What I Learnt

What I Learnt:)

    In the past three weeks, we had three CID lessons which taught us different stuff and all of us had to do blog work. I was elated to find that it is group work and we would have fun blogging all our feelings and reflections about the lessons. 

    On the first lesson, we were being broken up into different groups randomly and I am glad that my group mates are nice to work with. In this CID module, we would be "trained" as critical thinkers and be prepared to go on our OELP trip:)!!! As critical thinkers, we are supposed to reflect and draw lessons from different experiences. At the OELP trip, we will get to put learning into practice. 

    On the second lesson "A picture paints a thousand words", we have to understand how to gather meaning and thoughts from what we see. We must aim to  understand the importance of looking beyond just what is on the surface during reflection. Everybody makes an impression of someone in just 7 seconds thus impressions are important. But what lies underneath are the most important so we should not judge others and predict their personality. This was explained by a picture that showed 2 beggars begging for money. One of the guy beggar is called Gilbert. He looked just as healthy as anyone here and it seemed that he was just using sympathy to win compassions from others so he could get on with life. Another beggar was a woman called Deliah. She was holding a baby closely to her and begging a man for money. Immediately, I felt pitiful for her as I thought she had to handle financial problems and take care of her baby at the same time. I was sure that I would definitely donate some money to Deliah for her to live better. However, I was shocked and surprised when I found that it was actually a plot twist! Gilbert was an orphan and he worked hard to make a living for himself. He collected recyclable materials and sold them to earn money. Unfortunately, his pushcart was stolen and he just need some help from others to get back on. Furthermore, his lost one of his arm. As for Deliah, she was part of a syndicate and she had to act miserable to gain sympathy which eventually will cause others to donate money them. At the moment, I realised that it is indeed inaccurate to judge others' with their appearance which often only tells a small part of the story. It is only when we learn more about the person that we know the person's true self.

    After this lesson, we were being exposed to truth about the environment and lives of the foreign workers in Singapore. I bet everyone would have think that foreign workers lead a comfortable and "luxurious" life in Singapore and also earning an amount of money which was enough for them to get a better living in their countries. However in the video, I saw that the foreigners lived at a place that was ridiculous for someone to bear with. There were smelly water outside the "house", 10 or 20 people were being squeezed inside a small place with no certain bed, kitchen, rooms and bathrooms. Even the roof were not fixed and rain could drip through it and flood part of the house. This made me feel guilty as I always thought they were leading good life. Recently, there is a riot in India. Everybody was complaining that they are breaking peace in our country. But no one would have imagined how much sufferings had they beared with which eventually caused them to start a riot. 

    We were introduced to the elements of thought. It showed us the process of thinking we should be doing as critical thinkers. The examples of the foreign workers and beggars definitely made me learn that we should not judge others easily but instead pay more attention to small details of them. 

    On the third lesson, we had to observe the school and take pictures which shows "School Spirit", "Fear", "Happiness" and "Life". This made me realise that actually in our school, there are a lot of examples that shows the themes. All we had to do is to look around, imagine and use the elements of thought to aid us in better thinking. Then we had a group representative to present our work and ideas and we also got to enjoy others' ideas and photos.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is coming! The festival that is my favourite amongst the others. We can collect hongbaos which is my favourite part and also eat all the delicious food prepared by my relatives! Furthermore, I can meet my relatives which I can only see once in a while! I am definitely going to use this time to enjoy as much as I can:)

Colour

Red represents luck, fortune and happiness!

Symbol

I bless my relatives and wish them all the best for the new year!

Image

The only time everyone can bond and live happily ever after!:)

Teo Lian Wei Vesy (20)

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