Yale-NUS

Dear world,

Has anyone read The Straits Times? Apparently there will be a Yale-Nus collaboration here in Singapore, where liberal arts will the the main focus of the new campus. Not a bad idea right?

However, several Yale professors believe that this collaboration comprimises Yale’s values and beliefs. The main Yale campus is situated in the United States which has a more liberal approach to freedom of expression as compared to Singapore. This does not restrict the U.S  campus from educating students in an open environment. However, how will the same courses function in a completely different social context?

Well, I am not too sure. Surely not many simillar issues can be discussed or questioned as openly in Singapore as compared to the U.S. that is for sure. Liberal arts is suppose to give students a more in depth view of the world, and have many prespectives, which benefits students. Singapore also becomes a hub for education in which internation students may flock to Singapore just to persure a Yale-NUS education. Asian will eventually benefit. As this campus becomes bigger and more popular, cohorts will grow bigger over the years and the labour force will be more open to internation events.

However, is Yale on the losing end? They gain a partner when venturing into Asian teritory. They encourage more students in Asia to persue a liberal arts course. They may (or may not) be influencing the future of Asia in the economic world. But now are their beliefs really comprimise?

It may seem this way. Singapore is relatively more conservative than U.S.A. (sociology students would get upset by this statement). Thinking is slightly different, breaking our ideologies may be a challenge. However, I do not completely undertand why Yale would be disadvantaged by this. Call me biased but wouldn’t we( the asians) be disadvanged. By my understanding, some of the Yale professors have willingly agreed to teach in the new campus. What if some of their ideologies clash with the ones students have? Possible conflict may be. I doubt so. May be a heated debate. Professors are there to help with simulation of the brain. Not give answers.

…

I think if they offer a theatre course, I will like to apply.

UK increase in uni fees

Dear world,
If you do not know, I am not a UK citizen and hence will not be complaining about the increase in university fees in the UK.( international students would still pay full fees… That’s if I was going to UK. But I’m not)
So you do not need click the X on your browser. No complaints about the UK parliament here.
But I was on twitter and I searches ‘university fees’ and everyone spammed the same few messages, asking the same few questions, had plans to walk out on classes on Wednesday at 11am local time etc etc.
I would like to politely inform all the UK students that I feel frustrated as well, but not for the same reason they feel frustrated.
You may think ‘you will never be a UK citizen so you don’t understand ‘ but hear me out.
I may not understand, yes, because even subsidized tuition fees here are rather high ( higher then UK anyways) and £9000 may seem like a reasonably cheap price to pay for an education in university and I still stand by the fact that it still is considerably cheap to get a degree. Slightly over $10000 Singapore dollars if my maths is accurate. (Singapore dollar is strong now, so this might increase in coming months).
I am also trying to understand the UK system alil bit more. Most of the tuition fees are tax payer’s money and in fact most things in UK are paid with tax ( if my sources are accurate). I am not condemning this system but I do not entirely agree with it (neutral stand, don’t want to interfere too much with politics) but I think, there are always two sides to this story.
The students strongly strongly believe in their right of an education, and I will not deny them that right. But a free education in a materialistic world? Nothing in a materialistic world is free. It either has been already paid for or is highly subsidized. but yes, education is very important and you have your right to one. But there is this arguement that came across BBC news and twitter post. One girl on BBC that was interviewed or made a comment or something, well, she said my parents had a free university education, they should be paying the taxes for mine ( trying to remember this from memory) and someon on twitter commented that scottland had free education, why should the UK students have to pay.
I am sorry, no matter how much I try and remember the girl, I keep thinking it was a void argument. it made no real sense. As for the second one, well, that is life for you. If that is the cast I should be arguing that my education should be free too. Most Singapore students do take Cambridge exams.
And well, the government has to do this, to an extent. With the financial crisis several months ago that still affected several countries, the government must make more money than it gives to the people before becoming bankrupt. Then students really will have something to protest about.
Well people feel social injustice, they do not sit back and think. They are just filled with emotion. That was why the protests ended up being violent.
Hope UK hangs in there.
Regards,
Cheyenne

Does Complex equal simple?

Dear World,

Watch this video first please!

Complex does not equal to complicated.

Interesting concept. I also liked how he explained everything in three minutes and 28 seconds.

I, personally like complex ideas and situations because then I can take the time to solve them and have some fun, (yeah…I know I might be weird!). But you need to understand. Complex situations just means there is a lot of mess behind the actual problem.  Everything is just very simple. People just make a mess of simple things, making them complicated and visually complex.

Note: VISUALLY COMPLEX! Re-watch the video if you must. He had this mind map stuff or atom like stuff and he made them smaller or more condense and precise. You could understand how to solve the problem.

It makes very good sense if you think about it. I just thought I share it with you.

Those who can’t teach review

Originally staged in 1990, Director Alvin Tan and Playwirght Haresh Sharma returned to reinvent and revamp the play into a comtemporary classic. The Play revloves around a particular teacher’s experiences and branches out to her fellow educators, her students her personal life and the personal lives of those around her. Various Themes were explored such as Teacher-Parent relationships, self-discovery, the need to fit in and the idea of elitism among both teachers, students and the entire education system.
The orriginal set was of a staff room. There were elevated platforms from centre stage right all the way to center stage left and down stage left which elevated the tables and chairs in the respective areas. Down stage centre there was a long table as well. Along the cyclorama, lifted about 2 meters of the ground were white sign boards with a few of them suggesting what the education system is all about. Along the play, there were several set changes, platforms were rolled out and replaced with other platforms with other types of furniture like sofa’s or louge chair to suggest a change in scene. Most scene changes were shown through these set changes. Lighting and sound played more major parts when required, for example a purple light was used to indicated that Mrs Phua was dreaming about teaching in an elite school and having perfect students or when prom came about or Ms Hana’s wedding was being performed.

As for acting, there is no way to really compare anything. Everyone had strong characterisation considering 4 out of the 5 cast members played multiple roles, everyone had a strong pressence on stage and each showed how their respective characters transitioned. It is something I think I can take back, having a strong transition and showing how my character develops over time. The one person who had suffient amount of ‘airtime’ to show this was Ian Tan’s character, Tek Liang. His character transitioned from a smart bad boy to a smart boy without his original girlfriend and feeling empty inside. His greatest transition was in Act 2 where the signboards along the cyclorama suggested how the education system may not be suitable or there was a lack of education for some students.

If there was a lesson- a life lesson- that I learnt by watching this performance was when Jali got his O level results in Act 1 and his teacher, Mrs Phua says that he should resit the O levels after failing and one day her will return and thank her and all his teacher and later in Act 2 about 15 years later, he comes back to see his teacher, Mrs Phua and explains that he did take the O levels again and failed…again and he went on to to several jobs that fit his qualifications, showing how the education system and exams may not be the way to be considered successful. And it is sad that there are people no matter how much they believe in themselves and work hard.

talents are yours

Hey world,

so I am currently in Tampines Junior College and if any JC students are wondering what my combination is, it’s H2 chem, math and theatre studies and H1 bio. To the rest of the world that didnt understand the above combination just know that I take Theatre studies (TS).

My College has ‘ asked’  everyone to purchase the book ” the 7 habits of highly effective teens’  by sean covey.

They have also ‘ asked’  us to read it. Now, I am reading it for some hope that it will help me in some way in my life.

After reading through the first …oh….30 pages or so, it has.

This morning before drama cca ( not TS lesson) I was reading a page on finding and developing your talents. Now ladies and gentleman, if you recall in my secondary school days, I was indirectly told that I could not act ( but I am not that stupid to believe a word the person said). I love acting. I love the stage. However in 2008 I tried my hand at co-directing a school play and even directing the passion play in my church for the year 2009.

I loved it. it was fun. To an extent, even more fun than acting.

So after reading that section, it made me think ‘ Do I really want to be a cast member for this year’s Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Competition?’ Now we have the option of becoming a crew member.

So this morning I swapped. And I came back early. giving my mother a shock. She didn’t take the news….as well as I thought she would. I will admit that I originally wanted to be crew and one rehearsal, the instructor pointed to me and said you’ll be the boss! I was in cast.  I kept thinking of changing and even my friend said he wanted to switch from cast to crew so we did it together this morning.

I felt kinda happy and like this burden was lifted off me. I know there is an acting component in TS and I know I will have to act but I wanted to oppertunity to explore other areas. I will improve my acting to the best of my abilities. However I dont want to deny my chance of exploring other possibilities and other areas .

I think it will be fun.

I hope everyone finds and develops a talent. ANY TALENT.

just as long as you are happy, I am happy

The scary adult world awaits….

Hey….fast and enhanced adult world.

I am Cheyenne. I am 16 and I am SCARED AS HELL.

There are many reasons to why I am scared as hell. Firstly, my school posting results are out in about 10.25 hours from now. That would be 8am on the 27th of January Singapore local time that the Ministry of Education releases the posting results. I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN GET INTO THE SCHOOL(S) OF MY CHOICE!!!!!!!!!!! Secondly, I have another fear concerning the school(s) of my choice. You see, I am eligible to enter a Junior College( JC) where it is compulsory for me to take Malay as a subject. If you haven’t been following my blog, or if I have yet to mention it then I will mention it now. I SUCK AT MY MOTHER TONGUE! Finally my mum told me I might not be able to study in an overseas university because we might not afford it.

NOW I AM SCARED AS HELL. I want to cry so much. Not that I hate Singapore Universities. I just really want to get out of this country. Plus there are universities that offer me better Drama or Marine Biology courses. I am currently looking at scholarships. I AM 16 AND I AM LOOKING FOR SCHOLARSHIPS!!!!!

There are other options. I am looking for a part time job. I am scared to death as it is and I don’t mind tutoring little kids to help fund my college courses. I don’t want to commit to a job just yet. I don’t know what my timetable is like until I enter a school (which I hope is soon).

I feel like a kid living in an adult world. My parents tell me don’t grow up too fast but the fact of the matter is that I have to. I can’t survive in this world without ‘ growing up fast’ . The harsh reality is hitting me hard, and I am not even facing the worst of it yet. I should have taken up a job.

I think when I am all settled, I’ll apply to a tuition center.

I am a kid living in an adult world. I wanted to grow up fast. I wanted to be free and I wanted to be extremely adult. Now I wish time would stop. Just for me. I don’t want to grow up any more.

I am scared for what the world will bring to me.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t turn 16…..

Lots of luck,

Cheyenne

The way of Tattoos

Today I went to the Tattoo convention at expo. Today was the last day of the convention and I went and I saw loads of people getting tattoos making tattoos and browsing tattoos. I am that person browsing!

But the number of people there, the booths. It was amazing. And the different types of tattoos and the different cultures coming together. There was the mordern way of doing tattoos and the traditional way and everything around me just screamed culture. Everything just went wow. I was filled a hall with people and experiences and who are artist and who put art on their bodies. It amazed me their commitment to such an art. An art which is often not looked highly upon.

I adore that people come together and celebrate what they love and bring to the table new ideas, images, cultures.

I don’t know why tattoos aren’t really highly looked upon in society but if you look at it differently, there is a purpose and reason to why people want art on their bodies. It is a whole new way of admiring.

I am planning to get one….when I am legal of course…right now too many ideas floating in my head on what to do but I am planning to do a small one.

My future, my choice

Today I went out with my cousins and my friend, Dhivya but only one cousin ( plus Dhivya) had dinner with me at Singapore flyer.  We had a discussion about my future. Upon getting my O level results, I will have to make a choice. A junior Collage(JC)? A polytechnic? Singapore School of the Arts(SOTA)? Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts(NAFA)? Private Arts school?

When I am looking at JCs, she asked me why waste my time? Polytechnic is a wonderful route. And if you are interested in drama, enter SOTA.( note: I am tired!!! I don’t remember all the words to that conversation.what she really said isn’t the above…its just paraphrased).

I just got ticked off. She is in Normal Academic Stream which does 5 years of Secondary School so she heads back tomorrow while I did 4 years in the Express stream ( Singaporean NA readers this is not discrimination! I am just explaining to others who do not fully get our education system).

I don’t know. I don’t know what I want to really do. I mean I am at a crossroads and I don’t want to regret anything and I have been taking my time with this decision.

I just got an application for a scholarship. It is in engineering but I am not fully interested in that.

I don’t know. I think everyone should stop worrying about everyone else’s futures and worry about their own.

I forgive my cousin if anyone like wants to know. I can’t stay mad at her for long.:)

Muslim shot when attempted to assasinate cartoonist

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/01/muslim-shot-outside-of-danish-cartoonist-kurt-westergaards-home.html

Just read the above link.Then read my post.

Sigh.

The world is just pissing me off. AND I DON’T BLAME THE MUSLIM DUDE.

What history we do not learn we will repeat.

This happened in ….world war 2 if  I am not wrong. Where pictures of the Jews were drawn to make fun of them and mock them.

SAME THING.  If you draw a bomb coming out of Muhammad’s head, someone will get pissed off and want to kill you. SO no I don’t totally blame the 3 Muslim guys that wanted to kill him. He aroused the feelings of them to piss them off so much that they would want to kill him.

Agreed, they properly should not have tried to kill him but if you look at it. If you are a Muslim guy and you try to walk up to this Cartoonist house to talk to him, you will already look suspicious and he might stop the drawings.  We also have to remember that these people are extremist and not all Muslims are like this although the drawings are rather …well I have no idea how to describe the drawings. I just know this Kurt dude put himself on the list of people the extremist Muslims want to kill.

I think if I show my best friend those cartoons she would want to give Kurt a good talking to. And trust me my best friend is not an extremist but she’ll woop your ass if you insult her religion.

We are just Ordinary People

Before I begin, let me just ask you all something. Did 2009 seem to past by fast? Through out 2009 I felt the earth spinning faster. Everything just seemed to go really fast and there was no time to stop.

A couple of days ago I bought the soundtrack of FAME with my Christmas money. I saved the soundtrack on my laptop and into my Ipod nano. There is one song that I can’t help but constantly listen to. Ordinary people by Asher Book.

We’re just ordinary people
We don’t know which way to go
’cause we’re ordinary people
Maybe we should take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we’ll take it slow (Take it slow oh oh ohh)
This time we’ll take it slow

Above is the lyrics from the chorus. It is actually a love song. But the chorus is amasing.We are Ordinary people. We need to take it slow. Think about 2009 for a little bit please. Did it not go by fast for you? Did you rush through anything?WHY? We are people. Not robots. There is nothing to rush. We humans rush like crazy to save time and with all the saved up time we have, we just waste it on TV or something really lame. We need to slow down.

To all the working folk, calm down. Settle deals slowly this year. A rushed brain lowers productivity. Do things slowly and well and be done with it. Not do it fast and then it ends up to be crappy.

To students, including those in Polys, Universities, Pre-U or other standards, in exams take your time. Don’t rush. You miss stuff out when you rush through everything then you don’t do well. What is the point?

To everyone, let 2010 be meaningful. Let it have a slow pace so that you get the job done and can smell the wonderful roses at the same time. We have to enjoy 2010 and yet we do not understand why.

I dare each and every person here to slow down for 2010. Take time to breathe. You have to let your brain think for a little while and slow down. You are an Ordinary person. NOT A SUPER COMPUTER

We are Ordinary People. To my fellow Ordinary People, ‘this time we will take it slow’

With my regards

Cheyenne Phillips