In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #5 (Term 2)

Pick a news story that you've read this week or last week in your Reading Period or online, and comment on the issue covered in it. How effectively was the story reported? Did it not cover any information you'd hope it would? Here is the link to the news article I read online about: http://news.xin.msn.com/en/weird/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4748370 Chatting babies video a YouTube sensation When I saw this article in a small advertisement box at the corner of my computer screen, it immediately caught my attention. I was like, "What? Chatting Babies?" I also managed to find the link to the youtube video of the twin brothers chatting with each other, saying things such as, "Ta tatata tata ta taaa. TA!" while raising up their hands and legs to pinpoint certain objects and each other. One thing I can say is that the title in itself was very effective in capturing the readers' attention, as the moment one sees this title, that person would sure be excited to know more about this phenomenon. "Chatting babies", in itself, is a mysterious and foreign thing to most people, using "YouTube sensation", tells readers that this is a phenomenon, and in that, a new and current phenomenon. This would certainly intrigue and grab the attention of many readers. I think the story was rather effectively reported, giving the details of where, when, what and how many people have already viewed this video, in just the first paragraph. This would allow readers who were maybe busy, or had their reading of the article cut halfway, know what the details of this entire phenomenon in just a short period of time. The article then when further on to briefing describe what happens in the video, and connects this with what experts(scientists) in other parts of the world say and think about this. The article ends off with a brief quote from the twins' mother, which allows readers to roughly know the family situation of these boys. What I had hoped that the article would cover, would be a more detailed description on the video itself, as when I was reading this article, I did not have time to go watch the video, so it kept me thinking about this article all day, until I got home and managed to watch the video. Truth be told, I actually watched the video from a facebook link, which was recomended by a friend of my! What a phenomenon! Here is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZSVlcOVEVI

In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #4 (Term 2)

Write a short letter to the editor of The Straits Times, commenting on what Singaporeans can learn from the recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and whether we as a nation possess what it takes to handle a similar crisis. To: The editor, The Straits Times Dear Sir/Madam, My heart really goes out to Japan, and all those innocent lives that were lost during the earthquake and tsunamis. The earthquake that hit Japan also caused the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant to lost her ability to cool herself, when her water pumps were damage, and further made impossible for repair by the tsunamis. The earthquake was a stunning magnitude of 8.9, which is the fourth largest earthquake that has ever happened in the world. It is comforting to know that many other nations such as USA are trying their best to aid Japan in rescue efforts, and I sincerely hope that Japan would be able to pull herself together, solve the nuclear reactors' problems as soon as possible, and make this event history. One thing's certain though, when all this is over, Japan would have to start from zero again. I think Singaporeans can really learn from this disaster. Singapore is a pennisula, protected by many other countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia from natural disasters. This is the reason why Singapore has never experienced any country-wide natural disasters before. I guess one can say that we should thank God for putting us in such an excellent geographical location. Even then, we would have to think, would Singapore be able to handle a similar crisis, or just breakdown and be destroyed? I think, if we had such a huge earthquake hitting Singapore, as a whole, we would be worst off than Japan, as we are a much smaller country. We would suffer more losses, as Singapore is the most urbanized country in the world, overcrowded with almost 5million citizens! One can just imagine how much infrastructure, how many lives would be lost with such a natural disaster. With that, Singapore also would receive lots of help from other ASEAN countries, and would be properly prepared as the government has ensured every able man take up National Service at the age of 18, and the 5 Defenses be known to everyone throughout Singapore. So to conclude, I think Singapore would suffer bigger losses than Japan, but we would be able to curb and control the situation, and recover much faster and better than Japan. Thank you for your time! Warm Regards, Shaun Wong Hwa Chong Institution 2O4 (29)

In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #3 (Term 2)

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Caroline seems passionate about literature, and wants to share the joy of it with the schoolchildren. What does literature mean to you? Explain its significance in life. Explain your view in a paragraph of at least 8 lines. So before I start on what literature means to me, I would like to establish what is the actual definition of literature: Creative writing of recognized artistic value. What does literature mean to me? I guess I would like to approach this in a neutral stand. Literature to me when I first started learning it, was a form, or rather level, of a language that requires skills of higher order to be able to understand and apply. Though from them till now, I have had many conflicting thoughts on literature. Sometimes as I analyse poems and look for literary devices, I feel that the fact that poets are able to link so many things together, and how deep a certain way a bunch of words are arrange can mean a whole lot more, just amazing. Then comes the time when I have had thoughts that literature is basically, pardon my language, bullshit. This was because I have heard of stories of artwork basically being a accidental splash of paint, winning the grand prize of an art competition. How does this happen? It is when people start to 'make a mountain out of a molehill' of just simple things. Having said that, literature is a part of a language, and without that part, that language would be shallow and no longer really a part of life. Literature is the part of a language that allows people, poets, authors to depict a certain image, to capture details to such a minute scale that readers can actually imagine themselves in the scene. Without literature, the world would be so much more dull!

In-Class Online Lesson #5 Group 5

Group #5: Shaun Wong(29), Benjamin Ung(28), Timothy Chuah(27), Tan Yu Xiang(26), Tan Teik Jun(25), Matthew Tan(24)

Montgomery Bus Boycott and Scottsboro Trials

a. What event sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott? (Shaun Wong)

b. Which two organizations were primarily involved in coordinating the boycott? (Benjamin Ung)

c. Why did the boycott catapult Martin Luther King, Jr. to prominence? (Timothy Chuah)

d. How is the Scottsboro trial related to the trial in TKAM? (Tan Yu Xiang)

e. State the specifics of each trial and why they were significant. (Tan Teik Jun)

f. In what way are these trials similar? (Matthew Tan)

a) In Montgomery, buses used a system of segregation, where whites were seated from the front of the bus filling all the way to the back, and vice versa for the blacks. When a bus was full, priority was given to the whites, so if a white entered a bus full of blacks, a black had to give up his seat for the white. What sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott was when Rosa Park, refused to give up her seat to a white man as she was tired of giving in. She had no intention of causing any trouble, but her momentary folly led to a huge chain of events, being arrested in 1 December 1955, which eventually led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

b) The two organisations were the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People and the Montgomery Improvement Association. These organisations started the boycott movement and organised the entire boycott.

c) Because of the black community's eagerness to comply with the boycott–and because of the bus company's refusal to capitulate- community leaders held a meeting on the afternoon of the boycott to plan an extended protest. It named itself the Montgomery Improvement Association ,and elected Martin Luther King its president. Though only twenty-six, he showed great promise as a leader, and was enough to stand outside old local political rivalries. From the beginning, and throughout the most trying, violent events of the long 381 days of the boycott, King always emphasized the protest in Christian principles. The blacks never engaged in any form of violence when treated with it. This set the tone for all of King's subsequent campaigns, which let King to prominence.

d) The Scottsboro trial and the trial in TKAM are somewhat related. The author of TKAM, Harper Lee was inspired by the Scottsboro trial and she also used the Scottsboro trial as a reference to write the trial in her book as the specifics of both the trials are somewhat similar.

e) e) For the Montgomery bus boycott, the friction started when a black lady refused to surrender her seat to a black man, which did not comply with ‘regulations’ (refer to question a) then, resulting in her arrest, which in turn resulted in the stirred feeling from the black community, and subsequently the boycott. The boycott happened on Monday, the same day of the judging of the case, it crippled the financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, since the bulk of the paying customers were the blacks. Technically, the black people should be getting the priority. Notably, the protest continued even after Monday as it was effective in causing economic distress to the Montgomery buses. A short excerpt from the flyer circulated among the black community: “...This has to be stopped. Negroes have rights too, for if Negroes did not ride the buses, they could not operate. Three-fourths of the riders are Negro, yet we are arrested, or have to stand over empty seats. If we do not do something to stop these arrests, they will continue. The next time it may be you, or your daughter, or mother. This woman's case will come up on Monday. We are, therefore, asking every Negro to stay off the buses Monday in protest of the arrest and trial... “ The Scottsboro trial took place in the 1930s in northern Alabama, which was sparked off when nine black men were charged with rape of a white girl. The jury ignored evidences against the white women, for instance, that no physical injuries were present, one of the alleged victims also admitted that the rape story was in fact fabricated and asserted that none of the Scottsboro Boys ever touched either of the white women. But the juries still found them guilty for all 3 trials. 4 of the 9 dropped out of charge, all but 2 served prison, the rest were tragically killed. The defendants had been denied an impartial jury, fair trial, fair sentencing, and effective counsel. Why were the trials significant? Both trials show how discriminating and intolerant of other races then, and are against the white people’s unfair treatment of their black counterparts. Today, it is still widely considered to be an extreme reference of miscarriage of justice, leading to the end of all-white juries in the south. On the side note, the Montgomery trial was the first victory of US Civil right movement :D [with background references from the wikipedia article on montgomery bus boycott.]

f) In the Scottsboro trial, the blacks were accused of raping a white. There was not a fair trial as the jury who decides whether they were guilty or innocent were all whites. They were biased to the white and convicted the blacks for rape without any evidence. Similarly, in To Kill A Mocking Bird, a black man was convicted of raping a white woman with no evidence and the jury was all whites. Like the Scottsboro trial, there was also alot of lynching by angry mobs. These are the similarities between the Scottsboro trial and the trial in To Kill A Mocking Bird.

Reflection:

For the most part as I was reading through about the boycott and the trials, what question that kept resounding in my head was, "What is wrong with these people?". In the boycott, I do understand the 'racism' in it, in that the system of whites and blacks seating in a bus, but what really invoked feelings of anger towards the whites, were that they actually had a black woman arrested just because she did not give up her seat! I mean, even if you wanted to be racist, and wanted to inflict baised punishments other people, this was too extreme! Similarly in Mississippi Burning, the whites were constantly harassing the blacks for no apparent reason, and when one of the blacks finally got brave enough to speak up and bring the whites to court, justice was not done, with the jury and judge both all being whites. For the Scottboro trials, my heart really go to these men, to be convicted for a crime you commited is one thing, to confess to a crime and be convicted for it is another. I can certainly imagine the horrible conditions they were put through, which included being moved to another jail deemed "unfit for white prisoners". What's going on here both in the Scottboro trials and Mississippi Burning, is that the blacks almost never had a chance to go against the whites in a lawful manner, as the law itself was corrupted!

In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #2 (Term 2)

In your opinion, has enough been done to combat racism?

I would a lot has been done to combat racism. From religious parties evangelising, to political parties strongly discouraging it, and even to the people themselves. I guess everyone in this world actually want to live in harmony, just that racism is always there, leeching on the back part of humanity's mind, waiting to strike at any moment. That's the irony of racism, it can never be stopped, because you can never legislate a person's feelings. Racism acts as a part of mankind, as long as there are two different races, there is bound to be conflict. So I think that the fact that Barack Obama, a black, can become the president of united states, was beyond anyone would ever think would happen. This also shows another side, in which that although racism cannot be completely eradicated, it can be reduced to as minimal as possible, with mutual tolerance between races and understanding each other's culture. Although it eventually boils down to the people themselves, the government also has a role to play, holding events and holidays such as racial harmony day, in the case of Singapore, would really, allow people to remember that racial harmony is hard-earned, and should not be taken for granted.

How do you think racism can be dealt with in Singapore?

Truth be told, I think racism in Singapore is already at its minimal. Although there are the usual conflicts now and then, I would say judging from the amount of races residing in Singapore, we have already done quite a good job! So what I think, is that the government should maintain this at its optimal level as long as possible, and by doing this, it would ensure that the future years of Singapore would also have as least amount of racism as possible. How I think we can do this is to start from birth, start with the children and students, as if from young they have already been mixed and exposed to other races, there will not be culture shocks in the future, and which they will become more tolerant and to other races.

In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #1 (Term 2)

Reflect on your recent CIP experience helping out the aged and underprivileged. What was the biggest thing you gained from this experience.

For this year, my class, 2O4, went to St. Andrews Cathedral Home for the Aged.

My impression of elderly is actually rather contrasting, being the type of family I come from. I did have visits to old folk's home before this year, but everytime I step into the home, I have his feeling of sadness and boredom, and when I look at the faces of the old folks, usually I just see men and women waiting for their time to come. My grandfather is actually the opposite of that, he used to be a pastor in a church, and now that he is retired, he spends his time playing computer games EVERYDAY.My grandmother however, had a stroke just last year when she was in her 60s, and is starting to become senile.My point here is that, just looking at my grandparents, I can see how two types of old people live their lifes. Many of the elderly in the old folks home are there, most probably because of family issues or problems, and most are just
waiting to die! After my visit on Founders' Day, and talking to some of the elderly, is that they don't really expect much from life anymore, they are just living on, "stuck in a hole" as quoted from one of them, without knowing what is really going on in their families or the world.

I think what really made them happy would be that they had someone to talk to. Being in the old folks' home, they would have been seeing the same people for years, and having students to lend a listening ear to them really brought something to look forward in their lives. Also during the performance, I was touched when I saw how happy the old folks' were, how contented they were, with just my class' simple performance.

I think there is a need to be more open, for me and everybody else in my class. Some of my classmates were rather hostile at first, but everyone managed to find an elderly to interact with at the end. What I strongly feel is that we should have some sessions on basic conversational hokkien or teochew before the CIP itself, as there was a serious communication breakdown during the CIP.

To be frank, there wasn't much that I gained from this experience, as I have been through this "experience" a few times. I was simply reminded about another side of the world, that not everyone is actually happy-go-lucky or stressing out with their busy schedules, that there are people, the aged and elderly, just waiting for their time to come.

In-Class Blog-Writing Prompt #13 (Term 1)

What have I learnt from watching Mississippi Burning?

I have learnt that the fact that Barack Obama could, a black, become president of America, and even the winner of a nobel prize award, was no easy feat. Seeing how people treated the blacks last time, labelling them as "Niggers", set loose to pillage and burn, while the police stand at one side, having front row seats to the injustice being inflicted to the blacks.

I have learnt and seen, how harsh the whites were on the blacks, treating them like dirt, and the Mississippi, even the law isn't just, as seen when the judge lightens the punishment of four whites for burning down a black man's house, with the reason that these black men were, "Dirty, unhygenic...etc" and therefore provoked the whites to do such a thing. What on earth is wrong with this people.

Watching this has also allowed me to appreciate the racial harmony in Singapore, and serves as a reminder that we should not take this for granted, and achieving racial harmony was not an accident, not by chance, but by the work of many people, and constant tolerance in the society.