JUNE ARTICLES LINK BY MRS TEOH

Please use these 20 articles for your April-May-June Blogs (links inserted)

World's Worst Toxic Dump
Why Chinese Mothers are better

Singapore's Instant Noodle Generation

Strawberry Generation in Singapore

Little Emperor in China 

Overpampered children in Europe

Social media 'exposes girls to sexual abuse'

Teachers blame parents for class chaos 

Get back to basics of education: Heng Swee Keat
UK Prince visits Singapore
Teenager sells his app for $18 million

Poverty creeps up on elderly South Koreans

threats to EARTH: Global Warming  and Climate Change 

Threats to Earth : deforestation

Threats to Earth : over fishing & poaching

Threats to Earth : Pollution

Threats to Earth : Water Shortage

Dying alone becomes the norm in Japan

China officials caught dyeing grass!!

Gifted or Well Prepared ?

Comparing the Singapore and Finnish education system

Lifelong learning 

China officials caught spray-painting grass green in Chengdu by demi tay

summary:
In China's sprawling smog-blanketed cities, life can sometimes seem a little grey.Chinese reporters filmed workers from Chengdu's municipal landscaping department as they busily painted the grassy verges of the city's roads with a fluorescent green spray. According to Top Green's website, the colour "lasts for ten to 14 weeks and is not washed away by the rain". It adds: "It also turns the soil green"But some residents found the dye also turned their shoes green as they walked across the city's newly lush lawns.

opinion:

 In my opinion, i feel that the workers should not spray the green dye as it will block the plants from getting oxygen and they will wither and after 14 weeks the dye will be wash away. The dyes will enter the drain to the open seas contaminating the water and kill marine life.The dye also leave a green print onto the people shoes and thus will cause the inconvenience to the people as they would need to clean their shoes. The Chinese workers should import plants and plant them instead of spraying the dyes on the plant

threats to earth: poaching by demi tay

summary:
The world is dealing with an unprecedented spike in illegal wildlife trade, threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains.Poaching threatens the last of our wild tigers that number as few as 3,200. Wildlife crime is a big business. Run by dangerous international networks, wildlife and animal parts are trafficked much like illegal drugs and arms.As human populations have grown, so has the demand for wildlife.Rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger products continue to command high prices among consumers, especially in Asia.

opinion:
i feel people from all over the world need to work together in other to reduce poaching.people can ask the government to enforce some law such as have a more strict checking and regulation at the checkpoints.In school, students can do posters about poaching and paste around the school so to create among awareness among the student.government can ask police to patrol around the forest or built barriers around the forest to reduce the people from poaching.This can help endangered animals and so they would not become extinct.

Next generation of social media 'exposing girls to sexual abuse' By JunTian

Summary: New social networking sites allow teenagers to ask other sexually explicit questions,messages and demands anonymously.  The anonymity provided by the sites has made them a hotbed for sexual pressure, bullying and abuse. One victim of these social networking sites was so affected that she even suffered from depression. Even without these sites, similar situation can be seen in the everyday lives of these teens. Experts are looking into this problem, hoping stop it before it gets worst.

Opinion: I feel that this is ridiculous! Teenagers should focus on their studies, not sex. They should learn how to control themselves, and also respect their classmates. Most importantly they must respect themselves. I hope that educators can teach them the correct moral values, and schools can carry out proper sex education lessons.

Threats to Earth: Over-poaching. Done by JunTian

Summary: In recent years, there have been a sharp increase in the amount of illegal wild life trade. This threatens the existence of countless species of animals and even plants. Rhino horn, elephant ivory and tiger products continue to command high prices among consumers, especially in Asia. The increase in demand resulted in an increase in the number of poaching. Laws to protect wildlife trade are also not taken seriously by many governments, resulting in smugglers being able to carry out trade easily. Because of this increase in poaching, an imbalance in the nature system can be seen. Many animals are also decreasing in number, and some might even go extinct. Fortunately, there are still organizations like the WWF that are fighting to stop such crimes! Educating the public can teach the public why we should stop buying animal parts.

Opinion: I feel that the problem of over poaching is getting out of hand. We should not be so greedy and only think about ourselves. These animals are at the brink of becoming extinct. if nothing is done. the consequences are unbearable. I sincerely hope that all poachers can stop their outrageous act, and that consumers can see that if they do not stop, they are just ruining the balance of nature. Governments should also enforce stricter laws to ensure that the problem can be solved.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior by ZhiGang :/

Summary: Chinese parents trust that their children the suitable way to braced for the future is to unveil their talents and equipping them with the suitable life skill, self-assurance when they enter the work force. However, western parents kind of worship their children. Western parents spur their children to follow their affection by providing them a pleasant condition and genuine mindset to guide them to their selected path according to their interests. All parents wants their child excelling but different ideas helping them.

Opinions: In my opinion, I feel that it is important on how a child is educated. Different kinds of education may lead to child to a different path in life. The kinds of education need to depend on the personality of the child. Some child cannot take the harsher way of education and their education should be similar to the Western parents’ way of teaching. They try to encourage their children to follow their own interests and guide them through.

Overpampered children in Europe

summary:
most parent are both working to earn money for the family. Feeling guilty about never being there with their kid and to make up for that they spent money buying whatever their child wants and never asking for anything in return. This causes their kids to get more spoiled and relying on parents. Some gets too pampered that they can't stick to their job when things get tough.

Opinion;
In my opinion, I think that parent should not spoil their child with what they want as to make up for not spending time with them. Such parent will only spoiling their child and may result that their child will ask for more in the future.

Threats to Earth : over fishing & poaching

Summary:

When more fish are caught than what the population can replace through natural reproduction, overfishing occurs. Many around the world rely on fish for the source of protein. Some causes of overfishing are because of open access fisheries, poor fisheries management, and lack of protected area. The impacts that are resulted for these causes will lead to marine life imbalance, decrease food security and economic loss. Even though many fishers are aware of the situation there are other problems too.

Opinion:
In my opinion, government should control the amount of fish each fishers catch so that there will be lesser problem of overfishing. even though there are problem such as pirate fishing which cannot be control, the fishers could help and inform legal fisheries if they knew who are the ones.

Singapore's Instant Noodle Generation by ZhiGang -3-

Summary: There has been rising awareness among Singapore’s spoiled adolescent. Most teenagers does not make and tidy up themselves. Many youngsters today are born rich and have a maid to protect clean after themselves. A lot of them give excuses that they do not have time to do simple things like household choirs. Reports have shown how teenagers cannot fend for themselves without maids. Having a maid to teenagers’ ask and go leave them reliant and helpless when on their own.

Opinion: In my opinion, I feel that one should not be over-reliant on others for help. Maids for example cannot help you with forever. Having maids make teens nowadays helpless when left on their own. Over-reliant kids are not able to do things they should know like household choirs, cooking as these things is often done by their parents or maids. Adolescent are spoiled. Therefore lead easy lifestyles with their parents or maids to their beck and call when in need.

The World's Toxic Waste Dump: Choking on Chemicals in China. By JunTian

Summary: About 100 tons of toxic chemicals have been floating down the Songhua River ever since an explosion in Jilin, located upstream from Harbin, released highly toxic benzene compounds. At least five people were killed and dozens injured in the Nov. 13 accident in Chemical Factory 101, and the slick, slowly traveling down river toward Russia, threatens the drinking water supply for more than 10 million people between the northeast Chinese city of Harbin and Khabarovsk in Siberia. This have caused a water emergency in Harbin, and the residents in Harbin are all suffering from a severe lack of water. Their taps have all been turned off to prevent any poisoning, Now, their only source is from wells and a truck filled with water sent by the government.

Opinion: This accident have caused raised many alarming results. China is becoming the world's top pollutant, and the country itself is suffering from severe pollution. This have affected the health of the people very badly , and have also gave China a very bad reputation. Apart from the environmental problems, the social problems are equally worrying. With the number of factory accidents taking place increasing each day, the lives of the people are at risk. I feel that the Chinese government should do something about this disturbing trend, and do their best to prevent such things from happening again.

China officials caught spray-painting grass green in Chengdu. By JunTian

Summary: Reporters from China have recently filmed workers from Chengdu's municipal landscaping department as they busily painted the grassy verges of the city's roads with a fluorescent green spray. Residents have raised several comments, questioning if this would affect the environment, and some even asked why are the government using money this way, instead of building schools. Officials have claimed that the dyes can help keep the grass alive during winter times. In fact, this have happened since long ago in China's history.

Opinion: I feel that dying the grass is quite alright as long as there are no harm done towards the grass and that it does not cost a bomb. The government are also trying their best to beautify the place, although this may be rather unacceptable to some. I feel that as long as there are no long term harm it will be fine. I feel that even with this alternative method, the government should only use this as a temporary solution, and not a long term measure. They should still try to plant their grass normally.

Learning For Life by Zhi Gang :]

Summary: In Finland, private tuitions were known to be extinct. The children studying at Finland were given free time and rest after school and homework. For those who have the matriculation exam, they have to stay at home to revise. Having practiced mock exam papers scenarios set by teachers and previous years’ paper, students just have to apply their knowledge to do well in the six hour paper. Since it is a six-hour long paper, students can do their best for it.

Opinion: In my opinion, I feel that schools are not just places of study, it is a place where one can learn to work with others. As the saying goes “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” somewhat, this saying is true in Finland. That is why private tuitions were “extinct” there as all parents believes that children should be given their own free time to take a break from a tiring day after school and homework.

World's Worst Toxic Dump By: Sherman Teo

Summary:

Even if water began flowing once again to the city's residents on Tuesday, the Chinese are now burning anything that looks like coal. Whenever catastrophes do occur, the communist party responds using the same old approach. In Harbin, as with the SARS crisis two years ago, authorities initially tried to conceal the true scope of the disaster. The administration announced its plans to shut off the water supply, it first offered the transparent excuse that the pipes needed "maintenance work." No one believed that the city's entire system of pipes was shut down for maintenance and the icy city was soon filled with rumors of terrorist attacks or a predicted earthquake.

 

Opinion:

In my Opinion, I believe that what the authorities are doing is wrong as they are trying to make all locals believe that everything is fine even though there was a deadly disease. This has then caused many people nowadays to questions the government of what they do and whether it is right or wrong. I believe that to have a successful country, we must be ready under any crisis and the government should alert us on the precautions we should take.

 

Lifelong learning by Ryan

Summary:


In Finland, school is the only place where students study. For children in Finland, when school ends, so do the lesson. Parents there unlike Singapore’s don’t send their children for tuition as they believe children need free time and rest after school and homework. Children between seven to 16 are provided a free nine-year education. Throughout their education they have only one major exam with six hour given per paper. Teacher check on the student progress by having quiz after each chapter
.

Opinion:

In my opinion I think that they have a very care-free education. Even though they have a care-free education their exam condition is quite good as when they are given long period of time to complete the paper and it will be less stress unlike Singapore's. I think Singapore should adopt this way of exam but with a shorter period of time as 6 hour is too long and subject taken in Singapore are a lot so there won't be enough days to teach if each paper was 6 hour.

Teachers blame poor parenting for increased chaos in the classrooms by demi tay

summary:
Parents are to blame for a rising tide of disruptive behavior in schools because they fail to lay down the law at home, according to a new survey out today.The survey of more than 800 teachers by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers revealed a rise in the number of pupils with emotional, behavioral or mental health issues over the past five years.Nine out of 10 staff said they had to deal with at least one case of a challenging or disruptive pupil during the past year.teachers are frequently on the receiving end of children's frustration and unhappiness and have to deal with the fallout from parents failing to set boundaries and family breakdowns.

summary:
i feel that parents and the children should have a talk to talk conversation to let each other know about their dislike and thus have a better understanding towards each other. they should give explanation to the other party when one do wrong or when making a decision that would affect the other party.This will reduced children from venting out their anger in school as the victim would be the teachers.The school can give counseling to the children to improve on their behavior or having the meet the parent sessions to let the parents know about their children behavior.

We, the citizens of the strawberry generation-demi tay

summary:
Eight in 10 students claim that they can take hard work and adversity in their stride. However, only 60 per cent of those surveyed demonstrate the basic ability to be able to cook a meal for themselves.The poll of 100 students by npTribune also revealed that 91 per cent of them believe they lead a comfortable life. Most do not perform household chores beyond the washing dishes or sweeping the floor, which they do only occasionally.This generation is said to be the strawberry generation as nowadays,youths are easily discouraged by minor setbacks.strawberry generation is to  describe fragile youths today who easily succumb to pressure.

opinion: 
i feel that teenagers should stand up to their problems instead of hiding away from their problem. parents should do their part by asking teenagers to solve their own problem and do not always back them up when teenagers meet a problem.parents should let them solve their own problem and so the teenagers would be more experience in knowing how to solve their own problem and be able to be able to be more stronger and not discouraged by minor setbacks.

Turkish Clashes by Zhi Gang o-o

Summary: Turkish riot police have used tear gas to disperse thousands of anti-government demonstrators who gathered on Taksim Square in Istanbul, after a day of sporadic clashes. Throughout the day, riot police had repeatedly clashed with protesters throwing bottles, rocks and firebombs. The Turkish Human Rights Foundation says four people have been killed, including one policeman. Some 5,000 protesters have been treated for injuries or the effects of tear gas, while officials say 600 police have also been injured. Protests have also occurred in the capital, Ankara, with smaller demonstrations in many other cities.

Opinion: In my opinion, I feel that the harsh response to the protesters is liable to unleash a military response to protect it's people and I am not talking about the government. In the past when the government got out of line the military steps in although the Prime Minister sacked some Generals to protect himself , the military has a long memory.

Social Media 'Exposes Girls To Sexual Media' By: Sherman Teo

Summary:
Social media websites nowadays are leaving young people open to cyber bullying. Some sites allow users to sign up for a profile, with a name and photograph. Users choose which questions to answer, with the option to “like” answers, and in some cases, to share them on well known sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The anonymity provided by the sites has made them a hotbed for sexual pressure, bullying and abuse.

Opinion:

In my opinion, I think that social media is causing a lot of people to get hurt online. Some of these sites allow other users to ask others questions anonymously. Some of these comments will start to hurt not only the users but the people around them too. This will cause their friends to have a different perspective about them. Making them feel insecure about themselves eventually.

Threats to Earth: Overfishing. Done by JunTian

Summary: Overfishing occurs when fish are caught more than the population can replace through natural reproduction. This brought about very serious consequences, not only disturbing the balance of marine life,  but also the social and well-being of those who depend on the fishes for a living. Poor fisheries management  and pirate fishing are the few main reasons. This resulted in an imbalance in the marine communities and a decrease in food security. Many species of marine life forms have also been affected.

Opinion: Overfishing must be stopped immediately. If this continues, marine animals will start to go extinct at a pace faster than we can ever imagine. I feel that the government of every country should impose heavy laws and fines regarding illegal fishing. This can prevent overfishing. Fishermen should also be more aware of such things, and immediately take action to stop.

Threats to Earth : Pollution

Summary:

Most pollution around the world is cause by many modern human activities. Even places untouched by 21st-century developments experience the effects of pollution. Ocean litter, pesticides, fertilizer and toxic chemical are some of the causes for the pollution around the world. Air pollution, water pollution, noise and light are the main pollution cause by human activities. It’s because of human activities that contaminate ecosystems around the world. Pollution enter the environment and organism may absorb them which can affect us human too.

Opinion:
In my opinion, we should minimized the pollution that are cause by our modern activities. We can also help by making the world aware of the pollution in the world so that the pollution in the world will decrease.

Threats to Earth : deforestation

Summary:
Greenhouses gases acts like a blanket which traps heat and regulate our climate. The gases it consists of exist naturally but human add more of it and made it become a thicker blanket. The thicker it is, the warmer our planet become. The rise in global temperature is changing our planet climate which results in more extreme and unpredictable weather. It results to humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of climate change.

Opinion:
In my opinion I think we should combat deforestation by cutting down lesser tree and planting more of it. We can also reduce our usage of energy so lesser fossil fuels are needed to burn and lesser carbon dioxide will be release into the air.

Overpampered Children In Europe- By: Sherman Teo

Summary:
Many parents nowadays are both working and provide the income for the family but they do not spent enough time with their children. This makes them feel guilty and lavish their children with anything they want without asking for anything in return. Unfortunately, this causes the child to be more spoilt and even depend on their parents to do simple household chores.
Opinion:
In my opinion, I believe that what the parents are doing is not supportive of their children. Such parents have so sense into what their child is doing but continuously buying gifts for them to keep them occupied. The parents think that this is their way of showing their indirect love but to the children, they are recieving more harm than love from the parents.