Sacrifice to make someone happy

Looking through the once worn-by-me clothes when I was 3 years old, I could smell the rich history the clothes gave out. Among the pile of clothes, I gradually took out a pair of baby shoes and placed its sole against mine, and I could see the "big" difference in size, it was like a piece of bread. Did I actually used to wear all of these? I have grown out of all of these clothes, and somehow just do not want to lose them. It was like they were a part of me. Taking them away was like taking away your face! My mother told me a few years ago that one day; we would be donating all of these clothes to the less fortunate. Back then I was in Primary 4 when the house was still fresh and spacey. Now that the house was cram, stuffy, and full of unnecessary stuffs, it was time to clean things up.

All my family members knew that I was terrible at cleaning things up; I even stuffed primary school work into any gap or space I can find. But that was not my worst fear. I was afraid that my mother would take away my baby clothes that I loved so much. It was like a relationship between history and me. I protected these “treasure” for all these years, but the time has come, for me to sacrifice something meaningful to me. I was starring at the pile of old clothes when my mother came crashing in with a plastic bag, “It’s time”. I could not resist the temptation to reject to her idea but something tells me that it was time to let it go. However, I argued with my mother that I would keep these “treasure”, and in the end, I was reprimanded and forced to place all of the once worn-by-me clothes. I was pretty down for that moment.

We took the bulky plastic bag of my old stuffs to the nearby church. We were rushing before the gates closed. Finally, placing the bag into the donation drive basket, where the clothes will be given to the less fortunate. At least I made a sacrifice to make someone else happy…

Character to Studies

Schools should emphasize more on character development than academic development.
Do you agree or disagree?

I feel that schools should emphasize more on character development than academic development, as students should be able to express themselves more effectively when entering society. Without proper character development, students do not have the right attitude or values to keep up one's. However, academic development is important too, it gives you the sufficient knowledge to produce quality work. Therefore important to have a balance between these two developments.

Without proper character development in one's life, can lead to the wrong attitude like giving up immediately after meeting up with a problem. Nowadays, children are too pampered by their parents and in result, they depend too much on others for help and have no independence for his or herself. It would be very crucial, for a student to start learning his or her values when their young in order to enter the society with the right attitude. Mainly values such as "Discipline, Respect, Honesty, Inquiry" should be known to all of us if we want to overcome challenges. It is common that those with poor character development tend to development very low self-esteem and think too highly of themselves. Which will mean that the affected person will not be able to carry himself well when he or she enters the society. Therefore, character development is very important for have good self-esteem and able to carry oneself throughout the society.

With proper character development comes with a proper balance with academic development. Nowadays, the society concentrates more on academics than character development in order to get a better job in the society. In my opinion, this form of bring in people into the workforce is a bad idea as they do not have the right attitude and mindset. The society should want the more risk takers and thinkers, not just doers.

However, it is important to have a balance between these two developments in order to truly succeed within the society. With great knowledge comes with great decisions to make. When you have the correct values, you would think twice before executing the move that will cause you to lose it all. Unfortunately, academic excellence is a little bit more important than character when it comes to the society and it provides with oneself more opportunities. Values and character development should come even before academic excellence, as it plays apart in making who you are.

Therefore, schools should place more emphasis in character development than academic development, but there will have to be a balance in order to carry oneself well throughout his or her life.

Cheers,
Ryan Lau :3

Ideal School ~Something Many Schools Should Reach For~

I think that an ideal school should be stress free, have better student-teacher relationship and, be more organise in cooperation among the teachers. Further more, with academics regarded highly as a form of requirement to fit into the fast developing society. As more students strive to be the best, some would be left out and some might not be able to cope. In my opinion, schools in Singapore just do not know how to have fun~!

I think that an ideal school should be stress free as nowadays, youngsters like myself have to handle of resist a lot of depression and stress, be it examinations, homework or project work. Especially in Singapore whereby the education system aims to be at its best, tend to have its own backfiring. Some of the effects for e.g. Students tend to be very quiet as teachers are strict, not enough freedom to voice opinion, some teachers do not accept stupid questions etc. Unlike the schools in Singapore, the schools in New Zealand do not have any examinations at all until students reach grade 6, which is like primary 6 in Singapore, to take their Final Examination before proceeding to High School. Under stress-free conditions, students would be able to think clearly without any worries, thus producing a higher quality of work.

I think that an ideal school should have better student-teacher relationship as it promotes students to be more active and interactive during classes or lessons. When we compare normal Singaporean schools to government schools, the students in government schools tend to be more interactive as from primary school onwards, they have their own current affairs session, which involves being aware of today's or current current affairs. Through this session, students are encouraged to voice out their opinions which lack in many students today. In schools, with better student-teacher relationship, the teachers are able to understand the students character and is able to finger out the weaknesses and the "solutions". Therefore, in my opinion. I think that the schools should focus more on student-teacher relationships.

Lastly, I think that an ideal school should have better cooperation with each other so as to reduce stress among the students. The idea is that the co-operation helps to spread the work and reduce the work depression by receiving less work per day than bombing everyone with work in one day. Thus in my opinion I think that with better co-operation, students are able to have free time each day to indulge in their active lifestyles and hobbies/passion.

I do not own this picture

The End of Our Journey? Get away from the Edge!

Come on guys! This is not the end of of our learning journey, we still have many things to learn. If you have already gave up and jumped of the "cliff" make sure you work hard to make it to the top. Stop wasting your time wondering if this is the end to the LA blog, walk along the edge, we have still so much to learn. This term, I have met many challenges like tests, homework, blog, R n R exercises and many many more. Being the monitor of the class, I tend to freak out when the class is misbehaving, but with the help of the chairman and the rest of the members, order is maintain. But now, I am not going to talk about my normal school life, but my learning journey so far and have yet to come... So far we have been discussing a lot on racism and prejudice, from "To Kill a Mocking Bird" to "Burning Mississippi" to "The Merchant of Venice". To me, I sometimes feel angry that some Christians in "The Merchant of Venice' are not showing mercy that they suppose to be to the Jews. Being a Roman Christian myself, I believe in not using violence as a concept to solve all problem, as the matter of fact, violence can only lead to more violence, am I not right? Further more as we go down the lane, we have the Reading and Reasoning Exercises to hit our head literally! I also feel quite sad that I did not do well for my R and R test in term 3 and promised myself that I will read more and work harder for the End of Year's. After all, "Practise makes perfect" or "Practise promises onself to strive for the better life".

We will soon get the hang of it using these steps suggested by our teacher.(For R and R)
Step 1: Underline keywords
Step 2: Figure what type of question it is
Step 3: Go back to passage and locate where the answer might be
Step 4: Look at textual clues for anwer

If you are a regular blogger who visits my blog regularly, you might see quite some pictures I have used to depict or give a better description of the blog posts. I suggest that you should read my posts tagged "Analyse Writers" whereby I showcase and analyse their famous work like Ernest Heimingways, novel "Baby Shoes"

I wish Singapore in the upcoming Presidential Election, which candidate will change the fate of Singapore, it is in our hands to decide ya? The fact that this term shows that many improvements can be made shows that I have much more to learn before my life ends. Learning goes on forever, whether old or young.

"Thanks to google images for wonderful pictures, I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE PHOTOS EXCEPT FOR THE ONES I TOOK MY SELF!"

Cheers :3
Ryan Lau

Clash of the Ti"Tans"

Tony Tan vs Tan Cheng Bock vs Tan Kin Lian vs Tan Jee Say

When Singapore's sixth and "current president S.R. Nathan will be leaving Parliament office at the end of the month, leaving Singapore in the decision to elect the next president, the one who can guide Singapore to proper and maintain its excellence. Out of the 4 candidates shown above, Tony Tan, Tan Cheng Bock, Tan Kin Lian, and Tan Jee Say which would be the last man standing, and become Singapore's seventh president.

S.R. Nathan
With S.R. Nathan's, the longest serving president since sworn in on September 1, 1999, surpassing Benjamin Sheares, and he has done us proud. Being a popular president, he even had a tough early life in the late 19s. Sone of his contributions are initiating fund-raising for the Sri Sivan Temple which was relocated from Dhoby Ghaut to Geylang East, starting the first Tamil-English kindergarten, and starting a family counselling unit for needy Indian families, for the Hindu community.


Timeline (provided by infopedia)
1940 - 1941 : Office boy and various odd jobs
1955 - 1956 : Medical Social Worker, Singapore Civil Service with stints in Woodbridge and the Leprosy Centre
1956 - 1962 : Seamen's Welfare Officer, Ministry of Labour
1962 - 1964 : Assistant Director, Labour Research Unit, Ministry of Labour
1964 - 1965 : Director, Labour Research Unit, Ministry of Labour; later the Ambassador to Egypt in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1966 : Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rising to the rank of Deputy Secretary
1971 : Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs
1971- 1979 : Director, Security and Intelligence Division, Ministry of Defence and serving as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
1973 : Chairman, Mitsubishi Singapore Heavy Industries (Pte.) Ltd.
1979 - 1982 : First Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1980 - 1988 : Director, Singapore National Oil Company
Feb 1982 - 1988 : Executive Chairman, Straits Times Press (1975)
Apr 1988 - 1990 : High Commissioner to Malaysia
Jul 1990 - June 1996 : Ambassador to the United States
1996 - 1999 : Ambassador-at-large
15 Jul 1996 : Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, NTU; the first for the institution.
18 Jul 1996 : Pro-Chancellor, National University of Singapore
1 Sep 1999 : President of Singapore, 2nd elected into this position and 6th local president.


Dr Tony Tan
Probably with the most experience in Parliament is Tony Tan, being Singapore's Former Deputy Prime Minister and according to news he feels that he has more to contribute to the society and stresses the fact that he should step up and not remain as a spectator while Singapore faces such complicated challenges.He also hopes to help the disadvantaged, handicapped and others who need help. In addition, stresses that it is not the President's responsibility to suggest a change in policy and the fact that the government has to be in power to prevent chaos. And the Presidents will probably sit on the mindset that "If you take care for the people, the people will take care of the mission..." Dr Tony Tan is regarded as a strategic thinker, and a caring person who takes interest in the of Singapore in mind.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock
Tan Cheng Bock's reasons for being one of the candidates for Singapore's upcoming Presidential election, is that he liked to be an unifying figure for all Singaporeans. Tan Cheng Bock was also a former MP for Ayer Rajah, and is a person who believes in what he does and gives in all his best. He sees that Singaporeans want harmony and fair play. There should be mutual respect for the government of the day and the Presidency as both are elected by Singaporeans.
His past involvement
Political Career Profile
General Election Constituency Scorecard
1980 Dec Ayer Rajah 83.4%
1984 Dec Ayer Rajah 75.4%
1988 Sep Ayer Rajah 69.6%
1991 Apr Ayer Rajah 75.2%
1997 Jan Ayer Rajah 73.2%
2001 Nov Ayer Rajah 88.0%
1987 – 1996 Elected Member, PAP Central Executive Committee
Past Appointments
• Feedback Unit (1984 – 1989) – Ministry of Community Development
• 1st Chairman (1985 –1989) Town Councils
• Chairman Jurong East Town Council (Aug 1989 –1991)
• V. Chairman Jurong East Town Council (Aug 1991- 1996)
• Chairman West Coast-Ayer Rajah Town Council (Nov 2001-Dec 2004)
• Vice Chairman, Bukit Timah Town Council (Jan 1997)
Community Development Council (CDC)
• Chairman, Bukit Timah CDC (Dec 1997- Nov 2000)
• Vice Chairman, South West CDC
Parliamentary Appointments
Government Parliament Committee (GPC)
1987 –1988: Co-ordinating Chairman for all GPCs
1987 –1990: Chairman, GPC for Education
1991 –1995: Chairman, GPC for National Development
1995 –1997: Chairman, GPC for The Environment
1997 –2000: Member, GPC for Communications
2001 –2006: Member, GPC for Defence and Foreign Affairs

Tan Kin Lian
He thinks that we need stong and competititve economy to provide a better life for Singaporeans. He sees that many Singaporeans are willing to study and work hard and spending quality time with family memebers. He says that he wants to see balance between work and social interaction. He warns citizens that they should not sacrifice their time and life to keep their jobs. In addition, his vision for Singapore is "Live a good Singapore, live a better life", he would be the voice of the people, listening to their woes and requests. If elected president, he would make a president council to work with experts to make Singapore a better country to live in. I feel that he gives quite alot of promises though....(Mistake for him) He also believes that a good government does not abuse its power.
His vision for Singapore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwOATWH5Bbk&feature=related
Tan Kin Lian shares his vision for Singapore and how he will realize this vision if elected as the President. He explains how he will actualize his goal as the voice of the people. He also describes the President's charity he would form from the donation of at least half of his salary and outlines details of his President's Personal Council

Career
Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Singapore (1975)
Advanced Management Program at Harvard University (1993)

Mr. Tan Kin Lian started his career at the Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd (Singapore) in 1966. He joined NTUC Income (Singapore) in 1977 as General Manager and Actuary. In 1997, he was re-designated as CEO until his retirement on 31st March 2007.

From 1978 until 2007, Mr. Tan Kin Lian received various awards and distinctions. He is also an active member in several associations and institutions.



Tan Jee Say

Tan Jee Say says that he wants to become a president of Singapore as many Singaporeans want a non-PAP President whose independence of the PAP is clear, obvious and cannot be in doubt. Only such a person can have the moral authority to fulfill the mission of Elected President which is to provide checks and balances on the PAP Government. He wants to be an active President, engaging the nation on issues of conscience and promoting worthy causes. Charcteristic of a helpfull person.

Reflections

Being a Singaporean I, feel that life in Singapore is still stuff without much money, and the cost of living is quite high. So life in Singapore is “So far so good” I guess. But now with Singapore’s current head of state is going to be replaced by “younger” and maybe more aspiring leaders to the country. What we all want is a good, respectful, and organized leader who can lead Singapore to proper in the future. From the status of all the President Hopefuls, I can see that it would be a tough fight between the Ti “Tans” I say. With Dr Tony Tan being a former deputy Prime Minister, he should have more experience when running government, but some have an eye for Tan Jee Say a non-PAP contestant, and Tan Chen bock along with Tan Kin Lian. When the time comes for Singapore to vote for a brand new Head of State, they would be deciding their future. However, I noticed that Singapore has a Parliamentary Government, in which the Head of State has less power than the Prime Minister. After all, a head of state in a head of state and not government society. I feel that a great change would be coming to the governing system and our lives as we know it would change by then.

Online Lesson 12

Step 2: The common theme I see is judging the appearance of the person and not see the true personality of oneself. The Prince of Morocco decided to use gold, high valued and rare, to compare to Portia's worthy self and beauty. When he opened the casket, there was a scroll which was saying that all that glitters is not gold which meant that it is not the outside that counts but the inside that counts, the heart and soul the worthy person bears all his life. For the prince of Arragon, he chose the silver casket as pride got the hold of himself and felt that he deserve Portia. Unfortunately, when he open the casket, there was a picture of an idiot holding a scroll. Finally for Bassanio, he picked the dull looking casket which was made out of not just lead but cheap lead. Which proves that Bassanio puts others before him before attending to himself, and he is a humble and fair person, therefore he got Portia.

Step 3: This is just crap! Totally screwed! How much homework I have, is just unbearable, and committing-suicide worthy. What I have, what I have! Was Chinese, English, Maths, and History homework, what is this, probably the most tight day of my life! What more can I get, tuition at 7pm. How the heck am I suppose to get all this crap done by tomorrow, further more, I do not just live far away, I live very far away from school. Keeping what the teachers in my head is causing my head to explode! What, square root of 125 equals to 5? Which year did Singapore get its independence from the British rule? 1819? From what I see now is that I am stuck between two worlds, whether to got for this tuition or not to go. This is just great, a pile of junk plus tuition at night! How am I gonna survive in the future if I cannot even handle a what to be known as "normal" amount of work! I should be doing my work now, but I am paralysed by the decisions I have to make right now, oh my goodness gracious me... Is the world going to end in 2012?

National Day School Celebration

As the dawn breaks,
Students make their way,
To the once a year,
National Day Celebration,
Dipped in red and white,
Were the festive attire,
Assembling at the terraces,
Looking like a sea of red and white
We wonder what kind of performance we were having this year,
As we stared into the steps,
And tapped our feet,
To the rhythm of the mighty construction machines make.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Tap Tap Tap

How long does it take,
For a school of 4000 students,
Take to assemble at the terraces,
Waiting at my position,
Looking around at the field,
And hoped that the Sun will stay behind the clouds,
But as all hope is lost,
The Sun came up,
With its bright cheerful shine,
It causes the clothes we were wearing,
To look brighter and lighter.
What I did not know,
Was the fact that a trick was being played,
On me.

Hey! Ryan! Look behind!
And then realised,
That my bottle was gone,
Thinking that it was in the class,
When I felt a hard solid touching my back,
It was my bottle!
The tricksters laughed,
Till their faces were pink,
And I was embarrassed,
As a drop of sweat started,
To Trickle down my cheeks.
How hot it was,
You don't want to know.

As the celebration starts,
We proudly sang our anthem,
And said our pledge,

The first part of the celebration kicked in,
And off goes the uniform groups,
Showing off their marching skills,
Focused on the formation,
Despite countless disturbance from the crowd.
And we all went on,
Cheering with all our might,

An hour has passed,
We then had to head back to the hall,
And row by row,
The seemingly red and white ants marched off,


Upon reaching the hall,
The crowd began to roar,
As the celebration carried on,
With interesting dances,
Made by the foreigners themselves,
And some by our fellow friends,
How intense it was,
To see all those singing skills and dance skills,
And we all watched in awe,
And had the same thought,
We were proud to be Singaporeans,
And Share the same,

Singapore Spirit.







Blaze the Singapore Spirit!
Cheers,

Ryan Lau

Reflection
This is one of the many ways that I use to convey my experience during an occasional event, the other post that I used the poetic way was the one on the YOG celebration in 2010. I feel that using the poetic structure helps to show more meaning into what you and I am saying. Sometimes, it gives a smooth rhythm and makes it relaxing for the reader to read. I hope that you people think that I am using a steady and happy tone towards the end, and if you guessed it, good job! What really makes a poem special, is that it has hidden words or meaningful words, without the use of adjectives to exaggerate it. Being a Singaporean myself, I am proud of my country, I grew up here, I was taught here, and now I will have to thank all those who made this meaningful journey possible for me.

Blaze the Singapore Spirit!