School break should be just that: a clear respite from books
Article: "School break should be just that: a clear respite from books." The Straits Times 26 Jun. 2010: A44. Print.
Author: Mak Yuen Teen
Summary:
The writer, a mother of a Junior College student based her family travel holiday on the school holidays shown on the Ministry of Education website. However two months before the holidays her daughter informed her of the school's scheduled tests during the break. A letter to the teacher was required to explain any absence for any tests during the June holidays. The writer urges all schools to give all families a break when there is one.
Opinion:
I agree with the writer, a holiday should be what it is, a break from work or studies for rest, travel or recreation. Schools should give us a break from work or tests so that students would have a good rest and be rejuvenated to return to studies in the next new term.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
BBC Host Admits Killing Ailing Partner
Author: Sarah Lyall
Click here for article.
Summary:
Ray Gosling, a BBC host confessed, in a television program about end-of-life decisions, that he had killed his partner from long ago, to stop the pain. His partner was stricken with AIDS and the doctor said there was nothing they could do, he then told the doctor to leave and then smothered his partner to death. Mr. Gosling said he had no regrets and feels that he did the right thing, his also said he had promised his former partner that he would help him end his life if the pain became unbearable. Assisted suicide is illegal in England and Wales and Mr. Gosling was arrested on suspicion of murder but not formally charged yet. Many terminally ill Britons travel to Switzerland for legal assisted suicide. However there has been 2 cases of mothers prosecuted for assisting their child in suicide. In one case the mother was sentenced to life imprisonment after injecting her severely brain-damaged son with heroin. Another mother was acquitted of attempted murder after helping her daughter to kill herself with a lethal cocktail of drugs. Her daughter was in severe pain, unable to consume anything except through a tube and wanted to die but failed several times.
Opinion:
I do not think I have the courage or guts to "act God" to make the decision of whether or not to kill a person in order to ease his or her pain. It is a tough decision to make, but if we a right to live, then maybe we should also have the right to decide about our own death?
Author: Sarah Lyall
Click here for article.
Summary:
Ray Gosling, a BBC host confessed, in a television program about end-of-life decisions, that he had killed his partner from long ago, to stop the pain. His partner was stricken with AIDS and the doctor said there was nothing they could do, he then told the doctor to leave and then smothered his partner to death. Mr. Gosling said he had no regrets and feels that he did the right thing, his also said he had promised his former partner that he would help him end his life if the pain became unbearable. Assisted suicide is illegal in England and Wales and Mr. Gosling was arrested on suspicion of murder but not formally charged yet. Many terminally ill Britons travel to Switzerland for legal assisted suicide. However there has been 2 cases of mothers prosecuted for assisting their child in suicide. In one case the mother was sentenced to life imprisonment after injecting her severely brain-damaged son with heroin. Another mother was acquitted of attempted murder after helping her daughter to kill herself with a lethal cocktail of drugs. Her daughter was in severe pain, unable to consume anything except through a tube and wanted to die but failed several times.
Opinion:
I do not think I have the courage or guts to "act God" to make the decision of whether or not to kill a person in order to ease his or her pain. It is a tough decision to make, but if we a right to live, then maybe we should also have the right to decide about our own death?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears - Again
Author: Austin Ramzy
Click here for article.
Summary:
After reappearing in Beijing, a Chinese human rights lawyer has vanished once again and is suspected to have returned to a secret detention at the hands of Chinese state security officials. Gao Zhisheng, is a leading attorney who has spent much of the past five years in detention or under surveillance because he fell from favour of the Chinese authorities after pushing for rights of followers of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned in China. His disappearance comes at an uncomfortable time for China, with the Shanghai Expo and bilateral human rights talk with U.S., as China wants to put on its best front. The lawyer was brutally tortured during detention in 2007 and was under threat of being killed if he spoke about his treatment, which he did in an open letter. Gao Zhisheng might have been held in detention by the Chinese government again to prevent him from leaking information of what he experienced under previous detention.
Author: Austin Ramzy
Click here for article.
Summary:
After reappearing in Beijing, a Chinese human rights lawyer has vanished once again and is suspected to have returned to a secret detention at the hands of Chinese state security officials. Gao Zhisheng, is a leading attorney who has spent much of the past five years in detention or under surveillance because he fell from favour of the Chinese authorities after pushing for rights of followers of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned in China. His disappearance comes at an uncomfortable time for China, with the Shanghai Expo and bilateral human rights talk with U.S., as China wants to put on its best front. The lawyer was brutally tortured during detention in 2007 and was under threat of being killed if he spoke about his treatment, which he did in an open letter. Gao Zhisheng might have been held in detention by the Chinese government again to prevent him from leaking information of what he experienced under previous detention.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Korean celebrities now virtual slave
Click here for article.
Summary:
Many Korean celebrities often have their privacy intruded upon by their agents. Such as the case of the alleged cloning of actress Jeon Ji-hyeon's cell phone. However many entertainers sign "slave contracts" at the expense of their rights because it is difficult for them to make it big without those agencies. They complain that their agents control their lives excessively and that they virtually have no private life. Whereas agencies claim that such monitoring is necessary because they have made big investments in them and need to prevent celebrities signing on at another agency. Oppressive contracts and intrusion of privacy have led to unhappy entertainers. Korean pop culture has been declining steadily in other Asian countries, the author believes that removing this oppressive system will inject new vitality to revive the Korean entertainment industry.
Click here for article.
Summary:
Many Korean celebrities often have their privacy intruded upon by their agents. Such as the case of the alleged cloning of actress Jeon Ji-hyeon's cell phone. However many entertainers sign "slave contracts" at the expense of their rights because it is difficult for them to make it big without those agencies. They complain that their agents control their lives excessively and that they virtually have no private life. Whereas agencies claim that such monitoring is necessary because they have made big investments in them and need to prevent celebrities signing on at another agency. Oppressive contracts and intrusion of privacy have led to unhappy entertainers. Korean pop culture has been declining steadily in other Asian countries, the author believes that removing this oppressive system will inject new vitality to revive the Korean entertainment industry.
Can India Save Its Working Children?
Author: Madhur Singh
Click here for article.
Summary:
There are still numerous cases of illegal child labour in India. However, when child labour was banned by the government, employers and child's rights activists pointed out that millions of children have to work in order to survive. Farida Lambay, founder-trustee of child rights NGO Pratham believes that the child labour ban is "a great beginning". Other activists disagree, saying that the few rescued children will be employed again, because poverty, the root of the problem, has not been addressed. Also, rescue homes are often overcrowded and do not provide good quality education or opportunities. With millions of children without education or marketable skills, they might cause social unrest in the future. There is an urgent need for India to recognize the need of educating India's impoverished youth. Activists hope that with political action and far-sighted business investments working together, child labourers will have a brighter future.
Opinion:
I feel that children in India should also have a right to work and not be forced to quit work. These children may need the income they earn to support themselves and their families. Education is a long-term investment with no quick returns. Hence if the children are abruptly forced to quit, they will return to work again, as they cannot survive without the income and will be a burden to the family when they study. I feel that the government could start by improving working conditions for these children and providing education gradually to ensure that they do not fall back into the cycle of poverty again.
Author: Madhur Singh
Click here for article.
Summary:
There are still numerous cases of illegal child labour in India. However, when child labour was banned by the government, employers and child's rights activists pointed out that millions of children have to work in order to survive. Farida Lambay, founder-trustee of child rights NGO Pratham believes that the child labour ban is "a great beginning". Other activists disagree, saying that the few rescued children will be employed again, because poverty, the root of the problem, has not been addressed. Also, rescue homes are often overcrowded and do not provide good quality education or opportunities. With millions of children without education or marketable skills, they might cause social unrest in the future. There is an urgent need for India to recognize the need of educating India's impoverished youth. Activists hope that with political action and far-sighted business investments working together, child labourers will have a brighter future.
Opinion:
I feel that children in India should also have a right to work and not be forced to quit work. These children may need the income they earn to support themselves and their families. Education is a long-term investment with no quick returns. Hence if the children are abruptly forced to quit, they will return to work again, as they cannot survive without the income and will be a burden to the family when they study. I feel that the government could start by improving working conditions for these children and providing education gradually to ensure that they do not fall back into the cycle of poverty again.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Home Schooling
Article #1
Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Homeschool.(Life; Education)(rule of home schooling in Germany).
Click here for article, password: privilege
Summary:
The Romeikes were the first people granted asylum by U.S. because they were persecuted for homeschooling. The Romeikes are concerned about their children being bullied in school and feel that the curriculum taught in schools went against their Christian values. The Germany’s Federal Supreme Court also issued a ruling in 2007 that parents who continued to homeschool their children could lose custody of them, which was why the Romeikes decided to go to the U.S. to seek asylum. Homeschooling parents want to shield their children from negative influences in school. However, on the other hand, schools represent society and help promote tolerance. There are concerns that homeschooling could lead to insularity, which has caused many European countries to tighten their laws on homeschooling. Whereas in U.S. homeschooling is legal in every state.
Article #2
Homeschool battles: clashes grow as some in the movement seek access to public schools.
Click here for article, password: privilege
Summary:
Jessica McDowell, a homeschooler hoped to perform her first dissection in a lab outfitted with $500 microscopes in a public school near her home. However, parents of children enrolled in the public school feel that it is unfair for them to want the best of what the public school has to offer without paying their dues. Many homeschoolers over the country would like to participate in public school activities for reasons such as scholastic benefits, extracurricular benefits for social reasons and college applications. Parents have also sued the school district for denying their homeschooled child access to classes. Another reason why homeschoolers want the best of the public schools is that parents are uncomfortable teaching tougher courses. Also, children love after-school activities. Things are being done to increase the public’s acceptance of homeschooling, such as the setting up of a computer lab strictly for homeschoolers and through more interaction between schools and homeschoolers.
The government should provide equal support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children. What is your view on this?
Parents care about how their children are brought up. They all want the best for their children, so why should they be persecuted for having such intent? In school their children might face many negative influences, inflexible curriculums and missing out lessons on religious values. Homeschooling removes these bad influences and provides a better environment for study. I feel that the government should provide equal support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children, because homeschooled children should be supported as well. Parents should have the right to decide on how to educate their children. Hence, the government should support them to ensure that the homeschooled children get adequate and good quality education. By allowing them to utilize the public school’s resources, homeschooled children will be able to learn more with the resources that are unavailable at home.
The most apparent part of school life that homeschooled children will miss is the interaction with peers and the school resources available. With the support of the government, homeschooled children will be able to use resources and attend extracurricular activities which are unavailable at home. Jessica McDowell, a homeschooled 15-year-old, would be able to perform her first dissection in a lab outfitted with $500 microscopes at a public school with the support of the government. The government should give their support to ensure that homeschooled children do not miss out on things that their parents cannot afford to let them experience.
However, some parents who have their children in public schools are against government providing support for homeschoolers. They feel that “it’s not fair for them to want the best of what the public school has to offer without paying the dues,” says Nadine Parsons, a parent with her son enrolled in a public school. Yet homeschoolers are still paying school taxes even though they do not attend public schools. Thus, I feel that homeschoolers have the right to use public school’s resources as they are already “paying the dues” when they pay their taxes. Since they have paid for these public school resources through taxes, the government should provide equal support and resources to the homeschoolers.
The most important reason on why the government should support homeschoolers is that parents should be given the right to home school. Parents should have the right to decide what education they want their children to have. If they decide that they want to home school their children to protect them from negative influences, they should be given the right to do so. Parents should be given a say in their children’s education as they are the ones responsible for bringing them up. Through homeschooling, they can ensure that their children are taught what they what them to learn while avoiding negative influences.
Also, studies have shown that homeschooled children score as well as or better than their conventionally schooled peers. From this we can see that homeschooling is not inferior to public schooling. It should have equal status as public schooling as it produces the same or even better results. Hence, homeschoolers should have equal rights and access to the resources available in public schools.
The government is responsible for the education of its citizens. They should be more flexible regarding what kind of education the younger population of the nation is getting, because it still produces the same or even better result. With the support of the government, homeschooled children can get even better education with access to previously unavailable resources. Hence I feel that the government should provide support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children.
Article #1
Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Homeschool.(Life; Education)(rule of home schooling in Germany).
Click here for article, password: privilege
Summary:
The Romeikes were the first people granted asylum by U.S. because they were persecuted for homeschooling. The Romeikes are concerned about their children being bullied in school and feel that the curriculum taught in schools went against their Christian values. The Germany’s Federal Supreme Court also issued a ruling in 2007 that parents who continued to homeschool their children could lose custody of them, which was why the Romeikes decided to go to the U.S. to seek asylum. Homeschooling parents want to shield their children from negative influences in school. However, on the other hand, schools represent society and help promote tolerance. There are concerns that homeschooling could lead to insularity, which has caused many European countries to tighten their laws on homeschooling. Whereas in U.S. homeschooling is legal in every state.
Article #2
Homeschool battles: clashes grow as some in the movement seek access to public schools.
Click here for article, password: privilege
Summary:
Jessica McDowell, a homeschooler hoped to perform her first dissection in a lab outfitted with $500 microscopes in a public school near her home. However, parents of children enrolled in the public school feel that it is unfair for them to want the best of what the public school has to offer without paying their dues. Many homeschoolers over the country would like to participate in public school activities for reasons such as scholastic benefits, extracurricular benefits for social reasons and college applications. Parents have also sued the school district for denying their homeschooled child access to classes. Another reason why homeschoolers want the best of the public schools is that parents are uncomfortable teaching tougher courses. Also, children love after-school activities. Things are being done to increase the public’s acceptance of homeschooling, such as the setting up of a computer lab strictly for homeschoolers and through more interaction between schools and homeschoolers.
The government should provide equal support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children. What is your view on this?
Parents care about how their children are brought up. They all want the best for their children, so why should they be persecuted for having such intent? In school their children might face many negative influences, inflexible curriculums and missing out lessons on religious values. Homeschooling removes these bad influences and provides a better environment for study. I feel that the government should provide equal support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children, because homeschooled children should be supported as well. Parents should have the right to decide on how to educate their children. Hence, the government should support them to ensure that the homeschooled children get adequate and good quality education. By allowing them to utilize the public school’s resources, homeschooled children will be able to learn more with the resources that are unavailable at home.
The most apparent part of school life that homeschooled children will miss is the interaction with peers and the school resources available. With the support of the government, homeschooled children will be able to use resources and attend extracurricular activities which are unavailable at home. Jessica McDowell, a homeschooled 15-year-old, would be able to perform her first dissection in a lab outfitted with $500 microscopes at a public school with the support of the government. The government should give their support to ensure that homeschooled children do not miss out on things that their parents cannot afford to let them experience.
However, some parents who have their children in public schools are against government providing support for homeschoolers. They feel that “it’s not fair for them to want the best of what the public school has to offer without paying the dues,” says Nadine Parsons, a parent with her son enrolled in a public school. Yet homeschoolers are still paying school taxes even though they do not attend public schools. Thus, I feel that homeschoolers have the right to use public school’s resources as they are already “paying the dues” when they pay their taxes. Since they have paid for these public school resources through taxes, the government should provide equal support and resources to the homeschoolers.
The most important reason on why the government should support homeschoolers is that parents should be given the right to home school. Parents should have the right to decide what education they want their children to have. If they decide that they want to home school their children to protect them from negative influences, they should be given the right to do so. Parents should be given a say in their children’s education as they are the ones responsible for bringing them up. Through homeschooling, they can ensure that their children are taught what they what them to learn while avoiding negative influences.
Also, studies have shown that homeschooled children score as well as or better than their conventionally schooled peers. From this we can see that homeschooling is not inferior to public schooling. It should have equal status as public schooling as it produces the same or even better results. Hence, homeschoolers should have equal rights and access to the resources available in public schools.
The government is responsible for the education of its citizens. They should be more flexible regarding what kind of education the younger population of the nation is getting, because it still produces the same or even better result. With the support of the government, homeschooled children can get even better education with access to previously unavailable resources. Hence I feel that the government should provide support and resources to parents who choose to home school their children.
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