Term 3 Assignment 3

Nowadays, as the population of Singapore continue on its steady increase, the MOE is trying to come up with newer and better education systems. Some people think that the current educational system is good, while others beg to differ. I myself, as a student, I think that the educational system is partly good, but partly bad.

Just like Janelle had said in her letter to the Minister of Education, learning cannot be a one-sided affair. Teachers are only giving answer sheets, assignments and teaching what they are supposed to teach. However, this way of teaching curbs all curiosity of the student. Students are not taught to ask "Why?" Albert Einstein once said: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” By not teaching students how to ask questions, the student cannot truly maximize his time at school, and cannot learn at his maximum potential. This will surely affect the students greatly, and Singapore might lose talented people through this big mistake.

In Janelle's letter, she said that "The problem is that Singaporean youths are often not taught as individuals with separate talents, but as a collective who are all the same. " It might be true in the past before the education system changed in the late 1990s. However, i beg to differ. For example,in my school, there are several programmes to help students nature their talents, be it in language, art or music. In my school, there are additional programmes like the AEP, LEP and MEP, which stands for Art Elective Programme, Language Elective Programme and Music Elective Programme. All these programmes help to develop individual talents among students. Thus, i disagree with Janelle's point.

In my opinion, I feel that the education system in Singapore can be improved by reducing the stress faced by the students. Take schools in america for example. The american education system is very much relaxed and easy-going for students. Their lessons include many group work, and fun while learning. This way, students will enjoy school and instead of disliking school, which is the case in most students in singapore, start to like and enjoy going to school and learn. This way, the education of the students will improve and their attitude towards study will change.

In Conclusion, I feel that the ideal education system should be a mix of play and work, with work being priority. This way, students will learn and have fun at the same time, causing them to like studying and changing the mindset of the students.

Term 3 Assignment 2

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity?

Water, is essential to every living organism in the world. Every living thing requires water in order to live, without any water nothing can survive. Over the years, drinking water is becoming more and more scarce and with the gradual increase in the world's population, and also the increase of temperature due to global warming. Human right means that it is accesible to anyone, regardless of age, physique, religion, race, skin colour and so on. However, a commodity refers to an item of value that can be sold. I feel that water should not be treated as a commodity. If water needs to be purchased, what about those who are too poor to afford it? They just suffer and die a horrible death due to dehydration.

In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

In my opinion water should be treated a human right and not a commodity as water is a particular resource that everyone requires. Water is a neccessity, not a luxury. Without water, nothing can survive. How can one charge another for water? Water should be shared and treated as a commodity. Regardless of how powerful, how rich you are, you cannot buy all the water in the world. Thus, i feel that water should be treated as a human right.

Weekend Assignment Term 3 Week 1

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Nowadays, we can see many cases of maids getting too stressed up or homesick and doing many unbelievable things in the newspaper. Some of them might be able to take the stress that their employers give them, but other weak-willed ones might not. Also, they might also get homesick and become distraught. One can never have any idea what a extremely stressed up person could do. I feel that maids should be given weekly days off.

Not long ago, there was a newspaper article about this maid, who mixed detergent in her employer's two and a half month old twin babies' milk powder. When the employer came home and wanted to make milk for her twins, she noticed a some blue particles in the powder and also a fragrance coming from the milk powder. She was sued by her employer. The reason for this incident was because the maid was very angry and stressed that her employer scolded her constantly for her poor work performance. From this incident, we can see that maids are capable of anything, especially when under tremendous stress and pressure.

I feel that maids should be given weekly days off as this will enable them to lose stress and enjoy themselves. If you coop them in the house everyday, they might feel scared and insecure. They might also get stressed up and in the process, doing something wrong. By allowing them to go out and relieving their stress, this will also strengthen the bond between employer and employee.

However, I feel that a curfew at night should be given to the maid, to prevent her from staying out too late.This is because if you give your maids too much freedom, they might end up neglecting their work, and instead stay out to late at night to party and have fun. They will always go out until very late into the night and return in the wee hours of the morning, surely they will feel tired and will go to bed and sleep until very late the next day. Also, those maids who drink might get drunk and have trouble finding her way back to her employer's home. This will cause complications to both the employer and the employee. Even if they manage to get back, they might get a hangover and cause more troubles for her employer.

In conclusion, I feel that the giving of weekly days off in Singapore should be legislated. However, employers should take the responsibility to set a curfew and not let them party all the way into the wee hours of morning. This way, it will both help them relieve stress and at the same time not neglect their work.