Term 1 Week 4 Assignment

(Left) Compass Point, a shopping mall in Sengkang Town Hub. (Right) Sengkang Community Centre










(Left) Sengkang LRT viaducts. (Right) Sengkang Sculpture Park, a green space created below the LRT viaducts


I live in Compassvale, a neighbourhood east of Sengkang New Town. Sengkang New Town is a young satellite town in Singapore, situated in the North-East region. Compassvale has been my home for about 11 years, having moved here since I was three. I am sentimentally attached to this place, not just because it was where I live, it also provides me with an emotional state of “residence”. This is where I feel safe and secure; where I can be together with my family; where I reflect most on my identity as a Singapore citizen.

It is here in the neighbourhood that I discovered our Singapore identity. I think that it is our racial and religious diversity that makes us unique as one nation, which can be seen from the various races interacting and living together harmoniously in a neighbourhood. Why, my very next-door neighbour is a Malay! We are like the various condiments on the kitchen shelf, where each condiment adds a different taste and yet contributing to the whole experience.

Actually, Sengkang means "prosperous harbour" in Chinese. This area was originally known as Kangkar or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. In the past, there were kampongs here where everyone knew their neighbours and doors were often unlocked, with chickens running loose and fruit trees growing by the houses. It is kind of sad now that we often find barred doors and people who do not even want to know their neighbours from two doors down the corridor. I guess this is the price to play for Singapore’s rapid economic advancement!

24 Jan Home Based Learning

By wongweicong View this Toon at ToonDoo Create your own Toon

I chose the different backgrounds as they show the history and progression in human technology. The introduction, rising actions, climax and resolution all have different backgrounds to show the movement in time and place, although you have to imagine what happens after the last frame. The comic strip underlines the theme of fulfillment, as characterisation portrays man as not being fulfilled, and the setting describes man as never going to be fulfilled. The plot shows man as never being happy or satisfied, always wanting to have more.

Technology is a double-edged sword. While technology allows economies to flourish, technology also leads to greater social-economic division. Furthermore, the comic strip shows that power, wealth and technology are intrinsically tied together. More wealth means more advanced technology, which leads to more power, which in turn results in more money!
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Comic Strip Narrative Planning Sheet

Title
Scene & Actions That Occur: Humans appeared on Earth.
Landscape & Props: Prehistoric Earth

Introduction
Scene & Actions That Occur: A caveman discovered fire. However, he was not satisfied with his discovery. He wanted more ‘advanced’ technology to live a more comfortable life.
Characters Present: Caveman
Landscape & Props: Prehistoric Earth
Caption: 1,000,000 B.C.
Dialogue: Me Want More…

Rising Action
Scene & Actions That Occur: The Industrial Revolution started. An industrialist, profiting from the wealth generated on the backs of poor labourers, felt that he was still not earning enough.
Characters Present: Industrialist
Landscape & Props: Factories, Piles of coins
Caption: A.D. 1800
Dialogue: I want more…

Climax
Scene & Actions That Occur: The Technological Revolution started. A business tycoon still feels that the billions of dollars he earned are still not enough.
Characters Present: Business tycoon
Landscape & Props: Skyscrapers, Bags of cash
Caption: A.D. 2011
Dialogue: I still want more…

Falling Action
Scene & Actions That Occur: A beggar sits forlornly beside the huge bags of cash, with not a penny on him.
Characters present: Business tycoon, Beggar
Landscape & Props: Skyscrapers, Bags of cash
Caption: A.D. 2011
Dialogue: I still want more…

Resolution
Scene & Actions That Occur: Technology will continue to lead to greater social-economic division. Laborers will still be viewed as commodities.
Landscape & Props: Future city

Term 1 Week 3 Assignment

After listening to the song “Where is the love” by Black Eyed Peas, I think its main message is that in order for world peace, we should think, respect and love, instead of spreading hatred. The song is a lamentation on the different kinds of hatred in the world. Terrorism, racial discrimination, war, selfishness, greed and intolerance, all sprout from hatred.

I think that this song is a message against the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, in particular the U.S. government’s hypocrisy. The Bush administration did not “practice what it preach”, by claiming to enforce democracy while supporting dictators. Thousands of Iraqis were killed in the name of enforcing United Nations resolutions.

I have the strongest feeling for this part of the song:

Whatever happened to the values of humanity

Whatever happened to the fairness and equality

Instead of spreading love, we're spreading anomosity

Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down

It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under

I gotta keep my faith alive, until love is found

This section succinctly expressed our desire for world peace. I like the particular idea that we can use music to promote world peace. I believe that war is not part of human nature; love is, as in the Roman Catholic phrase, “God is love”. Once we established this idea, I believe world peace can be achieved. We just have to wait for that day to arrive…

Term 1 Week 2 Assignment

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” has a great impact on my life after reading it. My philosophy since young is that human nature is essentially good. This book explores the essence of human nature — that if people are inherently good or inherently evil. The story confronts the danger that hatred and racism pose to the ‘mockingbirds’ – innocents like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The most important lesson that I have learnt from the book is that humans are not simply good or evil - they have both good and bad qualities. From then on, I began to appreciate the good qualities of people around me and acknowledge their bad qualities by trying to “climb into their skin and walk around in it”.

The book also explores the different kinds of courage, particularly moral courage. Courage, as described in Atticus’s words, is “when you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what”. I learnt that true courage is not about carrying guns, but rather upholding virtue and reason. After reading the novel, I have a new-found admiration of the legal profession.

All in all, the novel’s universal lessons about respect, courage and compassion have inspired me to be a better human being.