The Story of My Learning Starts Here
For my final CAS reflection, my mentor and I have a discussion regarding my CAS experiences over the course of IB. We have an interesting conversation on how sports, as well as service, in particular, have strengthened my overall learning and development as a person. The attachment below contains the conversation.
The task at hand was to discuss the pros and cons of both cultural relativism and universalism. After researching the topics individually we had to take a stance on what we personally supported. In my opinion, I would support the use of cultural relativism ideally based on the fact that in this globalized world there are various different religions and cultural differences however it is essentially immoral to segregate a particular religion from being “good” or “bad”. Hence, I would say that it is justifiable that cultural relativists fight for the rights of those oppressed and take action against promoting the equality of all cultures.
My global politics extended essay was certainly a worthwhile experience as it not only helped me gain a better understanding of a major current affair but additionally helped me develop several skills. Promptly, a major skill that I personally needed to develop was which of being able to differentiate immeasurable research from inadequate research. The topic that I had chosen to base my EE off “The belt and road initiative” had a wide range of bias aspects and in order to find effective pieces of research, it was important to attend to all different perspectives. While I aimed to fulfill as much of the correct structure I could there were skills that I was able to develop and certainly apply towards the other courses of my essay writing experiences.
Furthermore, throughout this experience, I unquestionably felt that I was able to work on the way I approach different informative platforms and adequately adapt the information given to me. The BRI was surely a very interesting topic for me to tackle and I am thrilled with the fact that to have been exposed to a considerable amount of new information and am able to link it so much to the global politics course.
Undeniably research has been a huge factor in terms of shaping up my extended essay. It has been crucial for me to do profound and thorough research in order to get the best possible outcome. A lot of the research that I had conducted was not necessarily successful, as my topic can have exceptionally different opinions it was hard to find non-biased sources. I was able to find sources that allowed me to gain additional viable knowledge to the topic and allowed me to deepen my thinking.
The major takeaway I have had from my entire researching experience has been providing proper citations. I definitely did struggle in terms of citing all the references and made sure that was a priority. This was definitely a pushback for me and consumed loads of my time that I could have then allocated differently.
Throughout my engagement activity experience I had focused on the development disposing Electronic Waste. Electronic waste has a been a huge contributor to a lot of the environmental problem across South East Asia specifically Singapore. I have been in contact with various different E-Waste companies, “Global E-Waste, NEA, Starhub”. As a result of expressing my views on the E-Waste project I had requested Global E-Waste to place electronic waste bins within my condo. This was a tough process as I had to come in contact with my condo manager and she had to get approval from the council in order to permit the use of E-Waste bins. In addition I had contacted Starhub about placing the E-Waste bins within school they had replied letting me know that the bins were already in place within our school and placed effectively. Starhub has however agreed to place further E-Waste bins within my condo itself however the process has taken a lot longer has their bins are in high demand. The Starhub distributors had a more persuasive bin as well as the bins were more accessible towards the public which is why it was my ideal option to get those placed within the condo.
While I had contacted multiple agencies there was not to say that there were challenges that occurred. A lot of the local E-Waste companies had only focuses on helping those who attend local schools and focus on developing the knowledge within them. Many of the companies i had talked to did not know that I was a Singaporean Citizen which drastically changed the way I approached them after I had told them I was. I have interviewed and talked to a sales manager of the company “Global E-Waste” asking about the effects of E-Waste and what the process was like. The process for this company was that it had just recently started off so getting permission from the NEA and government was a challenge however there main objective was to spread awareness as much as they could in order to help them promote the issue. Overall the engagement activity was a great process for me to raise awareness about the issue setting up surveys and sharing these effects with peers and family friends. I was glad to take a part in this political issue.
Throughout the day I was able to work on my extended essay with my supervisor and peers who are taking the same subject. The EE experience with my supervisor allowed me to have a proper structure towards how I am going to approach the essay. Some of my main concerns were trying to find reliable sources for research in order to get the most efficient non bias data. The meeting with my supervisor allowed me to work on finding viable sources while having a clear direction as towards what I am researching for in specific:
Under these certain topics I conducted the research accordingly and took down the notes on my EE planning document. Something I am really proud of is getting on top of my research and finding viable resources with good information. I feel like this was something I was struggling to grasp in the past but as of now I definitely have a more prominent understanding of how I can implement my thoughts into solid research.
What I will be doing next is after getting my research in order while having a better idea of how I am going to start writing my essay. I am not going to focus more on any particular section like my introduction or conclusion but more so the EE idea itself and the bullet points that sum up my research.
So far the EE experience for me has been one of the most influential experiences I have gone through in my high school time. I have chosen a topic that I think is of great interest towards me and may be towards a lot of other individuals as well. That being said the experience has been quite enjoyable but rather formidable at the same extent. Within the EE subject that I have chosen (Global Politics) I have not particularly been so good in terms of forming my structure within essay writing. I feel that it has been harder for me to grasp a proper understanding of how its implemented into a certain ongoing topic. In terms of me understanding the EE topic being the One belt One road initiative I think that is going very well however its daunting to deal with how i’m going to express that understanding into a certain structure.
Dear G11 Exams,
Here’s what I learned from my relationship with you. You have definitely made me a lot more resilient and hard working I feel that during the two week study break I had focused on making things right with you as much as possible. A lot of things during the exams were hard for me to perfect. It was a very interesting experience for me because it definitely was a jump from my past relationship (IGCSE) especially with the time conditions. I don’t think that I did my best in these exams at all I feel that I could have worked a lot harder not only in the few weeks before the exams but throughout the year in order to ensure that the relationship is as good as possible.
E-Waste within the Singaporean Community
Undoubtedly electronic waste has been a major environmental issue for not only various communities but as an international crisis only adding onto the devastating affects of global warming. So what is e-waste? E-waste is simply the disregard of electronic devices that are either expired or require recycling. While developing into a modern based era it has only become more evident that the use of technology is only growing at an exponential rate. Meaning that a load of individuals will lack the proper knowledge of how in fact to get rid of their devices efficiently. The majority of cell phones and devices manufactured usually contain toxic chemicals that are damaging to the environment. The disposing of these devices the same way we would per say dispose rubbish would eventually be disposed in the same manner. Within Singapore the e-waste that isn’t disposed of correctly is sent of to burn off with the rest of the rubbish realising those toxic chemicals into the atmosphere not only damaging the environment but the population as well as they can be extremely harmful. This political issue is one of many that I find extremely interesting. I hold a huge passion towards understanding the importance of how our environment should be treated with care. However not only that but the levels of theoretical disparities this issue could cause on a global basis. E-waste is a global catastrophic phenomenon that in my opinion is taken very lightly and links towards key theoretical concepts such as globalisation, interdependence and the legitimacy of legislations or regulation to prevent such actions.
I feel that the issue at hand has been one that has been taken quite lightly by not only people within my community but on an international basis as well. The majority of individuals are unaware of how to dispose e-waste effectively despite the various different recycling stations around a community which they might live in. Singapore for instance, has multiple e-waste recycling programs for individuals and households across the country. The lack of awareness within the society despite the efforts made my non governmental organisations leaves the crisis in a position where nothing can be done. I really feel that I personally can help make an impact towards this ongoing problem even the action is enough to get a few changes present such as allowing small communities to gain awareness it will only lead to a positive influence towards bigger societies.