All posts by lindq39110@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg

HL Essay Reflection 2

After getting verbal feedback from my teacher, I understood the areas of improvement that would help push my understanding of the novel to a greater degree. The feedback provided presented potential improvement in the organization and clarity of my points. Structuring my essay helped me organize my thoughts in a point, evidence, analysis format, which was not clearly shown in my initial essay submission. Similarly, I decided to alter my thesis statement in order to narrow down my thoughts to a specific area and the use of symbolism, which allowed me to develop my thinking and my evaluation of the symbols more thoroughly and in-depth. I understood that I could include Marxist and most importantly postcolonial perspectives into my essay to provide a greater understanding of the historical meaning and importance of staying in the norms and keeping the values of Japanese tradition in the modern-day. Some potentially provoking questions for Post-colonialist theory would be:

  • Does this text present an unequal relationship between colonizer and colonized, and/or between one cultural or ethnic group and another? 
  • How does the text represent aspects of colonial or cultural repression?
  • Does this text present the struggle of the colonized to reclaim social or cultural power or identity either during a period of colonialism or in the post-colonial period? What obstacles does the text suggest might stand in the way of this process?

 

HL Essay Reflection 1

My initial essay submission presented the early stages of my thinking process and understanding of what the HL essay requires at that stage in time. My choice for analysis is a novel by Yasunari Kawabata “Thousand Cranes”, presenting a constant internal war between traditional values and the modern world. I decided to focus on the symbolism in the book due to being one of the most prominent devices used by the author and the topic that most interested me was the historical and psychological factors behind shifts in cultural values. This lead to my research question of How does Kawabata present shifts in cultural values throughout generations? After the initial essay feedback, I understood that in order to unpack examples more thoroughly, I will follow the structure of point, evidence, analysis, although add an additional step to connect it to my global issue and most importantly my thesis strand. I have to zoom out of precise details and connect to overarching themes and ideas while maintaining purpose and focusing on my proven point.

Potential Area of improvement questions: 

  • How might you provide a clear thesis statement connected to themes, a clearly related topic sentence, and a building of ideas? 
  • How might you provide a detailed analysis of the novel instead of descriptions or narrations or summaries?
  • How might you identify the use of language and structure to develop themes?  
  • How might you clearly discuss the conventions of his novel to show your understanding of the body of work?
  • How might you structure your essay better to show a clear P-E-A analysis?

How might you structure your essay better to show the connection between your thesis, topic sentences, concluding sentences, and conclusion?

I can review the slide deck and learn relevant terminology in relation to every type of text studied. I cant use generalized terms, instead, I have to use specific and precise wording to avoid simple descriptions. My language should be very clear, effective, carefully chosen, and precise, with a high degree of accuracy in grammar, vocabulary, and sentence construction; register and style are effective and appropriate to the task. 

Basketball Reflection 2

Tournaments are always an opportunity for growth. Pack a lot of games into a short period of time and it’s inevitable that players walk away from the weekend stronger than when they began. Basketball games against other schools were excellent preparation for the upcoming Division I SEASAC tournament where the girls will be vying for a spot in the following year’s tournament.

Although my Dragons’ girls basketball team was not fully prepared regarding memorizing the plays, we played with determination and demonstrated a lot of character. With only two substitutes, we were sometimes thrown into situations that we had to make the best of.  We played for a spot in the consolation finals, and won their way to 3-0 on Saturday, placing fifth overall. The competition was an exciting and great learning experience for both the players and the coaches. Every team was playing with full of spirit and energy from the start till the end. UWCSEA East girls showed great resilience, attitude, and passion for the game. Whilst facing a strong team, we never backed down or lost their game spirit, we fought hard with every single point and they strived to achieve as much as we could.

Through the LO2, I demonstrated the challenges that have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process, such as relying on team members and collaborative play.  This new challenge was an unfamiliar experience or an extension of an existing one.  The newly acquired or developed skills can be shown through experiences that I have not previously undertaken or through increased expertise in an established area, such as team basketball skills.

Project Week CAS Reflection

Wilderness Malaysia- Langkawi Outdoor Adventure

We want to physically challenge ourselves and find our limits while appreciating the environment we will be in.  We will be kayaking, cycling, and trekking.  We will cover land and water, through the rainforest and into the sea. 

During the kayaking, we will be around the beach area near to our accommodation and within a nature park.

Cycling will generally be around the island and on the neighboring island. Trekking will be around Wang Buluh. We are all physically fit and have had some experience with the activities we will be doing. There will be instructors onsite who will be there to ensure our safety and accompany us for the duration of the activities. We will share through our recording methods, much of our journey is built around the impact on ourselves, we wish to learn more about Langkawi and more specifically the area we are staying and traveling around, much of that learning will come simply through the experience of being there or from the guides and locals, we can demonstrate this through spreading the word of what we understand, we will also put out some of the information through the blog that our media coordinator will be running and the project week book. In each post about it, we will be discussing the important parts of each activity.

Project Week leaves rote learning, recall, and rubric by the side of the road. It replaces them with a first flickering of what it means to be an engaged, conscionable, confident young adult whose ethical position is buoyed by a bias for action. It is, in many respects, UWCSEA’s unique and potent portal to adulthood.

Volleyball CAS Reflection 2

Having returned to the sport of volleyball after a year-long break has been highly demanding, both physically and mentally. As I have learned through the numerous training sessions and competitive games against other very good teams, this sport requires constant, tactical thinking as well as a high level of fitness – both qualities which I know I still need to develop further. As the volleyball season progresses I know I will make a conscious effort to improve my game. Volleyball has always been a source of inspiration for me due to the high intensity and team spirit that a group can attain.

Through the LO2, I demonstrated the challenges that have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process, such as relying on stability to help me become a better hitter and not rely on the strength of one leg.  This new challenge was an unfamiliar experience or an extension of an existing one.  The newly acquired or developed skills can be shown through experiences that I have not previously undertaken or through increased expertise in an established area, such as volleyball skills like stationary hitting.

Cas Creativity Reflection 2 – Makeup

Through the LO4 I have shown a commitment to and perseverance in my CAS experiences of creative face painting. I demonstrated regular involvement and active engagement in my page, due to producing new work every week. This commitment to a specific interest of mine allowed me to understand the importance of planning and organizing my time effectively. As IB has a large amount of assessments, I had to effectively manage my timetable to be able to fit in a couple of hours to create a body painting.

Although this was not easy to do, through the LO2 of (Demonstrating challenges that have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process). Therefore demonstrating a new challenge that was previously an unfamiliar experience / an extension of an existing one (preciously having done makeup, although now having to fit it into a busy schedule).  The newly acquired or developed skills may be shown through experiences that I have not previously undertaken or through increased expertise in an established area.

Cas Creativity Reflection – Makeup

A critical turning point for my interest in alternative solutions to solving problems happened at thirteen. In consequence of not having a Halloween costume a few Octobers ago, I used household items and makeup to create an ersatz Cheshire cat look, an endeavor that served as a turning point for my interests in the upcoming years. I self-taught myself body painting and delved into the world of creative body art and illustrative techniques, building a platform on multiple media outlets (https://bit.ly/362sl1Z). Through determination and practice, I started working with brands from the industry to promote products and services. This gave me experience in contract negotiation and skills in building personal branding, as well as developing marketing techniques.

Starting my artistic journey at the age of 13, the desire to create art that I attained soon became an unyielding obligation to myself to explore the inner mechanism of my creative consciousness. From small sketches to full-body paintings, my art is a highly personal reflection of myself. Therefore through the LO1 (Identifying own strengths and developing areas for personal growth), I was able to see myself from an outsider’s perspective and build my skills off criticism.

Basketball Reflection 2

Having returned to the sport of basketball after a year-long break has been highly demanding, both physically and mentally. As I have learned through the numerous training sessions and competitive games against other very good teams, this sport requires constant, tactical thinking as well as a high level of fitness – both qualities which I know I still need to develop further. As the basketball season progresses I know I will make a conscious effort to improve my game. Basketball has always been a source of inspiration for me due to the high intensity and team spirit that a group can attain.

Through the LO2, I demonstrated the challenges that have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process, such as relying on stability to help me become a better shooter and not rely on the strength of one leg.  This new challenge was an unfamiliar experience or an extension of an existing one.  The newly acquired or developed skills can be shown through experiences that I have not previously undertaken or through increased expertise in an established area, such as basketball skills like stationary shooting.

Service Reflection 2

This service has made me realize that previously I was unaware of many of the problems in society. Being in Singapore we are living in a bubble where everything appears as perfection but there are things that we are not exposed to.  The last thing that I think should always be kept in mind is who is serving whom through the service. When sessions are properly organized, the children from the center can benefit greatly, from our facilities and our knowledge when we express enthusiasm.

On the other hand, they are doing a great service to us by providing us with an aspect of service and giving us a platform to examine alternative forms of education. That said, for service to work, it’s crucial that the people involved show enthusiasm to indicate that it is not merely a compulsory obligation. This service was a struggle at times, and it’s because of this that service was such a valuable experience for me. Particularly the experience of working with kids is one that I hadn’t had before, and I think a lot of what I’ve learned will be very applicable to other facets of life, as it already has been.”

 

Basketball SEASAC – CAS Reflections

Through the experiences of getting onto the school SEASAC team for Basketball gave me unforgettable experiences. This suggests that I persevered my skills of resilience and reflects my growth mindset. I was able to can articulate the stages from conceiving an idea to executing a plan for my basketball experience.  This may be accomplished in collaboration with other team members.  I have similarly shown knowledge and awareness by building on a previous experience, or by launching a new idea or process. In particular, I got a knee ligament injury the day before my flight for a tournament.