This is a response to Emil's blog post about the YOG Opening Ceremony. :DD
I have to agree with Emil that the opening ceremony WAS rather disgraceful. When I was watching it, I wanted to laugh, and I felt rather ashamed of the quality of the opening ceremony. This is the first Youth Olympic Games, it is at an international standard. Where is the creativity in the opening ceremony? Where is the sense honour and pride that Singapore is able to host the first Youth Olympic Games?
I was disappointed by the show. I see no link at all to the Youth Olympic Games, but rather I felt that it was more of a National Day Celebration. Emil is right in saying that "opening ceremony totally missed the point. YOG is about promoting sports to the youth and to encourage them to take up sports. But yet, it is promoting racial harmony?" I totally agree. This is the first Youth Olympic Games, hosted in Singapore, where thousands of young athletes will come here to compete. But the quality of the opening ceremony -- I was appalled by it. I have to say that the ceremony is not up to an international standard, and could leave a negative impression on the athletes that Singapore is unable to grasp the main theme of the Youth Olympic Games, and that Singapore is unable to put up a spectacular show.
Part which I hated most about the opening ceremony :
1) The monster-.- Look at that monster, it was done so simply and ugly. What is the purpose of including the story of the monster in the Youth Olympic Games Opening Ceremony? I do not see any relationship at all. A better storyline could replace it. The strings are also dangling at it looked unglam. =.=
The aims of the Youth Olympic Games is to promote sports to young generations, but the performance shows otherwise. I do not even think that there is an element of promoting sports to the youths, but rather, like what Emil said, showing foreigners the diverse culture of Singapore.
A failure, I have to say.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
National Day Celebration :D
Happy belated birthday to Singapore, who celebrated its 45th birthday on 9 August 2010! ^^
Well I didn't really celebrate it, but I wondered why. Being part of Singapore, shouldn't I be celebrating it,watching the NDP parade, instead of surfing the net and doing work? I can say that it is not only me, but there is an increasing number of people who do not really care about National Day anymore. Why is this so? Is it due to the lack of patriotism? Or Singaporeans just do not want to express their patriotism?
Firstly, I would say that there I could not feel the any National Day atmosphere. Even though banners are hung to inform us about the National Day Celebration, I could not feel the sense of enthusiasm and sense of love for the country. Do people still feel patriotic, or are they living in their own world of theirs, oblivious and can't be bothered by what is happening around them? I think, Singaporeans not wanting to express their patriotism is partly due to the sense of conservativeness they have. They do not feel free to express their love for the country as they do not want to stand out among the crowd and attract attention. This is where I think the problem lies.
So, why are there lesser Singaporeans bothered about the National Day Celebration nowadays? Probably it is because of the hectic and speedy lifestyle people have due to the fast-paced society, there are more important things such as work to take note of, instead of sitting down comfortably watching the NDP celebration. In the present society, everything is so fast-paced, where a moment of rest can bring you down, making you have a difficult time to catch up with the rest. With the massive amount of pressure and workload pressing down on Singaporeans, how can they still have the free time to show their loyalty to the country and say the pledge at 8.10 pm together with the rest of Singapore on National Day?
However, I still firmly believe that each and every one of us still care about our country and we are still loyal to our country in our hearts, even if we do not show it.
Well I didn't really celebrate it, but I wondered why. Being part of Singapore, shouldn't I be celebrating it,watching the NDP parade, instead of surfing the net and doing work? I can say that it is not only me, but there is an increasing number of people who do not really care about National Day anymore. Why is this so? Is it due to the lack of patriotism? Or Singaporeans just do not want to express their patriotism?
Firstly, I would say that there I could not feel the any National Day atmosphere. Even though banners are hung to inform us about the National Day Celebration, I could not feel the sense of enthusiasm and sense of love for the country. Do people still feel patriotic, or are they living in their own world of theirs, oblivious and can't be bothered by what is happening around them? I think, Singaporeans not wanting to express their patriotism is partly due to the sense of conservativeness they have. They do not feel free to express their love for the country as they do not want to stand out among the crowd and attract attention. This is where I think the problem lies.
So, why are there lesser Singaporeans bothered about the National Day Celebration nowadays? Probably it is because of the hectic and speedy lifestyle people have due to the fast-paced society, there are more important things such as work to take note of, instead of sitting down comfortably watching the NDP celebration. In the present society, everything is so fast-paced, where a moment of rest can bring you down, making you have a difficult time to catch up with the rest. With the massive amount of pressure and workload pressing down on Singaporeans, how can they still have the free time to show their loyalty to the country and say the pledge at 8.10 pm together with the rest of Singapore on National Day?
However, I still firmly believe that each and every one of us still care about our country and we are still loyal to our country in our hearts, even if we do not show it.
Competition or Values???
This has been a controversial issue in the class over last week's current affairs. I would like to provide my views, with respect to the Youth Olympic Games, and explaining why I think so.
So, which is more important - COMPETITION or VALUES
Competition in the Youth Olympic Games can undoubtely raise the standards of the athletes. In the presence of competition, the young athletes can also be motivated to train harder, and to aim for better results. They will strive to win the competition, to earn glory for their country and also to showcase their talents. I think that competition is essential for making the Youth Olympic Games successful. Imagine a game without competition, where the competitors do not care if they win or lose, just carrying on with the game, how boring will the Games be? Hence I agree that a little competition is healthy, but too much of it is not.
Over competitiveness of the athletes may not be a good thing. If they are over competitive, all that is in their minds is just to win, no matter what. Even if they had to resort to unfair means. If that is the case, then the athletes do not understand the spirit of the Games and why they are playing a sport may not be because of their passion for it, but just to win other athletes.
I strongly think that the values an athelete shoud possess gains more importance over competition. Values such as sportsmanship, respect to fellow competitors are what makes a athlete a true sportsman, no matter if he won or lost. It all boils down to the fact that the aims of the Youth Olympic Games is to inculcate moral values and sportsmanship in the young hearts and minds of the athletes through sports. The 3 prinicples of the Youth Olympic Games - Excellence, Friendship and Respect. I feel that the athletes should have these moral values, to strive for excellence, without compromising mutual respect and also to foster friendship with other competitors.
To conclude, I think that values are what matters most. Someone who only cares about winning and does not have the right values cannot be considered a true sportsman.
So, which is more important - COMPETITION or VALUES
Competition in the Youth Olympic Games can undoubtely raise the standards of the athletes. In the presence of competition, the young athletes can also be motivated to train harder, and to aim for better results. They will strive to win the competition, to earn glory for their country and also to showcase their talents. I think that competition is essential for making the Youth Olympic Games successful. Imagine a game without competition, where the competitors do not care if they win or lose, just carrying on with the game, how boring will the Games be? Hence I agree that a little competition is healthy, but too much of it is not.
Over competitiveness of the athletes may not be a good thing. If they are over competitive, all that is in their minds is just to win, no matter what. Even if they had to resort to unfair means. If that is the case, then the athletes do not understand the spirit of the Games and why they are playing a sport may not be because of their passion for it, but just to win other athletes.
I strongly think that the values an athelete shoud possess gains more importance over competition. Values such as sportsmanship, respect to fellow competitors are what makes a athlete a true sportsman, no matter if he won or lost. It all boils down to the fact that the aims of the Youth Olympic Games is to inculcate moral values and sportsmanship in the young hearts and minds of the athletes through sports. The 3 prinicples of the Youth Olympic Games - Excellence, Friendship and Respect. I feel that the athletes should have these moral values, to strive for excellence, without compromising mutual respect and also to foster friendship with other competitors.
To conclude, I think that values are what matters most. Someone who only cares about winning and does not have the right values cannot be considered a true sportsman.
Monday, August 16, 2010
YOG Torch (Lantern) Relay
Long time since I last posted, now for ace. (:
Last week, the Youth Olympic Torch Relay passed Hwa Chong! xD Truly a memorable and historic moment. The whole school, including students and teachers, waited anxiously along the roadside for the torch to arrive at our school. The atmosphere was filled with anxiousness, eagerness and excitement, for me I was rather looking forward eagerly to the arrival of the torch. Thinking that it would be a spectacular sight, my hopes of seeing the magnificient torch were dashed when all I saw was a person carrying a small lantern, walking rather leisurely.
I was not expecting the lantern, but the flame torch. Nevertheless, I have to agree that to view the passing of the YOG torch(lantern) relay was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It will go down in the history of the school and will be stored there forever. Moreover, the Olympic Flame Torch Relay has been carried out for all of the Olympic games, and has its value and importance. I think that it should continue with this tradition of the Torch Relay as it symbolises the spirit of the Olympic Games, perserverance. The flame, which never stops burning till the end of the Games, symbolizes the never-giving up spirit.
So, is sacrificing 1 hour of curriculum time for witnessing the Torch Relay worthwhile? Even though it was well below what we had expected, I still feel that it was worthwhile. Think about it, this is the first Youth Olympic Games, hosted in Singapore. The first. We may not have a chance to witness the Torch Relay anymore in the future. Thus I think that it would be worthwhile as it is something that not everybody can get to see and experience.
Witnessing the torch relay, I suddenly thought about the aims of the Youth Olympic Games, a new initiative by the Olympic Council. I wondered if it would be successful in teaching the young athletes the 3 values of the YOG - Excellence, Respect and Friendship. I wondered if competition is necessary in raising standards, or are the values more important. I will be discussing in my next post. See ya! ^^
Last week, the Youth Olympic Torch Relay passed Hwa Chong! xD Truly a memorable and historic moment. The whole school, including students and teachers, waited anxiously along the roadside for the torch to arrive at our school. The atmosphere was filled with anxiousness, eagerness and excitement, for me I was rather looking forward eagerly to the arrival of the torch. Thinking that it would be a spectacular sight, my hopes of seeing the magnificient torch were dashed when all I saw was a person carrying a small lantern, walking rather leisurely.
I was not expecting the lantern, but the flame torch. Nevertheless, I have to agree that to view the passing of the YOG torch(lantern) relay was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It will go down in the history of the school and will be stored there forever. Moreover, the Olympic Flame Torch Relay has been carried out for all of the Olympic games, and has its value and importance. I think that it should continue with this tradition of the Torch Relay as it symbolises the spirit of the Olympic Games, perserverance. The flame, which never stops burning till the end of the Games, symbolizes the never-giving up spirit.
So, is sacrificing 1 hour of curriculum time for witnessing the Torch Relay worthwhile? Even though it was well below what we had expected, I still feel that it was worthwhile. Think about it, this is the first Youth Olympic Games, hosted in Singapore. The first. We may not have a chance to witness the Torch Relay anymore in the future. Thus I think that it would be worthwhile as it is something that not everybody can get to see and experience.
Witnessing the torch relay, I suddenly thought about the aims of the Youth Olympic Games, a new initiative by the Olympic Council. I wondered if it would be successful in teaching the young athletes the 3 values of the YOG - Excellence, Respect and Friendship. I wondered if competition is necessary in raising standards, or are the values more important. I will be discussing in my next post. See ya! ^^
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rainbow Death
Rainbow Death
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson
1) Point Of View
The poet is criticising America for being unable to forsee the consequences by using agent orange. The tone used is rather harsh. This is evident when he said "America did not foresee". This shows that the poet felt that the next generation would be affected adversly by the use of Agent Orange, which results in many consequences. He also knew that many innocent people will be affected when he said "Toll on the innocent and unborn". He is aware of the many consequences of using Agent Orange as he said "Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead".
2) Situation and Setting
Depressing
Evid : "Generations untold WILL pay -"
: "Toll on the innocent and unborn."
The poet is aware that by using Agent Orange, many innocent lives will be affected, and that the next generation will have to pay the price of using Agent Orange in the present generation. The capitalised "will" shows that the poet is sure that there will surely be dire consequences on the people. His anger and firmness that people will suffer due to the use of Agent Orange could also be seen from the capitalised "will".
3) Language and Diction
Potpourri
America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.
Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert Wilson
1) Point Of View
The poet is criticising America for being unable to forsee the consequences by using agent orange. The tone used is rather harsh. This is evident when he said "America did not foresee". This shows that the poet felt that the next generation would be affected adversly by the use of Agent Orange, which results in many consequences. He also knew that many innocent people will be affected when he said "Toll on the innocent and unborn". He is aware of the many consequences of using Agent Orange as he said "Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead".
2) Situation and Setting
Depressing
Evid : "Generations untold WILL pay -"
: "Toll on the innocent and unborn."
The poet is aware that by using Agent Orange, many innocent lives will be affected, and that the next generation will have to pay the price of using Agent Orange in the present generation. The capitalised "will" shows that the poet is sure that there will surely be dire consequences on the people. His anger and firmness that people will suffer due to the use of Agent Orange could also be seen from the capitalised "will".
3) Language and Diction
Potpourri
According the the dictionary, "potpourri" means a a mixture of dried petals of roses or other flowers with spices, kept in a jar for their fragrance. As potpourri is a nice-smelling mixture of flowers, the use of "potpourri" in the poem expresses irony. In this poem, potpourri is used to show the smell of death and the many colours of chemicals used in the warfare, killing many people.
Use of words revolving around death
In this poem, the poet uses several words which are related to death, which makes the poem rather dark and dull. He uses words such as "death", "dead", "toll" and "mourn". This actually highlights the fact that hundreds and thousands of people will suffer or die from the use of Agent Orange. It shows that innocent people who were not involved in the war were implicated and have to pay the price of using Agent Orange.
Personal Response
After reading the poem "Rainbow Death" by Hubert Wilson, it made me think about the aftermath of war and the many impacts war would have on the innocent people. I feel that war will only bring about deaths and casualties and nothing else. It is harsh and people who were not involved will also have to pay the price of using chemical warfare. I agree with the poet that use of chemical warfare is extremely harmful to everyone and may cause long term suffering to the people. I think that another purpose of Hubert writing the poem is to remind everyone that we should preserve peace in the world and should not go to a war with one another.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
SABBATICALS :D
Yay hit my 4th blog post. This post will be about my thoughts and feelings of the sabbaticals, do share your views too :D.
Let's start. Firstly, I think that the sabbatical courses are very meaningful. These courses allow us to be exposed to other things, rather than be in our classroom everyday having the same old lessons. We can learn new skills in each course, which might somehow help us in the future. Moreover, I enjoy the courses as we are ablt to learn new things not taught in the classroom in a fun and interesting way. During this sabbatical week, we can also relax and take a break from all those schoolwork and tests. It is a platform where we can enjoy, learn, and have a great new experience! :)
For me, my sabbatical for this term is Science Eureka xD. In this course, we will mainly just do some science experiments guided by two Secondary 4 people O: I find this course quite interesting as we are able to do many experiments which we will probably not have the chance to do it during class.
Please share your views here and have a fun learning experience ahead for the next few days of sabbaticals! :)
Let's start. Firstly, I think that the sabbatical courses are very meaningful. These courses allow us to be exposed to other things, rather than be in our classroom everyday having the same old lessons. We can learn new skills in each course, which might somehow help us in the future. Moreover, I enjoy the courses as we are ablt to learn new things not taught in the classroom in a fun and interesting way. During this sabbatical week, we can also relax and take a break from all those schoolwork and tests. It is a platform where we can enjoy, learn, and have a great new experience! :)
For me, my sabbatical for this term is Science Eureka xD. In this course, we will mainly just do some science experiments guided by two Secondary 4 people O: I find this course quite interesting as we are able to do many experiments which we will probably not have the chance to do it during class.
Please share your views here and have a fun learning experience ahead for the next few days of sabbaticals! :)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Home Learning ):
Ello.. So this post will be about the Home Learning program which we had last week. Ok I'm going to complaint about everything regarding the Home Learning D:<. Personally, I think that this Home Learning thing is not effective at all. I simply do not understand what the purpose is for carrying out the Home Learning program. First of all, I feel that we could learn more efficiently in classrooms as compared to completing work online. For me, I find that I could not really absorb everything that teachers post online for us to read and go through, and that it is easier to digest information in the classroom. Secondly, when we have questions pertaining to the topic, there would be difficulty to clarify our doubts via email or other online ways. Also, the time allocated for each subject is not enough to complete the assigned work, resulting in our break to be used up for completing the work. I would rather go back to school to have normal lessons than staying at home to do online learning as learning takes place more effectively and efficiently in the classroom and doubts could be clarified at once, as compared to individual online learning at home, which I think less information could be absorbed. In conclusion, I hope that NO MORE home learning will be carried out in the future, unless there are emergencies ( pardon the caps o.o)
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