Home Learning 25 May- My days in Primary School

I miss the old days when I was still a primary school child. My school was Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary, and its logo is shown below, as well as a description from the school website.

The crest is in three colours - white, blue and red. White signifies purity; blue symbolises truth and the ocean of knowledge; and red denotes loyalty and strength. The plum blossom, above the book of wisdom in the crest,
stands for one's perseverance and determination in his educational pursuits.
The Chinese-character of the school, 'Pei Hwa' is embedded in it.

Unlike the author, we did not have a school badge. Our Chinese New Year celebrations were a merry occasion, with performances by the Wushu team, Guitar Club, and Drama Club. The only time when our teachers wore traditional costumes was on Racial Harmony Day.

As for heroism, here is a story told by one of my teachers relating to the word "gung-ho"

One day, the teacher asked her students to demonstrate the meaning of gung-ho. The following day, the students came to school with heaps of papers and reports. Some brought their grandfathers to school, claiming they were survivors of WW2. Others gave numerous reports regarding famous generals who risked their lives out on the battlefield. Strangely, one boy came to school empty-handed, clutching only a single piece of blank paper. Upon seeing this, the teacher slammed her fist onto the table and demanded an explanation. The student simply sat there staring at the teacher's face. The teacher scolded the boy fiercely, raising the volume of her voice so high that the whole class flinched. The boy just stood and stared coolly. After the teacher was out of breath, the boy then took back his piece of paper and said, "The meaning of gung-ho has just been demonstrated."

Home Learning 25 May- Poetry analysis

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

In the first stanza the author writes about his school badge, which has a Latin Motto- "Hope for the future, the future is hope". "Or something" he adds, displaying his uncertainity.


At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

Occasionally the cawing of the crows disturbs the daily singing of the National Anthem.


It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

The author finds it hard to maintain the cleanliness of his shoes on Wednesday, therefore he might be scheduled to have some physical activity then, possibly PE or CCA.

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The author marvels at the diligence of the scouts.


The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

The author's schoolmates were wealthy enough to hire Malay chauffeurs to fetch them home from school, and presumably vice versa.


Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

The author fails to comprehend the math being taught to him

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

This is somewhat ironic as a Chinese teacher dressed in a Malay traditional costume and sang a Malay folk song on Chinese New Year.


The capital of Singapore is Singapore

The author demonstrates the knowledge obtained from his education- Singapore is too small to have a capital.


My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

The author seems to have a warped definition of "heroic" which extends to his best friend, who resorted to guessing his Chinese Language Multiple-choice paper.


In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me
Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment
When my eyes were actually closed

In the author's annual yearbook, someone captured a photo of the author pushing the wheelchair of a disabled person while he was blinking.

Village By The Sea- dysfunctional family vs functional family

In the story "Village by the Sea", two types of outstanding families are highlighted- the functional families, and the dysfunctional ones. Such examples include the De Silvas, Biju's family, Jagu's family, and Hari's family.

The functional families are relatively wealthy and are financially well-supported compared to the average villagers of Thul. For example, Biju's family possesses a television set- the only one in Thul; they also flaunt their wealth by dressing extravagantly with gold bangles. This is due to his success in his profession- fishing (it may also be due to his smuggling). Take the De Silvas for another example; they are even wealthier than Biju's family; they have servants and a cook in their employment, and they even have a car, which is relatively rare in the case of the villagers.

On the other hand, there is much chaos and disharmony between family members in the case of Hari and Jagu's family. In the case of Hari's family, the father's reckless indulgence in toddy results in debts being owed and abuse of the other family members, due to the fact that they fear him in his toddy-drunken states. Jagu's family, on the other hand, mainly faces financial and emotional problems that manifest themselves in the state of their dwellings- dilapidated old shacks, and the tension between family members, respectively.

BB vs Taximan

Both stories (BB and The Taximan's Story) share the common theme of parent-child relationships. In both stories, one of the parties is at fault and usually, irresponsible.

In BB, I would be slightly inclined to think that the author was a girl, due to her emotional personality and responses, which are much more common in girls than boys. BB is facing some family problems, mostly conflicts between her parents. Her mother is pregnant with another child. Her most likely deceased brother, Timmy, fell ill when he was born. This led to her father not wishing to experience any other such tragedies. This, in turn, caused him to leave home in order to escape his growing fear. Unable to face his personal doubts and fears that the new child would be another like Timmy, he turns his back on reality. However, at the end of the story, the he makes peace with his daughter and wife, and promises to return whenever he departs on a trip, and not run away again.

In the Taximan, the story is told from a taximan's point of view, exhibiting the classic Singaporean "gossip-inclined" personality. The taximan elaborates on the worsening behavoiur of adolescents (or teenagers) everywhere; he also recounts his experiences of seeing young people, even his own daughter, exhibiting untrustable behviour. According to the taximan, some examples include smoking, taking drugs, spending money extravagantly, making love, ect. He is horrified, hurt, and filled with sorrow when he sees his daughter "up to her monkey tricks", making his heart ache. He punishes her severely by "slapping her till like hell". In this case, the child is the irresponsible party.

In BB, it was the parent who was irresponsible, trying to escape reality by leaving home; in the Taximan, it was the child who was at fault, "acting like big shots" and spending money extravagantly. In conclusion, I think that the gist of the stories are much alike and similiar.

Exhausted (in a manner of speech)

Phew! I just completed my IH essay, my art project, and my math practice. I absolutely fail to see how humans manage to survive the process of growing up through secondary school. There is still work to be done tomorrow, like my AAP photo montage, my music project, and also my IH comparison between the solutions and problems that Chinese immigrants faced while staying in Singapore. But there is still something to rejoice at: the weekend is coming!! Thank the Lord for his grace and mercy.

Awooo...

Hey there, all. I hope you like my new blogskin. If you have seen this post, that means you have figured out where my posts will be found in the future. The unfortunate thing is, this blogskin does not, however, allow you to comment on my posts. Therefore, my posts will have to remain "commentless" for a period of time.

So far I'm curious about this book titled Twilight and what it is about. I know that it is roughly a romance story involving vampires and werewolves, and the latter is my speciality! So will anybody kind enough deprive me of my cluelessness?

Child slavery in India

One might think this is not possible in real life, but then you would be wrong.
Many children in Asia are kidnapped or tricked and trapped in servitude, where they work in factories and workshops without being paid, instead receiving constant and unreasonable beatings from their “masters”.
But how were these children separated from their parents in the first place? Well, this is how the scam works.
An agent arrives in town. He shows great sympathy for the child’s parents and seems to understand their financial plight. He purchases gifts for the child’s parents: two dresses for the mother and purchases a cow for the father (but the cow is an old sick cow which dies after a few months).
The agent gives them a little piece of paper with the name and address of an employment agency that does not exist, and leads the child off to a life of slavery.
This is all a cover. The children are, in reality, locked away from prying eyes in sheds or dens. Furthermore, they endure tortures such as branding with red-hot irons, burnt with cigarettes, starved, whipped, beaten while hanging upside-down, chained up, and locked in cupboards most of the time.
“We were poked with burning cigarettes on the back and legs. If we cried for our mothers we were locked in a room without air or enough light. We were forced to work for 20 hours a day without pay. We were kept half fed and beaten up severely by our masters if we were found talking or laughing among ourselves. One night I jumped into the nearby River Ganges to kill myself to escape from this painful life. We were never allowed to go back to our parents, to our villages,” says Shankar, describing his own experience.
The sweatshops have doors and windows barred in order to prevent escape. The factories are usually guarded by thugs with cudgels and occasionally, guard dogs.
But how about the child’s parents? Will they not get suspicious?
The child’s parents hear nothing from him. If they get suspicious, they might go to the address of the agency, only to discover that it does not exist. If the child’s parent finally tracks down the factory or den where the child lives and works, the master tells them: “I paid for his food and medicine”, and claims that the child cannot leave until the enormous fictitious “debts” which he incurred in keeping the child are repaid. When, eventually, the police arrive, they throw the parent out.

“I was beaten for even scratching my skin and my father was beaten when he came to see me. Ever since I started working, I haven’t been given either a wage or a single day off”.
— Ashok, 8 years, who worked a 21-hour day from 3 am until midnight in a carpet factory in India.

“I was not allowed to meet my parents for the 7 years that I worked, though I would often ask for permission. The only response was more beatings”.
— Dilip, India

“Two of my friends were killed. They were wrapped in jute bags, which were tied to heavy stones and thrown in the river”
— Dilip, India

As the governments and police forces of many countries are corrupt, the Anti-Slavery Society works to rescue the children from dens or factories by organizing and also funding rescue missions to rescue these enslaved children.
SOURCE: http://www.anti-slaverysociety.addr.com/slaverysasia.htm