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Monday, February 19, 2007
-7:47 PM
Term 1: Other readings
*click on the pictures to enlarge*
1. Israel 'broke US arms deal'
2. North Korea nuclear talks to resume
3. Lexington: sending more troops to Iraq
Friday, February 16, 2007
-11:06 PM
Bright Sparks
Gifted Children
The Economist: February 10th 2007
"Geniuses are made, not born." Hungarian chess-theory expert Laszlo Polgar was fond of reiterating that phrase. And as if to prove that statement, he made it a point to spend ten hours a day teaching his three daugthers the art of chess-playing. Two of the trio have attained the status of Grand Master, and the youngest is ranked world 13th; the best female chess player "of all time".
But some disagree. Instead, they spend resources finding and cultivating exceptional talent, attempting to harvest students' potential. America and Britain spend much trying to find the exceptionally gifted in their midst. Singapore falls into this category.
The cultivation of giftedness is a double-edged sword. Should a child be "gifted", there is nothing wrong with allowing him to develop his potential and be the best that he can be. To deny him that opportunity would be certainly be illogical as well as unjust. However, labelling others as "non-gifted" is equally unjust. How then to resolve this dilemma?
The logical solution would be to ensure that every child should be developed to their fullest potential, not just academically, but in whatever field their talents lie in. In many places, the "gifted" are selected based on their excellence in a very narrow skill set - academic brilliance. For those who have a different skill set, they can ideally choose a completely different programme. For example, the sports school is for those who are "gifted" in sports.
Singapore's increasingly wide range of choices for education is starting to send the message that the "gifted" are not really "gifted", they just excel in a different skill set. This message is a lot more effective than dealing with the politically sensitive issue of "giftedness" and elitism, or irate parents complaining that the gifted are arrogant and are not in touch with reality.
In a utopian society, this would be how an education system would be like. Unfortunately, resources are limited and it is just not possible to allow every child to experience the benefits of "gifted" education, even though it might be a worthy goal.
The country allocates limited resources based on whichever skills it deems the most important. For Singapore, its niche has always been that of academic excellence, and most of its resources are diverted to that area.
The main obstruction holding the entire "various areas of giftedness" scheme back is that of a lack of resources. It will definitely be a long while before we are able to nurture every child's talents whatever area it may be. Still, it shouldn't stop us trying.
(428 words)
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
-5:02 AM
Stormy weather
China and Space
The Economist: January 27th 2007
Recently, China has demonstrated its anti-satellite capability by destroying one of its own weather satellites with a ground-launched ballistic missile. This test was instantly denounced as 'provocative' by other countries, such as Japan and Taiwan. However, one of the loudest outcries was made by America, who viewed the test as a threat to US space dominance.
America has long made mountains out of molehills regarding space rights, but there is reason to believe that this time it is genuinely concerned.
Most of its condemnations have been backed up with the unspoken threat of America's military and economic might. Usually, these have been enough to allow it to get its way. However, that looks set to change. America's military strength has been greatly reduced ever since the Clinton years. It no longer has enough troops to fulfil its its commitments around the world as well as fight a war on two fronts: both the current war in Iraq as well as putting up a strong defence of its other interests (like Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and USA itself). Neither is its economy what it once was: ever since 9/11, its financial power took a blow it has yet to recover from. It no longer can use the threat of economic sanctions to influence other countries.
Even worse (for the USA), China knows it can call America's bluff. It is fully aware of America's plaguing issues and that it is unable to carry out any of its threats. As such, it has decided that it can safely ignore much of America's rhetoric. The latter's military is certainly in no shape to pose any threat to China, and China knows that America will lose out greatly if it applies a trade embargo.
Currently, America's condemnation and China's missile test are both posturing. The main difference is that China seems bent on pursuing its space programme until it becomes a real threat, whereas it remains unclear if America will actually take serious action in the near future.
(334 words)
Thursday, February 1, 2007
-1:06 AM
Hi guys,
have updated the 3C english portfolio blog list. have emailed ram to email everyone (i don't have the class list) so DISCLAIMER if you don't get it.
