The Son is in Secondary School by Affran Sa’at

My badge has a Latin motto
Hope for the future
The future is hope
Or something

At times black crows try to interrupt
When we sing the National Anthem

It is difficult to maintain
The whiteness of my shoes
Especially on Wednesdays

I must admit there is something quite special
About the bare thighs of hardworking scouts

The Malay chauffeurs
Who wait for my schoolmates
Sit on the car park kerb
Telling jokes to one another

Seven to the power of five is unreasonable

On Chinese New Year
Mrs Lee dressed up
In a sarong kebaya
And sang Bengawan Solo

The capital of Singapore is Singapore

My best friend did a heroic thing once
Shaded all A’s
For his Chinese Language
Multiple-choice paper

In our annual yearbook
There is a photograph of me

Pushing a wheelchair and smiling
They caught me
At the exact moment

When my eyes were actually closed
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The first stanza
I feel that the author uses a little bit of rhythm so as to stress out the importance of his badge that he obtained. I feel that the author does not fully understand the symbolism of his badge as he mentioned in the last sentence " or something " even though he has already passed secondary school. Another element the author used would be symbolism, for the badge seemed to symbolize the hope for a better future.

The second stanza
The author has used the element " Free verse " as i feel that only with free verse he can truly elaborate the fun they had when being interrupted while singing the national anthem.

The third stanza
The author is trying to tell us that on Wednesday, he probably has Physical Education or Sports so his shoes would be soiled and black. However, he seems to enjoy this day as he did not point out any hint of regret or disappointment.

The fourth stanza
The author admires the scouts, not for their will or determination to help others, but for their strong thighs and muscles. This is something quite amusing to me. However, he seems to dislike the scouts a little as he used the phrase " must admit " which told us that he was rather unwilling to say this.

The fifth stanza
I think the author is rather envious that his other schoolmates have chauffeurs to pick them up after school. However, we could see that the chauffeurs at that time were rather free and had nothing much to do as they were tellling jokes to each other while waiting for the children.

The sixth stanza
The author must have enjoyed Chinese New Year very much at that time but however, I feel that he was also trying to tell us how funny it was as Mrs Lee dressed up in a Malay costume and sang a Malay song during Chinese New Year.

The seventh stanza
The author seemed to enjoy exams but because he could do well and score, but because he could see the amusing acts that his classmates would do when they did not know the answer.

The eight stanza
I feel that the author had an intention of revealing that he was wheelchair bound only when the poem was about to end. However, despite of this, i feel that he still enjoyed Secondary school very much as he was able to give a big grin for the annual yearbook.
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My Own Poem

School is a dialy thing for us
In the morning we are sure to kick up a fuss
Even when the sun is at rest
Here we are, already out of bed

The first day of school is the worst
With all the strangers to face
Just when i am about to burst
A teacher comes up and comforts

Gradually over time
I find more friends
And everytime i fall down
They never fail to pick me up

Exam day is the best
For many do amusing acts
From shading all A's to colouring all B's
We never fail to have some fun

Soon it is graduating day
It seems that all has gone in a flash
"Smile!" said the photographer
and it seems all will soon fade away

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"Beauty stands and waits with gravity to start her death-defying leap" Indeed, this is such an interesting quote. Furthermore, it quoted by famous poet - Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1919. In 1953, Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin began to publish City Lights magazine. They also opened the City Lights Books Shop in San Francisco to help support the magazine. In 1955, they launched City Light Publishing, a book-publishing venture. Ferlinghetti is the author of more than thirty books of poetry and is also the author more than eight plays and of the novels Love in the Days of Rage (1988) and Her (1966).

The reason i like Lawrence Ferlinghetti is that his poems compared to the others have a distinguishing feature. Almost all the other poets have written their poems only for adults or teens with a great understanding or grasp of English. However, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poems could be easily understood even by me, a thirteen year old boy. His poems are also interesting and at the same time, lets the readers have a glance of the facts of life. Lastly, his quotes are also amazing and easily understood.

Three of my favourite poems written by him would be :

- I am waiting
- A vast confusion
- Underwear

Bibliography
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/367
http://www.poemhunter.com/lawrence-ferlinghetti/

" The Bear-men of Qolqepunku "

High up in the Andes of Peru

The Ukukus wander on

Glacier, frost and snow

Dressed in furry clocks and masks

They trek to find the mountains ice

Of sacred healing powers

The Bear-men, they are called:

In the old language of the Quechua;

Guardians of the ice

They cut the ice in solid blocks

Carried on backs, down mountain paths,

To family, friends, and livestock

Ah! Sixteen-thousand feet high, comes

A pilgrimage Qoyllur Rit i’ …

Year, after year, after year.

The Bear-men—, silently watch

Their glacier, slowly disappear

As if in thin air!...

They’ve now decide to leave the ice

The magical ice of Peru, in place

As warming temperatures rise…

This is helping the Ice Cap

Evaporate, in the 21st Century—

Perhaps this is a whisper…

“Is this the world’s end?”

___________________________________________________________________

sacred healing powers ( line 6 ) - Personification of the ice.

Guardians of the ice ( line 9 ) - Personification of the ice as usually only people would need guardians.

As if thin air ( line 18 ) - Similie. The author compares the disappearance of the ice to thin air.

Magical Ice ( line 20 ) - Paradox. It seems untrue that ice can be magical.

helping ( line 22 ) - Personification of the temperature.

whisper ( line 24 ) - Personification.



I like this poem very much as it contains a lot of figurative language. Not only the language, but the content is also very meaningful and interesting. It is meaningful as it tells us that global warming is happening but at the same time interesting as they made the ice in the poem " magical".

Through this poem, i am able to get a better view of figurative language and thus, i like this poem very much.

My Own Blog Prompt

Q: The MOE is reviewing the syllabus of the History subject. Write a 300-word formal letter to the Education Minister to share your opinion about the current History syllabus. Offer at least one suggestion to enhance the syllabus, and persuade the Minister to take up this suggesion.

Ans:
Ong Sze Chuan
Ang Mo Kio Central St 50 Blk 121
#06-35 S390214

15th February 2009

Minister David Ong
Minster of Education

Dear Minister David:

Re: Reviewing the syllabus of the History subject

A good day to you.

I am a pupil currently studying in Hwa Chong Institution and i would like to offer some suggestions of how to enhance the school syllabus of the History subject.

Firstly, i would like to say that the current syllabus is quite boring to most of the students. The students find it a chore to read the textbooks as it has hardly any role playing. After i have conducted a survey with the entire Secondary 1 students in HCI, I found out that most of the students like to role play as historical figures. This part should be added to the school textbooks as students would have fun learning History and they would want to discover more about the past.

Secondly, i want to stress the importance of more field trips to historical places. For example, the national museum of Singapore is a very good place for all the students. I feel that more field trips is neccessary as the children can witness what happened with his or her own eyes.

I look forward to a favourable reply from you soon.

Sincerely,
Ong Sze Chuan

Blog Prompt : Is progress necessarily beneficial for society? Comment.

Firstly, I would like to make my stand clear that i agree with the statement : Progress is necessary for the benefit of society.

I would like to cite evidence from VTBS. For example, in Village by the Sea, Hari knew that there would progress is necessary for the benefit of the society and thus, came back from Bombay, learning new skills like watch mending and even planned to start a watch mending shop.

Another example would be the villagers of Thul. They do not have any ambitions and thus, do not strive for progress. Without striving for progress, there would not be any benefit to the society as we could see that most of the villagers were either in bad shape or were living in poverty. Thus, Progress is definitely beneficial for society.

All the examples from Village by the sea proved my stand to be correct that progress is necessary for the benefit of society.

Thank you for reading

Blog prompt : Who is the favourite/least favourite character in Village by the Sea ? State your reasons.

I shall be talking about my least favourite character in Village By The Sea.

My least favourite character in the book would be Lila's father.

Firstly, he is the main cause of all the problems from the family suffering in poverty to the mother unable to be cured. Because of his irresponsible acts like being a drunkard instead of going out to sea and earning an income for the family, he caused his family to be in an extremely bad state.

Secondly, he took the had earned money of Hari which is used to support the money to go and buy "toddy" for himself. This is very irresponsible of him as he has already caused his family to land in such a bad state and yet, he stills deprives any chances of the family turning for the better. He has also caused Pinto's, their dog, death as the Khanekar brothers killed them due to the debts he owed them for buying "toddy".

Thus, all the reasons i have stated above showed why he was my least favourite character in Village by the Sea.

Thank you for reading.

Blog Prompt : Which part of the Village by the Sea do you like best? State your reasons

The part of Village by the Sea which I like best would be the part whereby the father turns over a new leaf.

Firstly, i like this part as I feel that the main cause of why all the problems started was because of Lila's father when he became a alcoholic and sold his boat in order to sell his debt and he started to stop working and thus leading to all the problems arising. When Lila's father turned over a new leaf, it was a sign whereby all the problems would start to cease and things would start to turn for the better.

Secondly, i like this part as it is when the mother falls terribly ill and requires the husband's attention and care throughout her treatment in the hospital. Just at that part, the father decides to turn over a new leaf and accompanies her wife in the hospital without owing any debts or drinking any "toddy". This touched me a lot and thus, I am since very fond of this part of the story.

Thank you for reading and please leave your comments.