 in one of the biggest upsets in the World Cup. It's very upsetting to see these big names being out before the last 16. Now the teams which have progressed to the last 16 are:

Uruguay,South Korea,USA,Ghana,Germany,England,Argentina,

Mexico,Netherlands,Slovakia,Brazil,Chile,Paraguay,Japan

Spain, and Portugal

Today, Uruguay have progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over South Korea. As I am typing this, Ghana is currently leading USA 1-0 in another last 16 match held at 2.30am (Singapore time).

2. Also, I would like to blog about my JUDO camp, held in school from 21-23 June. It was a memorable experience for me, as it was my first time having a sleepover camp in school. On the first day, we had training(DUH its JUDOO camp) from 9am to 5.30pm. We had a 2 hour break in between for us to relax and eat before starting training again. At 5.30pm, we had our BBQ which was fun. Although some of the food were not cooked properly and were still raw, we had a fun time BBQing. It lasted till about 9 at night and we bathed and sleep at about 12am.

On the second day, it was mostly training from 9am-9.30pm. (Very long ehh) But at least we had breaks in between. It was very tiring and though my friends wanted to sneak out of school to watch the world cup at 2.30am, we cancelled the idea as many of us were too tired. Me and my friends then played some card games in the dark. Sleeping on the judo mats were rather comfortable though it was very hot. If you were wondering why we wanted to sneak out, it is the WORLD CUP FEVER GUYS. I think that day the match was Argentina vs Nigeria and we wanted to catch it.

On the third day, we had ball games (basketball) where my team owned completely haha. Then we had some sparring before we break camp and went home.

It was overall an enjoying experience although I only managed to catch a few winks at night.

3. During the holidays, I have watched a lot of movies, namely The Killers, A-team, Karate Kid, and many more :D I hope I can continue to watch more when school reopens.

4. I am supporting Brazil and England for this years World Cup and I wish them all the best :D I also hope that Singapore will not be so hot and humid and that it will rain more often. At the same time, hoping that flash floods do not occur .

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Poetry analysis: Children of darkness @ 11:47 AM

Point of view:

This poem was written by the poet, in anger as he could not believe what war had done to the children. He was annoyed at the atrocities of war and how it affects innocent lives such as the children who do not have a say in their future as they are being forced to go to war. He does not really vent his frustration in the poem but writes it in a pretty sarcastic way. In my opinion, the author's main purpose of writing the poem is to convey an anti-war message to the public. He wants to show that the children should not be conscripted to go to war at such a young age. The repetition of "Could we" in the third stanza shows the simple things in life that normal kids do while the children fighting for war are selfishly deprived of. There is a strong usage of the word "darkness" to convey a sense of gloominess in the children's lives, also to show that each day they are filled with "fear", that they will be killed any moment on the battlefield.

Situation and Setting:
The nature of this poem's conflict is emotional. It happens on the battlefield and the poet is using literary devices to make us seem to pity the children. By stating in the first stanza that "To this door there is no key", he is saying that to these children, cannot escape from war. He tells us that once they are in it, they cannot back out. He also uses personification for war, saying that it can "consume" people. This indicates how easy people lose their lives in war. Also, in stanza 3 he uses repetition to emphasize the fact that how the children cannot do the things that other "normal" children can. The theme of anti-war is conveyed through the strong use of imagery. As war usually affects the whole world, the theme is universal in its application.He also uses the metaphor of "endless thirsty hole" to represent war as a period of great carnage, that war brings about a lot of damage and suffering.

Language/ Diction:
Much figurative language is used in the poem. The word order is straightforward and there is not much experimentation with the language. Repetition is used in the third stanza on the words "could we" to amplify and focus on the many things that kids have no chance to do because of their forced commitment to war, that although they yearn to do it, war has caused their childhood to be destroyed. The horrors of war has been imprinted in their minds. Through the fourth stanza, the poet uses metaphors to show how their lives are at risk and that they would only die on the battlefield. No where else. His use of language has aided him in conveying his anti-war message as the atrocities of war is more highlighted, and the ugly reality of destroying innocent lives' futures. Also, repetition of much words have caused the reader to feel a sense of pity for the children, achieving the Bechtold's aims of letting us be anti-war.

Personal Response:
After reading this poem, I have become more aware of why war should be avoided as much as possible. War is not to be joked around about. I have learned that it is a serious matter, that even children lives are at stake any moment. It has evoked a sense of pity and half-anger for the sad kids forced to fight in war. Sad at the sight of their miserable lives and angry because of the unjust they suffer. I feel that we should be thankful that we do not have to suffer what these children are going through now. I have learned to appreciated what I have around me now, that there are many other children out there who do not have the privilege like us. This poem has conveyed his message of anti-war to me successfully and I enjoyed reading his poem, especially the heavy (though not excessive) use of figurative language, eg. metaphors, imagery etc. This poem is like any other anti-war poems, but the mention of "children" in it makes it feel closer to us students, and lets us have a better understanding of the poem.

LA E-Learning - 25/4/10 @ 11:05 AM

Difficulty Rating: *

Children in the Darkness

There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free

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

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

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

Henry M Bechtold

Task 1:
Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.

This poem is probably very recent, thus not much of analysis could be found on the internet. However, based on my research, this poem was written by Henry M Bechtold when he was sitting in his hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas 2009, trying to write a poem about the girls who work in the park and how badly men treat them. He was angry but was unable to write anything that did not sound trite or weak. He looked at the TV and the news was on. He did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. This poem just flowed out. The words just came to him instantaneously and he typed as fast as he could in order to get it all down.

I feel that this poem is trying to show the conflict between what the poet thinks what "normal children" are supposed to do, in contrast to those children who are forced to fight in the war , which are not what they are supposed to do. It shows that how we children are supposed to be learning and studying at this age, but however some are being forced to fight even though they are at a tender age of 10. They have to learn how to use a gun at combat, how to defend themselves, but in reality, they should be studying and enjoying their childhood. As seen from the poem, they will not be able to free themselves from this situation, as long as they are in the military. The only way for them to "escape" from this is to be "consumed by the war", which is to die in the battlefield. Their bodies will perish without anyone noticing, because there are just to many of the same children fighting in the war. If one dies, no one would remember. The future(light) is bleak for them, but still, fleeing is not an option.

Trip to Universal studios Singapore - continued @ 10:25 AM

After going to the universal studios and the RWS, I feel that Singapore has taken another step forwards in making the country more appealing to the tourists. Features such as the Universal Studios are not commonly seen in asia, thus many visitors will flock here to go to the studios.

I feel that this RWS will be a huge boost to Singapore's economy, as well as promoting our country as a "First-class" country in Asia. With the F1 already in Singapore, plus the RWS, tourists will come to Singapore more often. Attractions such as the Zoo or Bird Park may be too old and some tourists might want some fresh features in Singapore. The RWS will fulfill their needs, but more importantly, promote Singapore on a wider scope. The casino will also be a major attraction in Singapore, and it goes without saying that many tourists in Asia might come to Singapore just to try their hands on a couple of rounds at the gambling table.

After visiting the RWS, I feel that it was like a once in a lifetime experience for me. Especially because I went there "invited", not many people were there at that time and I could walk around without the need to shove my way through a crowd. I feel that the 4-D show was probably one of the best, as I could not take any rides as they were mostly still under maintenance.

So to those who have yet gone to the RWS, I urge you to make a spare time with the upcoming June holidays to go there with your parents!

Trip to Universal studios Singapore @ 9:50 AM

Hey guys, during the march holidays, I went to the Universal Studios Singapore on a free ticket to explore the place with my parents :D here are just some of the many pictures I have taken there. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will be writing about my experience in the upcoming post :)