Comments

#1 Ban Siang's blog, "Why?"
http://bansiang2i3.blogspot.com/2011/08/why_15.html
"What you say is extremely true. I have also come to realise that much in this world is about one's grades. However, instead of being irritated or infuriated by this fact, we should actually take advantage of this and do well for our grades! As such, we would be able to do well, graduate, get a good job, settle down and have a nice life like what everybody has been telling us. However, one point that I find is extremely true is the part about how it would be nice to study for ourselves and not for the grades, to learn more and not because everyone expects it."

#2 Yida's blog, "Name Calling"
http://2i3numbereight.blogspot.com/2011/08/name-calling.html
"I agree completely with your post. I feel that bullying is a serious issue and it should not be taken lightly. In this case, I feel that both student A and B are victims of bullying. Yes, even the bully. In today's society, bullying is a common sight even though we do not want it to be. As boys, it is in our nature to be rowdy occasionally - keep in mind that I am not justifying the bully's behaviour. I have seen many cases of bullying. Honestly, I feel that most bullies have some reason why they bully which also should not be ignored. Most of the time, the bully wants to feel better about himself so he turns to insulting others to make himself seem better. However, this is wrong! The bully should instead reflect on himself and be nice to those around him, that way those around him will come to appreciate him as a friend. However, some bullies just bully because they find "amusing" I feel that these people are the ones that we should watch out for and not interact with as they are just trouble. I would also like to point out that some bullies MAY have been bullied before which may have led to them bullying others - it's a vicious cycle."

#3 Liak Ghee's blog, "Should leaders be judged by their private lives?"
http://leeliakghee2i310.blogspot.com/2011/08/should-leaders-be-judged-by-their.html
"I agree with your opinion that leaders should be judged by their private lives. If a leader were to have two different personalities between his private and public life, what makes him different from a two-faced person? As a leader, he is expected to set a good example for people to follow. If he himself cannot control himself during his private life, how can he expect the people he leads to do so too? However, I also recognise that it is not an easy task to be a good 24/7 but this fact does not excuse leaders for their behaviour at all."

#4 Wei Kiat's blog, "Euthanasia"
http://2i3-12.blogspot.com/2011/08/euthanasia.html
In my opinion, I think that Euthanasia, or Assisted Killing, is wrong. I agree with your point about how it is morally incorrect for one person to take away another's life, even if they asked for it. I feel that those who want Euthanasia should actually reconsider their choice. Honestly, if I were to be terminally ill or disabled in any way, instead of asking for Euthanasia, I would do my best to enjoy the remainder of my life to its fullest. I'm sure many of us have heard stories of amputees climbing mountains, cancer patients defeating it. It just goes to show that if you really want to, you can do it."

#5 Wen Hao's blog, "Symbolism of the Three Caskets"
http://lwh2i3sec2la.blogspot.com/2011/07/symbolism-of-three-caskets.html
"Good work doing your research! I was wondering about the symbolism of the three caskets but now, thanks to your post and a little extensive research online, I understand everything. I think that Shakespeare was incredible for being able to hide such concepts in something like the 3 caskets. I would never have thought that they symbolised anything more than just a test to make the other suitors apart from Bassanio fail."

#6 Ban Siang's blog, "The choice I made (or not)"
http://bansiang2i3.blogspot.com/2011/08/why-i-chose-what-i-did.html
"It is good to know that you are enthusiastic about your CCA! However, my experience and yours differs slightly. Originally, I had wanted to go to Softball. However, my parents wanted me to go to Shooting. What complicated the matters was that I had been accepted for Track and Field. I ended up with Shooting being my first choice, Softball being my second and Track and Field being my third choice. However, even though all 3 CCAs accepted me, I got into Track and Field! It was only after 1 or 2 months of appealing did I finally get out of there and got into Shooting. However, I do not regret my decision as I have met many new friends and seniors and forged a strong bong with them."

#7 Ming Fwu's blog, "Majulah Singapura"
http://2i303la2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/majulah-singapura.html
"I like your interpretation! To me, whenever I hear the words "Majulah Singapura", I do not just think of "Onwards, Singapore" but rather my heart starts fluttering with an immense amount of pride! I can honestly say that I am proud to be Singaporean. I feel that Singapore is actually a very good country and place to be! What with its low crime rates and good policies that have helped to keep our small town clean. In my opinion, I feel that the Singapore Spirit encompasses all that you mentioned but also includes our uniqueness. Unique in the fact that we have our own "language", Singlish. Unique in the fact that we have our own cuisine. However, no matter how unique we are, we will always be united as one country. MAJULAH SINGAPURA."


#8 Wei Ren's blog, "Tuition - good only if you want it"
http://lolz-teddy.blogspot.com/2011/07/tuition-good-only-if-you-want-it.html
"Honestly, I feel that different people benefit differently from tuition. I know some people who go for plenty of tuition, they have at least 5-6 a week. However, they still do not do as well as some who do not go for any tuition at all. I also know some people who need tuition but do not go, their grades suffering as such. I feel that tuition should not be used as a crutch to help one stand. We should not rely on tuition to pull up our grades, we also need to work hard on our own. If we do go for tuition, instead of doing the work they assign you, one should bring questions they are unsure of to the tuition and ask the teacher there to help you understand it. This way you fully get the benefits from tuition and you are much likelier to do better than those who just go there mindlessly."


#9 Liak Ghee's blog, ""How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country" Is this a lie?"
http://leeliakghee2i310.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-sweet-and-fitting-it-is-to-die-for.html?
"I agree with your final point about how war should not even happen in the first place. However, many things in life do not happen the way we want them to. War happens because of selfish desires. Leaders want to expand their territory or to gain more resources, therefore they engage in combat with another. Honestly, I do think there is a sense of pride in defending a nation. However, I believe that nations should defend their people, not the other way around. Instead of going to war, nations should think about their people and not just their own selfishness."


#10 Ban Siang's blog, "Corpses"
http://bansiang2i3.blogspot.com/2011/07/corpses.html
"I like your view on this issue. It is a very grave one that should not be taken lightly. In my opinion, the increasing rate of corpses found should start to be a wake-up call to the government. I agree whole-heartedly with your point about how the government overdoes their policies. Their acceptance of "foreign talents" so easily have given rise to this issue. I am not trying to discriminate but there are hard, cold facts that those murders have been committed by foreigners. I hope that the government will realise soon that most talented students from other countries come to Singapore just for the education. Once they are finished, they will migrate and leave Singapore."

Knowing Thyself T3P10

I feel that it is important to know yourself as it allows for easier improvement and a generally better life.

One good quality I have is that I do not bear grudges. Often, my friends find it funny to pull practical jokes on others. I find myself being their target every now and then. There were a few times when they went overboard but after some talking and communication we resolved the matter and went back to being friends.

My guiding principle in life is to be nice to others and to never stop trying - don't give up. This principle allows for others to see the good in me, resulting in them also being nice. If everyone is able to do that then the whole world can be nice to each other - happiness will then ensue. Never giving up is a good spirit to have as I believe that as long as one keeps believing strongly, they can achieve anything.

My CCA T3P9

I am in Shooting which is an extremely fun cca. I feel that it is very good for building up moral characteristics as it teaches me to persevere. It also teaches me to be more quiet and to think before you do things as when I raise the gun, I have to focus and concentrate until the right moment to shoot. Even if I shoot badly, we should not think of the bad shots and just carry on shooting to the best of our ability.

I feel that it is a fun cca and I have been extremely to get into as they only accept 10 students every batch. It is also very united, even the seniors from JC train together with us. Furthermore, we have several chalets throughout the year where our older seniors come and we can interact with them.

Interesting Website... T3P8

http://amitaytweeto.com/thequietplace/

I came across this extremely interesting website. I suggest that you, the reader, click on the link first and explore it before continuing. It takes less than 5 minutes.

In the website, it talks about Social Networking. It tells certain truths about social networking that we already knew but did not really know. What I mean to say is that we knew the content in the back of our heads but we do not think about it much. Honestly, I think that I gained a lot from this website and therefore I wanted to share it with everyone.

Also, it talks about a "quiet place". It attempts to show us how social networking is taking over our lives and how we should go back to our "quiet place" every now and then.

I hope that you found it interesting, I just wanted to share this great link with everybody.

Bassanio and Portia - True love or a false pretence? T3P7

Are Portia and Bassanio really in love? Do they love each other equally? Since Bassanio was clearly after Portia's money when he started courting her, do you think he could ever genuinely fall in love with her, or is his quest and his love for her tainted by his original position as a gold digger?

First, some think that Bassanio was not truly in love with Portia. Their reasons for believing so is because at the start of the play, Bassanio spent his entire fortune and was left with nothing. He wanted to get back some fortune and Portia, whose father had recently deceased, had a fortune to giveaway so to speak. It also does not hurt that Portia is beautiful, as mentioned by Bassanio in the play.

"Fair and fairer than that word

of wondrous virtues"

-Bassanio, Act 1 Scene 1

Bassanio recognises that Portia is a great woman and that she also is rich. To Bassanio, his quest for her love is like shooting an arrow to find the first, its either double or nothing.

However, it is not entirely fair to say that Bassanio is completely not in love with Portia and just married her for her money. Throughout the course of the story, Bassanio has had a lot of time to consider his love for Portia. Even if he did not love her at first, he could have changed his mind somewhere in the course of the story. Furthermore, who is to say that he did not love here truly in the first place!

In conclusion, there is no doubt about Portia loving Bassanio as she can be seen offering to do many things for him throughout the story. However, whether or not their love is a two-way relationship is a question that many people have tried to answer, will try to answer and still trying to answer.

Cyber bullying T3P6

This post aims to cover Cyber Bullying as a whole. First, let me define Cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is direct verbal or indirect bullying behaviours using digital technologies. It is unacceptable because like bullying, it can scar or hurt the victim badly. Cyber-bullying can be seen as a form of Egocentric thinking, thinking that you are better than the victim which gives you reason to bully them. If one is being cyber-bullied, I feel that you should not respond to their insults or taunts as doing so is Haphazard thinking, and acting on impulse.

One reason why cyber bullying occurs may be easily explained by a quote from Robin Kowalski - “If you bully somebody face to face, and they get upset, you see them cry and be hurt. When it's over the Internet, you can't see the emotional reaction and go along thinking it's no big deal.” I would like to end of my speech with a great quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson – “When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.”

Everyone should keep in mind that in the end, Cyber bullies, like normal bullies, are victims of their own Egocentric ways.

INTERMISSION

We interrupt this flow of high quality blogposts to bring you a special update on the Merchant of Venice characters' lives!
You can find out more at their respective sites:

Bassanio:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002808032004

Portia: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002799812018
Shylock: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002787426423

Gaming, good?!? T3P5

In this blog post, I would like to discuss my views on why I think that gaming CAN be a good thing.

Firstly, first-person-shooters such as Counter-Strike are more than just about racking up kills. They are centered around many strategic and tactical decisions. Teams compete against each other using specific tactics to overcome the other team. The different strategies used by many different teams can be compared to chess. Furthermore, these games promote teamwork and trust, giving rise to many strong bonds of friendships between gamers. Moreover, many people think that gamers are misanthropists, people who bear hatred against other humans, as gamers tend to laugh and trash talk each other during games. This is not true. The only reason why gamers get away with doing so is because they know their friends and foes so well.

Also, games have been proven by several studies that they are doing a better job of provoking our most powerful, positive emotions, and also helping us build up remarkable social relationships that cannot only improve our real lives but also potentially help us change the real world. We are also seeing an emergence of cooperative games, rather than competitive games, where you're all trying to reach the same goal together and overcome the challenge together instead of competing. And it turns out that those are really powerfully positive games to play in terms of building up your relationships and your collaboration skills.

Thus, these points lead me to the conclusion that not all games are bad in all situations. Gaming can actually be good for one. However, we must all keep in mind that ultimately, it is up to the person himself to decide whether he wants a positive or a negative experience from gaming.

Capital Punishment - Yes or No? T3P4

Capital punishment is the practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a proper legal trial. It can only be used by a state, so when non-state organisations speak of having 'executed' a person they have actually committed a murder. It is usually only used as a punishment for particularly serious types of murder, but in some countries treason, types of fraud, adultery and rape are capital crimes. Currently, it is still in practice in around 58 countries over the world. I feel that this ties in to what we currently are learning about, a theme in the Merchant of Venice, Justice or Mercy.

Firstly, the reason behind Capital Punishment is justice. The argument behind it is "All guilty people should be punished in proportion to their crime." Each criminal should get what their crime deserves and in the case of a murderer what their crime deserves is death. Often, Capital Punishment is backed with the argument "an eye for an eye". However, as fellow humans, we have to consider whether Capital Punishment is indeed the best point.

Capital punishment does not allow for rehabilitation, it does not give a person a second chance to re-enter society with deterrence from their crime but instead ends that person's chance of ever re-entering society.

I feel that instead of capital punishment, other punishments can be dealt out. For example, extended jail terms could be given.

It is undeniable that those who are executed cannot commit further crimes, however, I and many others believe that this is insufficient justification taking human life.

To conclude this post, I want to restate that I believe that Capital Punishment should be abolished.

Being a Gentleman... T3P3

A gentleman, according to Wikipedia, denotes a well-educated man of good family and distinction. However, in modern times, this meaning has changed. "A gentleman is one who puts more into the world than he takes out." This sentiment by George Bernard Shaw further elaborates on what it takes to be one. I agree whole heartedly with him and I myself feel that gentlemen are called so because of what they do. Also, I would like to add that being a gentleman also involves many other virtues apart from being gentle. They also are required to be honest, pure, just, benevolent, generous, willing to sacrifice, persistant, peaceful, merciful, loyal, compassion, brave, modest and has a sense of altruism.
I chose to do a blog post on this as we went through this in class. To summarise, I feel that a gentleman involves many things and requires him to give without asking anything in return. I hope that everyone in the society today will try their best to be a gentleman or a gentlelady to the best of their ability.