Reflection (14/5/12-18/5/12)

  We kicked off this week of English lessons by watching the research presentations made by the working groups in our classes. It was evident that most of the presentations were put in a lot of effort in order to help one another. I've learnt a lot while working on my presentation last week but this week, it's all about learning how to research quality academic materials for our research essays.

 As I'm researching on Malcolm X, this week have been an eye-opening week to proper researching method and materials which simply pulverises my dependency on wiki pages. Not that Wikipedia and Google aren't useful but I've learnt that there are websites such as Sirs(http://ars.sirs.com), Gale (http://www.gale.cengage.com/) and many more reliable and factual academic e-resources that are shared with us are indeed very helpful for this coursework. I've honestly never seen such websites until recently and find them as banks of useful resources for whatever learning subject I'm in.

 These useful e-resourses also becomes a habit for me now whenever I need quality information as it provides me a far more accurate database of research materials whenever I need them. I feel that this is a step in improving my academic performance as our essays now can no longer be simple pieces of writing that drive teachers up the wall and should instead be sophisticated, critically-analyzed pieces of writing with added research to support the essay.

 I also realise that our literature circles need to be spiced up in order to engage in a productive discussion. I enjoyed Pei Qin's method in her role as a vocabulary enricher of using online flashcards to record the the vocabulary words found in the chapters of Animal Farm and believe that we should go out of the box and gain ideas like Pei Qin to engage our group members during our literature circle sessions.

reflection (6/5/12-11/5/12)

  This week, we were given topics for research presentations. I was given the topic of 'Primary Sources v.s. Secondary Sources' to work on individually. This week was certainly a busy week with tests and all but I managed to sort everything really well including my research for the presentation because of time management. Oddly enough, this assignment was a key part of my practise in time management as I knew I wouldn't be able to finish everything in one day. And I KNOW for a fact that if I go back to procrastinating as I've always did, the presentation would not have been completed in time.

 So, I planned out my schedule meticulously the whole week and I had enough time for my studies and the research for my presentation. I realise by teaching, I actually gain more knowledge as a learner myself. I kept the idea of making explanations as basic and simplified as possible to make my presentation as comprehensible as enough. And to do so, you need to research a lot to have a clear idea that can be used to be simplified. The logic is, if I don't know enough, how am I going to convey the message as clearly and as enough for others to understand? Hence to explain, I must know. And there goes a total of 9 websites, filled to the brim with information on primary and secondary sources to be absorbed.

 It may not be a coherent matter to others but my proudest achievement this week was completing this research presentation based on good time management. I remember a class session where Ms Abena have once taught me on effective presentation and I tried my best to put the skills to good use such as avoiding being boring. I feel that the class session on effective presentation was really educational as it applies to so much more than class work. I am also curious about the proper usage of italics and fonts. I feel that these small details in writing really do make a difference in the quality of writing.

reflection (30/4/12-4/5/12)

  This week, I've learnt about morphemes which are units of meaning. Some could make sense on their own such as "cat" but some such as "-ness" do not bring any meaning unless combined with words. I also realise that my grammar is weak as I've unconsciously misused semi-colons and the single and double inverted commas in my writing. I've been developing a habit of putting my vocabulary skills to use ( putting in new words I've learned recently such as "catalyse") whenever I write to make my essays more sophisticated. I hope I can learn about the proper usage of semi-colons the inverted commas in class next time as the examples on the internet still confuses me.

 I also enjoyed doing the starter activity on morphemes simply it's honestly really interesting! I've always wondered about the root of words and I would love more exercises on grammar in the future. I'm still not confident about my writing as I've never been challenged to write in such an intermediate level back in my previous high school but I'm glad I have the chance to do so now. It's just baffling that it feels almost like I'm starting to learn English for the first time WHICH MEANS there's definitely things to learn about English. I intend to improve my writing by reading more to increase my vocabulary and definitely learn about punctuations as a semi-colon would most probably be worlds apart from the usage of a single-colon?? 

 Most of the times, my teenage angst gets the better of me by contemplating on the reason for education and all. Beyond these exams (IGCSE, A-levels, etc), how much are we really LEARNING? Some subjects completely fazes me as I have no idea how in the world is it ever applicable in life besides paying at the grocery counter (Maths good lord) and some subjects ( History and English) fazes me as I don't have a reason why I like them. I just do. Beyond Nexus, I see these subjects as platforms for me to explore who I really am and what I'm meant for.

 We as learners are always so stressed about exams but we seldom see school as the platform to learn from our mistakes. Or maybe society's influence on the obsession with grades now simply prevailed us from doing so. Hence, this is the challenge. To realise that this is the time for us to explore and not be afraid to take risks. The obsession with good grades gets to me as mistakes make me feel like a complete failure. I'm only starting to learn how to accept my mistakes and LEARN from them by putting my inferiority complexes aside. And I'm learning better through this simple step I've found recently. And I hope that I could help others to accept their flaws and help them understand this too.

Sorry for the long rant Ms. Abena! 

morphology

 Morphemes are units of meaning which originated from Greek and Latin. When combined with words, they form more complex words. For example, the word review has the morpheme of "re" added to the word "view", telling us that we're viewing it again. Understanding morphology increases our vocabulary skills hence, by mastering morphology we can improve our reading and writing skills.

Reflection ( 23/412-27/4/12)

  In class this week, we watched interactive videos on Youtube that are called "The Hate Game". In the video, we are guided through a hate-themed situation where at a critical situation, we are given two choices, usually a positive and a negative one. The character then chooses a choice and we are able to see the aftermath of the selected choice in the video. I was really surprised to know that the videos were based on real situations that happened in the past. I was engrossed with a particular incident about Stephen Lawrence; who was murdered in a gang beating in England.


  When did all these discrimination start? Is it worse today as compared to the past? Why is is still happening? Those were just some of the questions that ran through my mind as I watched the videos and read up on a couple of those incidents. And during the last lesson of the week, I was inspired to pick up books on Malcolm X and Frederick Douglass (who were both notable human rights activists during their time) to research more on my Hero essay. I believe that reading on the case of Stephen Lawrence sparked my curiosity and passion towards human rights issues more than before as it made me ponder on the issue of discrimination.


 We also explored more Heroes on the My Hero website through the station exercises and learned about the different categories a hero can fit into. This expands my idea of a stereotypical hero image with red capes, inside out red underwears and the works. There are so many unsung heroes out there to be discovered and admired yet, so many still obsess over people like Justin Bieber. The website is a great portal to discover new inspirational figures like Abraham Lincoln to Dian Fossey, each a hero in their respective fields. It's important to seek these figures and LEARN to be inspired by their actions rather than to simply obsess over idols who you think are simply 'cute'. It's time to open a book, go onto Wikipedia and read inspiring bibliographies of amazing human beings because the chances are, we'll learn more than memorising lyrics to a song with an incredibly limited vocabulary range ( Baby by Justin Bieber *coughs*).

Reflection (24/4/12)

  We can learn a lot by observing the decisions a person make. Decisions are made everyday in our lives no matter how small nor big and often impacts the people around us in positive or negative ways. Some decisions could be as effortless as choosing the clothes you want to wear for the day, and some, could lead to the massacre of millions. 

Millions who had hopes and aspirations. Millions who had answers that we seek today. Millions who simply wanted to lead a peaceful and happy life. 

There are also some decisions that save lives. Decisions that give people hope. Decisions that present people with another chance. Decisions that catalyses a new generation.

 When you're faced with a decision that challenges your instinct with your logic, it's all a blur. I personally think that the instinct is doing what is right, and logic is doing what you think right. And a hero would be a person that follows their instinct whatever the cost may be. In today's case, we watched a few inspiring Youtube videos that are themed on hatred. Out of these videos, the heroes were simply people who took the initiative to help others. People who stand up for themselves and others. And most importantly, people who listen to their instincts. I believe that this is a valuable trait that also defines heroism and stands as a valuable addition to my previous definition of a 'hero'. 

 "An eye for an eye makes the world go blind" as Gandhi once said, and with the greatest sacrifice of our voice, our strength and our compassion for others; will the world finally be a better place.

Reflection (16/4/12-20/4/12)

  Over the holidays, I did another small article for the My Hero project on Maya Angelou. I've read some of her poems and felt that her struggles in life was also relatable to a movie I've watched during the holidays, which is The Help. As I'm interested in American History, it was interesting to research on Maya Angelou as her past acquaintances with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the time of the Civil Rights Movement was a significant time period in American History. These people were the catalyst of their time, risking everything for humanity and often, becoming martyrs for their beliefs.

 Back in school, we also cleared the confusion between an 'idol' and a 'hero'. I realise all these while I've misinterpreted the true meaning of a hero and by writing on my own definition of a hero after a session of interactive class activities that includes using the Venn Diagram and a small debate, I was really able to see the fine line that separates a hero from and idol. I am happy to be able to write eloquently on the matter and I see an improvement in my writing. All I need was simply concentration and by putting my head in it ( and a little music on itunes), I was able to analyse the lyrics and the poem better too.

 In my literature circle, my group members and I had a thorough discussion on the chapters that we've read over the holidays. We all agree that the book is indeed getting more interesting as the protagonist; Winston, is acting towards his instinct and not merely living his fearful life under the orders of Big Brother anymore. As we are closing in towards the end of the book, we are also discussing on the literature circle projects that we will do once we've finished reading the book.

 After that, we also did a small game of charades and I was partnered with Afifah. We were given funny situations to act out and in the end, Afifah and I did pretty well as we were able to guess out most of each other's acts. I realise I was being really self-conscious while playing hence, I wasn't giving my best efforts to be in character whereas Afifah went completely out of her shell and performed really well. I was blessed with another opportunity to improve my acting in the group performance with Rizq and Victoria. We tried to be as spontaneous as possible and had fun performing our short skit. In my performance rubric, I was mostly 'Keira Knightly' as I didn't stay in character as I've forgotten to maintain my facial expressions. I hope that I would maintain my composure and be fully in character the next time in the next acting to achieve the 'Kevin Spacey' level.

 Overall, it was an exhilarating week in school after two weeks of holidays as I've really enjoyed the practical activities in class (especially the activities that we did to differentiate idols and heroes) as classes were not boring and I was able to write efficiently after a long streak of bad writing.