The Road Not Taken.

· My first impression of this poem judging from the title:

o It is about choices and probably regrets because the title is the road not taken instead of like "The Chosen Road".

· Understandings of the poem:

o I think that the poem is trying to show how there might be 2 choices sometimes and only one can be taken. Traveller in line 3 might refer to what everyone would be when we are alive. The author wrote that one road is undergrowth, which is a thick forest, which would lead the reader to thinking that it is dark and humid. For the other road he wrote that it was fairer and better claimed. Stanza three might mean that a choice would lead to more choices and then there would be little possibility that one would go back to the first time when they made a choice. The forth stanza is the reflection of the writer after making a choice. The first line of stanza four might that the author is tired of the choice. And that he took a more unique route as it was one that was less travelled by and that has made a big difference.

· Questions in mind:

o What was he trying to say at stanza 2 lines 3-5?

o And what was he trying to say at stanza 3 lines 1-3?

o Stanza 4 line 1, why a ‘sigh’?

o Stanza 4 line 5, what difference did it make?

o Stanza 1 line 1, what were the 2 choices?

Sacrifices.

Write about a time when in wanting to make someone happy you were forced to make a sacrifice.

The sun’s rays were blinding me. I was clearing my messy room, probably as messy as Fred’s. I cleared my room because I felt that there was finally a need to do so. Mother was moving back home with my baby sister and I was excited about her stay. Clearing under the bed was difficult, it was probably the dirtiest part of the room. I flipped my bed over, and moved the wooden part of the bed, which was supporting the mattress and saw a book.

The cover of the book was rusty, with tattered edges at almost every page. It was obvious that it had not been touched for a very long time. I picked it up and dusted the cover, making the air polluted with brown patches of dust. It has a title: My memories… I sat down at my chair and thought about it… It was my primary school book, about my memories with friends. I flipped open the pages, and saw pages of me, with Fred together. Fred is my best friend… Well at least was. Fred was one of my best friends, now he is not. As I read through the pages, I thought about the story and it ended like this.

Fred and I were just playing at a local arcade which we rarely hang out at, but today was an exception, because the examinations were over. We were 11, primary 5 that time. We played from the afternoon until around the evening, which was when I got to go back home, which I did and left him alone. He said that he wanted to stay for a little longer. When I left, I looked back and saw him surrounded by bigger sized people, and I felt scared and so I fled. When I reached home, I was terrified, and did not say a thing to my parents. “What if… he was caught? Or bullied?” wild thoughts crossed my head and I shook my head wildly. I believed that nothing would happen to him, he’s a tough guy. The next day, when I saw him in school, he was rather happy and I felt that it was weird, and so I asked him: “So… What happened yesterday?” I could not remember what he said… But he replied something like: “I got a few new friends.” And I passed my lunch money to him. I did not remember or know why I passed my lunch money to him.

After finishing my thoughts of what happened, I flipped the book, to the next page, which contained of some pictures that struck my memory. I passed him my lunch money, because he said that he was dared by a group of new friends that “if he can successfully raise up to $100 dollars, they would give him a set of arcade game set.” We were too young to think maturely, we thought that society out there was so simple. I thought I could make him happy, and so I made a sacrifice. He seemed so delighted, and explained to me how special it was to own one of the sets and so, I handed him my savings: My $60 dollar savings. I wanted to save that for my game cartridge but I gave $40 dollars, which I thought was a small sum. He took it, and went off. All I could remember vaguely was: “Thank you so much! What I had received from you today, shall be returned! The game set shall be ours!” We were too naïve, or should I say, I was too naïve.

When I reached home after that incident, I called him up. He did not pick up my phone, and I called him multiple times. I felt worried, even more worried than for him than my money. The next few days, he was not present in school. He was nowhere to be found. I thought he was dead. I thought he would, be back with all the games and joy, which he would share… I was starting to regret… But I did not lose fate in him. I turned and look at the other page of the thick, old book and thought… 20 years back, Fred’s probably 32 by now, wonder how he’s doing. He said that he gave the $100 bucks to the few new friends that he met and they in return hit him on the head and fled. He was given a few days off school to recover and I felt guilty. I thought I could make him happy. I thought my sacrifice would be worth it. But it was not, it caused harm to him. Fred did not blame me, he never did. But I blamed myself for that. After a while, he migrated back to one of the western countries which he never did tell me even though we were close friends and I had never met him since. We lost contacts and everything, the only thing that was connecting us together was this book, which only I had.

Friendships are meant to be cherished, but sacrifices must be made when it should be made. Unnecessary sacrifices would not only cause loss to yourself but also to the person you sacrificed for.

My ideal school.

My ideal school would be one that makes studies interesting. Studies can be made interesting with more creativity in the school, in classes and also an element of fun in the subjects. This would help make the school make interesting and that would be my ideal school.

My ideal school would make studies more interesting with creativity. Some examples of what I feel is creative would be adding in of character development lessons. Lessons such as “Art, Music and Drama” can help make studies more interesting. Student can also express their creativity through decorating the school through creative ways, such as a “Creative Corner” to allow students to draw using erasable materials. This way, studies would be more interesting as they can learn through art, music and drama instead of just the current curriculum and thus, making studies more interesting with creativity.

Also, class can have creativity by organizing class bonding activities. Some examples of creativity in class would be through class decoration, class activities after school or during certain periods, to let the students engage in a fun learning activity together to promote bonding. Such activities happens in my class, but they are not compulsory and the organized activity are not liked by many and thus it was not really entertaining, but with teachers joining in, studies would be make more interesting.

My ideal school would also make studies more interesting by adding an element of fun in the subjects. Apart from science, which includes practical and hands on experiments, teachers can also teach students other subjects with hands on experiments too. For examples: during mathematics lesson, when the teacher is teaching Mathematics, he or she can use outside class or textbooks to show students how makes is applied or how the certain topic can be applied in certain areas, and for literature, teachers can show students or let them learn through English dramas, musicals etc. This way, studies would be more interesting and appealing for the students and thus, making studies more interesting by adding an element of fun in the subjects.

In conclusion, I feel that my ideal school would be one that makes studies more interesting through creativity in school, having fun in class and also adding an element of fun in the subjects. This would be my ideal school.

Comments for ACE

Here are the URLS for the comments for Ace:

http://2p409languageart.tumblr.com/post/9075794158/blog-post-40-ace-10#disqus_thread

http://hci20101p411.blogspot.com/2011/08/clash-of-titans.html?showComment=1313769723409#c1673904744701977081

http://hci20101p427.blogspot.com/2011/07/three-minute-speech.html?showComment=1313770018201#c7630316712202404508

http://hci20112p408.blogspot.com/2011/08/money-no-enough-movie-reflection.html?showComment=1313770405462#c7505914032927533493

IN-CLASS ONLINE LESSON #10

Why this is outrageous.. I have had enough of this anti-Semitism, we as Jews are not respected enough! They had ruined our lives, disgraced our race, and disrespected our religion. They blamed us for this practice known as the Blood libel which appeared in Arab television shows. Blood libel is a practice that we do not even know about nowadays. It is a false accusation that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays. This is absurd! We do not even have practices like this anymore! Our ancestors might have performed this practice before, but it is wrong for you to accuse the new generations anymore! Hath your ancestors not made mistake; hath a person receive a wrong accusation just because of other’s wrong? Just because of various rumours? Hath those that made those mistakes not paid their price? In almost every case, Jews were murdered, sometimes by a mob, sometimes following torture and a trial. Some of us might not mind being spit at, being referred to the devil because of our red hair, or be pushed around, but we certainly cannot tolerate the insults of our religion! Are we not the same as any other person from another religion? Are we not humans too?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel_against_Jews
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_antisemitism#Twenty-first_century

T3 Reflection

Term 3 is coming to an end and I learnt quite a lot of things throughout term 3. The blog writing had became more difficult as we were required to write about 200 words in each blog prompt. But it trained our expository skills and it made us more efficient in starting the thesis and finding the points. This term, we were introduced to something new, called the Reading and Reasoning. R&R is very different from what we had in primary school (comprehension) as it required a whole new level of skills. R&R requires deeper thinking and paper analysis instead of just copying from the passage. Thus, I find R&R difficult and challenging as I failed most of the assignments. I learnt that examples are very important in essays. Also, we read a book called the Merchant of Venice and it included prejudice against the Jews and Mercy and Justice. The book is about a Jew, who lended money to a Christian in which they made a bond in which if the Christian was unable to return by a deadline, he would need to have a pound of flesh cut of. The story is interesting and showed us how prejudiced people were against Jews at that time (early 60s). The book also showed Mercy and Justice, in which mercy seasons justice and people would rather have revenge than show mercy, as they would want justice for themselves. The example in the book was Shylock, the Jew, who refused to show mercy to Antonio, the Christian, and wanted justice, who was finally dealt with law and justice. I enjoyed T3 very much.

T2 Reflections

During term 2, I read about the book titled: To Kill A MockingBird and I feel that it is really a good book as it contained during aspects of life, which includes racism and how unfair life was. The book shows how life is like before racism was stopped and as the title suggests, to kill a mockingbird is like killing a totally innocent and good person, in which mockingbird is referred to as a person. The book showed how a lawyer named Atticus, was looked down upon and almost killed because of his actions to defend a black person, named Robinson. This showed how serious racism was at that time. The movie, "Burning Mississippi" also displayed racism, as the white people formed a party called the K.K.K and burnt down the property belonging to the blacks and killed innocent people. The black people were already living outside the vicinity of the city but the whites continuously disturbed them, thus causing in a revolution, in which people starting to pity and support the blacks. I learnt that racial harmony in Singapore is important because of riots that happened in the early independence and post world war 2 days and that Singaporeans now showed cherish racial harmony and that racism should be stopped.

Narrative: descriptive prose

The entrance is old, but grand. A giant wooden door made of rare wood and stainless steel metal. The stench was overpowering once the door was opened, with books overturned everywhere, and broken glass bottles, surrounded by chemical spills. The unsightliness of left over food from a week ago, which flies hovering around it. "Subjects" kept in metal traps, from worms to tigers. The sound of sparks made by exposed wires, the pictures of success on the wall all old and worn out. The sign over hanging from the top of the entrance to each and every single room, in which the rooms seemed to be infinite. The family picture of him and his parents. His father, in scientist suit. The sofa, unused but extremely dirty. The table, filled with maggots and cuts and holes. His walls, filled with cobwebs and cracks. The source of light, a light bulb, strong and bright, the light rays reaches out to every corner of the room. The floor, creaky and dusty, with footsteps all over it. But surprisingly, a part of the room seems to be extremely clean. The experiment corner, depicted by a sign, with blood and gore in the drain, and strange creatures that no one has every seen, in small cages made of a rough and special material.

Narcissism

In your view, what are the possible problems associated with a similar rise in self-obsession and narcissism in Singapore?

I feel that some of the problems are that teenagers would be too rebellious, people would make wrong decisions and that economy would drop due to some issues associated with the citizens with narcissism.

I feel that teenagers would be too rebellious because of the thought that they are free to do anything they like, which includes dropping out of schools, getting into fights and more. One example is in the Bt Panjang gang fight which happened in November 2010. Police have arrested six people, aged between 15 and 23 years, in connection with a gang fight at Bukit Panjang on Monday night and subsequently 19 young men between 17 and 22 years old were arrested at the Subordinate Courts on Wednesday, in which they are believed to be gang members. This case showed how narcissism can affect Singapore as although Law stated that illegal gathering and fights are against the law, teenagers still broke the law and carried out with gang fights, feeling that they can do whatever they want and that they would be able to escape anything, which is a sign of narcissism.

Also, narcissism can affected Singapore because of Singaporeans choosing the wrong decision. One example is in the recent Singapore elections, in which 2 GRCs were lost and PAP have had lesser votes as compared to the previous election in which PAP lost 6.46% of votes as compared to the last election, this would cause a great impact on Singapore as if the opposition party accidentally won, would they have what it takes to govern Singapore? The result decrease was caused by citizens, with narcissism. They thought that if they wanted to show unhappiness to PAP because of recent disputes, they could vote for the opposition because they have what "it takes to". This is a form of selfishness as they might not have thoughts of the consequences. Thus, narcissism might cause people to make the wrong decision.

Lastly, the economy would drop due to some issues associated with the citizens with narcissism. If Singaporeans were to have develop narcissism, they would be selfish and egoistic, causing a drop in tourism, because tourists might not want to visit Singapore as the citizens are not welcoming them and show excessive amount of narcissism and thus, tourism would drop, affecting Singapore's economy.

In conclusion, I feel that narcissism in Singapore would cause teenagers to be over rebellious, would also make Singaporean's make the wrong decision and would also affect the economy.

Casey Antony

Now that Casey Anthony has been acquitted, should the general public show mercy by accepting the court decision and leaving her alone?

Yes, the public should leave her alone. Since the court decision was that she is innocent, the public should show mercy by accepting the fact that it was circumstantial evidence and should not make up their mind about her being the murderer. Also, they should give her a chance to turn over new leaf.

The court decision was that she is innocent because of lack of evidence, and the evidence given was circumstantial. The public should show mercy, like in Strauss Kahn's case, when Strauss Kahn was accused of raping , the public already formed a premature opinion about him, despite him being an IMF director Dominique. These would be a great impact on people and when he was acquitted, the public forgot about the case. Thus the public should respect the court decision and Casey Antony because she was already acquitted .

The public should also not make up their mind about her being the murderer. As she might not be the murderer and the court had not made a decision. Thus the public should not make up their mind about her being the murderer.

Lastly, the public should give her a chance to turn over a new leaf, as only by forgiving can we see results. Even if she was the murderer, the public stop bothering her because she would be given a sentence and she will pay for what she did, but since she is not the murderer, she should be forgiven and given a chance to turn over a new leaf.

In conclusion, I feel that the public should forgive Casey Antony because the case was her daughter's death and they should not make up their mind about her being the murderer, they should give her a chance to turn over a new leaf and respect the court decision.

Narrative Speech

“Have you heard the news?”
“ ‘Bout what?”
“ The world coming to an end.”
“An end?”
“Yes, an end! Everyone has been talking about it.”
“How come I’m the only one in the dark?”
“No idea, but it is estimated that the world would end by tomorrow.”
“How is that possible?”
“Scientist research showed that gigantic meteorites would hit the Earth’s surface by tomorrow, travelling at the speed of 500m/sec!”
“Omigod, we’re doomed… Anyway to escape?”
“No… Maybe, I think that they were working on a private underwater home, called “Watome”, enough to supply for about a few hundred thousand people.”
“But how would it help?”
“Scientists think that if the meteorite hit the water surface, it would slow down to a speed that would not cause much damage.”
“But… Would it work?”
“Yes, maybe, if the meteorites that hit the water does not heat the water up, it might work.”
“What about the other kids? And our parents?”
“They’re finding out more news, in the center of the town.”
“What’s happening in town?”
“The mayor is making an important speech, which all adults need to attend.”
“What about the children? Don’t they need to know something about this thing?”
“The scientist kept this news so secretive to everyone, even some other governments don’t know about this?”
“We’re in deep soup…”
“But there must be something we can do…”
“Nothing, when the meteorites hit the Earth’s surface it would crack and break, subsequent hits would cause the Earth’s core to crack… And that would be the end.”
“Like how dinosaurs died… And I still doubted it.”
“There’s no time for nonsense! We gotta go to the beach.”
“Wait… Why?”
“I heard that the project of the “Watome” is just around the area of the beach, grab your snorkel, we’re going to go diving.”

IN-CLASS ONLINE LESSON #11

“Technology: Pro or Con to students?”

Good afternoon Mr. Lundberg. This afternoon, I am going to talk about a rather general topic regarding students in Singapore, whether technology has become a pro or con to the students.

As we all, in Hwa Chong, we had adopted this program known as the future school. This allows students to use the aid of the technology, to help them improve their knowledge, outside the book and certainly, there are pros and cons about technology, which includes laptops, smart phones etc. for students.

Let me share with you one statistic before starting the argument, from the Pew Research Center it is found in 2009 that 99% of boys and 94% of girls play that video games. Game playing experiences are diverse, with the most popular games falling into the racing, puzzle, sports, action and adventure categories. Other than games, there are different types of how students can use technology, one include social media, which are programs like “Facebook” or “Twitter” or the recent one “Stomp”. “This is great and would not cause any detrimental impact on my studies.” I might say as point of view as a student, but when it comes to gaming and social media, there are bound to be problems that will arise. Gaming, which mostly contains of violence when it falls into the category of action, would cause students to develop thinking that violence is acceptable. Though statistic stated that the amount of violent deaths in school dropped from 270 from 1992-3 to a quarter of that in 1999-2000, but violence could still happen with lesser or no reports made by students. Some of the violence done by students would include bullying, which is a punch in the stomach or fights happening between students. Slaps or punches might not be very serious to the students, but little did they know, that is a form of violence. One example would be in school life, but to protect the piracy of the people, I would not name them, but friendly fights do happen in class so often after school, messing up the whole class, which are signs of violence. And I repeat, serious violence. They get hurt but do not mention it to anyone, but suffer themselves. Social media would also cause a problem, because of cyber bullying. Students might make comments, accidentally or purposely to cause hurt or embarrassment to the victim. Me myself, got bullied socially before, and the hurt done to me couldn’t be described at that time, feeling lost and there is nothing much I could do. These are cons of technology to students nowadays. Academics might also be affected because of the distraction caused by the computer. Smart phones also made games, application, easily accessible, which is why technology might be a con to students.

Certainly there are pros too, but pros would definitely not help the students more than it would hurt them. With the distraction and problems done to students, they might not know how to prioritize their work between gaming and academics, thus I feel that technology, that includes computers, social media and smart phones, are more of a con than a pro to most students. Thank you.