Commenting on a news article

I saw an article on the Libya crisis. I felt that this aricle had covered most of what happened to libya, but I feel that they could tell the news in a different point of view. In this article, I read a lot about what the United Nations(UN) had done to help the rebels of Libya, but they did not cover much on how the rebels and the pro- Gaddafi forces felt. The coverage on these areas were not deep enough. I feel that they only wanted to gain support for the UN. I feel that they could have included more information, and tell both sides of the story.

IN-CLASS ONLINE LESSON #5

Answers

a. When and how did slavery begin in the southern US states? Slavery started in the southern US state in year 1638. It started when trade went on between the African companies and the English. Slaves were need to do hard labour for example, in farms.

b. Which country were the slaves primarily brought from? Slaves were brought from Africa to the Untied States.

c. Who traditionally bought and owned the slaves? The British people were the first to buy slaves but first-century Romans were the first to own slaves.

d. What were the laws/rules that the slaves had to abide by? Slaves was outside the protection of common law, they are also not allowed to go against whites and their owners or try to run away (escape). In the past it was allowed for the owner to kill the slave.

e. Were slaves considered "people" under the law? If not, how did slaveowners see them? Slaves were not considered as “people” as they did not have any human rights. In the past, It was also legal for owners to kill their slaves. The slaves that refused to obey their masters were treated badly and they might be killed as they was not under the protection of the law. Slaveowners see slaves as animals or “free” workers. They are among the lowest standards of servants and they serve their owners till they die, and everything regarding the slaves are controlled by their owners.

f. How does the notion of slavery relate to TKAM? Does the study of slavery help you understand the novel better? The blacks are not seen as human. The whites think that blacks are uneducated and have no integrity. As for slavery, the slaves were also not treated and seen as humans. The owners treat the slaves like animals, ordering them to do many hard jobs and subjecting the slaves to violence. The slaves were punished for not working fast enough, and some were even murdered. Many slaves were separated from their family forcefully and could not resist. This is almost the same treatment of the blacks from the whites in TKAM. For example, whenever the whites fight with the blacks in court, the white would surely win no matter how much evidence the black has, like the case of Tom Robinson.

Reflection After doing research on slavery, I learned many new things. At the start, I did not even know what "google scholar" is, and it was quite a challenge to use the google scholar as the information given in it was not very specific, and it was real hard to find what we wanted. However, as I did more research on slavery using google scholar, I was able to use it considerably well and succeeded in completing the assignment. I find that it was quite a new method of research and that the information there was quite accurate, unlike wikipedia, where some of the information may differ from the actual fact. I also learned about the history of slavery. Before the lesson, I thought that the problem of slavery started only during the 19th and 20th century, but the reality was not the same. Slavery started way long ago, from the times where the Romans conquered huge areas of lands. The people living in the conquered lands of the Roman empire were either killed or used as slaves, and this was the begining of slavery. One of the reasons why in the past, some countries joined Roman or surrendered to Roman was because of this reason: Their country might be totally destroyed and its people might live as slaves for their entire lives.

Slavery had always been a cruel fact since ancient times, and it has not yet been removed totally, although the amount of slaves had decreased significantly. After doing research, I really felt disgusted by the acts of slave owners. How can they treat people, human beings, like animals! Slaves really lived a horrible life. At the start, they were born, and grew up. Then, some heartless people either kidnapped or forced them or tricked them into becoming slaves. Then, they lived their entire lives working for an owner that treated them badly. If they were very sick, they would just be left to die and they do not even have a proper funeral! All their lives are dedicated to working but they do not even have the slightest form of human rights. Everything they had belonged to their owner. I was really very grateful that I lived in Singapore, a society where slavery is at its least, as I really cannot imagine working as a slave! In conclusion, I felt that it is really important to have a society with strict laws, so as to prevent ill treatment of human beings. I feel that all human beings should be treated fairly. Also, it is very important to appreciate what we had and not be too greedy. This was a real intersting and meaningful lesson indeed!

Letter to the editor of Straits Times

Dear editor of Straits Times, I feel that Singaporeans can learn many things from the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunamis. As we have seen on the news, Japan was struck by an extremely deadly earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 . Despite this ordeal, the Japanese lined up orderly to get rations and they were very calm. They were also very bonded together and everything was done orderly. This was different from many other countries, where people squeeze and punch each other to snatch the rations when disaster strikes. The Japanese were also very careful and had a lot of precautions, like a tsunami alert system, and buildings with deep foundations and well designed structures. I feel that if Singapore were to encouter such a similar crisis, we would definitely sffer greater damage as compared to Japan, however, I still believe that Singapore would be able to handle it. Firstly, there are many coconut trees , which are renowned for their ability to stand straight on the beach despite great waves, planted on the coastline. The dense coconut trees would reduce the impact of the tsunami waves. Secondly, the tsunami waves are ten metres high, but most of our HDB flats(most people live in these houses) are at least twenty seven metres high. Before the tsunami strike, we would see the waves, and should be able to climb up to the higher levels quickly. Thirdly, the structure of the HDB flats are build in such a way that they are interlinked, and it would not be easy to topple the interlinked HDB flats that may last up to a few kilometres.(Many Japan buildings stand on their own) Lastly, the HDB flats are monitored by the government and the materials used for building are qualified and corruption is at its least. Also, the buildings have deep foundations. In addition, there is a gap between the first and second floor, under most HDB flats, and the water will move through the huge gap of about three metres. In conclusion, even if the entire Singapore was covered by the huge tsunami waves, her buildings will remain standing, and most of her people will remain safe. Yours sincerely, Chan Chia Ler Hwachong Institution Class 2p4

Opinion of literature

To me, literature means the art of mixing words, feelings and description together to form a more comprehensive and deeper meaning to provide a better description of something. This forms a greater impact when we read the text, and we feel attracted to the choice of words and this also leaves a strong impression on the reader. Examples of literature are poems, novels, a feature article etc. Literature can influence our thoughts and feelings and also help us to understand the thoughts and feelings of different people. We are constantly influenced by literature and learning from literature. Without literature, we will only be looking at things from only a particular angle and learning would be slow and inefficient.

Opinion on racism

In my opinion, there are enough measures done to combat racism. For exmaple, in Singapore, many citizens accept foreign people. In school, we learn and play with many people from different races. Many measures have been made to combat racism, this includes racial harmony day, the act of distributing the different races in a HDB flat acording to percentage of population, the national pledge, and many more. Although we still hear some racism sometimes, this is very little compared to many other countries, through living with people from different races, racism had becamo a very small problem in Singapore In my opinion, racism can be dealt with by the school for a child and by the strict law if he or she is an adult. If a person was racist to his classmate, other classmates would not join him as he was racist, and the teacher would definitely find out what has happened, from the behaviour, and the racist guy would by punished by demerit points, or at least get scolded. Also, their parents would be informed. If he was an adult, once he was caught promoting racism in the internet or making racist remarks in public, he might be jailed or fined. These measure would definitely scare most people and they would not dare to be rasist. for those who want to challenge the law, they would suffer from the punishment and definitely learn their lesson.

Reflection on founder's day CIP

On 21st March(Monday), we went for a CIP program. We brought the old people around the shopping centre and we also had a meal with them. Through the process, we interacted with them, and had a chit-chat session. The old lady that I was in charged of was about seventy years old and had many wrinkles. While walking in the supermarket, I could sense that she was feeling tired as she was constantly sweating in the air-conditioned supermarket. Despite feeling tired, she would just rest a while and then continued walking and exploring the shopping centre. I realised that even though these people might be old and weak, they welcome us and really appreciated our company. Also, they really appreciated whatever things that they had, be it having lunch with us, waking around the shopping centre or even being able to walk! This was unlike many children that I had observed, which are fussy and complains whenever they are unable to get what they wanted. Through the chit-chat session, I realised that although she was not very intelligent as she was suffering from dementia, she was actually very excited about speaking to us and she also demonstrated self control and maintained eye-contact with me. Although at times she will be very anxious or agitated, as long as I remain calm, she will settle down, and everything went well. This is opposed to my perception that people suffering from dementia are stupid and strange. They in fact are very welcoming and appreciative and they are really able to socialise! I also learned about their experiences in life and how they lived. Some of them are sad people without love from their children, they are simply "dumped" into this centre, and they feel lonely and disapointed. I finally understood why it is very important to take care of our parents, to make our parents find joy in their last few decades of their lives, after all, who brought us to this world? We will not be present in this world without our parents, and it is extremely important to take care of them. We should not forget our "root". In conclusion, I have gained many things from this CIP program and I hope to have more of this type of programs organized in the future.

NCC Camp STEEL

On the 21st and 22nd of February 2011, I went for a NCC Camp organised by NCC headquarters. The name of the camp is called camp STEEL (Standards , Tenacity, Emotional Intelligence, Energy and Leadership). The objective of this camp is to train us to become tough fighter, both physically and mentally, and teach us some of the basic skills needed to survive during wartime.

Throughout the entire course of the camp, cadets have to behave in a disciplined manner, and get used to poor living conditions. Being used to living a comfortable life, this camp was quite an interesting experience for me. The food provided at the camp was not tasty, and the amount of food given was considered little. Cadets have to endure the hunger and was subjected to strenuous activities like the high confidence training, where cadets have to climb to a great height and move through different stations. This is both mentally and physically tiring. In addition, cadets slept in tightly compact areas, with only a few fans on. However, through these though treatment, I learned to be more "man", as I step out of my usual comfort zone, into a serious environment.

Other than training us through the harsh living conditions, they also included many activities prepared for us. One of the thoughest of all activities was the high confidence training. Cadets have to climb to a great height of about twenty metres, and go pass obstacles while holding on to nothing but shaky ropes. When I looked down at the people that was on the ground , I was extremely afraid. What if the rope snaps? What if I am too heavy for the rope? Would I die if I fell to the ground? All sought of questions occupied my mind. As I had already completed half of the obstacles, I told myself to carry on, and fight on like a man. I was able to overcome my fear as I thought of how fun and not how dangerous the activity was. I eventually completed the course and I upon reaching back to the ground, I felt a sense of great satisfaction. I was very grateful to participate as I finally overcame my fear of heights.

Other than the high elements training, the other activity that left a great impact on me was the emotional intelligence talk. I learned how to communicate well with my friends and how to make others like me. This is very beneficial to me as I understood about the importance of emotional intelligence ad well as how to have high emotional intelligence. I feel that this talk is also essential to me as when I had become a student leader, it would be my turn to encourage and motivate the cadets, and that requires good emotional intelligence.

In conclusion, I find the camp very useful and meaningful, as I learned many things that are important in life. I was also trained to be more independent. To me, spending my time on this camp is definitely worthwhile.