Poem Question 4/9/09

1a. What are the persona's feelings described in the first three stanzas of this poem?
Explain how the poet described these feelings through the use of alliteration, metaphors and pun.

The feelings displayed by the poet in the first 3 stanzas are that he was feeling frustrated, restless and impatient for the lesson to end. In the first stanza, the poet uses metaphors like quarry of knowledge to describe how wide knowledge can be, and thus, how tiring it can be when you try to hunt for it. The metaphor unruly hounds tells us that the students were very restless as unruly hounds describes the students actions were very disordered.
In the second stanza, lines 2-4 are alliterations as the all start with 'o'. This tells us how much the poet has to go through and endure (i.e. books and work). The word 'sick' is a pun, as it can mean that the poet is suffering from an illness and therefore, is ill (sick). The meaning displayed in this stanza is that he is feeling very tired and bored (sick).
In the third stanza, the word kindle is a pun, as kindle means to light up, literally. However, in this stanza, it's meaning refers to the fact that his last fuel of life would motivate and push him towards the end of the lesson. 'Fuel of life' refers to his willpower and strength to live on.

1b. How is the tone of anger in this poem illustrated?

Anger in this poem is illustrated through the poet's choice of words, the metaphors he uses and alliterations that is applied.
For example, in the last stanza, the poet repeats words like 'not', 'won't' and 'don't' to express the negative feelings that he is going through.
In stanza 4, the poet uses words like he would not waste his 'soul' and 'strength'. This expresses how much he detests his student's attitude of learning towards his teaching. This sentence ,'What do I care for all that they do amiss' he uses, the word 'care' in it refers to the poet being very angry, because of the fact that he doesn't care and show concern for the student's mistakes. In stanza 5, in sentences 2-3, his choice of words like 'dog' and 'aunt' describes the author as furious as he expresses his anger through masking a word with a person.
And lastly, the metaphor 'unruly hounds' that is used in stanza 1, expresses how angry the poet is, describing his students as hounds that are unruly.

News Article Review

The article I am reviewing is from The Straits Times, Wednesday 19 August 2009, World, South Korea's Rocket Launch Raises Eyebrows.

This article is about South Korea launching a satellite to space today. The satellite can deliver nuclear warheads or other weapons of mass destruction. It is called "Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1", also known as, "Naro-1". South Korea claims that it would not attract the same kind of international criticism heaped on North Korea when they attempted a similar launch. Proliferation experts say that the launch is problematic, even though Seoul says it is for scientific purposes. Under US pressure, South Korea restricted its missile range. Naro-1 is 33m long, and it is a two-stage rocket which was built at 502.5 billion won (S$583 million). Its launch is planned for 3.40p.m. Singapore times ( +8 GMT ) today. (Other details about the articles on the newspaper itself, or the epaper on Straitstimes.com)

What I feel about this article?
I feel that even though Seoul is a close ally of Washington, other countries should not let their guard down and continue to keep a close watch on South Korea's launch, although their launch may not be as problematic as the North Korea's launch. Rocket launches are very serious matters that ought to be carefully carried out, as they cost alot and if somethings goes wrong, alot of money would be wasted.

Why I chose this article?
I chose this article, firstly, because it is one of the important world events, which is on the front page of the World section. Secondly, this is interesting, as if the launch is successful, and South Korea is influenced by North Korea, or they decide to "befriend" each other and share the same goals, they might threaten to harm and destroy parts of the world as they can cause huge destruction.

In conclusion, this article is very important to the world and it ought to be taken seriously (i.e. rocket launches and high-technological stuff).

Favourite Food/Eatery

Introduction to my favourite food...

My favourite food is the unique and cheesy cheese fries that is available in KFC. It is made up of deep-fried potatoes which makes up the fries in the meal. The cheese and mayonneise are served hot with the fries and they go very well together.



More about KFC's past...

KFC is an abbreviation for Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is a chain of fast-food restaurants that is based on Louisville, Kentucky. KFC is famous for its delicious fried chicken. It is their speciality.

(reference from wikipedia)



More about the cheese fries...

Cheese fries are made up of :
-Potatoes which make up the fries

-Cheese and Mayonneise which go with the fries

-Spring onions to include some flavour

-Salt to make the fries more delicious

-Mayonneise to go with the cheese and fries



Why do I like the dish?

I like this dish as I enjoy the cheese and mayonneise which go very well with the fries. Although McDonald's sell fries that are the most delicious (in my opinion), I enjoy the KFC's fries as the companion of the cheese make it very tasty. I always eat up the remaining cheese as I feel that the cheese is special and nice, and not finishing it would be a waste.

In conclusion, I feel that the cheese fries sold in Kentucky Fried Chicken is my favourite food as it is delicious and I enjoy eating it very much.

Home Learning 31-7

3. Why is it important for students to keep up to date with the news? Share some tips on how students can keep up with what is happening around them and around the world.

Firstly, keeping students up to date with the news is important so that they would not be back-dated and would be prepared for things like the H1N1 virus, etc. To keep updated with news is also important as to be a leader, we need to blend in with the news so that we are above other people, simply because we are leaders and have to work harder than other people so as to earn their respect.
You can keep your self up with what is happening around yourselves and around the world, simply by reading newspapers, watching news and even reading news articles online! Keep up with the news, it is really important to.

Online Learning 30-7

2. What are some tips you would offer fellow students to stay healthy?

Some tips to stay healthy:
1. When you want a can of soft drink, change your mind and go for healthy and organic fruit juices to boost your vitamin levels.
2. When you feel hot, drink lot of water to keep your self hydrated and to flush germs out of your body.
3. When you feel sick, go and see a doctor immediately and rest at home, do not go out to crowded places and wear a mask if you need to leave the house. Be responsible.
4. Eat lots of vitamins so you would not catch a virus easily.
5. Exercise regularly to keep your body fit and healthy.
6. Get sufficient rest when it is time to.
7. Do not eat oily foods, eat them once in a while if you must.
8. Avoid fried food stuff like french fries, eat them once in a while if you must.
9. Do spend time going for regular check-ups at clinics so that you will know if you have terminal illnesses early, so treatment would be easier and less life-threatening.

That's all I can think of. Get well soon, those who are sick.

E-Learning for 29-7

1. What are your thoughts about home learning? Is it more effective than learning in school?

I think that home learning is just learning from home, via the internet. I feel that home learning is quite fun, as we can continue learning at home, without spreading the H1N1 virus and other flu bugs, not like when you are in school. In school there are mini gatherings and thus, the H1N1 virus and other flu virus can be spread easily. This is the plus point about home learning. I feel that learning at home is just as effective as learning in school, as the work load is the same. However, in school, we have our teachers to explain to us things that we do not know immediately, but in home learning, we have to communicate via the e-mail, and it might take awhile before our teachers get back to us. Thus, that is the plus point about going to school to learn. Another point is that the facilities in school are adequate to facilitate our learning, however, we might not have those facilities at home. However, learning at home is good as it promotes self-discipline as we have to decide for ourselves whether to do the work given now, log on to the SMB now, go on the websites now, etc. Another plus point about home learning is that we get many discussions which are very fun as it bonds the class and combines our thinking. Therefore, I conclude that no way of learning is superior to another, as each way has its own plus points.

Online Lesson 2

The poem I chose today is
-
Dreams
by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
-

The reason why i chose this poem is because, every night, when people sleep, they dream. And in some cases "Dreams come true", so, I chose this poem as it tells us to treasure our dreams.

I chose this poet as he was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry. He was an American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer and columnist.

He is intriguing as he worked various odd jobs in his adulthood, before serving a brief tenure as a crewman aboard the S.S. Malone in 1923, spending six months traveling to West Africa and Europe. In Europe, Hughes left the S.S. Malone for a temporary stay in Paris. In Paris, became part of the black expatriate community.

It was while working as a busboy, after being a personal assistant to the historian Carter G. Woodson at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and leaving that post as he was not satisfied with its tight schedule, giving him time constrains that limited his writing, that Hughes would encounter the poet Vachel Lindsay. Impressed with the poems Hughes showed him, Lindsay publicised his discovery of a new black poet. By this time, Hughes' earlier work had already been published in magazines and was about to be collected into his first book of poetry.

The following year, Hughes enrolled in Lincoln University, an historically back university in Chester County, Pennsylvania. And then, he became a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the first black fraternal organization founded at a historically black college and university.

Academics and biographers today believe that Hughes was a homosexual and included homosexual codes in many of his poems. A primary biographer of Hughes, Arnold Rampersad, determined that Hughes exhibited a preference for other African-American men in his work and life. This love of black men is evidenced in a number of reported unpublished poems to a black male lover.

Despite all this, he still earned a B.A. degree from Lincoln University in 1929. He was also inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Howard University.

After a brief research on his life, I can conclude that although he was not a perfect guy (as no one is perfect) he could still write famous and impressive poems, and thus can conclude that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

A few of Hughes' poems other than Dreams, would be :
The crisis, 1926
My people
Justice
If you'd like to see more of his works, you can visit this site: http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/poems/page-1/
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes
http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/poems/page-1/
http://poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16075

E-Learning Lesson 1

The poem i chose:

A Birthday Poem by Ted Kooser

Just past dawn, the sun stands
with its heavy red head
in a black stanchion of trees,
waiting for someone to come
with his bucket
for the foamy white light,
and then a long day in the pasture.
I too spend my days grazing,
feasting on every green moment
till darkness calls,
and with the others
I walk away into the night,
swinging the little tin bell
of my name.


Question 1.
How are the figurative language used in the poem? Give the specific word(s), explain what type of figurative language it is and why the poet chose to use this figurative language?

Answer: It is used in forms of personification and metaphors. The phrase, the sun stands, is a personification as the sun cannot stand up because it does not have legs. The poet chose this because it makes us imagine in our mind that the sun is hanging high in the sky. The phrase darkness calls, is also personification as darkness cannot speak. The poet uses this phrase so that is makes its readers imagine the experience during dusk. The phrase feasting on every green moment is a metaphor as a human cannot eat moments. The poet uses this phrase as it makes the readers imagine that the person in the poem is enjoying every moment before darkness arrives.

Question 2.
Tell us why you like this poem in no less than 100 words

Answer: This poem can be used commonly as everyone has a birthday and we can use this poem to wish them a happy birthday. It also has figurative speech in it and this poem is also quite interesting because the poet uses phrases that makes the readers imagine vividly the events that are occurring in the poem. The poet also describes the surroundings clearly, for example black stanchion of trees, tells us that the trees he saw were packed together, and it was dark. The phrase heavy red head also expresses the sun that is going to set as heavy tells us that it is going to drop very soon. Lastly, the poet describes the white light as foamy, which tells us that the light then was very thick and the amount was ample.

Photo Montage

Our Photo Montage- OUR IDENTITY

Done By: Kevin (12) and  Yi Jie(8)

BlogPromptWeek8

Save the Earth!
Here are some ways the people in my country are doing their part to save the environment:

1. They take more public transport as public transport can transport more people to different places at a time rather than a car or van.

2. Car-users go for regular engine servicing to ensure that their engines do not give off harmful and dirty gases.

3. They reduce their waste by recycling those items that can be easily reused and they throw their waste in to the respective recycling bins.

4. They do not litter and spit out saliva or phlegm onto the ground, thus keeping the environment clean such that no diseases can be spread easily.

5. They switch off devices that consume large amounts of electricity when they are not in use.

6. They do not waste paper so less trees are cut down and the trees can help take away harmful gases released into the air.

7. They prefer using bio-degradable products instead of non-biodegradable ones like plastic.

8. They turn off the power supply of electrical devices instead of switching it to 'standby' mode.

9. They use solar panels instead of electricity.

10. They turn of the fan during windy days.

11. They do not turn on lights(unless it is needed) during a bright day

12. They use fans instead of air-conditioners during the night.

That is about all the ways that my people are helping to save the environment!

BlogPromptWeek7

The speech will be, " Good morning one and all, I am from the National Hospital in India. I am here to share my view points about the selling of organs illegally in our country. I feel that this offence should not be condoned because it is against the law as some people sell their organs for profit and it will encourage trading organs which leads to a black market. In this black market, organs would be sold at a very high price and some people may even be forced to sell their organs. Furthermore, I believe that the government plays a crucial role in ensuring that such criminals should be punished, which serves a severe deterrence. The worst case scenarios are when unscrupulous doctors remove people's organs without their consent, thus making those people very distraught and angry. I strongly feel that these doctors should be faced a strict sentence and not be let off easily. Imagine that you are one of those victims, how would you feel? I would leave you all to your thoughts as I end here. I strongly urge the government to do something about this as it will not benefit anyone if the organ transplant is not done in a proper, legal way. It may also add to the financial crisis faced by the world during this time. Please consider what I have said carefully and I will appreciate to see some action taken against this unscrupulous offenders. Thank you"

Nothing but the truth's ending

Imagine you are the are the author AVI.
You have reflected on all the discussion that took place on Okra Winfrey’s Talk Show and have decided to rewrite the ending of the documentary novel. Rewrite the end of the novel in any given text type. Your ending should be at least about 200 words [Maximum 300]. Upload your alternative ending in your blog:

The Morning's News

"Confessions of Philip Malloy, the suspended patriot."

Yesterday afternoon, Philip Malloy, from Washington Academy confessed about what he had done when he was studying in Harrison High School. "Ms. Narwin, I am sure you will be reading this article on this newspaper," says Philip Malloy."I am sorry about what I had done when I was studying in your homeroom classes. I was not humming the national anthem to be patriotic but to spite you. I did that because i thought that we did not get along with each other well, but I was wrong. I now know that even if we do not like someone, we should learn or adapt to like each other and not to dislike each other. Hence, I would like you to know that I am sorry about what I did and should not have publisized the matter that much. I wish that you could return to Harrison High School and continue your teaching there as you are a great teacher. I may consider going back there too as I have many friends there. If you can go back and continue teaching there, I would promise that I will do my best if I am in any of your classes." With this, Philip Malloy requests that Dr. Doane hires Ms Narwin back to the work force.


Letter written from Dr.Doane to Ms. Narwin

Dear Ms. Narwin,
I am referring to this morning's newspaper article of Philip Malloy's confessions. He has come to me personally as he feels that you should continue teaching in our workforce as he reckons that you are a great and experienced teacher. He is also willing to continue learning in Harrison High School and be in your classes. Please reply to me and I hope that you will agree to my proposal that you come back to the teaching work force.
Yours Sicerely,
Dr. Getrude Doane


RE: Recruitment to be in the workforce of Harrison High School
Dear Getrude,
I have considered for many days about your proposal, I wish to take up the challange and not to give up easily. I would like to try to rejoin the workforce and face up to my challanges.
Yours sincerely, Margeret Narwin.

On the first day of Ms. Narwin's classes( after rejoinning and Philip in her classes)

Ms Narwin: Ok, please listen to the national anthem with respectful silence.

Ms Narwin:
Who's that humming? Philip is that you?

Class: Hahaha...

Blog Prompt Week6

The speech will be,"Good morning everyone, I am here today to talk about the prevention of cruelty to animals. As you all know, we are not the only ones living on this planet. There are also other creatures we have to share this planet with. Some them are beautiful, some of them are not. Some are poisonous, some are not harmful. But, they are all classified under the same category "animals". Besides animals there are other living things like plants, fungi etc... But i shall not side-track since I am here to talk about animals. You all know that killing animals for their body parts as medicinal ingredients sounds harmful. In fact, it really is! However, many of animals go endangered because of poaching. But that is not what I am going to talk about only, but also legal killing. We all know some animals have medicinal values in their body parts, so the government allows the authorities to hunt them down legally, except for endangered species. However, these poor animals also have the right to live! Animals in the farm are a different story. I am talking about animals in the wild. We should kill less animals as they are also rightful "owners" of the land of this planet. So, I conclude that people should kill less of these poor animals just for their medicinal values. They should also use more of the body parts and kill less animals. Thank You!"

Blog Prompt Week5

Q: The speech is " Hello primary school students, I, the president of the Activists' Club in Singapore has been invited to your school to make a speech. I have been told that you children have nonchalant attitude towards environmental issues. Is that true? Whether or not it is, I am here to educate you. Making a difference in your lifestyle and choices means to do something different and meaningful. For example, taking public transport instead of your parents' car as taking public transport saves fuel and money. Now is the time of recession, so I know that parents would not only want to save money but also want their children to help them save! Help your family save costs in case of the hard times ahead. This would also save the Earth! Because less fuel is consumed and less harmful gases are released to the air and feed on the ozone layer!This in an example about making a difference in your choices. What about lifestyle? You should all exercise and stay healthy! You might think what I have just said is childish, but it really makes a difference! Think about it this way, you eat unhealthy and oily food everyday and one day... OUCH! You experience pain in your stomach or intestines. You head for the hospital and find out you have a certain stomach disease and it is in critical condition so you need immediate medical attention. Your parents are worried but, do not forget they still have to pay for your medical fees which cost a bomb, seriously. Do not forget that when you eat up your food especially deep fried ones, they cause more oil to cook! There are many other ways to help save the environment, so go check them out and start right away! Thank you!"

Blog Prompt Week4.

Q1. Age is important as when you grow older, you gain more experience. For example, new employees who have just joined the workforce may not know what the business world is about very clearly, so sometimes they might do foolish things unknowingly. But, an adult who has been in this industry for many years would know what to do in certain circumstances which are sometimes risky. So, in conclusion age and experience are really important to the workforce in a country, so the experienced should help those who are new in the workforce.

Blog Prompt Week3

Q2. Our New device helps students learn better as it will help them understand a question by explaining it to them clearly. It is not very big and also is convenient to bring it along with anyone. If a student does not know a question posted by a teacher, he can just press the question on the keypad available and he will get an explanation and answer. Please use it wisely!

Blog Prompt Week2.

The speech is : " Hello everyone, now that the economy is bad, we should keep an open mind and hire older workers so that the workforce of your company will be stronger. Older workers may not be as efficient as younger ones, but at least you will have more people to manufacture your products so you can sell more of them! Please hire more older workers as you would help them by giving them a stable income and and you will also help them by occupying their time, so that they can live their lives meaningfully. Thank you!"

School

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