About poliical leaders

Hey guys,
Today in LA lesson, this question suddenly popped into my mind. Are this dictators that we learnt about today considered evil for all the inhumane acts they had commited suck as executing people who opposed them? Or did they really do this for the country's benefit. Let me share with you the possibilities and you make your own judgement.
Firstly, are the acts really for the better of the country? Are there other means to try to influence this people to agree with their ideas? However, of course, their mentality back then as probably different from ours, that has to be said. If they had adopted a more humane approach, would their respective countries have reached the heights that they reached under the control of these leaders? They might not have. With people opposing the leaders, the leaders would be under threat and therefore might not be able to carry out the acts that improves the country.
Compared to the present, yes, this leaders can be considered cruel. However, remember Lee Kuan Yew? People that publicly opposed him were jailed. Yes, jailing is indeed much less severe than execution, but the concept is there. People that oppose leaders would be punished. Was Lee Kuan Yew considered evil? No, he is considered one of the country's great leaders and I agree with that. Probably the punishment back then was just at that kind of degree, but both would have the same effect. The civilians would not dare to publicly oppose the leaders.
So were the leaders back then really considered evil and inhumane? You make your own personal judgement and whatever it is, remember it is based on your own thoughts and that you would definitely be able to put up a strong argument on why your point is correct.
Jeremy signing off,
Bye

The Lottery

Hey all,
Referring to the final question in the worksheet of the Lottery, I think that we should learn to put ourselves in others shoes and imagine how the party suffering would feel like. We should not be like Mrs Hutchinson who only realised how unfair the villagers actions was when she was stoned to death. Had she not being the one chosen, she would probably have never realised the cruelty of their actions. This is very relevant to our society today as many crimes happen due to the fact that some people are unable to put themselves in others' shoes. Just for an example, let's say you attack a friend of yours over some monetary disputes, have you ever thought what it would be like for this friend and his family? Just imagine the unbearable pain that they would have to go through. If all of us are able to put ourselves in others shoes and be less self-centred, the society would definitely be a better place.
Regarding the question whether we have our own form of "lottery", I am not very sure what this means but I am sure that our lotteries are definitely not as life-threatening as the lottery mentioned in the story, and thank god for that:)
Jeremyz Signing off,
Gdnite

Importance of Being an all-rounded student

Hey all,
This topic just suddenly popped into my mind as I was having a hard time thinking about writing a post that has relevance to us today. Okay never mind that, let me now share about the importance of being an all-rounder.
Firstly, what is te definition of the term "all-rounder"? Basically, it means to be good in many areas. For students, it will be studies, sports, aesthetics etc. People may ask," Why is it important? Only academics are important. You can't make a good living next time with sports and aesthetics unless you are really good at them, can you?" But let's ponder over this question, is it just enough to be good at academics and studies while neglecting the joy of being good at other areas?
Singapore's education has been critisised for being too focused on academics. Compared with the International schools, I totally agree. Everything is down to academics. If you aren't smart, smarter students look down on you. Teachers may give up hope on you and would rather focus on the other smarter students. Basically, they are only able to look at your grades while neglecting the fact that you might be strong in other areas. This is not to say that I think that studies is not important. Of course they are, but for those who aren't as good in studies, schools should try to unearth the talent hidden in them in other areas rather than just say, "Oh, this guys hopeless."
For the smarter people, remember to try to balance out studies and other areas. This is an important balance to ensure that we are able to rest and relax and not get too stressed out. It is good to play an musical instrument or enjoy a game of badminton or soccer after a long periond of mugging. For those who realise that they are not that good at studies, don't be demoralisd. Everyone has their strong points and I am sure you have yours. So try to dig up your strong points and make full use of them. And you would be successful in your own way:)
Jeremy signing off,
Byez

NTU Student's violent Attack on Professor

Hey all,
Recently in the news, it was reported that a student from NTU stabbed his professor with a knife and then commited suicide by plunging to his death. It took many people by surprise. When I read this news headline, two thoughts immediately popped into my mind. The first one was what had triggered the attack. The second was the disturbing thought that people that commit suicide nowadays like to drag others into it by attacking them before ending their tragic lives. Many such cases happen in America where the law that states that possesion of registered guns is legal is causing many social problems such as mentioned above.
After reading more about this case, I found out that this attack was probably due to the fact that the student was not doing well for his project which would decide whether he graduates. Firstly, if he did not graduate, who does he have to blame? There is a famous saying"fate is in your own hands". It is only you that can decide your fate and your future. Of course, the people around you can influence your thoughts and so on, but ultimately it is still up to you. He probably spent too much time playing computer games as mentioned in the newspaper. So there you go, if he fails, he should take this as an important lesson in his life and a motivation for him to do well for the years ahead.
Secondly, if you want to end your life, then why drag in other innocent ones? They dont deserve all your fury and misery to be thrown at them like that. This professor is really lucky that he escaped death or serious injury this time. There are many others that have died as a result of mentally unstable people deciding to go on a killing spree. Their deaths are definitely not justified as most of them did not do anything to harm or hurt the attacker. These people are already bad enough to think of ending their life against god's will(which is punishable by god), killing others would just make themselves and their families more hated. If they "argue" that they wanted some people to accompany them to the afterlife, how selfish of them! It is against the will of this person to do that, so they should just leave it as that. Thanks guys for reading this yea. And by the way, our tennis team lost 4-1 to Catholic High(Haiz...)
Jereman signing off,
BB