Is there anyone else who would rather go to school than face the pile of homelearning stuff to do? T_T
Sunday, February 28, 2010
stark.
While researching for my GP assignment (on elite schools), I came across this article. I was quite dumbfounded when I read it, really.
A penny for your thoughts?
A penny for your thoughts?
Priority Scheme May Widen Income Gap (Calvin Ng, ST Forum, 27/5, pA19)
I wish to add to Monday’s letter by Ms Ho Sulin (‘Review volunteer priority for P1 places’) that under the current rules, children from lower- to middle-income families are disadvantaged in several other ways when their parents are scouting for a primary school.
First, I agree with Ms Ho that students from higher-income families have an advantage when it comes to parent volunteerism and monetary donations to schools.
Second, the Ministry of Education (MOE) offers entrance priority to children living within a 2km radius of the schools. Most of the elite primary schools are located in premier districts, for instance, like Bukit Timah (Anglo Chinese Primary and Raffles Girls Primary). Only a select few, like Rosyth Primary, are located in heartland regions where lower- to middle-income families live.
Third, priority is given to children whose parents had prior links to the school. Many of the children whose parents have links to the elite schools come from higher-income families.
Fourth, having gained entrance to these popularly sought schools, the siblings of these better-off children will enjoy the sibling-priority advantage.
My concern is that the priority scheme may create an unintended vicious circle.
Better-off children are more likely to find places in the better schools, where they will get better resources.
For example, the elite schools have the funds to employ teachers who are of a higher calibre. They also have more money to fund other useful educational enrichment programmes.
With these advantages, they are more likely to achieve success later in life. Would this not widen the income gap?
Back to work.
I'll be back to blog again... when I've got stuff to blog about.
Adios!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
strength. control.
Time to recoup wasted time...
Time-tied this week, will make it work.
Thank God for the well-rested weekend (:
Cast aside all distractions, all distracting thoughts...
Hello to a new week.
I need to talk to someone about this bugging thought. For now, shoo out of my head (:
Off to bed. Everyone should learn to sleep early (:
Cast aside all distractions, all distracting thoughts...
Hello to a new week.
I need to talk to someone about this bugging thought. For now, shoo out of my head (:
Off to bed. Everyone should learn to sleep early (:
sidenote.
Can I add how much the (F) word annoys me? A lot. Even the second-previous sentence looks vulgar in text ._. Urgh. Doesn't help that it keeps getting spewed out in daily conversations around me. Seriously man.
school. life.
This... is for the sake of blogging, haha (:
Nothing much these days; lessons 've started, and things are chugging along at quite a pace. Every teacher tells us, during the first lesson...
"The year ahead will be difficult."
"This road will not be easy."
"You will need to put in a lot, a lot of hard work to do well."
"You will encounter setbacks and failures along the way."
"You must not give up when the going gets tough."
Work is starting to seep in. Seep, going by college-standards. Being consistent is really important, though. 'Ve been hanging out with Tabby (ack now there're two of them, need to find a way to distinguish either (: ) to study together at our secret hideout (hahaha :D) Class bench is unstudy-able. - -" Too many people, too much clutter. We tried studying at the stone table under the tree ( :D ) last week, and ended up getting bitten by ants ._.
I think being hardworking and diligent (even when it seems like the whole world is not) is very important. People always go, "Wahpiang! Mugger lah you! Don't mugger lah!" I think it's not so much of mugger or not, it's more of investing time every day into revising the lectures and tutorials and reading up for upcoming lessons. I've been pretty intrigued these days googling and wiki-ing the little bits of trivia our teachers randomly mention in lessons. Interesting stuff/knowledge; good to know.
It helps to have a consistent study buddy too. Helps you stay grounded and clear even in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of outings, programmes, activities and CCA. Study buddy sounds funny and cool, haha (:
For now, my diary is lasting well, in the sense that I'm seriously making good use of it for reminders and dates (: People who know me know that all my planers and diaries have died every year. - -" I'm determined to make this year a good one.
Pray that my diligence will not wear off, even when exhaustion and weariness sets in later on. (:
Just completed CCA registration on ISP; it's set. I hope I made the right choices, and that we can all get into our choice CCAs. Hello to floorball and photography (: I'm so excited!! Floorball <:) And DSLRs :D
Thinking Day Rally today; felt a string of emotions seeing the whole company and the new Sec 1s. The Roos got to be Roos again, I felt fuzzy being with the rest of 'em together again (: It's just... different. 'Cos in school now, we're just... friends. Ay it's weird I don't know how to express it, but (:
Thankful for a closed wonderful chapter (: A gold and a silver, we didn't achieve the double gold we set out for, but what's a gold compared to people? People first, programmes for people. Will always bear in mind what Miss Teng said.
Okay I should be going. Pile of work awaits; Dramafeste's coming up, Lit test on monday, Math test sometime soon, need to write to my mortal. Week of Welfare this week, I can't wait! KOI bubble tea~ Councillors are 神仙s (: I really, really respect them a lot.
'Nuff for now. Have a good week ahead! Get going when the going gets tough.
Adios.
Nothing much these days; lessons 've started, and things are chugging along at quite a pace. Every teacher tells us, during the first lesson...
"The year ahead will be difficult."
"This road will not be easy."
"You will need to put in a lot, a lot of hard work to do well."
"You will encounter setbacks and failures along the way."
"You must not give up when the going gets tough."
Work is starting to seep in. Seep, going by college-standards. Being consistent is really important, though. 'Ve been hanging out with Tabby (ack now there're two of them, need to find a way to distinguish either (: ) to study together at our secret hideout (hahaha :D) Class bench is unstudy-able. - -" Too many people, too much clutter. We tried studying at the stone table under the tree ( :D ) last week, and ended up getting bitten by ants ._.
I think being hardworking and diligent (even when it seems like the whole world is not) is very important. People always go, "Wahpiang! Mugger lah you! Don't mugger lah!" I think it's not so much of mugger or not, it's more of investing time every day into revising the lectures and tutorials and reading up for upcoming lessons. I've been pretty intrigued these days googling and wiki-ing the little bits of trivia our teachers randomly mention in lessons. Interesting stuff/knowledge; good to know.
It helps to have a consistent study buddy too. Helps you stay grounded and clear even in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of outings, programmes, activities and CCA. Study buddy sounds funny and cool, haha (:
For now, my diary is lasting well, in the sense that I'm seriously making good use of it for reminders and dates (: People who know me know that all my planers and diaries have died every year. - -" I'm determined to make this year a good one.
Pray that my diligence will not wear off, even when exhaustion and weariness sets in later on. (:
Just completed CCA registration on ISP; it's set. I hope I made the right choices, and that we can all get into our choice CCAs. Hello to floorball and photography (: I'm so excited!! Floorball <:) And DSLRs :D
Thinking Day Rally today; felt a string of emotions seeing the whole company and the new Sec 1s. The Roos got to be Roos again, I felt fuzzy being with the rest of 'em together again (: It's just... different. 'Cos in school now, we're just... friends. Ay it's weird I don't know how to express it, but (:
Thankful for a closed wonderful chapter (: A gold and a silver, we didn't achieve the double gold we set out for, but what's a gold compared to people? People first, programmes for people. Will always bear in mind what Miss Teng said.
Okay I should be going. Pile of work awaits; Dramafeste's coming up, Lit test on monday, Math test sometime soon, need to write to my mortal. Week of Welfare this week, I can't wait! KOI bubble tea~ Councillors are 神仙s (: I really, really respect them a lot.
'Nuff for now. Have a good week ahead! Get going when the going gets tough.
Adios.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
fighter
WE ARE GOING TO ROCK THE CENTRAL PLAZA TOMORROW.
GO, ARES.
Today was quite a day; timetable's out. Will study over the CNY holiday. Lit is making me very, very nervous (and a tad regretful?), but I promise I will conquer it. I will. My diary is filling up very quickly; I think it'll run out soon, and then I'll switch to the Ad Inifinitum one from the school (:
'Ve got one thousand and one things to say, but time is going tick tock tick tock, need to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep so that we'll have POWER tomorrow!!! Have a good night.
Happy Chinese New Year (:
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Google buzz.
Facebook's downfall, perhaps? Hahaha maybe I'll join Google buzz and beat the rest of the 'in' crowd LOL :D
happy birthday, evelyn. (:
Work is starting to pour in slowly, but surely. The $10.00 worth of Geog notes freaked the freak out of all of us today. 22 sets of notes for... 4 lectures.
College life is really, really, really different. We all miss Nanyang. No one tells you how to run your life anymore; you're responsible for reading announcements posted on the SMB, finding the teachers yourself... you're responsible for making decisions like whether to use one hour to go to the canteen, hang around at the fishtank or read your econs notes.
Econs is quite a foreign, but generally interesting subject to learn. Though I'm not really that money-smart and stuff, (I seriously think I will go bankrupt someday) I guess the subject's useful. Hopefully I won't come to regret my decision to stick with it and not change to ELL.
Literature's... quite stressful; I'm constantly haunted by the whole idea of being background-less. Hopefully my passion for the Language and the drive to teach my students next time spurs me on. I will conquer hahaha (:
Talking about conquering, "Math is conquerable". These 3 words that Mrs June Ng (Ares Fac Teacher I/C) said brought me a lot of encouragement (: My classmates tell me their Math sucks too. Probably not as bad as mine, I think, but we'll do fine helping each other along the way (:
I like my class. I think we've a lot of potential to be a smashing awesome class! Boys are weird, but generally quite nice. They function on obviously different wavelengths as girls, but they're quite entertaining. And they boo very loudly. (cue loud, hollering BOOOOOOOOO...............)
Floorball training yesterday; I want to join ): Parents don't seem to keen on the idea of 2 CCAs though. I hope I can find some way to convince them and make sure my school work is maintained (: Still deciding between guitar or photography as the 1st CCA. Or maybe a new option will pop up along the way.
'Ve been signing up for quite a lot of programmes. I hope I'll be able to manage. Dramafeste, emcee auditions, YOG, DVBS etc. (Hahaha ok I digressed to other stuff and forgot what I was going to blog about already - -") (SMB HAS A LOT ANNOUNCEMENTS OMG.)
Adios! (Sorry for abrupt ending ._.)
College life is really, really, really different. We all miss Nanyang. No one tells you how to run your life anymore; you're responsible for reading announcements posted on the SMB, finding the teachers yourself... you're responsible for making decisions like whether to use one hour to go to the canteen, hang around at the fishtank or read your econs notes.
Econs is quite a foreign, but generally interesting subject to learn. Though I'm not really that money-smart and stuff, (I seriously think I will go bankrupt someday) I guess the subject's useful. Hopefully I won't come to regret my decision to stick with it and not change to ELL.
Literature's... quite stressful; I'm constantly haunted by the whole idea of being background-less. Hopefully my passion for the Language and the drive to teach my students next time spurs me on. I will conquer hahaha (:
Talking about conquering, "Math is conquerable". These 3 words that Mrs June Ng (Ares Fac Teacher I/C) said brought me a lot of encouragement (: My classmates tell me their Math sucks too. Probably not as bad as mine, I think, but we'll do fine helping each other along the way (:
I like my class. I think we've a lot of potential to be a smashing awesome class! Boys are weird, but generally quite nice. They function on obviously different wavelengths as girls, but they're quite entertaining. And they boo very loudly. (cue loud, hollering BOOOOOOOOO...............)
Floorball training yesterday; I want to join ): Parents don't seem to keen on the idea of 2 CCAs though. I hope I can find some way to convince them and make sure my school work is maintained (: Still deciding between guitar or photography as the 1st CCA. Or maybe a new option will pop up along the way.
'Ve been signing up for quite a lot of programmes. I hope I'll be able to manage. Dramafeste, emcee auditions, YOG, DVBS etc. (Hahaha ok I digressed to other stuff and forgot what I was going to blog about already - -") (SMB HAS A LOT ANNOUNCEMENTS OMG.)
Adios! (Sorry for abrupt ending ._.)
Monday, February 08, 2010
The past, the present, the future.
I.. stumbled upon this stash of photos from a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time back. Like, looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time back.
Cool man.
I affectionally named this photo er, "all mi darlings n mi"
We were all young once.
With Amanda Pan.
This whole affinity thing is crazy; she missed NY by a few marks, now she's my schoolmate in Hwachong. And Sarah + Tab's classmate.
Amanda and Kimberly are the reason why I'm in Nanyang.
Make that 'was'; Xiaoen's now a Hwachong-ian 8)
I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. XIAOEN LOOKS SO SI WEN, RIGHT!!!
MY HAIR WAS LONG LAST TIME, COOL RIGHT.
SO SI WEN (:
And then.. there were Sec 1 days.
Still si wen (:
Teoying looks like a carbon copy, no change.
LE, DO YOU STILL REM YOUR FUNNY BUNNY!
And that's my old phone! Hahahaha (:
Omg this is very gross hahaha but Evelyn looks so cute I cannot not put it up.
On the first LA lesson Miss Teo looked at her and went right away,
"You look like a teddy bear!"
Our appearances have changed subtly but surely over the years, it's so cool (:
Wenjun jiejie. These photos are amazing.
My grandmama (:
She's very cute, I love her.
Please pray for her, we've been bringing her to church on several occasions, pray that the Lord will touch her heart.
And this is for the present, the future, for better, for worst. (:
Class 10A10, Hwa Chong Institution (2010 - 2011)
Formal shot, epic-ness. 8)
Ten.
Okay done. I think a lot of you will be commenting on 想当年的我们 (:
Hahahaha (:
Adios.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
here we go.
Orientation '10 has come to an end (:
The past week or so has gone by in a grey whirl of screams, laughter, ice-breakers, coming together... and more coming together. Am currently in a very disillusioned and confused state over college life, a tad too many changes and new faces/names for me to handle. College is very... different. It's sort of what I'd expected it to be, but I don't think I was (and am) ready to plunge into it yet.
It's crazy to think how JC will only be 2 years. That's an awfully short time, but the road ahead seems pretty long too. Everything we go through is also condensed relatively into these 2 years. Friendships are forged in the blink of an eye, but people drift away faster than you can reach out to them too. I guess these two years will put a lot of friendships to the test... can you imagine how we'll all be like when we graduate?
Hwachong is so packed with a thousand and one programmes, and they're all up to your own initiative to sign up and attend 'em. No one really bothers how you run life, 'cos you're really expected to manage it yourself. A lot of important decisions need to be made; subject combination, your CCA, CIPs, activities... yadayada. Some people already have a very clear vision of what they're going to do, their gameplan is all laid out ahead of them, and they're skilfully making their every move with a clear goal in mind. My gameplan is... a happy life. I just want something simple- it'll be good if I'm rich, though, that way I can feed my six kids and dress 'em up nicely next time.
I'm a tad worried about my class, honestly. 'Cos I'm worried I won't be able to catch up with the rest of 'em. Seriously, I have no idea how I landed up in a half-KI class. MSG 2.7!? I'm trusting in the Lord right now, He's been hearing my all my fervent (almost frantic) prayers... I know He knows what's best for me, and I'm just hoping my studies will be alright this year. Go, me. (:
New year resolutions have been working so far. Diet-wise, it's definitely a lot healthier. Am snacking less, and suppers are a habit no longer. Working out to lose the 5kg gained last year! Going jogging with Cousin later... before we pig over reunion dinner. Nowadays I feel funny when it's past 11pm and I'm not in bed. Not going online + not having a facebook acc + not being internet-dependent helps. Hello to healthier living (:
Council is pretty darn cool. There's this itsy part of me that wants to join Council quite strongly, but the other rationale part says no. I am going with the rationale; there'll surely be other opportunities and ways to serve. Need to buck up on studies first! The whole talk about portfolio and "beefing up your portfolio" is rubbish. It sucks how superficial our world is. Generalisation on my part, yes, but seriously I wish everything was out of genuine-ness.
A lot of changes, a lot of emotions... It's quite funny reading everyone's blogs. I guess we'll all look back at our transition period now and reminisce all these moments. Growing up suddenly feels very real. Am becoming increasingly withdrawn and it's not very good. Will get about memorising everyone's names soon; my Civics Tutor looks nice, though! He's quite funny and treated us to pizza on Friday. (:
This post sounds a tad emo; new friends, if you happen to chance by this, I promise I'm not like this all the time. It's just... a confused soul still looking around for some direction.
Here we go.
The past week or so has gone by in a grey whirl of screams, laughter, ice-breakers, coming together... and more coming together. Am currently in a very disillusioned and confused state over college life, a tad too many changes and new faces/names for me to handle. College is very... different. It's sort of what I'd expected it to be, but I don't think I was (and am) ready to plunge into it yet.
It's crazy to think how JC will only be 2 years. That's an awfully short time, but the road ahead seems pretty long too. Everything we go through is also condensed relatively into these 2 years. Friendships are forged in the blink of an eye, but people drift away faster than you can reach out to them too. I guess these two years will put a lot of friendships to the test... can you imagine how we'll all be like when we graduate?
Hwachong is so packed with a thousand and one programmes, and they're all up to your own initiative to sign up and attend 'em. No one really bothers how you run life, 'cos you're really expected to manage it yourself. A lot of important decisions need to be made; subject combination, your CCA, CIPs, activities... yadayada. Some people already have a very clear vision of what they're going to do, their gameplan is all laid out ahead of them, and they're skilfully making their every move with a clear goal in mind. My gameplan is... a happy life. I just want something simple- it'll be good if I'm rich, though, that way I can feed my six kids and dress 'em up nicely next time.
I'm a tad worried about my class, honestly. 'Cos I'm worried I won't be able to catch up with the rest of 'em. Seriously, I have no idea how I landed up in a half-KI class. MSG 2.7!? I'm trusting in the Lord right now, He's been hearing my all my fervent (almost frantic) prayers... I know He knows what's best for me, and I'm just hoping my studies will be alright this year. Go, me. (:
New year resolutions have been working so far. Diet-wise, it's definitely a lot healthier. Am snacking less, and suppers are a habit no longer. Working out to lose the 5kg gained last year! Going jogging with Cousin later... before we pig over reunion dinner. Nowadays I feel funny when it's past 11pm and I'm not in bed. Not going online + not having a facebook acc + not being internet-dependent helps. Hello to healthier living (:
Council is pretty darn cool. There's this itsy part of me that wants to join Council quite strongly, but the other rationale part says no. I am going with the rationale; there'll surely be other opportunities and ways to serve. Need to buck up on studies first! The whole talk about portfolio and "beefing up your portfolio" is rubbish. It sucks how superficial our world is. Generalisation on my part, yes, but seriously I wish everything was out of genuine-ness.
A lot of changes, a lot of emotions... It's quite funny reading everyone's blogs. I guess we'll all look back at our transition period now and reminisce all these moments. Growing up suddenly feels very real. Am becoming increasingly withdrawn and it's not very good. Will get about memorising everyone's names soon; my Civics Tutor looks nice, though! He's quite funny and treated us to pizza on Friday. (:
This post sounds a tad emo; new friends, if you happen to chance by this, I promise I'm not like this all the time. It's just... a confused soul still looking around for some direction.
Here we go.
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