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'Commentary: On the contrary, low-skilled jobs aren’t going anywhere'

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'Commentary: On the contrary, low-skilled jobs aren’t going anywhere'

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/low-skill-wage-blue-collar-job-covid-big-tech-gig-economy-labour-446351

Ms Ong: I have chosen a CNA article on the importance of blue-collar workers.

'The pandemic has partly debunked this narrative, by revealing which workers truly are essential. It turns out that there still are no good technological substitutes for the street cleaners, shopkeepers, utility workers, food deliverers, truckers, or bus drivers who have kept the economy running through the darkest days of the crisis.'

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Low-skilled jobs are usually regarded as those that new technologies will co-opt over time. But most of these jobs are themselves by-products of technological progress.

Mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and telecommunications installers all owe their occupations to past technological breakthroughs, and it is these workers who now ensure the proper functioning of the world's machinery, power grids, water systems and the Internet.
PYRAMID STRUCTURE OF WORK LARGELY THE SAME
Innovation does not alter the traditional pyramid structure of work, whereby a few highly qualified positions at the top oversee a hierarchy of lower-skilled occupations.

Rather, what technology changes is the composition of the pyramid, by continuously replenishing it with new and more sophisticated tasks, while removing the most routine ones through automation.

There are still assembly lines today; but a job in a factory that is fully controlled by software and populated by intelligent robots is completely different from a job in a state-of-the-art factory in the 1950s.

Behind their sleek digital facades, most of today's Big Tech companies rely heavily on low-skilled workers. In 2018, the median salary of an Amazon employee was less than US$30,000, reflecting what most of its employees do: Manage inventories and fulfill orders in warehouses.

The same is true of the electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla, where the median salary was about US$56,000 in 2018: Around one-third of its employees work in its assembly plants.

And while Facebook's median salary in 2018 was US$228,000, this figure does not account for the tens of thousands of low-wage contract workers that the company relies on for content moderation.

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FILE PHOTO: Worker assembles a box for delivery at the Amazon fulfilment center in BaltimoreCommentary: On the contrary, low-skilled jobs aren't going anywhereFILE PHOTO: Worker assembles a box for delivery at the Amazon fulfilment center in Baltimore

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Low-skilled jobs are usually regarded as those that new technologies will co-opt over time. But most of these jobs are themselves by-products of technological progress. Mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and telecommunications installers all owe their occupations to past technological breakthroughs, and it is these workers who now ensure the proper functioning of the world's machinery, power grids, water systems and the Internet.

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The world is a different place than in 2014, when the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its last comprehensive assessment.

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Commentary: We are living through a new, horrible phase of climate change

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Commentary: We are living through a new, horrible phase of climate change

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Yolanda: I have chosen this article as it is important for us to know what the earth we live in is experiencing and how it is affecting us humans

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/climate-change-ipcc-report-global-warming-floods-fires-2080301

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"That's just sort of staggering," says Brian Hoskins, chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London. "For many years I've said that the projections from the climate models are what we get if we're lucky, because their behaviour is very smooth. If you take the output from models, then that heatwave should not have happened."
SHAKEN CONFIDENCE
Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, a climate researcher at the Dutch national weather service, says the record North American heat has "shaken the confidence of a lot of climate researchers". "It means that the assumption that we had about how heatwaves react to a gradual increase in global warming may not be correct," he says.

Van Oldenborgh co-leads the World Weather Attribution group of scientists who concluded this month that the North American heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change.

He and colleagues are now planning wider research that will look at whether there is any evidence to suggest the climate is in fact starting to change globally in a non-linear way. Could it be, for instance, that changes in the jet stream or the migration of drought zones are triggering shifts we do not yet understand?

This work is notable, considering the role of the scientific phenomenon that researchers such as Harvard historian Naomi Oreskes have called ESLD - Erring on the Side of Least Drama. Climate scientists have been relentlessly accused of fear-mongering and alarmism.

But as Oreskes and her colleagues wrote in a 2012 paper, "core scientific values of objectivity, rationality and dispassion" have led to conservative projections about the impact of climate change, even in IPCC assessments.

This has not stopped the study of exceedingly dramatic concepts such as "tipping points" or thresholds that, once crossed, lead to drastic changes such as the loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet or Amazon rainforest. Indeed, a leaked draft of the new IPCC report suggests it may cover such shifts in more detail than past assessments have.

Despite, or perhaps because, these scenarios are so bleak, some of the scientists focusing on them have begun to offer more hopeful ideas.

The logic of a tipping point means it could also set off the irreversible advance of electric cars, renewables and other decarbonising measures, says Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter: "That's the glimmer of hope."

In July 2021, however, it still feels distinctly remote.
Listen to climate scientist Benjamin Horton break down how climate change is destabilising oceans, and what that means for us:

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The world is a different place than in 2014, when the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateCommentary: We are living through a new, horrible phase of climate changeThe world is a different place than in 2014, when the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

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"That's just sort of staggering," says Brian Hoskins, chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London. "For many years I've said that the projections from the climate models are what we get if we're lucky, because their behaviour is very smooth.

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Free disposable masks, mouth spray from Temasek Foundation after Singapore's National Day

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Free disposable masks, mouth spray from Temasek Foundation after Singapore's National Day

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Aloysius: I have chosen this article about the distribution of disposable masks and oximeters and mouth sprays after Singapore's National Day

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/free-disposable-masks-mouth-spray-from-temasek-foundation-after-national-day

'The Temasek Foundation will give out disposable masks and mouth spray after National Day (Aug 9), said Temasek Holdings chief executive Ho Ching on Wednesday (July 7).'

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Formula One: Hamilton fuelled by boos from the crowd after Hungary pole

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Formula One: Hamilton fuelled by boos from the crowd after Hungary pole

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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/formula-one/formula-one-hamilton-fuelled-by-boos-from-the-crowd-after-hungary-pole

Xi Kai: I have chosen this article because it shows how confident seven-times Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton is.

'"Honestly, I've never actually felt so great with the booing. If anything, it just fuels me. So I don't really mind."'

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BUDAPEST (REUTERS) - Seven-times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said boos from the crowd would only fuel his determination after he took pole position in qualifying for Sunday's (Aug 1) Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes driver is locked in a fierce battle with Red Bull's world championship leader Max Verstappen, with passions running high after their collision at the previous race.

Plenty of Verstappen fans have made their way to Hungary for Sunday's showdown, the last before the August break, and social media posts showed one orange banner hanging from a stand declaring "Sir Cheat: Karma is on its way."

Hamilton was recently knighted in Britain.

"I appreciate the great support I have here," said the sport's most successful driver of all time.

"Honestly, I've never actually felt so great with the booing. If anything, it just fuels me. So I don't really mind."

Tensions between Verstappen and Hamilton are at an all-time high, with their clash two weeks ago in Silverstone resulting in a heavy crash for Verstappen that put him in hospital.

Hamilton, deemed guilty of dangerous driving by Red Bull, collected a penalty but still won, slashing the Dutch driver's overall advantage to eight points.

"I think it's a consequence of the events of the last few weeks," said Hamilton's Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, adding that booing had no place in the sport.

"You need to also recognise that the emotions have been very high in the last two weeks and the grandstands are packed with Dutch fans. It was an orange grandstand," said the Austrian.

Verstappen, who will start third on the grid after being denied a fifth straight pole, said the booing wasn't right.

"Luckily, we wear helmets so actually when you're driving you don't hear anything," he said.

"That's maybe a bit different to other sports so probably we're quite lucky with that.

"It's not nice but it shouldn't influence any of us. We're all very professional and know what we have to do on track anyway."

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Formula One: Hamilton fuelled by boos from the crowd after Hungary pole

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BUDAPEST (REUTERS) - Seven-times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton said boos from the crowd would only fuel his determination after he took pole position in qualifying for Sunday's (Aug 1) Hungarian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver is locked in a fierce battle with Red Bull's world championship leader Max Verstappen, with passions running high after their collision at the previous race.

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Commentary: The cult of work is eroding the value of parenthood

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Commentary: The cult of work is eroding the value of parenthood

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/motherhood-unpaid-labour-disrupt-career-women-housewife-1972526

Ryan Goh: This article is on the stigmatization faced by stay home mums, as well as the workaholic culture that causes many to overlook the role and importance of family in one's life.

'Isn’t the joy of caring for one’s offspring, and nurturing them to be their best possible selves deeply purposeful and gratifying?

This is not to say that all paid forms of work are meaningless, purely economically-driven activities. There is a place for work, to find purpose in it, and it is necessary to provide well for ourselves and our families.

But have we all taken work a bit too far? Do we live to work, or work to live?'

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Derek Thompson, in The Atlantic, defines workism as "the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one's identity and life's purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work."

In his article, Thompson alludes to the fact that while America's richest men may have the onus to "live a little," they are actually driving themselves to the bone.

And it's not just confined to the ranks of the rich and wealthy. He writes:

Finding meaning at work beats family and kindness as the top ambition of today's young people.

But the kind of work that gives rise to the purpose and identity that Thompson writes about is often unpaid and sown in tears and sweat. And the informal caregiving work that so often falls on women's shoulders is just that.

Isn't the joy of caring for one's offspring, and nurturing them to be their best possible selves deeply purposeful and gratifying?

This is not to say that all paid forms of work are meaningless, purely economically-driven activities. There is a place for work, to find purpose in it, and it is necessary to provide well for ourselves and our families.

But have we all taken work a bit too far? Do we live to work, or work to live?

Is it time to elevate the status of mothers so that they do not feel they're being left behind?
NOT "JUST A MUM"
Michaella Thornton, in her January 2019 essay Pink Slips, describes a "disparate refrain," where it is a significant event when a man loses his job, but when it comes to a woman's layoff, especially a mother's layoff, it is trivialised or used as an argument for her to stay home.

Why is a woman's paid work seen as less important when she loses it, and yet if she doesn't work, she is "just a mum"?

It seems that for mothers who have opted out of the workforce for a season to care for their children, this double jeopardy is commonplace.

I recall a few of my friends lamenting whenever they get hit with the question: "Why are you allowing your studies to go to waste?" Or: "What do you do at home all day long?"

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A woman holds her stomach at the last stages of her pregnancy in BordeauxCommentary: The cult of work is eroding the value of parenthoodA woman holds her stomach at the last stages of her pregnancy in Bordeaux

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Derek Thompson, in The Atlantic, defines workism as "the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one's identity and life's purpose; and the belief that any policy to promote human welfare must always encourage more work."

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'Ms Sun said: “When you put up a video or you put up a photo, apart from the fact that you might be infringing on the privacy as well as confidentiality of the vulnerable person, sometimes you may be bringing unwanted attention to the vulnerable person.”

This may not lead to better outcomes for the person and might worsen family relationships, which sometimes are the underlying reason for the vulnerable person’s plight, she added.'

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SINGAPORE - In trying to help the vulnerable and the needy, the public should be cautious about taking photos and videos and posting about their plight on social media, said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

The most appropriate and effective way to help is to introduce and direct these vulnerable people to an officer from the Ministry of Social and Family Development's (MSF) social service offices, so that professional aid can be given, she added.

Ms Sun was responding in Parliament on Monday (Aug 2) to Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) on measures to assist the likes of cardboard collectors, beggars and rough sleepers in the community.

Ms Phua had also suggested that the MSF invest more in "aggressive" public education to discourage people in the habit of posting photos and videos of the needy on social media.

Noting that this was mostly done without permission, she said: "These kinds of efforts actually do not render sustainable help for the persons in need... and (are) sometimes not very respectful of those who need help."

In May, videos shared and posted by The Online Citizen Asia alleging police bullying of an elderly woman with dementia drew rebuke from the authorities and Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam.

The alternative news site in July rejected a request by the woman's son to apologise for a video interview of her that it had put up.

Agreeing with Ms Phua, Ms Sun said: "When you put up a video or you put up a photo, apart from the fact that you might be infringing on the privacy as well as confidentiality of the vulnerable person, sometimes you may be bringing unwanted attention to the vulnerable person."

This may not lead to better outcomes for the person and might worsen family relationships, which sometimes are the underlying reason for the vulnerable person's plight, she added.

Earlier, Ms Sun outlined various schemes and initiatives to support the needy, such as the Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers network, which may refer them to overnight community-based shelters.

Those who need short-term accommodation and onsite intervention can seek shelter at MSF-funded transitional shelters, where social workers can help individuals address various underlying social issues and get stable long-term housing.

"For tissue sellers and cardboard collectors, befriending groups from the Vulnerable-in-Community network engage them to find out their needs and bring them into the social support system if they are willing," Ms Sun added, citing how individuals who need financial help are referred to social service offices.

She encouraged members of the public who come across rough sleepers, cardboard collectors or tissue paper sellers in need to contact the ComCare hotline on 1800-222-0000 or refer them to the nearest social service office.

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Sun Xueling urges caution in posting photos, videos of vulnerable persons on social media

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SINGAPORE - In trying to help the vulnerable and the needy, the public should be cautious about taking photos and videos and posting about their plight on social media, said Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling.

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evangeline : i have chosen a bbc article on how schools in singapore tackle mental health amid pandemic stress

'Singapore's new modules in schools - alongside awareness training for teachers, nurses and counsellors - are a "very nice mechanism" that could help to change attitudes about mental health more broadly, said Dr Jafar.'

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Millions of children across the globe have dealt with months of learning from home as countries struggle with the pandemic. Now, as many begin returning to school, thoughts have turned to not only the lost education, but also the long term impact on their mental health.

In Singapore, which has one of the world's top school systems, they are opting to tackle the issue head on.

Children around the world have suffered from feelings of stress, anxiety and isolation as the pandemic locked down communities and shut schools for months at a time over the past year.

In the UK, where schools were shut for the best part of half a year, a government report said one in six children aged five to 16 had a probable mental health disorder in 2020 - up from one in nine three years earlier. The situation is similar in the US, where hospitals saw a 31% rise in mental health emergency visits by 12- to 17-year-olds in April to October from a year earlier, according to the CDC.

In Singapore, in a reminder of last year, a recent spike in cases - including some in schools - has prompted tighter measures across the city-state. As part of efforts to keep people further apart, students went back to online learning for 10 days in late May.

But in its highly academic, competitive environment, even this short break was enough to pile extra worry onto students.

"I think a lot of us put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do well in studies, especially after the lockdown," said 14-year-old Kate Lau. "Things are a lot more under control compared to what it was. But then I am still a little bit worried."

Prior to the pandemic, mental health was rarely discussed in Singapore's academically rigorous schools - but that now appears to be changing.

The small country - which consistently ranks at or near the top of global exam scores - is paying close attention to the lingering effects of the Covid crisis on children, which left some families struggling to cope.

This year, weekly sessions started at primary and secondary schools to encourage students to talk about their feelings and improve how they handle stress and anxiety. Sessions feature animated videos to help students identify and cope with stress, while teachers share their personal experiences to encourage the free flow of ideas and discussions.

"Some of the children felt they were isolated at home throughout the whole lockdown period," said Michael Chow, a teacher at Serangoon Secondary School. "I think these lessons are very important as it helps us to drive the point across that, hey, you're not alone here and, hey, these are real issues that you are facing."

For the children, nothing is entirely normal. They must always wear a mask and keep their distance while still ensuring they complete hours of homework every day and maintain good grades.

These new realities - combined with existing expectations - pile on the pressure, said Dr Tazeen Jafar, a professor of health services and systems research at Duke NUS Medical School who has been studying the impact of Covid in various parts of the world.

"Children spending a lot of time doing their homework tend to spend less time doing social activities and tend to play less and sleep less," she said.

"Those are risk factors for depression and anxiety so they are already pre-disposed and then any added external pressure like the pandemic makes them more and more susceptible."

These issues are reflected in other parts of Asia that also put heavy emphasis on academic excellence.

Studies in China on children's psychological distress due to the pandemic showed female adolescents have a higher risk of depression and anxiety, Dr Jafar said. The studies also showed senior high school students nearing college entrance exams are more depressed than younger pupils.

But dealing with the underlying anxiety is further hampered in a region where a stigma around mental health can prevent it being discussed openly.

In a number of Asian countries, having a mental health condition is sometimes viewed as "losing face", a term used to the cultural idea of being shamed and losing dignity. While some people view it as "just a phase".

In 2015, a study at the Singapore Institute of Health found that there is a "considerable" stigma towards people with a mental illness which could prevent individuals from seeking treatment.

Half of people who took part in the survey said they saw poor mental health as a sign of personal weakness and nine in 10 felt that people with mental illnesses could get better if they wanted to.

Singapore's new modules in schools - alongside awareness training for teachers, nurses and counsellors - are a "very nice mechanism" that could help to change attitudes about mental health more broadly, said Dr Jafar.

"If successful, the model will be great to emulate across the region," she said.

Listening to the students, it does seem to be working in Singapore.

"The programme helped me speak out a bit more," Kate Lau tells the BBC. "I'm more open now to sharing my feelings in front of a class or telling my friends or teachers how I feel."

Muhammad Rayyaan Khan, who is 15, agrees. "If I have anxiety I would definitely speak up."

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Covid-19: Singapore schools tackle mental health amid pandemic stress

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Millions of children across the globe have dealt with months of learning from home as countries struggle with the pandemic. Now, as many begin returning to school, thoughts have turned to not only the lost education, but also the long term impact on their mental health.

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https://sg.theasianparent.com/schools-should-start-later

'Sleep deprivation among young children in Singapore has become a cause for concern , not just for parents, but also for the authorities. So much that the Ministry of Education (MOE) has commissioned two research studies to understand the "impact of factors affecting sleep duration and sleep quality of our students in Singapore." '

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theAsianparent - Your Guide to Pregnancy, Baby & Raising Kids

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Sleep deprivation among young children in Singapore has become a cause for concern, not just for parents, but also for the authorities.

So much so that the Ministry of Education (MOE) has commissioned two research studies to understand the "the impact of factors affecting sleep duration and sleep quality of our students in Singapore."

This revelation was made by Minister of State for Education Sun Xueling in Parliament on Tuesday (Aug 3) as a response to two questions brought up by MP Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang) and MP Cheng Li Hui (PAP-Tampines).

These studies will help MOE determine if it is advisable to start schools late, presumably after 8.30am.

Government's Plans On Revising School Start Times

During the debate, MP Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang) asked MOE if "there are plans to re-evaluate school start times especially with most schools currently operating in single-session mode."

MP Cheng Li Hui (PAP-Tampines) further added to it, enquiring whether the ministry has "plans to revise the starting time for all primary, secondary and pre-tertiary schools to later than 8.30am."

Both questions were raised because the authorities have observed that fewer than 15 per cent of secondary school students do not get the recommended daily eight hours of sleep.

According to the Parliament members, child development experts as well as sleep experts have also been advocating for schools to start no earlier than 8.30am.

In response to the two questions MOE pointed to the recently commissioned two research studies that will help to better understand why schools should start later.

"MOE will consider the results of the local and overseas research," the ministry shared.

Factors MOE Will Consider Before Revised School Timings Are Likely Adopted

As you know, schools in Singapore currently start no earlier than 7.30am. But later school timings could enable better academic performance.

International studies have found that the amount and quality of sleep "is influenced by multiple factors, such as circadian rhythm, exercise, and sleep habits."

Having a later school start time (later than 8.30am) could give students longer sleep durations and possibly help with their performance in school.

With this major factor into consideration, it is possible that your child will see a later school start timing soon.

But that does not mean this timings isn't or cannot already be adopted by schools in Singapore.

Schools Already Have The Autonomy To Adopt Revised Start Time

As Ms Sun pointed out that schools have ​the "autonomy to adopt a later school start time, taking into consideration factors such as parents' feedback, school end time, impact on after-school and inter-school programmes, transport provisions and traffic situation around their schools."

All of this collectively will influence MOE's nod on revised school timings.

Can Schools And Parents Collectively Encourage Good Sleeping Habits?

During the debate, MP Lim Biow Chuan (PAP-Mountbatten) also raised a pertinent question. He enquired if school could get parents to "get their children to sleep early."

"I recall that when my kids were young, I used to tell them to sleep early, so that they would be able to have more sleep and to wake up early to be able to go to school without having problems," he shared.

"Instead of getting school to start later, would we not consider asking children to sleep earlier to get their full quota of available sleep?"

Ms Sun responded by saying that while delayed school timings "may not translate directly" to longer sleep duration, good sleeping habits do matter.

She also pointed to a local study conducted in 2016 that found that a 45-minute delay in school start time lead to a total sleep time increase of "about 10 minutes at the nine-month follow-up."

"We need to work closely with parents so that the students have good sleeping habits, good sleep hygiene," Ms Sun added.

Do you think schools should start later than 8.30am? Tell us here.

ALSO READ:
Is Your Child Ready For Preschool? Consider These Factors Before Enrolling MOE Shares 4 Practical Tips To Help Your Child Overcome Back-To-School Blues

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Schools Might Revise Start Timings? MOE Commissions Sleep Study To Make The Final Call | theAsianparent

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Sleep deprivation among young children in Singapore has become a cause for concern, not just for parents, but also for the authorities. So much so that the Ministry of Education (MOE) has commissioned two research studies to understand the "the impact of factors affecting sleep duration and sleep quality of our students in Singapore."

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How Genshin Impact has impacted their players

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How Genshin Impact has impacted their players

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https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/oct/22/genshin-impact-video-game-slowly-taking-over-the-world
I chose this article about how and why Genshin Impact has become a popular game and the issues it has with their players.

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Genshin Impact: the video game that’s slowly taking over the world

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It is a gorgeous, engaging, free-to-play, open-world role-playing game … but at what cost?

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This article is about the agonising process to recovering from Schizophrenia and the challenges faced during that progression.

'Recovery from schizophrenia is a lifelong journey, a balancing act and those of us who once suffered from the terrifying grips of the disease know we need all the support we can get.'

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It was encouraging to learn that more than half of patients who experienced psychosis recover completely or at least show significant improvements, according to studies from a number of countries in the 1970s to 1980s.

Many healthcare professionals are seized with "clinical recovery", a remission from or reduction in symptoms, and restoration of functions in a patient with the disease. To doctors, schizophrenia is a medical illness, a result of changes in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls language, abstract thinking and appropriate social behaviour, as a result of stress and other triggers.

But those who suffer from mental health issues favour the idea of "personal recovery", and in rediscovering anew life's meaning, purpose and hope while living with the disease.

A widely-cited definition of personal recovery by famed healthcare expert William Antony of the Boston University's Centre for Psychiatric Rehabilitation describes the process:

Recovery is a deeply personal, unique process of changing one's attitudes, values, feelings, goals, skills or roles. It is a way of living a satisfying, hopeful and contributing life even within the limitations caused by illness. Recovery involves the development of new meaning and purpose in one's life as one grows beyond the catastrophic effects of mental illness.

Medical treatment and psychiatric forms of therapy, including widely used cognitive behavioural therapy, may help to reduce symptoms but those who suffer from it value the journey of recovery, including finding a purpose and their place in the community.

Sometimes part of this rehabilitation process includes re-engaging with work, in developing a repertoire of actions that aid with recovery.

A person who has lost a limb due to diabetes may not be able to grow one back, but may consider himself recovered when he adapts to the loss and finds ways to lead a productive life.

It is similar for people with mental health issues. I've met so many people in the course of my work who go on to live gratifying lives and form meaningful relationships, despite their struggles with mental health issues.

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It was encouraging to learn that more than half of patients who experienced psychosis recover completely or at least show significant improvements, according to studies from a number of countries in the 1970s to 1980s. Many healthcare professionals are seized with "clinical recovery", a remission from or reduction in symptoms, and restoration of functions in a patient with the disease.

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Guan Yu: I have chosen this article talking about Bo Seo, a prominent Debater and political and A Social Studies concentrator

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Bo H. Seo '17 perches on a couch in the Barker Center Café, surveying the room from behind round, half-tortoise shell glasses.

"I don't even really think of myself as interesting," Seo says, though a quick Google search on him suggests that he's worthier of the title than he lets on. "Just really interested. And interested in a lot of different things, and interested in those things deeply."

A two-time World Debating Champion, Seo has found his greatest success in the art of arguing.

He describes debating as the "fullest experience of genuine teamwork I've ever had." In high school, Seo debated against fellow Harvard senior Fanelesibonge S. Mashwama '17-Seo for Australia, where he attended high school, and Mashwama for Swaziland. The two then joined forces at Harvard, taking home the 2016 World Debating Championship as a team. Now, they're

"best friends," Seo says.

A Social Studies concentrator living in Pforzheimer House, Seo has put his mind to work off the debating stage, as well. Since coming to Harvard, Seo has spent his semesters and his summers studying and promoting human rights.

"There is this mysterious entity called 'human rights' that's emerging through all of this work, and trying to parse out what those things are-what it is, what it isn't, what it presses us to do-that's been really interesting," Seo says.

Seo's dedication to human rights is also tied to his global upbringing. Born and raised in South Korea, Seo moved to Australia at age 10. Listening to his eloquent, Australian-accented speech, you'd never guess that Seo didn't know a stitch of English when he started school in Australia in 4th grade. Learning English over the course of the next year, says Seo, was a formative experience.

"As children we endure a lot and experience a lot, and I think the rest of your life is just reverberations of that original moment," Seo says. "For me, I'm pretty attentive to how people are responding to things or to me."

Seo describes how conscious he is of other people's facial expressions and body language, a habit from a time when eye contact and hand gestures were easier to understand than language.

Seo is currently writing his thesis on the "recognition of identity and culture and situating that between identity politics and the contemporary doctrine of human rights," so he is indeed turning his 10-year-old self's experience into an opportunity for research.

Seo's latest project? Assembling a literary anthology on Korean diasporic perspectives on North Korea. Seo has assembled students from cultural groups and publications across campus to create literary and visual art. "I thought there was a role for me to bring people together," he says, adding that he hopes the project will be published as a book.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Seo is a black belt in Taekwondo. "There's still something about that kind of very disciplined performance that kind of speaks to me," he says. These days, though, Seo prefers yoga to his previous dedication to martial arts. He concedes that others think it's "basic" that he practices yoga at the Square's Barre and Soul, but he brushes off these criticisms.

"They told me the other day that my hips need to have more integrity, which I've never been told," Seo says with a laugh.

Seo combines these diverse interests with care for other people, which he insists is the most important interest he possesses.

"It's not as if they become interesting because you met them," Seo says, speaking about the people he's met at Harvard. "They've always been interesting-you just didn't know about it."

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Bo H. Seo | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson

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"As children we endure a lot and experience a lot, and I think the rest of your life is just reverberations of that original moment," Seo says. "For me, I'm pretty attentive to how people are responding to things or to me."

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EatBook.sg - New Singapore Restaurant and Street Food Ideas & Recommendations

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McDonald's new Hainanese Chicken burger

One of Singapore's most prominent national dishes is chicken rice, so it's only fitting that, for National Day, McDonald's pays tribute to this by launching their new local exclusive Hainanese Chicken Rice burger on 5 August.

Made in collaboration with celebrity chef Ben Yeo, this burger pays homage to Ben's passion for local food, and Hainanese chicken rice.

Each burger comes with a fluffy bun, sandwiching a thick and juicy, fried chicken patty, which is then dressed with a trio of sauces. These sauces are exactly what you'd pour over your own chicken rice: garlic chilli, ginger sauce, and a packet of dark sweet sauce that you can drizzle over the whole burger if you wish.
Image credit: McDonald's Singapore
Fresh lettuce and a slaw gives every mouthful some freshness, cutting through the rich, aromatic chicken.

The burger is priced at $6.60 ala carte, and from $8.30 in an Extra-Value Meal.
Image credit: McDonald's Singapore
This isn't all McDonald's has up its sleeve to celebrate our nation's birthday month. They are also bringing back two popular favourites: their Crisscut Fries (from $3.50), and their Banana Pie ($1.40).

The former features crispy rounds of crisscrossed potatoes, with plenty of real estate to dip in more garlic chilli. If you want these with your meal, simply top up $0.30!

The Banana Pie is a familiar one if you tried it during the Minions meal release, with sweet banana puree in the middle, and flaky pastry crust on the outer.
Image credit: McDonald's Singapore
Finally, the fast-food chain will also have a Kopi Frappe (from $4.30), a twist on our nation's favourite breakfast beverage. This is served with a coffee-based frappuccino and whipped cream atop.

These new additions are while stocks last only, and available at most McDonald's outlets in Singapore. Delivery is also available on McDelivery, GrabFood, and Foodpanda.

10 Best Chicken Rice In Singapore Ranked, Including Tian Tian And Boon Tong Kee

If you prefer to dine on the real thing, check out our guide to the best chicken rice in Singapore.

For more fast food drops, check out the new Subway Rendang sub!

Otherwise, there's also Shakey's Pizza, a famous-in-the-Phillippines pizza store that will open in Lucky Plaza soon.

Subway Now Has Rendang Subs With Juicy Beef Cubes And Creamy Rendang Sauce

Being addicted to caffeine is a personality, right?

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McDonald's Has A New Hainanese Chicken Burger, Crisscut Fries And Banana Pie Are Back

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One of Singapore's most prominent national dishes is chicken rice, so it's only fitting that, for National Day, McDonald's pays tribute to this by launching their new local exclusive Hainanese Chicken Rice burger on 5 August. Made in collaboration with celebrity chef Ben Yeo, this burger pays homage to Ben's passion for local food, and Hainanese chicken rice.

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Health Check Podcast: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges

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Health Check Podcast: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/health-check-podcast-how-to-reach-out-to-youth-with-mental-health-challenges

Xi Kai: I have chosen this article because I feel that it is quite important, especially after what happened.

'This is the first of a two-part series on youth mental health. Ms Andrea Chan covers the following points:'

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Health Check Ep 65: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges

15:21 mins

Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you.

The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the mental health of many young people around the globe, including Singapore.

ST senior health correspondent Joyce Teo speaks with Ms Andrea Chan, who heads the Youth Counselling Unit at Touch Community Services, about the stressors faced by young people in this pandemic, what parents can say to their children about the recent River Valley High School murder case, and the signs and symptoms of mental distress to watch out for.

This is the first of a two-part series on youth mental health. Ms Andrea Chan covers the following points:

1. Variety of youth coming forward to seek help (1:00)

2. How to identify who needs different levels of help (3:10)

3. How to look out for warning signs similar to recent River Valley High School murder case (4:55)

4. How to tell differences between mental issues and teenage angst (7:01)

5. Parental role important in managing youth who need help, especially during post-discharge recovery (10:07)

In the next episode - on the third Wednesday of August - we will zoom in on the role parents play in supporting their children's mental health.

Helplines
* National Care Hotline: 1800-202-6868 (8am - 12am)

COUNSELLING
* TOUCHline (Counselling): 1800-377-2252
* TOUCH Care Line (for seniors, caregivers): 6804-6555
* Care Corner Counselling Centre: 1800-353-5800

MENTAL WELL-BEING
* Fei Yue's Online Counselling Service: eC2.sg
* Institute of Mental Health's Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222 (24 hours)
* Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444 (24 hours) /1-767 (24 hours)
* Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
* Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928
* Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788

Produced by: Joyce Teo ( joyceteo@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Fa'izah Sani, Hadyu Rahim & Penelope Lee

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim & Penelope Lee

Subscribe to Health Check Podcast channel, hear the latest episodes every first and third Wednesday of the month and rate us on your favourite audio apps:

Channel: https://str.sg/JWaN

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Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaQ

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Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

Read Joyce Teo's stories: https://str.sg/JbxN

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Health Check Podcast: https://str.sg/JWaN

ST Sports Talk Podcast: https://str.sg/JWRE

Life Weekend Picks Podcast: https://str.sg/JWa2

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Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL

Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts!

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Health Check Podcast: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges

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Health Check Ep 65: How to reach out to youth with mental health challenges 15:21 mins Synopsis: Every first and third Wednesday of the month, The Straits Times helps you make sense of health matters that affect you. The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the mental health of many young people around the globe, including Singapore.

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Mental illness may be a common life experience

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Mental illness may be a common life experience

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Headline: Did you witness such mental illness around?(question)

Kuanning: this article is about the presence of mental illnesses in our world, with a large majority of people experiencing such illnesses at some point in their lives.

'The study looked at 988 people who lived in New Zealand. Only 171-or about one in six people -experienced no anxiety disorders, depression or other mental ailments from late childhood to middle age. Of the rest, half experienced a mental disorder that lasted a short time. This was typically just a bout of depression, anxiety or substance abuse. The person then recovered.'

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Abnormal is the new normal - at least for mental health. Only a small share of the population stays mentally healthy from age 11 to 38. Everyone else experiences a mental illness at some point, a new study finds.

"For many, an episode of mental disorder is like influenza, bronchitis, kidney stones, a broken bone or other [common] conditions," says Jonathan Schaefer. He is a psychologist at Duke University. A coauthor of the study, he notes that "Sufferers experience impaired functioning. Many seek medical care, but most recover."

The study looked at 988 people who lived in New Zealand. Only 171 - or about one in six people -experienced no anxiety disorders, depression or other mental ailments from late childhood to middle age. Of the rest, half experienced a mental disorder that lasted a short time. This was typically just a bout of depression, anxiety or substance abuse. The person then recovered.

The remaining 408 people - roughly two out of every five - experienced one or more mental disorders that lasted at least several years. Their diagnoses included more severe conditions. These may have included bipolar and psychotic disorders.

Schaefer and his colleagues shared their findings in the February Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

By the numbers...

The researchers analyzed data on people born between April 1972 and March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Each person's general health and behavior was assessed 13 times from birth to age 38. Mental health was assessed eight times from age 11 onward.

Previous studies had linked several traits with a lower chance of developing mental disorders. These included growing up in an unusually well-off family and enjoying really good physical health. Scoring very high on intelligence tests also has been linked to good mental health. Surprisingly, however, the New Zealanders who stayed mentally healthy scored no better of those qualities than anyone else.

Instead, people with good mental health tended to have personality traits that gave them some sort of advantage. Those traits started emerging in childhood, the surveys showed. These people rarely expressed strongly negative emotions. They also tended to have lots of friends and very good self-control. Those with lasting mental health also had relatively few family members with mental disorders, compared with their peers.

There were some benefits in adulthood for those who always had good mental health. These people had, on average, more education, better jobs and higher-quality relationships. They also reported more satisfaction with their lives than the others did. But lasting mental health doesn't guarantee an exceptional sense of well-being, Schaefer points out. Nearly one-in-four people never diagnosed with mental illness scored below the entire group's average score for life satisfaction.

Less surprising was the 83 percent overall rate of mental disorders. That matches recent estimates from four other long-term projects. Two had focused on Americans. One looked at people in Switzerland. The last was another study from New Zealand. These studies followed people for 12 to 30 years. And over that follow-up, between 61 percent and 85 percent of the participants reported having at least some mental disorders.

Such high rates also were reported in an earlier study, from 1962. It had surveyed a random mix of people living on the island of Manhattan in New York City. Many researchers had doubted that study's findings, however. Why? It had relied on a diagnostic system that was less strict than the ones used to evaluate the people in New Zealand, explains William Eaton. In fact, he says, the Manhattan study now appears to have been on the right track. Eaton is an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md.

There is often a stigma attached to mental illness. But if more people realize that most will eventually develop some mental disorder, at least briefly, that stigma might fall, Eaton suspects.

Ronald Kessler is also an epidemiologist. He works at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. Kessler directs U.S. surveys of mental disorders. He suspects the numbers of people who experience a mental disorder may be even higher than what was reported in these studies.

Many people that seemed to have enduring mental health in these studies may not have. They may have developed brief mental disorders that got overlooked, he says. It might have been something such as a couple of weeks of serious depression after a romantic breakup.

Focusing on those rare cases of lasting mental health may not be the best idea, he says. "The more interesting thing is to compare people with persistent mental illness to those with temporary disorders."

Power Words
More About Power Words

average (in science) A term for the arithmetic mean, which is the sum of a group of numbers that is then divided by the size of the group.

behavior The way a person or other organism acts towards others, or conducts itself.

coauthor One of a group (two or more people) who together had prepared a written work, such as a book, report or research paper. Not all coauthors may have contributed equally.

colleague Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.

depression A low spot, such as in a field or the surface of a rock. (in medicine) A mental illness characterized by persistent sadness and apathy. Although these feelings can be triggered by events, such as the death of a loved one or the move to a new city, that isn't typically considered an "illness" - unless the symptoms are prolonged and harm an individual's ability to perform normal daily tasks (such as working, sleeping or interacting with others). People suffering from depression often feel they lack the energy needed to get anything done. They may have difficulty concentrating on things or showing an interest in normal events. Many times, these feelings seem to be triggered by nothing; they can appear out of nowhere.

diagnose To analyze clues or symptoms in the search for their cause. The conclusion usually results in a diagnosis - identification of the causal problem or disease.

disorder (in medicine) A condition where the body does not work appropriately, leading to what might be viewed as an illness. This term can sometimes be used interchangeably with disease.

epidemiologist Like health detectives, these researchers figure out what causes a particular illness and how to limit its spread.

influenza (also known as flu) A highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever and severe aching. It often occurs as an epidemic.

journal (in science) A publication in which scientists share their research findings with the public. Some journals publish papers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and math, while others are specific to a single subject. The best journals are peer-reviewed: They send out all submitted articles to outside experts to be read and critiqued. The goal, here, is to prevent the publication of mistakes, fraud or sloppy work.

New Zealand An island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,500 kilometers (some 900 miles) east of Australia. Its "mainland" - consisting of a North and South Island - is quite volcanically active. In addition, the country includes many far smaller offshore islands.

peer Someone who is an equal, based on age, education, status, training or some other features.

persistent An adjective for something that is long-lasting.

physical (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in memories or the imagination. It can also refer to properties of materials that are due to their size and non-chemical interactions (such as when one block slams with force into another).

psychology (adj. psychological ) The study of the human mind, especially in relation to actions and behavior. To do this, some perform research using animals. Scientists and mental-health professionals who work in this field are known as psychologists.

random Something that occurs haphazardly or without reason, based on no intention or purpose.

stigma A disgrace, source of shame or a stain on one's reputation - often not justifiably - due to something that one did, experienced or represents to others.

survey (v.) To ask questions that glean data on the opinions, practices (such as dining or sleeping habits), knowledge or skills of a broad range of people. Researchers select the number and types of people questioned in hopes that the answers these individuals give will be representative of others who are their age, belong to the same ethnic group or live in the same region. (n.) The list of questions that will be offered to glean those data.

trait A characteristic feature of something. (in genetics) A quality or characteristic that can be inherited.

Bruce Bower has written about the behavioral sciences for Science News since 1984. He writes about psychology, anthropology, archaeology and mental health issues.

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Mental illness may be a common life experience | Science News for Students

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Abnormal is the new normal - at least for mental health. Only a small share of the population stays mentally healthy from age 11 to 38. Everyone else experiences a mental illness at some point, a new study finds.

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Life Lessons: The Ultimate Productivity Hack is Saying No

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Life Lessons: The Ultimate Productivity Hack is Saying No

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Natalie: I have chosen this article that emphasizes on the fact that saying 'no' is a form of time credit. I chose this article as I personally feel that I'll need this a lot and that adopting this method will help me in the long-run.

'When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option.

I like how the economist Tim Harford put it, “Every time we say yes to a request, we are also saying no to anything else we might accomplish with the time.” Once you have committed to something, you have already decided how that future block of time will be spent.

In other words, saying no saves you time in the future. Saying yes costs you time in the future. No is a form of time credit. You retain the ability to spend your future time however you want. Yes is a form of time debt. You have to pay back your commitment at some point.

No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility.'

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The ultimate productivity hack is saying no.

Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. This statement reminds me of the old computer programming saying, "Remember that there is no code faster than no code." 1

The same philosophy applies in other areas of life. For example, there is no meeting that goes faster than not having a meeting at all.

This is not to say you should never attend another meeting, but the truth is that we say yes to many things we don't actually want to do. There are many meetings held that don't need to be held. There is a lot of code written that could be deleted.

How often do people ask you to do something and you just reply, "Sure thing." Three days later, you're overwhelmed by how much is on your to-do list. We become frustrated by our obligations even though we were the ones who said yes to them in the first place. 2

It's worth asking if things are necessary. Many of them are not, and a simple "no" will be more productive than whatever work the most efficient person can muster.

But if the benefits of saying no are so obvious, then why do we say yes so often?

Why We Say Yes

We agree to many requests not because we want to do them, but because we don't want to be seen as rude, arrogant, or unhelpful. Often, you have to consider saying no to someone you will interact with again in the future-your co-worker, your spouse, your family and friends. 3

Saying no to these people can be particularly difficult because we like them and want to support them. (Not to mention, we often need their help too.) Collaborating with others is an important element of life. The thought of straining the relationship outweighs the commitment of our time and energy.

For this reason, it can be helpful to be gracious in your response. Do whatever favors you can, and be warm-hearted and direct when you have to say no.

But even after we have accounted for these social considerations, many of us still seem to do a poor job of managing the tradeoff between yes and no. We find ourselves over-committed to things that don't meaningfully improve or support those around us, and certainly don't improve our own lives.

Perhaps one issue is how we think about the meaning of yes and no.

The Difference Between Yes and No

The words "yes" and "no" get used in comparison to each other so often that it feels like they carry equal weight in conversation. In reality, they are not just opposite in meaning, but of entirely different magnitudes in commitment.

When you say no, you are only saying no to one option. When you say yes, you are saying no to every other option.

I like how the economist Tim Harford put it, "Every time we say yes to a request, we are also saying no to anything else we might accomplish with the time." 4 Once you have committed to something, you have already decided how that future block of time will be spent.

In other words, saying no saves you time in the future. Saying yes costs you time in the future. No is a form of time credit. You retain the ability to spend your future time however you want. Yes is a form of time debt. You have to pay back your commitment at some point.

No is a decision. Yes is a responsibility.

The Role of No

Saying no is sometimes seen as a luxury that only those in power can afford. And it is true: turning down opportunities is easier when you can fall back on the safety net provided by power, money, and authority. But it is also true that saying no is not merely a privilege reserved for the successful among us. It is also a strategy that can help you become successful.

Saying no is an important skill to develop at any stage of your career because it retains the most important asset in life: your time. As the investor Pedro Sorrentino put it, "If you don't guard your time, people will steal it from you." 5

You need to say no to whatever isn't leading you toward your goals. You need to say no to distractions. As one reader told me, "If you broaden the definition as to how you apply no, it actually is the only productivity hack (as you ultimately say no to any distraction in order to be productive)."

Nobody embodied this idea better than Steve Jobs, who said, "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully." 6

There is an important balance to strike here. Saying no doesn't mean you'll never do anything interesting or innovative or spontaneous. It just means that you say yes in a focused way. Once you have knocked out the distractions, it can make sense to say yes to any opportunity that could potentially move you in the right direction. You may have to try many things to discover what works and what you enjoy. This period of exploration can be particularly important at the beginning of a project, job, or career.

Upgrading Your No

Over time, as you continue to improve and succeed, your strategy needs to change.

The opportunity cost of your time increases as you become more successful. At first, you just eliminate the obvious distractions and explore the rest. As your skills improve and you learn to separate what works from what doesn't, you have to continually increase your threshold for saying yes.

You still need to say no to distractions, but you also need to learn to say no to opportunities that were previously good uses of time, so you can make space for great uses of time. It's a good problem to have, but it can be a tough skill to master.

In other words, you have to upgrade your "no's" over time.

Upgrading your no doesn't mean you'll never say yes. It just means you default to saying no and only say yes when it really makes sense. To quote the investor Brent Beshore, "Saying no is so powerful because it preserves the opportunity to say yes." 7

The general trend seems to be something like this: If you can learn to say no to bad distractions, then eventually you'll earn the right to say no to good opportunities.

How to Say No

Most of us are probably too quick to say yes and too slow to say no. It's worth asking yourself where you fall on that spectrum.

If you have trouble saying no, you may find the following strategy proposed by Tim Harford, the British economist I mentioned earlier, to be helpful. He writes, "One trick is to ask, "If I had to do this today, would I agree to it?" It's not a bad rule of thumb, since any future commitment, no matter how far away it might be, will eventually become an imminent problem." 8

If an opportunity is exciting enough to drop whatever you're doing right now, then it's a yes. If it's not, then perhaps you should think twice.

This is similar to the well-known "Hell Yeah or No" method from Derek Sivers. If someone asks you to do something and your first reaction is "Hell Yeah!", then do it. If it doesn't excite you, then say no. 9

It's impossible to remember to ask yourself these questions each time you face a decision, but it's still a useful exercise to revisit from time to time. Saying no can be difficult, but it is often easier than the alternative. As writer Mike Dariano has pointed out, "It's easier to avoid commitments than get out of commitments. Saying no keeps you toward the easier end of this spectrum." 10

What is true about health is also true about productivity: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The Power of No

More effort is wasted doing things that don't matter than is wasted doing things inefficiently. And if that is the case, elimination is a more useful skill than optimization.

I am reminded of the famous Peter Drucker quote, "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."

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The Ultimate Productivity Hack is Saying No

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The ultimate productivity hack is saying no. Not doing something will always be faster than doing it. This statement reminds me of the old computer programming saying, "Remember that there is no code faster than no code." The same philosophy applies in other areas of life.

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Why is Singapore’s school system so successful, and is it a model for the West?

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Why is Singapore’s school system so successful, and is it a model for the West?

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https://theconversation.com/why-is-singapores-school-system-so-successful-and-is-it-a-model-for-the-west-22917

this article is about the basis of singapore's education system and how, if possible, it can be applied in other countries.

Asking the Answerable questions (alliteration?)

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Stick to the textbook. Ray Chua/AP/Press Association Images

For more than a decade, Singapore, along with South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Finland, has been at or near the top of international leagues tables that measure children's ability in reading, maths and science. This has led to a considerable sense of achievement in Finland and East Asia and endless hand-wringing and head-scratching in the West.

What then do Singaporean teachers do in classrooms that is so special, bearing in mind that there are substantial differences in classroom practices between - as well as within - the top-performing countries? What are the particular strengths of Singapore's instructional regime that helps it perform so well? What are its limits and constraints?

Is it the right model for countries seeking to prepare students properly for the complex demands of 21st century knowledge economies and institutional environments more generally? Is Singapore's teaching system transferable to other countries? Or is its success so dependent on very specific institutional and cultural factors unique to Singapore that it is folly to imagine that it might be reproduced elsewhere?

Singapore's instructional regime

In general, classroom instruction in Singapore is highly-scripted and uniform across all levels and subjects. Teaching is coherent, fit-for-purpose and pragmatic, drawing on a range of pedagogical traditions, both Eastern and Western.

As such, teaching in Singapore primarily focuses on coverage of the curriculum, the transmission of factual and procedural knowledge, and preparing students for end-of-semester and national high stakes examinations.

And because they do, teachers rely heavily on textbooks, worksheets, worked examples and lots of drill and practice. They also strongly emphasise mastery of specific procedures and the ability to represent problems clearly, especially in mathematics. Classroom talk is teacher-dominated and generally avoids extended discussion.

Intriguingly, Singaporean teachers only make limited use of "high leverage" or unusually effective teaching practices that contemporary educational research (at least in the West) regards as critical to the development of conceptual understanding and "learning how to learn".

For example, teachers only make limited use of checking a student's prior knowledge or communicating learning goals and achievement standards. In addition, while teachers monitor student learning and provide feedback and learning support to students, they largely do so in ways that focus on whether or not students know the right answer, rather than on their level of understanding.

So Singapore's teaching regime is one primarily focused on the transmission of conventional curriculum knowledge and examination performance. And clearly it is highly-effective, helping to generate outstanding results in international assessments Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The logic of teaching in Singapore

Singapore's education system is the product of a distinctive, even unique, set of historical, institutional and cultural influences. These factors go a long way to help explain why the educational system is especially effective in the current assessment environment, but it also limits how transferable it is to other countries.

Over time, Singapore has developed a powerful set of institutional arrangements that shape its instructional regime. Singapore has developed an education system which is centralised (despite significant decentralisation of authority in recent years), integrated, coherent and well-funded. It is also relatively flexible and expert-led.

In addition, Singapore's institutional arrangements is characterised by a prescribed national curriculum. National high stakes examinations at the end of primary and secondary schooling stream students according to their exam performance and, crucially, prompt teachers to emphasise coverage of the curriculum and teaching to the test. The alignment of curriculum, assessment and instruction is exceptionally strong.

Beyond this, the institutional environment incorporates top-down forms of teacher accountability based on student performance (although this is changing), that reinforces curriculum coverage and teaching to the test. Major government commitments to educational research (£109m between 2003-2017) and knowledge management are designed to support evidence-based policy making. Finally, Singapore is strongly committed to capacity building at all levels of the system, especially the selection, training and professional development of principals and teachers.

Singapore's instructional regime and institutional arrangements are also supported by a range of cultural orientations that underwrites, sanctions and reproduces the instructional regime. At the most general level, these include a broad commitment to a nation-building narrative of meritocratic achievement and social stratification, ethnic pluralism, collective values and social cohesion, a strong, activist state and economic growth.

In addition, parents, students, teachers and policy makers share a highly positive but rigorously instrumentalist view of the value of education at the individual level. Students are generally compliant and classrooms orderly.

Importantly, teachers also broadly share an authoritative vernacular or "folk pedagogy" that shapes understandings across the system regarding the nature of teaching and learning. These include that "teaching is talking and learning is listening", authority is "hierarchical and bureaucratic", assessment is "summative", knowledge is "factual and procedural," and classroom talk is teacher-dominated and "performative".

Clearly, Singapore's unique configuration of historical experience, instruction, institutional arrangements and cultural beliefs has produced an exceptionally effective and successful system. But its uniqueness also renders its portability limited. But there is much that other jurisdictions can learn about the limits and possibilities of their own systems from an extended interrogation of the Singapore model.

At the same time it is also important to recognise that the Singapore model is not without its limits. It generates a range of substantial opportunity costs, and it constrains (without preventing) the capacity of the system for substantial and sustainable reform. Other systems, contemplating borrowing from Singapore, would do well to keep these in mind.

Reforming the Singapore model

The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s challenged policy makers to take a long hard look at the educational system that they developed, and ever since they have been acutely aware that the pedagogical model that had propelled Singapore to the top of international leagues table is not appropriately designed to prepare young people for the complex demands of globalisation and 21st knowledge economies.

By 2004-5, Singapore's government had more or less identified the kind of pedagogical framework it wanted to work towards, and called it Teach Less, Learn More. This framework urged teachers to focus on the "quality" of learning and the incorporation of technology into classrooms and not just the "quantity" of learning and exam preparation.

While substantial progress has been made, the government has found rolling-out and implementing these reforms something of a challenge. In particular, instructional practices proved well entrenched and difficult to change in a substantial and sustainable way.

This was in part because the institutional rules that govern classroom pedagogy were not altered in ways that would support the proposed changes to classroom teaching. As a consequence, well-established institutional rules have continued to drive teachers to teach in ways that prioritise coverage of the curriculum, knowledge transmission and teaching to the test over "the quality" of learning, or to adopt high-leverage instructional practices.

Indeed, teachers do so for good reason, since statistical modelling of the relationship between instructional practices and student learning indicates that traditional and direct instructional techniques are much better at predicting student achievement than high leverage instructional practices, given the nature of the tasks students are assessed on.

Not the least of the lessons of these findings is that teachers in Singapore are unlikely to cease teaching to the test until and unless a range of conditions are met. These include that the nature of the assessment tasks will need to change in ways that encourages teachers to teacher differently. Above all, new kinds of assessment tasks that focus on the quality of student understanding are likely to encourage teachers to design instructional tasks. These can provide rich opportunities to learn and encourage high-quality knowledge work.

The national high stakes assessment system should also incorporate a moderated, school-based component that allows teachers to design tasks that encourage deeper learning rather than just "exam learning".

The national curriculum should allow substantial levels of teacher mediation at the school and classroom level. This needs to have clearly specified priorities and principles, backed up by substantial commitments to authentic, in-situ, forms of professional development that provide rich opportunities for modelling, mentoring and coaching.

Finally, the teacher evaluation system needs to rely far more substantially on accountability systems that acknowledge the importance of peer judgement, and a broader range of teacher capacities and valuable student outcomes than the current assessment regime currently does.

Meanwhile, teachers will continue to bear the existential burden of managing an ongoing tension between what, professionally speaking, many of them consider good teaching, and what, institutionally speaking, they recognise is responsible teaching.

One of the central challenges confronting the Ministry of Education in Singapore is to reconcile good and responsible teaching. But the ministry is clearly determined to bed-down a pedagogy capable of meeting the demands of 21st century institutional environments, particularly developing student capacity to engage in complex knowledge work within and across subject domains.

The technical, cultural, institutional and political challenges of doing so are daunting. However, given the quality of leadership across all levels of the system, and Singapore's willingess to grant considerable pedagogical authority to teachers while providing clear guidance as to priorities, I have no doubt it will succeed. But it will do so on its own terms and in ways that achieve a sustainable balance of knowledge transmission and knowledge-building pedagogies that doesn't seriously compromise the overall performativity of the system.

It is already clear that the government is willing to tweak once sacred cows, including the national high stakes exams and streaming systems. However, it has yet to tackle the perverse effects of streaming on classroom composition and student achievement that continues to overwhelm instructional effects in statistical modelling of student achievement.

Towards a knowledge building pedagogy

Singapore's experience and its current efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning do have important, if ironic, implications for systems that hope to emulate its success.

This is especially true of those jurisdictions - I have in mind England and Australia especially - where conservative governments have embarked on ideologically driven crusades to demand more direct instruction of (Western) canonical knowledge, demanding more testing and high stakes assessments of students, and imposing more intensive top-down performance regimes on teachers.

In my view, this is profoundly and deeply mistaken. It is also more than a little ironic given the reform direction Singapore has mapped out for itself over the past decade. The essential challenge facing Western jurisdictions is not so much to mimic East Asian instructional regimes, but to develop a more balanced pedagogy that focuses not just on knowledge transmission and exam performance, but on teaching that requires students to engage in subject-specific knowledge building.

Knowledge building pedagogies recognise the value of established knowledge, but also insist that students need to be able to do knowledge work as well as learning about established knowledge. Above all, this means students should acquire the ability to recognise, generate, represent, communicate, deliberate, interrogate, validate and apply knowledge claims in light of established norms in key subject domains.

In the long run, this will do far more for individual and national well-being, including supporting development of a vibrant and successful knowledge economy, than a regressive quest for top billing in international assessments or indulging in witless "culture wars" against modernity and emergent, not to mention long-established, liberal democratic values.

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Why is Singapore's school system so successful, and is it a model for the West?

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For more than a decade, Singapore, along with South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Finland, has been at or near the top of international leagues tables that measure children's ability in reading, maths and science. This has led to a considerable sense of achievement in Finland and East Asia and endless hand-wringing and head-scratching in the West.

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3,700 calls made to national helpline for family violence in first 6 months this year

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3,700 calls made to national helpline for family violence in first 6 months this year

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/3700-calls-made-to-national-helpline-for-family-violence-in-first-6-months-this

Xi Kai: I have chosen this article as it is important to raise awareness about such issues.

'Halim said the stress of having to stay at home for prolonged periods during the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to increased tension at home.'

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SINGAPORE - There were about 3,700 calls made to a 24-hour helpline for the public to report family violence in the first six months of this year.

Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling revealed this figure for the National Anti-Violence Helpline, which started operations in January, during the launch of the Alliance for Action to Strengthen Marriages and Family Relationships on Wednesday (Aug 4).

She said the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) received about 6,420 inquiries on family violence last year - a 44 per cent increase from 4,450 in 2019.

The number of family violence cases investigated by MSF rose by 13 per cent, from about 1,310 cases in 2019 to 1,480 last year.

One area the Alliance hopes to look into is the rehabilitation of the person who inflicted the violence on his or her family members, Ms Sun said.

The president of the Singapore Muslim Women's Association (PPIS) Hazlina Abdul Halim said the stress of having to stay at home for prolonged periods during the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to increased tension at home.

Coupled with more financial stressors caused by the pandemic, and marital and parenting woes, this could all add to greater tension and even violence, she added.

In particular, there was a sharp rise in the number of child abuse cases being investigated last year, with the MSF's Child Protective Service probing 1,313 cases, 21 per cent more than the 1,088 cases in 2019.

While the pandemic-related stressors could have led to more abuse at home, the MSF previously said the rise in child abuse cases being investigated was due to more outreach efforts and public awareness of family violence.

Ms Sun, who co-chairs the inter-agency task force to tackle family violence formed last year, said on Wednesday that it will release its recommendations very soon.

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3,700 calls made to national helpline for family violence in first 6 months this year

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SINGAPORE - There were about 3,700 calls made to a 24-hour helpline for the public to report family violence in the first six months of this year. Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling revealed this figure for the National Anti-Violence Helpline, which started operations in January, during the launch of the Alliance for Action to Strengthen Marriages and Family Relationships on Wednesday (Aug 4).

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Critics who say online gaming is ‘just a game’ completely miss the point

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Critics who say online gaming is ‘just a game’ completely miss the point

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https://theconversation.com/critics-who-say-online-gaming-is-just-a-game-completely-miss-the-point-132845

Noel: I have chosen this article about how online gaming has evolved and how it should be taken seriously as a profession and not 'just a game'

'Celebrity video game streamer Tyler Blevins — popularly known as Ninja — sparked debate on Twitter. He believes the phrase shows a weak mindset consistent with laziness, imperfection and being OK with losing. Ninja suggests that you would not tell athletes like LeBron James or Tom Brady that “it’s just a game”.'

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Now more than ever before, the stakes are getting higher in professional gaming. E-sports should be taken seriously as both an occupation and a form of leisure. Riot Games, the developers of desktop juggernaut League of Legends, is even taking the game into Monday Night Football territory with its own weekday broadcast of the game's major tournament.

Sixteen years ago, National Hockey League goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov provided the sports world with one of its greatest sound bites while being interviewed by reporters: "It's only a game. Why (do) you have to be mad?"

Since that day, the phrase has exploded in popularity. Game developer Blizzard Entertainment has even used it as a voice line for the character Zarya in the popular online game, Overwatch. While it's become a famous meme for sports fans and gamers alike, the phrase "it's just a game" has recently sparked controversy in the online gaming community.

Celebrity video game streamer Tyler Blevins - popularly known as Ninja - sparked debate on Twitter. He believes the phrase shows a weak mindset consistent with laziness, imperfection and being OK with losing. Ninja suggests that you would not tell athletes like LeBron James or Tom Brady that "it's just a game".

Regardless of whether it's a sport or a video game, he believes in the importance of competitiveness, respect and pride when it comes to taking a game seriously.

Blevins poses a good question: Why is it that sports are taken more seriously than online video games?

Gaming and chill?

I am a part-time gamer but, more importantly, I'm a full-time doctoral student who studies online video games and their place in society. Sports and video games share some similarities. The revenue generated by the activity, along with the possibility for employment and scholarship opportunities, are found in both arenas.

It has been reported that video game revenue has surpassed the global box office and streaming services worldwide. In a 2019 shareholder letter, Netflix stated that Fortnite, the video game popularized by Ninja, is more of a competitor to its service than HBO.

Researchers at the University of Syracuse are estimating that e-sports viewership will surpass every professional sports league in the United States aside from the National Football League by 2021. The rising popularity of online gaming in terms of revenue and viewership should only begin to highlight the seriousness of this form of leisure.

The concept of "serious leisure" has been popularized by University of Calgary sociology professor Robert Stebbins. The concept has been used frequently in discussions surrounding sports or physical activity, but rarely discussed through video games. In Stebbins' definition, serious leisure refers to the " systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist or volunteer core activity that is highly substantial, interesting and fulfilling and where, in the typical case, participants find a career in acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge and experience."

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The benefits of serious leisure include self-enrichment, self-actualization and a sense of identity, community and accomplishment. When a person seriously commits to online gaming, they are hoping to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience to become a professional "gamer," or in the case of Ninja, a professional "streamer" (one who livestreams themselves playing video games on platforms such as Twitch, Mixer or YouTube).

Practice makes perfect

In Stebbins' idea of amateurism, amateurs in sports and entertainment are those who no longer wish to be novices at an activity. They are motivated by seriousness and commitment, whether through consistent practices or organized schedules.

Amateurs exist within a system of relationships between professionals and the public known as the PAP, or professionals-amateurs-publics. Ninja would be a professional. Those that strive to be the next great video gamer would be known as amateurs. While those suggesting that "it's just a game" would be considered the public.

Most professionals would start out as amateurs and climb the ranks to become professional. In online gaming, perhaps one starts to stream on Twitch where they build a following. Or one might win a big tournament, like 16-year-old Kyle (Bugha) Giersdorf, who won $3 million in a Fortnite tournament. While Ninja and Bugha both started as amateurs, through practice and dedication, they have now made millions of dollars gaming professionally.

Online gaming no longer a waste of time

Gaming is clearly serious business. Professional tournaments now have prize pools of over $34 million. Colleges and universities offer scholarships to e-sports players. There are 200 schools with an e-sports program, and $15 million in scholarship funding is available in North America.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Some school teams have earned more than $300,000 in tournament winnings. Gamers known as speed-runners have even raised more than $22.3 million over nine years to charities such as Doctors without Borders and the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

So if you ever think that your child, sibling, cousin or loved one is wasting their time on pointless video games, you may want to identify their level of interest. If they are dedicated and continue to progress, your loved one has a chance at making a career out of their serious leisure pursuit.

Of course, it's possible to enjoy video games in a casual sense. I certainly do. However, Ninja has every right to get angry when someone says to him that "it's just a game." He should be considered the LeBron James or Tom Brady of e-sports. He should be considered an inspiration to amateur gamers and serious leisure enthusiasts everywhere.

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Critics who say online gaming is 'just a game' completely miss the point

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Now more than ever before, the stakes are getting higher in professional gaming. E-sports should be taken seriously as both an occupation and a form of leisure. Riot Games, the developers of desktop juggernaut League of Legends, is even taking the game into Monday Night Football territory with its own weekday broadcast of the game's major tournament.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-55498657

'Countries only have a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Here are five reasons why 2021 could be a crucial year in the fight against global warming.'

Dear Diary, its 2021. These are my Dreams and Aspirations: A Possible Turn for Climate Change?

Jovian: I chose this article as i felt that it was quite intriguing and contained information that would be beneficial to have. After the pandemic and with multiple major changes, the situation could have taken a turn.

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Countries only have only a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Here are five reasons why 2021 could be a crucial year in the fight against global warming.

Covid-19 was the big issue of 2020, there is no question about that.

But I'm hoping that, by the end of 2021, the vaccines will have kicked in and we'll be talking more about climate than the coronavirus.

2021 will certainly be a crunch year for tackling climate change.

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, told me he thinks it is a "make or break" moment for the issue.

So, in the spirit of New Year's optimism, here's why I believe 2021 could confound the doomsters and see a breakthrough in global ambition on climate.

1. The crucial climate conference

In November 2021, world leaders will be gathering in Glasgow for the successor to the landmark Paris meeting of 2015.

Paris was important because it was the first time virtually all the nations of the world came together to agree they all needed to help tackle the issue.

The problem was the commitments countries made to cutting carbon emissions back then fell way short of the targets set by the conference.

In Paris, the world agreed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by trying to limit global temperature increases to 2C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. The aim was to keep the rise to 1.5C if at all possible.

We are way off track. On current plans the world is expected to breach the 1.5C ceiling within 12 years or less and to hit 3C of warming by the end of the century.

Under the terms of the Paris deal, countries promised to come back every five years and raise their carbon-cutting ambitions. That was due to happen in Glasgow in November 2020.

The pandemic put paid to that and the conference was bumped forward to this year.

So, Glasgow 2021 gives us a forum at which those carbon cuts can be ratcheted up.

And there has already been progress.

The most important announcement on climate change last year came completely out of the blue.

At the UN General Assembly in September, the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, announced that China aimed to go carbon neutral by 2060.

Environmentalists were stunned. Cutting carbon has always been seen as an expensive chore yet here was the most polluting nation on earth - responsible for some 28% of world emissions - making an unconditional commitment to do just that regardless of whether other countries followed its lead.

That was a complete turnaround from past negotiations, when everyone's fear was that they might end up incurring the cost of decarbonising their own economy, while others did nothing but still enjoyed the climate change fruits of their labour.

The UK was the first major economy in the world to make a legally binding net zero commitment in June 2019. The European Union followed suit in March 2020.

Since then, Japan and South Korea have joined what the UN estimates is now a total of over 110 countries that have set net zero target for mid-century. Together, they represent more than 65% of global emissions and more than 70% of the world economy, the UN says.

With the election of Joe Biden in the United States, the biggest economy in the world has now re-joined the carbon cutting chorus.

These countries now need to detail how they plan to achieve their lofty new aspirations - that will be a key part of the agenda for Glasgow - but the fact that they are already saying they want to get there is a very significant change.

There is a good reason why so many countries are now saying they plan to go net zero: the collapsing cost of renewables is completely changing the calculus of decarbonisation.

In October 2020, the International Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organisation, concluded that the best solar power schemes now offer "the cheapest source of electricity in history".

Renewables are already often cheaper than fossil fuel power in much of the world when it comes to building new power stations.

And, if the nations of the world ramp up their investments in wind, solar and batteries in the next few years, prices are likely to fall even further to a point where they are so cheap it will begin to make commercial sense to shut down and replace existing coal and gas power stations.

That is because the cost of renewables follows the logic of all manufacturing - the more you produce, the cheaper it gets. It's like pushing on an open door - the more you build the cheaper it gets and the cheaper it gets the more you build.

Think what this means: investors won't need to be bullied by green activists into doing the right thing, they will just follow the money. And governments know that by scaling up renewables in their own economies, they help to accelerate the energy transition globally, by making renewables even cheaper and more competitive everywhere.

4. Covid changes everything

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken our sense of invulnerability and reminded us that it is possible for our world to be upended in ways we cannot control.

It has also delivered the most significant economic shock since the Great Depression.

In response, governments are stepping forward with stimulus packages designed to reboot their economies.

And the good news is it has rarely - if ever - been cheaper for governments to make these kind of investments. Around the world, interest rates are hovering around zero, or even negative.

This creates an unprecedented opportunity to - in the now familiar phrase - "build back better".

The European Union and Joe Biden's new administration in the US have promised trillions of dollars of green investments to get their economies going and kick-start the process of decarbonisation.

Both are saying they hope other countries will join them - helping drive down the cost of renewables globally. But they are also warning that alongside this carrot, they plan to wield a stick - a tax on imports of countries that emit too much carbon.

The idea is this may help induce carbon-cutting laggards - like Brazil, Russia, Australia and Saudi Arabia - to come onside too.

The bad news is that, according to the UN, developed nations are spending 50% more on sectors linked to fossil fuels than on low-carbon energy.

The falling cost of renewable and the growing public pressure for action on climate is also transforming attitudes in business.

There are sound financial reasons for this. Why invest in new oil wells or coal power stations that will become obsolete before they can repay themselves over their 20-30-year life?

Indeed, why carry carbon risk in their portfolios at all?

The logic is already playing out in the markets. This year alone, Tesla's rocketing share price has made it the world's most valuable car company.

Meanwhile, the share price of Exxon - once the world's most valuable company of any kind - fell so far that it got booted out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average of major US corporations.

At the same time there is growing momentum behind the movement to get businesses to embed climate risk into their financial decision making.

The aim is to make it mandatory for businesses and investors to show that their activities and investments are making the necessary steps to transition to a net zero world.

Seventy central banks are already working to make this happen, and building these requirements into the world's financial architecture will be a key focus for the Glasgow conference.

It is still all to play for.

So, there is good reason for hope but it is far from a done deal.

To stand a reasonable chance of hitting the 1.5C target we need to halve total emissions by the end of 2030, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN-backed body that collates the science needed to inform policy.

What that means is making the sort of emissions reductions achieved in 2020 thanks to the massive international lockdowns every year to the end of the decade. Yet emissions are already edging back to the levels they were in 2019.

The truth is lots of countries have expressed lofty ambitions for cutting carbon but few have yet got strategies in place to meet those goals.

The challenge for Glasgow will be getting the nations of the world to sign up to policies that will start reducing emissions now. The UN says it wants to see coal phased out completely, an end to all fossil fuel subsidies and a global coalition to reach net zero by 2050.

That remains a very tall order, even if global sentiments on tackling global warming are beginning to change.

Follow Justin on Twitter.

I've travelled all over the world for the BBC and seen evidence of environmental damage and climate change everywhere. It's the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. Tackling it means changing how we do virtually everything. We are right to be anxious and afraid at the prospect, but I reckon we should also see this as a thrilling story of exploration, and I'm delighted to have been given the chance of a ringside seat as chief environment correspondent.

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Why 2021 could be turning point for tackling climate change

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Countries only have only a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change. Here are five reasons why 2021 could be a crucial year in the fight against global warming. Covid-19 was the big issue of 2020, there is no question about that.

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Aardvarks and rabbits: Acclaimed American kids' show Arthur says goodbye

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Aardvarks and rabbits: Acclaimed American kids' show Arthur says goodbye

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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/aardvarks-and-rabbits-acclaimed-american-kids-show-arthur-says-goodbye

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NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - These wonderful kind of days in a neighbourhood where aardvarks, rabbits and other animals go to school, and learn about life and play, are ending.

Arthur, the beloved and educational children's show, is coming to a close after 25 years, PBS confirmed last week. The show's final season will air in winter next year.

The show, based on the series of Arthur Adventure children's books by Marc Brown, wrapped up production almost two years ago, according to one of the show's writers, Ms Kathy Waugh.

In an episode that aired last month of Finding D.W., a podcast about the series, she said the team had disbanded.

"Arthur is no longer in production," she told podcast host Jason Szwimer. "We had our wrap party two years ago."

An executive producer on the show, Ms Carol Greenwald, confirmed that the series would be ending. She said episodes of the show would continue to be available on PBS Kids, but that no new ones would air after next year.

"Arthur is the longest-running kids' animated series in history and is known for teaching kindness, empathy and inclusion through many groundbreaking moments to generations of viewers," Ms Greenwald said. She did not offer a reason for the show's cancellation.

She said the producer GBH and PBS Kids were "continuing to work together on additional Arthur content, sharing the lessons of Arthur and his friends in new ways".

On the podcast, Ms Waugh said she did not know whether the cancellation was driven by a ratings issue or PBS just felt that the show needed to be retired. She added that she felt PBS had made a mistake.

During its run of more than two decades, Arthur won an enduring audience and a number of awards, including multiple Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Children's Animated Programme, as well as a Peabody Award.

The show first aired on PBS in 1996 and for a time, ranked as the most popular television show for children aged two to 11.

In the series as in the books, Arthur (an aardvark in third grade), his friends (a variety of other anthropomorphised animals) and their school faculty and families have learning lessons about everything including friendship, schoolwork and loss.

Jamaican musician Ziggy Marley, son of reggae pioneer Bob Marley, performed the theme song - itself about empathy and believing in yourself and others.

Available to a wide audience on public television, Arthur was the rare children's series that garnered fans among both children and their parents.

The main character, Arthur, had an "Everyman" quality to him that made him so relatable, Ms Waugh said on the podcast.

"The best kids' television - and Arthur is absolutely at the apex of that particular genre - expands a child's life, reflects a child's life and makes children of all shapes and sizes feel seen," she said.

She added that Arthur, unlike many children's shows that it outlived, confronted not only the experiences of the playground and classroom, but also difficult realities like bullying, the fear of death and cancer.

The tone of the show reflected that, she said. Being incessantly cheerful or chirpy, she said, would have been "a disservice to children".

Ms Waugh said the show validated children's "bad feelings, their mad feelings, their hurt" and sought to help children grow and shape their worlds.

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Aardvarks and rabbits: Acclaimed American kids' show Arthur says goodbye

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NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - These wonderful kind of days in a neighbourhood where aardvarks, rabbits and other animals go to school, and learn about life and play, are ending. Arthur, the beloved and educational children's show, is coming to a close after 25 years, PBS confirmed last week.

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Tackling the critical question of Schooling’s NS deferment after his poor Tokyo Olympics performance

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Tackling the critical question of Schooling’s NS deferment after his poor Tokyo Olympics performance

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https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/tackling-critical-question-schoolings-ns-deferment-after-his-poor-tokyo-olympics

Maximus: I have chosen this arctile as I feel that Joseph Schooling's recent loss at the Tokyo Olympics has recieved many personal and hurtful comments by fellow Singaporeans, saying that he has "Wasted Singapore's money on his training" and that he has led everyone down.

However, this should not be the case. He has done and tried his utmost best and we should just look forward to him improving.

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Heatwave causes massive melt of Greenland ice sheet

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Heatwave causes massive melt of Greenland ice sheet

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Jun Wen:This article is abut the melting of the second largest mas of freshwater ice in Greenland,if fully melted,could cause a devastating effect of sea level rise of 6-7m, the span of the melting,in the articles,stated that the land area was even larger than the 2019 melting,this causes great worry on what the world is facing now,and the effects that we will face in the near future.

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-mental-health-awareness-stigma-conditions-depression-1973166

jhen: i have chosen a cna article that talks about the stigma that still lies among the less known mental illnesses despite the increasing mental health awareness

"Yet, despite more people seeking help for their mental health over the past year, and the increasing awareness around conditions like anxiety or depression, other conditions remain difficult to disclose, said seven individuals who spoke to CNA.

Some of these conditions are bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), borderline personality disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia."

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He added that there is also the possibility of physical self-harm among those with BPD, which is also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD).

"Another symptom we pick up is they will cut themselves. In the emergency department, when you see someone with a lot of scars on their forearm, the patient might have BPD," he said.

"But society doesn't know much about BPD; they think it's just depression. The self-laceration is a very unique sign. When you ask someone with BPD why they cut themselves, they usually don't say they want to end their life. They want to experience the emotional pain they've had in the past."

Dr Ho, however, reinforced that while some people might possess the traits of BPD, having a personality disorder is more than just checking off these traits.

"Having a personality disorder means that the traits become so strong that the person has interpersonal problems. These problems affect their life, whether it's family, work or study," he said.

Similarly, the stigma attached to schizophrenia - a psychotic disorder - prevails in Singapore.

According to a 2016 Singapore Mental Health Study released by the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) on May 21, about one-third of the population who have been diagnosed with psychotic disorders had a diagnosis of schizophrenia at some point in their lives. This makes schizophrenia the most common psychotic disorder here.

The results were part of the first nationwide study to examine the prevalence of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders among those living in Singapore aged 18 and above, their associated factors, and the treatment gap of the disorders.

Despite the prevalence of schizophrenia, public understanding is lacking, with people with the condition being perceived as "dangerous or as individuals incapable of managing themselves", said Ms Lim Lay Keow, a senior case manager at the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme at the Department of Psychosis in IMH.

"Schizophrenia is still sensationalised by the media. The accessibility to smart phones allow for photo or video taking of a person in distress, subjecting them to be judged online."

This behaviour, Ms Lim noted, doesn't just make it difficult for those with schizophrenia to disclose their condition for fear of discrimination. It also results in self-stigmatisation, where the person with schizophrenia finds it difficult to "differentiate themselves from the condition".

The deeply entrenched stereotypes about schizophrenia also make it harder for the public to understand that schizophrenia is "not a personality flaw but a disease of the brain", she added.
YOUTH MORE CANDID, BUT STIGMA REMAINS
Even before the pandemic last year, younger people were increasingly open about their mental health on social media, with some talking about therapy sessions or situations where their mental health conditions might flare up.

But Ron Yap, who was diagnosed with OCD three years ago, said this conversation doesn't translate into less stigma for all conditions.

"While there has been more conversation for disorders like generalised anxiety disorder and depression, there's still stigma surrounding more uncommon disorders, like OCD," the 23-year-old said.

"Even though non-sufferers (of anxiety disorders and depression) will never experience the depths of pain and discomfort those conditions cause, they can at least get a rough, if imperfect, idea of what it's like to suffer, by taking the times in which they experienced anxiety or sadness and amplifying the intensity and duration."

But with OCD, the 23-year-old said, "It's harder to fathom how and why someone would wash their hands 50 times to the point of breaking their skin, go to the bathroom 20 times before bed or dwell on a distressing thought for a whole day to the point of paralysis."

To a non-sufferer, he added, such behaviour is "simply irrational, and even insane, and this impression hinders one's ability to empathise with the sufferer".

Ron, who runs the Instagram account @mentalhealthceo, believes misconceptions about OCD don't help, such as that there's only one type of OCD "exemplified by someone who obsessively washes their hands or clothes over and over again".

"OCD and its rituals can manifest in countless different forms. I know someone who has to eat their food in a certain order, otherwise they wouldn't be able to consume the meal at all," he said.

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The rise of mental health awareness - and the stigma that remains attached to certain conditions

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SINGAPORE: It's been five years since Sabrina Ooi, 30, attempted suicide - and two since she penned a blog post discussing her attempt.

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Jiayu: I have chosen this article as I feel that Yu Meng Yu's determination to win a medal for Singapore is worth noting although playing in the Olympics with an injured ankle. and it shows that anyone can surpass their "limits".

"It's a missed opportunity at an Olympic individual medal, and that will rankle for some time to come. But we remain proud, not only of how far Mengyu has gone at these Olympics but especially because she didn't give up; she pressed on, made a good fist of it and gave it her all, and competed well, even if she fell short because her opponents were better."

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SINGAPORE - Table tennis player Yu Mengyu may have missed out on the bronze medal after losing 4-1 (11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 7-11, 6-11) to Japan's world No. 2 Mima Ito in the bronze-medal play-off on Thursday (July 29), but her gritty display at the Tokyo Olympics has earned her plaudits.

It was the furthest she had ever reached at an Olympics, and the world No. 47 stunned higher-ranked players, including Taiwan's world No. 8 Cheng I-Ching (4-0) and Japan's world No. 10 Kasumi Ishikawa (4-1), along the way.

Yu was the only player among the semi-finalists not ranked among the world's top four. The gold went to world No. 1 Chen Meng of China, the silver to her compatriot, world No. 3 Sun Yingsha.

And Yu carried out her impressive run while nursing an injury in her left thigh, which she pulled in her first match of the competition last Sunday in her 4-0 victory over Portugal's Shao Jieni.

During her semi-final against Chen on Thursday, Yu had called for an injury time-out and received medical attention, but eventually completed the match, which ended 4-0 to Chen.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who was watching from the stands, wrote on Facebook: "Remember that she... got to this position... only because she has risen to the occasion, and surpassed any expectations of her.

"It's a missed opportunity at an Olympic individual medal, and that will rankle for some time to come. But we remain proud, not only of how far Mengyu has gone at these Olympics, but especially because she didn't give up; she pressed on, made a good fist of it and gave it her all and competed well, even if her all fell short because her opponents were better."

Singapore Table Tennis Association president Ellen Lee said: "Mengyu has worked very hard and has made the most of this amazing opportunity. She made an incredible journey.

"Tonight, it was not an easy feat to take on Ito, and Yu displayed great grit and fighting spirit. Yu did Singapore proud and we have no regrets."

She added that the player is now recovering from her injuries and is "looking forward" to joining teammates Feng Tianwei and Lin Ye for the women's team event, which begins on Monday against France.

In a Facebook post, Singapore National Olympic Council president Tan Chuan-Jin hailed Yu's outing at the Tokyo Games as a "glorious one" and praised her tenacity.

Mr Tan, who is also Speaker of Parliament, said: "She has captured our imagination with her verve and fighting spirit.

Yu Mengyu (left) playing against Mima Ito during the bronze medal table tennis match at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, on July 29, 2021. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

"Mengyu lost 1-4 to Ito and put up a good fight. We thank you for flying our flag high not just as one of our flag bearers but as one of our warriors on the courts. Jiayou Mengyu! Now for the team event with Tian Wei and Lin Ye!"

Many others also voiced their support for Yu on social media.

Commenting on The Straits Times' Facebook account, Ganesh Radhakrishnan, recalling the player's struggles with long-term back issues, wrote: "Fantastic effort with a dodgy back... to fight the way Mengyu did against a much younger opponent... she did the nation proud... she lost, but (was not) disgraced... Hats off to her... Salute her fighting spirit and attitude."

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Olympics: Singapore's Yu Mengyu hailed for her brave run in table tennis singles event

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SINGAPORE - Table tennis player Yu Mengyu may have missed out on the bronze medal after losing 4-1 (11-6, 8-11, 7-11, 7-11, 6-11) to Japan's world No. 2 Mima Ito in the bronze-medal play-off on Thursday (July 29), but her gritty display at the Tokyo Olympics has earned her plaudits.

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amriel: i have chosen this article that shows the kindness residing in humans.

“A picture that tells there’s always hope and help. Step forward to help if need be, in whatever capacity. A life saved…. whole Humanity is saved. Thank you abang (brother) and akak (sister),” Adnan Abdul Hamid wrote.

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Disclaimer: Microsoft News is currently reviewing the accuracy of this story with the publisher due to social media source. Updates will be published here if needed.
Singapore has nothing but admiration today for the rail station workers credited with rescuing a girl who appeared ready to jump from an elevated train track.

A day after the unidentified female commuter was brought back to safety at Yio Chu Kang station, skilled netizens yesterday identified railroad staff members Effendi Hashim and Norjan Binte Abdul Rayman from photos and videos that surfaced online.

A picture showed them crouching down to console the girl who was sitting on the tracks, with Effendi putting his hand on her back. Hundreds of comments have since flooded in to applaud their good deed.

"A picture that tells there's always hope and help. Step forward to help if need be, in whatever capacity. A life saved.... whole Humanity is saved. Thank you (brother) and (sister)," Adnan Abdul Hamid wrote.

"This scene is very moving. They didn't rush to remove the girl but instead consoled her patiently. My [thoughts] are with the girl," Charmaine Lee said.

"The mere sight of this man putting his hand over the student like his own daughter and consoling her bleeds my heart. Well done Sir and Madam!" Sarifudin Sapari wrote.

Train operator SMRT said Monday that the uninjured girl was saved at around 2pm. Eyewitnesses had pushed the emergency button alerting ground staff after the girl climbed over the platform screen door to get onto the tracks.

Videos circulated online on Monday showed onlookers watching as the girl stood leaning over the railings. Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers were also present at the scene.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact Samaritans of Singapore at 1800 221 4444, or you can email pat@sos.org.sg. You can also find a list of international helplines here.
This article, Singapore commends train staff who saved girl from tracks, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company.

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Singapore commends train staff who saved girl from tracks

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Disclaimer: Microsoft News is currently reviewing the accuracy of this story with the publisher due to social media source. Updates will be published here if needed. Singapore has nothing but admiration today for the rail station workers credited with rescuing a girl who appeared ready to jump from an elevated train track.

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Simone Biles 'shows how much gymnastics has changed'

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Simone Biles 'shows how much gymnastics has changed'

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rachel: I have chosen this article as I felt that the lesson mentioned, about having a voice to choose to back out for their well-being, was not available in the past. It not only applies to gymnastics but also in life on how we should take care of our well-being and voice out when we push ourselves too much. It talks about how a past athlete, Dominique Moceanu could not say anything when she was injured, and how Simone Biles making the decision to back out of the olympics made her realise that gymnastics has changed for the better.

"The only way you could get rest was if you absolutely had a break or something where you couldn't walk. Otherwise you were expected to train at full capacity."

"Looking back, she says: "I never could say anything anyway. I didn't even care about my well-being, to be honest, because no one cared about it ever.""

"Good for her to step up recognise it and say, 'I am unsure of myself right now I do not feel safe, nor do I want to jeopardise Team USA and a medal because if I keep doing what I just did on the vault, that's not going to end well.'"

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She was an Olympics child prodigy who could never say what Simone Biles did - no. Twenty-five years later, gold medalist Dominique Moceanu speaks about not having a voice - and how things have changed for the better.

It was five weeks before the 1996 Olympics when Dominique Moceanu collapsed in the gym. The 14-year-old had been in pain for months leading up to the just-concluded US Nationals, but it wasn't until afterwards that she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her right tibia. She had been practising non-stop and her body had finally given in.

"Simone's decision has made me think about that time, and how there was no compassion, no care, and absolutely no voice," says Moceanu. "I was not allowed to say I was in pain until I collapsed."

She couldn't cry in practice, so she dragged herself to her room to do it in private.

"I used to almost feel like maybe I should get hurt so that I could rest," she tells the BBC.

"All of the athletes started feeling like this, because we weren't getting enough rest, and our bodies were paying the toll," she says.

"The only way you could get rest was if you absolutely had a break or something where you couldn't walk. Otherwise you were expected to train at full capacity."

Despite her injuries, she was selected to represent Team USA as its youngest member. The team came to be known as the 'Magnificent Seven' and would go on to forever change America's standing in gymnastics, winning gold.

But Moceanu had to persist through injuries at each event to help them get there.

And when she competed in the balance beam finals, she fell on her head. Afterward, she was gripped with fear - though not because of her pain.

"I was terrified of what [coach] Márta Károlyi was going to do to me after," she says. "I was terrified that she was going to call me a failure." (The Karolyis have denied previously allegations of wrongdoing and disputed criticisms of their coaching.)

She remembers holding on to the beam, telling herself not to let her feet touch the ground and finish strong. At least she "landed" on her head and didn't fall all the way on the ground, she told herself.

Looking back, she says: "I never could say anything anyway. I didn't even care about my well-being, to be honest, because no one cared about it ever."

Today, the picture looks better, she says, and it's clear that things have changed.

Biles' decision to withdraw from all but the balance beam finals events at the Tokyo games "simply wasn't an option in 1996," Moceanu says.

"Having a choice - it changes everything."

Like many athletes, she applauded Biles's decision to step back from Olympics events after the gymnast became deeply disoriented on a vault during the team qualifiers. "It's not worth risking your body and your mind," Moceanu says.

"Good for her to step up recognise it and say, 'I am unsure of myself right now I do not feel safe, nor do I want to jeopardise Team USA and a medal because if I keep doing what I just did on the vault, that's not going to end well.'"

Today, Moceanu is an advocate for gymnasts and has testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a bill to protect young athletes.

She now coaches other gymnasts in her own camp in Ohio, and is hopeful that Biles' experience is part of a positive change in how gymnasts are treated.

"I think we're on the right track," she says. "We have a long way to go, but we're discussing things, we're being open to these kinds of adjustments and changes.

"It's going to be a constant work because old habits die hard, but I think if we continue to work on it, we continue to make it front and centre, and always make sure that you know that compass is guiding us in the right way, we can definitely make those changes."

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Simone Biles 'shows how much gymnastics has changed'

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She was an Olympics child prodigy who could never say what Simone Biles did - no. Twenty-five years later, gold medalist Dominique Moceanu speaks about not having a voice - and how things have changed for the better. It was five weeks before the 1996 Olympics when Dominique Moceanu collapsed in the gym.

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Some students also said efforts to inform students about school counselling felt “almost like an afterthought”.

“Whenever the school mentions (it), it’s always very briefly, at the bottom of the (presentation) slide. ‘Oh, by the way, we have a school counsellor, this is the number, the email. Then okay, next slide,’” Ms Chew said.

Others said the counsellor’s office was “tucked away on an upper floor of the school” or “just some room next to the vice-principal’s office”, so it hardly felt prominent, much less welcoming.

Bevlyn : I have chosen this article because it gave interesting insights on what students felt about school's efforts towards counselling

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Some schools in Singapore, however, may have more school counsellors than others. Mr Koh, who was a counsellor at an Integrated Programme school for 10 years, said there was a team of seven counsellors to a cohort of 4,300.

That is a ratio of one to 600, which he felt was already "overwhelming" at times. "It's mentally tiring. All you need to have is one student who has depression - it'd suck the life out of you," he said.

He eventually left his job owing to the "trauma" of encountering "too many" suicide cases in and out of school. "It takes its toll on you," he said. "I needed to disconnect for my own well-being,"

Even so, he acknowledged that he was "privileged" to have worked in a team of counsellors as it offered more choices to students.

"It's like seeing a doctor, right? All doctors are trained, but sometimes you go to one doctor, and you don't find him helpful. Then you go to the next doctor down the road, you get the same medication, but something is different," he said.

"The benefit of having a pool of counsellors (is having) different modalities, different styles, different personalities ... So a student who may not quite work well with me can find another counsellor whom (he or she) can connect better with."

David agreed as he has had a few students who have reflected that they had negative experiences with the school counsellor.

"Counselling is a very intimate kind of relationship. Sometimes it's just personality differences, (but) if they don't like it, it becomes a bad experience for them. That's the disadvantage of having only one school counsellor in the school," he said.

"If they have a bad experience, they won't be so keen to explore counselling again."

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'With school counsellors, it's really hit-or-miss': Behind the challenge of safeguarding student mental health

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denotes name changed to protect the person's identity SINGAPORE: When Jane* opened up to her secondary school counsellor about the cold wars and troubles she was having with some close friends, she was told that "life's like that". That was the then 14-year-old's first sessio

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In these cases, 2798 victims were below 16, and 1000 victims were between 16 and 20 years old.

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About 40% of sexual assault cases from 2017 to 2019 involved victims below 16

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About 40% of sexual assault cases from 2017 to 2019 involved victims below 16

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Maximus: Sexual assault is now becoming a more prevelant problem in mordern Singapore, especially in recent times. There are frequent news reports of cases of young girls being sexually assaulted by older men. This is a burning issue in our society and something has to be done to prevent the number of cases of sexual assault happening.

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Commentary: Chocolate-coated grasshoppers, anyone? French restaurants serves up food of the future.

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Commentary: Chocolate-coated grasshoppers, anyone? French restaurants serves up food of the future.

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https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/french-restaurant-serves-up-mealworm-insects-sustainable-262071

tirian: This article is about restaurants gradually using insects to make delicacies.

'For Veyet, the challenge is two-fold: Winning over public opinion and learning how to match the insects' taste with other foods.

"You have to find the right flavours, the right accompaniments. All that is fascinating, any chef will tell you the same," he said.'

Headline: Here's your plate of meal worms, bon appétit!

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A versatile ingredient, the mealworm can be used whole in curries or salads, or ground to make flour for pasta, biscuits or bread.

"Insects are nutritious," said Stefan De Keersmaecker, a health and food safety spokesman at the European Commission. "They can really help us switch to a more healthy and sustainable diet and food system."

For Veyet, the challenge is two-fold: Winning over public opinion and learning how to match the insects' taste with other foods.

"You have to find the right flavours, the right accompaniments. All that is fascinating, any chef will tell you the same," he said.

(Source: Reuters)

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Chocolate-coated grasshoppers, anyone? French restaurant serves up food of the future

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Laurent Veyet's tasting menu is not for the faint-hearted, but may point to the future of feeding a booming world population: There is a prawn salad with yellow mealworm, crunchy insects on a bed of vegetables and chocolate-coated grasshoppers. As sun bathed the outdoor restaurant terraces in Paris,

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parenting-education/singapore-students-say-parental-and-self-expectations-fear-of-missing

Headline: Is this really a necessary procedure? (question)

Chloe: I have chosen this article which touches on the topic of stress due to studies in Singapore as I feel that it is a highly common thing these days.

In the article, it is stated that many teens these days are missing out on having fun during their youth. Most of them are cooped up at home doing nothing but studying the whole day. Some have said that they would rather be hanging out with their friends but due to the high expectations that their they, teachers, parents have for themselves, they are somewhat forced to study instead.

Some have even associated their self worth and successes with their grades, making it even more difficult to cope with failure in their studies.

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Singapore students say parental and self expectations, Fomo are sources of stress

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Some said scrolling through social media often breeds fear of missing out, otherwise known as Fomo. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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Tokyo 2020: Hidilyn Diaz is Philippines’ first Olympic gold medallist after 55kg weightlifting triumph

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Tokyo 2020: Hidilyn Diaz is Philippines’ first Olympic gold medallist after 55kg weightlifting triumph

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https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/3142598/tokyo-olympics-hidilyn-diaz-wins-first-gold-medal-philippines-taking-first
I have chosen this article on Hidilyn Diaz's success in winning the first gold medal for the Philippines.

"Diaz was overcome with emotion when her victory was confirmed, and there were more tears of joy when the Philippines national anthem was played during the medal ceremony – and when the country’s flag was raised highest of all for the first time."

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Weightlifter Diaz is Philippines' first Olympic gold medallist

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Hidilyn Diaz in tears after ending her country's near 100-year wait for Games gold as she smashes personal best and sets Olympic record in women's 55kg weightlifting event.

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McDonald’s BTS Meal lands in Singapore – without the band-themed paper bagIt’s just the BTS-branded Chicken McNuggets box and drink cup, ARMYs. And after some online ordering hiccups earlier on Monday, some packaging is already being sold on Carousell.

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McDonald’s BTS Meal lands in Singapore – without the band-themed paper bagIt’s just the BTS-branded Chicken McNuggets box and drink cup, ARMYs. And after some online ordering hiccups earlier on Monday, some packaging is already being sold on Carousell.

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Maximus:  Although this was sometime ago, at its peak, the BTS Meal has widely popular and eveyone was scrambling to purchase it. The BTS Meal was only avaliable through McDelivery and other food delivery apps. On the morning the BTS Meal was released, the McDonalds website crashed due to the excessive number of people on it wanting to purchase the meal. Many people also stated to sell the packaging of the meals after they were done comsumin ght econtents inside, which included 9pcs McNuggets, Sweet Chilli sause, Cajun sauce, Fries and a
large drink of your choice. These packagings were sold on carousell at different price ranges ranging from sorund $22 to hundreds of dollars. These actions have sparked some contraversy, saying that if u truely idolised these people, you wouldn't sell their products, and in times of Covid, is it truely dafe abd hygenic to resale foos packagings?

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Commentary: Relaxing rules for vaccinated a reasonable public health move but may have unintended consequences

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Commentary: Relaxing rules for vaccinated a reasonable public health move but may have unintended consequences

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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/covid-19-coronavirus-mandatory-vaccine-phase-2-restriction-rule-dine-travel-passport-2088856

verone: I have chosen a CNA article on the relaxing rules for vaccinated people.
"Should public health restrictions be relaxed for COVID-19 vaccinated individuals but not for those unvaccinated?" The government has made vaccination not compulsory but however, uses certain forms of relaxation of rules to convince the unvaccinated to get their vaccines for example the government allowing fully vaccinated individuals to gather in bigger groups

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Perhaps more convenient methods such as breathalyser tests might be widely employed if these receive approval from the Health Sciences Authority.

LIMIT NUMBER OF EXEMPTED INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN ACCESS GROUP ACTIVITIES

Efforts in the background to study whether more individuals can be vaccinated - like when the Expert Committee declared patients with transplants, HIV and those who have undergone cancer treatment can be vaccinated, and that people who suffered allergic reactions after the first dose of an mRNA vaccine can take Sinovac and be considered fully vaccinated - should keep up with the evolving science as more data becomes available to make vaccines more accessible.

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covid-19
      
    
  


  
      
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Commentary: Relaxing rules for vaccinated a reasonable public health move but may have unintended consequences

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Perhaps more convenient methods such as breathalyser tests might be widely employed if these receive approval from the Health Sciences Authority.

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Reports Claim Kris Wu Sexually Assaulted 13-Year-Old Fan; Lawyers Say He Could Get Death Sentence If Found Guilty Of Violating Multiple Victims 

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Reports Claim Kris Wu Sexually Assaulted 13-Year-Old Fan; Lawyers Say He Could Get Death Sentence If Found Guilty Of Violating Multiple Victims 

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https://www.todayonline.com/8days/sceneandheard/entertainment/reports-claim-kris-wu-sexually-assaulted-13-year-old-fan-lawyers

'They added that Kris would have to serve a minimum of a three to 10 year jail sentence even if his lawyers put up a strong defense for him.

If the court finds him guilty of sexually assaulting minors, or if he has been found to have sexually assaulted multiple victims, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment or be given the death sentence.

If he is given a jail sentence, he would likely be deported from China after serving time and barred from entering the country for life.'

elyse: i chose this article as it shows that not all celebrities are who they present themselves as in the media and like any other person, should be held accountable for their actions. they should not be let off so easily just because they're public figures.

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Reports Claim Kris Wu Sexually Assaulted 13-Year-Old Fan; Lawyers Say He Could Get Death Sentence If Found Guilty Of Violating Multiple Victims

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The 30-year-old would not be shown any leniency in China despite being Canadian.

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claire: i have chosen this article as i felt that it provides us with insights and information about the new rules the government has set regarding the pandemic. it is essential for us to keep to date to the latest new regarding the pandemic as the rules and regulations changes from time to time, thus , it is essential to look through such articles.

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SINGAPORE - Visits to hospital wards will not be allowed from Thursday (Aug 5) to Aug 18, to reduce potential transmission of Covid-19 there.

The move comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) detected more community cases recently, including staff and patients of hospitals. Covid-19 clusters have emerged at Changi General Hospital and Yishun Community Hospital since Sunday.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, MOH said four patient groups will be exempted from this rule on a conditional and case-by-case basis.

They include patients who are very ill, patients who are babies or children, as well as mothers who are due to give birth or have delivered.

Patients requiring additional care support from caregivers will be exempted as well from the no-visit rule.

MOH cited visitors helping patients who have mental incapacities and family members who are undergoing caregiver training to better care for their loved ones after hospital discharge.

These groups of patients can have one visitor each day for a duration of no more than 30 minutes at the patient's bedside.

Said MOH: "For patients who are very ill, up to five pre-designated visitors may be registered, with a maximum of two visitors at the patient's bedside at any one time of no more than 30 minutes' visit duration."

Visitors who need to stay beyond 30 minutes for reasons such as caregiver training will be allowed only after they have tested negative on a supervised antigen rapid test.

They should take the test a maximum of 24 hours before their visit.

MOH added that visitors to the hospitals should not use the patients' toilets, sit on their beds or eat or drink in inpatient wards.

All visitors to the hospitals must don face masks with good filtration capability at all times, the ministry said.

These include surgical masks and reusable masks that are made of two layers of fabric.

MOH also said all patients who are unvaccinated will be approached by hospital staff to get the Covid-19 vaccine if their condition permits.

Those who have received their first dose at the hospital are advised to return to the same hospital for their second dose, it said.

The ministry had announced a cluster of four cases at Yishun Community Hospital on Sunday. The infections broke out in a ward with 32 patients who are mostly above 60 years old.

A new cluster of three cases was reported at Changi General Hospital on Tuesday - three days after MOH closed another cluster there.

On Wednesday morning, Changi General Hospital said the three new patient cases were not linked to the previous cluster of 20 cases.

The recent wave of infections follows Singapore's first hospital cluster at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in April, which led to the hospital halting admissions for two weeks as the number of cases grew to 46 patients.

The Tan Tock Seng Hospital cluster was first detected when a nurse tested positive for the virus on April 27. Two patients linked to this cluster died because of Covid-19 complications.

Four wards, including Ward 9D that was the epicentre of the outbreak, were also locked down to curb the spread of the virus.

Of the 100 active local clusters reported on Tuesday, 83 were clusters linked to individual cases ranging between three and 77 infections. The rest were clusters associated with locations that included Apex Medical Centre (Jurong) and Punggol Primary School.

On Tuesday, the cluster linked to Jurong Fishery Port remained the largest open cluster, at 1,097 cases.

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MOH bars visits to hospital wards from Aug 5 to Aug 18; some exemptions, including for new mothers

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SINGAPORE - Visits to hospital wards will not be allowed from Thursday (Aug 5) to Aug 18, to reduce potential transmission of Covid-19 there. The move comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) detected more community cases recently, including staff and patients of hospitals.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/people-vaccinated-overseas-can-verify-covid-19-vaccination-record-at-designated
janelle liang: i chose this article because we are in a pandemic right now and i think it is very important for us to keep up with the updates regarding covid 19 and the rules and laws implemented

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SINGAPORE - Individuals who received Covid-19 vaccinations overseas can visit designated clinics to verify their records for use in Singapore.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Aug 11) that they can go to a clinic listed by the Health Ministry at this website to kick start the verification process.

They will have to show their overseas vaccination record and undergo a serology test to detect the presence of Covid-19 antibodies, said Mr Ong.

The record will be uploaded into the individual's HealthHub and the TraceTogether app if the serology test indicates that there are antibodies present.

Mr Ong said those who had the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty or Moderna vaccine will get the record updated about two days after their medical provider has submitted the details into the National Immunisation Registry.

But those who were given other vaccines on the World Health Organisation's emergency use listing, such as the Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccine, will have their vaccination records reflected only on the HealthHub app for the time being. HealthHub is a portal that allows users to access their public health records and medical appointments online.

Mr Ong said that the authorities are working to upload these records to the TraceTogether app, which facilitates contact tracing, by the end of the month.

Mr Ong said he was responding to some "top-of-mind questions" after Covid-19 restrictions were eased to allow dining in from Tuesday.

On a question about how individuals who are unable to be vaccinated can join their family for meals, Mr Ong said they can take a pre-event test at an approved provider. Each test costs about $20 and is valid for 24 hours.

"But that merely shows you are not likely to have the virus," Mr Ong added.

"It does not protect you from being infected. So please be careful."

He also said that children under 12 who cannot be vaccinated yet can dine out. But they must be seated with people from the same household, and the group size must not exceed five people.

On what happens if someone uses a vaccination certificate from another person, Mr Ong said the authorities are aware that "such illegal practices are going on".

"The authorities will enforce against this, and offenders will face severe penalty," he said.

"It is not worth it. Take a pre-event test if you have to attend a dinner or event."

People who had allergic reactions after the first dose of an mRNA vaccine will be invited to have the Sinovac inactivated virus vaccine, Mr Ong said.

They can also go to any vaccination centre to verify that they cannot receive a second dose because of the allergy, said Mr Ong. They will then receive an SMS invitation.

The current 200,000 doses of the Government's stock of Sinovac's vaccine have already been allocated, and new stocks are expected to arrive in the next four to six weeks.

Individuals who do not want any of the Sinovac or mRNA vaccines can wait for the Novavax protein-based Covid-19 vaccine. Supplies are expected to start arriving before the end of the year, said Mr Ong.

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People vaccinated overseas can verify Covid-19 vaccination record at designated clinics in S'pore

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SINGAPORE - Individuals who received Covid-19 vaccinations overseas can visit designated clinics to verify their records for use in Singapore. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Aug 11) that they can go to a clinic listed by the Health Ministry at this website to kick start the verification process.

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miko; i have chosen this article as it is documenting something important in today's world.Some people may be interested into what is being injected into their bodies

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Aug 9 (Reuters) - The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

Moderna's vaccine may be best against Delta

The mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech may be less effective than Moderna's against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to two reports posted on medRxiv on Sunday ahead of peer review. In a study of more than 50,000 patients in the Mayo Clinic Health System https://bit.ly/37Btmhf, researchers found the effectiveness of Moderna's vaccine against infection had dropped to 76% in July - when the Delta variant was predominant - from 86% in early 2021. Over the same period, the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had fallen to 42% from 76%, researchers said. While both vaccines remain effective at preventing COVID hospitalization, a Moderna booster shot may be necessary soon for anyone who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines earlier this year, said Dr. Venky Soundararajan of Massachusetts data analytics company nference, who led the Mayo study.

In a separate study, elderly nursing home residents in Ontario https://bit.ly/3sb9pHJ produced stronger immune responses - especially to worrisome variants - after the Moderna vaccine than after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The elderly may need higher vaccine doses, boosters, and other preventative measures, said Anne-Claude Gingras of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, who led the Canadian study. When asked to comment on both research reports, a Pfizer spokesperson said, "We continue to believe... a third dose booster may be needed within 6 to 12 months after full vaccination to maintain the highest levels of protection."

Breakthrough COVID-19 more likely months after vaccination

People who received their second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine five or more months ago are more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than people who were fully vaccinated less than five months ago, new data suggest. Researchers studied nearly 34,000 fully vaccinated adults in Israel https://bit.ly/3Cucp6O who were tested to see if they had a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Overall, 1.8% tested positive. At all ages, the odds of testing positive were higher when the last vaccine dose was received at least 146 days earlier, the research team reported Thursday on medRxiv ahead of peer review. Among patients older than 60, the odds of a positive test were almost three times higher when at least 146 days had passed since the second dose. Most of the new infections were observed recently, said coauthor Dr. Eugene Merzon of Leumit Health Services in Israel. "Very few patients had required hospitalization, and it is too early to assess the severity of these new infections in terms of hospital admission, need for mechanical ventilation or mortality," he added. "We are planning to continue our research."

Ovarian egg sacs not harmed by COVID-19 antibodies

The sacs in the ovaries where eggs are stored are not harmed by COVID-19 antibodies, whether those antibodies are the result of infection or vaccination, a small study https://bit.ly/3jFVCoQ suggests. Israeli researchers analyzed fluid from ovarian sacs, or follicles, from 32 women who were having their eggs retrieved to be fertilized by sperm in a test tube. Fourteen women had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus nor infected with it. The others had either recovered from COVID-19 or received the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine, and in these two groups the researchers saw antibodies against the virus in follicle fluid. There was no difference among the groups in the follicles' ability to make female sex hormones, nourish and nuture the egg so it will form a good quality embryo, and release the egg during ovulation. There was also no difference in "the rate of good quality embryos" from the eggs retrieved from each patient," said Dr. Yaakov Bentov of Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, who coauthored a report published on Saturday in Human Reproduction.

Click for a Reuters graphic https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl on vaccines in development. (Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Tiffany Wu)

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COVID SCIENCE-Moderna may be superior to Pfizer against Delta; breakthrough odds rise with time

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The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. The mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech may be less effective than Moderna's against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to two reports posted on medRxiv on Sunday ahead of peer review.

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Police warn of stock market manipulation scams resurfacing; more than S$1.45m lost in recent spate of cases

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SINGAPORE - The police have warned the public to be wary of stock market manipulation scams where victims are fooled into buying a listed company's stock at artificially high prices.

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xuanxuan: i have chosen a jamesclear article on what to do when we feel like giving up. "let the world decide" is a sentence i found meaningful from the article. the amount of hard work we put in into something may be seen differently from other people. for example, i have done 2 revision worksheets today but some people have already did 5 revision worksheets while some havent even started. in a moment where you dont feel like doing work, its ok to take a break today and give it your all when you feel like it. spend it in a way where you will feel proud.

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I am struggling today. If you've ever struggled to be consistent with something you care about, maybe my struggle will resonate with you too.

It has been 939 days since November 12, 2012. That's the date when I first published an article on JamesClear.com and it's almost 2 years and 7 months ago. During these 939 mostly glorious, sometimes frustrating days, I have written a new post every Monday and Thursday. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year.

Today, I Feel Like Giving Up

But today? Well, today I am struggling. Today, I don't feel like writing. Today, I don't feel like sticking to the routine. Today, I don't feel like I have any great ideas and I don't feel like I have enough time to make the good ideas great. Today, I feel like giving up.

Research from the University of Pennsylvania has shown that grit is the characteristic linked most closely to success. I could use some grit today.

Here's what I try to remind myself of when I feel like giving up...

Your Mind is a Suggestion Engine

Consider every thought you have as a suggestion, not an order. Right now, my mind is suggesting that I feel tired. It is suggesting that I give up. It is suggesting that I take an easier path.

If I pause for a moment, however, I can discover new suggestions. My mind is also suggesting that I will feel very good about accomplishing this work once it is done. It is suggesting that I will respect the identity I am building when I stick to the schedule. It is suggesting that I have the ability to finish this task, even when I don't feel like.

Remember, none of these suggestions are orders. They are merely options. I have the power to choose which option I follow. 1

Discomfort Is Temporary

Relative to the time in your normal day or week, nearly any habit you perform is over quickly. Your workout will be finished in an hour or two. Your report will be typed to completion by tomorrow morning. This article will be finished in just a moment.

Life is easier now than it has ever been. 300 years ago, if you didn't kill your own food and build your own house, you would die. Today, we whine about forgetting our iPhone charger.

Maintain perspective. Your life is good and your discomfort is temporary. Step into this moment of discomfort and let it strengthen you.

You Will Never Regret Good Work Once It is Done

Theodore Roosevelt famously said, "Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." So often it seems that we want to work easily at work worth doing. We want our work to be helpful and respected, but we do not want to struggle through our work. We want our stomachs to be flat and our arms to be strong, but we do not want to grind through another workout. We want the final result, but not the failed attempts that precede it. We want the gold, but not the grind.

Anyone can want a gold medal. Few people want to train like an Olympian.

And yet, despite our resistance to it, I have never found myself feeling worse after the hard work was done. There have been days when it was damn hard to start, but it was always worth finishing. Sometimes, the simple act of showing up and having the courage to do the work, even in an average manner, is a victory worth celebrating.

This Is Life

Life is a constant balance between giving into the ease of distraction or overcoming the pain of discipline. It is not an exaggeration to say that our lives and our identities are defined in this delicate balance. What is life, if not the sum of a hundred thousand daily battles and tiny decisions to either gut it out or give it up?

This moment when you don't feel like doing the work? This is not a moment to be thrown away. This is not a dress rehearsal. This moment is your life as much as any other moment. Spend it in a way that will make you proud.

Let the World Decide

So, what do I do when I feel like giving up? I show up.

Do I show up at my best? I doubt it. But my job isn't to judge how good or how bad I am.

My job is to do the work and let the world decide.

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I am struggling today, and maybe you are too. Don't give up yet, though. Read this article to learn what I remind myself of when I want to give up...

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"The comparison, stress and feeling of not being good enough come with social media. The hyper connectivity also results in youth here being more affected by overseas issues, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, global warming and other issues," he said.
i think that this is very true and is relatable fr many of us nowadays

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Helping youth improve mental health amid rising pressures

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Mental well-being among the young has taken on a new urgency following the River Valley High School incident. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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jodie: i have chosen this article as i believe that situations such as these should be brought to light and addressed directly rather than it being overlooked and mocked.

'Mr. Loh, an ex-general paper and literature teacher, confirms with us that the “sex-ed syllabus leaves out homosexuality or gender [diversity] completely”. He adds that students who have questions about LGBTQ+ identities are frequently referred to school counsellors instead, who would often classify such identities as psychological problems.'

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Note: Most of the article describes pre-university schools in Singapore, where children and youth spend their formative years.
In January 2021, an anonymous Reddit post started going viral.

The post creator, a trans girl who later identified herself as Ashlee, claimed that her school and Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) have blocked her hormone replacement therapy (HRT) even though her doctor and father had approved the treatment. She also claimed that MOE told her doctor to stop prescribing HRT to students.

Massive outrage erupted, as people questioned MOE's rationale and legal authority in interfering with their student's medical treatment. Many were shocked at the serious allegations - a Member of Parliament (MP) even questioned the Minister for Education in parliament on policies surrounding such issues.

Yet to many of us within the LGBTQ+ community, this wasn't exactly news.

Oogachaga, a local organisation that provides counselling services to LGBTQ+ folks, quickly stated that Ashlee's experience wasn't unique. TransgenderSG, a local transgender support organisation, further claimed that there have been "much worse cases" where trans students were abused - some to the point of suicide - when their schools and MOE prevented them from transitioning or undergoing HRT.

The truth is, Singapore's schools have been suppressing, erasing, and bullying LGBTQ+ folks for decades. Yet this form of institutionalised discrimination has been so successful that most people don't even notice that it exists.

Here's how it works.

When humans build systems (think education systems, governments, etc.), we create rules and policies to guide our decision making. These rules, however, are often not as fair as we think they are.

The root problem is simple: humans are flawed creatures.

As we create rules, we often impose a part of our personal biases onto them. Over time, as these rules get codified, replicated, and extended, the same bias gets applied to an entire system. Without fully knowing it, we have built a system that's biased against a group of people.

This is institutionalised discrimination.

In practice, minority groups (such as racial and sexual minorities) are often at the receiving end of bias and prejudice. And as we've mentioned in our previous article, LGBTQ+ folks in Singapore are subject to institutionalised discrimination in nearly all aspects of their lives.

The scariest thing about institutionalised discrimination is the fact that well-meaning people placed within biased systems often end up doing biased things. Many times, people within these systems don't act out of malice - they're merely following the rules and policies in place. However, their collective actions can often result in discriminatory outcomes.

This problem is further compounded when it happens in an education system. As children learn in an environment that tells them - directly or indirectly - that being LGBTQ+ is "wrong", they grow into adults who subconsciously hold onto that belief. When they rejoin the school environment as teachers, principals, counsellors, or ministers, they reinforce the same beliefs. The cycle of discrimination repeats.

Let's take a look at how this works in practice.

The way schools in Singapore erase LGBTQ+ identities is truly quite extensive - if it were intentional, we'd have to give it a 10/10 score for villainy.

It begins with the education curricula, but extends way beyond that. Here are the details (skip to TLDR).

LGBTQ+ identities are erased from education curricula

We'll start with the obvious: sex education classes in Singapore's schools almost never acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ+ sexualities and gender identities.

If schools decide to mention the existence of gay people, MOE's curriculum made it sure that they also teach students that gay sex is illegal in Singapore. Because of that, discussions about homosexuality remain contextualised in the notion that it is a criminal act. Even if this were presented in the most neutral way, students will be left to internalise the idea that being gay is inherently wrong.

In 2009, MOE removed AWARE, Singapore's leading women advocacy organisation, from its list of approved sex-ed vendors partly because their class material didn't condemn homosexuality. A decade later, schools continue to "ignore the existence of LGBTQ+ people" in sex-ed classes, as teachers imply that being gay or bisexual are "phases" that people eventually get over.

Mr. Loh, an ex-general paper and literature teacher, confirms with us that the "sex-ed syllabus leaves out homosexuality or gender [diversity] completely". He adds that students who have questions about LGBTQ+ identities are frequently referred to school counsellors instead, who would often classify such identities as psychological problems [Note 1].

But the erasure of LGBTQ+ identities goes beyond sex-ed classes. Mr. Loh, through his 25 years of teaching experience, has learnt that teachers shouldn't discuss LGBTQ+ identities with students.

At a school event with a panel discussion, Mr. Loh recalled a student asking the panel guests about their thoughts on s377A, a British-era law that makes sex between men illegal. A member of the panel, who was a lawyer, quickly responded that they cannot comment because s377A is a government policy.

On another occasion, Mr. Loh's Vice Principal destroyed new books for the school's library that appear to contain or suggest LGBTQ+ themes, without even finding out the details of the books.

Through these and many other incidents, Mr. Loh learnt that discussing LGBTQ+ topics with students isn't only forbidden, but that it may also affect his career advancement prospects. He, like many other teachers, has learnt to erase LGBTQ+ identities from all of his classes in order to keep his job.

"Yes, I fear repercussions to my career," Mr. Loh says. "It may affect promotional prospects or attract possible disapproval from parents who may take such information to the media to protect their children from such 'immorality'. So yes, teachers may be pressured from being [publicly out as LGBTQ+], let alone discussing LGBTQ+ issues in class."

LGBTQ+ teachers feel pressured to stay closeted and hidden

Because of the way LGBTQ+ topics are policed in schools, many queer teachers force themselves to stay closeted at work in order to keep their jobs.

AO, a current MOE teacher, has decided to remain closeted in school out of fear of losing their job. They've heard stories of teachers being fired for being LGBTQ+ or for discussing LGBTQ+ identities. They don't feel comfortable sharing with their colleagues what they do in their spare time, and found themselves policing and censoring their own behaviours in school.

"I don't feel safe doing something as innocuous as waving a pride flag or wearing a pride mask in public. I worry about whether wearing a graphic t-shirt with a rainbow design is too obvious. I'm not doing anything political in any of these acts, but it can be interpreted as such," AO says. "I have chosen to live closeted except with people I trust."

In a 2019 interview, multiple queer teachers have also shared their common understanding that they will face career repercussions if they decide to come out. "If you come out, your hopes of being promoted to principal-level are basically dashed," one teacher said. Ms. Ren, another teacher in her 30s, thought that she would be "negatively judged by MOE, no matter how capable [she is] as a teacher" if she made her sexuality known.

Mr. Otto Fong, an ex-teacher who publicly came out as gay on his blog in 2007, said that he knew of teachers and educators who "feared for their jobs" because they are queer, and knew of queer educators who were "dismissed for weird excuses and had to join the public tuition industry".

Mr. Loh, ex-GP and literature teacher, agrees with these sentiments. He says that none of the queer teachers he know are open about their sexuality at work because of the way LGBTQ+ issues are handled in schools.

Our schools' open hostility towards LGBTQ+ identities doesn't only affect students, but also forces many queer teachers to remain in hiding. On top of affecting their mental wellbeing as they fear for their livelihood, this harmful environment also ensures that students never see LGBTQ+ role models in their schools. This is an often-ignored but potent form of erasure: cisgender and heterosexual students never get to have role models who happen to be queer, and queer students never feel represented in their schools' leadership. This lack of representation makes it easy for students to continue accepting the negative stereotypes that they hear from their classes and educators.

Teachers and school counsellors are discouraged from affirming LGBTQ+ identities

On top of not discussing LGBTQ+ identities or coming out as queer, educators have learnt that they should also never give affirming messages to their queer students.

Teachers

Many teachers, whether queer themselves or allies, have been warned against giving messages that are supportive of LGBTQ+ students.

Ex-teacher Mr. Otto Fong revealed in an interview that, after telling his students that "all differences should be accepted, and that included being gay", he was quickly asked by his school's management to stop talking about such issues. "Most teachers know to avoid addressing the LGBT issue positively," Mr. Otto Fong said.

Ms. Ren said that a teacher's job could be at risk if they say something supportive of LGBTQ+ rights. She said that even "anonymous, unfair, inaccurate" complaints made by parents could "really get a teacher in trouble, harassed by school authorities, and/or blacklisted for future teaching positions. MOE doesn't even need to get the teacher's side of the story."

Ms. Stella, a secondary school teacher, said that her colleague who voiced support for LGBTQ+ rights was told that her social media posts were "objectionable", and was made to remove them. Ms. Stella's colleague was further "warned to distance themselves" from LGBTQ+ issues.

Educators' fear of retaliation for showing support for LGBTQ+ students is real. In January 2021, over 600 educators and social workers signed a statement to call on MOE to do better for their trans students, yet most of them decided to hide their real names to protect their jobs. "Many of us were afraid to write this statement or put our names to it because we recognise that it is still not safe for us as individuals and professionals to publicly express these views," the statement said.

School counsellors

Every school in Singapore has 1-2 counsellors to support students with their mental wellbeing and emotional development. However, evidence suggests that they are prevented from providing positive counselling to queer students, and are even forced to report queer students to the school authorities.

When Ruien came out to his school counsellor in secondary school, she quickly informed him that she had to report his sexuality to the principal as well as her superiors. Uncomfortable with this, he eventually decided to stop going for counselling altogether.

Other anecdotes corroborate this practice. An anonymous teacher claimed that their school counsellor told participating teachers in a gender and sexuality workshop that, should a student "confess LGBT identities or relationships", they need to "report it to the school, their parents, and possibly the police". When questioned, the counsellor justified their practice by citing the criminal nature of s377A, and further claimed that queer individuals face higher suicide rates, and that suicide is also a criminal act in Singapore.

Leow Yangfa, executive director of Oogachaga, tells us that they've heard that it's part of MOE's policy for school counsellors to breach confidentiality whenever a student discloses their LGBTQ+ sexuality. "As soon as an LGBT student comes out to them, the school counsellor would be required to inform their parents," Yangfa says. "This is what many of our counselling clients have told us, and some MOE school counsellors have verified that too, under assurance of anonymity."

On top of that, Yangfa also revealed in a previous interview that MOE schools aren't allowed to refer students to Oogachaga's LGBTQ-affirming counselling services. He also said that some schools, perhaps unaware of the harmful consequences, have even encouraged parents to send their children to abusive " conversion therapy " practitioners.

When schools prevent teachers and school counsellors from affirming their queer students, they not only negatively affect the mental wellbeing of students, but also ensure that LGBTQ+ identities remain consistently framed in a negative light.

Anti-LGBTQ teachers bully queer students without consequence

It pains us to say this, but some teachers and educators can be the most cruel perpetrators of abuse and bullying against LGBTQ+ students in Singapore.

When bullying comes from a teacher or school leader (such as a principal), its damaging effect is far greater. Their position as figures of authority not only makes students feel powerless in reporting any abuse, but also signals to other students that it's acceptable - and even encouraged - to bully LGBTQ+ people.

When Joshua was in secondary school, his sexuality was leaked to his classmates. They started calling him derogatory names and ostracised him at social activities such as sports games and project work.

On one occasion, his classmate disrupted an ongoing lesson by shouting aloud that Joshua is gay. But instead of condemning the interruption, Joshua's teacher joined in on the bullying. The teacher confronted Joshua in front of the class, asking him to confirm his sexuality to everyone. When he didn't respond, the teacher turned to Joshua's desk mate and asked if sitting next to a gay person made him feel scared. This blatantly aggressive response from the teacher signaled to the class that being gay is wrong, and that bullying gay people is the right way to go.

Since then, other teachers have also joined in - one of them encouraged Joshua's classmates to spend time with other classmates instead of him. The bullying in school got so bad that Joshua started making suicide plans: he slept with a knife every night, ready to end his life if the pain got too overwhelming. Joshua survived school, but had to be admitted to a hospital at one point.

Unfortunately, his experience wasn't unique.

Local author Amanda Lee Koe shares with us how teachers in her all-girls secondary school bullied queer students without repercussions.

When Amanda turned in her composition homework, her form teacher refused to mark it and told her it was "inappropriate" because it featured LGBTQ+ characters. (Side note: Amanda would later become the youngest person to win the Singapore Literature Prize.) Indignation and humiliation turned into deep anxiety and fear when Amanda found out that her teacher outed her to her parents because of this composition.

"What does this signal to a teenager?" Amanda says. "Not only about whose stories get told, but who gets to live and love? Worse, how could a teacher out a student to their parents behind their back, without any consideration for their privacy, mental welfare and physical safety?"

Yet that was just the beginning.

When her teachers realised - through an anonymous report made by an adult - that Amanda had a girlfriend in the same school, they separated the pair and sent them for interrogation by the Discipline Mistress and Vice Principal. The questioning was invasive and deeply traumatising for Amanda and her then-girlfriend.

Amanda's teachers also sent her to counselling, but her school's counsellor was unwilling to address LGBTQ+ relationships. Instead, the counsellor asked if Amanda had family problems, insinuating that only those who were "broken" would "turn" queer. The counsellor also talked about finding "positive [heterosexual] role models", which left Amanda thinking that queer individuals had "no future".

"For a long time after this, I believed that queer folks were doomed to come to tragic endings," Amanda shares. "In recent years, when young queers started telling me I was their role model, I was in disbelief. I'd been made to feel like a criminal misfit for so long. How could I possibly be a decent role model for anyone? That was when I realised how deeply I had internalised the notions I had been force fed in school."

Amanda also recalls how her teachers freely bullied other students they suspected were queer. A student who was a few years older than Amanda had her prefect title removed when her teachers found out that she's queer. The teachers would also pick on masculine-presenting students, poking fun at their haircuts, and even sexually harassing them by inspecting and policing the type of bras they were wearing.

"I don't want to use the word 'persecute' lightly," Amanda says, "but 'persecute' means 'to pursue with harassing or oppressive treatment, especially due to ethnic or racial origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation'. It's absolutely clear that generations of LGBTQ+ students have been persecuted in Singapore's schools, at great detriment to our wellbeing and growth, causing much distress at a sensitive moment in our lives. Like any other student, what we need at that formative age is support and affirmation. Instead, we've been targeted and punished."

This bears repeating: Joshua and Amanda's experiences aren't unique.

When Jo confided in her primary school teacher that she liked girls, the teacher decided that it was appropriate to force her to reveal her sexuality in front of the whole class ( PDF report, page 57). The teacher went on to say that being lesbian is wrong, and insinuated that Jo only liked girls because she had been sexually assaulted by men. Even though Jo told her teacher that she was never assaulted, her teacher continued talking about sexual assault for 20 minutes, which left Jo feeling "morally corrupt". This happened in a primary school.

Mr. Loh, ex-GP and literature teacher, tells us that his principals have told students that being gay was wrong without providing any explanation. Online anecdotes provide many other similar examples of bullying, with one even recounting that their teacher asked the students to discuss whether they should "drive gay people out of Singapore".

These acts of bullying are unacceptable, yet teachers and school leaders who are guilty of committing them seem to remain free from repercussions.

When educators publicly bully LGBTQ+ students, they send a clear message to other students that being queer is wrong and punishable, and grant them permission to join in on the bullying. On top of that, they send a strong warning to LGBTQ+ students to keep their identities hidden or risk punishment. This atmosphere of bullying isn't just an injustice, but also further encourages self-erasure of LGBTQ+ identities in schools.

Trans students are literally erased from schools

Transgender students in Singapore face additional discrimination, and in extreme cases, are literally forced out of schools. To understand how this happens, we'll need to look at how schools reinforce gender norms on students.

All primary, secondary, and tertiary schools (except polytechnics and universities) require students to wear gendered uniforms. On top of that, schools also impose gendered haircuts on students. For example, a male student would typically be required to wear shorts or pants, and keep a short haircut. A female student would typically be required to wear skirts and keep her hair longer than shoulder-length. Students who don't adhere to such dress codes would often face disciplinary action from their school.

While these gendered presentations don't affect cisgender students much, they may worsen the gender dysphoria that trans students face. Gender dysphoria is a well-recognised form of mental distress that some trans folks face, due to the mismatch between their body and sense of self.

When a school forces a trans girl to wear boys' uniform and keep her hair short, it will likely exacerbate any gender dysphoria that she's already experiencing. And because MOE appears to have no official policy on whether schools should support their trans students in their gender presentation, the mental health of a trans student is likely subject to the whims and personal biases of their school's teachers and leaders.

Take Ashlee's case, for instance. While her teachers and peers were supportive of her presenting as a girl in school, she claimed to have met with interference from her Discipline Master and Principal when they learnt of her HRT. Even though her doctor and father supported the treatment, her principal allegedly tried to interfere with the treatment's dosage, and prohibited Ashlee from presenting as a girl in school. According to Ashlee, the school also tried to prevent her from reappearing on campus by asking her to take her classes online - an unfair and impractical request, because Ashlee would then be forced to skip hands-on lessons such as science practical classes. Because of this, Ashlee said that she was considering dropping out of school.

In another recent case, Elise from the Institute of Technical Education said that her course manager has forbidden her from using female restrooms on campus. On top of that, she said that her lecturer and peers have consistently and intentionally misgendered her, even going so far as to call her transitioning process a "lifestyle". These actions have not only caused great mental distress to Elise, who is already struggling with suicidal thoughts, but also increased the likelihood that she would drop out of school to avoid further torment.

[ Update: Since the story of her discrimination was shared online, Elise's school has allegedly taken steps to affirm her gender in school. For instance, they'll start using her preferred name and pronouns, and allow her to grow her hair out. Her bullies have also allegedly been taken to task by the school. However, she's still not allowed to use the female restrooms on campus.]

In a recent interview, Edward shared that his principal refused to allow him to wear the boys' uniform, even though his school counsellor helped make the plea with him.

Ashlee's, Elise's, and Edward's experiences aren't isolated cases either. According to TransgenderSG's recent report, 78% of trans students experienced bullying and abuse in schools, and less than a third of them felt safe at school. TransgenderSG also reported that schools have been known to create such hostile environments - by enforcing "unreasonable demands" or preventing trans students from transitioning - that they force trans students to drop out of school.

When schools actively prevent trans students from presenting as their genuine self, they essentially force them to choose between their mental health and having an education. In extreme cases, trans folks would drop out of school, or worse, take their own lives due to extreme distress. This is the most brutal and tangible form of erasure in schools: trans folks are literally disappearing or killing themselves because of hostile environments in school.

LGBTQ+ speakers are removed from school events

Singapore's schools also have a track record of banning queer speakers at events.

In 2018, St Joseph's Institution barred Rachel Yeo from speaking at their TEDx talk one day before the event, because they realised that she was part of the Inter-University LGBT Network. Rachel shared that, while the student organisers didn't seem to find any issue with her background, their school claimed that she was "not permitted to speak due to MOE regulations that were beyond their control". MOE quickly denied the existence of any such regulations.

The next year, Singapore Polytechnic banned radio DJ Joshua Simon from speaking at their TEDx talk one day before the event, because they realised that his talk would contain recounts of his LGBTQ+ experiences. Even though the student organisers allegedly fought to keep him on the panel, the school asked Joshua to censor his script if he wanted to speak at the event. When he refused, it removed him from the event and apologised, claiming that it had to abide by MOE regulations.

In both cases, it appeared that it was the schools that found issue with having queer speakers, not the student organisers. Removing LGBTQ+ speakers at school events might seem trivial, but it's yet another way in which schools erase the existence of LGBTQ+ role models from their students' lives.

The result: extensive erasure of LGBTQ+ identities in schools

The erasure of LGBTQ+ identities in Singapore's schools clearly goes beyond a lack of acknowledgement in sex-ed classes. Schools here have seemingly managed to eradicate LGBTQ+ identities from almost all aspects of the education system:

LGBTQ+ identities are erased from sex-ed classes, and teachers are signalled to not discuss LGBTQ+ identities in other classes or events. This causes generations of students to remain uneducated about the facts and realities about LGBTQ+ identities.

LGBTQ+ teachers are pressured to hide their sexuality in school, and LGBTQ+ speakers are banned from school events. This removes any exposure to positive LGBTQ+ role models in schools.

Teachers and school counsellors are discouraged from giving LGBTQ-affirming messages to students. This causes LGBTQ+ identities to be consistently framed in a negative light in schools.

Anti-LGBTQ teachers and school leaders freely bully queer students without any apparent consequences. This signals to students that being queer is wrong and worthy of punishment.

Trans students are forced out of schools when they're required to present themselves in the wrong gender or blocked from transitioning. This literally erases trans students from schools.

Schools in Singapore have been erasing queer identities for decades. To understand why this system of discrimination has managed to work for so long, we'll need to take a closer look at the ministry and its leaders.

MOE regulations are undisclosed and inaccessible to the public

MOE has been tight-lipped about their policies surrounding LGBTQ+ identities and students, opting to issue vague statements instead. It's unclear why the ministry is so secretive about their policies, but a side effect is that the public finds it difficult to assess the truth when anti-LGBTQ practices are reported. This is especially true when all we have to go on are the words from both sides of the allegations.

In 2018 and 2019, for instance, 2 schools have separately banned queer speakers from their events, with both schools seemingly citing MOE's regulations as their main reason for doing so. Even though MOE has publicly denied the existence of such regulations, the fact that their policies remain undisclosed made it impossible for the public to figure out who was telling the truth. We were essentially called to place our trust in MOE's words and ignore contrary voices.

In January 2021, when Ashlee's allegations surfaced, MOE claimed that they don't interfere with students' medical treatments (while at the same time misgendering Ashlee). However, Oogachaga and TransgenderSG quickly pointed out that Ashlee's experience wasn't unique. TransgenderSG's recent report also claimed that many schools had interfered with trans students' transitioning processes. Once again, because MOE's regulations are kept undisclosed, the public wasn't able to tell who was telling the truth. We were called to place our trust in MOE's words and ignore contrary voices.

When it comes to anti-bullying policies in schools, it's unclear if MOE has regulations that prohibit teachers from bullying queer students. On one hand, MOE claimed that schools have a "zero-tolerance stance for bullying" (though this is mainly framed in the context of bullying carried out by students on their peers). On the other, there are tons of anecdotes - from students and teachers - about how queer students are being bullied by their educators. We are once again called to place our trust in MOE's words and ignore contrary voices.

But just how much faith should we place on MOE's words?

MOE's approach of keeping their policies undisclosed might have given them an unintended advantage for a long time, but each anti-LGBTQ school incident erodes the general public's trust in the ministry's words. At a certain point, the public will be forced to decide between two realities: the story that MOE continues to tell, or the mountain of stories from everyone else.

Transparency and awareness are critical in addressing systemic discrimination. If MOE continues to keep their regulations undisclosed, there will be little reason for the public to believe that systemic biases will be addressed. In the face of mounting evidence and the climate of declining public trust, MOE's undisclosed regulations are beginning to look more shady than enigmatic.

Apathetic leaders enable discriminatory systems

When leaders are apathetic towards the discriminated, it makes it difficult to change systems of institutionalised discrimination. This might be the case in MOE: past ministers seemed to exhibit apathetic attitudes towards LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Ng Chee Meng, Minister for Education (Oct 2015 - April 2018)

In a 2016 dialogue with university students, a student asked Ng why her lesbian friend was forced to undergo counselling for being in a relationship that her parents supported. When he attempted to deflect the question, more members of the audience shared about similar experiences that their queer friends have endured in school.

Ng then appeared to defend the schools' interventions by claiming that they would only have done so because the students were engaging in sexual activities. This was quickly refuted by the audience members, who informed him that queer students were disciplined for being involved in purely romantic relationships. There was no resolution to the discussion as Ng vaguely concluded that policies should cater to the majority in a population.

This exchange suggests that Ng might be clueless about the extent of discrimination against LGBTQ+ students that is happening in our schools. When presented with anecdotes of abuse, his reactions - to justify the schools' actions, and to say that policies should cater to the majority - also suggest a bias towards keeping the status quo of the education system.

In a separate discussion panel in 2016, Ng was asked whether the government should step up to protect LGBTQ+ rights and change public misconceptions about LGBTQ+ individuals. Part of his response - that we should have "patience" in educating people on LGBTQ+ issues - appears to betray his ignorance about the plethora of censorship regulations that prevent LGBTQ+ issues from being discussed in Singapore's media spaces.

Even though Ng had no part to play in building the systemic discrimination in Singapore's education system, his apparent reluctance to reflect on its practices and ignorance of wider LGBTQ+ issues might have enabled its discriminatory practices to persist under his leadership.

Ong Ye Kung (Minister for Education, Oct 2015 - Jul 2020)

Ong Ye Kung shocked the nation when he claimed in 2018 that LGBTQ+ folks face no discrimination in housing, education, and at work. No other elected politician has ever made a claim as extreme and absurd as he did about LGBTQ+ discrimination here. (In case you're still torn about this, we've previously laid down all the ways LGBTQ+ folks are discriminated against in Singapore, including in housing, education, and at work.)

Ong's ignorance about LGBTQ+ discrimination is so astounding that it's no surprise when discriminatory practices in schools seemingly went unchecked under his administration.

Lawrence Wong (Minister for Education, Jul 2020 - Present)

In a 2012 televised interview, Lawrence Wong was asked about the role that the government should play in protecting the LGBTQ+ community, a minority group in Singapore.

Wong started by saying that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect, but seemed to quickly push the responsibility of educating the public about LGBTQ+ issues away from the government and on to individuals. This reveals Wong's possible ignorance about how state censorship prevents people from hearing about and understanding LGBTQ+ issues. While his response wasn't as defensive as Ng's or appalling as Ong's, it still suggested an air of apathy towards LGBTQ+ discrimination in the country.

In Feb 2021, in the aftermath of Ashlee's allegations, Wong was asked in parliament whether MOE will consider presenting regular public reports on how schools support students with gender dysphoria. Wong responded by saying that such reports will expose the identity of trans students and their families, and appeared to reject the idea of MOE being publicly accountable on that ground.

His response is curious, because he appears to have conflated the idea of a publicly-released report with a report that exposes the private details of individuals. It's very common for research reports on social issues to anonymise the identity of their participants, which suggests that Wong either isn't very well-read, or was attempting to mislead the public to think that such reports will necessarily expose private information of participants (or perhaps there were other reasons?).

Case in point: New Zealand's Ministry of Education publishes public guides on bullying in schools, which is filled with anecdotes and statistics on bullying that don't reveal any private information of individuals. They even included a section on how bullying of LGBTQ+ students can be prevented. It's really not that difficult if you care enough about your students.

The result: discriminatory practices in schools remain unchecked and unchallenged

MOE's regulations remain unverifiable to the public, which makes it difficult to ascertain the truth behind allegations and denials. This not only gives teachers and school leaders discretion to practice discrimination in schools, but also makes it hard for anyone to hold them accountable.

Apathetic ministers appear to complete this recipe and allow discriminatory systems to persist without change. As products of Singapore's education system themselves, many ministers seem to know little about regulations that stifle public discussion on LGBTQ+ issues in the country.

What results is a system that's clearly broken, yet remains out of reach from the public and out of the minds of its leaders.

Schools in Singapore have clearly failed to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their LGBTQ+ students. And when MOE hides in the shadows of its undisclosed regulations, and ministers appear apathetic towards discrimination, it will be up to us to make schools a better place for LGBTQ+ individuals.

Here's what we can do:

Stand up against bullying. Stand up for your queer classmates and peers - let them know that it's the system that's broken, not them. This might seem trivial, but it can literally save lives. Research shows that intervention by bystanders can significantly alleviate the damage done on the bullied.

Get familiar with LGBTQ-affirming organisations. Because schools are often unable to provide affirming support to LGBTQ+ students, knowing who you or your peers could turn to becomes vital. The end of this article contains a list of some LGBTQ-affirming organisations in Singapore.

Learn about the diversity of sexuality and gender identities. Go to reputable organisations, such as the Human Rights Campaign, for education on sexuality and gender issues.

Amplify queer voices and raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues. The current state of our education system means that most people won't learn much about LGBTQ+ issues. You can help change this by raising awareness of these issues, as well as amplifying queer voices. (Psst, share this article!)

Ask your political representative to to speak up on queer issues. Not all politicians will be willing to do this even if you asked, but if you never ask, they'll probably never do it. If your MP isn't willing to speak up on queer issues, you could also factor that into their next election cycle. This website helps you find out who your MP is.

Be an informed voter. Elections don't happen that often, but they are the only opportunity for you to consider who you'd like to represent you in parliament. We don't vote based only on a single issue, but it's important to know where your political candidates stand on issues that you care about. After all, the MP that you vote for might become the next Education Minister.

Note 1:
We should note that an overwhelming number of medical organisations across the world have agreed that LGBTQ+ identities are not psychological problems ( page 115).

If you're currently struggling with your sexuality or gender identity, help is available.

A social service helpline that supports LBTQ+ women in Singapore.

WhatsApp: +65 8788 8817 (check operating hours here).

An LGBTQ+ support organisation that provides affirming counselling services.

WhatsApp counselling: +65 8592 0609 (check operating hours here)

Email counselling: CARE@oogachaga.com (typically responds within 72 hours)

A local trans shelter that runs trans-focused services.

A local trans resource page with information about transitioning, living as a trans person, and more.

A local peer support group for trans folks. They provide information and support to trans youth in Singapore.
Samaritans of Singapore
An emergency helpline that provides confidential emotional support to individuals facing crises.

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How schools in Singapore suppress LGBTQ+ identities // LGBT Rights in - Heckin' Unicorn

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Schools in Singapore have been suppressing, erasing, and bullying LGBTQ+ folks for decades. Here's how it works. LGBTQ+ identities are erased from education curricula. LGBTQ+ teachers feel pressured to stay closeted and hidden. Anti-LGBTQ teachers bully queer students without consequence. Trans students are erased from

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Nicole: I chose this article because of the pandemic, healthcare professionals will have to wear Level D protection gear - gloves, safety glasses, face shield and chemical-resistant boots. This equipment results in the healthcare workers not being able to see or hear patients clearly with full protective gear. Therefor by have this contactless booths it will be more convenient for the healthcare professionals

"I can now use the restroom and even eat ... I don't need to walk around all the time, but be seated as I work."

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"It was very difficult for people with fever or respiratory symptoms to receive professional treatment due to COVID-19, and we could solve such a problem using video chat," Hallym University Medical Center director Lee Me-yeon said. "It was hard to see and hear patients clearly in full protective gear."

A minimum number of nurses like Joung Eun-sol, 23, are needed on site for basic COVID-19 testing or temperature checks and they no longer need to put on Level D protection gear - gloves, safety glasses, face shield and chemical-resistant boots.

"The worst was withstanding the heat, but it was also hard to communicate with patients or breathe in Level D," Joung told Reuters on Thursday (Aug 12), wearing a short-sleeved uniform and a face mask. "I can now use the restroom and even eat ... I don't need to walk around all the time, but be seated as I work."

Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital Director Yu Kyung-ho said: "The technology could possibly serve as a very useful medical treatment system in countries where doctors and medical resources are scarce."

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South Korea turns COVID-19 testing booth contactless

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ANYANG, South Korea: A South Korean hospital has upgraded a COVID-19 testing booth to become a mobile contactless clinic that can test people and enable telemedicine for basic treatment. Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital says it has developed the one-stop clinic to protect staff and free them from th