Don't forget! Block Test tomorrow! All the Best! :)

Don't stress...sleep early! Enjoy the paper :P

Outline - Young people today have gone soft

Here's the outline for the question on youths

Outline

Sample essay - Do schools really educate a man

Here's a sample essay for the education question. I'm in the process of doing the outline for the youth question...should be out by this afternoon

Sample essay

Where is the love

If you like this song, here it is...
The files takes up a lot of space so I'll take it down after a while. If you like it, pls save it to your comp.

Where is the love music
Where is the love slides

NOTE: MUSIC & SLIDES HAVE BEEN REMOVED DUE TO SPACE CONSTRAINTS

Do schools really educate a man? - Essay outline for Gp H

This is the essay outline by Panfong's group (Group H5) that I didn't manage to go through in class on Fri. Pls read my comments at the end of the outline

Outline

Newsweek articles

I've had people asking me to suggest which Newsweek articles to read. Pls read whatever interests you. The main thing is to keep reading and learning how people use words and expressions or make their arguments.
I don't want to spoonfeed you but since I was also catching up on my own stack of Newsweek, here are some articles I found interesting:
Feb 26
1) Main article on Blair's Legacy - interesting read on what Blair has done. The commentary on p16 can be useful to find out what people want from a good leader/govt
2) "Only One Side of the Story" (p32) - a Muslim woman speaking out against her religion... something pretty rare. But is what she's saying really justified?
3) "English Orated Here" (p34) - some trends in the education system/focus in Asia

March 5 (very interesting issue!)
1) Main article "Bound to Fail" - follow-up on what we discussed about the UN. Quite comprehensive article on the challenges of the UN. Must be quite discouraging for Ban Ki Moon to be told that he is 'bound to fail' even before he has even started doing anything.
2) "The Surge that Might Work" (p13) - America's role in Iraq
3) "The Wedding Shortage" (p35) - social trends in the Middle East. Do we face this in S'pore too?
4) "Green is as Green Does" (p36) - how businesses are handling the environmental crisis.
5) "Girls gone Bad" (p46) - the effect of popular culture on youths. Do you agree that popular culture/the media is to be blamed for the wayward values of today's children?
6)"Muslims Fighting Evil" (p54) - can popular culture also be used to teach good values and defeat prejudice?

March 12
1) Main article "Hollow Tipped Threat" - always good to keep yourself in the know of the happenings in the largest country in the world
2) "The Sky isn't Falling in China" (p15) - similarly, always good to know what is happening in the 2nd largest country in the world. Is the China boom one that will really last?
2) "The Lost Youth of Europe" (p20) - know more about the problems that youths face around the world. Are they similar to what we face in S'pore?
3) "The Carbon Folly" (p40) - remember my lecture on carbon trading? Is it working?

Pls note that what I enjoy reading may not be what you enjoy. There are lots of other articles on politics, the nukes situation and the environment that you might want to read if you are interested. Just keep reading!

Block Test Reminder

Pls remember to bring your own stationery and paper for the block test. No, it's not because we are poor...we only provide paper for exams, block test is just a test, albeit a very important one!
Pls pass the word around, especially those of you in the H group, I'm sorry I forgot to remind you in class.

Compre Practice for block test

I know that for most of you, GP is not going to be high on your priority list for your block test revision. But in case you are bored with your other subjects or miss doing comprehensions, here's a compre passage that you can use as revision and practice.

VJC Promo 2003:
Passage + Questions
Answers

Suggested answer for AQ (2003 A-levels)

Here are some suggested points for the AQ on animal rights

Answer

Would you walk away?

I mentioned this to some of you in class and thought it's something interesting for you all to think about in relation to the responsibilities of a journalist and what you will do if you were a journalist in a situation like Rwanda or Sudan.
Would you help this child or would you walk away?

Kevin Carter’s Pulitzer Prize winning photograph of a Sudanese girl in the spring of 1993 was instrumental in brining international attention to the growing hunger crisis in Sudan. Despite taking over 20 minutes to take the photograph and eventually chasing the vulture away, Kevin ultimately only watched the little girl continue her struggle on to a U.N. food station (estimated at about one kilometer away) and then left her, never to know of the girl's fate.

Why didn't he help her? This has been the question of many since learning of Kevin’s story following his award. Why didn't he take that frail, precious little girl up into his arms and carry her to safety?

His inaction is not all that hard to imagine after learning about his past experiences and of his work. Before even seeing the horrors of Sudan, Kevin witnessed and was exposed to attrocities that occurred routinely in his own nation of South Africa. Like any seasoned pro, he had learned to keep an emotional distance from his subjects in order to stay focused on his work - to stay objective.

But Kevin was never able to put a full emotional distance from the events in Sudan following his return back to South Africa. Soon having brushes with death himself following his work in Sudan, and witnessing further horrors surrounding apartheid, his vices and personal troubles were only heightened by the day-to-day image capture of human tradgedy. Kevin was also known to suffer from frequent mental breakdowns following photo shoots, including those in Sudan. Sadly, soon following his elation of winning the Pulitzer in 1994, Kevin committed suicide just two months later. Many believe that he took his life as a result of what he experienced in Sudan, some believe that his past failings led to his death, others believe that it was a combination of past and recent events.

(Commentary taken from http://fdnf.typepad.com/live_from_the_fdnf/horn_of_africa/index.html)

Common Test 1 Essay Outlines

I realised I don't have the time to go through all the common test essay questions. Here are the outlines for the questions. If you have any questions please check back with me.

CT1 Outlines

AQ answers for compre on gambling

Here are some suggested answers for the compre on gambling. The answers are a little sketchy 'cos I don't have the time to work out detailed answers. But should be sufficient for you to think of the HOW, WHY, SO on your own

Compre Answers

Answers for remedial compre

Here are the answers for the compre paper that some of you did for remedial

NY05 Common Test 1 Answers