1 March 2010

1 March fell on a Monday this year and we happened to have e-learning that day. But not only that, 1 March was also the day Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. The city of Rio de Janeiro was also founded on this particular day in 1565. Besides these, Napoleon also returned to France from his banishment on 1 March on 1815. But how are these linked to me?

1 March is a very special day not only because of such historic events, but most importantly because it is my birthday. 1 March 1996 was the day I came into this world, and with each passing year, I would have grown and mature by a bit. Now, after 14 years, I can proudly say that I am no longer a young and immature child but a young teenager with more knowledge of the world and its evils.

But first of all, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my fellow classmates who wished me a happy birthday. Each of your comments really made my day. Also, I would like to thank my parents. I am really grateful to them not only because they raised me up and satisfied my every need, but also because they gave birth to me on 1 March and not on 29 Feb. If that was the case, I would only manage to celebrate my birthday once every 4 years and I do not think anyone would like that. (No offense to the people whose birthday falls on 29 March)

It seems as one grows older, his birthday becomes less interesting. In my case, I was rudely awakened by my maid when she accidentally dropped something on the fall. In the end, I remained grouchy for half an hour before e-learning started. E-learning did not help much as well. There was so much work to be done and due to time constraints, I was not able to complete some of them within the period of time. After e-learning ended, I had to rush to school for training which tired me out by the time I came back home. (Yes, in case you were wondering, I had training and even now, I am surprised I actually bothered to go for it.) At night, my whole family and I went out for a meal at some restaurant before proceeding home straight after that.

However, like what I mentioned just now, just those wishes from my friends and family is enough to satisfy me.

So before I end, I would like to once again thank those whose words made my day. :)

Naturalistic Task (Research)

The Northern Mockingbird is the only mockingbird found in North America. It breeds in southeastern Canada, the United States, northern Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and the Great Antilles.
Mockingbirds have a strong prefernce for certain trees such as maple, sweetgum, and sycamore. They generally avoid pine trees after the other trees have grown their leaves. Also, they have a particualr preference for high places, such as the topmost branches of trees. Mockingbirds are often found in urban and suburban areas, where they perch on telephone poles, streetlights, or high points on buildings.
Also, the mockingbirds' willingness to nest near houses, their loud and frequent songs, and their territorial defense often annoy people.

With such information, we can conclude that either maple, sweetgum or sycamore trees grow in Maycomb since the mockingbirds are attracted to such trees. Besides this, Maycomb is also an urban area and since mockingbirds will nest near houses, it is not surprising that mockingbirds can be found in Maycomb.

Interpersonal Task (Interview)

Interviewer: Guo Yue (Me!)
Interviewee: Calista (Cousin)

GY: What are your thoughts on prejudice and discrimination?
C: Both words have similar meanings and that is to treat someone differently just because he is different from the majority.

GY: Do you agree with such actions?
C: I definitely do not. Everyone is created equal, so there should not be such issues. There should not be upper classes or lower classes, everyone should be of equal status.

GY: So this means you do not agree with what happened to Tom Robinson as well right?
C: Duh! Tom Robinson committed no crime in the first place and yet, he still had to go to jail where he ended up being shot. From this, you can know that despite being superior, a white does not necessarily mean he is right in everything he does. In the story, the whites are definitely blind, failing to differentiate right from wrong.

GY: Do you think discrimination still exists in the world today?
C: Obviously, it does. Discrimination does not only occur because of skin colour, people with disabilities or people who are less off also gets discriminated. However, the situation now is definitely better than that in the past. As you can see, America no longer have such issues. In fact, even their current president, Barack Obama, is a black as well.

GY: Do you have anything else to add?
C: Ya, I think the government in Singapore should also give equal opportunities to the Indians in Singapore. I think we are not being fair to the Indians in Singapore. Most of them are always doing manual labour while only a handful have better jobs.

GY: I do not agree with this point of yours. There are people who work in the government who are also Indians. I think it all boils down to their capabilities.
C: Fine... In this case I have nothing more to say.

GY: Thanks for you help.
C: You're welcome. :)

Learning Profile

Last year, I was required to take the Multiple Intelligence Test as well and the results are shown below:

1. Interpersonal

2. Intrapersonal

3. Logical

This year, as I took the test once again, I got another set of results

1. Interpersonal

2. Logical
2. Linguistic
2. Naturalistic
2. Visual/ Spatial

As expected, I knew that logical and interpersonal would definitely be among the top few since I like working in groups and mathematics. However, I was not very sure about the other types. Therefore, it came as a pleasant surprise when I saw that I had the same result in 4 different areas. Knowing this would definitely be of good use when mugging for tests. For example, since I am interpersonal, I would most probably learn and achieve more when revising in a group instead of alone. It can also help us save time as we are learning in a more effective way. Besides that, it will also allow us to have a greater interest in the subject. Therefore, though time-consuming, this Multiple Intelligence Test does indeed serve a greater purpose and is definitely helpful.