3_Isabel+Tay

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**__ Component 3 __** 1. I agree that gender inequality is still prevalent in the world. Many females in many different countries like Africa, India and Indonesia are still not able to undergo a complete education. They are often made to stay at home to perform household and agricultural chores. Cleaning the house, preparing the food, looking after their siblings, the elderly and sick, collecting firewood and grazing the cattle are just some of the tasks they have to perform. Households are therefore reluctant to spare them for schooling. For instance, in many areas of Afghanistan, girls are often taken out of school when they hit puberty. Cultural factors related to the correctness of sending girls to school when they hit puberty. Cultural factors related to the correctness of sending girls to school, reluctance to send girls and boys to the same school all contribute to the slowing down of the enrolment of girls in schools. Likewise the enormous lack of female teachers, who are important to a country where girls cannot be taught by a man after a certain age, is having a negative impact on girl’s education. Literacy rates among young Afghan women are disturbingly low. Only 18 per cent of women between 15 and 24 can read. While the total number of children enrolled in primary schools is increasingly tremendously, the percentage of female students is not. Also in India, the girl is made to perform household chores and many other tasks like collecting firewood and taking care of the animals. Thus, their parents are unwilling to send them to school. Physical safety of the girls, especially when they have to travel a long distance to school and fear of sexual harassment are other reasons that impede girls’ education. 2. Another aspect where there is gender inequality is the aspect of job opportunities. In the context of the developing world, lack of education has forced many women into the risky “informal” economy as street traders, home workers, domestic servants and seasonal labourers. This is turn reflects a continuing belief that there is little benefit in educating a girl when she could be working in the fields or market place. Although economically productive to society, once again, women’s work, if they get the opportunity at all, is rarely recognised in official statistics and the women often get no protection from unions or employment legislation. Just as the women’s domestic work is undervalued, so are their skills in the world of employment. An example is in Africa, where women were poorly-paid, and mostly working in low-skilled sectors of the economy. There are exhausting 18-hour days in unsafe and unhealthy conditions, along with sexual harassment and lack of job security. The gap separating men and women in the job market remains wide in many countries. Women have a lower employment rate, are unemployed longer, paid less and have less secure jobs.

3. One other aspect is politics. Many women have lack of education. Thus, they can neither read nor write. This deprives them of job opportunities, let alone politics. Of the 1.2 billion people in the world living in extreme poverty, 70 percent are female, so their health conditions are worse, giving them absolutely no chance to fight to be in Parliament. One example is Europe. Women in Europe have less access to parliamentary and executive power as they are less educated, have fewer jobs and are less wealthy than men. The underlying reasons for gender inequality can be found in the patriarchal structure of the cultural background of almost every ethnicity, nation or people. Also, most religious communities give more power to men than to women. Lots of Europeans think that gender inequality is not as much of a problem in our generation. Another example is when in 1995 delegates meeting at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing set themselves the goal of achieving 30 percent female representation in global parliaments. At that time, the figure was around the 11 percent mark. Fifteen years on in 2010 the target still remains untouched. Furthermore, male candidates are often better equipped than female candidates. They are richer and have better networks to support them. That makes the majoritarian system more difficult for women, who generally get less support from their parties. So until nations are able to address this is issue of gender inequality and resolve it, the vicious cycle of poverty will continue to pervade.

After revision 23.5/30

   **__Component 4__** 1. It may be argued that being able to tell lies occasionally is important to maintain a healthy relationship. However, telling lies in a relationship can cause a person to feel disrespected. I have always been a firm believer that honesty is the best policy, especially when it comes to healthy, intimate relationships. Being lied to causes a lack of vulnerability and a sense of being betrayed and this will make the person feel disrespected. The last thing you would feel is the desire to be intimate with your significant other whom you do not trust. Time and forgiveness only may heal the wounds of the broken trust, but it will take time for the heart to be fully mended. The most important and intimate relationships are built on trust and respect and without these two important ingredients, the relationship is doomed to suffer if not fail. Once you lie to someone who cares for you, they would look at everything you say with suspicion never quite knowing whether they can take you at face value or not. The person who is telling the lie may have done so out of a fear of losing the respect of the person that they have lied to. Even so, they don't realise that it is extremely difficult to continue respecting someone who lies to you. For example, a woman may say that she is an accomplished pianist, when in reality she only knows how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Her husband marries her thinking that she can play the piano. However, she doesn't really see that as a problem. It was just a small lie after all. But what if, at a party, her husband has been bragging about her awesome piano-playing skills. If his friends find out that his wife in fact is not an accomplished piano player, they would think that he was the liar and thus he would lose the respect his friends. Furthermore, telling lies in a relationship can also cause hurt. Nothing feels worse than being lied to, especially when the person lying to you is someone you care about. When the person you love lies to you, it is as though they are stabbing a knife through the heart of your relationship. Each time they lie, the knife is twisted more and more. For example, a married man has an affair outside and he keeps this from this wife in order to spare her pain. However his wife would feel terribly hurt when she finds out. Her husband’s intent was good. But in actual fact he left her open to more pain. Thus, no matter the cost, truth however how hard it is to face is always the best.

2. It may be argued that it is better to be a student in our parents' time as students nowadays have to face too much stress. However, everything changes over time and the peculiarities of one generation are not the same as those of the previous or next. We differ from our parents in life-style, knowledge and way of thinking. In our parents' time, there were a number of low-income families. Usually, both parents in a family would have to go to work just to make ends meet. The money earned would usually have to be used to pay for other things like electricity bills and water bills. So, most of the students would have to walk to school as they could not afford to take the public bus. Lack of money also meant very little breakfast for the students. They would have to go to school on an empty stomach and they would not have the energy to pay attention in class, let alone remember anything that the teacher has taught them. This will cause them to be stressed as they have to worry about the financial problems in their family and the problems they have with their studies. But today, although there are still quite a number of low-income families, there are various organisations that can help the families. Like the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund which gives pocket money to the students. With these organisations, the students would be free from worrying about their family's financial problems. Furthermore, in the past if you failed big examinations such as PSLE, you would have to drop out of school. You would then have to fret about what you are going to do or work as in the future. But with your lack of education, your job choices would be extremely limited. But now, if you happened to fail you can go to Northlight School or Assumption Pathway School. There are also many other specialised schools like the Singapore Sports School, School Of The Arts and School of Science and Technology. With such a wide array of choices, it is almost impossible for the student not a have a complete education. With a complete education, you would be able to have a better choice of jobs and there would be no stress about choosing a job in the future.

3. It may be argued that organ trading should be allowed in Singapore as nothing could be more important than saving a life. However, I beg to differ. There is a possibility that the donors’ health may be affected. There are also numerous risks that may endanger the patient. Old age and other co-morbidity of the patient can significantly increase the surgical risk to the patient and reduce the chance of a successful transplant. That is why only about a third of 600 patients are suitable for kidney transplant and can only potentially benefit from the transplant option. The other 400 will have to depend on kidney dialysis. Organ transplants will entail a certain risk for the donor. A national survey done by surgeons at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham discovered that out of 29 patients, who had bought kidneys, half of them failed and a third of them died. There is always a possibility that the donor’s health may be affected, especially with kidney transplants. Certain patients may suffer from fatigue and the other debilitating symptoms associated with patients with only one functioning kidney. Furthermore, selling organs will not help people lift themselves from destitution. In the bazaars of India and Pakistan, people sell kidneys and pay off debts, but then the average family incomes decline by more than a third. More live below the poverty line and 86 per cent report deterioration in their health. Thus, organ trading should not be allowed in Singapore.

After revision: 23/30

**__ Component 5 __** ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ This means that if a person has no time off from work, he becomes both bored and boring. The same thing goes for students like us. If we were to do nothing else but study, won’t it make us really boring?

I do not agree that attending Co-Curricular Activities and being involved in Community Involvement Programmes are a waste of time. Being involved in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes teaches students to be better citizens. In today’s highly competitive world, we have to bear a lot of mental stress and also have to get involved in so many things in order to acquire knowledge. This is where Co-Curricular Activities play a very significant role. Being only brilliant in academics doesn’t help a student become a responsible citizen of that country. A student should also be equally talented in other fields and even if not, they should at least pay some interest in them. It’s because being both academically and talented in various areas helps a student to face the challenges of the world. There is no doubt that academics are the priority in a student’s life but it would be very wrong to say that Co-Curricular Activities are a kind of hindrance to academic excellence. Students don’t go to school only to study but also go there to show their potentiality in other fields. Moreover, I think it fully depends on how the student manages both his study and other activities schedule. Thus, a student should be equally talented in studies and Co-Curricular Activities at the same time in order to be a responsible student. If a student goes for beach cleaning, he would have to pick up litter that other people have thrown. Therefore, it would inculcate good values in a person. He would learn to be responsible and take initiative. So next time when he sees litter on the ground, he would immediately pick it up and he would also think twice before littering and would not litter as he would know how it is like to pick up litter. An opinion survey conducted in July 2009 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for Shell Oil Company found that the respondents felt that the top two goals for schools should be teaching values such as responsibility, respect and honesty and teaching students how to reason and think well and all these come from participating in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes. Another study conducted by the Public Agenda released in June 2008 found that more than six in ten adults said that the youngsters’ failure to learn values such as honesty, respect and responsibility is a very serious problem. Only 37-percent believe that today’s children, once they’re grown, will make United States a better place. Those polled also said greater availability and use of school programmes like Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes will help students become better and more responsible citizens. So, we are actually helping the students in the long-run.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes also build the students’ character. The most important life skill is the ability to work cooperatively with others. Participation in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes helps kids to learn to work as a team and teaches them the responsibility of showing up on time. But most importantly, it gives them a positive place to be with their friends and stay out of trouble. They also provide opportunities for students to exercise leadership and to take the initiative themselves. These experiences make them more attractive to universities and potential employers. The National University of Singapore Volunteer Network conducted a university wide survey in 2009 to find out key trends and attitudes in under graduate volunteering. The online survey elicited 3143 responses. 6 out of 10 students felt that Community Involvement Programmes in schools are useful in exposing them to community service. Also, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre believes that Con-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes should be part of every school’s curriculum. Integral to building values in youth, service projects connect students to the wider community.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes helps students build their social skills. When a student goes for Community Involvement at an old folk’s home or an orphanage he will have to interact with the old folks or children, this will improve his communication. It will also improve one’s confidence as he interacts with different people. The same goes for Co-Curricular Activities when one makes new friends. Schools like Raffles Girls’ Secondary and Bedok South Secondary have long-term Co-Curricular Activity and Community Involvement collaborations with Special Olympics Singapore and Very Special Arts’ Singapore respectively, to create opportunities for their students to interact and help each other. Yumin Primary School also has an on-going Community Involvement collaboration with the Japanese School (Primary) since 2000. They organise and Immersion Programme every year for the Primary 5 and 6 students. These collaborations are beneficial as they will help to build the students’ communication skills and their self-confidence as they interact and make more friends. It may be argued that academic curriculum is much more important and must continue to be given more status in schools and colleges than Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes. However, in a way they both can enable a student to have better grades and attendance. In addition, Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes can give one an opportunity to take a break from his busy life and helps him to relieve stress. I would like to reiterate on my point that ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ If you keep working you would then become really ‘dull’ and no fun at all. In a 2008 survey, John Chevrette and Kenneth Patranella concluded from an investigation in San Antonio, Texas that educational outcomes related to scholastic performance are enhanced for those secondary students who participate in these activity programmes. A study of 3536 students found that pupils who participated in more than one activity during a semester tend to experience higher academic performance levels than others. Also, the National Centre for Education Statistics reports that students who participate in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programmes have better school attendance, higher levels of achievement and higher aspirations to pursue further education. Moreover, to get the highly prestigious Lee Kong Chian Scholars Programme, you have to have a substantial record of Co-Curricular Activity and/or Community Service involvement. You also have to have outstanding academic results, demonstrated leadership and communication skills and these come from active participation in Co-Curricular Activities and Community Involvement Programme.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">Many students do not take advantage of the extra-curricular opportunities. They do not know what they are missing. They could gain a lot of benefits from them and learn numerous things that cannot be learnt from textbooks and while being confined in a classroom.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 105%;">After revision: 26/30

<span style="display: block; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"> E- LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
 * //<span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 14pt;">Topic: Is it a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools? // ||

Perform a quick research on the functions and abilities of avatars. Based on the information you have found, consider whether these functions are sufficient to meet the skills and abilities required of a teacher in schools. Are there any areas where avatars are unable to replace humans as teachers? (10-15 mins) Finally, write down __what you think__ are the advantages and disadvantages of using avatars as teachers. (15 mins) Advantages: 1. Robots allow for the combination of many different modalities of sensing. A robot can see through its vision system, hear through a set of microphones, and even sense touch through a sensitive skin system. Additionally, the physical embodiment in the real human world allows for a very unique experience, one in which the robots own illusion of life is greatly compelling to the person interacting with the robot. If the robot is connected to the Internet with appropriate software systems, entirely new forms of communication can emerge with the robot acting as the communication channel between two people Examples/evidence: 2. In the first example, robots can be used for social communication between family members who are separated by great distances, such as grandparents who live far from their grandchildren, a child who is sick in a hospital far from family members, or even a parent who is away on a business trip. In the latter case, the robot is in the child’s home and connected to the Internet through a wireless connection. The parent accesses the child’s robot through a secure website that displays a live video feed of the child’s face through the eyes of the robot. A live audio feed from the robots microphones allows the parent to hear his or her child through the ears of the robot. Additionally, other sensor information is displayed to the parent to allow them to understand how the child is interacting with the robot, such as how they are holding the robot or where they are touching it. The parent is also able to remotely control the robot and have a conversation with their child through the embodied robot. Examples/evidence: 3. The second example is one focused on education. Here the robot sits next to the child either in a school setting or at home. Both the child and the robot are in front of a computer screen, upon which the educational lesson is presented. A remote teacher, anywhere in the world, teaches the child through the robot via its web-enabled interface. A child interacting with a robot in this way may show similar behaviour to those children who read to dogs in the Reading with Rover program. This program has shown that children perform better when they read to a dog than to an adult stranger because the child feels less anxiety. Perhaps a smaller, non-threatening robot character may provoke a similar response. Also, because the teacher is in control of the robot at all times, the teacher is able to respond to a child veering from the lesson or asking a spontaneous question.

Disadvantages: 1. Having robot avatars will not change the real-life situations. It will just help us to live situations where we cannot be together. Furthermore, robot avatars cannot have feelings or emotions. Examples/evidence: 2. Imagine robots working in hospitals. Will the robot avatars show care and concern to the patients Imagine intelligent machines employed in creative fields. The robot will not excel in such fields. Thinking machines lack a creative mind. Human beings are emotional intellectuals. They think and feel. Their feelings guide their thoughts. Thus, they would be able to show care and concern they were working in hospitals unlike robots. Examples/evidence: 3. If robots begin replacing humans in every field, it may lead to unemployment. People will be left with nothing to do. Empty time may result in its destructive use. Thinking machines will govern all the fields and populate all positions pre-occupied by people.

Your views: (15 mins) Based on your list of advantages and disadvantages, decide on your own position. Write one paragraph to explain why you prefer one side over the other. Support your views with strong reasoning as well as examples, evidence and/or illustrations.
 * After discussing both sides, I do not agree that it is a good idea to use avatars to replace humans as teachers in schools. The robot avatar cannot have any feelings or emotions. Thus it cannot fully interact with the student and students need to have a holistic education. When students grow up and enter into the working world, they do not only need to be smart, they also need to have a good character, which can only be taught by human teachers when they show care and concern to the students. Instead of fully replacing teachers with robot avatars, robot avatars can assist teachers in their teaching ||

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