Visit to Japan (83 days late)

This article was posted 83 days late, it should have been posted on 6th August 2005 when it was completed.

2005 June Holidays Week 2 Day 1 – 6/6/05 (Monday)

1244:
Recalling the past week at Japan for “The Victoria Integrated Programme Challenge: Beyond Borders Tokyo, Japan”. Lunch was soon.

Sunday, 29 May was the first day. The air currents made me felt sick in the cabin and I resorted to playing games on the airplane. Landing was smooth and we took on a bus ride. The tour guide was talking about many interesting thing like how the Narita Airport was actually built on farmland and that the farmers protested, resulting in security checks for all who enters. Dinner was marvellous, and very memorable. My photo P1020161 shows that 2 fried spring rolls with tomato sauce, cold tofu, a wedge of orange, fried potato wedges, another wedge of tomato, fried chicken or fish (bad memory), some weird salad, delicious steamed egg, a bowl of steaming hot Japanese rice and nice soup was served. There was also a clay pot (as I choose to call it) that had some light soup and vegetables with chicken or some other meat inside- very nice. Overall, the meal was sufficient and tasted quite well.

Monday, 30 May. I woke up at about 0400 to 0500 in the morning only to discover that the sun was as bright as Singapore would have been in 0700. Went back to sleep and woke up shortly to get ready for the next day. Took a great bunch of photos of which many were stitched when I got home. Breakfast was as well served as dinner last night and I was looking forward to the Mt. Fugi hike/climb. My friend Martin practiced for an “earthquake”, by diving under the coffee table. (see P1020197)

Foggy day equates to a bad rainy day, and I the weather forecast was unable to see that. Mt. Fugi, or fugisan, was very wet. Every step one makes one would slip back for a step. Station 1 was long but easy to climb and took a long time. Station 2 and 3 had areas that were simply too steep for climbing and I slipped and fell only to recover soon enough to continue and carried on quite unnoticed. Station 4 had too many steps, irritating me a whole lot. Station 5 proved to be getting too cold as we were outside of the thick protecting forest into the cold wet world outside. It was like a child who were separated from his mother’s warm and comforting hands and thrown into the open left to deal with the harsh wilderness around. The tour guide did not know the way to the new station 5 and we are left in the old station 5, which was completed deserted and abandoned. The wind was getting stronger maybe due to the fact that many of the trees in the top of Mt. Fugi was cut off (literally). Waves of rain can be seen diving down the slope of Mt. Fugi with the wind as its accomplice. All was foggy, windy and wet.

I took a picture, P1020322, of a thermometer in the old station 5, obviously left behind by the old users. It indicated a 5.5 degrees Celsius to one decimal point. This was quite cold, but was not that dangerous as the teachers have forewarned us and tour guides that low temperatures can occur. People started to get paranoid about getting Hypothermia. It was a possibility, since the air surrounding was less than 10 degrees Celsius. Then again, we have prepared for this by bring jackets and stuff, making the risk quite low. Another factor was that our core body temperature was lower than 32 degrees Celsius, but then again, people have survived to as low as 14 degree Celsius. I heard that thoughts about dying was present, then again, the worst you can get at 5.5 degrees Celsius, I feel, is coma, which can be treated. It is when you get a negative value then you should start panicking. Summary of reasons why no one could have died:

• 5.5 degree Celsius was not cold enough to kill as everyone was prepared for a low temperature (the tour guide indicated single digit temperature)
• We ate a hearty breakfast that was high in energy value
• Most Singaporeans are well nourished from young and we are physically fit to take such cold for a period of time
• People were slightly scared as hypothermia-like symtons were showing. This affected the mentality of many
• The teachers were there with hand phones. And we are in a modern country like Japan. This means effective communication, and fast efficient rescue if needed. Moreover, we are not lost and quite near to a road. This means large number of rescue teams can easily travel up to the old station 5, within 30 minutes to an hour, if necessary

Lunch.

1539:
All trips to other places were cancelled as it was too cold to go anywhere.

Tuesday, 31 May. The whole morning was spent travelling to Tokyo and we went to the sake factory first before going to lunch at a barbecue restaurant. The grill caught fire suddenly for no reason and the grill became distorted. Next was Sony Building; it looked big on the outside but was actually small on the inside. After that we went to Tokyo Tower for a western food dinner. The Tokyo Tower seemed to be designed against the Eiffel Tower. After dinner was shopping and I bought nothing there but postcards; most of the things there were kitsch.

In coaches we received news that a famous sumo died of cancer. I found out later that the sumo was Mr. Futagoyama (or real name, Mr. Mitsuru Hanada) and that he died of oral cancer. Plans were drafted to go to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. After attempting some explanation, the trip was cancelled. Personally, I feel that a combination of a few reasons might have resulted in the cancellation:

• The fear of disrespect towards the Japanese by students and from the Japanese to the students. Due to the receiving of improper propaganda from young.
• Those in charge are not prepared; especially the authorities at the shrine
• Fear of possible emotional overwhelming by both the Japanese and students alike.
• Fear of an uncontrollable situation that might arise from the above 3 factors
• Fear of getting into trouble with the Japanese authorities when the above happens

Wednesday, 1 June. We met up with the teachers for briefing for Shibuya, instead of going to a Sumo School or the Yasukuni Shrine. Then we travelled to the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation also known as Miraikan. Lunch was near the Rainbow Bridge in an Italian restaurant. We then left for Shibuya. It was on one hand, colourful, vibrant and lively but on the other hand chaotic, disorganised and dangerous to a certain extent. We left and spent dinner at a Chinese restaurant at the same shopping complex we had lunch, at Odaiba, near Rainbow Bridge. We spent the rest of the evening doing shopping, at this very kitschy place.

Thursday, 2 June was spent entirely at Tokyo Disneyland. We had some rides in the morning. Then it rained, but not as heavily as expected. The afternoon was spent in the kitschy mall, while I attempted to look for good souvenirs to bring home. I got a few good deals along the way. Bought a Mickey Waffle (P1020842) at about SGD 5.00 – SDG 6.00. It looked nice, tasted nice, and fills your hungry stomach nicely. Dinner was at Queen’s Square, Yokohama. Everything there was quite expensive but we found a restaurant selling takeaways, popular with the Japanese, at about SGD 10.00- SGD11.00. The set was nice and warm. P1020854 shows that it had a row of chicken cutlet, Japanese rice with fragrant sesame seeds, salad with a cherry tomato, some sort of pickled or preserved vegetables and some appetizing potato salad.

Friday, 3 June is the day we return to Singapore. Studio Ghibli was the first station. Despite being the last coach to leave the hotel, we were the first to reach there was the first 2 coaches met with a serious traffic jam at the highways and called to inform us. We were denied a promised parking but were compensated with a sticker. The surroundings were nice and looked great in the morning. Inside Studio Ghibli, one can see so much that the producer has done, in a lively and attention-grabbing manner. We went to get lunch at some place built above a vegetable market. It was my first opportunity to get free sushi (at least it was paid and included in the trip). After that we left for Narita Airport. Before reaching the airport, we stopped by a large shopping complex, the Aeon. There was a 100 Yen shop (~SDG 1.50) and there are many value-for-money items there. At around 1600 to 1700, we finally reached Narita Airport, checked in and left for Singapore.

Back in Singapore, I collected my luggage smoothly and left for home. At home, I unpacked everything and took out the goodies. I slept at about 0300 in the morning of Saturday, 4 June, and woke up around 10 hours later

The Helmsman Forum

The Helmsman Forum was held yesterday, 26th August 2005 in the Electives Hub. There were 6 representatives from each class, amounting to a group of 24 being present. We discussed many topics with Mrs. Wee, the HOD Careers & Scholarships and Mr. Chew, who apparently was taught by Mrs. Wee in Further Mathematics before studying mass communications in university and working in Changi International Airport as airport manager, before coming to teach at Victoria Junior College (VJC).

A brief recall and summary of:
1. The Innovation and Technology Week (Term 1)
Some claimed that the ethnography activity did not work out; I was ill on that day and was present, so I am unable to comment on it. Nevertheless, the idea of doing ethnography on your friend simply did not sounded that it would actually work out fine. Another point raised was that the skills taught were very idealized and impractical. This was true to a large extent and I am unable to remember them, though the decision matrix suggestion stuck to my head as I have done similar things before.

2. Tea for Two (T-4-2/T42)
This is a student-meet-the-teacher session for friends unfamiliar with this term. T42 is actually quite a good time to meet up with your teacher mentor and talk about issues in class and goal settings. A few problems were raised in the forum, the first being that some people did not like their teacher mentor. I thought that this was quite a real situation to some, though I am extremely glad that this is definitely not happening to me. Some suggested solutions include choosing your own teacher mentor, which would result in an over demand for some teachers, stressing them out. On the other hand, teachers that are not that popular may feel sad. One interesting, yet not that absolutely reliable, point brought up was that a certain teacher was “smirking” at the student!

Secondly, some people felt that the T42 session was too focused on problems one was facing or goal setting. Many claimed that they had not been following up to their goals. I agreed with one person when that person mentioned that it was to do with their upbringing and that habits take time to change. However, have one considered the power of the school as a lot of time a student spend is in school? Some solutions include being constantly followed up by the teachers which might prove to be too straining on the teachers in the long run. Another solution was a group mentorship that would encourage shy students to speak up. I thought that this would have an exactly reverse effect, where quiet students would have lesser chance to talk as those who are more vivacious would be talking all the way.

Thirdly, although every student is supposed to meet up with their teacher mentor at least twice in a year, there are still people who have only met once (like me currently) or have not even met with their teacher mentor at all. Minorities, less than 5 out of the 24, have met their teacher mentor twice.

3. DRM (Developmental Road Map)
This is some sort of a goal setting scheme, as mentioned above. This discussion was very similar to the second point I raised in T42 discussion. Many mentioned that it was difficult to follow up with the goal and it would be best that the teacher would constantly remind them of it. Another point was that many was forced to make goals, and that many of the goals were stereotyped, in the sense that many were the same, for example, getting straight A’s and good grades. That’s many “many”s in one sentence.

4. Japan Trip
Many claimed that it was generally good and well planned. There are still hints of the common hysteria about dying on Mount Fugi. I have already done up an article on that and would be posting it shortly after simple refinement. Many expressed sympathy to Mr. Mitsuru Hanada, a renowned sumo wrestler who passed away.

Discussions on what trip to go for next year was also exciting. Some wanted to go for some adventure camp; some wanted to go to European Countries; some wanted to go Palau Ubin. I really would not mind a surprise, anyone in support for going to Africa? Egypt would be fine with me; at least no one would be afraid of being frozen dead, at least not in the day.

5. Financial Literacy Week (Term 3)
Many agreed with me that it can be condensed into a 2-3 day affair. Other points raised include that the lectures were quite boring, and the field trips was just another format of lecture. Many also claimed that the lectures were very common sensed and repetitive. I thought that lectures were fine, but it is true that they teach too many things that were common sense. On common understanding was that the Praxis game was very impractical, unreal and only had the value of fun.

We also discussed about what we wished to do for the next financial literacy week. Some wanted to learn more about stocks and currency trading to get a quick buck out of it. This would not work out because you never know that is going to happen tomorrow. Moreover, why work towards money? To my limited knowledge of the bible, here are a few suitable verses for this: “16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops’. 18 Then he said: ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I’ll say to myself: ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’’ 20 But God Said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” 21 This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.” Luke 12: 16-21.

6. Scholarships opportunities/ Job attachments
We were encouraged to take up scholarships and the teachers hope that the entire cohort would be able to take up scholarships. This might not be very possible looking at the lightly slower rate we are learning and the lack of efficiency of the lessons. Nonetheless, Mrs. Wee also claimed that there would be more of this opportunities and exposure to oversea universities. Let us look forward to the announcements.

In the discussion about what jobs to take in the future, some expressed their interest in knowing more of their dream job though job attachments. However, I felt that Mrs. Wee was right that even though we could go on job attachments with some of the JC1s, the companies would still find Secondary 3 students too young. Many companies were also unwilling to change their schedule to make room for the students as this is commercially unbeneficial to the company. Limited in skills, we are unable to contribute much to our short stay of a few days.

7. A digression
We somewhat digressed to academic studies for some forgotten reason. Mrs. Wee used an apt word to describe the situation: a complain session. Some demands which I thought that should have been done include shorter school hours and a faster curriculum. Indeed these two issues point to the same problem, an ineffective curriculum that is not reaching standards. To address the problem of shorter school hours some worthy suggestions have been made. Firstly, the shifting of the optional subject, Literature, to the end of the day instead of in between lessons so as to allow the majority who are not taking Literature to be able to go home earlier. Secondly was the removable of the preparation period which likened to a “rubbish dump”, where all the unfinished lessons can take place. Thirdly, a suggestion by me was that a faster curriculum can be brought about without wastage of time by unnecessary activities like spending half an hour to collect drain water for the purpose of testing the pH of drain water.

I am quite delighted to hear when Mrs. Wee said that “another platform” would be set up to address all these issues. I am sure these issues must be address immediately to prevent further damage done.

Up to my memory, that was the seven main topics debated in the Helmsman Forum. I felt that this forum proved that people who are more fluent in speech tend to speak up more then quiet students. Thus, these people are often heard and they like to use the word “we” to prove their point. This reduces the opportunity for quieter people to speak up and reduces the feedback obtained. I hope that future forums would have their speakers more evenly “spread out”.

If you have read the article “Recall of my visit to Dunman High School” in 2005 August 26, I did mention that Mr. Low Joo Hong, the Vice- Principle of Dunman High School (DHS) has reminded me that the reason why DHS pupils seem to speak up more after they have joined the Victoria Integrated Programme (VIP) is because they tend to speak p when the discussion is “heated up”. Please read more about it by refer to the article itself.

Recall of my visit to Dunman High School

My visit to Dunman High School (DHS) still remains as a vivid picture in my memories. I had a somewhat enjoyable “casual talk” as stated by and with the Vice-Principle of DHS, Mr. Low Joo Hong. Mr. Ang Eng Choon, the Head of Department for Larger Portfolio and Corporate Relations, was also present. We discussed about why I choose to join the Victoria Integrated Programme (VIP) instead of the Dunman High Programme (DHP) and my experience there. Some statements he made were a real reminder. Up to my memory, some statements, which I might have subconsciously summarised, include something like:

1) I have heard from other students that they have regretted choosing other school’s IP (Integrated Programme) because these schools have not fulfilled their expectations.

The part about schools not fulfilling expectations was true to an extent.

2) Some say that DHS pupils participate actively in class when pupils from other schools, which have a more open culture like TKGS (Tanjong Katong Girls’s School) and VS (Victoria School), have started to engage in discussion; DHS pupils like to start talking when things get heated up.

I was unsure of this point at that point of time, but after taking part in the Helmsman Forum today, I start to agree with him. This is quite true for the mainstream, but the exception is to the pupils receiving the Gifted Education Programme (GEP), who always seem to be voicing their thoughts liberally.

3) The reason why some pupils joined the VIP is that they find rules in DHS too strict, but do you think that having relaxed rules in VJC makes a good disciplinary system?

This is an interesting question as both systems seem to not be functioning very well. The most effective disciplinary system I have seen so far is that of my Primary School, Geylang Methodist Primary School.

Another memorable conversation was with my CCA in-charge, Mr. Lim Lian Joo Jeremy, who asked me a very direct yet impactful question which I might have been avoiding so far. It goes something like this:

Have you regretting taking the Victoria Integrated Programme?

I was preparing for questions like this the moment I reached VJC for the first few weeks; I asked myself this question as a form of self-reflection. But at that moment, I felt that I myself was reconsidering my answer. Nonetheless, I meant it when I replied that I could not make the comparison between going for the VIP and staying in DHS as I do not know whether I would enjoy it more in the VIP than if I had stayed in DHS.

One thing I am glad to see was that the response of the teachers was more positive compared to last year. Instead of saying that they felt disappointed, they claimed that they felt happy for me that I am enjoying the time I am having in the VIP.

Victoria School and Victoria Junior College

http://www.vs.jonaize.com/ is an interesting website here which I am sure many have seen. My article here is based on my response after visiting this site.

Introduction:

For friends who do not know what I am talking about, here is a brief introduction:
Victoria School (VS) was founded on 1876, far earlier than Victoria Junior College (VJC) which was founded in 1984. Nevertheless, it was “considered one of the top four junior colleges in Singapore until 2004, when ranking of junior colleges was discontinued” according to wikipedia. Ironically, VJC was founded by VS, and are thus affiliated, yet they are academically on different levels.

The article:

Recently there was news about VS, the last Singapore government all-boys school, thinking about the possibility of changing herself into an op-ed school. This beautifully designed website, http://www.vs.jonaize.com/, mentions a few news articles and also provides links to various forums of blogs discussing the issue. Moreover, it had and online petition of which allowed any VS pupil, be it formal or present, to sign a petition against such a decision.

In this website, the phrase ‘ “Mr Maran, our discipline master, used to say, “A school is only as good as its students” ‘ caught my attention. Indeed, this is true not only for VS but also for every other school in the world. But is it the most important reason why a school is successful academically? Personally, I think more importantly, it is the teachers that shape the students. Teachers often impart values and knowledge into students during lessons, making them an essential role in education. I am not blaming the VS teachers, but should the focus should be shifted from the students and/or the gender issue altogether.

The strategic move of attempting to do a combined Integrated Programme (IP)1 follows Dunman High School (DHS) announcement of a full school, meaning that all of their pupils would be automatically be given a place in the Dunman High Programme (DHP) the moment they enter the school. The Victoria Integrated Programme (VIP), which is the IP by VJC has its majority of its intake from DHS and VS. Thus with the DHP made available to all their pupils, the VIP would no longer be receiving as much students from DHS as before, effectively creating a power vacuum. VS would definitely seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to monopolise the VIP with VS pupils. After all, these are good intentions from the VS principal to continue upholding the Victorian sprit.

Food for thought, have you wondered why VS despite being affiliated with VJC did not start an IP with VJC? VJC claims that it was to maintain fairness among students competing to get a place in VJC. However other schools like the Raffles Junior College, the top junior college of Singapore until the ranking system was terminated in 2004, and Hwa Chong Institution, another of the premier junior college in Singapore, was able to offer IP with their affiliated schools. At the same time, these schools allow students from other schools, apart from their affiliated schools, to join their IP as well.

I do not think that making VS op-ed would bring any advantages to neither VS nor VJC. We must view this scenario from three different view points; one being from the pupils and ex-pupils of VS, another from the academic point of view, another from the purpose of education. After we looked at these three points, we must look at them collectively as a whole influencing one another.

Many pupils and ex-pupils of VS tend to hold to their proud heritage of being Singapore’s last all-boys government school. Already before any decision is made, there is already plenty of talk and also a petition signing, in the website of which I am discussing about. If VS really becomes co-ed in the future, there would be great disharmony between the boys and girls of VS. This conflict would be not insignificant as seen from the many in acceptance by pupils and ex-pupils of VS. Problems might accumulate in the long run and a lot of effort and time would be needed to continue running the school in an orderly fashion.

It is not that I disagree that girls tend to perform better than boys, but it is that this change would not raise much of the overall standards of VS. Even if VS became op-ed and indeed has her standards raised, many of these female VS pupils might opt for the VIP and leave VS. Of course, this is based on the assumption that the VJC would not want to do a joint IP with VS of which would be discussed in greater detail further on. This brings us to a question which has never been explicitly spelt out: Why has the VIP started off without combining it VS in the first place?

The purpose of education2 is not entirely to achieve good academic results but is a mean to impart knowledge and skills to future generations. Although it is natural for schools to strive for the best academic results and/or get the most talented pupils, I am sure that this should not be the only priority. Other aspects like heritage, tradition and culture should also be focused on.

Just thought that you might be interested, the principle of VS, Mr Ang Pow Chew, has posted a message on 23rd August 2005 in the VS website. A short summary of what he says include congratulating VS on their academic successes in year 2004 and having “achieved outstanding results in sports, uniformed groups and cultural groups”. He also thinks that VS should not “rest on their laurels” and that what he wanted to make “curriculum changes to enhance capacity and performance”. Some major claims he made include that the media “distorted our purpose and intent” and that the changes “should be exciting”. This message seems to be in response to all the talk around and the commotion caused by the media.

In conclusion, I feel strongly that time and effort in integrating female pupils into the VS would require far too much trouble and energy. Moreover, the result would not be very significant as female pupils who are academically able would have the option to join other co-ed or all-girl school which are on a different academic level. In other words, the female pupils might not be able to raise the standard as much as everyone hopes and expects. Finally, it boils down to the purpose of education, which is to impart knowledge rather than achieve good results. Honestly speaking, I would rather VS continue with their custom and legacy of being an all-boy school that being so uptight about academic results.

Endnotes:
1. Integrated Programme (IP). A programme that allows students to skip GCE O levels and take the GCE A levels instead. Here is a useful link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Singapore#Integrated_Programme

2. Definition derived after consultation of the definition of “education”: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-11,GGLD:en&q=define%3A+education

Other useful links:

• VS official page: http://vs.moe.edu.sg/
• Detailed timeline of VS: http://vs.moe.edu.sg/pg.cgi?id=sch_milestone
• An accurate introduction of VJC: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/e/ed/education_in_singapore.htm which actually takes its material from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Junior_College
• VJC official page: http://www.vjc.moe.edu.sg/
• Articles, linked from http://www.vs.jonaize.com/:
o 17th August (The New Paper): http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,93198,00.html?
o 19th August (TODAY): http://www.todayonline.com/articles/67605.asp
o 20th August (The New Paper): http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,93350,00.html
o 22nd August (TODAY): http://web.vjc.moe.edu.sg/students/v05v12_chewtw/blog/data/2208VOC018.pdf
• VS principle’s response: http://www.vs.moe.edu.sg/pg.cgi?id=nop

Another related website: http://wewillnotforget.blogspot.com/

Back to Dunman High School

Very important visit today to Dunman High School.

If my memory does not fail me, I have:

Met these teachers:
Mr Low (Vice-principal)
Mr Ang
Miss Tan (My English teacher)
Mdm Sau (CCA in charge for a year)
Miss Sandy (Home Economics teacher; walked past her)
Mr Ng (Head of Math and Science of Gifted Education ; he walked past me)
Miss Marilyn Ling (Head of Academy; she walked past me too)
Mr Jeremy Lim (My CCA in charge)
Mr Chia (He was in charge of the multimedia things in the school, a pity I did not have a time to talk to him)

Regret not meeting:
Mrs Har/Mdm Lim (Head of IT/ Media Resource and Library)
Mr Lim (not my CCA in charge but my form teacher)
Mr Chia (though I saw him around)
Mr Hia (My Mathematics teacher)

Met (not see) with some of my friends:
1) From my class:
Noo Si Yuan (chairperson)
Lee Zheng Wei (good friend)
Leow Tien Leng (another good friend)
Edwin Wong (another of my good friends)

2) From my CCA
Meng Shuen
Calvin
Yan Chun
David
Grace
Jing Hui
Gary

Talked in length (defined as approximately more than 30 seconds) with:
Mr Low (quite a nice person; will lead Dunman High School to sucess)
Miss Tan (she was waiting for a taxi; friendly and approachable as usual)
Mr Lim (very respectable teacher; reminded me of somethings I forgot. May God bless him)