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".