Recently in our personal social education (PSE) mentor times, we have discussed online safety, cyberbullying and online personalities. We discussed why online safety is more important than ever, as many people are meeting each other first hand through social media posts, and sharing inappropriate posts could affect you in future careers as companies may see them. With social media, we talked about making sure we don’t take photos or videos of people “as a joke” if they don’t feel comfortable with it as it sometimes goes too far. We found it difficult to understand to what extent jokes become cyberbullying, but agreed to always ask the person if it is okay with them if it is sent for other people to see. We watched videos about cyberbullying and we learn we should always block the person who is sending you mean messages, and not give in to cyberbully back as that will create a worse situation.
Author: arnad52378@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg (page 1 of 3)
On school nights, I get around 7-8 hours of sleep a night, even though I am sleeping right on the recommendation, I feel like getting 9 hours make me feel more energised. A New York Times article says “taking short naps throughout the day may actually be more beneficial and improve cognitive function.” however, I don’t take naps because I feel they just make me more tired, and I wake up confused. The article gave me another perspective on interrupted sleep cycles, and despite them not being seen as normal, they may be more beneficial for self-reflection and productivity in the night time.
Variety of culture has had a great impact on my life thus far, I have been exposed to learning about countries from many points of view. Living in Iceland, Shanghai and Singapore has improved my awareness of how people act and behave differently to each other, and how to respectfully understand and approach people with different backgrounds. I aspire to continue travelling after high school, as it gives me freedom to choose a wide range of schooling, culture and places to see. With this, being bilingual and studying Chinese has taught me the complexities of language and their interpretations. I understand that each language varies in their own meanings and traditions, and their speakers seek to hold onto these traditions through communication. Therefore, I am keen on improving my own connections with people. Through my experiences I learned that being surrounded by good people can transform situations and problems I face. Being honest with yourself and playing a positive role towards people even on tough days always leaves me and others feeling better at the end of the day. Allowing myself to step out and meet new people creates a better opportunity of finding extremely valuable people I can have in my life for the long term to support my work.
An aspect of my life that I value greatly is keeping connections between my family and extended family. Living in Singapore and being kept busy at school, it is difficult to keep in contact with them back in Iceland where I come from. This year I have participated in the U19 volleyball season, dragons volleyball club and U16 volleyball pre-season. My skills have improved significantly through practices, and I have become more confident working with older high school players as a grade 9 student. In October I went on a grade 9 multi-adventure trip in Western Australia. On the third day, my group was stuck cleaning what felt like hundreds of canoes. It had rained the entire day, so we went back to the main campsite instead of canoeing to the one south. We struggled to carry them off and back on the truck, using a hose with freezing cold water to wash all the dirt off. My group wasn’t awarded to leave early for dinner. We stayed in the pouring rain, talking through the hours. We cleaned the most canoes, and we didn’t even know each other. During a service visit at the local kindergarten PCF 860 months later, we taught them how to make fortune tellers, the ones shaped like beakers. I watched the children make my favourite craft to make back when I was younger. My table of children helped each other make folds in the paper, smiling and giving fortunes to each other. They didn’t think about our differences, they just saw us as people helping them, and that made the process much easier. Maybe working with new people gives us greater accomplishments.
I developed my relationships with many students in my grade 9 I did not know well before, and I am able to strongly connect with them having shared this experience together. These opportunities, as well as taking ITP piano lessons at school weekly, help me understand I should not take my education for granted. My privilege in getting to be part of broad learning programme, participating in a variety of activities each year are very special, and they are memorable and meaningful learning I can carry on into my future. Up until this school year, I have never understood exactly where my interests lie in my academic subjects. But I have greatly started enjoying creative subjects such as Art and English, where there is more freedom with what you wish to share to others. Geography has been my favourite subject, as it is very logical and keeps developing my understanding of the real world.
For me its very important that I continue focusing on subjects and activities that I enjoy most, because that is where I am able to produce my best work. It is where I find joy in completing work and sharing it, while continuing to grow relationships throughout the variety of countries I will and have lived in.
For Grade 10 coursework…
Make sure your introduction has a strong map, showing the location and background of East Coast using Borders, Orientation, Title and Scale. You need to make sure your sentences relate back to the research question e.g Should Pulau Ubin be developed or conserved? Is Ubin attractive and valuable? Answer the question and justify it, making sure to be detailed. You need to have primary and secondary resources, including your own investigation data and other websites.
For the method, include photos of your workbook and the ways you recorded data about the place. e.g. a photo of the Ubin perception profiles, field sketches and questionnaires.
Data and Analysis is worth 24 marks, so you need to focus most on this section. Your choropleth map also goes into this section. Present your data within your writing (analysis) of what you could do to improve, why it was not reliable and a story like flow of what this means etc. Make connections to different data points and make conclusions.
The evaluation is also important. Don’t leave this to the last minute and rush it. At the end of the East Coast coursework day, stay focused and take good notes based on what the teacher and other students say. This, as all the sections, also needs to go back to the research question. Don’t just talk about the field trip itself and the problems you faced, go more in depth.
Grade 9 UWCSEA students inspired to understand the importance of creation
“Really, what will you leave behind when you die?” Danny Raven Tan, a Singaporean impressionistic artist and survivor of pancreatic cancer asks his East Campus Grade 9 audience, their eyes suddenly beaming forward towards the front of the conference room.The response of the students was increasingly similar to the those of most human beings, a long hesitation and silent glance around their surroundings. It’s the universal question that humans are bound to ponder, the somber question some, out of nature, avoid. We can’t bear to think about what it will be like when we’re not here, or we accept it, but often struggle to understand the importance of living and creating a life of fulfilment.
Although questioning the topic of death to young students may be interpreted or considered an unnecessary push of boundaries, asking the question may benefit a student’s perception of their individual lifetime. This allows them to immerse themselves in a positive mindset and willingness to create something of importance.
Danny Tan’s detrimental and life-threatening survival of pancreatic cancer provoked an eye opening response to what he wants to leave behind. He shares to the Grade 9 students that he realised how short life is and that he does have a story to share, just as everyone does. Acrylic painting, pastel crayon pieces and his encounters with inspiring artists became a way to clear his mind from his dismal battle with pancreatic cancer, the death of his father in 2015, and his struggles helping his mother suffering from dementia . “I just paint whatever comes into my head”, Danny shared. “Some days, I felt like I was screaming in a vacuum. Other days, I was drifting in space.” His creation of art once used as a reserved space for his thoughts now became an opportunity for future generations to remember his story even after his death. His efforts to do this are shown in the opening of The Tiffin Gallery in 2016, a space converted from his apartment as a showcase of his artwork.
Danny Raven Tan challenged student’s perceptions of legacies, their ability to create and leave behind memories through our loved ones. He shared his sorrowful experiences and creations of art in the annual Writer’s Fortnight, possibly in the hopes of opening the eyes of the younger generations to the larger issues of individual’s knowledge of their legacy. But the question seemed too direct and truthful to an audience of young Grade 9 students, and the simplicity of it was contradictory to the answer no one seemed to be able to satisfy. Our identity and life on Earth easily becomes our most significant connection between each other, and humans therefore begin to wonder what our individual legacy will be—will my life be considered worthwhile? We value and take comfort in taking actions that are life-affirming and meaningful, but we often struggle to understand the power of our identity and interests.
“We’re all created to create,” Danny Tan says, standing before the words boldly projected on the board. Humans strive to achieve happiness and fulfilment with their life, and when successful, the result is always a creation.
Individuals who find their passion and are confident with their identity may seem more successful and ahead in creating their legacy, for example famous celebrities and athletes. Passion is vital in quickening the process of developing a willingness and enjoyment in what students do. It is willingness that makes it possible for Grade 9 students of the audience to leave behind deeply-seated footprints into the grounds that lie beneath our jam-packed population. UWC values of importance of self management meant that students understood and listened to the life experienced artist with intent to change or understand the way they might be remembered in the future.
The universal language of creation acknowledges a person’s narrative of their own life to find meaning in the progression of their individual development and experience a sense of agency over their life. It successfully display’s one’s thoughts and emotions during different stages and points of time, henceforth proving that every person’s story can be displayed on the big screens before our future generations. In fact, the screenings are exclusively shown about the people who were dependent on creation, however, this does not mean their stories are of more significance than your own. Provided you use certain techniques to improve your life screening so it can be inspiration and compelling to viewers, your legacy will immediately be more impactful.
Thus, Grade 9 students will be able to understand that their life story will be fascinating, it’s just a matter of whether they leave behind creations, physically, in the memories of others, or if they let it expire as they pass on.
By Edda Arnadottir
Rights to Education is one of the most important factors to ending the poverty cycle, and creating a society that is respectful, understanding and safe. The problem that millions of people don’t have access to education or not allowed to is a problem that is crucial to talk about. I have learned the importance of education through my own experiences in school, and I can see that education helps people develop into good and thoughtful humans, and progress further financially, so many of the other human rights will follow. Education needs to stop being identified as a privilege, but not everyone is aware of their rights due to a lack of education. It must be prioritised so that individuals can live with a standard of living that includes other human rights.
This was my Faith, Ethics and Poltical Ideologies Summative Assessment in Global Perspectives in Grade 9, and wanted to share this on my portfolio.
The Libyan Slave trade spurred outrage and shock in the media last year with the release of footage by CNN showing men in Libya being sold in a slave auction for as little as $400 U.S dollars (Quackenbush). This footage brought upon awareness on the ongoing issue, and through these opportunities, Feyisayo Adedayo, shared the story of how her pregnant daughter, Ayomiotan, and other girls were trafficked and sold to Libyan slave merchants. The victims were under the guise that they were going to Dubai for “good jobs,” (Oluwole) however they were sold out in a slave camp in Libya. Fred Muvunyi, an editor and multi-media journalist at Deutsche Welle, a German international news broadcaster and former chairman of the Rwanda Media Commission shared an opinion article on the Libya slave trade. He believes governments and rights groups, especially those bordering Libya, need to take greater measures to fight all ideologies and act against the crimes in Libya that reduce humans to mere objects. With both local and global perspective stakeholders, I will explain both the victims and organization’s perspectives on the issue of slavery in Libya and the influences, reasons and implications on those perspectives by focusing on ethical and ideological systems.
Feyisayo Adedayo believes everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, and appears to have an ethical absolutism and altruist system, intentionally acting to promote her daughter’s welfare at the risk of her own, claiming slavery is wrong and unethical in all forms for all people. Ethical absolutists believe slavery, as an act itself, is always wrong and that this is applicable everywhere and to anyone, which greatly influences Feyisayo’s perspective to the extent of her wanting to end slavery and punish those who deceive victims and participate in selling and trafficking people to the slave trade in Libya. Feyisayo wants her pregnant daughter returned to her by the Ekiti State Government, their local government in Nigeria, from the slave camp in Libya. “I want my daughter back because I don’t want her to die in slave camp” (Oluwole). When she spoke to her daughter on the phone, she was shocked to learn “it was the deputy governor that said he wanted to use the four slots given to his ward to benefit our children” (Oluwole), but instead her daughter and many other daughters of Nigerian mothers went through the desert from Nigeria to Libya by road, not by flight to Dubai like they were promised, and were enslaved in slave camps.
This ethical system is influencing her perspective as a mother and Nigerian citizen, relying on her own devastating experiences within her family for evidence to prove and to fight for justice. “Our advice to parents is that they should be careful of those they entrust their children to. Let them be careful and be sure of the persons they are handing over their children to,” she shares to a local Nigerian news reporter (New NigerianNewsPapers). As a local citizen in Nigeria, this shows she is willing to go to an extent to raise her voice to protect her own valuable community in which she was raised. Her perspectives are influenced by the common issue of slavery in Nigeria in which she might have witnessed throughout her life, and her hope for change and better opportunities for her community influences her ethical absolutist and altruist system. Furthermore, Feyisayo has experienced emotional devastation and strong feelings of helplessness as she carries the information that her own pregnant daughter has been sold into slavery in another country, which heavily influences her perspectives and interest in the topic of slavery and why it needs to stop.
The implication of Feyisayo’s perspective of her daughter being trafficked and enslaved to Libya being expressed might give her a sense of security and advantageous support, as she now knows that the media is aware of the situation and can do something to help her bring her daughter back home. As a result of Feyisayo’s perspectives being expressed to the media at a local scale, Ayomiotan, her daughter, could be released and given freedom by the Ekiti State government, along with thousands of other young girls from slave camps in Libya. “I don’t have N1.2 million to send them to free my daughter.” Feyisayo shares that the traffickers holding the girls had demanded this money each to free the girls (Oluwole). If the government takes action and frees the girls, this payment will be neglected. This may result in a spread of awareness focusing on the issues of slavery between the countries surrounding Libya and a shift in the perspective of the local people. The article published by the Premium Times in early January 2018 sharing Feyisayo’s story will bring a current global focus on the widespread issues of modern slavery around the world, and can influence readers to take action and share their opinions.
Fred Muvunyi, an editor and multi-media journalist at Deutsche Welle shared an opinion article stating his perspectives against the governments of neighbouring countries of Libya “not taking any drastic measures to stop their nationals being sold on the slave market” (Muvunyi), and his conclusive opinions that the slave trade needs to be recognized and responded to at an necessary extent by more countries and organizations. “The slave trade is a crime against humanity that should be condemned in the strongest terms” (Muvunyi). His perspective is influenced by a libertarianism ideology. His wish for a change in traditional social orders in Libya and its neighbouring countries such as Nigeria and Ghana to create a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege to end slavery directly connects to the political philosophy maintaining to maximize freedom of choice and self-ownership. However, his opinions that governments need to take action to end slavery differ from a liberalist and make him limited to move him slightly towards the left-wing, as liberalists do not support autonomy.
Fred Muvunyi is Rwandan, and grew up “As a Rwandan who lost many members of my family in our country’s 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.” (The Washington Post) and has previously worked as chairman of the Rwanda Media Commision. Because he has been personally affected by similar issues of slavery and has insight that “ultimately tore apart his homeland” (The Washington Post), Fred fears that other countries like his could go down similar roads and experience tragic events like his if its governments don’t take immediate action. Additionally, as an international multimedia journalist, Fred is a voice for the liberalist perspectives of journalism, and may feel a responsibility to use strong diction in order to go to the extent to convey his ideas with more impact and spread awareness to his audience, and this greatly influences the reasons for his ideologies.
An implication of Fred Muvunyi’s perspectives and people of similar views is that governments of bordering nations will announce plans to repatriate their own citizens that are held in captivity in Libya. “Rwanda, with a population of a little over 12 million has pledged to take 30,000 African migrants from Libya” (Muvunyi). This shows that similar actions could be taken by more countries as a result of his perspectives, which will drastically change the well-being of communities in and surrounding Libya. “While the measures put in place by the EU are deterring Africans from crossing the central Mediterranean to Italy, we now see that those detained in Libya are ending up in slavery” (Muvunyi). Targeting the EU specifically, large organizations on a global scale could reach out and take more drastic measures to save the lives of victims of the Libyan slave trade as an implication of his work. His opinion articles reach diverse audiences around the world, and may open discussions that could cause controversy, with people claiming the government has done enough to prevent the issues or motive racist remarks and discrimination against Fred or his ethnic group.
The Libya Slave trade, personally, was shocking to hear about in 2017, as I had never thoroughly educated myself about the global issues of modern slavery that still exists at horrifyingly and tremendously large scales. I am frustrated with the lack of attention this news has had in the media as a means to spread awareness, because it is vital that terrible issues like these are discussed and responded to. I agree and am influenced by the perspectives of both stakeholders in this essay stating that all humans have the right to be equally respected with dignity and not reduced to mere objects. Although my personal experiences do not remotely compare to the enslavement of millions of people, when someone shows a lack of empathy or respect for a person such as when my past friends have told me I’m not good enough, I understand that these actions can be extremely discouraging. As an implication of my perspectives and learning about this recent issue, I will raise awareness by talking to the people around me and post on social media to advocate for the UN to prioritize the problem and promote mass media coverage to contribute to the fight to end slavery in Libya and beyond that.
References:
Deutsche Welle, and Fred Muvunyi. “Opinion: Libya Slave Trade Shows How Africans Are Treated as Subhuman | Africa | DW | 24.11.2017.” DW.COM, 24 Nov. 2017, www.dw.com/en/opinion-libya-slave-trade-shows-how-africans-are-treated-as-subhuman/a-41511893.
Friedmann, Sarah. “How To Help Stop Libya’s Slave Trade & Fight Slavery Around The World.” Bustle, Bustle, 22 Dec. 2017, www.bustle.com/p/how-to-help-stop-libyas-slave-trade-fight-slavery-around-the-world-5554300.
Muvunyi, Fred. “Dear Kenyans: I’m from Rwanda. Please Don’t Repeat Our Mistakes.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 Oct. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/10/24/dear-kenyans-im-from-rwanda-please-dont-repeat-our-mistakes/?utm_term=.e77250751ba4.
Njoku, Ihechukwu. “How I Became a Slave in Libya – Nigerian Victim.” Premium Times Nigeria, 3 Dec. 2017, www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/251297-i-became-slave-libya-nigerian-victim.html.
OLADELE, ADEDAYO. “Murder: Angry Protesters Demand Continuous Incarceration Of Accused Ekiti Oba, Olukere.” New Nigerian Newspapers, 4 Jan. 2018, newnigeriannewspaper.com/murder-angry-protesters-demand-continuous-incarceration-of-accused-ekiti-oba-olukere/.
Oluwole, Josiah. “How Our Daughters Were Sold to Libyan Slave Merchants – Nigerian Mothers.” Premium Times Nigeria, 4 Jan. 2018, www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/254472-daughters-sold-libyan-slave-merchants-nigerian-mothers.html.
“Posts about Opinions on I Will Not Keep Silent as Long as Evil Men Are Destroying Our Existence!” I Will Not Keep Silent as Long as Evil Men Are Destroying Our Existence,
fredmuvunyi.com/category/opinions/
QUACKENBUSH, CASEY. “Libyan Slave Trade: Here’s What You Need to Know.” Time, Time, 1 Dec. 2017,
time.com/5042560/libya-slave-trade/.
Christina Lau did not want to compete with her past self. During the presentation I thought it was really interesting that she said there was no point in regretting and wishing you go back in time and be a “normal person” again, and comparing yourself to those who are not disabled. But I think it would be extremely challenging to not want to go back in time and reverse the damage, and if I were in her position, this would be one of the hardest obstacles I would face on the road to recovery. She gave me another perspective on how disabled and abled people see and act towards disabled people, and shared that before the accident she thought disabled people needed a lot of help. I myself often feel pity and helplessness when I see disabled people, but now I realise this might not be the right approach, because I am only assuming they need help. Often, disabled people are actually perfectly content with who they are, and as she mentioned, they should be treated just like every “normal person”, because they are not any different.
Mukul Deva said that in order to write a good book you need to “Add flesh to your characters”, and keep the reader on edge by writing small incidents to keep them questioning “why is this important”. I thought this was very clever, because it explains to me all the times that I have read short scenarios in a book and questioned why it was even there and what the importance of it was. I like to think of it as if you want to bring out both a character’s personality and appearance you must write in detail, and build the flesh of a person cell by cell.
At the beginning of Mukul Deva’s presentation, he said that there are no rules in writing, but what I though was ironic was that he then proceeded to explain his scientific methods behind how you should write a book. I wondered: how can there be no rules, yet you are saying there is a perfect method to writing the best book? I think his strategic theory was smart and logical, but it kept the space for writer’s creativity very small and set limits to what a novel should look like. I disagree with encouraging people take this approach, because then every book would be the same, with the same outline, plot and number of characters, and people often seek books that are unique and they become popular.
I think Danny Raven Tan was an interesting and eye opening speaker with a unique and bubbly character, as he shared his artwork and unfortunate struggles he has experienced throughout his life. One slide he showed on the board read “created to create”, and this phrase really stuck with me even after I had left after the speaker, and this is because I had never thought of what I want to leave behind after I die. Although some of his points about death were quite somber, I agreed and I realised the truth, and that death is something we must accept in order to live a better and more fulfilling life. He mentioned that through his painting and drawings he was able to find something that he could leave behind when he dies as a representation of his life on Earth, so I thought to myself, what do I want to leave behind? Similarly, when he asked this question to the audience, no one could give an answer. I want to leave something more than just my memories in my friends and family when I die, something worthwhile that can help stop humans from destroying the environment even more, something I have learned to be passionate about.