the religion of my lectuer...

Today Derric*k came NUS to interview someone therefore came to have lunch. I introduced him to the rest of the el majors and they asked something along the lines of, "Is he the Derric*k form your blog?" Later today, Derri*ck asked a similar question, "Were all those people at lunch on your blog?" So my friends think of my other friends as people from my blog.

Anyway, the more important thing. This is the second week of school and here are some weird things that I had noticed and talked about in school.

Firstly, my South Korean English Lecturer. Though he is from South Korea, I vaguely remember him saying that he's been in Singapore for about 6 years. Well, is 6 years a long time? I don't particularly feel that it is. But within this 6 years, he has totally changed his mindset about being Korean and Singapore. When referring to Singaporeans, he used the inclusive pronoun 'we' which included himself. [Example: We (Singaporeans) like to line up.] And when referring to South Koreans, he used the pronoun 'them' and excluded himself. [Example: They (South Koreans) love Kimchi.] I think he is now subconsciously Singaporean, otherwise he is really conscious when he speaks. Maybe that's why he speaks quite slowly.

Next, my American South Asian Lecturer. She teaches South Asian religions. And for this module, most of the time, I'm thinking if she believes in any of the religions that she is talking about. She talks about them so passionately and without bias for any one of them that I'm tempted to say she believes in all of them quite equally. I will find out her religion by the end of the semester.

erroneous...

There are some errors in the previous post, universities and the mafia.

Firstly, the underwear thief is not a NTU professor. In fact, he attained his Phd from NTU. However, he is actually teaching at an university in China.

I would like then to apologize if the information on my blog has lead to any misunderstandings.

universities and the mafia...

One of my professors mentioned last semester that the local broadsheet love to call university professors in Singapore "dons". I think my professor was more interested in the fact that "dons" are more associated to the mafia than with professors.

Anyway, here are the meanings of "don" –noun
1. (initial capital letter) Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lord or gentleman.
3. (initial capital letter) an Italian title of address, esp. for a priest.
4. a person of great importance.
5. (in the English universities) a head, fellow, or tutor of a college.
6. (in the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.

Anyway, there is a slight trend that has risen regarding the people from NUS and NTU who infringe upon the law . In NUS, it's usually the students who make the news. In NTU, it's usually the professors who make the headlines.

If you have read today's Strait's Times, you'll find (Home section, Page H2) a tiny article that states that an NTU don has been charged for breaking the law. A/P Lee Wing Foon has been charged for stealing underwear.

Universities don't seem to be very safe anymore.

hi emily...

It seems that emily googled "discourse of argumentation" and ended up at my blog reading my entry. So in case emily comes back again, HI!!!

It is apparent that Sunita has left a impact in many a student's life.

first day, second day...

Well first day of school has come and gone. It was a long day. Starting at 10am and lasting all the way till 8pm. BUT. I didn't stay in school all the way. BUT. Soon, I will. Cannot wait. Actually, it should be: I don't want to wait.

Anyway, today is the second day of school. But there were no classes, so I had a good day doing practically nothing at home. I did prepare for tomolo's tuition with Maver*ick. That has me quite excited. The math was rusty, but at least the brain is working.

Well, I didn't get my wish of a 5 day week. BUT. I think I would still achieve the goal of studying more in school. I have 2 extremely long breaks on Mondays and Thursday. Yay for me.

bridge To terabithia...

Some people change blog addresses on a regular basis. It's not wrong or anything, but I guess some people just appreciate their privacy more than others.

[Yes, Derri*ck will be like: Of Course lah! Alvin thinks everyone is an attention-whore like himself.]

Anyway, back to the entry. Some people do have more 'secretive' blogs, and I happen to visit some. But I think most of them knows I read their blogs, so i'm not that sneaky. But what I don't do is link their blogs on my blog. Respecting their privacy I guess. So actually, I was quite 'shocked' [okie, I cannot really pull off the shocked emotion] when I saw that someones half-secret blog was linked on another person's blog. What does this all have to do with me? Nothing. I'm just rambling apparently.

And why is this entry called Bridge to Terabithia? That's because since these blogs are not linked on most people's blogs you actually have to find the 'secret gateway' to get to the blog. Okie, ultra lame.

On a totally separate note. The statistic for this week is the number 5.

1. I will be taking 5 modules next semester.
2. There will be 5 exams next semester. Up from this semester's 1, that's a real let down.
3. I obtained the 5th module in the 5th round of bidding, round 2c.
4. I spent a total of 5 points for all 5 modules. Yup, at 1 point a module, I'm amazed as well.

flying off on a balloon...

As usual I had a weird dream last night. It took a long time for me to blog about it, but finally I'm blogging about it.

Well the dream involves the bible study group. It was like a church camp sort of place. And we were taking turns to take a flying contraption at a station. This contraption is made up of a little swing seat tied to a balloon. A normal sized balloon. And the only thing that keeps this contraption form floating where-ever it wants is a raffia string. So we take turns to go up on this weird flying thingy. Don't bother asking how this thing can actually lift someone off the ground. It just does.

Anyway, it's my turn and while waiting for the thing to lift off, yes it takes quite awhile to lift off, it's only a balloon. So before it took off, I had a sudden urge to go to the toilet and so I went, flying contraption and all. The raffia string is the only thing that connects myself and the flying thingy to the station. The raffia string is quite long. I made it to the toilet and I was floating in the toilet. Because of the roof, I was just floating within the toilet. Yea, WEIRD!!! While floating in the toilet, I saw that the walls were populated with flies. Those long-legged flies you often find near the toilet. After realizing that I cannot float higher in the toilet, I started running back to the station. But I never made it back to the station, the dream ended before that happened.

Yea, weird.

no modules...

Firstly, I like to say that I didn't write the previous post because I miss school. I was bored. But rationalising my actions does not seem to help.

Well, it is the first round of module bidding. And as of now, I still have 1 module. That's right, got out-bidded for 2 modules today. Sucks to the core.

What if I end up with not enough modules? What am I going to do?

discourse of argumentation...

If ever you were wondering what English Majors learn, this is what we learn to do in a module in school. Basically, in this module, we learn how to argue, properly. All words in bold are technical jargon. If the jargon are not explained in the text, they will be explained at the end of the entry.

We will be looking at a letter written to the Straits Times Forum, STForum, from the Ministry of Education, MOE. The exigence of the letter were 3 recent letters written into the STForum regarding the Gifted Education Programme, GEP. The 3 letters' main gist was to ask the MOE if the GEP was successful in achieving what it was originally set up to do.

In terms of timeliness and significance, the letter by MOE is both timely and significant. It is timely as the letter was replied soon after the 3 letters were posted and while the topic (whether the GEP was successful) still interested the readers of the STForum. It is significant as we expect that the readers of the STForum is still interested in the success of the GEP.

The letter begins with the writer thanking the 3 letters that have triggered the need to write this reply. And, of course, it continues with the history of the GEP and in this part, the letter also states the number of GEP students that have gone through the GEP. Though the number is not explicitly stated, there are numbers given which would allow the readers to make their own calculations. If my calculations are accurate, there should be 7500 GEP graduates from 1984 to 2007. The letter did choose to emphasize that there are 1000 graduates that are 30 years and older, with the oldest at 36 years. They then go on to state that the GEP is a lifelong programme and that it is too early to see any substantial effects of the programme.

The letter then goes on to state that in 2005, MOE has surveyed 6 cohorts of GEO graduates. Though the letter did not state which 6 cohorts MOE surveyed, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they surveyed the 1000 graduates that are 30 years and older. From this survey, MOE has found out that the graduates are now in diverse fields (academia, education, engineering, finance, law and medicine) of the public and private sectors. They then stated that some of the graduates are holding leadership positions emphasizing on 2 which have become principals. I guess this might be due to availability of information.

The letter then goes on to another survey the MOE conducted. They did not state which cohort or how large the sample was. This survey was suppose to give an insight into how the GEP graduates have continued to contribute to society. In this survey, MOE found out that 1 in 5 GEP graduates, in mid-20s, were involved community work. The letter states that it is a higher proportion than other graduates of comparable intellectual ability. However, they did not state the percentage of "other graduates" that were involved in community work, nor did they state if this proportion was comparable to the national average. While the letter claims to compare the results to a benchmark, the benchmark is not explicitly stated. The letter also states that GEP students are required to do more community service than the required 6 hours. Is this an effort to rationalise the higher involvement in community work?

They then go on to give 3 instances of GEP graduates who have received international and local awards for their various fields. None of the 3 examples are in the education field.

Having gone through the letter, now lets see if the letter serves it purpose of answering the question of, "Is the GEP successful?" I would say it did to an extent of about 20ish%. The letter did attempt to answer the question while it did try to skirt the issue by stating that it is too early to see the lifelong impacts of the GEP. The use of surveys did raise the ethos appeal of the letter. But I felt that if they had been more specific with how and who they surveyed, it might have given the letter more credibility. The letter also compared the proportion of GEP graduates that are still involved in community work. This definitely raised the logos appeal of the letter. Similarly, if the benchmark that the figures are compared to were stated, it would have made the figures much more credible. Lastly, the use of 3 real life examples was a great use of the pathos appeal. It gives readers a real picture of how the GEP graduates have contributed to society. Also, as the examples are not form the teaching industry, the letter is not seen as biased.

For the full letter, please go here:
http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_193458.html
The comments are interesting.

glossary

exigence - the trigger.
ethos - credibility based on the writer's own expertise in the matter or credibility derived from the well structured argument.
logos - arguments that appeal to the logical facet of the reader by use of figures and facts.
pathos - arguments that appeal to the shared experiences of the arguer and reader.

books once more...

Okie, I was out again today, so I thought I might as well enter all available bookstores in search of "His Dark Materials". Unfortunately, it is either sold out or not available.

There were 2 things that disturbs me while looking for the book these 2 days. The first being that it is considered a children's book. Hmmm, I thought that the book was suppose to convey a certain message? I wonder if the target audience would actually understand the hidden agendas.

The second issue is that the book is sold out at most bookstores. That might mean that many kids might have gotten a copy of the book for Christmas. A religious holiday is used in the spread of an anti-religion book.

books...

Firstly, I must apologise to Derric*k and Li*jia. I didn't buy a book in the end.

I was looking for "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman. Yes, it's that book that the movie "The Golden Compass" was based on. And yes, it's that movie that the many Christians were unhappy about because it was a blatant pointing out that God does not exist. Nonetheless, I'm intending to get the books and read them.

I know that I take a long time when buying a book. It took a long time today because I was trying to find a cover that did not look like it ripped off the hype of the movie. So, I was undecided. And the compilation of the 3 books is cheaper than if I bought each book separately. I was tempted to buy them separately because they looked the best. The cover is important.

What is a book really? To some, it's just a story, an attempt to sell a story. But to me, a book is more than a story. It is the manifestation of a world from an exigence. Something triggered the start of the story and when it can be properly and expertly expressed, it creates an amazing world that absorbs you, that embraces you.

What is a story? A story is but a picture painted with words.

I am so going to find the book. If not, when I get paid for the first month of tuition, $96 is going to the "His Dark Materials" Fund.

Okie, maybe not, I don't think I'll spend $96 on 3 separate books. Even if I do think they'll look great on the shelf. I think I'm such a book-whore.

chapter 6...

First and foremost, I would like to say that all posts labled "written in prose" are made up. Thanks for reading.

= ~ =

The sheets were pulled all the way up to father’s chest, so were the curtains. The room was shrouded in a darkness that accompanied father ever since mother passed on. The room was lit by a solitary light next to the bed. The light cast an eerie shadow on everything, another attribute that had taken over the house since mother’s untimely death.

Mother’s death had taken away all the happiness in the house. Time had also not been kind to father. In the space of three years, time had robbed father, his body had withered and shrunk. Though he had only a fair fifty years within him, father now looked like he had traversed near a hundred.

Father’s once think black hair had thinned and turned a ghostly white, the same effects had afflicted his skin. The day I left, it was still a tanned bronzed shade, now it was a pale reflection of its past glory. Now, father’s skin lay flaccid over his loose muscles. However, there weren’t actually much muscle. It would be more accurate to say that his skin just hung over his bones.

His eyes had retreated into their sockets but father’s stare had remained. Father’s stare was still the same cold disinterested stare that had occupied his eyes ever since I could remember. Those same eyes had kept a distance between us for as long as I could remember.

I had an uncontrollable urge to tear open the curtains but the room just seeped all my energy away. I could only stand and absorb the scene in front of me. Stand and let it slowly seep my energy away.

I took a step back and let the door shut in front of me. Once the door clicked shut, I could feel the warmth slowly creep back into my fingers, my toes. I have never in my wildest dreams imagined father as an empty shell robbed of his life. Cold as he was in my childhood, he was never devoid of life. Instead he was always the one with life overflowing, the one that brought excitement to life. I could not bear to see father without the very thing that defined his existence.

But I had no choice. I was summoned, summoned for a reason. A reason that was clear as the sun closed out of the house. Father had not much time left within him. Even if his body had the strength to carry on, God knows he had long lost his soul and he had let his memories slip when mother left. Continuing to hold on to the memories was much too difficult.

I turned the knob and opened the door again. The sight once again tried to seep the life out of me. I felt my legs softening, my hand slightly shaking on the door. I willed myself not to retreat again. I inhaled slightly and called out, “Father…”

It didn’t come out. Again I tried, this time more forceful.

“Father,” This time, father’s head turned. I could see his eyes. The cold stare melted with tears. Maybe Time had been kind after all.