Roots - Poem

This is kinda random. I was actually asked by my father to write this for my Hainanese Lim Clan Association magazine or something. At the same time, it reminds me to treasure our "roots" as well, as most people don't actually come back to help the clan when they get older and are working. Yes, "yin shui si yuan" in chinese. I admit its not very impressive but i just wanted to share these values (:

Roots
Our roots etched so deep,
like a tree, majestic and strong.
What our ancestors have sown, we reap
Tradition preserved for so long.
When drinking water,
Remember its source.
We must continue growing this tree; bring further
The clan’s traditions and cause.

Contribute to society,
Respect your elders,
Values meticulously imparted.
Our roots firmly planted, like a great raintree,
Reminiscence of our forefathers
We must continue the clan’s legacy; what our ancestors had started.

- Lim Mingxia
2O113

My Team

Hi. Today I will be blogging about a dimension of my life that I treasure most; That is my volleyball team. I have been with the team for about two years, and we have gone through many struggles together. However, through it all, we have forged strong, unbreakable bonds, and all of us are the best of friends with each other.

During the CCA trials last year, I did not manage to find the volleyball trials, which happenend to be far at the other end of the school, in the College section. I was thus posted to English Drama, which I had went for the trials. However, I really desired to be in volleyball, having played volleyball for 5 years in my primary school days. At the same time, my brothers were from sport CCAs as well and this influenced me to take up a sport as well to have fun and keep strong.

My burning desire to get into volleyball drove me to seek a way for a CCA transfer. I went all the way to find out who the teacher in charge of volleyball was, which led me to find Mr Tok, which referred me to Mr Sung, and then back to Mr Yeo, then back to Mr Tok again. This was far from an easy task, as the teachers were constantly not at their tables during lunch and recess periods, when I would race to their seats in the PE staff room everyday, most of the time only to find that they were not in. Many times, because of this i had to forgo lunch and recess. Eventually, even after my application into Volleyball was successful, I still had immense difficulty in finding the court, which was in the College section, where I was unfamilliar with. Fortunately, i met one of my good friends from my old primary school where I spent my first 3 years in, who happened to be in volleyball as well. I believe this to be fate, as this meeting did not occur in school, but in a popular bookstore in Toa Payoh. I got his number and subsequently he brought me to the court for my first training.

I remember, on the first training, Max, the senior captain from secondary 3 was "testing out" my abilities, while the rest of my batch team was watching me. They all agreed that i had a unstable foundation in volleyball, as I managed to recieve most of the balls he shot, but was largely unable to control the balls to fly in the direction that i wanted. However, I believe the reason to be that I had not touched a volleyball in almost a year, before that.

From then on, I never looked back. Volleyball was what I wanted. I had tried so hard to get there, there was no turning back. From there, me and my team got to know each other better. We endured all those tough trainings under the sun and outdoor court, although volleyball was an indoor game. Friendly matches organised by our coach made us even more bonded; beating many other schools gave us a sense of pride that our training together had paid off, and facing various stronger schools gave us challenges to face as a team. Match after match together, we pulled through and fought through. It was during one particularly tough match that we decided that we would be "brothers" in a metaphorical sense.

Then came the competitions, where we fought many tough battles. I remember one critical match that the seniors had during the zonals against Clementi Town. During the match, we cheered really loudly for the seniors to win, and in the end they won by a comeback victory, against the odds, for they were supposedly not as strong as the opposing team. I also remember the zonal finals that we played against Bukit Panjang Government High. We fought really hard to save every ball and win every point we could, and after each point was scored, we would cheer loudly, to boost our morale. When the last point was scored, we all ran wild on the court, jumping and cheering. This really brought us closer together, knowing that we were the batch, the team that had broken the 10 year zonals championship drought. The pride of being in this team made us even more bonded than before.

But it isn't all about the happy times that brings people closer. i still vividly remember our last match in the National Championships, where we went up against Victoria School, the East Zone champions. We lost the match, and many of us cried. We knew we had did what we could, but it just wasn't enough. However, although we had lost, it still made us even more bonded. We win together, we lose together.

That marked the end of our first season together.

Recently, Volleyball won the "zi qiang bu xi" team award. i was really surprised to hear this, as our team did not actually achieve any outstanding results during the competition. However, i feel that it is really an honor to receive such an award, as it attests to all the blood, sweat and tears that we put into our training and matches. I believe that it has once again brought us closer, having our name etched onto the "zi qiang bu xi" trophy in our year. There is no doubt that we will continue to strive for better results and fight harder as a team. Personally, it doesn't matter if we win or lose. All that matters is that we play to the best of our abilities and face adversities together as a team.

HCVB Forever
MingX

The Job of a Lawyer

Recently, I have been playing this game on the Nintendo DS named "Ace Attorney Investigations"
Some of you may have heard of it, but it is actually a game in a series of "law games" which requires one to use logical deduction and reasoning, along with evidence, to solve a series of murder cases. I really enjoy playing this game, as it really requires one to think of all the possibilities, and most of the time, the murderer turns out to be someone you never thought possible. There are points in the game where one has to cross examine another character to get more information regarding the case. In these cross examinations, one must think hard and scrutinize the other character's testimony to find loopholes or contradictions with the evidence.

Just for your information, the person you see in the picture above is actually a prosecutor, although the title of the game is "Ace Attorney". Well, the reason is that the "Ace Attorney" series had always been producing games from the perspective of a defence lawyer, until the developers decided that they should create a game from the perspective of the main character's rival, which was a prosecutor. I am currently playing the version from that of a prosecutor.

But to the point now. One of the main themes in this game is about the role of lawyers, and it is a theme i find to be especially interesting, if not thought provoking.
One of the characters in the game is a "prodigy" prosecutor who had never lost a single case in 40 years. his mottos were always to have the "perfect" argument for everything and he always strived for perfection, just like his perfect 40 year record. However, he also believed that his duty as a prosecutor was to "convict all defendants at the stand". Is this really what it means to be a prosecutor? in the end, because of his desire for "perfection" and to "convict all defendants at the stand", he was found out to have been forging evidence for all his cases which he prosecuted.

In another case, the defence lawyer from the main series was faced with defending the murderer. The murderer in this case pleaded not guilty, and the defence lawyer had no choice but to take his case and fight for his innocence. However, in the end, believing that the role of the lawyer is to seek the truth, and fight for justice he turned against his client and announced that he was guilty of murder, eventually proving it with evidence and facts.

Another vital theme in the game is the truth, which is quite closely related to the earlier theme of the meaning of being a lawyer. In the game, there is an interesting entity named the Yatagarasu, whose motto was to "steal the truth" this entity often broke into places to steal incriminating evidence, then send it to the police. This was done so as to expose the crimes of the criminals.

So the question is, what exactly is the job of a lawyer? Is it to defend your client to the end, even though he is the actual culprit of the crime? Is it to make sure the defendant at the stand is punished by the law, even though there is this possibility that he might be innocent? In my opinion, a lawyer is one who fights for the truth, so that he finds the true culprit and brings him to justice. Imagine the number of innocent people convicted, should prosecutors only blindly prosecute the defendant in the trial, and imagine the number of criminals getting away scot-free, if attorneys blindly defend their clients. This certainly does not serve the purpose of lawyers, which is to make sure the correct justice is served. I believe that there are many lawyers in this society that defend or prosecute blindly just to increase their credibility or case winning records, so that they can earn more money. This is rather disturbing, as justice will not be upheld correctly under these lawyers.

So, if you want to be a lawyer in the future, reconsider. What is your incentive for wanting this job. Is it the sky high monthly pay that attracts you? Or is it the truth that you seek; that you wish to make sure justice is served to the person who deserves it?

MX

Animal Farm Saved/ Ruined my exciting life

Yes! National Day is just round the corner!
Just think of the awesome display of fireworks and air performances during the parade!
And this year's National Day song sounds great!

...Pardon me but i just can't help but not feel excited at all.

Well, I had just recently read through Animal Farm, (which we did last year for literature) and all of Squealer's propaganda tactics and stuff. And I thought that Squealer must be the smartest animal in the world, or the animals must be the dumbest.

Then I took a look at the National Day Slogan for this year:
"Live our Dreams, Fly our flag"
Think Propaganda.
To me it sounded more like: "Live your dreams by flying our(Singapore's) flag"
Is Singapore that desperate to keep in our local talents?

Then I remember our National Day Parades every year.
Performances, live shows, National day rally and a goodie bag.
And I immediately thought of.... Spontaneous Demonstrations!
If you guys forgot already, Spontaneous demonstrations were parades held by Napoleon every Sunday on Animal Farm. These were held to increase the morale of the Animals. Similar to our beloved NDPs, Speeches, performances and and extra ration was given.
So... is our NDP actually just to give its people illusions that we are doing very well when we are not? To boost our morale?

So now that I think of it, Is the government really really smart, or are we the little farm animals? Too stupid to realise that we are being fed with Propaganda everyday! o.o

MX

Justice vs Mercy

So we had this debate in class before
Which is higher/ more important?
Justice or Mercy?
This depends on various factors

Firstly I believe that it really depends on the situation.
If the situation is really minor, e.g. someone accidently bumped into you, then I believe we have to be gracious and have mercy on them. If we go by the theory of Justice of "an eye for an eye", it would be rather calculative if we wanted to use justice to punish them.
However, If the situation is especially major, such as murder or kidnap, then that's where the law comes in. Justice will exact the right and fair punishment to the offender, depending on the circumstances.

Secondly, I believe that it also depends on the victim as well. If the victim feels that mercy should be granted to the offender, and is gracious enough to let the matter rest and let go, it is, as Portia puts it "twice blest/ it blesseth him that gives and him that takes". However, it is really up to the victim whether he is willing to forgive and forget, as he does not really stand to gain in any way whether the offender is punished or not.

In my opinion, Justice is more important than mercy, as it helps to maintain law and order in the world. Without Justice, the world will be in chaos, and crimes will be rampant as there will not be a perpetrating force to stop these crimes from happening. If people have too much mercy, there will longer be any justice done, as the punishment will not be fair, and this may lead to a recurrence of the offence committed, as the punishment meted out is not harsh enough to deter the offender from doing it again. Although mercy is important as a virtue, it must not get into the way of Justice, so as not to obstruct the course of a fair verdict being passed.

Do you agree with my views on Justice and Mercy?

Yours Sincerely
Lim MX

Team

What makes a team?
Sometimes during my Volleyball training, i ponder about this question.
Volleyball is a team sport, which thus requires great teamwork and skill to win the game.
Is it just the obligation to do your part to win the game?
or does it encompass trust in your teammates, and using what strengths you have to cover the weaknesses of your team.
Someone once said "A team is centred around a common vision. A great team enhances strengths and cover weaknesses."
I find this to be especially true.
A team must work together towards a common goal, in order to succeed. If all 6 members in the team all have different visions and goals, the team cannot possibly progress, as it is going in 6 different directions.
The second statement holds true as well.
If a team has flaws, they must work together to cover that vunerable spot. If a team has strengths, working on it will improve the team's performance greatly and will lead it to victory.
In my opinion, a team must be bonded, so that communication between team members will be strong and everyone will strive towards a common goal. A team must strive for constant improvement, so that the weak become strong and the strong become even better. All team members must love the team, as this will create good feelings about each other, and will thus improve the performance of the team.
In my own life, i treat my teammates as brothers. In court, we play together, we train together and we constantly support and encourage each other as teammates. We always want the best for each other.
For example, we will usually leave the weaker teammates who need more experience and training to train with one senior, while the rest of us may have to pair up with weaker seniors, or have to train 2 to 1 senior. But I guess we don't really mind, because we really want the best for each other. As much as we want to go over and join the teammate in his training, we know that doing so will decrease the amount of experience he gets from the training, and thus let him train solo with a senior which we know can raise his potential.
During matches, we constantly encourage each other to play the best that we can, and most of the time the blame is shared among us, or we admit our mistakes. This way, the team is harmonious and our team can continue to work together like a greased machine.
So, what does a team mean to you? I wish to gather insight on this matter on how others feel about teams.

Thank You
MingX

Home Learning Term 2 Part 2

Task 2

Complete the template provided below (Annex A), focusing on (1) Point of View; (2) Situation and Setting; (3) Language/Diction; and (4) Personal Response, and post your response to Task 2 on your blog. This template is based on John Lye’s ‘Critical Analysis of Poetry’, and you can make reference to this in Annex B when in doubt.

Steps in Analysis
	Point	Evidence	Elaboration
1.	1) POV The POV of the poem is that of an American soldier who has experienced war and survived and lived to tell the tale. He is speaking from the first person perspective of a soldier in the battle itself	The poet uses words like "I" and "we" in the poem,	The poet uses "I" and "we", which shows that he is speaking from the direct first person perspective of the person fighting in the war, which is himself. "i" and "we" are pronouns which refer to oneself and thus it can be deduced that he is speaking from his personal point of view.
2.	2) Situation and Setting The setting is that of a furious battle, in which the persona is in. There is a war going on directly where the persona is and there are many deaths and bullets flying. The atmosphere is tense with fear.	This is evident from how the persona describes his "heart is pumping adrenaline through all his veins" and "Bullets are flying". He also depicts his fear as a "strong mixed drink".	This shows how tense the atmosphere was, as the persona's heart was pumping adrenaline. A person would only feel adrenaline if he felt extreme thrill or fear. Thus, if the persons's heart was pumping adrenaline, it can only attest to the fear that the persona was feeling from the atmosphere. THe poet also creates the tense atmosphere by describing how bullets were flying, which is a personification that the bullets were free and flying in the air, thus describing the danger in the air.
3	3) Language/ Diction The Poet uses straightforward and blunt language in this poem, to give a more realistic feel to the poem and add on to the first person perspective of the poem. He describes the situation very straightforwardly, so as to depict the situation from his point of view.	The poet directly takes whatever is said during his experience at war, such as "lock n load and grab your shit"	This shows his straightforwardness, as he does not change the words that are being said in the war, even though they may contain profanities. This is done in order to give the reader a greater impression that his experience that he is describing is coming straight from his real live experiences.
4	4) Personal Response After reading this poem, I have gained a better understanding of the harsh realities of war. I have learnt that war is not as easy as it seems and is actually affected by all the factors such as terrain, and is a long, weary process. i have also gained a better insight into a soldier's feelings during a war. I feel pity for the persona in the poem, as he has suffered greatly during the war, and had his "brothers" killed. At the same time, i feel a sense of relief for him, as he managed to survive the war. However, I cannot truly emphatize with the persona, as I have never been in his situation before.

Home Learning Term 2 Part 1

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 Steve Carlsen Task 1 1) Based on your understanding of the selected poem, perform extensive web research and write a report on your blog 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. We Slept With our Boots On is a poem by Steve Carlsen, depicting the horrendous situation at war and his personal experiences when on the battlefield. Steve Carlsen is an American soldier who fought in the war against Afghanistan from 2000 to 2003, when he was honourably discharged. This poem depicts one of his battles during the war, in which he was parachuted straight in the middle of an ongoing battle, caught in the crossfire. He describes his experience of how he had to fight, tired and hungry in the different terrains in the battlefields. The fact that he was fighting in the Afghanistan war is evident, as he mentions the "Hindu Kush", which is somewhere in between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Chemistry Class

The topic says it all.

Well, some of you might be laughing your heads off at the thought of this particular subject.

Or are you laughing at the teacher?

Well, our Chemistry test is just two days away, and i am getting fed up over the attitude of the class during Chemistry lessons. Therefore, I have sacrificed my revision time to blog about this horrendous situation.

Sometimes I wonder what the class really wants. Do they go to class to learn? Or do they go there for the sake of it, or to make a fool out of themselves. I am confused.

Every Monday and Wednesday, we have Chemistry lessons with our chemistry teacher, Mr Kong. No doubt, he is an excellent teacher, although he is tasked with teaching a dryer subject than others.

But he has this problem which is the target of the class's many jokes and mockeries. His speech, or as some would put it, "accent"

Perhaps some would find this funny, that this teacher is weird and eccentric.

But then again, we all have our flaws, don't we?

Perhaps he grew up in a Chinese background? That might explain his inability to pronounce certain words, wouldn't it?

But I do not think that this is a justifiable reason for the incessant laughter and mocking in his classes. What does it matter to the class if he pronounces someone's name wrongly or in his weird "accent"? I am sure that we all fully comprehend his words right? And so what if he contradicts himself sometimes? Faced with a bunch of laughing children against you, the poor teacher at the front of the class, would you make mistakes? And in the first place are these even mistakes?

And some people just have to ruin my studying mood in class by repeating his "accent" in class. Leave him alone for goodness sake! A student goes to class to study, and one might find it hilarious, but I find it annoying. If you want to make yourself more prominent and stuff, do it during recess or lunch for goodness sake and don't affect those who really want to learn! And so what if others find you funny? I doubt many will remember a joke shouted in class after 2 minutes. And even if they do, so what? Do you really think you will become more popular and have more friends? Then again this goes back to my post on friends. Those people who find you funny definitely aren't your true friends anyway, so why bother?

So in conclusion, may I appeal to all who read this post to stop bothering the poor teacher? I can tell that he is really trying his best to impart his knowledge to us, but he is constantly interrupted by jokes and the irritating sounds in class. Why not just accept him as he is, and just absorb whatever he has to teach?

Perhaps you find his lessons dry, but then again, I believe that if you all had bothered to read his notes and attempt to understand them, you would not find what he says alien.

MX

Monitor

When you think of the post of monitor, what comes to your mind first?
a) Irritating "shhhh"s from a crazy guy which turns off the lights every morning halfway into your revision, and chases you out of class when you are just 2 minutes away from the horn?
b) An emo guy who constantly tells you what to do?
c) A nice guy who marked attendance in term 1?

Well, I would think that all 3 options are quite accurate representations of the basic job scope of a monitor. the first part of each option then reflects on how some students may see me in class. Some may find me insane, some think i'm "emo" and others may find me nice. Whatever, then. Thats a matter of opinion.

However, there are many people who are prejudiced against monitors.

Some find that i am a nusiance by turning off the lights at 7:20 every morning, which somehow makes them unable to read because they suddenly become blind when the classroom lights are turned off.

Some find me irritating by making them go for lessons on time, and incessantly asking (or pleading) them to go for the lesson in the next period which is in another venue.

However, do they actually realise that if they don't follow what I ask them to do, they will get it from the teachers? If they do not go for assembly on time, they will recieve demirit points.
If they go for lessons late, the teachers will give them scoldings. But what do I get in return?

If they manage to reach on time, its perfectly normal, and I am the irritating freak.
If they don't, most likely I will be late too, trying to persuade them to go, and I am also to blame for their tardiness. What an irony.

Also, there are times when the monitor, singled out from the rest of the class or cmc, recieves the blame for certain class issues, such as our camaraderie, our class tidiness and for not organising class outings during the march holidays.

Then I ask, why me? because i'm monitor? Or because you think that Tom, Dick or Harry would do a better job replacing me? In the first place, class tidiness goes to the Facility Secretary, (whoever he is right now) and class outings are mostly part of the Welfare Secretary's jobscope. And may I remind all readers that in this new Hwa Chong CMC system, the monitor, unlike in primary school, no longer holds the position at the top of the class. rather, he is under the Chairman, along with the other cmcs of other jobs. But that being said, I want to know how you feel about this too. Some people regard the monitor as the "vice-chairman" of the class. Is this true or justifiable?

Also, some might say that we are "1 cmc body" and we should help each other out in our duties. However, the system is such that cmc members are elected for individual posts by their classmates. We, the cmc, only had one vote out of more than 30 each to choose who we thought we would work better with. This results in some cmc members whom we find hard to work with, and sometimes even detest. How then, does this make us "1 cmc body"? And has the school ever considered forming "political parties" in classes so that the cmc would run smoothly? Would forming political parties improve the cmc system overall?

Tze Han once commented on a facebook post regarding this matter by saying that "sometimes what you want is not what you seek" Well, i don't agree. I wanted this position and I somewhat knew that it would be relatively tough. And so let me reveal the reason for the "last minute nomination". Difference. Yes, I wanted to be different from most of the students in Hwa Chong. This was also the main reason why I joined council. Tell me, what is life in Hwa Chong if you are a typical, average student who gets average grades, in a mundane uniform group (no offence meant) and go home at 1:30 everyday except on Fridays? To me, that is meaningless. I feel that to be able to fully enjoy life in a school, one must take all opportunites that are avaiable. No doubt it will be challenging, but it enriches your life and gives you more that what others normally get. At the end of the 4 years here in Hwa Chong High School, that will be what sets you differently from the rest. Difference.

Yes, I'm finally done with this long ranting post. Anybody would like to comment?

Cheers,
Lim MX

A Tale of two Friends

Recently, there have been a series of disputes between two of my close friends, and I have been quite troubled over this matter. The two of them have been best friends since the start of last year, and it really makes me unhappy when I see them bickering and refusing to talk each other now. As such, I have written a short poem, dedicated to them, to explain how I feel towards them:

WhY AND CHeeky boy

Friendship is a funny thing,

It can make one cry or sing.

Its a lifting angel's wing,

But pain and suffering it can bring.

Two awesome friends

whose chains i thought could not bend

were a queer but happy blend.

One was Why,

he was very shy

who was usually still

and calm like the sea

The other was Cheeks,

who was far from meek

and was hyper, high,

rainbows and sunshine.

A quiet guy,

a cheerful kid

a diverse but contented fit.

They say opposites attract,

and so they were right,

for their uncanny friendship remained intact.

They made a pact,

never to be sad,

and never on their words to go back.

But one fine day,

the atmosphere was gay,

but the clouds of storm were gray.

A trifle matter,

A furious battle,

and the rest was settled

He thought that the storm would be over soon,

and they would still look upon that shining moon,

but alas, it stretched past that very noon.

A cold war had begun

the damage had been done

And none of them could see the sun.

Their relationship astranged,

nothing could be arranged,

and the outstretched hand was strained.

Why, he felt guilty,

and sulked through the day

and his happiness was kept at bay.

Cheeks burining

he turned to solemnity,

and refused to accept his apology.

Why? He was too late

for his feelings could have prevailed,

had he said sorry at an earlier date.

The die had been cast,

and their fates had been sealed,

for the atmosphere remained still.

They refused to go,

should each other show,

and they avoided other but they know,

that deep inside they really want each other to show

that they want each other to be happy, rain or snow.

that they want to get back to the days and throw

away their misery and their sorrow

and revive the feelings that they had before.

And let the flame of friendship soar.

So why not they reconcile?

throw away their facades

and make up now?

start anew and see each other

from the perspectives that they had

when they forged their bonds

and made that pact?

To throw it away

and forget yesterday?

And once again see

the good in each other?

Hope you get the story anyway.

MX

The Silence in the Air

Today, Ms Soh got really pissed at our class.

Here was the situation from my point of view:

1) Ms Soh was introducing to the class a new part of our LA syllabus: War Poetry

2) Ms Soh was explaining to us about current affairs, pertaining to the current wars.

3) Ms Soh asked us questions about the topic, which nobody could answer, despite the fact that she had given us notes

4)She got angry with us, because she put in effort into making her lesson, while we did not bother to read her notes that she provided.

Therefore, 3 minutes before LA was over, this was the outcome of the lesson.

"Lets all go to sleep now".

"2O1, do you know that if a teacher dreads going to your class, it means that you are in deep trouble? Because she will no longer bother to give you notes and extra lessons."

"Ok? So 2O1, I will make sure you get hell."

And with that, Ms Soh threw her marker on the ground and left in a cloud of ice.

Upon seeing this, I felt shocked, but at the same time could not help feeling that our behaviour in class was perfectly normal. Hadn't it been like this for last term, or 2 terms ago last year, or for the whole of last year for that matter?

I think the problem here lies in our fear of speaking up and voicing out our opinions.

I fear being ridiculed. I fear that "paiseh" feeling when I ask or say something that I thought was intelligent, only to be laughed at seconds later when the truth comes crashing down on me that it was actually an idiotic question or remark. i fear being the "extra" one when this eerie air of silence lingers in the air. However, there are some times when I really do not know the answer, and thus I wait in my seat, expecting one of the more outspoken ones to break this silence. Most of the time, this happens after a while, but sometimes, it just doesn't happen.

Not today, I guess.

Sometimes, I also fear the ridicule that I may face if the teacher asks a rhetorical question and I answer. the heat or red on your face can really make you want to jump off a cliff sometimes. And sometimes, I can't even judge for myself if the teacher is asking a rhetorical question or not. This results in me not answering questions, as i fear that feeling above.

Also, there are times that the questions posed are really quite one dimensional, such that I do not know if the teacher will answer it him or herself. Thus, I keep my words to myself and bide in silence.

Back to the original topic once more, I do not find Ms Soh's actions surprising at all. If I was the teacher, and I provided all the answers to my questions a week before my lesson, yet during my lesson, nobody could answer my question, I would feel insulted too.

I believe that this has happened many times before in the history of 2O1, the more memorable ones being the "Animal Farm Cold war" during LA last year, and the "Javascript Outburst" which happened during a IS lesson recently. This seems so much like deja vu to me, and most likely the rest of the class. How many times do we want to commit the same mistake over and over again? How many times do we want to make our dedicated teachers angry and pissed again?

How long more will we allow this cold silence in the air to linger?