Bleargh

I shall now go and emo and slash myself and drink formaldehyde and mercury. And sleeping tablets. etcetc.

Iranian President's antics in NY score points at home

Iranian President's antics in NY score points at home
September 28th, 2007
World

What struck me first was the statement “So, while he (Mr Ahmadinejad) returns to Teheran feeling satisfied, ordinary Iranians are still likely to pay a heavy price for their President’s antics.” This is certainly a serious judgement, and a heavy responsibility for anyone to bear. Worse still, ordinary Iranians may even be unaware of their plight because of their hurt national feelings, until its full extent hits them. Hard.

It’s quite obvious that Mr Ahmadinejad’s ‘antics’ were either “brazenly provocative” or “astonishingly uneducated”. By letting himself be the subject of other nation’s insults, he has stoked the fires of his people’s national pride. However, his actions will surely have many repercussions on his country. To quote the article, his show of “blinkered bigotry” has surely caused those nations once willing to defend Iran to feel embarrassed. What is important to note, is that while his antics have strengthened his hold on domestic politics, they have, without a doubt, placed his entire nation in bad light. So the question is, was Mr Ahmadinejad’s attendance at the UN general assembly merely to boost his popularity at home? Despite the definite probability of a refusal, he offered to visit the World Trade Centre. Despite the certainty of a hostile reception, he offered to speak at New York’s Columbia University. This can only mean that his purpose of doing such things was only to gain the support of his people, probably in view of the upcoming presidential elections.

A high price, indeed, for public acceptance of his people, seeing how he has effectively distanced his country from the rest of the outside world and caused others to become even more antagonistic towards him and his countrymen. Perhaps when they find out, Iranians will realize that their plight is even worse than before, but for now, their indignation overrides all.

However, not all the criticism goes to Mr Ahmadinejad. Although it is probably true that some of the things he has aid and done are highly condemnable, to call him a “petty criminal and cruel dictator” was unwarranted. This obviously puts forth certain western powers in bad light as well, highlighted by the fact that the Iranian Jewish community criticised the disrespect shown to Mr Ahmadinejad, saying that "The constant disrespect and disturbance demonstrated during Ahmadinejad's speech at Columbia prove once more that those claiming to be peace loving people have no real grasp of the concept"

Undoubtedly, Mr Ahmadinejad’s antics will cause further problems on the global stage, but it’s also important for those who claim to be peace loving people, such as certain western nations, to show that they are.

Teach Less, Learn More

Teach Less, Learn More? It works, schools tell PM
August 20th, 2007
Home

This is a topic that has aroused much suspicion amongst the students of Singapore. But finally, it seems to have worked – at least in two neighbourhood schools. The “Teach Less, Learn More” ‘campaign, so to speak, that has been advocated by the government, encourages schools to, quite literally, teach less, and use new, interesting methods to teach students instead of the rote learning of old.

It’s mentioned that PM Lee praised neighbourhood schools in particular, and that leaves the reader to wonder “what about ‘non-neighbourhood’ schools?” What, indeed? Although it seems that the students in Mayflower and Jurong secondary schools certainly have an interesting education, I would like to question the extent of the “Teach Less, Learn More” movement in some of Singapore’s “better”, supposedly, schools.

Without a doubt, education has indeed come far from the days of old. Not only are lessons more interesting than those of our parents, they are also more dynamic, and our premises are certainly much better. However, only part of this movement has been fulfilled - “Learn More”. It is quite definite that we, the students of today, are learning more, but are schools teaching less? And is this a good thing? When PM Lee said to “teach less, learn more”, I surmise what he meant was to teach less traditionally and instead let students go beyond “the four walls of the classroom”. Although this may be, how can students find time to do this when, to make up for the “teach less”, they are piled with homework so that they can “learn more”?

I would like to reference a recent article, a letter in the newspaper written by an expat who moved from Singapore to KL. Amongst other things, what stuck me was the statement by her child – “Why are the children here (KL) happier?” This is certainly something to ponder. Perhaps it is because there is something amiss in the majority of Singapore’s schools and their system of education?

The crux of this post would be the fact that while many other schools, especially neighbourhood schools, are lauded for their efforts to make lessons livelier and more interesting, to encourage students to explore and learn on their own, schools that are supposed to be at the higher end of the education system have mysteriously ghosted away. The point of the “Teach Less, Learn More” movement was to let students enjoy their education, yet the groans and moans of my fellow classmates can be heard whenever it’s time to return to school after the holidays. Surely a “premier school in the Bishan area” can make some efforts to correct this?