Something happened yesterday and I named it the "water incident". Why is it called "water incident"? Well, you will understand after reading this entry.
Yesterday, I was in class doing my work. It was recess and I was trying to complete part of my homework I had received. Suddenly, I heard a loud "Bang"! I turned my head and realised that my classmate (I will not reveal the name), had knocked into a table while running and the water bottle on that table dropped to the ground, spilling the water everywhere. As I saw that my classmate was going to take some cloths out from the cupboard, I thought that he will clear the mess. Therefore, I continued doing my work.
In the midst of doing my work, I received a call of nature. I immediately dashed out of the classroom and noticed that my classmate did not clean up the mess at all, but placed the clothes over the water instead, perhaps hoping that the clothes would soak up the water. I did not care so much already at that time and approached the washroom. When I came back to the classroom, I saw that the cloths were still there, but I did not do anything. I thought that probably, my classmate would pick up the clothes and squeeze the water out in the toilet, thereafter wiping away the remaining puddle of water. Hence, I continued doing my work. But I was wrong.
Not long after, recess was over and my English teacher was standing outside the classroom. My teacher said,"Why are there cloths on the floor?" It was at this point of time that I realised my classmate had not cleared up the mess. It was also at this moment when the teacher set us thinking about what would be the consequences if the water was not cleared up.
I thought,"Firstly, if people accidentally stepped on the puddle of water, they would slip. Secondly, if they step on the water and continue walking, the classroom would be dirty, with black footprints everywhere. Lastly, if people wanted to walk, the puddle of water would block their way as they would not want to walk through the water."
At this juncture, my teacher pointed out the problems faced by people which are exactly the same as what I thought. Then, three of my classmates went to pick up the cloths, ran to the toilet to squeeze out the water and came back to clean the water.
Actually, I wanted to help them. Please do not think that I am saying this because I want to cover up for myself. As a Hwa Chong student, I practise one of the morals in J-TIGERR, integrity. If I am in the wrong, I would definitely admit it and will not come up with things I did not do. However, I looked at my classmates and thought that they were using all the cloths already and they had almost finished cleaning by the time I wanted to help them. Therefore, I did not go forward.
I really regret not going forward to offer assistance. Even if I could not help much, I could have at least asked. However, I did not know what held me back, why didn't I think that I could at least asked if they needed help or not. Was it because I did not have the confidence to do so? Was it because I was afraid that my friends would say I did that as an act only? Due to this, I became one of the people who did not ask if they needed assistance or not and I feel really bad and regretful. I would learn from this experience and not be held back by anything and do what I want to do in the future, only if it is morally acceptable.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Great Leader in History
If someone were to ask me who do I think is a great leader, I would say Adolf Hitler. However, please do not get the wrong idea that I like him because of his bad deed. Of course, I am not a sadist. Some of you might not know who is Adolf Hitler, so I shall do a brief introduction of who he is. He is a Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, popularly known as the Nazi Party. He was born in 20 April 1889 and died in 30 April 1945. He was the ruler of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was a decorated veteran of World War 1 and joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and became its leader in 1921. His forces committed numerous atrocities during the war, including the systematic killing of as many as 17 million civilians including the genocide of an estimated six million Jews, a crime known as the Holocaust. His rebuilt Wehrmacht invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War 2 in Europe. During the final days of the war in 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress Eva Braun. Less than 40 hours later, the two committed suicide.
Well, looking at what he had done is really scary, performing the Holocaust and other unpleasant things. Therefore, you might be wondering, why do I think that he is a great leader? I personally feel that he is a great leader because he is able to lead millions of people and let them listen to him to start wars. If you look at his speeches, you might see that there are many people who are cheering on for him when he is speaking. He speaks loudly and with a demanding manner. However, the fact that he can make millions of people listen to him and perform the Holocaust and start the World War 2 is not easy.
Unfortunately, he is unable to use his leadership well. He abuses his leadership to conquer places by invading them. He caused many lives to be claimed and made the world in chaos. He practically made everybody living in those days live in fear. Even now, when people mention his name, we still get the chill. The question here is,"Why did he want to use his leadership in a wrong way like this?" Was it because he wanted to rule the world? Was it because he was not contented with Germany? Or was it because he did not like Jews? There are many possibilities to this question, but the truth remains unknown.
Adolf Hitler did so many bad deeds to the extent that there were attempts to assassinate him. However, all the attempts were unsuccessful. The attempts to assassinate Hitler left no possibility of Germany negotiating a peace with the Allies. Hitler intended to fight to the death in a struggle that would see the end of National Socialism or the end of Germany’s enemies. Unfortunately for him, about a year after an attempt to assassinate him on July 20 1994, he passed away by committing suicide with his wife, Eva Braun.
Although he was a great leader in the sense that he was able to lead Germany and let millions of people listen to him without much problems, he used his leadership in the wrong way and caused many innocent lives to be claimed and chaos around the whole world. Although he is a good leader, he is definitely a bad example to follow. If leaders could have the traits of Hitler's great leadership, but use it in the correct way, the world would be a much better place.
Information taken is credited to Wikipedia and this here.
For more information on one of the more significant attempt to assassinate Hitler, click here.
Well, looking at what he had done is really scary, performing the Holocaust and other unpleasant things. Therefore, you might be wondering, why do I think that he is a great leader? I personally feel that he is a great leader because he is able to lead millions of people and let them listen to him to start wars. If you look at his speeches, you might see that there are many people who are cheering on for him when he is speaking. He speaks loudly and with a demanding manner. However, the fact that he can make millions of people listen to him and perform the Holocaust and start the World War 2 is not easy.
Unfortunately, he is unable to use his leadership well. He abuses his leadership to conquer places by invading them. He caused many lives to be claimed and made the world in chaos. He practically made everybody living in those days live in fear. Even now, when people mention his name, we still get the chill. The question here is,"Why did he want to use his leadership in a wrong way like this?" Was it because he wanted to rule the world? Was it because he was not contented with Germany? Or was it because he did not like Jews? There are many possibilities to this question, but the truth remains unknown.
Adolf Hitler did so many bad deeds to the extent that there were attempts to assassinate him. However, all the attempts were unsuccessful. The attempts to assassinate Hitler left no possibility of Germany negotiating a peace with the Allies. Hitler intended to fight to the death in a struggle that would see the end of National Socialism or the end of Germany’s enemies. Unfortunately for him, about a year after an attempt to assassinate him on July 20 1994, he passed away by committing suicide with his wife, Eva Braun.
Although he was a great leader in the sense that he was able to lead Germany and let millions of people listen to him without much problems, he used his leadership in the wrong way and caused many innocent lives to be claimed and chaos around the whole world. Although he is a good leader, he is definitely a bad example to follow. If leaders could have the traits of Hitler's great leadership, but use it in the correct way, the world would be a much better place.
Information taken is credited to Wikipedia and this here.
For more information on one of the more significant attempt to assassinate Hitler, click here.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Assignment on "The Lottery"
Question 5. Relevance to today
What can we learn from this story?(How is it relevant to our society today? Do we have our own form of 'lottery' as in the story?)
Things that we can learn from the story is to voice out our opinions and not comply. We should also not be cruel and do things that are immoral, like the lottery in the story.
If we feel that what we are doing is immoral, then we should stop doing it. This is demonstrated when Mrs. Hutchinson complained about the lottery only when she was going to get killed. If she feels that it is immoral right from the start, she should have just voiced it out and not keep it in her until the moment when she is the one going to get killed. Of course, she should have voiced it out earlier, otherwise the villagers will think that she is complaining just because she was the one who was going to get killed. In this case, the villagers will definitely not listen to her. She had been complying to the tradition and not caring about the others. If she had voiced out her opinion much earlier and not just comply, lives might not have been lost and she would not have to come to this state when her life will be taken. Therefore, we should voice out our opinions and not just comply to the tradition.
We should definitely not be cruel like the villagers who just threw the stones at Mrs. Hutchinson without expressing much emotions. We should not do what is immoral like stoning the "winner" of the lottery in the first place. These two actions are not right at all and hence, we should not be cruel and do what is immoral.
Of course, we have our own form of lottery. However, our own form of lottery is definitely not cruel. Some examples of our lottery are 4D and toto. But in our lottery, we do not have to claim anybody's lives at all, unlike the lottery in the story. Furthermore, the winner of our lottery gets to win a prize, money! However, the "winner" in "The Lottery" gets stoned to death. In our own form of lottery, the people taking part hope to be the winner, but in "The Lottery", the people taking part hope to be the loser.
What can we learn from this story?(How is it relevant to our society today? Do we have our own form of 'lottery' as in the story?)
Things that we can learn from the story is to voice out our opinions and not comply. We should also not be cruel and do things that are immoral, like the lottery in the story.
If we feel that what we are doing is immoral, then we should stop doing it. This is demonstrated when Mrs. Hutchinson complained about the lottery only when she was going to get killed. If she feels that it is immoral right from the start, she should have just voiced it out and not keep it in her until the moment when she is the one going to get killed. Of course, she should have voiced it out earlier, otherwise the villagers will think that she is complaining just because she was the one who was going to get killed. In this case, the villagers will definitely not listen to her. She had been complying to the tradition and not caring about the others. If she had voiced out her opinion much earlier and not just comply, lives might not have been lost and she would not have to come to this state when her life will be taken. Therefore, we should voice out our opinions and not just comply to the tradition.
We should definitely not be cruel like the villagers who just threw the stones at Mrs. Hutchinson without expressing much emotions. We should not do what is immoral like stoning the "winner" of the lottery in the first place. These two actions are not right at all and hence, we should not be cruel and do what is immoral.
Of course, we have our own form of lottery. However, our own form of lottery is definitely not cruel. Some examples of our lottery are 4D and toto. But in our lottery, we do not have to claim anybody's lives at all, unlike the lottery in the story. Furthermore, the winner of our lottery gets to win a prize, money! However, the "winner" in "The Lottery" gets stoned to death. In our own form of lottery, the people taking part hope to be the winner, but in "The Lottery", the people taking part hope to be the loser.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Release of GOOD RESULTS in GCE 'A' Level Examinations 2008
Hi everybody, as you all should know, the release of the GCE 'A' Level Examinations was on Friday. As our principal, Dr Hon, had announced, our school, did well once again.
These are the results of the students based on the HCJC Alumni website:
1.The 2008 JC2 students set a new National Record with 98.2% scoring Distinctions for Project Work. Furthermore, double the National Average for 2 years running, 1 in 3 Hwa Chong students scored Distinctions in GP, with 97.8% pass. They obtained 100% pass rates in 29 subjects, up from 24 last year.
2. EXCELLENT OVERALL PERFORMANCE
· As with last year’s record-breaking performance, 7 out of 10 students scored at least 3 H2 Distinctions and above.
· Close to 200 students attained 7 Distinctions or better.
· 149 students scored at least 1 H3 Distinction and better.
· Based on the expanded curriculum (11 Academic Units or better), the number of perfect scorers this year is 69.
3. STELLAR INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT PERFORMANCE
· For H2 Biology, 8 out of 10 students attained distinctions.
· For H2 Mathematics, 8 out of 10 students attained distinctions.
· 8 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Geography, more than double the national average.
· Double the national average for 2 years running, 1 in 3 students scored a Distinction for General Paper, with 97.8% passes.
· This batch set a national record for Project Work, with 98.2% scoring distinctions.
· More than 3 times the national average, 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Computing.
· 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Chemistry.
· For 2 years running, 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions in H2 Art.
Indeed, this is really an outstanding achievement. However, the top scorer for this year did not come from HCJC. Instead, the top scorer came from RIJC. The student from RIJC must have really studied really hard in order to be the top scorer in the 'A' Level Examinations. We Hwa Chong students have to try to work harder to become the top scorer this year. Nevertheless, Hwa Chong students have really done their best and with the results obtained, we should be proud of them.
On Friday, our principal, Dr Hon, dismissed our school early due to the good results achieved. Apart from this, it was announced that tomorrow, our school will also be dismissed early, at 12 noon. *Hooray!* However, it was also announced that the Secondary 1s will have to stay back after 12 noon to continue with our use-your-hand campaign. *Sigh...*
Alright, this is all I have to say. Thank you and good night!
These are the results of the students based on the HCJC Alumni website:
1.The 2008 JC2 students set a new National Record with 98.2% scoring Distinctions for Project Work. Furthermore, double the National Average for 2 years running, 1 in 3 Hwa Chong students scored Distinctions in GP, with 97.8% pass. They obtained 100% pass rates in 29 subjects, up from 24 last year.
2. EXCELLENT OVERALL PERFORMANCE
· As with last year’s record-breaking performance, 7 out of 10 students scored at least 3 H2 Distinctions and above.
· Close to 200 students attained 7 Distinctions or better.
· 149 students scored at least 1 H3 Distinction and better.
· Based on the expanded curriculum (11 Academic Units or better), the number of perfect scorers this year is 69.
3. STELLAR INDIVIDUAL SUBJECT PERFORMANCE
· For H2 Biology, 8 out of 10 students attained distinctions.
· For H2 Mathematics, 8 out of 10 students attained distinctions.
· 8 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Geography, more than double the national average.
· Double the national average for 2 years running, 1 in 3 students scored a Distinction for General Paper, with 97.8% passes.
· This batch set a national record for Project Work, with 98.2% scoring distinctions.
· More than 3 times the national average, 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Computing.
· 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions for H2 Chemistry.
· For 2 years running, 7 out of 10 students scored distinctions in H2 Art.
Indeed, this is really an outstanding achievement. However, the top scorer for this year did not come from HCJC. Instead, the top scorer came from RIJC. The student from RIJC must have really studied really hard in order to be the top scorer in the 'A' Level Examinations. We Hwa Chong students have to try to work harder to become the top scorer this year. Nevertheless, Hwa Chong students have really done their best and with the results obtained, we should be proud of them.
On Friday, our principal, Dr Hon, dismissed our school early due to the good results achieved. Apart from this, it was announced that tomorrow, our school will also be dismissed early, at 12 noon. *Hooray!* However, it was also announced that the Secondary 1s will have to stay back after 12 noon to continue with our use-your-hand campaign. *Sigh...*
Alright, this is all I have to say. Thank you and good night!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Selling of Organs (Allowed or disallowed?)
Today, my class had a panel discussion. The topic was,"Should organ trading be allowed in Singapore?" The panellists came prepared with powerpoints or scripts and they could present their work. Kevan, one of the panellists, was bombarded with questions after his speech. Kevan (I have forgotten the role he was playing) was a person who feels that organ trading should be allowed in Singapore. However, many people asked him why should organ trading be allowed in Singapore when probably, only the rich could afford the organs. Kevan answered them quickly by saying that they will subsidise the costs for the poor if they are in need for these organs.
Some people asked Kevan what if the poor wanted to sell their organs just for the money without caring for their health. Kevan said that the hospital will do a medical checkup on these people first before making a decision if they are fit enough to sell their organs. After Kevan said this, I wondered what if the patients were as fit as a fiddle before selling their organs and their health deteriorated after selling their organs. I wanted to ask Kevan this question, but the class just shut me off by saying this question had already been asked when I only said half of the question. However, I listened attentively to most of the questions asked and did not hear anything that was related to my question. Therefore, I just had to sit down and assume that probably, when that question was being asked, I didn't hear it.
The discussion was quite successful and most of my classmates felt that selling of organs should be disallowed. Actually, I felt that my classmates were quite attentive on that day and did not make much noise, perhaps because there was a teacher filming the entire process. At the end when the host asked the observers if they were ready, they were so engrossed in writing their comments such that they might have not heard the host and carried on writing, ignoring the host. When the observers came up and wanted to announce the best speaker, the time was up already and the next period teacher, my Chinese teacher, told them to announce during recess. This kept up the tension among those who spoke enthusiastically during the discussion as they wondered who would be the best speaker. When the class was returning to their seats, I asked one of the observers who is also one of my good friends, who was the best speaker. He said it was Jeremy. I could not believe that it was Jeremy as I thought that he contradicted with himself when he raised his opinions. (Unfortunately, I cannot remember what he said this morning, but I just remember him contradicting himself.) I thought that maybe it was because the observers had the mindset that Jeremy was good in debating and therefore, should be the best speaker. Some of my classmates thought so to. There were quite a few times when this was the case. However, there was nothing I could do as the final decision belonged to the observers, so I just had to agree with the observers' decision.
Well, I personally feel that organ trading should not be allowed as it might just cause those people who are selling their organs to have their health deteriorating, which is a bad consequence. This is all I can say about the panel discussion. Bye.
Some people asked Kevan what if the poor wanted to sell their organs just for the money without caring for their health. Kevan said that the hospital will do a medical checkup on these people first before making a decision if they are fit enough to sell their organs. After Kevan said this, I wondered what if the patients were as fit as a fiddle before selling their organs and their health deteriorated after selling their organs. I wanted to ask Kevan this question, but the class just shut me off by saying this question had already been asked when I only said half of the question. However, I listened attentively to most of the questions asked and did not hear anything that was related to my question. Therefore, I just had to sit down and assume that probably, when that question was being asked, I didn't hear it.
The discussion was quite successful and most of my classmates felt that selling of organs should be disallowed. Actually, I felt that my classmates were quite attentive on that day and did not make much noise, perhaps because there was a teacher filming the entire process. At the end when the host asked the observers if they were ready, they were so engrossed in writing their comments such that they might have not heard the host and carried on writing, ignoring the host. When the observers came up and wanted to announce the best speaker, the time was up already and the next period teacher, my Chinese teacher, told them to announce during recess. This kept up the tension among those who spoke enthusiastically during the discussion as they wondered who would be the best speaker. When the class was returning to their seats, I asked one of the observers who is also one of my good friends, who was the best speaker. He said it was Jeremy. I could not believe that it was Jeremy as I thought that he contradicted with himself when he raised his opinions. (Unfortunately, I cannot remember what he said this morning, but I just remember him contradicting himself.) I thought that maybe it was because the observers had the mindset that Jeremy was good in debating and therefore, should be the best speaker. Some of my classmates thought so to. There were quite a few times when this was the case. However, there was nothing I could do as the final decision belonged to the observers, so I just had to agree with the observers' decision.
Well, I personally feel that organ trading should not be allowed as it might just cause those people who are selling their organs to have their health deteriorating, which is a bad consequence. This is all I can say about the panel discussion. Bye.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Discussion Questions (Flowers for Algernon)
These are some questions with regards to the story, Flowers for Algernon.
3.What makes an ideal human or the ideal life?
Ans: An ideal human or ideal life, to me, would be one that the person leads a happy life where he is not stressed. Many people assume that rich people are most likely leading the ideal life where they have no troubles, earning big money. However, I personally feel that the person need not be rich to be happy as poor people can be happy too. There are some examples to prove that this statement is correct. Rich people might be living in big housing properties and can afford to eat in restaurants often. However, if he has a lot of troubles, he might lead a sad and depressed life. On the other hand, a poor person who is able to only eat rice for every meal might not have a lot of troubles and lead a happy and carefree life. Therefore, being happy and leading a carefree life is the ideal life or the ideal human.
4.Which Charlie do you like the best-the one with an IQ of 68 or the one with an IQ of 200? Why?
Ans: I like the Charlie with an IQ of 68 best. When Charlie has an IQ of 68, it is easier to communicate with him and therefore, easier to be friends with him. When his IQ is 200, it is difficult to communicate with him. It is evident as he found it difficult to communicate with Miss Kinnian, a teacher. If Charlie has an IQ of 68, it will be easier to talk about our everyday life in a simpler language and not one where there are many profound vocabulary. When his IQ is 68, he will not understand many things and lead a carefree life. When his IQ is 200, he understands many things such as his friends making fun of him and the dishwasher incident, which makes him feel sad and depressed. I would rather my friend be happy than sad and realising the agonising truth when he is smart would make him sad. I would not like to see Charlie pulling a long face in front of me. Therefore, I like the Charlie with an IQ of 68 best.
5.Should Science be used to artificially improve someone's intelligence or external appearance?
Ans: I feel that Science should not be used. Nobody should be a genius since young. Life is to help people to experience the process of learning and how they cope with problems. If they can be naturally intelligent, they will not need to experience life and what is the need of schools? Moreover, if people are very intelligent, they might be so intelligent that they can commit crimes and leave no evidence behind. If they are able to do so, there will be no peace in the world and the criminals can escape scot-free. Moreover, there are supposed to be conflicts in life where people are different so that people can learn from others' mistakes. However, if people are all intelligent, everyone will be the same and have the same mindset and there will be no real life examples of mistakes for them to learn as everybody has the mindset that what they do is correct. Artificially improving external appearance is also not a good thing as people are supposed to be confident in their external appearance. By changing their external appearance, it is not themselves anymore. They should be confident in their external appearance. If someone is ugly, he or she will have to accept it and be confident in his or her appearance. By using Science, it is not training the people to be confident in themselves anymore and it defeats the purpose. Therefore, it is definitely not practical to use Science to artificially improve someone's intelligence or external appearance.
3.What makes an ideal human or the ideal life?
Ans: An ideal human or ideal life, to me, would be one that the person leads a happy life where he is not stressed. Many people assume that rich people are most likely leading the ideal life where they have no troubles, earning big money. However, I personally feel that the person need not be rich to be happy as poor people can be happy too. There are some examples to prove that this statement is correct. Rich people might be living in big housing properties and can afford to eat in restaurants often. However, if he has a lot of troubles, he might lead a sad and depressed life. On the other hand, a poor person who is able to only eat rice for every meal might not have a lot of troubles and lead a happy and carefree life. Therefore, being happy and leading a carefree life is the ideal life or the ideal human.
4.Which Charlie do you like the best-the one with an IQ of 68 or the one with an IQ of 200? Why?
Ans: I like the Charlie with an IQ of 68 best. When Charlie has an IQ of 68, it is easier to communicate with him and therefore, easier to be friends with him. When his IQ is 200, it is difficult to communicate with him. It is evident as he found it difficult to communicate with Miss Kinnian, a teacher. If Charlie has an IQ of 68, it will be easier to talk about our everyday life in a simpler language and not one where there are many profound vocabulary. When his IQ is 68, he will not understand many things and lead a carefree life. When his IQ is 200, he understands many things such as his friends making fun of him and the dishwasher incident, which makes him feel sad and depressed. I would rather my friend be happy than sad and realising the agonising truth when he is smart would make him sad. I would not like to see Charlie pulling a long face in front of me. Therefore, I like the Charlie with an IQ of 68 best.
5.Should Science be used to artificially improve someone's intelligence or external appearance?
Ans: I feel that Science should not be used. Nobody should be a genius since young. Life is to help people to experience the process of learning and how they cope with problems. If they can be naturally intelligent, they will not need to experience life and what is the need of schools? Moreover, if people are very intelligent, they might be so intelligent that they can commit crimes and leave no evidence behind. If they are able to do so, there will be no peace in the world and the criminals can escape scot-free. Moreover, there are supposed to be conflicts in life where people are different so that people can learn from others' mistakes. However, if people are all intelligent, everyone will be the same and have the same mindset and there will be no real life examples of mistakes for them to learn as everybody has the mindset that what they do is correct. Artificially improving external appearance is also not a good thing as people are supposed to be confident in their external appearance. By changing their external appearance, it is not themselves anymore. They should be confident in their external appearance. If someone is ugly, he or she will have to accept it and be confident in his or her appearance. By using Science, it is not training the people to be confident in themselves anymore and it defeats the purpose. Therefore, it is definitely not practical to use Science to artificially improve someone's intelligence or external appearance.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Nanyang Technological University(NTU) Stabbing Incident
Recently, there was a 21-year-old man, Mr David Hartanto Widjaja, claimed to be a whiz kid, who stabbed his supervisor for his final-year project, Professor Chan Kap Luk - a 45-year-old deputy director at the school's Biomedical Research Centre. His results had been dropping and he lost his scholarship last year. However, he kept this bad news from his family. This year, he missed by one or two marks to pass his final-year project. If he failed his project, he would have to retain in NTU for one more year. Therefore, he approached the professor, hoping that he would give him the one or two precious marks so that he would not have to retain a year in NTU as a result. Although Mr Widjaja approached the professor, the professor remained firm and refused to give him the precious marks. He feels that what he had given the student was what he deserved and consolation marks should not be given or it would be unfair to the other students. This gave Mr Widjaja even more stress, apart from the fact that he lost his scholarship.
Looking at this incident, I have a few questions in mind. They are the following. Why did the student not accept what he achieved and move on with life? Why must he try to get the additional marks? Why didn't he face the reality and just accept the fact that he had to retain a year? I am sure that there are some students who might have failed their projects too. If they could just move on with life, why couldn't he? Why did he commit suicide after stabbing the professor? There are many possibilities to these questions.
Firstly, he might have wanted those marks due to peer pressure. Most of his friends might have passed their final-year projects while he failed it. Thus, he tried to get those marks to pass and when he couldn't, he stabbed the professor and committed suicide.
Secondly, he might have wanted those marks as his parents' expectations might have been too high. This is evident when he did not even dare to tell his parents that he lost his scholarship, afraid to displease them. Therefore, he was unable to face the reality and get on with life, leading him to stabbing the professor and committing suicide.
Thirdly, he might have wanted those marks as he had already lost his scholarship and did not want to retain a year, with the fear that he might not be able to afford for the school fees for another year's studies as he did not inform his parents that he had lost his scholarship.
Finally, he might have committed suicide after stabbing the professor as he felt a wave of remorse overwhelming him. He regretted what he did and knew there was no turning back for him anymore, so he committed suicide.
These are only my opinions and there is nothing to prove why Mr Widjaja did these.
However, when he did these, he never thought of the consequences of these actions. People might view their parents as giving him too much pressure such that he does not even dare to tell them that he lost his scholarship and face the reality that he failed his final-year project and would have to retain a year in NTU. People might also view his parents as not being able to bring up their child well enough, such that he would stab the professor and commit suicide due to this small failure in his life. Moreover, his actions would definitely cause his parents to feel sad and depressed for him and this is definitely not being filial to his parents. His parents put in so much effort to bring him up, but just by committing suicide, all of his parents effort went down the drain.
To help students to be able to cope with their stress so that these dire consequences will not happen, schools have offered to render help by counselling the students after spotting the stress signals of the students. By counselling the students, they might be able to manage their stress better and not do such silly acts.
I feel that people should be able to face reality. If people cannot even face this type of small failures, how are they going to survive in their work life where they will face many problems and even failures like being fired by their bosses? Moreover, a failure does not mean failures forever, as long as you are willing to learn from your mistakes. I really wonder why an educated undergraduate like Mr Widjaja would do such a thing that would hurt the feelings of people who are close to him.
My whole purpose in writing this blog entry is because I feel that we should not follow in Mr Widjaja's footsteps and face our failures and problems bravely. Please heed my advice and do not do such a silly thing such as to commit suicide. It is definitely an unwise thing to do. Please think before you do and do what is right. Think of the consequences of your actions and by doing the right thing, you might be saving a lot of inconvenience. Thank you.
For more background information on this case, you might want to visit this website:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/412450/1/.html
Professor Chan Kap Luk
Courtesy of: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/Pages/default.aspx
Looking at this incident, I have a few questions in mind. They are the following. Why did the student not accept what he achieved and move on with life? Why must he try to get the additional marks? Why didn't he face the reality and just accept the fact that he had to retain a year? I am sure that there are some students who might have failed their projects too. If they could just move on with life, why couldn't he? Why did he commit suicide after stabbing the professor? There are many possibilities to these questions.
Firstly, he might have wanted those marks due to peer pressure. Most of his friends might have passed their final-year projects while he failed it. Thus, he tried to get those marks to pass and when he couldn't, he stabbed the professor and committed suicide.
Secondly, he might have wanted those marks as his parents' expectations might have been too high. This is evident when he did not even dare to tell his parents that he lost his scholarship, afraid to displease them. Therefore, he was unable to face the reality and get on with life, leading him to stabbing the professor and committing suicide.
Thirdly, he might have wanted those marks as he had already lost his scholarship and did not want to retain a year, with the fear that he might not be able to afford for the school fees for another year's studies as he did not inform his parents that he had lost his scholarship.
Finally, he might have committed suicide after stabbing the professor as he felt a wave of remorse overwhelming him. He regretted what he did and knew there was no turning back for him anymore, so he committed suicide.
These are only my opinions and there is nothing to prove why Mr Widjaja did these.
However, when he did these, he never thought of the consequences of these actions. People might view their parents as giving him too much pressure such that he does not even dare to tell them that he lost his scholarship and face the reality that he failed his final-year project and would have to retain a year in NTU. People might also view his parents as not being able to bring up their child well enough, such that he would stab the professor and commit suicide due to this small failure in his life. Moreover, his actions would definitely cause his parents to feel sad and depressed for him and this is definitely not being filial to his parents. His parents put in so much effort to bring him up, but just by committing suicide, all of his parents effort went down the drain.
To help students to be able to cope with their stress so that these dire consequences will not happen, schools have offered to render help by counselling the students after spotting the stress signals of the students. By counselling the students, they might be able to manage their stress better and not do such silly acts.
I feel that people should be able to face reality. If people cannot even face this type of small failures, how are they going to survive in their work life where they will face many problems and even failures like being fired by their bosses? Moreover, a failure does not mean failures forever, as long as you are willing to learn from your mistakes. I really wonder why an educated undergraduate like Mr Widjaja would do such a thing that would hurt the feelings of people who are close to him.
My whole purpose in writing this blog entry is because I feel that we should not follow in Mr Widjaja's footsteps and face our failures and problems bravely. Please heed my advice and do not do such a silly thing such as to commit suicide. It is definitely an unwise thing to do. Please think before you do and do what is right. Think of the consequences of your actions and by doing the right thing, you might be saving a lot of inconvenience. Thank you.
For more background information on this case, you might want to visit this website:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/412450/1/.html
Professor Chan Kap Luk
Courtesy of: http://www.ntu.edu.sg/Pages/default.aspx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)