my favourite poet

"A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." Who said this? It is none other than poet Robert Frost. I have found an interview from http://parisreview.com/media/4678_FROST.pdf with Robert Frost and I would be discussing some of the excerpts from the interview. Robert Frost said that he did not own a desk when he was young, and he still doesn't have one ! Can you imagine a poet without a proper desk to write. He says that he writes on anything, including on the sole of his shoe. Although this statement is not very significant, I think what he is trying to tell you is that an inspiration to write poems can come from anywhere, from a neat writing desk to the sole of your shoe.
In one statement, when he was asked which poet did he admire the most, he literally said "I was the enemy of the theory......that you should play sedulous ape to anybody. That did more harm to American education." He might be trying to tell us to develop our own style in writing poetry than have a "copied version" of another poet.
I think that his poems are largely influenced by his sad personal life. Since he had travelled to many different countries, he has many sources of inspirations. His poetry is usually about something not many people had realise, like this poem: A Patch Of Old Snow. Some of the poems he writes usually starts with something light-hearted, and then it goes into a deeper meaning, and ends with a pessimissic theme. There are others such as A Late Walk which has a very heartwarming end.
Robert Frost is an American poet, and was born in California. He grew up in the city and graduated from Lawrence High School and took on jobs including delivering newspapers and factory labor. He did not enjoy any and realised his true calling to be a poet. He was also a teacher in Pinkerton Academy. He credited his writing to his writing classes in high school. The places he travelled and lived throughout his life can be summarised into the poem he wrote title "New Hampshire". He has written more than 180 poems and his poems are critiqued in the "Anthology of Modern American Poetry". He passed away in January 29 1963, but his works live forever. Here is a poem which I hope you would enjoy:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Citations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost
http://parisreview.com/media/4678_FROST.pdf
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/robert_frost/poems/

My favourite poem

This is my favourite poem, which is written by Robert Frost. This is how the poem goes:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I have just learnt a few uses of figurative language, so I think I should be able to identify some of them here. The first one I can spot is personification (line 5): He make the horse think that to stop and watch the woods fill with snow is queer. Another one of personification is in line 10, where his horse asks if "there is some mistake". The last one I have spotted is in line 12 with the use of a metaphor. "Easy wind and downy flake", the author is trying to give us the image of the snowy forests where the wind is lightly blowing and sonwflakes are landing on him so smoothly as ever. For the use of personification, I think he is trying to indicate that a human thinks differently from that of an animal and we should not treat each humans as animals. This is from where he wants to find a house to sleep in and his horse wants to find a farmhouse where there is a shed so he can rest there. There is a different perspective in their ideal place of "rest" and the author is demonstrating the different needs of an animal and a human.

I like this poem because it gives me the image where I was in Germany when I was 10. The 'wind was easy' and the 'downy flake' drifting down. I like that image very much and this poem happens to remind me of the scene of a big area of casuarina trees laden with snow. The only difference was that I was in a bus and the author is travelling on his horse. I can imagine him in the situation and writing this poem, and this snowing scene; it gives me the image of the start of Christmas.

The book that impacted my mother's life

Have you ever read any books? Duh... you say. But have you read any books about Singapore politics? Erm, not too sure this time. Well, the book that impacted my mother's life was this book: Singapore: The Air-Coniditioned Nation, by Cherian George.

Does the title sound catchy enough? The book talks about the importance of unity in the nation and how we unite. Air-Conditioned, hmmm, it actually talks about how Singapore has been governed by PAP and why it is so successful in making Singapore such a peaceful country. My mother says that this book impacted her life because it reminds her the importance of racial harmony. She was not too bothered or a fan of this racial harmony thingy that was emphasised so frequently by the government. This was a long time ago. A rule was imposed that in every level of HDB flats, the residents should consist of people of all races. She only realised the importance of racial harmony after the book described the effects of the absence. Since Singapore is such a small country, we cannot afford to have riots happening in our daily lives, where there is social unrest.

Another aspect that impacted her life her thinking of the grass is always greener on the other side. She had always wanted to migrate to one of the Oceania countries. However, the book emphasised that Singapore was where we are all born in and we should pledge loyalty, where we should have a sense of belonging. It said that " All would be treated fairly with respect as a citizen and a human being". I am starting to find that too. Actually I have never thought of leaving Singapore and I would have not idea where to migrate to go.

Haha, this is the end of the post. Would you like to migrate or not? Or is racial harmony that important? Share your thoughts with me.

Hello readers, I would like to introduce you to this book VBTS and today I would be blogging about that. It is actually about a family with dysfunctional parents and how the eldest children have to take on parental roles to support the family.
I would like to talk about my favourite part about the book. I would say that this book is a fairytale story for early teens but it is also somewhat true in potraying the images of city and rural life from different points of view. I will be telling you my favourite part of the book and I hope that you would love this book too.
My favourite part of VBTS is actually when Hari goes to Bombay in search of work. It is when Bombay is seen as the majestic financial capital of India and also how it is like when you take a look at the dark alleys and the people that roam around. This is where Hari realises the experience to work and how a big city so foreign to ask is unveiled to our eyes. I feel that that is exactly how we feel everytime when we search for something new and discover the goodness and badness in it. We are blinded by the splendour when we first step in but are soon disillusioned when things start to happen. This is the same for Hari. He was looking forward to the trip to Bombay but realised the city at its ugliest. It reminds us to be cautious at all times and do not be blinded by what we see first see and thought.
I also like the part when he finally goes back to Bombay and realises and appreciates what he has in his hands. This also prevents us from coveting and learn to appreciate what we have. Apart from the fairytale side of the story like how coincidences fall in so randomly, this is book worth reading and is also certainly a brain-bender. There are many themes in the story and you could just list out all the pros and cons about this or that.
As usual, for readers of this book, please comment and also tell me which part of the story you enjoy reading the best :)

Where is the air-con remote controller? Why is the computer lagging? Where did I park my car?
Hmmm, industrialisation? Progress? How should they help us? Convenience? Luxurious living? Is it necessary?
Let us take a closer look into the topic of progress: Is it ALWAYS beneficial for the society?
VBTS (Village by the sea) says no. How can it be always beneficial when bullock carts are more useful in terms of its functionality than trucks? How can it be possible when progress will bring
more harmful effects such as excessive pollution to the environment when it can be avoided?
Well, I feel that while progress will definitely bring us convenience, it also makes us feel more disabled. Needs are created. We suddenly feel we are in need of something we don't. Moreover, it makes us spend money.
Progress is the developmental activity in science, technology, etc., esp. with reference to the commercial opportunities created thereby or to the promotion of the material well-being of the public through the goods, techniques, or facilities are created, according to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/progress.
Where progress is necessary at times, I feel that it may not be needed and it could lead to the rise in unemployment where the people living in the countryside are unable to adapt to city life. Their way of life will be changed dramatically and this would not be good news. How can a fisherman suddenly be able to work machines? Or how can a farmer suddenly be able to drive trucks? I am trying to say here that while we have progressed for a long while, let us not be so carried away and let the people at the countryside, who have provided us food for all the years, continue working in their slow-paced, casual life.
Thank you for reading this post and feel free to comment, especially if you have some disagreements or something which I have missed out.

my most hated character in VBTS is...

Biju? Hari's father? Billu? Which one? I shan't tell you, but continue reading on and find out!



Okay, firstly let's analyse Biju's character. At first glance you would say that he is the proudest man on the surface of this earth and deserved to be hated to the core. His ill-treatment to his workers cause us to feel for the workers and make our hate swell towards him. He boasts about his boat, has the most amount of bullock carts and even has a television set which doesn't work. How odd! He has a serious ego problem. BUT if you look more closely.... what is the yelling all about to the guard? He was protecting the village! He had an ego problem nonetheless, but he managed to use his egoism to make the villagers have a sense of belonging and they could depend on themselves and not others.



Hmm, now its time for Hari's father. He drinks toddy all day long, beats his wife and children, caused the death of the family dog, sold the family boat and made his eldest children carry the burden of sustaining a family. Obviously they cannot do a good job, who can if you are just in your so young and immature? He "recovers" nearing the end of the story but I think that the family has suffered a lot already. Perhaps if I were Anita Desai, I would complete it with the father doing something good for the family like getting a job or something of that sort.



Lastly, lets take a look at Billu. He looks really kind at first sight, tossing Hari a coconut to drink to quench his thirst. Really a nice guy right? Good man at heart right? Wrong, wrong and wrong again. Teaching Hari to disobey his parents, tell him to be a loner and that there is no help in the world. The world is full of rich people who doesn't help the poor and he was one of those who was helpless. This is really morally wrong and I hope all of you would not heed his advice even if you felt that your situation was worse than Hari.



Alright, that brings me to the end of character analysis, its time to name the man. Who would it be? None other than Hari's father. Surprising? Not really. Let us take a look at Biju. He did not affect Hari much. Just some demoralising. What about Billu? Hari would not have met him if his father was responsible! Thats why I made Billu seem as if he was such a terrible man. It was all Hari's father's fault. Get it now? Even if he made some"amendments" I think it would be too late. That is also why I wrote that if I were the author, I would write something nicer about Hari's father to absolve himself from the blame. Alright, quite a long post, it would be yours truly signing off......

Country rat? City rat? Which would you rather be? Let's weigh the plusses and minusses of being a country rat and city rat:

Starting with the country rat, we would realise that our resources are widely available as long as you are financially inclined. Modernisation is a 100% yes in the city and there would be continuous developement to make life more convenient. Higher literacy level and all of that sort.Sounds great? Then what about these: The cost of living is high, the living standards are high, crime rates are high...... there you have all of these. People have much knowledge in managing but what is knowledge? City=More jobs? That is quite right but you would realise that people are more densely populated and competition for resources are high, thus city also= more people! Now think about it: If you have a low literacy level, poor financial state, then you would be more of a beggar roaming the streets than a person leaving in a mansion with many servants and the latest gadgets and a large plot of land and a big business to run...... How would it be?

Next with the country rat, let us weigh it out, starting with the positive: Slow-paced lifestyle, easy to cope. Resort to farming and fishing as your way of life and financially stable. You work for yourself, you are the boss. You control your income. No external interferences. Absolutely fantastic. Wait. Are you sure it is fantastic? Traditional way of life, always useful? Medical clinics easily available? Check. Learning centres easily accessible? Check. Slow-paced=less stressful, Can we contribute significantly to the society? How is it possible then? Purpose of life is to fish and farm. So is slow-paced lifestye=fulfilled life?

To summarise, you can only cope in the city if you have a stable and high-paid job. You can survive in the country in any conditions. So would you like to know if I would rather be a city rat or a country rat? Honestly, I would like to be a city rat. This is because I am not that sort of a slow-paced person. I like competition. It is by human nature. I would like to compete my way in the city. I would not always win, I would have fought hard enough. That is certainly what I want. But for the country rat, I would just like to go to the countryside for holidays or something of that sort but certainly not to live there. Its just a direct opposite.
So care for any comments? Share your views!

Hello all, this is the Monday Interview! Today, our grand interviewee will be.... my father! Ok, just a brief introduction. This interview is to understand the reading habbits of my father and you would be interested in how he answers his question. Off we go then!

What is the title of the book that you are reading? Why are you reading it?
Glycerine. I am reading it for scientific purposes and for my researches in the laboratory. I do a lot of lab work, so this book will come in handy, especially if I am doing a project about it.

What are the criterion that you use to select a book title?
It must be topics of my interests and I would like to read books which are in the form of movie trailers. One of such is The Da Vinci Code. Other criterion that I choose is that the book must work-related.

Do you think it more important to read for leisure than for work?
Yes, because I think that reading is more of a form of leisure and even though I read books that are related to work, I find it rather relaxing as work is also a form of leisure for me.

How does reading benefit you? (for relaxation? for learning new knowledge? gaining literature insights?)
It is more for relaxation and to expand my vocabulary. It is also for my leisure activities.

Which book has the greatest impact on you? Why?
Animal Farm by George Orwell. It reminds me as a parent especially to be fair and transparent always or my children (my siblings and I ) will be mad at me!

Can you recommend some books you have read in your childhood that you think is suitable for us to read?
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Another one is Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

If your shelf caught fire, which book would you take?
Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I usually read this book to sleep and the thought-provoking mysteries prevent my mind from overworking.

Overall, I think that my father reads quite a fair bit but if may seem that he is quite a workaholic. The fact that he reads most of his books related to work makes me feel that way. Alright, the interview has ended. Hope you enjoyed it and I will try to have an interview weekly until the end of the holidays.

Phew, the weekend is almost over! The week is starting all over again! You may find it weird, but I just love a new week and a new day. The holidays are approaching, but I am sure it will be hectic. The weekend was rather eventful, but I would just like to share with you one of the main events that happened and I think that it should be rather predictable if you went with some people in the class on Saturday. It was the Spastic Children's Association of Singapore (SCAS) 47th annual Sports Meet held at Meridian JC. I would just give a brief introduction on the event. There were 17 events altogether, consisting of rollators/kaywalkers* competition, dash races and staff races. There were actually spastic adults too. I was allocated in the yellow house and the boy whom I was handling was exceptionally hyperactive. He would run everywhere with so much zest that I had trouble handling him. I felt relieved that he managed to put his hyperactiveness to good use when he competed in 3 events. I would like to point out this boy as he had trouble with his hand movements and could not fully control it. There was one thing about this boy which I took notice of: his eyes were quite big and although he did not speak English, he could somehow understand what I was saying. The event I would like to highlight is the one which was the 50m dash race. This boy was very enthusiastic and raced me to the start line. When the umpire rang the horn, off he went like a wind. You would not expect him to go as fast as Usain Bolt, but I can tell you that that legs of his was as strong as anyone's. Even without much hand movement, he pushed on in the race and managed to come in second, before collapsing on the track. The smile on his face was exceptional. I had seen many people smile before, but I knew that this boy had the widest grin I had ever seen. It was a heartwarming sight. Even after the whole race, he ran some 20m more before I caught up with him. I think he wanted support from people who came, and I was glad I could provide it. Congratulating him, he completely ignored me. He wanted to continue running, until his adrenaline rush finally died down. Until now, I felt this event was one of the best I have ever seen. His sheer effort and enthusiasm taught me to put in the best effort that I could in everything, and continue to go the extra mile. This boy who was "supposed" to be handicapped, proved to be that there was no such handicappness if you put in the best that you could.

*rollators/kaywalkers are rolling walkers which help to ease movement.

A Long Road

Don't we all love walking never ending roads. I went to the dentist today and I chose to walk back instead of taking any forms of transport. I think it must have been at least 1.6km. This time, the path I chose to walk was just under an MRT line. The road must have been really long. Eager to reach home, I walked briskly until I started to pant. It must be like taking part in a walkathon. It must be a long road ahead. Whether I walked slowly or quickly, I would still reach my destination. I felt that I was being the one who would walk so quickly that I would not even notice my surroundings. It would take you to your destination very quickly, but you would have not enjoyed the surroundings around you. I started to slow down my pace, and take a break from walking. It was then I realised all the things I had missed. There was full of greenery and I noticed many creatures that lived there. Initially, all around me were just green stuff which are so common to me. Now, as I look more carefully, more vividly, I discovered a few squirrels on the tree. Not one. A few. As I drew out my camera phone to snap a picture, they scrambled down to the undergrowth and disappeared out of sight. Although I could not get a picture, it was better than not having to see them at all. Now, I feel that I should really take the time in June holidays to observe more carefully to the creatures that so frequently roam the earth but me having failed to realise their presence.

WOOOTSSSS! I won the triple jump event today! Can't believe I won because I was not the "favourite" to win. I am currently aiming for double field champion award but I think I have to work hard for it. Actually, I did not really jump very far. It was just 10.69m. However, this event has thought me a lesson. It is that you should not underestimate yourself as I did not even know that I could jump over 9m. This is quite an achievement and I hope I can do better in the future :) Now, it is all time for high jump, my next mission. Nothing much to blog about, I would just have to take the time off now. However, thanks for the support that 1O2 gave and I think that we would be able to win more for our class.

Hello everyone there, I would like to express my own reflections on something that just happen two days ago. I was just rushing back home from the dentist and the distance I had to walk from the dentist to my home was like a million miles to me. Then I saw this woman who had a young child and was pushing him in a pram. Then, she said in Mandarin to her son, "Look, there is a sparrow on the tree!" Mind you, the sparrow was nothing special. It was just ordinary. Right after she said that, I immediately turned my head to look at the sparrow. On the way back, I realised something odd. I, after 13 years living on this earth, am still turning my head to look at something I have seen for probably more than a 100 times. Then, so fascinated as ever, the young boy stared at it entranced, with his head not moving an inch. I started to wonder: After 13 years of my life, how many times have I looked back at the past years to enjoy what I had seen and experience. So, I am just trying to get that amidst all your homework, all the pressure from the working world, let us take time to relax and look back at what we had all enjoyed when we were younger.

Hey, today is the last day of the school holidays! Term one is gone, term two has come! Time for loads of change and resolutions (although it was meant for the start of the year) For now, I shall be uploading photos of my term one experience in Hwa Chong and these photos I took throughout the whole of term one! Hope you enjoy it!
















This is a morning sunrise
and I took this picture
before flag raising.













There was meant to be a
squirrel on the rock. Can you
spot it?













A squirrel on the railings. It
was moving rather swiftly.

(Left):This picture was taken on the second floor of the library. It overlooks Bukit Timah Hill (background) and the classrooms of Hwa Chong.

(Left) This is one of the pictures taken for the AAP assignment. Can you guess what it is about?

(Down) A close-up shot taken for my Geography project.

The morning sunrise at the Terraces.

(These pictures were taken by my 3.2 megapixel handphone camera.)

Hello all. First post in the March Holidays. Sadly, the holidays are ending but I am excited for school! I shall do a quick review for the March Holidays:

1. I went to St Andrew's Cathedral Home For the Aged to visit the elderly there.
2. I went for training.
3. I injured myself during training.
4. I learnt how to play mahjong.
5. I have new spike shoes!

Alright, top 5 highlights of the week! Anyway, I went to the home to do CIP. It was quite interesting and the elderly seem to be quite happy there. Actually, I learnt how to play mahjong from them. That was only after cleaning the windows and helping the staff out. Rather a memorable visit. Next, I bought new spike shoes! Thats the most exciting part actually. The spike shoe is red and the brand is nike. I had to adjust to the new spikes and it worked out perfectly. However, when it was time to do frog jumps, I injured myself! Couldn't go for training the next day (today). The March holidays is quite interesting and I am waiting for the June holidays! (obviously) Anyway, I have been reading some encyclclopedia (correct my spelling if I am wrong) as recommended by Vincent. Rather fantastic learning something out of the classroom, but some of the facts are too difficult to understand. (sadly) Currently, I am out of books to read so please recommend some. It can be of any genre so feel free to comment.
Thanks and I think I have to conclude now. Bye and come by regularly!

Reading Habits

Hello everyone, I am in the computer lab and blogging once again. Well, today I am supposed to post about my reading habits. I think that I am supposed to tell truthfully. Alright, I think that I have only read 5-7 books this year. I hope that I can read more books. However, I do not know what to read. I usually just take up a book which I find interesting and start working on it. I remember reading a lot in the beginning of the year but somehow I just stopped reading suddenly. I promise to start reading again hopefully in the March holidays. I have already read all the literature books I am supposed to read and I think my favourite is The Valley by the Sea. I have also read Animal Farm and To Kill a Mockingbird and I think I like the latter most. It is highly recommended and I think all of you should read it too.

Now, I am supposed to go to weread.com to open an account. Now, I think I should read at least half an hour a day so that my English Language can improve. All I can say, I should be going to the website now!

Helloooooo, this should be a long, dreary welcome to the new but happening blog. Not really actually. I haven't blogged for a long time and doubt if I would ever blog for the next two weeks. Tests. Training. Stress. All these happening so quickly. Within a flash, it has already been 1/12 of a year gone by. Soon, it would be 1/6. Then 1/4. Then 1/3. Then 1/2. Enough of counting. You get what I am trying to say. The year is passing too fast. Way too fast. Its term test already. I hope that I would get enough of year 2009. Anyway, enough of talking. This would be a rather outdated post but I think the least I should do is to blog about it.
Was the taximan a good father?
This is in reference of the Taximan story (from the book which you should know). Initially, I thought that the taximan was a good father. But after analysing it carefully with the help of my teacher, I managed to sieve out the important imformation from the story. The taximan was not a really good father after all. "What it lies in the power to do, lies in out power not to do. "------Aristotle. I feel that the father was not showing a good example and how could he even have an ideal daughter? He should reflect on himself first before checking on the rest. Pot call the kettel black. HAHA. I think I have exceeded the word limit. Goodbye and have to mug for Geography.

"GOOD EVENING EVERYONE....." This was what I practised today. I got a headset-cum-microphone today! The first thing I did was to open the package and check it out. Surely it was going to work. I had half written my script for the voice recording ( I wrote the part one only ) and I was just testing the quality of the sound. It was perfect. I had fun using a monotonous voice reading and a cheery one too. I had a whale of a time figuring out all the functions of it, just like how a baby would fiddle with something new. I hope I would be ready by Wednesday and it would be perfect by then.

Alright, I have briefly talked about school work today. I promised to share jokes ( some of which are corny ) and some true life story I adapted from the newspaper, The Straits Times. I really enjoy the last few pages of the main paper and I think that you should read it too.

JOKES:

1. What can be served but cannot be eaten?
Tennis balls

2. Who was the first person to wear the eggshell?
Humpty Dumpty

3. What do you get when some grizzlies get stuck in a pool of slime?
Gummy bears

4. What happens when two frogs get married?
They live hoppily ever after.

5. Why could screams be heard from the kitchen?
The chef was beating the eggs

6. Why did the man walk stealthily across the dispensary?
He did not want to wake up the sleeping pills.

These are all I have found out so far. Actually, I read all these from a variety of joke books. I love jokes and it is one of my ways of relaxing, whether corny or not. Thats all I have for today, so GOODNIGHT EVERYONE!

SUP ALLLLLL!!!!!!!! I am just feeling really happy because it is Friday today! I am not sure if I can use a smiley but I am just really happy today. Well, I just want to wish all a happy Chinese New Year! So, what are you waiting for? Time for goal settings (which would be realistic) and time for tests as well. Back to square one again after PSLE. Just to take my mind off tests, I would like to discuss some current affairs which is happening to us now. And, I would also take some slices of life which I came across or encountered myself.

All of you have read about the new education system right, I hope. I realise that primary 1 and 2 pupils do not need to sit for any examinations anymore! I am really glad for them because I remembered that when I sat for my examinations in primary 1, I really did not know what to do. This change in the education system also highlight the effort of the ministry of education (MOE) to reduce stress from pupils. This comes back to the topic of the complaint letter I did today. How can the education system be altered so that it will be beneficial for the student? Maybe we cannot entirely take away all examinations but I hope that the examination period will be spread over the school year. Enough of talking, I would like to share my slice of life........ in the next post!

So keep up with my blog, and I hope that you will find it interesting. Good night everyone!

Oh no, tomorrow need to go to school. Sad. Anyway, I think I should post this because everyone has already posted.

"Who killed Adeline?" (This question is based on the book Little Ironies and one of the short stories Adeline Ng Ai Choo)

The reason why I haven't posted my thoughts on this question is because I do not really have an answer right now. It is a really brain bending question because it don't really seem as if there is even a standard answer. I would have thought that Adeline had killed herself but I think that there are many 'murderers' behind her death. Let's put it this way: Adeline killed herself but the reasons she killed herself was because of the pressure given from her father and her teacher not giving her another mark to pass her examinations. At least this is what I think. I do not really think she had any reason to kill herself anyway because she was studying for her own future and she was only trying to pass the grade for the sake of her future instead of the sake of her father's face.

That is all I can think of for this question. I really do not have any exact answer and your thoughts can come from different point of views. Hope you will read this story and post your comments!

"Wad do u think of tis prob?" This was one of the messages I received quite a few weeks ago. I was browsing through the messages of my handphone and this message happened to catch my eye. Suddenly, a question popped up in my mind:

"Does the use of text message language affect the English standard of Singapore?"

I think that it is quite natural of us to use slang in our speech. I am no different. It is already in our blood to speak "Singlish". I think that the use of "Singlish" or slang will only affect us if we do not have know how to spead Standard English. We may get influenced by our speech that sometimes we do not even know that we are not speaking Standard English. The use of "Singlish" becomes our Standard English and we feel weird using Standard English. Thus, we might somehow get affected if we do not practise speaking Standard English. I can assure you that if it wasn't for my English lessons, I would not even know the difference between "is" or "are". This is evident that using "Singlish" is will most likely affect our way of speech.

Although I would not really go all out to ban the use of "Singlish", I also do not think that we should promote it. I would like all of us to try to use more Standard English and the use of standard of English in Singapore would be greatly improved.

Once again, a grand hello to all reading this post. Today was not too bad. Just had some really interesting Chinese New Year celebration. Yeah, had to admit it was above expectations because they had stuff like Don't Forget the Lyrics Chinese New Year Version. I thought it was quite a well planned performance thought I would have preferred it to be in the auditorium. Now, I would like to talk about what the topic of the day (actually it was yesterdays').

"What is the duty of a teacher?"

These few days, I have been talking about education related topics. This is because I have been studying this short story adapted from Adeline Ng Ai Choo, taken from Catherine Lim's book Litte Ironies. You can read more about the book.
I think that a teacher's job is not only to teach. The teacher should come and counsel the student and find out more about his or her problems. Should the student be unwilling to talk, then a professional counseller should be called in. If the teacher is not concerned about the students, then where is the value 'care' in the teacher? Can we study in a school where the value 'care' is not present? What should we do then, when we have problems to tell a teacher, and the teacher does not care? We always say school is our second home, thus I feel it is also the teacher's job to help students not only in terms of studies, but also the students's well being.

These are my reflections. I am interested to know what your views are on this topic. So, comment!

Home, finally! Changed my braces colour to pink and yellow. Anyway, today we had language arts, my new favourite subject! The topic for the day:

"What do you think we can do to improve our education system?"

I think that Singapore's education is quite whole and well already, and I do not really have much to comment about it. However, I still have some suggestions to improve our education system.
Firstly, I believe that since we are living in a rather competitive society, the duty of students is to study, study and study even more. I think that it is certainly very natural for students to be overwhelmed with school work and added pressures to strive from their parents. I hope that students will not be too stressed out by their work and sometimes have some fun instead. Firstly, I think that we should introduce more outdoor activities for them. This will help the students to destress. Secondly, I would like schools to have more facilities so that students can learn in a more conducive environment. I also think that learning should not always be in the classroom and we should have students to go out to discover more about what they are learning.
This will help the students be more interested in their studies and learning should be more creative. This will enhance the quality of our education and enjoy learning.

Any disagreements? Share your thoughts!

What is education?

Hello, this another issue which was posted in class today.

"What is education?" Have you ever thought of this question?

Well, what do you think of education. Does being educated need you to be thought by a teacher? Must you be in school, or must you graduate to be known as educated? Let me share with you might thoughts on this matter.

In thesaurus.reference.com, the defination of education is instruction, developement of knowledge. But the synonyms also stated that education is also to a certain extent brainwashing. Therefore, I think that education can be on anything, whether good or bad. So, I think that education is expanding your knowledge about certain things and it does not need to be taught by a teacher. You do not need to graduate to have education either. Having said this, I feel that education can be on anything, anywhere, anyhow. The term "education" is very general. That is why education is not limited in the classroom or teacher rambling on about geography, mathematic, science and so on. It can be on your general knowledge. I also feel that since education is on anything, we should not view "education" as "study". Having education means that you have more knowledge on certain things.

This are my thoughts for the topic. What are your views then?

Hello, this was the discussion posted yesterday. Economy will always have the upperhand over environmental conservation. I was suppose to be against the motion and I think all of you have heard enough so I am moving on to the second question posted by the chairman, which is what I am elaborating on now.

"Can economic growth and environmental conservation co-exist?"

Well, i think that they are able to co-exist. It suddenly hit upon me when we were attending geography class. This was what the geography teacher was explaining: There was a resort located near the coast of the Indian Ocean and to prevent the strong waves from hitting against the resort, t-groynes were placed. However, they did not cover the whole coast as they wanted to protect the marine creatures there, which could be seen very easily when standing near the coast, and the marine creatures were the main attraction for tourists.

Through this example, I believe that the environment is conserved (the marine creatures were not entirely destroyed) and economic growth was certain (tourists who wanted to see the marine creatures). From this example, I am quite certain that economice growth and environmental conservation can co-exist.
Well, this is just my thought. What about yours? Do you agree? Post your comments!

MYNEWBLOG

Hey everyone, I have just created a blog! Had a disccussion today. about economy. Should economy have the upperhand over environmental conservation? Think about it. Well, I am not going to elaborate anymore. But don't worry, I will have a real post soon and this blog will come alive :D