Daily Reflections
Day 1
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| Sky lantern 孔明灯 |
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| 头城农场 |
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| kiln 焢窑DIY |
Today
was a day packed with numerous activities. Firstly, we took the High Speed Rail
to Hsinchu. This
is my first time taking the High Speed Rail and I feel that it was a thrilling
experience. The ride was fast, and I felt that it was efficient and better than
I initially expected. I think that the High Speed Rail shows the country's
capability. After taking the High Speed Rail, I was truly amazed by how
advanced Taiwan's technology has become.
Secondly, we went to
Hsinchu Science Park where we got to discover different new technologies and
innovations. I feel that the designers and inventors are very creative to be
able to invent these items. These exhibits inspired me to think that technology
is advancing quickly and with creativity, nothing is impossible. However, I
feel that some of the inventions are not truly beneficial for us, human beings.
One such example is the robot. I think that by helping us to carry out simple
tasks, it has made us lazier as we will just rely on the robot to do things.
Therefore, I believe that not all the inventions are beneficial, and some of
them actually have negative impacts.
Thirdly, we visited the
Spring Pool Glass Factory, where we did the glass DIY. For me, it was a
first-time experience, and it was fun and interesting. I was amazed by the fact
that the factory uses recycled glass to make their products. This shows the
commendable recycling efforts of the Taiwanese people.
Lastly, we went to the
Inner Bay Street, where we saw the preservation of the history and culture of
Taiwan. I think that the development to appeal to tourists will outweigh the
preservation of the original heritage. If the place has to accommodate the
tourists, the heritage will have to change and redevelop.
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| High speed rail station |
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| Class photo outside Neiwan train station 内湾车站 |
Day 4
Today, we learnt about the
culture and history of Taipei, through the temple, memorial hall and Taipei
101. Due to the extra time, we also went to the Eslite bookstore.
Firstly, we went to the
Taipei Confucius Temple, where we learnt about the cultural characteristics of
it. I think that the tour is enriching and interesting as I got to learn and
compare between the temple in Taiwan and in Singapore.
Secondly, we went to the
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, where we saw many exhibits about Sun Yat Sen's life.
I feel that the exhibits are quite similar as compared to Singapore, but the
main difference is that the memorial hall in Singapore included exhibits about
the overseas Chinese whereas the Taipei's one did not. We also got to see the
change-of-guards ceremony. It was similar to the one we saw in Chiang Kai Shet
Memorial Hall. I wonder why the ceremony is needed, as I rarely see it in
Singapore.
Thirdly, we went to Taipei
101. I was first amazed by its towering height. It has the world's fastest
elevator. I feel that it is beneficial that there is a damper to counteract the
force of earthquakes and tsunami. In Singapore, I think that it is not possible
to build a skyscraper so tall, as we do not have the resources and manpower.
Lastly, we went to Eslite
bookstore. I feel that the bookstore is really big and sells a wide variety of
items such as books, gifts and accessories. There is even a cafe in the
bookstore. I think that the Taiwanese people are polite and considerate, as the
atmosphere in the bookstore is quiet and peaceful, unlike in Singapore, the
bookstores are usually noisy and crowded with throngs of people.
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| Taipei Confucius Temple 台北孔庙 |
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| Taipei 101 |
Day 5
今天，我们有幸到建国高中参观和交流。当我第一次踏进校园时，我很惊讶，因为那间学校非常大。我和其他几位同学到了同样的课室，上英文和地理课。我觉得他们上课的方式很有趣，也跟新加坡的差别很大。我认为最大的不同点是老师没有那么严格，而且学生可以在课室里吃东西。这个规则的优点是学生们可以自由，而缺点是很难保持课室的卫生环境清洁。
我本身认为建国高中很大，所以很容易迷路。我想可能那些学生都习惯并适应了，所以不会不知道怎么走到另一个地方。我觉得他们老师的教学方式很精彩，与新加坡不一样。就比如在英文课上，老师会叫他们上前分享，而我们的老师很少让我们这么做。
我们也到了饶河夜市。那里售卖各种各样的物品，也有许多美味可口的事物。夜市让我们体会台湾的风土人情。我觉得摊主都很有创意，会别出心裁来吸引更多顾客。
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| Class photo with buddies outside Jian Guo High School 建国高中 |
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| Our buddies' class |
Day 6
Today was a fun day together with our buddies. We went to many places,
such as the National Taiwan University, 四四南村，and Yingge Ceramics Museum.
I admire the students in Jian Guo for being able to organise
activities for us, and being independent, taking responsibility for our safety.
They were like our big brothers, taking care of us and helping us. When we ask
them questions, they do not hesitate to answer us. This shows that they are
polite.
Furthermore, when we discuss certain topics with them, they have a lot
of knowledge. I think that we should learn from them and gain more knowledge.
This outing has indeed changed my perspective towards the Taiwanese students.
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| 四四南村 |
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| 眷村文物馆 |
Day 7
The visit to the National Palace Museum, Shung Ye Museum of Formosan
Aborigines and 剥皮寮老街 has certainly
opened my eyes, and I have become more aware of the history, artifacts and
aborigines culture in Taiwan.
After seeing lots of artifacts in the National Palace Museum, I was
surprised and amazed since I didn't know that there would be so many artifacts.
I learnt more about the aborigines, for example their lifestyle and clothing.
剥皮寮老街 was interesting as
we got to play games and also learn more about the preserved history. I feel
that the unique feature of implementing games will certainly attract more
tourists.
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| National Palace Museum |
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| 国立故宫博物院 |
Overall Reflection
This trip was a memorable one, definitely the trip of a lifetime. During those eight days of the immersion programme, I learnt a lot of things about Taiwan, be it the culture, history, values or its beliefs. This trip was an eye-opener for me, and surely also for many other classmates. I was glad to have come on this trip, and I would not regret it.
My most
memorable experience was at the Toucheng Farm. Who would have thought that my
most memorable experience was during the second day of the trip, when there are
still five eventful days ahead? Now, looking back, I thought that that day at
the farm was indeed the most interesting one. Since it was my first time
visiting/staying in a farm, I felt that the experience was unique. We enjoyed
many cultural activities, such as rice planting, building of a kiln, feeding
goats and cows, and T-shirt painting. I would say that the activity that I
enjoyed and benefitted a lot from was rice planting. Through this tedious and “muddy”
activity, I learnt and experienced the hardship of the farmers. I learnt that
since the weather of Taiwan is suitable, a number of farmers will choose to
plant and harvest their own crops. This activity made me gain respect for those
hardworking farmers, and also empathise with them. This first-hand experience
has indeed impacted me, making me strive to work hard in my studies. This is because
after experiencing the hardship of the farmers, I realised that only through
hard work and perseverance, we will then succeed. “You reap what you sow”. This
idiom is indeed true. The farmers did not complain or give up due to the
hardship, hence, in the end, they were able to successfully harvest their
crops. We, students, should learn from the farmers, by not complaining when
teachers give us a lot of homework, and we should strive to work hard, in order
to reach our goals. As the saying goes, no pain, no gain. We should put in our
best efforts, in order to achieve great results. During this activity, we also
got to step out of our comfort zones to walk into the muddy fields. For some of
us, it was our first time getting our feet muddy. This made me realise that it
was not easy to plant and harvest the food that we eat, so we must not waste food.
After this activity, I learnt that we should cherish food, as the food that we
consume comes from the farmers’ hardship, pain and sweat.
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| scenery in Toucheng Farm 头城农场 |
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| Playing with bubbles |
另一项令我印象最深刻的经验是在台湾能与建国高中的学生进行两天的交流。在这次的交流中，我获益不浅，学到了不少东西，也感触深深。这是我第一次与别间学府交流，并且这是外国学府。起初，我非常期待，既兴奋又紧张。 与建国的学生交流后，我发现当地的学生跟立化的学生有些不同点。从这次的交流，我学到了不少，并对那里学生的学习态度和老师的教学方式有了新的认识和更深一层的了解。台湾学生的学习态度很积极。他们会专心听课，做笔记，也会举手回答问题。虽然有些学生会在课堂上睡觉，但是他们会向朋友抄笔记，或早已读了课本里老师所教的内容。他们的学习态度让我改变了我的想法，也同时激发了我。我可以向他们学习他们勤奋好学的精神。他们很用功，常会自习。若有问题或不明白/不清楚的地方，他们会毫不犹豫举手发问，不像立化的学生胆小如鼠，不敢开口。这一点的确激发了我，要向他们一样勇敢发问，把疑问提出来。我觉得建国的学生是我们的榜样，值得我们学习，因为他们的成绩佳，品行好，又独立。
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| In the classroom |
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| Jian Guo High School's field |
Another
unforgettable experience was going up to Taipei 101. To me, it was thrilling
but frightening at the same time as it was my first time going up to an
extremely tall building. I initially thought that the skyscraper would not be
able to support all our weight when I first saw the number of visitors inside.
However, I learnt from the tour guide that the building has a strong and stable
foundation of five levels underground. It also has a lot of structural features
which I seriously thought were pretty cool and amazing. Taipei 101 has the
world’s fastest elevator for speed; double-layered glass curtains for safety
and protection; and anti-earthquake structural features to withstand major earthquakes
since Taiwan is earthquake-prone. I felt that by having these features,
Taiwan’s technology has indeed advanced and improved greatly. I thought that
since Taiwan is a small and developing country as compared to China, it will
not have these advanced technologies but I was proved wrong. After the visit to
Taipei 101, it really changed my thoughts about Taiwan. Previously, I thought
that Taiwan’s technology will not be very good due to my own biases, but this
experience opened my eyes and made me come to realisation that Taiwan’s level
of technology is actually high.
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| View from Taipei 101 |
Through this
trip, I have become more aware of the values and beliefs of the Taiwanese
people. Firstly, I learnt that the Taiwanese people are very polite and
helpful. One example is during the supermarket trip, where the security guard
and cashiers took time off to answer our questions even though they were
working. Secondly, I realised that the pace of living in Taiwan is quite slow
as compared to Singapore. The working class do not rush to work whereas the
students in school do not experience a lot of stress. They lead a very relaxed
lifestyle. Thirdly, I became aware of Taiwan’s recycling efforts. In school,
the students will collect the plastic bottles, plastic bags, and plastic containers
from the shaved ice for recycling. On the bus, the tour manager will collect
our used plastic bottles for recycling. The tour guide claimed that the plastic
bottles could be recycled to make T-shirts. This shows that the Taiwanese
people care for the environment by carrying out recycling movements.
Furthermore, I noticed very few rubbish bins around the streets of Taiwan. This
shows that the Taiwanese people are responsible enough to dispose their litter,
and not to leave or throw them on the ground instead. When we visited the
Spring Pool Glass Factory in Hsinchu, I was surprised that the factory uses
recycled glass to make the sculptures. This shows the great recycling efforts
of Taiwanese people. Lastly, I think that one good value we can learn from the
Taiwanese people is their respect for their leaders and founding father. Sun
Yat Sen Memorial Hall and Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall were built to let
others be aware of and remember their great leadership and contributions to
Taiwan. This awareness made me learn from the Taiwanese people about their
politeness, helpfulness, commendable recycling efforts and respect towards
their leaders. I felt that these values and beliefs are important and
Singaporeans should learn from them. Also, I think that it is crucial to learn
how to juggle homework and entertainment, just like what the Taiwanese students
do. Even though they have a lot of homework and reports, they still lead a
happy and stress-free life. They are independent and are also self-directed learners.
I believe that we can learn from them.
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| Outside Jian Guo High School |
This trip was
not only fun and interesting, but also beneficial. I learnt a lot of things and
gained knowledge and awareness about the Taiwanese people. 正所谓：百闻不如一见。这次的旅程，开阔了我的眼界，让我受益不浅。
Montage that represent:
1) Singapore Youth Culture
And what I think will represent:
2) Taiwan Youth Culture
Youths in Singapore often use social media, such as Instagram and Youtube. They also use smartphones for many occasions, like gaming, texting, using the Internet etc. Some games that many children like to play is Clash of Clans and Minion Rush. Singaporeans are also often described as 'Kiasu', as they fight and compete with others to get the best for themselves. Universal Studios is a popular tourist attraction which many will visit. It is very fun and I am sure many youths will want to visit it. In conclusion, the pictures in the collage will represent Singapore Youth Culture, as they are popular among them.
Taiwan
Youths in Taiwan like to eat the delicacy there, such as oyster omelette and pearl milk tea. These food are delicious, hence gaining popularity among teenagers. Youths enjoy music bands and sports such as Tug of War. They even participated in the Asian Tug of War Championships. The highlight in Taiwan is the night market. At the top left corner of the collage, there is a picture which shows the Rao He Night Market. This night market is popular and oftenly visited by youths and even elderly in Taiwan. As it is also a famous tourist attraction, it is always crowded with throngs of people. A wide variety of things are sold there, eg. food and toys. Therefore, I think that the pictures in the collage will represent Taiwan Youth Culture.
7. Reflection on Merlion 10/04/2015 (Do you think the Merlion would make the best national icon for Singapore?)
A national icon is something significant that represents the country well. It will be easily recognised by foreigners. Based on my opinion, I think that the Merlion would make the best national icon for Singapore, and there are a few reasons for my point of view.
Firstly, I agree that the Merlion is a national icon for Singapore, due to the story of Sang Nila Utama. The Merlion is a traditional creature that depicts a creature with a lion head and a body of a fish. When Sang Nila Utama first stepped on Singapore, he saw an unknown creature, and hence named Singapore as "The Lion City" or Singapura. This gives rise to why the Merlion has a lion head and is called the Mer"lion". In the early years, Singapore was a fishing village, hence the Merlion has a body similar to a fish. Based on this history, the Merlion is considered as a national icon for Singapore.
Secondly, we might want to ask ourselves: What is so special about the Merlion that it can be our national icon? Yes! So what exactly is so special about it? The Merlion is a 37-metre tall statue. It is a well-known symbolic figure for Singapore. When foreigners hear about Merlion, they will instantly know what it is. The Merlion attracted a lot of tourists too. It is a tourist attraction where many visitors flock there to take a look at the 'famous' high and mighty statue.
Slowly but surely, people started accepting the Merlion as Singapore's national icon. Many Merlion souvenirs have been designed, and many foreigners and even Singaporeans will buy them to treasure or give their friends as gifts. Some examples of the souvenirs are refrigerator magnets, key chains, and soft toys. I am sure that Singaporeans are familiar with the variety of items sold in Chinatown. The Merlion is also used as a mascot in the Singapore 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. A pair of mascots, Lyo and Merly, were introduced. Merly is a "Merlion-ess" cub based on the Merlion. Her hair is inspired by the Merlion's top half while her fish half is represented in light-blue scales on her body. With Merlion as the national icon for Singapore, many gifts and souvenirs have been created. Due to the acceptance and well-liked of this icon, I believe that the Merlion would make the best national icon for Singapore.
However, the Merlion is not the only representative of Singapore. There are other well-known icons which we should surely consider, such as the Changi Airport, Vanda Miss Joaquim and Marina Bay Sands. These icons also represent Singapore, and I feel that they are equally significant to Singapore. Thus, we should definitely not neglect these symbolic icons of Singapore. I personally think that Singlish and being a multiracial society also represent Singapore well. Singapore is a multiracial society, where people of different races live together in harmony. Being a multiracial society makes us special. Singlish is made up of different languages and dialects mixed together. It is special in our own way, as only Singaporeans speak Singlish. Therefore, we should also consider other icons other than the Merlion to represent Singapore.
In conclusion, I think that the Merlion would make the best national icon for Singapore, due to its history and special features. The Merlion is also well-known and liked by Singaporeans and many people around the world, hence, the Merlion is suitable as Singapore's national icon. The Merlion is
significant to Singapore as it is a popular tourist attraction, boosting economic growth of Singapore.
Watch this video about the Merlion story :) https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLuRnBt5YTl1g89fmBd-ys9t4uku9MYdha¶ms=OAFIAVgC&v=1Q256NEoJ2o&mode=NORMAL
significant to Singapore as it is a popular tourist attraction, boosting economic growth of Singapore.
Watch this video about the Merlion story :) https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLuRnBt5YTl1g89fmBd-ys9t4uku9MYdha¶ms=OAFIAVgC&v=1Q256NEoJ2o&mode=NORMAL
6. Remembering Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Golden Age of Tang Dynasty is described as one of the most brilliant eras in Chinese history. China became the wealthiest, most populous, and most sophisticated civilization on earth. There are some great inventions that result in China's prosperity. These inventions include woodblock printing, clockworks and medicine. These shows the advancement and improvements in technology, leading to a golden age.
For Singapore, we are in our golden age too. Singapore transformed from a third world to a first world nation, all because of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. His contributions helped a lot in Singapore's development and achievements. Without him, Singapore will not be who she is today.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew is the founding father of Singapore. He overcame daunting challenges and delivered on his promise of a better life for Singaporeans. I am deeply saddened by his passing. Like what PM Lee Hsien Loong said, we won't see another man like him. As Singapore's first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore to independence. After the separation from Malaysia, people thought that Singapore would not make it. However, Mr Lee Kuan Yew believed that he would be able to succeed, and he did it.
Today, we should be thankful for what we have, the HDB estates, clean water, greenery, corruption-free society, bilingual education, etc. Without Mr Lee Kuan Yew, we will surely not be able to achieve all this. He is a man of words and actions. I think that we should learn from him.
In leading Singapore, he was brave, determined, and patriotic. He also showed great leadership. I think that the best way to honour Mr Lee Kuan Yew is to live on his legacy, and continue to develop Singapore for future generations. With the development and change in Singapore due to Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore can surely be seen to be at its own version of the "Golden Age".
5. Reflection on China's economic growth
China has seen an increasing economic growth over the last two decades as they open up their country to international trade and welcome foreign investors to invest in the country. It has been of paramount importance to the country to accumulate huge levels of growth in the country in order to create as many jobs as possible for the Chinese citizens. The main factors of China's economic growth are cheap labour, cheap rental, mass production in China, pro business policies, competitive exchange rates and competitive corporate tax rates. When China open up to international trade, China will have more advantages over the rest of the countries.
There are positive and negative impacts of economic growth of China. An economic impact is that more people will be employed. The employment rate will increase, and there will be more jobs taken up. In this way, people will earn more profits for China, contributing to
China's economic growth. Another impact is that the standard of living will be higher. People in China are buying more high-end goods. In foreign countries, it could be seen that the Chinese are consuming branded bags. I think this shows that the Chinese are becoming richer, and as a result they are willing to buy more "high-class things". A negative social impact is that not everyone has equal opportunities and benefits from the growth. People living in rural/under-developed areas in China still experience poverty, even though the urbanized areas of China are advancing and have a higher standard of living. I personally feel that it is not fair that parts of the country are richer than the others. The rich will become richer, but the poor will become poorer instead. An environment impact is air, water and noise pollutions. I think that these pollutions will affect people' health adversely. Air pollution is especially serious in Beijing. Rapid economic growth has increased water demand and pollution. Noise pollution will cause damage people's ears and cause hearing loss at an earlier age.
When China opens up their country to international trade, there will be more trading partners and countries willing to invest. A possible reason is that China has a large population of about 1.35 billion. This will lead to larger workforce and larger production, causing economic growth. However, there are some positive and negative implications on Singapore if China is opened up to international trade. Positive implications are that Singapore is able to collaborate with China in trading, and both countries will gain profits. Negative implications are that China will become a competitor against Singapore, and both countries have to fight for trade with other countries. Foreign countries might choose to trade with China and cancel trade with Singapore as China has a larger population and more resources. If this happens, this will lead to a declining economy for Singapore as it will lose profits and trading opportunities.
In conclusion, I think that there are many impacts of economic growth of China, affecting many other countries and itself. China will gain more trading partners gradually, and perhaps it will rank number one in terms of total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the future.
4. Reflection of CID lesson 6/2/2015
From today's lesson, I learnt about three main points as listed below: Importance of effective communication, Aging population in Singapore and lastly, One child policy. My reflection is written below:
1. Importance of effective communication
Firstly, we were given a picture which only the first person in our group can look at. After that, the person has to describe to the others what the picture is about. The information will be passed down to the next person. Lastly, the last person will draw out the information passed down. From this activity, I learnt that effective communication is important. If the important messages are not passed down accurately and correctly, the information that the receiver gets will be wrong. The drawings are quite different from the actual picture. From this, I can tell that we are not really effective communicators. We must learn the skill of communicating effectively, so that important details will not be missed out.
2. Aging population in Singapore
Now, in Singapore, the number of elderly is becoming more than the number of babies. In the past, most of the people give birth to more than 2 children. However, one-child families have increased by 5 per cent over the last 16 years to 47 per cent, while families with three or more children fell by 3 per cent to 14 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey found out. From the picture that Ms Huang showed us, the two working adults have to support four grandparents, and they are already struggling. Moreover, they only have a baby to support them. Over time, the younger generation will be tired and too stressed out, as a result, collapsing. I was first surprised when I saw the picture, but afterwards when I thought about it, I realised that it was actually true! It applies to me as I am the only child of my parents. Adults have less time to look after their child, as they are busy working. If there are more one-child families, there will be lesser young people to take jobs, hence declining economic growth. As generation changes, there will be lesser people in Singapore in the future as more and more parents will only give birth to one child. 16 people will eventually become 1 person. This shows the aging population in Singapore.
3. One child policy
In the late 1970s, the Chinese government introduced the one child policy to reduce the country's birth rate and slow the population growth rate. In 1950, the rate of population change in China was 1.9 per cent each year. A growth rate of only 3 per cent will cause the population of a country to double in less than 24 years! Previous Chinese governments had encouraged people to have a lot of children to increase the country's workforce. However, by the 1970s, the government realised that the current rate of population growth would soon become unsustainable. I think that the one child policy is effective to slow down the population growth rate of China. However, there are some implications of this policy. A positive effect is parents will have more resources to spend on their only child. They will not have to spend so much money on their child. Raising a child takes time, money and effort. A negative effect is that the falling birth rate will lead to a rise in the number of elderly people. Moreover, there will be fewer people of working age to support the growing number of elderly. Consequently, China could have an ageing population in the future. Another negative consequence is there will be lesser people joining the workforce.
In Singapore, people should be encouraged to give birth to more children, as more talents in the workforce are needed. More people joining the workforce will result in more doctors, teachers and lawyers etc., improving our lives. In shopping malls, I always see shops wanting to hire people. I think that if the population of Singapore is dwindling, there will be more jobs that are unoccupied,
affecting Singapore's economy in the end. Hence, I feel that Singaporeans should give birth to more children, so as to sustain the population and economy of Singapore.
In the future, there will be lesser people due to the dwindling population growth. If there is lesser people in Singapore, one of the possible scenarios is that the workforce efficiency decreases. This means that there are lesser people working and contributing to Singapore's economy, thus, the economy might decline. I think that we should do something to stop this from happening!! I suggest that campaigns should be set up, to let Singaporeans be more aware of the negative impacts of giving birth to one child only. This will encourage Singaporeans to give birth to more children. The onechild policy may also have an economic impact. Studies show that China’s only children are more risk-averse and less likely to be self-employed. Hence, if Singapore is like that too, there will be economic loss for the country. What’s more, to function well a society needs different types of people to fill different types of roles. If Singaporeans only give birth to one child, there will not be enough people to fill the respective roles. To conclude, I think that Singaporeans should not have the mindset that giving birth to more children means more stress and more mouths to feed. We ought to think of the positive impacts-contributing greatly to Singapore's economic, and not having an aging population.
3. Reflection on CID lesson 30/1/2015
During the lesson that day, Ms Huang showed us a story about a man and his wife. There was only one remaining seat in the lifeboat, and the man jumped into the lifeboat, leaving his wife on the sinking ship. Ms Huang asked us what the woman would say to the man. Initially, I thought that the man was cruel for letting his wife remain on the sinking ship. I thought that the woman would shout at the man for being so cruel. However, my classmates and I were all wrong. It was revealed that the woman is diagnosed with a terminal disease and she told her husband to take care of their child. The only wise thing for the man to do is jump down to the lifeboat at the last minute, while watching helplessly as the ship sank. I learnt from this story that we should not judge a book by its cover.
Next, Ms Huang showed us a picture about a riot at Little India. The scene looked chaotic, and there are some police cars overturned. A bus driver accidentally hit an Indian, causing the start of the riot. We thought that the Indians were at fault for throwing stones at the police and overturning the police cars. However, Ms Huang later showed us a video about the poor living conditions of foreign workers. I began to sympathise with them. They worked hard daily, yet they have to stay in places that seemed like slums. They helped us to build high-class condominium, yet they have to stay in places with poor living conditions. Their hard work and effort put in are not recognised. Instead, they were judged badly because of the riot. I felt that perhaps the Indian workers started the riot as they wanted justice for the Indian that died. From this picture and video I learnt that we should look at things with different perspective. We are not always correct. We can't judge from the surface of things. We must learn to understand the deeper meaning behind the story or picture.
Most Singaporeans are quick to judge others, without understanding the actual story. I think that we should not judge others based on their appearances. We should look at their actions, personalities and characters before judging them. Sometimes, the appearance of one is different from his/her actual personality and character. Hence, we must not just look at the surface of things. I hope that Singaporeans will not judge others based on their appearances. Some people that are actually good in character are judged badly by others.
At the end of the day, the takeaway from this lesson is that we should not judge a book by its cover. What we think might be entirely different from the truth. We must also look at things with different perspective, so as to understand them better. I felt that this lesson truly changed my mindset and opinions.
Picture of Little India riot that Ms Huang showed us:
Never judge a book by its cover:
2. Reflection about poverty in Singapore
In my opinion, there is less poverty in Singapore as compared to other countries. Nowadays, I rarely see cases of poverty in Singapore. Back then in the 1960s, a large number of people in Singapore faces poverty. However, times have changed. Singapore is more developed, therefore, there is a lesser number of people experiencing poverty.
Firstly, I think that there is lesser number of people in Singapore facing poverty, as the government is helping them by giving poor families financial assistance, also known as Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS). I feel that this way is good as it will help to ease the families financially. By helping them, their burden will be lessen and they do not have to worry about having not enough money.
Secondly, as Singapore become more and more developed, there will be more jobs opened up for people to take, hence, people will be able to earn money and their families will not face poverty. As compared to the past, the economic of Singapore is getting better, thus resulting in less people facing poverty in Singapore. I feel glad that less families are experiencing poverty.
I think that there should be more actions carried out to help people experiencing poverty. There could be campaigns, or charity donations, so as to raise awareness about poverty in Singapore. The public should be informed that there are people facing poverty, and hence we should help them.
I feel that I am too fortunate, as compared to kids experiencing poverty. I do hope that the children will be given assistance.
Based on the above article, it was stated that there are more poor people than the figures calculated. This shows that there are more poor people that we do not know of. We should try our best to help them, so that there will be lesser poverty in Singapore.
1. Holiday Reflection
Last year's holiday was very long for me. During this two months, I did quite a few interesting and meaningful things. I would not say that my holiday is well spent, as I felt that a lot of precious time was wasted too.
For some days during the holidays, I went to a course, which include two camps. The camps were enriching and meaningful. I learnt a lot of things from the camps, like taking initiative, helping others and being independent. I felt that the camps were extremely fun as we got to play a lot of games. During the camps, I made friends with students from other schools. We communicated and worked together so as to pass the course successfully. The camps were indeed the best I have ever had. Friendships were forged and we bonded together as one through a few days of camps. I definitely look forward to attending the course again next year.
Of course, I did other things during the holidays. I went to Malaysia for two times. The first time I went to Parit Buntar to visit my relatives. I thought that the trip was exciting as I could play with my younger cousins and have fun. In Malaysia, we always went out to eat instead of eating home-cooked food. The food was so delicious that I ate a lot. I guessed that was why I gained weight. The second time I visited Malaysia was when I went to Muar, Johor to visit my grandparents. We celebrated my uncle's birthday. It was a happy and joyous occasion. My mother and aunts will cook the meals as we never went out to eat. I was glad that I went overseas, as it was boring staying at home.
Besides the course that I attended and the trips to Malaysia, I stayed at home and did my homework. The speed of completing my homework was really slow as I was lazy and delayed completing my homework. Thinking back, I felt ashamed of myself. I ought to have completed my homework long ago, instead of using my iPad and watching television shows every night. I initially aimed to do some revision and prepare for Year 2, but in the end I barely did any revision. I think that I needed to kick my habit of watching television shows every night, if not my grades will drop as I have no time to do revision. I feel that I was too relaxed during the holidays. I slacked a lot, which resulted in me not doing anything much. Time flew very quickly and before I knew it, it was already the end of holidays. I still had not completed my homework by then. In the end, I had to rush to complete my homework the day before school starts.
All in all, after reflecting on how I spent my holidays, I thought that I could have done much better. Completing my homework quickly would be essential, instead of waiting till the last minute or day in this case, which is also known as procrastinating. I could have made use of my holidays fully, by doing revision (self-study) or helping out in charitable events. In future years, there will surely be much more work for us to do, and more stress to handle. I think that I should not waste time doing irrelevant things like using my iPad frequently, if not I will not have enough time to complete my assignments. I decide to set goals on what to complete for the holidays this year and years later, so that I will know which direction I am heading, and will be doing meaningful things, instead of letting precious time slip pass. I have learnt my lesson well, knowing that I should not wait till the last day to complete my homework.
STOP PROCRASTINATING!!!
STOP PROCRASTINATING!!!
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