term 1 Assignment 1: Book Review corrections Mad about Matilda
Think that you are too old for a children’s book? Not for this book! Roald Dahl has done it again, in his enchanting and engaging book, “Matilda”. Just about everyone had heard about Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl is known for his children’s books imbued with dark humour, and Matilda is no exception.
Published in 1988, the novel won the Children’s Book Award in the same year and was developed into a motion picture in 1998.
The story revolves around a young girl called Matilda. She is hated by her parents. Her parents do not care about her at all. Despised by her school’s headmaster, she is however well-loved by her pretty and understanding teacher and classmates. In “Matilda”, Roald Dahl writes about Matilda’s magical powers and a side-splitting family saga.
“Matilda”, the main character of the book, is exceptionally gifted and sensitive. She is not worried or affected by the fact that her parents do not care about her and do not appreciate her given talents. She is also witty, once pouring her mother’s bottle of purple dye into her father’s hair tonic bottle to take revenge of her father throwing away her library book. She is also very mature and independent despite her young age. She also cares a lot about her loved ones. For example, Matilda helped her teacher, Ms Honey, to get back her house and money her father left her by using her magical powers.
The main theme of the book is overcoming adversity, both at home and in school. Matilda’s parents represent opposition which she is able to overcome through belief in herself and sheer determination. Children will learn that, even though they will face difficulties and problems in their lives, they are able to overcome them by keeping a positive attitude and being resourceful.The reason why the book still remains so popular for children is because Roald Dahl engages the imagination and has a “happily ever after” ending. The book makes people laugh. In addition, the part where Matilda found out about her magical powers is very appealing to the children. The book is simple but yet beautifully written, thus the book remains so popular.
Although this book is mainly for children, this book is also appealing to teenagers. To me, the true test of a book’s greatness is it is the impact years after reading it for the first time. I had read this book when I was in primary school, but I still find the book fascinating. So if you want to read a story which is powerful, entertaining, humorous and drives you headlong into the story, go on your own quest and hunt for this treasure of a novel! Hurry down and get a copy of this remarkable book now! Term 1 Assignment 2: Movie Review corrections Mentally Challenged by Wong Shi Ying Release Date: December 28, 2001 (Limited) January 25, 2002 Genre: Drama Director: Jessie Nelson Writer: Jessie Nelson, Kristine Johnson Cast: Will Wallace, Brad Silverman, Eileen Ryan, Joseph Rosenberg, Kathleen Dianne West, Richard Schiff, Doug Hutchison, Loretta Devine, Laura Dern, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn Running Time: 132 minutes Rating: PG-13 for language
Feeling bored and want to watch a movie that leaves you shedding buckets of tears? “I Am Sam” is the right movie for you! The movie's title is named for the line "I am Sam" featured in the book Green Eggs and Ham, which is read in the movie.
“I Am Sam” talks about Sam, who has a mental capacity of a 7-year old. Dam is so obsessed with the Beatles, that he even names his daughter, Lucy Diamond, from a Beatles Song, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds”. As young and beautiful Lucy grows up, Sam has limitations. Lucy is intentionally holding back, to avoid looking smarter than her mentally challenged father. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames lawyer Rita Harission into taking his case pro bono. Although the movie is very long, the captivating plot of the movie continues to enthral you. Your eyes will be glued to the screen to find out what happens next in the movie. I think the director, Jessie Nelson, has made a wise choice putting the background music and the names of the believable characters from Beatles song, as Sam, one of the main characters, is obsessed with the band. For example, the name of Michelle Pfeiffer’s role as Rita is taken from the Beatles Song, ‘Lovely Rita”. This makes the movie very special and interesting.
I find the movie very comical. In many scenes of the movie, it also pulled at the heartstrings of the audience watching it. The characters exhibit strength. The theme of the movie is about love is all you just need, and also about family bonds, which makes me cherish my relationships with my family.
I find Sean Penn, playing the role as Sam, has done a wonderful job playing a mentally challenged person. You will actually lose yourself in his role, forgetting that Sean Penn is a person with normal intelligence pretending to have a mental disability.
Dakota Fanning also steals the show with her fabulous acting. I like her character the best. She makes her character look very mature. She does not give up trying to get away to find her father, but to no avail, which is why I pity her. She is also very sensitive. When she questions her father about why is he like that, her father kept apologising profusely to her. Knowing that her father is sad about the fact he is mentally challenged, she tweaked her question by telling her father that he is not like any father. This cheered her father up and he brings her to the park.
Michelle Pfeiffer, starring as Rita, demonstrates a wide range of emotions as her character struggles to work with Sam’s disabilities. Her portrayal of the lawyer is not only believable but matches the talent and strength of Sean Penn’s performance. She learns about life’s simple pleasures from Sam’s patience.
The part I like most in the movie is the part where Sam, Lucy and Sam’s friends walk across the road with colourful and bright balloons. This scene is very comical, which made me laugh till there were tears in my eyes.
I think the movie would have done better if Sam had talked more articulately and the title of the movie was more descriptive. At first, I was not too keen on the movie, but after watching it, I enjoyed it very much. So, do not be fooled by the title, thinking that the movie is not engaging. I strongly recommend this movie, so dear readers, please watch it! CA2 Component 2 (Formal Letter) corrections
Chung Cheng High School (Main)
222 Bedok Road
Singapore 334455
11 July 2011
Mr Michael Wong
Liaison Officer
Singapore Children’s Society
298 TIong Bahru Road
#09-05 Central Plaza
Singapore 168730
Dear Sir,
Re: Regarding the service learning choice we have made
My name is Wong Shi Ying, the student selected from Two Empathy to lead the service Learning Project with the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS).Referring to your email about the service learning choice, I am writing to inform you about the choice my class has made. We were given two choices by the society: Academic coaching and Befriending. We have decided on the second option, Academic Coaching.
All of the sessions will be conducted at the SCS’s student care centre located near our school, which is a 5 minutes’ walk from school. Thus, students do not have to spend money on transport, ensuring maximum participation from the students. Students can also return at their own time for additional lessons.
Students would have to commit to at least 3 sessions with the children they are assigned. Having 3 sessions with the children will allow better rapport.
For the academic coaching course, volunteers do not need to undergo a course, whereas for Befriending, students have to undergo a full-day course, assisted by an experienced counsellor. Students might not have the time to undergo the course if we choose Befriending as the students have other commitments. Thus, academic coaching will be a better choice.
My class is well-versed in certain English and Mathematics subjects, but we are not very outspoken. We might not do a good job in providing a friendly ear to children who call in. we have also provided coaching and academic-related help to students before, thus, having the experience in academic coaching, we can do a good job. However, we have not done Befriending before, so we lack experience. Therefore, academic coaching is a better choice for us.
Academic coaching also provides hands on experience on teaching. Students may want to consider their option in their future.
Thank you for considering our request. We hope you make it possible for us to perform a very valuable community service by coaching the children.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
(Signature)
Shi Ying
2 Empathy Service Learning Project Leader
Term 1 Assignment 3 (CA1 Component 3) corrections I agree that in the 21st century, gender inequality is still prevalent in the world. Society’s mindset has not changed much.
Para 1: In many societies, such as the rural parts of China and India, people place a lot of importance on having sons. Sons are deemed as capable of carrying on the family’s name or surname, while girls are not. Sons are able to work in farms when their parents grow old wile daughters are sent away from home when they are married. Thus, the government is trying to change the mindset of people that boys are better than girls, by giving talks and using media such as commercials and posters. However, societies are still favouring sons to daughters. One example is my uncle. Before my cousin, who is a girl, was born, he wanted to have a son as he thought that sons are more filial to their parents than daughters and wanted someone to carry on the family’s name. Although that was years ago, my uncle still think that sons are more filial to their parents. Thus, this shows that society’s mindset has not changed much.
Para 2: Research has also shown that seventy percent of the world who is illiterate is women. This shocking large number shows that women are suffering the consequences of social stratification. Many people think that men are more intelligent than women, thus they are given education instead of women. Women are being forced to stay at home to take care of children. Although many countries had adopted the system where girls are allowed to go to school to be educated like the boys, women are still being looked down on. The government of India has sent out posters to convince people that women too, can become doctors, lawyers and engineers, showing that women are as capable as men. Although the situation in India is improving slightly only, this shows that gender inequality in education remains a problem.
Para 3: In the workforce, despite having the same number of qualifications and IQ, men are given more priority in terms of securing jobs. Women are not allowed in certain fields of profession, due to gender inequality. I have watched a show in Singapore where a man and a woman are being interviewed for a job. Both had splendid resumes. The boss was pondering over who should get the job. In the end, the man got the job as the boss admitted that he thought that women are slower and less hardworking in doing things. It is not just a one off incident, in fact is a common practice.A study conducted in 2000 by economic experts Claudia Goldin from Harvard University and Cecilia Rouse from Princeton University shows that when evaluators of applicants could see the applicant’s gender they were more likely to select men. When the applicants’ gender could not be observed, the number of women hired significantly increased. David Neumark, a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues found statistically significant evidence of sex discrimination against women in hiring. In an audit study, matched pairs of male and female pseudo-job seekers were given identical resumes and sent to apply for jobs as waiters and waitresses at the same set of restaurants. In high priced restaurants, a female applicant’s probability of getting an interview was 35 percentage points lower than a male’s and her probability of getting a job offer was 40 percentage points lower. Additional evidence suggests that customer biases in favour of men partly underlie the hiring discrimination. According to Neumark, these hiring patterns appear to have implications for sex differences in earnings, as informal survey evidence indicates that earnings are higher in high-price restaurants.Men also have a higher income than women. This shows that there is gender inequality in employment and income.
In conclusion, I agree that there is still gender inequality in the world.
Topic: Is it a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools? I think it is a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools. Having avatars as teachers will attract attention of students, thus they will listen during lessons, instead of doing other things. The learning of the students will thus be more effective. Look the lessons we have daily. Every teacher makes use of technology to bring us the lessons, for example showing us videos and making use of Powerpoint. Personally, I find that it attracts my attention more than teachers explaining lessons through looking at the textbook. The avatars will also make the students more active during lessons, especially the shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers. One school in South Korea has already started having avatars as teachers, and the response is so far very good. It was mentioned that "The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person," and "Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,”Thus, I prefer to have avatars as my teachers.
June Holiday Homework
These are my reviews for the English Holiday Assignment:
Review 1: Maid in ICU after trying to hang herself
Review 2: Open-air sculptures feel the heat
review 3: Samaritans help trace hit-&run driver
Sorry if there is any mispronunciation for some words!
Mad about Matilda
Think that you are too old for a children’s book? Not for this book! Roald Dahl has done it again, in his enchanting and engaging book, “Matilda”. Just about everyone had heard about Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl is known for his children’s books imbued with dark humour, and Matilda is no exception.
Published in 1988, the novel won the Children’s Book Award in the same year and was developed into a motion picture in 1998.
The story revolves around a young girl called Matilda. She is hated by her parents. Her parents do not care about her at all. Despised by her school’s headmaster, she is however well-loved by her pretty and understanding teacher and classmates. In “Matilda”, Roald Dahl writes about Matilda’s magical powers and a side-splitting family saga.
“Matilda”, the main character of the book, is exceptionally gifted and sensitive. She is not worried or affected by the fact that her parents do not care about her and do not appreciate her given talents. She is also witty, once pouring her mother’s bottle of purple dye into her father’s hair tonic bottle to take revenge of her father throwing away her library book. She is also very mature and independent despite her young age. She also cares a lot about her loved ones. For example, Matilda helped her teacher, Ms Honey, to get back her house and money her father left her by using her magical powers.
The main theme of the book is overcoming adversity, both at home and in school. Matilda’s parents represent opposition which she is able to overcome through belief in herself and sheer determination. Children will learn that, even though they will face difficulties and problems in their lives, they are able to overcome them by keeping a positive attitude and being resourceful.The reason why the book still remains so popular for children is because Roald Dahl engages the imagination and has a “happily ever after” ending. The book makes people laugh. In addition, the part where Matilda found out about her magical powers is very appealing to the children. The book is simple but yet beautifully written, thus the book remains so popular.
Although this book is mainly for children, this book is also appealing to teenagers. To me, the true test of a book’s greatness is it is the impact years after reading it for the first time. I had read this book when I was in primary school, but I still find the book fascinating. So if you want to read a story which is powerful, entertaining, humorous and drives you headlong into the story, go on your own quest and hunt for this treasure of a novel! Hurry down and get a copy of this remarkable book now!
Term 1 Assignment 2: Movie Review corrections
Mentally Challenged by Wong Shi Ying
Release Date: December 28, 2001 (Limited)
January 25, 2002
Genre: Drama
Director: Jessie Nelson
Writer: Jessie Nelson, Kristine Johnson
Cast: Will Wallace, Brad Silverman, Eileen Ryan, Joseph Rosenberg, Kathleen Dianne West, Richard Schiff, Doug Hutchison, Loretta Devine, Laura Dern, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sean Penn
Running Time: 132 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for language
Feeling bored and want to watch a movie that leaves you shedding buckets of tears? “I Am Sam” is the right movie for you! The movie's title is named for the line "I am Sam" featured in the book Green Eggs and Ham, which is read in the movie.
“I Am Sam” talks about Sam, who has a mental capacity of a 7-year old. Dam is so obsessed with the Beatles, that he even names his daughter, Lucy Diamond, from a Beatles Song, “Lucy in the sky with diamonds”. As young and beautiful Lucy grows up, Sam has limitations. Lucy is intentionally holding back, to avoid looking smarter than her mentally challenged father. The authorities take her away, and Sam shames lawyer Rita Harission into taking his case pro bono.
Although the movie is very long, the captivating plot of the movie continues to enthral you. Your eyes will be glued to the screen to find out what happens next in the movie. I think the director, Jessie Nelson, has made a wise choice putting the background music and the names of the believable characters from Beatles song, as Sam, one of the main characters, is obsessed with the band. For example, the name of Michelle Pfeiffer’s role as Rita is taken from the Beatles Song, ‘Lovely Rita”. This makes the movie very special and interesting.
I find the movie very comical. In many scenes of the movie, it also pulled at the heartstrings of the audience watching it. The characters exhibit strength. The theme of the movie is about love is all you just need, and also about family bonds, which makes me cherish my relationships with my family.
I find Sean Penn, playing the role as Sam, has done a wonderful job playing a mentally challenged person. You will actually lose yourself in his role, forgetting that Sean Penn is a person with normal intelligence pretending to have a mental disability.
Dakota Fanning also steals the show with her fabulous acting. I like her character the best. She makes her character look very mature. She does not give up trying to get away to find her father, but to no avail, which is why I pity her. She is also very sensitive. When she questions her father about why is he like that, her father kept apologising profusely to her. Knowing that her father is sad about the fact he is mentally challenged, she tweaked her question by telling her father that he is not like any father. This cheered her father up and he brings her to the park.
Michelle Pfeiffer, starring as Rita, demonstrates a wide range of emotions as her character struggles to work with Sam’s disabilities. Her portrayal of the lawyer is not only believable but matches the talent and strength of Sean Penn’s performance. She learns about life’s simple pleasures from Sam’s patience.
The part I like most in the movie is the part where Sam, Lucy and Sam’s friends walk across the road with colourful and bright balloons. This scene is very comical, which made me laugh till there were tears in my eyes.
I think the movie would have done better if Sam had talked more articulately and the title of the movie was more descriptive. At first, I was not too keen on the movie, but after watching it, I enjoyed it very much. So, do not be fooled by the title, thinking that the movie is not engaging. I strongly recommend this movie, so dear readers, please watch it!
CA2 Component 2 (Formal Letter) corrections
Chung Cheng High School (Main)
222 Bedok Road
Singapore 334455
11 July 2011
Mr Michael Wong
Liaison Officer
Singapore Children’s Society
298 TIong Bahru Road
#09-05 Central Plaza
Singapore 168730
Dear Sir,
Re: Regarding the service learning choice we have made
My name is Wong Shi Ying, the student selected from Two Empathy to lead the service Learning Project with the Singapore Children’s Society (SCS).Referring to your email about the service learning choice, I am writing to inform you about the choice my class has made. We were given two choices by the society: Academic coaching and Befriending. We have decided on the second option, Academic Coaching.
All of the sessions will be conducted at the SCS’s student care centre located near our school, which is a 5 minutes’ walk from school. Thus, students do not have to spend money on transport, ensuring maximum participation from the students. Students can also return at their own time for additional lessons.
Students would have to commit to at least 3 sessions with the children they are assigned. Having 3 sessions with the children will allow better rapport.
For the academic coaching course, volunteers do not need to undergo a course, whereas for Befriending, students have to undergo a full-day course, assisted by an experienced counsellor. Students might not have the time to undergo the course if we choose Befriending as the students have other commitments. Thus, academic coaching will be a better choice.
My class is well-versed in certain English and Mathematics subjects, but we are not very outspoken. We might not do a good job in providing a friendly ear to children who call in. we have also provided coaching and academic-related help to students before, thus, having the experience in academic coaching, we can do a good job. However, we have not done Befriending before, so we lack experience. Therefore, academic coaching is a better choice for us.
Academic coaching also provides hands on experience on teaching. Students may want to consider their option in their future.
Thank you for considering our request. We hope you make it possible for us to perform a very valuable community service by coaching the children.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
(Signature)
Shi Ying
2 Empathy Service Learning Project Leader
Term 1 Assignment 3 (CA1 Component 3) corrections
I agree that in the 21st century, gender inequality is still prevalent in the world. Society’s mindset has not changed much.
Para 1: In many societies, such as the rural parts of China and India, people place a lot of importance on having sons. Sons are deemed as capable of carrying on the family’s name or surname, while girls are not. Sons are able to work in farms when their parents grow old wile daughters are sent away from home when they are married. Thus, the government is trying to change the mindset of people that boys are better than girls, by giving talks and using media such as commercials and posters. However, societies are still favouring sons to daughters. One example is my uncle. Before my cousin, who is a girl, was born, he wanted to have a son as he thought that sons are more filial to their parents than daughters and wanted someone to carry on the family’s name. Although that was years ago, my uncle still think that sons are more filial to their parents. Thus, this shows that society’s mindset has not changed much.
Para 2: Research has also shown that seventy percent of the world who is illiterate is women. This shocking large number shows that women are suffering the consequences of social stratification. Many people think that men are more intelligent than women, thus they are given education instead of women. Women are being forced to stay at home to take care of children. Although many countries had adopted the system where girls are allowed to go to school to be educated like the boys, women are still being looked down on. The government of India has sent out posters to convince people that women too, can become doctors, lawyers and engineers, showing that women are as capable as men. Although the situation in India is improving slightly only, this shows that gender inequality in education remains a problem.
Para 3: In the workforce, despite having the same number of qualifications and IQ, men are given more priority in terms of securing jobs. Women are not allowed in certain fields of profession, due to gender inequality. I have watched a show in Singapore where a man and a woman are being interviewed for a job. Both had splendid resumes. The boss was pondering over who should get the job. In the end, the man got the job as the boss admitted that he thought that women are slower and less hardworking in doing things. It is not just a one off incident, in fact is a common practice.A study conducted in 2000 by economic experts Claudia Goldin from Harvard University and Cecilia Rouse from Princeton University shows that when evaluators of applicants could see the applicant’s gender they were more likely to select men. When the applicants’ gender could not be observed, the number of women hired significantly increased. David Neumark, a Professor of Economics at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues found statistically significant evidence of sex discrimination against women in hiring. In an audit study, matched pairs of male and female pseudo-job seekers were given identical resumes and sent to apply for jobs as waiters and waitresses at the same set of restaurants. In high priced restaurants, a female applicant’s probability of getting an interview was 35 percentage points lower than a male’s and her probability of getting a job offer was 40 percentage points lower. Additional evidence suggests that customer biases in favour of men partly underlie the hiring discrimination. According to Neumark, these hiring patterns appear to have implications for sex differences in earnings, as informal survey evidence indicates that earnings are higher in high-price restaurants.Men also have a higher income than women. This shows that there is gender inequality in employment and income.
In conclusion, I agree that there is still gender inequality in the world.
Topic: Is it a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools?
I think it is a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools. Having avatars as teachers will attract attention of students, thus they will listen during lessons, instead of doing other things. The learning of the students will thus be more effective. Look the lessons we have daily. Every teacher makes use of technology to bring us the lessons, for example showing us videos and making use of Powerpoint. Personally, I find that it attracts my attention more than teachers explaining lessons through looking at the textbook. The avatars will also make the students more active during lessons, especially the shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers. One school in South Korea has already started having avatars as teachers, and the response is so far very good. It was mentioned that "The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person," and "Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,” Thus, I prefer to have avatars as my teachers.
June Holiday Homework
These are my reviews for the English Holiday Assignment:
Review 1: Maid in ICU after trying to hang herself
Review 2: Open-air sculptures feel the heat
review 3: Samaritans help trace hit-&run driver
Sorry if there is any mispronunciation for some words!