Sick

Yesterday, after canoeing training, I vomited about 3 times due to a few factors such as fatigue (not enough sleep for the past few days), exhaustion and hunger. Today, I feel better and went to the doctor to get an MC (medical certificate).

There are a few things I would like to talk about today. Firstly, why do we need to have to get an MC for our absence from school. I understand that this would be proof that a student was not playing truant but why aren't parents' letters (like in primary school) accepted. Like today, I did not go to school as a precautionary measure because it would cause great inconvenience to myself and others if I started vomiting in school. Surprisingly, but thankfully, I did not continue vomiting today.

At this point in time, it would seem ridiculous to go to the doctor but for MC's sake I had to. I could not afford (time not money) to go to the polyclinic so I went to a GP (General Practitioner) for a checkup. I wasted about $20 for an MC. Wouldn't it be better if I did not waste that money but write a letter instead? I feel that letters from parents are just as reliable.

However, the trip to the doctor was not such a waste of time. There was something I learned.

I realised that it was not so much the exhaustion and fatigue, it was because I had gulped down a lot of water immediately after strenuous training (without cooling down)that caused the vomiting. After a bit of research, I found out that in the same way if you see a man in the desert who is dehydrated, never give him a whole water bottle to gulp down, he will die....You should instead give him water sip by sip to allow his body to slowly recover. My vomiting occurred for the same reason. Good thing I didn't die......

Right now, I am still recovering from the vomiting yesterday. Too bad I have to go for beach cleaning tomorrow......

Too Much......

Lately, well at least for me, I have received a trainload of information which I am unable to digest. Let me elaborate.

Firstly, during assembly, we were given a briefing about LEAPS (a point system for CCA) in my school. There are quite a number of doubts I have (and I am quite sure you have too). It was said that you get merely 1 point for just participating( or 'existing') in your CCA, not counting leadership positions. My question is if you do not get a chance to represent the school because you are not as fit (for sports) or not as musically inclined (for performing arts)or in a CCA like Library Club (where there are probably no competitions to take part in), how are you going to earn any points? Especially at Sec 4, there is a grading system for CCA. One point is an E8 or F9, what can you do?

If I am not mistaken, you also get points for being in leadership positions like council or CCA or CIP group. Unfortunately, the fact is that not everybody will have an opportunity to be a leader in these positions.

Unless there are other ways and means (which I am not aware about/ or I was not paying attention to) to earn these points, I am not sure how some people "make the grade".(Feel free to comment if you know anything about this issue.)

Apart from that issue, there is also another form of "information" I am talking about---homework!

Over the past weeks, the amount of homework has grown enormous. I wonder how the seniors cope? Anyway, these days I am only meeting datelines each day. In addition to ACE projects which we are suppose to find time out of "nowhere". Just like the of the topics at today's ANGLES finale---Time Waits for No Man. This statement is especially true to what is happening to me now. There is no time to do anything else.

Ok, we all know a lot( or too much) about the homework problem so I will not talk into it. Till next time, Goodbye.

SMB

In my school, the teachers use SMB (Summary Message Board) to send announcements, infomation, quizes and so on.... I feel it is a really good way for communicating espicially during these days where IT (Infomation Technology) is being used more and more. I find that it is also quite effective, for example if a teacher forgets to tell the students that they need to bring something, he/she can conveiniently use the SMB for that purpose.

Despite all these advantages, I would like to highlight certain problems I encounted while navigating it.

Firstly, since day one, I realised that it is impossible to delete any of the messages posted to you. Only the sender of the message can delete the message he/she sent. Another reason for why this is a problem is that some teachers do not remove messages that they posted even though the infomation is long outdated causing the SMB to be clutered espicially when you are trying to find a message posted a few days ago.

I understand that the school may not want some lazy student to delete messages without reading what it is all about. In these cicumstances, I would suggest that the school develop a system where you can delete the "not so important" messages once you have read them while leaving the more important ones 'un-deleteable'.

A second problem is that sometimes the teacher gives certain instructions to a big group of students which is the exact opposite of what another teacher. Students have no way of clarifying which instructions to follow and may end up doing the wrong thing.

This is exactly what happened today. Today we were supposed to have canoeing CCA (now I am in canoeing CCA, which I did not mess up during the trials....(Refer to Post 2)ok, that is another story), but the other canoeing coach sent us a message on the SMB telling us that training is on Tuesday. Nobody had any idea what to do so we all just stayed back......for no reason as we found out later. The only solution I can think of is for teachers to be more specific when sending out these messages.

Apart from these minor loop holes, the SMB has served its purpose well and more schools should try using it.

Gifted Education

Hi! I am writing this post on gifted education for my english ACE project. Please refer below for my work.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 February 2009

1000 Toa Payoh North,
Singapore 318994

The Editor
The Straits Times
Singapore Press Holdings

Dear Sir/ Mdm,


The gifted education programme was first implemented in 1984, designed for the top 1% of pupils in Singapore, identified in two rounds of tests at the end of Primary 3. The MOE (Ministry of Education) is committed to ensure that the potential of each pupil is recognized, nurtured and developed. It was recognized that there are pupils who are intellectually gifted and that there should be provisions to meet their needs.

While I understand the MOE’s initiative to hone the truly intellectually gifted, I would like to call for the current GEP programme to be reviewed. At first glance, it would appear to be a good move to challenge the truly intellectually gifted who may be bored or stifled by the regular syllabus. The GEP programme is built upon the regular syllabus where same topics on the regular school curriculum are covered in greater depth and breadth and where emphasis is on creativity and higher-order thinking skills. There are also mentorship attachments, camps and other out-of-class activities to help pupils reach their full potential.

However, a closer look raises pertinent questions regarding the advantanges of having such a programme. GEP students are told that they are the gifted elite, at a young impressionable age. However, being labelled a high-flyer at such a tender age may not be a good idea. Some develop a superiority complex feeling that the non-gifted belong to a lower class of the human race. A Primary Six GEP student wrote a letter to “Today” newspaper in 2005 openly declaring that non-GEP students were immature, and that she preferred to mix with people like herself.

Evidently, the system breeds elitism. If MOE has done away with the EM1, EM2 and EM3 system which also bred elitism and labelling, why has the gifted programme lingered? Granted that greater efforts are being made to integrate the gifted and non-gifted students in Community involvement Programmes and also partial integration in academic programmes where non-GEP and GEP students come together for some programmes (eg. Bicultural Programme in Tao Nan Primary School), nonetheless the segregation and differentiation remains. The question is why?

Also, what is the true definition of giftedness? To me, giftedness applies to many areas, not just in academics. It can be in the form of music, arts or sports. Unfortunately, in Singapore, we define giftedness purely by academic standards. Therefore, a number of parents send their children for enrichment classes to prepare for the GEP tests despite the fact that experts say that giftedness cannot be taught. Experts state that these centres, which peddle classes in the preparation of the GEP tests, are merely training kids to be 'exam smart'. Therefore, is MOE truly honing the top 1% of the cohort?

Questions also arise about the screening test conducted by the MOE for all Primary 3 students each year for entry into the GEP programme. This screening test comprises an English and Mathematics exam, followed by a General Ability paper which tests reasoning and problem-solving skills. Is giftedness confined to English, Mathematics and General Ability? Surely not.

As such, I would like to suggest a review of our education system. Children need to grow up in a holistic environment, exposed to music, art and other pursuits. Elitism should have no place in Singapore where we are to live together in peace and harmony regardless of race, language and religion, and may I add, regardless of academic ability as well.


Yours sincerely,


xxxxxx



Sources:
http://www.getformesingapore.com/previous2006/290906_primaryschoolstodoawaywithem3from2008_more.htm

http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/development-and-growth/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted_Education_Programme_(Singapore)

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20071028-32642.html