Term 2 Week 6 (Weekend Assignment)

Justice and Mercy

Can Justice and Mercy co-exist? I believe that they truely can, let me explain why.

Firstly, Justice is being morally right all the time. Justice is given to each and everyone equally regardless of race, language, religion or skin colour.

Then, Mercy means the compassion of a person being shown to a usually weaker person, forgiving all the wrongdoings he had done to you and burying the hatchet.

Many people misunderstand that in order to have Justice, one must do the right thing at all the time. You can do Justice by punishing an offender, but you can also show him mercy by letting him go or reducing the punishment.

Through mercy, you are actually helping yourself.

Term 2 Week 5 (Weekend Assignment)

Term 3 Week 5 (Blogging Assignment)

You are required to respond to one of the questions in the Anti-Semitism handout. The question is as follows:

What do you think is Shakespeare's intention of creating Shylock in The Merchant of Venice? Support your opinion with examples.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think Shakespear's intention of creating Shylock in The Merchant Of Vernice is to show the theme "anti-semitism". Anti-semitism refers to the discrimination against the Jews. Thus in the Merchant of Venice, it show how Christians treat the Jews, and by putting Shylock in, we have a first person view of how Jews would feel as Shylock is one of the main characters.

Example:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.

Explanation:
This is a speech made by Shylock in Act 3 Scene 1. What Shylock is trying to say is that Jews and Christians are alike. They are both normal human beings with hands, organs etc. However, a Christian treats Jew with discrimination. When a Christian wrongs a Jew, why should he follow the Christian way of punishment.

Term 3 Week 4 (Blogging Assignment)

Read the following Newsweek article, How to Raise a Global Kid, byLisa Miller (July 18, 2011)

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/07/17/american-kids-immersed-in-chinese-asian-education.print.html

What is the main argument Jim Rogers is trying to make in this article? Do you agree with his argument? Justify.

---

Firstly, I feel that this world is gradually evolving, when one wants to be able to survive in this society, one must gain it by proving stronger than others; also, I think that children should be bilingual as this promotes cooperation with not just nationally but internationally. Nowadays, America is not the best of everything anymore, countries in the eastern regions are catching up. For example, people in China or even India have many business opportunities and their wealth is increasing rapidly. In order to be adequately prepared for the globalized world we are in, the children of the 21st Century must start to be exposed to foreign people, foreign languages, and foreign lands. Firstly, I must let you know that America is no longer the big boss of everything. They are in debts and are trying really hard just to survive. Thus, although English is the universal language, one should learn more just in case one day America falls. If the adults of the future wants to have an advantage in the society, they better start working on finding out about different cultures and languages. They might lose their working opportunity by just saying the wrong thing.

I agree to a certain extent what Jim Rogers said. Nowadays, China is like the king of goods in almost every country. When you go shopping, there would be at least one good which has a 'Made in China' tag. As you can see, the goods made in china are popular mainly because it is cheaper. However, this may not be true as recently, China has created many 'fake' goods for example the baby powder. The input of dangerous ingredients just to make the baby powder taste better has given many babies throughout the world food poisoning. This case has made many lose the trust of China and now China goods are being known as 'Cheap Goods'. The sales rate will obviously drop but it is still very high. When one wants to go far, he must work together with people of all kinds. In this case, many countries has industrialized and language is definitely a barrier between them. Thus, it is definitely better to know an extra language to break this barrier. However, language is not that easy to learn. I take myself as a personal example. I have learnt Chinese and English since young and I am able to practise both while communicating. In fact, I am using English skills to write this blog post! I have tried learning a 3rd language several times, for example Thai and Japanese. However I failed to do so as none of my family members speak either languages. I may know the simple nouns but is it really enough?. We cannot forsee the economic growth of the East in comparison with the West. Even if Asian powers are not evident in the future, having an extra language in your communication arsenal is definitely an added advantage.It is better to have it safe than to have it as a regret. Thus when the future generations are born, start exposing them to foreign cultures as it may help them in the future society. Schools nowadays are promoting good racial relations and I think that it will help a lot in my future life.

Term 3 Week 3 (Blogging Assignment)

Read the following letter:

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/

(1) Comment on the Janalle Lee's view on the education system in Singapore.

(2) Is an ideal education possible? Explain.

Post your 500 word response on your blog.

1) After reading the letter, I have a better view of the current education system in Singapore. I did not know anything about the education system at first and know I know much more. I am also very impressed about her analysis of the education and how she presents her view to the public. From her letter, I can tell that she focuses a lot about how education should be like and her personal opinions. She is a secondary 4 and by speaking for everyone it’s a very brave thing to do.

I feel that our education is constricted within the textbook, nowadays, schools are encouraging lessons outside the classroom but that is actually just wasting time and learning less. Our tests are set according to the textbook and if we do not learn through the textbook, we would maybe fail. I remember the last time my Science teacher brought us out on a field trip, it ended up a as a disaster. Everyone was so uncooperative and noisy that we could not learn anything much. In the end, I am sure that we all feel that we had wasted our time and learnt nothing. I agree that we have lost the ability to ask “why?” as we students think that all teachers are correct and we should not question them about their answers. Teachers can also be quite complacent and only accept his or her answers and expect their students to follow them thus I agree that we have lost the ability to ask “why?”

I find that she is a very good thinker as she analysed the pros and cons of Singapore education. However, she should compare Singapore education system to other countries' education systems. I believed that Singapore is one of the top 5 in the world. Therefore I believe that Singapore’s education is very good. I believe that education should be fun and fulfilling to ones’ curiosity and his longing to learn.

It is quite true to say that schools are feeding us with facts so that we can do well in academically. I believe that there is a better way to make us learn rather than learning it the hard way. School should provide better education tools to let students have a better way to learn. Since technology has become so advanced we should make use of it to learn. There are so much resources online for us to read but school are quite discouraged to let us use it as there are also many distractions online but if there are rules implemented such distractions can be taken away.

2) I believe an ideal education is possible. An ideal education is achievable but a perfect one is not. Although Singapore has already reached a good level of education but it is still not perfect. We still have flaws in our study plans. If we were to have a perfect level of education, all the students in Singapore would be graduates and this society would be destroyed. The society would be unbalanced. A society needs a cleaner, construction builder etc. Not everyone should be smart. There should be some labour workers. Like a Chinese saying, “Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain”. If everyone in Singapore was made to be a leader, everyone would try to boss everyone around and arguments would occur and there would be disaster. Thus, I believe that a perfect education is not a good one but an ideal one is better.

Term 3 Week 2 (Weekend Assignment)

An article entitled 'The Religion of Water' was published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2011. In the article, it was mentioned that ' within countries, there is debate over whether water should be treated as a human right or as a commodity, access to which is determined by the market.' Please read the article.

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity? In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

Air, food and water. These are the 3 necessary ingredients that all living things need, without them, life cannot be sustained. A human being can survive for a week without food, 3~4 days without water and about a minute without air. As you can see, water is quite important in a man's life. Over 70% of the earth is covered by water and only 3% is drinkable water. That is less about 0.04% of the matter on earth that is drinkable. Yet we have over 9 billion people to feed, not to mention about plants and animals. This limited amount should be distributed out evenly so that the countries can sustain themselves, but this is hardly the case. Water is treated as a business and those who have the resources and money will get more water, and those without those resources are left with nothing, thus leading to water-shortages. As I said earlier, water is needed for all living things, without water, agriculture cannot survive and without it, food will run out quickly. Since water is so vital for human survival, shouldn’t every person get what they need? Water as a human right means that water can be distributed to anybody who requires it, regardless of wealth, social status and power. Unlike commodities like soft drinks that we consume for pleasure, water is the fuel that keeps us alive.

This is an issue that is worth debating. Water should be given to everyone fairly, but does those that worked hard for it be willing to give water? If you did not do anything to deserve this water, why should it be given fairly to you? Thus I feel that using water as a business is alright.

Term 3 Week 1 (Weekend Assignment)

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

Maids who come to Singapore is for earning money and although their pay is not very high, their living accommodation and food is being accounted for by their "boss". They are trying to earn money to send back to their homes where it is not that rich and developed. Maids with family who are trying to earn as much money as possible and if they already have the money and resources back in their home town, I believe that they would not want a job as a domestic helper as it is a very tough job and they might get separated from their families. Maids are either paid by days or hours, they are trying to earn as much as possible so as to be able to support their family and when you give days off, you are limiting to the amount of money they can earn. Personally, my maid cooks most of my meals, does the laundry, and cleans the house. Because she has done so much, I think that she deserves the day off. So that's a point for both sides... Hence, this is a very debatable subject. On one side are those maids who earned their day off, and the other side is the maids who do a slipshod job and take the day off. I believe that anyone would agree with me that the maid that had done a bad job should never be given a day off and that he/she should even be fired. Once you get a job, you do it well or you do not do it. I feel that the choice of day-off's should be given according to the "bosses". If their "bosses" think that they deserve a day off, they can give the maid one day off. If the "bosses" are cruel, then it is too bad for the maid or he could even go on to sue her "boss".

Term 2 Week 5 (Weekend Assignment)

Write a short essay of about 300 words on the following question:

'Students should be given more freedom in deciding school rules.' What are your views?

Post your essay on your blog. This will be a good practice for your common test. Think about what I've taught you about writing a good essay.

School rules are what keeps you in school. Without rules, there will be no learning and without learning, there will not be any use in schools. In school, we are faced with challenges made easy that we are going to face in the outside world. Discipline or Detention, choose your path. Rules are made for the sake of the students, but the maturity of the students will determine the rules. Thus, I feel that rules can be implemented by the students after pre-university levels.

Firstly, school rules are here to protect the student and to prepare them for the outside world. From this statement, you can tell how important the school rule is. Without it, there will be chaos within the school and there will not be peace or any form of discipline. Students from primary or secondary schools will most likely not have the maturity to even know what the school rule is for. This goes especially for secondary schools as students are now in their adolescent years. They will be rebellious and they would hate the school rules. However, students after secondary levels should have the maturity as they are already over 17 years old. Once they know that the school rules are set for themselves, they would implement the rules carefully not for their own selfish reasons but for all the students' sake.

Secondly, when there are rules, there will be punishments for 'law-breakers'. Punishments will be necessary because when the students break rules, they feel that "Hey, I've broken the school rules... So what?". They will move on even serious breaking of rules. I feel that this part of the school rule must not be implemented by students even in universities. It is because which student would want to have themselves caned or expelled out of school? They will most likely make the punishment lenient and thus resulting in further rule-breaking.

Thirdly, students will gain leadership from this practice. When you set a school rule, you must follow it no matter what happens. If your best friend gets into trouble, he will still be punished. You will be hated for the rule-implementation, but you still have to do it. This helps the students to make decisions based on general situations. They do not rely on relations to help them pass through the grasp of law. When making decisions, it is always a hard thing to choose between friends and your duty. With this, the students can learn from this and be better at making decisions without hesitations. Of course you must treasure relations, but its your choice. Sacrifice one or a hundred.

In a nutshell, I conclude that students can be given more freedom to implement the school rules, but only after pre-university levels. However, the punishments must still be set by the teachers as students will tend to be afraid.

Term 2 Week 4 (Weekend Assignment)

You have read about the nuclear crisis in Japan; you have also probably read about the nuclear crisis that happened in Chernobyl in 1985.

Does nuclear energy still have a part to play in the world?

Write a response of about 250 words in length. Post it on your blog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personally, I feel that the crisis in Japan was really unfortunate. thousands of lives were lost and mutated. This is a really sad story that is going to be on the book of the history of Japan.

The creation of nuclear energy puts many lives at stake, it is like a C4 bomb, waiting to explode at the right time to cause the maximum damage. When it really explodes, not just humans, many animals will be mutated and radioactive and when our markets start to sell those fishes, a lot of people in the world will have the radioactive materials inside their stomach and this will cause a lot more mutation. It is like a virus, spreading to all our healthy body cells.

Let me ask, is there a shortage of energy around the world? I do not think so. Then why should we risk our life just to have another power source? We want the power plants and not need it, we think that the power plants will be a good power generator, but have you ever thought of the consequences? Countries like Singapore have a small land area, 1 nuclear blast and the whole country will be affected and the country will have to be in isolation.

Before you make a concluding statement, let us think again. How often does this happen? As you can see, the previous Nuclear leakage happened in 26 years ago. Furthermore, it was stated that the leak in nuclear plant of Japan was due to carelessness, thus this led to a destroyed country. If we were to take more safety precautions, this would not even happen. Its an earthquake of magnitude 9, does this happen every day? It is not like a simple earthquake but a magnitude of 9 is insane.

Thus I feel that Nuclear Plants still have a part to play in the world.

Experiece of the Japan EarthQuake

This is my letter to a close relative living in Singapore.

Dear Uncle Grob,

How are you? It is very depressing a story to tell you that my parents are fatally injured in the recent Japan Earthquake, it is a very strong earthquake as its magnitude is as high as 9.0! My parents are now in Dokyoshou Hospital located in the center of Japan and I am currently living in an orphanage, waiting for a new school to be built and the repair works to be made. I feel so lonely and sad as though a knife has been stabbed deeply within my heart.

It was a very sudden earthquake, I was on my way home from doing some errands Mom asked me to do. Maybe it was destiny but I survived the earthquake because of the errand. When I walked past the town library, the earth beneath my feet shook vigorously. Losing my balance, I feel down. I was puzzled upon what has happened but time waits for no one. Immediately, a large wave came into town but was luckily stopped by the buildings in front of me. I climbed up the platforms of the library to get to safer grounds. Everything was destroyed in a flash of a second.

I was so scared, I was alone, thinking about my family. Luckily the library was built with strong metals that could withstand the raging floods. People often say that the Tsunami came once every 100 years, but according to the history of the world, there was one in year 2004. Why me? There are many countries in the world, why Japan!? I was rescued by the military soon after the flood came, my parents were found in coma 2 days later. My parents saved my life.

So, may I ask you if I could stay with you in Singapore? Unlike Japan, Singapore is very well-protected by several countries and is most unlikely to get natural disasters. I wish to start my life anew in Singapore, together with my parents who are in coma. Please consider this as Japan is a very sad place for me.

P.S. : The medical fees are being subsided by the hospital up to 75%.

Your Nephew,
Kiyama Hiroto

ShaoLin Soccer

This is a great movie I have recently watched on the television. It is about 6 students from ShaoLin temple, believing in martial arts. But as time goes on, they slowly turned their backs against it, except one. Slowly, they begin to use the ancient technique for something more modern, SOCCER!

SHAOLIN SOCCER TRAILER


This is nice show that I have watched as it clearly shows my favourite sport, soccer.

Comments on other BLOGS

Justin's Blog

MouseHunt said...

I feel that what the pictures chosen are very well as the man looks shocked in the starting. However, in the second picture, the man looks more angry than shocked and he looked sad in the following picture. The choice of the characters are too dull though, as they are repeated. You should try to include more movements of the character. I am also quite confused at how the man successfully glued his ear to the handphone but I know that these pictures are hard to find.

Also, there is not a very clear theme stated, so I will assume that it is "We must always remain alert". This theme teaches people alot of things as people nowadays get robbed easily especially teens as they like to show off what they have. But I am not sure how to be alert or how to defend yourself against these kind of phone scams.

February 22, 2011 4.53 AM

Blog Link

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MouseHunt said...

I feel that the book "Village By The Sea" is a great book to read as it applies "Show not Tell". Many of the things are realistically shown in the book, the descriptions and the characterisations are really welll done. The story talks about a boy travelling alone just to make ends meet. He travelled a long distance across India, luckily he met a kind old watchmaker than gave him a good job.

I agree with Justin where he said "Due to their parents not being able earn money, the children themselves have to go out to work for money to buy everyday necessities but have no extra to indulge in other things, compared to us here in Singapore where most of use have a comfortable life. " This phrase tells us that we can never understand the real pain within poverty as Singapore's economy is quite good. We have all been living great lives, having good food on the table almost everyday. Food like hamburgers are very rare in the third world countries but to us, we can eat it for the three meals every day. This will cause us to be fat though.

February 22, 2011 5.00 AM
Blog Link
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jun Hong's Blog

MouseHunt said...

This comic strip is quite funny as in the second picture, the guy that played the prank should be laughing, instead he is screaming or something. The guy being fooled by the prank is laughing, that is very weird. Also, the comic should have a nice background, to further attract people to see the comic strip. I like the way that you showed little infomation and readers had to find out what the comic meant, but the comic strip is a little too broad and people can easily misunderstand. For example, my dear friend Josiah does not even understand your comic strip, the importance of a comic strip is to tell a story using limited amount of pictures. To me, drawing a comic strip is much harder than just to write a novel.

I feel that a theme is needed to narrow down on the meanings of the comic strip. For example "Payback". Just one word can depict the story and be more easily understood.
22 February, 2011 5:06 AM
Blog Link


PS: Please Mind the MouseHunt name as I have another blog using this account.

Reflection on LA Lessons

Term 1 Week 7: (Weekend Assignment)

18/02/2011

This week's blog assignment requires you to write a 200 word reflection on the LA lessons covered so far. In your reflection, you may include the following points:

• what you have learnt/gained in the LA programme up to this point;
• what you like about the programme;
• the change(s) that you hope to see in the programme; and
• a lesson that you particularly enjoyed and why.

Feel free to add other points.

I feel that the Language Arts lesson has been a whale of my time. I never really thought of Language Arts to be something where you could have fun, but now, I truly understand the meaning and enjoyment. I have learnt a lot of skills in my Secondary 2 life although it has only been 2 months. I have learnt things like Characterisation, where you are required to "make the character come alive". Now, we are learning things like the Point of Views (POV). We have learnt 6 types, which I thought only had 2. I like the teacher a lot, because he makes many jokes, even if he did not meant it, but it adds a whole lot of colour to the lesson. The between my Essay draft 1 and 3 have a lot of difference, as you could see the gradual improvement. I would hope to have the sane type of lesson. My favourite lesson was the lesson which we had to speak up about "All Summers in a Day". That was the first time I have spoken up towards the class in LA class and I was awarded 3 points because of my tone. I immediately went home to teach others of how to speak well (Stated on my blog), ever since, I have been trying to improve on my tone. These lessons have started a new era in me! :D

Description of the Clock Tower

Term 1 Week 5: (Weekend Assignment)

11/02/2011

Using one of the photo that you chose in week 4 assignment, describe the scene in the photo. Your description should include similes, metaphors and personifications in your description. Your description should be about 200 words in length.


The ClockTower was as big as a giant, it is located high up in the sky, as high as a vulture's nest. It is like the light of my life, leading me wherever I go in school. Whenever it reaches half an hour, the ClockTower screams, telling what the time is. The amazing bell would be sounded, it is as load as a lion's roar, just to make sure everyone spick and span of dirt can hear it. Whenever it rings, the class's silence was like a blood-cudling scream of anguish, set out to break my soul. Every minute passed is a glimpse of hope to me, telling me to keep going on, never give up. This tower is like my teachers, guiding my way in life, as it rings, it marks my start of school as well as the end. The noise is like music to my ears as it marks my closeness towards home. School is a gateway to adulthood. Whenever I am close to the ClockTower, my insides scream to tell me to hug it, but I myself know that the ClockTower is too huge for me. It keeps telling me to grow up, as I waited everyday, I day I could visit this amazing old tower again, after I marked a mark in my life.

Hwa Chong

HWA CHONG LOGO

Term 1 Week 4: (Weekend Assignment)

28/01/2011

This week, you are required to take photos of your favourite part in the school campus or your neighbourhood. Upload your photos in your blog and write a 200 word long explanation on the reasonswhy the place means so much to you and how it links to your identity.

Firstly, this is our school's clock tower. It means a lot in the school because it is the tallest tower there. Also, this clock tower marks our place in the Bukit Timah District. Also, it tells time, which is very convenient if you are training at the field.


Secondly, this is a bird's eye view picture of our whole school. As you can see, the track is located beside the road of Bukit Timah and it is where some sports Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs) are held. The track is also there but unfortunately, because of the incoming Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), it has been reduced in size.

This is our School's gate at Gate 3. Every morning, as we drag our bags from our sweet home to school, this is practically the first thing that we would see. The sky is dark as I would normally reach school at 6.40am, after an hour bus-ride from my house which is near Chua Chu Kang Interchange.

This is the magnificent swimming pool in our school. I think that both of them are Olympic sized swimming pools. The waters are clean and that is where the CCA, Water Polo is being held. Some Secondary 1s also come here for their swimming lessons when it's Physical Education time. The building beside it holds a restaurant selling good food at cheap prices, it holds the PoolSide Cafe. This is where I normally eat for lunch, the food are quite cheap for students, ranging from $3.50 to $5 for restaurant sized food. On the next floor, there is a child-care centre.

This is the Junior College's street soccer court. Street-Soccer is a very famous sport in our school, as many people play it. There are also competitions like the one I recently went to, Festival of School, Arts and Health (FOSHA). There are also Basketball, Table Tennis and Ultimate Frisbee. Those that didn't get into a sport can also learn Tennis with our very own boys from Tennis CCA.


Using what I have learnt from class, this is my first person's point of view. The person in front is Denzel and although in the picture, I cannot see the teacher, I can still see him in reality. That is because while taking this photo, I kind of had to hid the camera, thats why it is lower. This is Language Arts lesson.

Finally, this is my CCA, Softball. This CCA is quite fun as it enriches someone's teamwork abilities. We need to work as a team, we can't do it alone. This is the 2010's C'division, along with the 4 boys below who are Secondary 1s, and the girl is our coach's assistant! I was absent that day and could not attend the photo taking :(

Identity

I choose the last photo where we took our picture of our C' division as it marks the start of my life as a Softballer. This photo only shows 4 out of the 13 of my team mates. I myself is the pitcher of the team while there are many other fielding positions. The first person on the left is the catcher, every training, we would train for hours, pitching and pitching. During the holiday trainings, we had to pitch for 3 hours, with some breaks in between! Those periods of time were very tiring but it was all worth it. I train to become my team's pitcher, and that is my identity. My team are also counting on me to pitch well for the team. Although my pitch is still not fast now, I believe it would be fast someday. I hope that our team can be the C' division champions, getting a shiny trophy for the school. During the 2010 year, our C' Division got a fourth placing, but this year I must overtake them. I believe this is possible and this is my CCA, and I, together with my team would work towards victory. :D

Dead Poets Society

Today, I am going to write about the thoughts and feelings of 2 characters inside the video:

Dead Poets Society


Firstly, the New Student.
I walked through the halls of the school carefully, I did not want to do anything stupid to spoil my first day. Every thing seemed so weird in this school, they had ceremonies which we had to hear someone use a pipe instrument. I felt that I was scared as I was still a freshman, everyone else looked so big. I loved the sound of the magnificent pipe, it was really grand and I thought that this whole ceremony sounded really formal. I looked around and saw some people sharing a flame over candles, so I followed suit. I do not really understand what it meant but it was fun!

Now, the Parent.
I am so proud of my son as he walked down the hallway, playing his pipes. He has finally grown up to become a man, leading the ceremony. This ceremony marks a very important day of his life as he lead that school's flags of disciplinary. He have been practising daily, giving a hand and a leg for this ceremony. His skill with the pipes are very good as he has been learning since eight years old. I felt that this is a memorable day, thus taking photos is a must. This is a great deal for my son.

Point of View in Narrative Writing

Let us see what Point of Views there are:

1)First Person
2)Second Person
3)Third Person
4)Objective P.O.V
5)Omniscient
6)Limited Omniscient

A First Person point of view is when the word "I" is used. You are observing him from his point of view, you only know what he knows, you only know what he sees. It is as if you are inside his body observing his every move. A First Person style of writing in point of views is very common.

A Second Person point of view is when you use the word "You". It is not from one person's point of view anymore, but it is from the person's and the person beside him's point of view. This style of writing is not easy. When I tried to use a second person's point of view, I often waver between the First and Third Person. This style of writing is very uncommon.

A Third Person point of view is when you are using the word "We". Everything you say is from a general point of view. You are the narrator of the story, there is no "I" or "You" in the story except in dialogues. Characters are generally named by their name or He, She and Them etc. When you are writing a Third Person point of view, you must be very careful, as many people would start to write "I" in their essay, thus you would contradict in your essay. For example, your character is called John, you cannot suddenly write I as that would mean that you are John.

Different Third Person's Point of View

An Objective point of view is when you are observing in a person's eye. You cannot see everything, just those a normal people would see. The writer must not state everything out as this is not narrative, however, he can give several clues for the readers to find out what really happened. Clues can be in the characters' action or dialogues.

An Omniscient point of view is when the narrator knows everything, the thoughts and the feelings of each and every character. You are like god, you can read minds. However, there is another Omniscient point of view.

A Limited Omniscient is when you know only 1 person's thoughts and feeling, it is like a Pirst person, except you are writing in a Third Person. Your knowledge of feelings and thoughts are restricted to only one person. Be careful as if you accidentally write someone else knowledge, you will be marked badly.

Characterisaton: Story Excerpt

Super Diaper Baby


Characterisation:

One fine morning, Super Diaper Baby was flying down the streets of Townsville, when he heard something.

"Pst..Pst.." he immediately saw that someone was suspiciously creeping in the shadows, immediately, he followed him.

Super Diaper Baby was like any other infants, except that he had super powers. His stubby hair covers only a quarter of his big round head, his eyes as small as marbles. He also has a stubby nose and a big wide grin. His signature trademarks are his blanket and his diaper, after all, he is called the Super Diaper Baby. He uses his powers to the greatest good to fight crime and save the human race.

He flew threw the alley carefully, when suddenly, confetti of all sorts of colours flew into his face! He dropped onto the floor and saw someone moving towards him. He regained his sense from the shock and found out he was in a brightly lighted area, he saw decorations all over the room and a cake.

It was his father - Bill trying to lure him into the room for his surprise birthday party. He took his father up and spanked his bottoms!

"You no can do that again ever!" Super Diaper Baby screamed.

Mind the language, I was trying to add Super Diaper Baby's way of speech.

Jim Crow's Law

This is our post about the Jim Crow's Law, our group member includes:

Quek Yue Heng (Leader) (28)

Issac Peh En Mian ( 6 )

Lee Shi Jun (14)
Phineas Teo (26)

Andre Poh Zhen Yang (27)

Clarence Tan Jun Neng (29)

This is the podcast about Jump Jim Crow, there is a little bit of rap in it, hope you will enjoy.

P.S: The lyrics are at the bottom.

Lyrics

Verse 1

Yo! Yo! This is the Laws of Jim Crow

But who or what is Jim Crow…

No one is Jim Crow

But he’s a song

Named the Jim Crow Jump.

Verse 2

Jump Jim Crow, the racist song,

Never gone well with the “Blacks”…

Jump Jim Crow, the racist song,

And he sang for 5 Verse long.

Verse 3

What oh what is the Jim Crow Laws

That made the Blacks so mad

2 Main Groups form the Jim Crow Laws

That made the Whites so glad

Verse 4

Separated, tossed aside,

The blacks had no rights.

You can’t vote

Or do things right…

Verse 5

How do you feel Black,

How do you feel

Separated, Dejected

And Irritated

Verse 6

Did Jim Crow Laws appear in Mockingbird?

Yes of course it did

Falsely Accused of Raping a Girl

In the end judged guilty.

Copyrights to Quek Yue Heng and his team C

My Thoughts about Anime's

Anime, is a short-form for Animation, it is originated in Japan in the early 20th century. Anime's can be either hand-drawn or computer-animated, Anime's can be shown in television, video games and many more entertainment things.

Animation can be as real as possible to human beings, the most human-like anime people I have seen is from Final Fantasy.

You can see how detailed the drawings are, they drew it so well till I could not tell which is real or fake. Also, Anime's can also be cartoon-like, this is my favourite Anime's, Naruto and Inazuma Eleven.

I like those two Anime's because they are created out of things I like, like Ninjas and Soccer. They have different technique shown in the Anime's that are very creative for example:

Rasengan-A fast rotation of chakra controlled on the palm of the hand. Naruto

God Hand-A goalkeeper move shown in Inazuma Eleven

This Anime's are very long and may last up to more than 100 episodes! These Anime's are mostly fictional, also, they are a form of entertainment, just don't get addicted to it.

Reflections on Prejudice/Discrimination

WARNING: PLEASE DO NOT PLAY THE VIDEO INFRONT OF LITTLE CHILDREN!!!

Make sure you have read the top, seriously don't show or let her hear the video.

Here is what both prejudice and discrimination mean.

Prejudice :an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason

Discrimination : treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

So, from the meanings, you can tell that discrimination is MUCH more serious than prejudice. Their meaning are almost the same but there is this slight difference. Prejudice only happens within a person's brain while Discrimination involves some nasty actions.
Here is a video on Racism.


Sorry for the vulgarities, try to ignore it. I like the part where the "Black" man tried to scare the woman and looking at her reaction, she was pretty scared. All these little actions like moving a little further away from the "Black" man and clutching your purse, is signalling that you think he is a bad and uncivilised guy that will steal a handbag . If you listen closely, he is complaining about Racism and there was a little twist in the end of the story. Instead of taking the purse, he screamed, "Boo!" at the lady and she gave him her handbag on her own accord. This video is very meaningful although it is kind of vulgar! :)

Black Eyed Peas - Where is the Love

Term 1 Week 3: (Weekend Assignment)

19/01/2011

This week, we have touched on the concepts of Prejudice and Discrimination. This short assignment requires you to reflect and blog on these concepts. What is the main message in this song? Which part of the song do you have the strongest feeling? Why? Note: Your response to the above questions should be about 150 words in length.

I feel that the message in this song is "Stop Racism". I have the strongest feeling in 2:14 of the song where they said, "People killing people, dying. Children hurtin you hear them crying. Can practise what you preach." I feel that this part of the song is very important as it states the consequences of Racism, this also comes in a from of a catchy tune. People killing people sounds like barbarians, we are smart humans and we should behave like one, children crying when they feel hurt makes it inhumane. 91 No parents would like to hurt their dearly loved ones, their children. Which normal person would feel happy when they hear their child cry? Also, Racism has caused many to be hurt, lives lost and there are still many suffering right now, although they are promoting Racism, there are still many who do not care and continue doing evil deeds.

By 2A328 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

I chose the Setting in the house as the Bear is getting ready to sleep, I needed some place cozy and a house with a big comfy sofa should do the trick.

The Child is technically a very playful kid, when he is playing, he did not hear the Bear telling him not to disturb him, and when he shouted out that he won the card game, he woke the Bear up accidently.

The Bear is technically a very RASH animal, everything it does is by violence, just like the average living bear. Just because someone woke him up, he must smash the person with a mallet.

I chose the theme as "Don't mess with the bear". I used many elements like the Bear's huge size to show his prowess, also I made the boy Pale White and Black to show how terrified he was and the words he used, " Ouch..." was to symbolise that he could not escape, he just stood there waiting for his punishment.

This comic strip is Copyrighted © Quek Yue Heng, any attempt to plagiarize will be prosecuted.

How To Speak Well to an Audience

Here are some tips to help people who have trouble speaking well. People who will get stage-fright will find out that actually there is nothing to be afraid of. Here are some points you must take note of during your speech, they are stated randomly, not by any order of importance.

1) Clarity
2) Voice Level (Loudness)
3) Confidence
4) Eye-Contact
5) Tone of voice
6) Respect

7) Rehearsal

Clarity

Firstly, what is clarity? It means how clear your words are, this includes both your pronunciation and Voice Level. (I will explain Voice Level later on) To speak clear, firstly you must have a good body posture. You must NEVER be slouching as it will affect your voice, try to stand straight. Many people will sway around like some old oak tree when they make a speech, I had that problem too and I had just gotten myself off it recently. Your body posture states alot of things about you, your attitude towards this speech etc. Stay still, back straight and you will have a good body posture.

Also, try not to mumble when you are speaking, swallow any saliva in your mouth that could affect your Clarity. Speak clearly and preferably loudly, so people can hear you, without clarity, your speech is good as nothing. Your audiences cannot hear you, they will get bored and maybe would start to talk.

Voice Level

This should be pretty easy to understand, the voice level is the volume of your voice. I included it into the tip list as I feel that it is quite important. Firstly, no matter how well your speech is, if you speak too softly, your audiences cannot hear and they will have questions later on. Speak too loudly does not guarantee your voice level, speaking too loudly will cause the people to get irritated to your speech and will be "pissed" off.

Confidence

Confidence plays a very important role in speaking. Confidence is the value not many of us have, speaking in front of a big crowd takes both courage and good confidence. As they always say in novels, you must BELIEVE in yourself, then you can do better. If you can conquer this value, good. Nervousness is also a sign of not being confident in yourself, actions like folding the end of your shorts or as Singaporeans mumble with an "er...". This will completely ruin your speech and will completely break your momentum. Also, try to speak in proper English.

Eye-Contact

Eye-Contact is very easy to master, to master Eye-Contact, all you need to do is to look at the audiences once in a while while reading to check that they are listening. This will also "hook" the audiences' attention and it will prevent you from reading from the script. Reading from the script is a very serious mistake, most people tend to read and read, completely uncaring about the audiences. This will make the mood of the audiences VERY BORING! You have an Eye-Contact at any part of your script, giving Eye-Contact during pauses like fullstops and commas will prevent you from mis-speaking. Also, for more advanced people, they will read a whole chunk of text and memorise it. (Around 5~10 words) After they memorised the words, they will give complete Eye-Contact while speaking the memorised text. If you cannot memorise such a long text within seconds, work harder and memorise the script, as much as you can. Although you memorised, just bring your script up on stage just in case.

Tone of Voice

This is the hard part, even I could not get it right sometimes. The Tone of Voice technically means the liveliness of you speech, using bombastic words does not mean you have a great tone, in fact, the tone comes from your mouth. Tone of Voice actually means that your voice has a high and low tone, fast and slow tone, you can even strengthen some words which are more important in a text. This will give your speech a nice colour and it will also catch the audience's attention. Speaking high and fast when something good has happened, speaking slow and low when something sad has happened. This sounds easy but I can say it is not. Try your best to make the speech more colourful.

Respect

Respect means that the audiences have to give you the rights to speak. If your audiences aren't paying attention to you or talking, you can ask them to keep quiet to get their attention. You have the right to ask them that as you are the speaker, they have to respect you! While asking them to keep quiet, please be friendly and try not to scold them. If they are normal human beings, they should feel embarrassed and stop talking, if not, just try to ignore them, speaking louder would help.

Rehearsal

Speaking needs skill and skill needs practise. Rehearse your speech infront of a mirror at home to check your posture and your pronunciation, rehearse as many times as possible to be sure of your speech. Check for any errors like spelling errors, one error can cause the whole speech to not make sense. If you read the word wrongly, it is wise not to repeat unless it will cause a misunderstanding. If you keep repeating, your momentum would be disrupted and your whole speech would go downhill. Also, never go up on stage without rehearsing as your mouth may get tongue-tied with the words.

Conclusion

This practically ends the tips for speech, I hope this has helped you in anyway. Speaking good gives others a good impression of you, and a good impression is very important.

© Copyrights belong to the owner of the blog, everything here is written by Quek Yue Heng.

How To Train Your Dragon - Movie

Term 1 Week 2: (Weekend Assignment)

14/01/2011 You are to select a book that you have read or a movie that you have watched or a song and write, in about 150 words, how it has impacted you. You are to place your write-up on your blog.

This movie is happened in the time of vikings, where vikings had to kill dragons in order to survive. The dragons were stealing food for the ultimate dragon back at their nest to prevent themselves from being eaten. However, the vikings did not know that and they have always misunderstood the dragons as a thief. One day, a boy, named Hiccup, so scrawny and weak, could never become a viking; but he caught a NightFury Dragon using a catapult that ties the dragon's wings together. Hiccup could not kill it due to the helplessness of the dragon. A NightFury is a very powerful dragon, no one has ever seen it and left alive. His father hates dragons to the core and Hiccup is being sent by his father to the Viking school, slowly, trust is being gathered between the two beings, the NightFury and Hiccup soon became friends, he named it Toothless as he can retract his teeth. Hiccup slowly learns of the habits and the dislikes of Dragons. Due to the fact that a part of the tail of Toothless has been torn away, he cannot escape and Hiccup soon made an artificial one for it. Together they found where the Dragon's nest is and they managed to kill the dragon using stealth techniques. The dragon race, being freed from the threat of the King of Dragons, made friends with the vikings and they lived together from then.

Reflections

From this story, I realised the importance of friendship and harmony. Hiccup and Toothless has truly shown how to best friends can be together even if they are enemies. Toothless will only allow Hiccup to ride on him, if someone else tries to do so, it will burn him to crisp. Although Hiccup's Dad hate Dragons, he still kept Toothless and hoped that he could hide him from his village. But paper can't hold fire and the secret is soon out. They fought the two dragons together, bravery, courage and determination was shown during the great battle. The ultimate dragon was about 200 times bigger than them but they used a stealth technique and won in the end. This also shows that if you've got brains, half of the battle is won. This movie has greatly enlightened me and I hope that Disney would continue to produce great movies like these. I had a great time watching and I tried to make new friends after watching the movie. One more friend is better than one more enemy and I've met many new friends this year in Hwa Chong and I hope to continue to do so in future years. Harmony between the friends are also important, or there would be chaos. This movie is rated 5/5 stars by me! :D

I felt bored and included the photos.