11th August, 1950

Dear Diary,

If I'm not mistaken, today would be my birthday. I had some canned beans for lunch this afternoon, not exactly my favorite food, but it was still great compared to some of the crap that we have been getting.

I think we are soon going to seize the Naktong River. Yesterday, we gained a bit more land on the bank of the river, but at the expense of a really bloody fight. I lost a hand myself to the grenades tossed by the Koreans. Thankfully, it was my left hand that was blown to bits - I would be as good as dead if it was my right hand that was gone. More people on our side died yesterday. I think I knew a few of them, I'm pretty sure one was Fred, another was Ronald... Yes, I think we called him Ronald.

My good pal Remus Moody kinda went mad in the morning. He just rushed to the front line without his guns and grenades and stuff. It was as if he was asking to be shot... If that was his wish, then he would have gotten what he wanted - The Koreans gunned him down promptly. It's quite a pity really. He was one of the few soldiers that I could have a good conversation with.

All this is really terrifying. Every conscious moment is spent worrying about our own lives, and on the rare occasions in which we are not thinking about our own lives are spent thinking about who will go next. Maybe that's why Moody killed himself. Maybe that's why I'm writing in this moldy and moth eaten book - I want to keep myself sane, and I want to go back to America in one piece, however infinitesimal the chance seems to be.

If I'm not mistaken, today is my birthday. I hope my family and friends back at home still remember me.

Logical Fallacies

Fallacy: Poisoning the Well

PAP candidate Lim Biow Chuan said :'The NSP has done nothing. What they have are simply promises. The NSP has no record of serving residents in Mountbatten. Talk is cheap.' (taken from http://www.straitstimes.com/GeneralElection/News/Story/STIStory_664807.html)

Mr Lim had poisoned the well, because Mr Lim had attacked the NSP candidate even before the candidate could give his statement. By doing so, the NSP candidate had a lesser chance of winning the election, because Mr Lim had given the people the idea that the NSP had not done anything beneficial to the society. This was unfair for the NSP candidate, and thus, Mr Lim had poisoned the well.

Fallacy: False Authority

NSP's Tampines GRC candidate Raymond Lim said that the opposition party's attempts to hold Mr Mah accountable for his policies had made him 'panic'. (taken from http://www.straitstimes.com/GeneralElection/News/Story/STIStory_664876.html)

The NSP candidate had committed the fallacy of false authority, because we are unclear of the credibility of the source. As a member of an opposition party, Mr Raymond Lim's words are not reliable because he is probably just trying to win over votes by attacking the PAP. Hence, Mr Raymond Lim's claims are not credible nor reliable.

Fallacy: Sentimental Appeal

In an impassioned speech at Woodlands Stadium on Tuesday night, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan choked back tears when he described how residents had been concerned about his welfare when he dropped by their homes. Many of them have become like personal friends, he said, his voice wavering. (Taken from http://www.straitstimes.com/GeneralElection/News/Story/STIStory_664390.html)

Mr Khaw had commited the fallacy of sentimental appeal, as he tried to appeal to the residents emotions by mentioning how he had become friends with the residents. He probably did this to win over votes.

Let Kids Rule the School

Kids should not be given the power to develop their own curriculum simply because they lack responsibility, experience and other factors that education professionals which run our schools possess.

Experience is a key factor in developing a curriculum and running a school. The people who run our schools would surely have years of experience in education before they are qualified to come up with a curriculum that would affect hundreds of students. The experience that these education professionals have gained throughout the years is necessary in developing a good curriculum as they would know for sure what kind of schooling methods would work and what would not, and what kind of information should be included in the syllabus and taught to the entire student population. If only teachers with years of experience are allowed to come up with a curriculum and, in effect, run a school, how could students with zero experience in teaching be allowed to run a school? Most students do not even have a strong grasp on what is being taught in school, and if so, how could they be given the autonomy to improve and further revise the syllabus when they do not know for sure what is being taught and what is useful? If students were given the right to create their own curriculum, the possible outcome would be that it would fail miserably. Even if the curriculum was workable, it would probably pale in comparison with the various syllabuses that are already in place.

Besides experience, responsibility is also mandatory in the creation of a curriculum. Setting up a curriculum would take up a lot of time, and students who already have various commitments would take ages to create a feasible one. To even attempt to create a curriculum would require a lot of responsibility from the student as he would need to have the responsibility to see the project through.

A Future Leader in Singapore

What do you look for in a future political leader in Singapore?

Firstly, a political leader should possess the quality of perseverance. He must never crumble even when the going gets tough, and he should always be serving the nation. With a political leader that makes firm decisions, the country would surely succeed. With the above qualities, the political leader would surely succeed regardless of his/her gender, race or age. If a political leader can't make firm and informed decisions in the time of crises, then the citizens would surely lose faith in the leader.

As for Tin Pei Ling, I feel that we know far too little to judge if she would succeed as a politician. The only way to know for sure is for her to become a politician.

War

My finger touched the rubble. It was wet; it was stained with blood. The blood of creatures that were the same, but yet they were different. Somehow, time seemed to have stopped. The gunshots ceased, and the people quit their shouting. All that I could hear was heavy panting. Frothy blood gathered around Nguyen’s nose and lip. An overwhelming sense of fear overcame me; I was watching a friend die, and there was nothing I could do. Sounds of muffled crying were heard. All the soldiers around me contributed to the eerie symphony. Suddenly, Nguyen’s grip on my hand loosened. Mustering all the life that is left in him, he spoke for the last time, “I feel… peaceful.” Nguyen’s head fell on the rubble with a thud. A tear fell on his lips. He was smiling.

Motives

I read this story many moons ago and it is one of the things that have stayed in my head. So here it is.

"The businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos; I have a full and busy life, señor."

The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?" To which the businessman replied, "15-20 years." "But what then, señor?" The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions, señor? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

The moral of the story? Know where you are going in life. You may already be there.

There are many interpretations of this story, but to me at least, I think the moral of the story is to be aware of what you are doing, of what you are getting yourself into, of what your motives are. In this fast paced society that we live in now, work is number 1 for a great number of people. Sometimes, we are so obsessed about getting what we want. Sometimes we are just too obsessed with useless goals, goals like getting a bigger car, getting a bigger house. Some people work at a job that they never liked, but they thought it was necessary, because they needed that car, and that house. They reasoned that it will bring happiness when they finally reach the goal. And after a whole lifetime of chasing the goals, they realized that they had missed life by being obsessed with material possessions that never contained any real value.

That is the sad predicament that befalls many of the workaholics of today. I would never want to live like that.

Can the machine ever replace the teacher?

Machine VS Teacher

The machine can surely replace the teacher if 2 conditions are satisfied. The first condition is that the purpose of an education is only to learn the things that are in the syllabus. The second condition would be that success in life is measured by how well you do in your studies. OK they kind of overlap but ah never mind.

And since these two conditions cannot be satisfied the machine can never replace the teacher.

The first condition cannot be satisfied simply because education is not about learning the things that are in the syllabus. In fact, to be honest, I had forgotten almost all of the things that we were forced to learn for PSLE. And just to add on to that point, much of the stuff that I learn't, remembered, and felt that it was important was not the things I learn't by sitting in class and doing homework. Dr Hon also talked to us once about the Future School program. There was one line that I still remember today. It was something along the lines of "Much of the things that I learn't during my school years are already outdated. If education was only about the academic grades, then we could just use the traditional chalk and talk. But it is not. It is the skill of creating new knowledge that allows you to survive in the society today. Thats why we put you in future school." Yup thats the best I could remember. Most of us are not going to use much of the knowledge passed down to us by our teachers when we join the workforce. If so, why is there a need for education? I would think the main reason is to form the basis of what we are going to learn and create later on in life. A sound education should also inculcate values in us that guide us through our lives, like perseverance, and not procrastinating, just to name a few.

And that is where a machine just cannot compare to a human teacher. It is almost impossible for a machine to make a student open up his mind to learn if the student does not want to. A machine can just stand in front of a student and spout all the facts in the world, but the student can just choose to not listen. This is where a good teacher comes in. A good teacher is also like a counselor, and its his job to teach his students knowledge that crosses the boundaries of the textbook.

Yup that is why a machine can never replace a teacher.

Where Is The Love?

Hi people! Today I am going to talk about the issues being discussed in the song "Where is the love". Its quite a nice song and here is the URL to the lyrics : http://www.metrolyrics.com/where-is-the-love-lyrics-black-eyed-peas.html

I would think the song criticizes the injustices and the lack of love that manifests in the people of today's society. In the second stanza, there are references to the Ku Klux Klan, the Bloods, and the Crips, the KKK being extremist organizations that advocate white supremacy. The Bloods and the Crips being rival gangs that have caused must terror and violence in the USA. The inclusion of these three organizations probably serves to highlight the fact that throughout history, there had been terrorism in USA, and even though the government tries to stop it, it still exists. The fact that the Ku Klux Klan is brought up is also particularly pertinent, as this shows that racism exists even in a country where most of the population is Christian. A phrase in the chorus further emphasizes the point; "would you practice what you preach, or would you turn the other cheek?" This shows that even in the society today, where the majority of the population can differentiate right from wrong, there are still lots of people who 'turn the other cheek'. Its just like how so many people know the racism is bad, and that it is hurtful, yet there are still lots of racist people in our society.

This issue is quite apparent even in Singapore. Singaporeans are apathetic. I remember reading and article once; it was about a man who killed a dog by smashing it against a wall. 10 people saw it happen. No one tried to stop it, and no one even volunteered to be a witness.

Another incident. 2 men started fighting on the bus. No one tried to stop them. In fact, when they started fighting, everyone moved themselves as far away from them. When interviewed by the news, someone said something along the lines of "Why should I try to stop them? I might get myself injured. Its better to just leave them alone."

Unless we start showing compassion and love to our fellow man like what the song is trying to tell us, the problems in society that had troubled the world for decades would still remain.

Does Good Genes Mean Good Students?

For me personally, I would think that success in life is not caused by the genes at all. Like what all our teachers have been preaching for ages, success is 1% knowledge and 99% effort. If the child has a correct mindset and he knows that in order to succeed, he has to work hard, then all the other things will come naturally. Thus, even if a child had a very high IQ, if he does not put in any effort, of course he would not succeed. I would think that very few of the people who are famous for doing something have very high IQ. However, they had something else. They probably had the perseverance and drive in them, and also a correct ' I can ' attitude. And with that, they can succeed in the things they do. Thomas Edison invented many things that worked, and how did he do that? Well, by making thousands of things that didn't work. If one had the perseverance to keep working at his goals, then he would surely succeed. This is exactly the kind of person the society today makes us become, as the amount of effort we put into our life is exactly the amount of success we would get.

This leads to another very interesting question, how do you actually measure success? Is the president of a country considered more successful than a construction worker? I'll cover this the next time :)

So long for now.

Mood Of A Photograph

Hi people! I hope you enjoyed your Chinese New Year holidays! I'm sure I enjoyed mine! Today I am going to talk about the mood and atmosphere of a photograph.

The picture above depicts a scene in a forest clearing, or perhaps at the edge of the forest. There is a blanket of fog covering the entire area, which gives the place a mysterious setting and a sleepy or even fearful mood to it. It is quite hard to see through the fog into the distance, thus there is a feeling of mystery, or even fear of the unknown, because we do not know what may appear from the fog. There is also a sleepy feeling to it because fogs usually appear early in the morning, where most people are still asleep.

Blog Prompt 31/1

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew mentioned in the book 'Hard Truths' we are not ready to have a non-Chinese Prime Minister. I do not think that is the case.

Before we start, we need to understand why Lee Kuan Yew said that in the first place. I would think that the reason behind his statement is that majority of the population is Singapore is Chinese, therefore if we would have a non-Chinese minister, there would surely be some unhappiness in the Chinese community. I do not think that that is the case.

Firstly, I think that the people in Singapore had already gone through a lot since independence, and I believe that the different races have all come to accept and understand each other, and even though there may be some racial conflict, all of us are Singaporean down in our hearts. Thus, even if there is a non-Chinese Prime Minister, I would think that the majority of Singaporeans would come to accept and embrace it.

Secondly, if we were to have a non-Chinese Prime Minister, it would be good to the image of the government. Having a non-Chinese Prime Minister would show that the Singapore Government embraces racial harmony, and this would further promote racial harmony in Singapore.

Lastly, I think that a non-Chinese Prime Minister might even be beneficial to the PAP's votes and cause the votes to increase. This is shown by the fact that President Obama won the hearts of people all around the world by being the first black president. If there would be a non-Chinese PM in Singapore for the first time, people in Singapore might even side to the PAP.

Adios for now :)

Slavery In USA

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior

Before I start, I will point out a study that I had once read.

I remember reading one study about animal behavior. The study pointed out that animals that were given treats and encouragement when they did a trick right would learn it faster and remember it longer, while animals who were scolded when they did it wrongly generally learned it much slower than those who were given encouragement, and would forget it faster. I think this is also the case with working with people, and also of working with kids.

I generally disagree with the content, although there are some points that are true. Firstly, the Chinese mothers actually just want the best for their children, even though I disapprove of the method used to get the results. The Chinese mother’s viewpoint is generally “I am giving my child the best chance to succeed in life by forcing my child to give 100% in all his studies". The Chinese mother's viewpoint is actually quite beneficial to the child's grades. I think that the child would become a straight A student, and would also excel in some of the other stuff that his parents impose on him, like piano etcetera. However, in my opinion, I think the child would become generally unhappy with his life. The child would probably dread coming home each day, because he knows that at home, he is restricted by his parents in almost every way, like what the excerpt has stated, the child would not be allowed to even watch TV, and much much more. The child might experience short bursts of happiness when he starts to get straight As, or master a piece of music, like what the excerpt stated, but other than that, he would be unhappy, a result of such a discipline method.

I think that there is a much better parenting method as opposed to this. I would think a better parenting method would be one in which there is an open communication between the parent and the child. In this parenting method, the child can tell his parents anything, and the parent can share with his child anything he wants. Through this parenting method, trust is built, and the parents can trust their child to have the integrity to do his work punctually and properly. Results are achieved through this method, and the child would turn out to be a much happier person too.

Crime Doesn't Pay

The simple message that I am conveying to the audience is that crime doesn't pay. I played with the setting to convey a message; at the start, the robber is trying to rob someone on the streets, however, in the last scene, the setting is in a jail, which shows that the robber had been arrested and sent to jail. I used a big and brawny guy as the robber character because that is the character that most people would associate with a robber. I chose a shadow at first for the cop in disguise character to show that the person is secretive and mysterious, as the face is not shown.

Blog Prompt 20/01

I think it would be better to have known, even if it means you will ultimately lose it.

I remember that another teacher once asked us a thought provoking questions : Would you rather be born blind, or to see the world for the first few years of you life and then slowly become blind? Well if all of us had a choice we would probably choose not to be blind. However, if we only have the choice of the above two options, I would probably choose to see the world first, and then become blind.

My rationale to this is pretty simple. For example; pet owners know that they are going to lose their pet someday anyway, yet many people still keep pets. But why? Well, because they know that it will bring them joy. The only time anyone is going to live in is this moment, so even if it is only going to bring joy momentarily, so be it. Almost everything on this Earth is not permanent, so if we were to choose to not have known, because we would ultimately lose it, then we would not have known many of the things that exist in this world. Thus, I think it would be better to have known, even if it means you will ultimately lose it.

Blog Prompt 19/01

I remember one incident that happened when I was Primary Three. This is the gist of what had happened

When I was in Primary Three, I met this weird guy. Everyone said that he was 'gay' and nobody wanted to have anything to do with him. The class made fun of him almost on a daily basis. I was only Primary Three that time and I didn't really ask myself 'Hey is it right to do this? What's the boy feeling?' I must admit that I had also taken part in the bullying. I didn't think about the negative side of the bullying - I thought it was funny to make fun of him. I am sort of like a go with the flow person at that time so I didn't think much about it.

Thinking back, I thought that what I had did was really wrong. If going with the so called 'in crowd' meant severely hurting someone's feelings, then I would rather have nothing to do with the popular guys.

I have realised over the years that prejudice in the classroom exists almost every year. There would always be this poor dude that bears the brunt of the bullying in class. Few people ever stand up against the the bullies. The rest of the people usually just keep their mum and treats the bullied like any other friend. I think I am part of that group.

So long for now :)

Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein

Hi people :)
A few days ago, Ms Soh, our Language Arts teacher, went through a few poems by Shel Silverstein with us. There were 2 poems that I felt were especially meaningful. I'll write about the other one in the next post. The poem I am going to be talking about today is Cloony The Clown by Shel Silverstein. Here's a link to the poem if you hadn't read it. http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/shel_silverstein/poems/14822

I found this poem very interesting because it talked about some of the harsh realities of life. The irony of this poem is that, when the clown tried very hard to make people laugh by cracking jokes and doing tricks, nobody laughed because they thought he wasn't funny enough. However, when he tried to convince people how sad it is to be an unfunny clown, everyone laughed at the clowns sadness.

This kind of reflects some of the harsh realities in life. In life, sometimes we try our best, and put our 100% effort into doing something, but somehow, we fail miserably, just like how Cloony the Clown tried his best to make people laugh, but everyone frowned despite of his hardwork.

However, at other times, we do nothing to achieve our goals and targets, but by some obscure stroke of luck, we succeed, just like how Cloony made everyone laugh without any intention to do that.

Thats all for now :)

First Post - Targets for 2011

Hi people ! So this is going to be my Language Arts Blog for now. If you don't know who I am, just look at the profile section on the right side of the blog.

A few days ago, our Language Arts teacher told us to set our targets and goals for LA in 2011. She asked a series of questions on what happened last yeaer, and we were told to answer them. These are the questions and how I answered them.

1. What went well last year?
2. What went wrong?
3. What is my target MSG for 2011?
4. How do I intend to achieve this?

1. Last year, I got an A1 for the EOY English Paper 1. However, I got a C5 for the paper 2.

2. Sometimes, I did not pay attention in class and sometimes did not finish the homework given by the teacher. Soon, my results dropped as I could not keep track of what was happening in class.

3. My target MSG is 1.5 and below. I am not aiming for CSE though.

4. I will force myself to pay attention during classes, and will always strive to hand in work on time. I will also put in more effort in my studies and will make time for revision and self study. I will also cut down on the elements that distract me from homework like Facebook by using the computer only after I do finish my homework. Lastly, through this, I will strive to improve my MSG to 1.5, because I know that Sec 2 is a really important year, and I must do well this year.

Yup, I think thats about it. Adios for now :)