Should Singapore's Sports System be Revamped?

Most of us have at least heard of the much publicized brawl between ACSI and St. Andrews during the aftermath of a rugby championship match, which left a 1 badly beaten up. This issue has caused quite a stir in Singapore and resulted in an inspection of Singapore sports safety system, which is what I will speak to you about today.

I have to say, this has been a rather highly contested topic since the unfortunate incident which occurred during after a close rugby match between St. Andrews and Anglo-Chinese (Independent). I feel that though the incident was regrettable, I still maintain that present safety standards of sports in Singapore are more than sufficient and that the accidents simply couldn't have been prevented. Furthermore, I believe that the “wining by hook or by crook” mentality is not to blame and that competition is healthy and necessary in sports.

Critics of the present safety standards of sports in Singapore claim they lead to needless injuries, stating the post-game tussle in which St. Andrews and Anglo-Chinese (Independent) students engaged as a prime example. However, did you know that out of the 54 games of the B Division Rugby Championship this year, merely 2 incidents involved injuries? That’s a safety record of over 96%! The same generally goes for other sports. Ask yourself, when was the last time you’ve seen a news article on ugly behavior besides the recent duo? Furthermore, according to an reporter covering rugby championships, since 2007, there hasn’t been a single instance of such incidents up till now? Without a shadow of a doubt, this proves current safety standards are more than sufficient as those 2 incidents were isolated. For parents or teachers to say that because of these 2 incidents, the safety regulations in Singapore are not enough is making a mountain out of a mole hill and wholly unwarranted. After all, there is no completely fool-proof regulation. If there were, wouldn’t the Singapore Government, no, the WHOLE WORLD have implemented it? We are humans after all and we are imperfect. However, I am proud to say that our almost spotless record speaks for itself. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that the Singapore Sports Council does not come up with its own rules and regulations any-o-how but adheres to strict, international guidelines subjected to high rigor. Introducing uncalled for reforms into our system would only serve to foul things and be counter-productive.

As if you needed more proof, Mr. Ang Chuen Teck, who has not 1, not 2, but 3 young children who compete in somewhat “violent” sports, squash and wrestling, said he was concerned about injuries at first, but his children have since learnt to minimize injuries: 'They learnt this with the help of their coaches. So education is very important.' As you can see, professional coaches who comply with the current safety standards in Singapore are able to educate the students on strategies on how to keep safe. Even a parent with 3 children in rough sports can rest his mind and is able to trust Singapore’s sports safety regulations. What more any other parent?

Also, concerned parents and teachers alike have alleged that Singapore’s Co-Curricular Activity system is inadequate and encourages competiveness, causing players and coaches alike to become fixated on medals and fail to develop sportsmanlike behavior and lose graciously, determined to win at any cost. This is misleading. Competition is necessary for advancement, for mankind to improve itself. It is the basis of all human progress. Through our resolve to outdo others, to strive for the best, we evolve and progress. Without competition in sports, there would be no need for anyone to try their best. Why would you? It wouldn’t matter a single bit if you did your best or your worst. Sports would be boring and spectators non-existent. There would be no World Cup, NBA, inter-school competitions etc. However, with competition, sports get a whole lot more exciting. Players long to get the gold medal and train long and hard to bring glory to their school. Through this perseverance to do your best and win, the players constantly raise the bar on sport standards and force themselves to surpass human limitations.

As for the concern raised that there is a lack of sports regulations to regulate unsportsmanlike behavior, as I have mentioned earlier, incidents of displays of unwanted behavior are few and far in between. Again, this re-iterates the point that current safety measures are ample. In addition, there are measures taken by the Singapore Sports Council to discourage “hitting below the belt” and over competiveness. They are known as referees and umpires. If an immoral soccer player tackles another violently or trips the opponent on purpose, the referee would tweet his whistle and flash a yellow card. Again and the dreaded red card pops out. This would serve as a distinct warning to players about trying to cheat or otherwise take advantage, dampening their unethical efforts. Furthermore, it is false that coaches and players only care about winning and think that the ends justify the means. My friend told me his tennis coach has a motto: Do your best, ignore the rest. He always give my friend's team the fullest support I can, whether they win or lose, as long as they have tried their best.

You may be wondering, if it isn’t the sports regulations that are responsible for the rare occurrences of such injuries, then what is? I’ll tell you: the schools themselves. Singapore Rugby Union president Mr. Low Teo Ping said: Many schools tend to fast-track their students by placing them in competitions without developing their cognitive skills or their muscles. This leads to injuries.” I wholly agree with Mr. Low. The issue is not that existing safety measures are not satisfactory; rather, it is the schools that are responsible for these recent incidents of injuries as they do not prepare their sportsmen adequately. They take the shortcut by not working on strong foundations such as muscle building and understanding of preventive measures with regard to sports injuries. Therefore, to merely review safety standards is worthless; the schools are the ones who ought to take action, or be taken action against. Schools also lack the education of sports athletes regarding how to control one’s emotions when a game is lost. The fight between St. Andrews and ACS (I) broke out as they weren’t able to control their feelings concerning the close match. Hence, they resorted to underhanded tactics like fists and punches. The importance of teaching students on how to manage their emotions is all too clear for all to see. Again, implementing new measures into the existing sports safety rules wouldn’t help in the least if the schools do not act themselves.

In conclusion, I hope that all of you understand that is not the fault of the lack of current safety standards that caused the much-publicized incidents. They are more than necessary. Neither is the “win-at-any-cost” mindset liable as competition is essential for advancement and should not be lessened. The schools are the ones who need to play their part in educating the students both physically and mentally.

DON'T GO YET!!! This is just my opinion? What's yours? Feel free to comment below......

Philosophy - If I could eliminate an emotion from this world ...

Back again with one of my philosophical blog posts. There are many emotions I would want to eradicate. Anger, frustration, sadness, jealousy, just to name a few. The list is endless. There are times when I feel frustrated when I don't know the answer to a question or cannot finish my homework and feel very frustrated. There are also times where I fail to achieve my ideal test mark and lament. However, I feel that the main emotion that deserves to be eliminated would be: GREED.

Greed is the excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of money, wealth, power. It is generally considered a vice and is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism.( Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride).

Why greed? Simple. Greed is responsible for many other emotions that appeal to people, like anger, betrayal and jealousy. For example, Harry and John are bosom friends. They decide to open an oil company. As Harry is rich and John is poor, the former finances the business while the latter provides the expertise. However, they fail to hit the mother load for many years. One day, John's intuition pays off and they strike oil. Though they both initially agreed to have a 50-50 cut of any profit, John is greedy for more wealth and argues that since he was responsible for their windfall, he should take a larger share of the profit. Harry maintains that without him, John would not even have the capital to start up the business at all. As a result, their friendship sours over a business squabble and they now hate each other.

In this case, John's greed causes him to lust for wealth and thus he demands a larger dividend of the profit. This makes Harry angry and frustrated. In the end, they are deadly enemies. Greed has caused two close friends to be jealous, angry and at loggerheads. It is an extremely lethal emotion that deserves no more than to be abolished.

Greed can cause someone to betray even his/her closest friend and even steal or kill from him/her. It arises mainly because of a false illusion that material wealth equals happiness. In John's case, he might have thought that since wealth is happiness, having more wealth would mean more joy. This is of course false, as material goods can only give a person a basic level of comfort but never true happiness. Happiness can only come from being satisfied with what you have and not be envious of what others have. As the sage Confucius once preached, “To be truly happy and contented, you must let go of what it means to be happy or content."

What is the purpose of SG's Community Involvement Programme?

"Hey, anybody got time? Want join tomorrow go old folks' home?"
The most likely reponse: "Umm... Got CIP hours not?"

What is the use of CIP? To some students, CIP is a bothersome quota of 15hours a year of voluntary work; a waste of good time which could be used for playing computer games or watching television. Others may regard it as something more important and ponder upon its underlying purposes. Let me share with you my own personal experience of a CIP. This was the 1st CIP activity I had in HCI so it had a rather large impact on me...

Unlike other secondary school students, our entire Sec 1 cohort spent 4-5 hours collecting old newspapers and clothes from residents in the Taman Jurong Area during the Friday before National Day, instead of merely sitting through a series of meaningless performances in the hall. Initially, I was quite annoyed at having to spend this important occasion doing CIP. The thought of slogging away while my ex-classmates were having fun and even released from school early was almost too much to bear. The only compensation I would have in return would be a few miserly CIP hours. As I still had to fulfill the minimum requirement of 10 (then, now 15) CIP hours annually, I resigned myself to my fate and boarded the charted bus for Taman Jurong with a reluctant sigh.

When we arrived at our destination, we split ourselves into groups of 5s, each taking one block. 2 of us were to do the even floors, the other 2 the odd ones and 1 was to remain to "guard" the newspapers and old clothes harvested. I was assigned to do the even floors and went about ringing doorbells and knocking the doors, asking for newspapers and clothes. As it was a Friday, most of the residents were working, hence, about half of the flats were empty. After gathering the donations, we assembled at the void deck and stacked them into neat piles for collection.

I recall that at least 25%-35% of the flats I visited housed Indian and Malay families. For your information, this is because of Singapore's HDB Ethnic Integration Policy. Today, eight out of ten Singaporeans live in Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates. In a bid to get the major races mingling, the HDB’s Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) was introduced in 1989. It works in such a way that each race can only occupy a fixed percentage of flats in an area at any point of time. Once that quota has been reached, no more families of that race can move there.

There are some who feel that this EIP policy is a bane of our society. They feel that it is troublesome, as they would not be able to live near their family members if the quota is full when they marry and settle down. There are also those who are selling their flats and have many willing buyers but they are all of a race which has maxed its number. Hence, they supported abolishing this rule.

However, I feel that this policy is in fact a boon to our society. I understand that it may be irritating for some for the above-mentioned reasons. However, there is a reason why Singapore's government implemented this rule. In the past, when Singapore was a British colony, the different races were separated into different areas to prevent potential racial riots or conflicts. However, fights among the races still broke out. Hence, instead of dividing them, PAP introduced the EIP policy to foster a multi-racial environment and unite the different races. To date, this has turned out to be the right decision, as racial conflicts in Singapore are far and few in between.

Overall, I feel that racial harmony is not a given for Singapore. Thus, we must have the EIP. By maintaining a multi-racial environment in our housing estates, we maintain social stability, racial harmony and religious tolerance, hence keeping Singapore safe and secure for all races.

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So, what is my opinion of CIP? A waste of time? Definitely NOT! Voluntary work then? Not quite... As you can see, I did learn quite a bit from my CIP activity of collecting newspapers. Its like Service Learning; not only do I serve the community, at the same time, I learn. Its better than blindly doing CIP or only learning in theory; essentially, the best of both worlds. I get to help the less fortunate and improve myself. So, next time anyone asks you whether you want to go for CIP, be sure to answer with a loud, hearty ...


source:http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/ARP/ARP101/yes.jpg

What is Beauty?

What is Beauty?

I question myself as I glance through the latest fashion magazines, grossly inserted with colorful, artifical advertisments ranging from Botox treatments to plastic surgery. They all have 1 thing in common; the promise of beauty. So, let as return to the topic at hand; What is Beauty?

Some people think that beauty is skin-deep. This means that they feel beauty is superficial and not important as to how they judge a person. Instead, they see a person for his/her true character. This point of view is thought to be very noble. However, is it reflected in our present society? Do we really take a person for his/her behavior and not looks?

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Simply put, it means that beauty is as one sees it. That means, even if you think that something, for example the Mona Lisa is absolutely perfect, another person may think it is rather plain and lacks depth. It really is a matter of opinion. In our modern society, there is a generally accepted perception of beauty by the public. There are even readily available methods to beautify a not-so-beautiful person, like spas, treatments, plastic surgery, etc. Products like diet patches, diet pills, and face masks are readily available and are thriving even in the current economic crisis. It does not help that the media helps to propagate this mindset by broadcasting shows like "Ms. Universe" or "Extreme Makeover", encouraging us to adopt this warped version of beauty as our own, shunning all other definitions of the word . Furthermore, teenagers idolize stars, blindly devoted to them. They believe that since their idols go for plastic surgeries and beauty treatment, this must be the "correct" type of beauty. Thus, they fall over themselves in achieving it, even forgoing their own morals and principals for the sake of becoming beautiful.

In conclusion, how does this reflect on us as a society? Are we a merely a bunch of apathetic fools, controlled by the media in an iron fist unconsciously in our eagerness to achieve the so-called beauty? Are we able to break free of the media’s perception of beauty or are we forced to go along with the flow, surrendering ourselves to the latest options the beauty industry has to offer? What do you think?

E-Learning 2 (25 - 26 May 2010) - We Slept With Our Boots On

Task 1
Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report detailing the conflict represented in the poem(s) of your choice. Bear in mind that this piece of background information will allow your blog audience to further understand the poem as well as your analysis of the poem in Task 2.

Be sure to include your references and credit your sources.

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(I was unable to find much information on this poem as it is not very well-known. Hence, the following interpretation of mine may not be very accurate)

Some background information on the author of the poem:
Born and presently living in Dowagiac, Michigan, Steve Carlsen was recruited into the US Army in October 2000. He experienced Infantry Basic Training and Airborne School in Ft. Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to D Company 1st battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 82nd Airborne Division in Ft. Bragg North Carolina. In November 2001, he was deployed to Kosovo as part of a peace keeping operations and went on to Afghanistan in December 2002 where he was further deployed for combat operations. In 2003, he was honorably discharged from the Army and currently attends Southwestern Michigan College where his professor, Dr Michael Collins challenged him to write about his experiences. This poem ("We Slept With Our Boots On") is a product of his experiences of war.

The poem speaks of Steve Carlsen, a war veteran, war experience in Afghanistan. The first 2 lines of the poem tells us that the soldier emptied the injured and dead soldiers out of the plane and put the author's paratrooper platoon in it. They were clueless as to where they would land for their combat operations. Then, they were ungraciously and unwillingly dropped right smack in the middle of the fierce battefield, the author nervous and scared. They sprinted for cover from the deafending bullets, terrified, shooting continously. They fought on all sorts of terrain, tired and frightened, making sure they were always prepared. It was as if they were in hell but they blocked this thought from their minds. The author feels that fighting in a war and shooting a gun changes a person forever; no longer is he innocent but battle-scarred, witnessing countless deaths and agony.

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We Slept With Our Boots On

They unloaded the dead and maimed right before our eyes
They washed out the blood, we loaded our ruck’s and then took to the skies
Over the mountains, villages, and valleys we flew
Where we would land we had not a clue
Bullets are flying, the LZ is hot
We’re leaving this bird whether we like it or not
30 seconds they yelled, Lock N Load and grab your shit
Get ready to go and make it quick
My heart is pumping adrenalin through all of my veins
I run as fast as I can through the lead rain
The noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define
The only reason I survived that day was divine
I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more
You do what you have to do, with that I will say no more
We fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks
From house to cave, to car to creek
Dirty and tired and hungry and scared
We slept with our boots on so we were always prepared
Those majestic mountains so steep, so high they kiss the skies
The Hindu Kush has changed so many lives
Up the mountains with heavy loads we trod
Who knew hell was so close to God
Beauty and terror are a strong mixed drink
So we drank it like drunkards and tried not to think
Good men and bad men, Mothers lost son’s
Everyone loses their innocence when they carry guns
Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire
I will never forget those who were called higher
They say blood is thicker than water, well lead is thicker than blood
Brothers aren’t born they’re earned. In the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud
And when I get to heaven to Saint Peter I will tell
Another Paratrooper reporting for duty sir, I spent my time in hell

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Task 2: ANNEX A

Point of View (POV): POV: The title takes the POV of the author and his fellow paratrooper (“We”), as the poem is mainly about the author’s platoon.

The first 2 lines of the poem takes the 3rd person’s POV (“they”), as the author and his platoon watches the other soldiers discarding the dead and injured inside the plane and loading them aboard.

The next few lines take the POV of the author’s platoon as they were flown to the battlefield (“We”) and dropped into the battlefield by the other soldiers. Then, it changes to the author’s POV (“My”) as he describes his nervousness and terror, sprinting through the bullets amidst the deafening battlefield, then shooting repeatedly, claiming it was what had to be done.
The POV reverts to that of the author’s platoon (“We”) as they fought on every ground, unclean, exhausted and frightened, always on the lookout. Then, it returns to the author’s POV as he thought about how the Hindu Kush Mountains had transformed their lives. The POV yet again turns back to that of the author and his paratroopers as they trudged on, aware of the terror but trying to distract and distance themselves from it with the beauty of the mountains.

The POV is now that of the author’s. He ponders on how everyone seems to lose their innocence once they hold a gun and enter the battlefield. He also remembers those who were killed in combat and feels that his fellow paratroopers are like his own brothers after all they’ve been through together. He ends off on a somewhat bitter but humorous note.

Situation and Setting: The main setting here is the battlefield. The situation there seems to be dire, as can be seen from the “lead rain”, which alludes to the non-stop firing of bullets. The “noise is tremendous, terror I can’t define” tells us the battlefield was extremely loud and induced fear in the author. The setting of the battlefield does change, from “the valleys to the mountain peaks/From house to cave, to car to creek”. This shows that there was war everywhere and that the soldiers had to be cautious and ready to fight at any time, such as how they “slept with our boots on”. Lastly, the setting of the “majestic” Hindu Kush helped the soldiers to distract themselves from the terror of war.

Language/Diction: The use of the word “unloaded” and “loaded” in the first 2 lines of the poem tells me the author feels they (he and his platoon) were treated simply as replaceable, expendable goods. The rhyme of lines 5 and 6 (“hot” and “not”) emphasize how the platoon was to be dropped into the battlefield no matter how dangerous it was, “bullets are flying, the LZ is hot”. (LZ is Landing Zone). The lead rain stands for the repeated fire of bullets, and the rhyme of the following 2 lines emphasize how dangerous the battlefield, its noise tremendous, “terror I can’t define”, was as the only reason the author survived was divine intervention.

The repetition of “and” in “I kept pulling the trigger and reloading and pulling some more” highlights how the author kept shooting continuously, thus revealing his fear and the danger of the battlefield. The platoon “fought from the valleys to the mountain peaks/From house to cave, to car to creek”. The rhyme of “peaks” and “creek” emphasizes the fact that war was everywhere, inescapable, as does the alliteration of “car to creek”. This explains why the soldiers had to “sleep with our boots on” and the rhyme of “scared” and “prepared” underlines how the soldiers were wary of an enemy attack and hence had to constantly be on the lookout.

The line “Who knew hell was so close to God” again emphasizes the terror of the battlefield and even the majestic Hindu Kush could become a raging battlefield, aptly described by the word “hell”.

The following lines tells us that the soldiers were terrified of the war, but in order to distract themselves, they tried to take in the beauty of the Hindu Kush and forget about war, as emphasized by the alliteration “drank like drunkards”. The next 2 lines state that no matter who you are, everyone would lose their innocence upon fighting. The rhyme of the “son’s” and “guns” highlights this. The soldiers face death and injury as they grow up, as can be seen from them being “Washed in the blood, and baptized by fire”. The author feels his fellow paratroopers are like his own blood brothers as can be seen from how “lead is thicker than blood”, meaning it is how important. The paratroopers have gone through much together “in the poppy fields, the tears, and the mud”, which explains that they have gone through agony, pain and loss together. The poem ends of on a somewhat sarcastic but a little humorous note.

Personal Response: This poem’s structure is untidy and is not divided into stanzas. I feel that this represents Steve’s view of war: messed-up and continuous (participated in many combat operations).