Hi!Sorry I was quite busy last few days,so as a result,I did not post any blogs...Regarding the assembly in Hwa Chong on Monday,which was yesterday,we were talking about the rules in Hwa Chong : Are they too strict or too lax???
Personally,I think that the rules in Hwa Chong are O.K. and they are neither too lax nor too strict.Although this is the case,there are still some flaws about the rules in Hwa Chong.
The flaws include:
1)When I went past some Secondary 2 classrooms in the morning at about 6.45 a.m.,i could observe the Secondary 2 Hwa Chong students being very rowdy in their classrooms and they were also playing electronic games such as Playstation Portable (PSP) and on their handphones as the handphones might contain games .
The culprits should be caught red-handed when they are playing their games on eletronic devices to make them realise their mistake and their folly so that they would not continue to play their electronic devices or their handphones in their classrooms before,during and after their lessons.I think that more teachers should walk around the school to increase the chances of catching the culprits and punishing them severely.
The teachers should be assigned and designated to every level of the in the High School section of Hwa Chong's classes to patrol up and down the aisle to catch the culprits playing their electronic devices red-handed.More severe punishments should be implemented so that the students would be deterred from playing their electronic devices or their games on the handphones.
2)Students are observed to queue-cut in Hwa Chong canteen especially the upper secondary, asking their friends to allow them to enter the queue discreetly without anyone else in the queue knowing.Also, some of them come to the queue and "beg" their friends to help them to buy food while giving their friends the money to help them buy the food.This is a very common sight every day in the canteen as more and more students are cutting the queue as they see it as ordinary and they thought that there is no mistake in doing so as the upper secondary are doing so to.
My solution to solve this problem is to implement more measures such as teachers patrolling around in the canteen and if anyone cuts the queue,the teacher patrolling the canteen can go up and warn the boy that what he was doing is wrong and that he would be punished if any more other teachers see him queue-cutting .Demerit points should be given to those who cut the queue so that there would be a prevention of queue-cutting while detering others to follow suit and cut the queue .Others are so obedient and follow the queue and wait patiently for their turn .
I shall post the good side of the Hwa Chong rules by the end of this week (if possible)...
Thank You!
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Hi, I am commenting right after you told me to comment! Anyway, I think that you have to consider putting yourself in the shoes of the teachers, or Dr Hon himself, when commenting on the school rules. I agree that everything you pointed out are obvious flaws, but do you think that the solutions you gave were feasible? Would you like it if you were the teacher told to give up most of your lunch or break time to patrol the canteen, looking out for queue cutters, and drooling at the sight of you favourite food, bu tunable to eat it? How about giving up your precious sleep time, to wake up earlier in the morning to patrol the classes? And by suggesting the implementation of these rules, are you implying that you have low or no confidence in the independence and obedience of our fellow school mates? I am sure that Dr Hon had thought it through thoroughly before setting the school rules.
ReplyDeleteyou said that teachers ahould be assigned to catch the pupils red-handed for playing games. I don't see anything wrong with playing games when there is no lessons just to kill time. If we are not allowed to play games on our mobile phones, then life at hwa chong would be very miserable.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the rationale behind prohibiting fun outside of class. I guess 0645 has been designated reading time or time that should be dedicated to preparing for the day ahead?
ReplyDeletePerhaps communal responsibility could be the answer, if it really is necessary to enforce this regulation. The class as a whole takes responsibility for making sure no-one 'plays electronic games' and if anyone were to be found, by say a teacher, to be breaking this regulation, the entire class would face consequences. This has worked well in microfinance where communities take responsibility for the loans of each individual.
Regarding "Queue-cutting", I believe that unless there is clear evidence of bullying (psychological or physical) taking place, students in line should, well, take care of themselves. The school stepping in here would be too interventionist. The canteen should be a social environment where students have the opportunity to learn about the rules of life. Friends WILL get you into places, its always been that way, and its best that be learnt earlier.
Its fantastic that as a new student you've taken such a strong interest in how your school is run, is there a forum of sorts where you can discuss your points of view with members of staff who deliberate on policy?
As a final thought, I agree with Elvis that, of course, it'll be a hassle for teachers to implement any form of 'constant monitoring'. If you truly believe that your solutions are the answer though, it'd be best to seek out a member of staff who is
a) obsessed with discipline & order
b) eager to go the 'extra-mile' to impress his peers and superiors
To CHEN DENG HANG ( 1P402 ),
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement , " I don't see anything wrong with playing games when there is no lessons just to kill time. If we are not allowed to play games on our mobile phones, then life at hwa chong would be very miserable." But if they play games when it is after school,when they should be back at home, revising through their work that day and doing their homework, then their moral values instilled in them is wrong.Shouldn't they be more hardworking,and the Hwa Chong motto( correct me if I am wrong) Do not give up. They should not be playing immature games,but be a Hwa Chong gentleman and study??? Thank you for your comments.
I certainly agree with you, Sean, that those students should be caught red-handed. After all, playing PSPs in the morning is not appropriate. However, if you ask teachers to patrol the classes, don't you think that that students will say bad things about teachers again such as "Why are they so domineering?" etc. Do you have a better solution? Maybe you would like to consider other alternatives such as putting up security cameras? (I do not know if it is feesible too) Maybe some of the boys think that those are fun and interactive games, helping them get less stressed?
ReplyDeleteForgot to sign off.
ReplyDelete-Joshua
Yes, i agree with you when you say that they should be more hardworking. But is there a need to ban everybody from playing games on mobile games just because a few people abuse their freedom. Are u saying that just because a few people come into the auditorium sweaty and smelly and just because of that, the whole sec 1 level shall not have their assembly in the auditorium anymore?? What has " do not give up " have to do with playing games. Students are playing games to relieve themselves of stress and for the fun of it. It doesn't mean that they are giving up on themselves. You sholud not say that as it is very unfair to others.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that that is a very good suggestion, as as Elvis has said, the teachers are human after all. they need their lunch breaks and relaxation time to chill after several periods of non-stop lectures (or screaming), and they also need their rest after marking your tests for 4 hours straight up to 3 o' clock am. They are humans, NOT robots!
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, i do not see a reason why we should not de-stress ourselves during our free times. In the first place, there is nothing wrong with playing electronic games IN YOUR FREE TIME. The only reason why we "should not" bring electronic games to school is that the teachers fear that we might lose these valuable possessions, which might cost up to $500 for one. Other than that, they may also fear that the students might get distracted during lessons. This is why the school is against these items.
Therefore, my take is that as long as the students know when to play and when not to, there is nothing wrong with playing these games. If we are responsible enough for our own valuables, I dont see why the school should impose this unneccecary and unfair (to teachers) rule.
-Lim Mingxia 1o113
To my friend,Lim Mingxia 1o113---
ReplyDeleteI disagree with what you say-'In the first place, there is nothing wrong with playing electronic games IN YOUR FREE TIME.'
Although it is alright to play games in your free time,but this is a prestigious school,and during the free time,we should study and not play.When you play games,your brain will be very active. So ,when you are studying and when lessons have started ,you will still be thinking about what you had played just now on the PSP.This will affect your concentration in class and you will not be able to absorb some of the important notes that your teacher was focusing on.
What if those students are addicted to PSP's' and they do not know when they should be playing and when to stop, won't that be awful??Their school results will detioriarate and in the end whos is the one who loses out? It is the addicts as they will be put into the 'O' level class.I hope that you will think over my point and comment on my blog again.
To my friend, Ong Sean 1P1(??)
ReplyDeleteAre you suggesting that it is illegal to play such games if you are in a prestigious school? The thing is, we are trusted to manage our time well and know when to do what. If you are a responsible enough student and know your priorities, you will be more balanced in all aspects amd will do the right things at the right time. Yes, it is true that we are encouraged to learn independently, as we have AcE and all sorts of stuff, but one cannot devote his whole school life studying and doing projects and whatsoever. There will be a point where one feels stressed out and needs to relax. That is where games come in, as a de-stresser. My point is, that if the student feels that he has studied enough for his tests and feels that he has done enough, there is no reason not to play electronic games. IT IS NOT WRONG AT ALL!
Next, you speak of addiction, but do you know how hard it is for addiction to occur? Addiction only occurs when a player plays so regularly that it becomes routine and he cannot stop playing. Sure, being a gamer, i would agree that some games like DoTA are really addictive. however, even though i play these games, you don't see me locking myself up in the room and playing my games 24/7 right? You say that when addiction occurs, the school results will detoriate as THEY CANNOT STOP PLAYING. In actual fact, that is one of the most serious stages of addiction and is very hard to get there...
Therefore, above all, the point that i would like to state is that so long as students can manage their time well, playing video games is perfectly ok. In Hwa Chong, we are given the chance to be more independent. Though it is true that those serious cases will really deprove and all, and i cannot argue that gaming has a certain minor side effect on the mind, as long as we balance play and work, The student will be more all-rounded in a sense that he is good in his studies and he has relaxation time too. Isn't this kind of situation that Dr Hon always suggests to us? a WIN-WIN situation? What are your views?