Term 3 Week 3 (Blogging Assignment)

Read the following letter:

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/

(1) Comment on the Janalle Lee's view on the education system in Singapore.

(2) Is an ideal education possible? Explain.

Post your 500 word response on your blog.

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Janelle's letter has effectively brought across to the MOE the total views of students and teachers on the Singapore's system. In the letter, Janelle has managed to voice out our concerns about the holes in the education system.  Although the government’s investment in education has paid off and Singapore's education system has so far been considered as one of the best educations in the world, Singaporeans ourselves do not think so. 

One of the key points of Janelle's letter would be that students are not encouraged be asking questions. They are forced to memorize lots and lots of mathematical and scientific formulas, as well as model essays for Literature and Humanities, and are later expected to vomit all these memorized information out during examinations. This "vomited" information is usually never retrieved, and the students do not gain anything in the end. What makes up learning? Questioning and curiosity are the key pillars of learning. The students would be passionate about acquiring new knowledge, and ignite their love for learning so they can absorb information more efficiently and effectively. Only through questioning can one get answers and improve intellectually. If an education system suppresses the students' inquisitiveness in exchange for long chunks of text to be memorized, then this system would not be an effective one.

Term 3 Week 2 (Blogging Assignment)

An article entitled 'The Religion of Water' was published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2011. In the article, it was mentioned that ' within countries, there is debate over whether water should be treated as a human right or as a commodity, access to which is determined by the market.' Please read the article.

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity? In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

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Water is a very important factor in our lives. Without water, there will be no food, then there will be no life on Earth. "The human right to drinking water is fundamental to life and health. Sufficient and safe drinking water is a precondition for the realization of human rights."

— United Nations 'General Comment' on the Right to Water.  There is no substitute for water in the maintenance of human life. With increasing population and growing water usage, water shortages have become a source of potential and ongoing conflicts. One of the main issues is the competing claims of upstream and downstream nations. 


As downstream nations (for example, Egypt, Israel, Iraq and Vietnam) attempt to win more water rights, upstream nations (in the above examples, respectively Ethiopia, Lebanon, Turkey and China) try to keep control of the water resources in their territories through such means as irrigation schemes, reservoirs and hydro-electric projects. While current resources are insufficient in many regions, water will become ever scarcer in the future due to phenomena such as climate change, population growth, the exhaustion of ground-water reservoirs, and the increase in per capital water use associated with economic growth. Thus tensions are likely to rise further over the next decades; some experts are already predicting armed conflicts over the control of water resources in areas such as Africa and the Middle East. 


Humans, as aqueous creatures, are dependent on water for sustenance. Water cannot be substituted, unlike some other forms of resources. The preservation of life is solely dependent on water. While food is also a fundamental element to sustain life, food is a variation of different items which can effectively substitute one another. "Every eight seconds, somewhere in the world, a child dies from a disease related to shortage in drinking water and health services." (WHO, 2000).


Some may say that making water a commodity will allow people to start on water conservation. However, when it comes to the time where people conserve water because it is made commodity, many poor families will start dying because they cannot afford the water. Sacrificing those who are poor to let others realise the preciousness of water is not fair. The wealthy people are not in any way more deserving of Earth's water than the poor people.

Term 3 Week 1 (Blogging Assignment)

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

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Maids are humans just like us so they should be treated equally like other workers. All workers, including maids, have the right to appeal for legal protection to ensure that they are not abused or forced to be overworked by their employers. However, some Singaporeans have the wrong mindset that maids are inferior to us and that they are paid to work for their employers and not being allowed to rest. 

Employers cannot expect the maids to carry out their routine duties as per normal every day like robots. As human beings, they would also get tired after working so hard for a week, much less like us who face a labor less vigorous than the maids. Some employers even make the maids perform work which falls outside their scope of work, which emphasizes on the need to implement this law. This basic legislation also seeks to protect vulnerable domestic workers who are still suffering in silence. In the long run, we have to admit that even Singaporeans do struggle with daily household responsibilities.


On the other hand, some individuals might think that weekly leaves for maids should not be legislated in Singapore. If the maids get into trouble while they are on leave, this responsibility falls on the employers. Therefore, some of these maids may seize the opportunity to make trouble for their employers. If maids were given too much rest, they might become lazy as even if they do not do a good job, they know that they will surely get a day off. 


In conclusion, I still think that maids should be given a day off.