Students should be given more freedom in deciding school rules

The common complaint among students these days is the school rules are over restrictive, old fashion and not keeping pace with the changes around us, for example, why students cannot wear home clothes to school, why students must cut their hair when it reaches the collar line, etc. If there is a choice, we want more say in setting the school rules. On the contrary, I personally do not think it is not a good idea to give students too much freedom in setting the school rules. My reasons are simple.

Firstly, I think students up to high school level are still young and immature. Students in this age group like to go for fun stuff and do unconventional things. We have to admit that we do not think much about whether the changes will be practical and sound, also whether they will have any long term repercussions and the problems that may arise from the changes. We often think of our own needs more than the need to maintain a proper school image.

Just look at one simple example. If given a choice, many of us would vote to be allowed to wear home clothes to school. We think we know what is indecent but it is too subjective. Also, students will be comparing what they are wearing instead of focusing on their school work. Then, what will the public think of us when they see us all dolled up ?

I also do not think students in my age group will always do the right thing if we are given too much freedom. For example, in my primary school, we were not allowed to bring soccer balls to school. But my class managed to convinced my form teacher that we needed some relaxation before the PSLE and would only play for 20 minutes everyday. My form teacher finally relented but in end, we went beyond 20 minutes because it was too hard to stop in the middle of a game. If we can break such a simple promise, I really have my doubts that we will adhere to the rules that we make and to keep to all the promises that come with it.

In conclusion, I believe that the students lack the maturity and discipline to set their own school rules.

Descriptive essay on pictures of war

I looked around. It was an old and war-torn place. Buildings had cracks on them and the place was silent. Too silent for my liking. There was hardly anyone, the only people here are 3 men dragging an unconscious old man across the street. They looked anxious. Very anxious. The opposition here might have hit the man. Doesn’t look good at all, with scars and blood all over his jacket. Passers-by looked on. There was nothing they could do; the man was going to die anyways. I have seen too much of this happening since the war. Not that I was scared I would become one of them one day, but because I was disgusted. We were all Germans. Even if I didn’t know him or her, a German down would evoke that sense of disgust and feeling that I had to do something. Something to chase those pesks in our homeland away.

I looked around in the dilapidated place. It was like a black and white scene. It was all so sad, so dark and gloomy. No one could live a peaceful life here when there was war. Even a place which evoke memories and good times might turn into the place you had a last breath.

Does nuclear energy still have a part to play in this world?

Nuclear energy was introduced to reduce the amount of fossil fuels needed to generate electricity. Now that Japan's Nuclear reactor leaked, which caused a big headache not only for Japan but also for the surrounding countries, together with the Chernobyl incident in 1985, people are starting to think that nuclear energy is not a very good alternative, and that we should not have used it in the first place. I beg to defer.

Why is that so? Now, let's weigh the pros and cons and be rational about the whole issue.

First of all, we all know that fossil fuels are non-renewable. We learnt that in our primary school Science. Fossil fuels give out greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide which causes global warming. Considering that scientists around the world are warning of signs of global warming happening earlier than expected, we should be finding ways to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted, hence, it does not make any sense for us to stick to the current source of energy, which is the fossil fuels. We have to find alternative sources of energy to save the earth. As a matter of fact, nuclear energy produces less carbon dioxide and other green-house gases and can help us preserve the earth. This is based on experiments carried out by the scientists and results were proven scientifically. Thus, we have to agree that nuclear energy is a greener alternative.

Secondly, nuclear reactors are able to produce more energy, they are also more reliable and uses less space. Many of those who are against nuclear energy are likely to suggest using wind, or solar energy. However, wind and solar energy are not consistent source of energy, and they do not produce enough energy for the world. Just imagine on non-windy day, where would the energy can from ? Are we going without lights for that day? Those who argue for solar energy may say solar energy is abundant, it is there as long as there is Sun. However, solar panels are costly. Although nuclear reactors may be quite expensive, it can generate a good amount of energy and is a consistent source of energy whereas solar panels are expensive and solar energy is also not consistent on rainy and cloudy days. Another concern is space. Nuclear energy takes up very little space, compared to solar panels. If we use wind, we need to use 1% of the world's land space just to generate the energy America needs. Now imagine how much space we need to generate the energy demand for the whole world.

Thirdly, contrary to what most people think, nuclear energy is actually safe. Since the time nuclear energy is used, there are just two major nuclear plant accidents, one in Chernobyl and the other one in Japan just recently. Furthermore, the reactors used in these nuclear plants are the old models, for example, the nuclear reactors that Japan used has only one protective shell. With the state of the art technology now, we can have generators with 3-4 protective shells which will make it a lot safer to use. Another reason for the leakage in Japan is the nuclear reactors are made to withstand 7.00 magnitude of earthquake and 7m tall tsunami. But the earthquake that hit Japan recently was 9.0 in magnitude and the tsunami was 20m tall. We need to understand that Japan's nuclear reactor was made 40 years ago, with the state of the art technology now, the new nuclear reactors can be made to withstand bigger earthquake and tsunami.

Taking all the above points into consideration, I strongly believe that nuclear energy still has a part to play in this world.

References:

http://www.ted.com/talks/debate_does_the_world_need_nuclear_energy.html - TED Debate

Term 2 Online Lesson 1: Crisis in Japan

Blk 908, Teriyaki Road, #01-209,
Yuji, Hiroshima, 207-3346
13 March 2011

Dear Uncle Harry,

You must have read the headline news on Japan. Japan is in chaos after the 8.9 earthquake and tsunami that struck 2 days ago (11 March). It happened out of nowhere. It really took the whole Japan by surprise.

I was just in my apartment my parents rented and we were just listening to the news, when suddenly there was a very big tremor. We were all used to these types of tremors, but not such a big one. We started panicking and squatted under the table. We were all so scared. Vases dropped, lamps started swinging uncontrollably from the ceilings.
By the time the tremor stopped, everything was in a mess, but there were no screaming, all quiet. The silence was oppressive. We took a look outside and saw a horrible scene. Buildings had collapsed and bridges were broken, impassable roads and miles of wreckage. Then came the big hit.

We saw a huge wave coming towards us. It was not just a big wave; it was a huge wave of at least 20 meters tall. And it looked like it would swallow us. We were blank for a few seconds and by then, the wave was near us. I prayed in my heart

Fortunately, the prayers were heard. We live to see another day, or rather, live to see all the horror. It was destruction beyond words, and it is on a scale I have never seen before.

Soon, we were evacuated to a temporary site with all the survivors. Shockingly, only a few people made it, most of my neighbours were buried under the rubble.

It was really painful to see this bustling town turning into dead town in a matter of minutes. Despite all the shock Japan received, the Japanese spirit lives on. Rations came after grueling hours of waiting and although everyone was famished, we all queued in an orderly manner. No quarrels, just silence and occasional whimpers and sighs.

Right now, we are living in a temporary shelter with about 4 households. We got along well and share our rations with one another too. With the stoic Japanese spirit, we will rebuild. No doubt about it.

Yours Sincerely,
Alastair