My Life Influence by Emma Tan https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4 English Language and Literature Summative en-us 2020-04-10 07:03:13 UTC 2025-10-02 17:37:48 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4ab.png Impact on my life 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501604810 Before I attended ISNS, I went to an all-girls school and some of my teachers there told me that some after-school activities, such as sports, that I wanted to join were only made available to the students in the all-boys schools, because boys were supposed to be more athletic. This is only one of many such statements I have heard from my teachers over the years. For a while, I held the belief that this gender stereotype was valid, and it made me less confident in front of the male members of my family, until I learnt otherwise.

Someone influential that I look up to is Sheryl Sandberg, because she is a strong advocate of women’s rights. She delivered a TED talk, entitled 'Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders' and wrote a book, Lean In, about the topic. She believes that men should not look down on women because of their gender, and that women are subject to the same rights that men have.

Sheryl Sandberg identifies a need for women to be in leadership roles and explains the reasons why women both hold themselves back, and are held back, as well as how they can combat such issues. This reminded me that there is no credible evidence to show that men are superior to women, and therefore they have no valid reason to believe and act like there is.

Sheryl Sandberg inspired me and helped me understand that others should not look down on me because of my gender, and that I am subject to the same rights that men have. I realised that I should never turn down an opportunity because some people say a man would be more qualified for it.  From Sheryl Sandberg's work, I learned that women should not be oppressed due to their gender, and she influenced me to never let myself fall prey to gender inequality.

]]> 2020-04-10 07:09:57 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501604810 Article and Summary 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501643697 This article by Brian Tracy is about the influence that Sheryl Sandberg has on the world, and the significant effort she put in to achieve it.

Sheryl Sandberg herself is living proof that women can and should take on leadership roles at work. As the COO of Facebook, and a female, she shows that women are every bit as capable as men can be.

In her famous book and TED talk, she puts emphasis on her belief that both men and women are equally suited for leadership roles at work. Speaking of work, aside from her job at Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg also founded leaning.org, based on her book, Lean In. She has dedicated a lot of her efforts towards helping women achieve their career goals and ensuring gender equality for them, contributing to a more equitable society, as well as working against barriers that are still preventing women from taking leadership roles in the workplace, such as discrimination, blatant and subtle sexism, and sexual harassment.

In conclusion, Sheryl Sandberg has done a lot of meaningful work to help women all around the world, teaching them how to step up, 'lean in', and shine in the workplace. 




]]> 2020-04-10 07:52:16 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501643697 Impact on the world 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501768735  Florence Nightingale helped improve hospitals and still influences their modern design. As a nurse in the Crimean War, she took notice of the dirtiness and deterioration of the military hospitals. By making sanitary improvements and establishing standards for clean and safe hospitals, she helped bring down the death rate for soldiers being treated in them. In her book Notes on Hospitals she explained how they could be improved by increasing ventilation, adding windows, improving drainage, and increasing space.

Florence Nightingale established nursing education by writing the first textbook on the subject in 1860, entitled Notes of Nursing. This book outlined the principles of the nursing profession, provided advice on how regular women could care for their families, and how illness could be properly managed. In her writing, she emphasized the importance of patient observation to figure out their symptoms and needs, as to be able to provide the right care. The importance of sanitary conditions was also stressed, as well as warmth, clean air, light in rooms, and a nutritious diet.


Florence Nightingale opened the first nursing school in 1860, which was the beginning of professional education and training in the field. Her school, the Nightingale School for Nurses, was a part of St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, and offered the first official training program for nurses so that they could work in hospitals, help the poor, and teach others. The training emphasized the important of patient home care and taught students how to care for the sick at home and the practice of midwifery. Many of the students at the school continued on to be matrons at major hospitals in England, as well as went on to establish their own training programs throughout the world.

Even though she has already passed away, Florence Nightingale's legacy lives on, as she has improved the living conditions for patients in hospitals, and influenced many more people to become nurses. 



]]> 2020-04-10 09:39:01 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501768735 Article and Summary 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769129 This article by Dasha Matthews is about the contributions that Florence Nightingale made to the medical industry. 

Florence Nightingale was a famous British nurse who lived from 1820-1910. She helped to make hospitals more sanitary places and wrote books about effective nursing skills and habits. She came up with designs to make hospitals cleaner, as well as ways to arrange beds and patients so germs would not be spread easily. She also came up with the concept of having a separate room for surgeries. (In the past, surgeries were performed in front of all patients.)

Much of what we know about clean, organised hospital conditions today is thanks to Florence’ Nightingale's hard work and research. She began her nursing career during the Crimean War and campaigned for better hospital conditions for the wounded soldiers there. Even after that, she continued nursing in England.

Due to all her hard work as nurse, and all the improvements she made to the medical systems of her time, she is considered the founder of modern nursing.

]]> 2020-04-10 09:39:20 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769129 Impact on my life 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769381 I have always been interested in many types of activities throughout my life, like playing the violin, creative writing, and doing rhythmic gymnastics, some of which I am actually good at. However, despite all the coaching I received, the person who truly taught me how to value my talents and work hard to develop them was my cousin Astrid.

 Astrid is very talented, hardworking, and humble. Since young, she has been extremely intelligent and has a keen interest in languages. She is a very quick learner and was in a gifted program at school. This enabled her to pick up new languages very quickly, which she initially did in her spare time.

However, as her talent became more and more obvious, she started to put a lot of effort into it and took up language classes every day after school, for about three hours. She even went the extra mile to save up money to attend language fairs. By the time she was in Secondary 1 (equivalent to Grade 7), she could already speak English, Mandarin, French and Spanish very fluently. As she grew older, she also studied Armenian, Latin, Greek and Russian.

All her talent and hard work paid off, when she was accepted to King's College, London, for her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classics, and later Harvard University (on full scholarship) for her PhD, which she is now studying for. Even though she has accomplished a lot, she is still humble and does not boast about her achievements.

Whenever she comes back to visit on college break, she doesn't brag or look down on me because she is better or had more accomplishments than I have when she was my age. Instead, she often helps me with my Mandarin homework and even plays games with me on Duolingo.  She also motivates me to study hard and follow my dreams.

To summarise, Astrid influences me because by following her example, I have learned to work hard and pursue my interests. Even though I don't have an amazing talent like she does, I follow her footsteps by putting in my best effort to achieve my goals, and by taking measures to ensure that I get ample  opportunities to practice my hobbies. In addition, whenever I achieve something that I have worked for for a long time, I make sure to stay humble and not look down on others, as I would always remember that Astrid would treat me the same way. In a nutshell, Astrid influenced me to work hard to achieve success,  but also to never, ever become arrogant.]]> 2020-04-10 09:39:30 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769381 Article and Summary 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769692 This article from the Harvard university website is about Astrid and the subjects she is currently studying in university. 

She is a PhD candidate in Classical Philology and specialises in Latin and Greek language, culture, and history. Specifically, she is researching palaeography and deciphers ancient texts.

Aside from Latin and Greek, she is fluent in English, Mandarin, Spanish, French, German, Armenian, and Russian, and hopes to continue broadening her knowledge and researching more about those languages and their historical literature.




]]> 2020-04-10 09:39:46 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501769692 Impact on my life 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501770999 As a child, I was not very confident in my abilities. The National English Writing Competition and my preparation for it helped me have confidence in myself and boost my self-esteem. Additionally, the countless nights spent writing and re-writing my essay taught me the diligence and resilience that are required to be successful in whatever one does.

In 2016, my teacher nominated me to represent my school's Primary 3 grade level at the National English Writing Competition, a contest in which students from all over Singapore submit essays and compositions to a panel of judges to read and evaluate. I was very shocked as I did not think any of my essays that term were good enough to be submitted for the competition.    However, after some encouragement from my teacher and classmates, I mustered up (a bit of) courage and decided to go ahead with it.

To get ready for the competition, I had to choose a category to participate in. I could either submit a piece of creative writing,  or a non-fiction essay based on a theme (it could be either argumentative or informative). After much debilitation, I decided to join the non-fiction category, and drafted my first essay on the topic "Should lower primary students own mobile phones?".At first, I struggled to get all my ideas down in a logical and consistent manner. I also encountered problems with using accurate grammar and vocabulary. During my recess break each day, I had to sit in the library with my teacher and talk about exactly how I should phrase my essay, what words I would use, and how long it would be. Once I got home and finished my homework and daily activities, I had to dedicate a few hours to sitting down and working on the essay. I had two months to prepare, and every three days I would write a new version of the essay, until it was perfect. On some days, my essay just wouldn't work out the way I wanted it to. My fingers ached and after a while,  I felt like giving up. Despite all that, I strived to do my school proud and continued writing. It took a lot of discipline for 9-year-old me to sit down and write, but I managed to do it. Finally, when my teacher thought that the essay couldn't get any better, I got the chance to submit it under the Primary Three and Four Nonfiction Category. Still, I didn't think it would amount to much.

In the end, I managed to clinch third place. Back then, in my opinion, it was really a feather in my cap. I was filled with a sense of accomplishment and finally became more self-confident. My experience during the National English Writing Competition also showed me the amount of effort one had to put in the achieve one's goals. It was truly an enriching and eye-opening experience for me.


]]> 2020-04-10 09:40:52 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501770999 Article and Summary 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501771084 This article by Devan McGuinness  is about the positive effects that competitions can have on children who participate in them.

Healthy competitions can be good for children, as it can teach them values such as empathy, sportsmanship, teamwork and tenacity. Children also learn to be resilient when they encounter obstacles, and look on the bright side if they lose.
 
Overall, competition can be extremely good for the holistic development of a child.]]> 2020-04-10 09:40:57 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501771084 Impact on the world 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501773447 Sheryl Sandberg had a very profound impact on the world.  She is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, where she is working to help the company improve and run smoothly. 
Secondly, she also is a strong supporter of women's rights and gender equality, speaking and writing about both subjects. Thanks to her, many women have learned where their rightful place is at work and have stepped up to take on high leadership positions, without doubting themselves or thinking that they are less capable than men. In fact, in 2012, she was named in the Time 100, an annual list of the most influential people in the world, showing how many people have been influenced by her.]]> 2020-04-10 09:42:59 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501773447 Impact on my life 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501774315  When I was little, I used to think that it was not necessary for me to care about other people or help those in need because it was 'not my problem' or 'none of my business'. After learning the story of Florence Nightingale, I had a change of heart, and decided to become more compassionate and follow her example, by helping other people voluntarily, even if I did not have to.

Florence Nightingale was born into a very wealthy family and never lacked anything in her youth. She was well-traveled and well-bred in a rich household in England, so much so that she could have followed the footsteps of other women of her social status, by getting married and enjoying life at home.  However, she decided to become a nurse and went to Turkey during the Crimean War to nurse the sick and injured soldiers. She was very selfless as she prioritised their needs over her own, sometimes staying up all night to improve the poor conditions in the hospital and exposing herself to germs.  Later on in her life, she also continued nursing in England. She also worked to improve the sanitary design of hospitals and the introduction of sanitation in working-class homes, and made hospitals a lot cleaner. She also refused to take credit for a lot of good work she did while nursing during the Crimean War.

Florence Nightingale's example led me to be more compassionate, selfless, and always lend a helping hand to others. Through her story, I learnt that I should help other people because it is the right thing to do, and not because I want to take credit. Additionally, helping people connects us to others, creates stronger communities and helps to build a happier society for everyone. Speaking of which, Florence Nightingale influenced me to strive to improve the world around me, and not be complacent when it comes to working to improve certain issues, just because these issues may not concern me.


]]> 2020-04-10 09:43:34 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501774315 Impact on the world 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501774962 Astrid has impacted the world by helping to decipher ancient and medieval handwriting, and change it into a format that is easily understandable by the general public. Some of the work she has helped to decipher, along with her professors, has been showcased in museums. In summary, she has made valuable contributions to the Classics department.

During her summer break, she also works as a translator and helps to translate books and poems. She also translates for groups of people who are trying to talk to each other, but speak different languages. She has helped make communication easier for many people all over the world.

Aside from translation work, she also earns money by tutoring children in French, Spanish, and Mandarin through online classes. This way, she helps other people pursue their passions and experience the joy of learning languages too.

When I last spoke to her via Skype, she mentioned that even though she is not important or a celebrity, she has still helped to make contributions to certain things in her own small way. She said that the world would not be very different if she did not exist, but some things may not have been as well done as compared to when she would do it. Although she does not have as much influence,  she is still important to me and the people she has helped.



]]> 2020-04-10 09:44:08 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501774962 Impact on the world 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501775702 An impact of this competition on the world is that it offered several other children an opportunity to practice writing and showcase their talents. Writing requires a lot of creativity, organization, and planning skills, so the National English Writing Competition helped people hone these skills too.

My participation in the competition also impacted my school, because the results I got gave them a good reputation, because they helped to prepare me for it. It also motivated my classmates to work harder in our English classes, as they too wanted to do the school proud.

In summary, this competition impacted the world by giving many children a chance to compete, and motivating others to work harder.

]]> 2020-04-10 09:44:44 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/501775702 Impact on my life 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/532228577 For much of my primary school life, I was reliant on my parents and domestic helper to provide me with food, shelter, and settle the household chores. But, when I turned ten years old and participated in my school's compulsory boarding programme, I had to learn to be more independent and responsible.

I attended Raffles' Girls School, which requires students to board for at least one term of the school year, starting in the mid-primary years. I had to share a dormitory with three other girls my age, and  take care of my own laundry,  food, and many more. I had to learn to cook, use the washing machine, and manage my own time, finances, and chores wisely. Without my family in the picture, I had to learn important life skills all on my own. It was rather difficult to suddenly have to handle many things on my own, but I slowly learned what it would be like to be independent. Over time, I was able to cook food (three dishes other than instant noodles), and balance my studies as well as take care of myself.

Through my first boarding experience, I was able to acquire new skills and gain responsibility. This event influenced me not to be dependent on other people and to manage my time well.]]> 2020-04-27 02:59:56 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/532228577 Impact on the world 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/533438366 The impact of this boarding experience on the world was that many girls in Raffles' Girls School got to know new friends and bond with each other. Aside from learning to be independent, many students also made new acquaintances during boarding.

The first boarding experience also impacted the families of the boarders, as it would be their first time living without their daughter or sister for a long period of time.

Boarding symbolises a milestone in the school lives of each student, as it shows that they are growing up and are becoming more capable.]]> 2020-04-27 13:24:41 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/533438366 Article and Summary 24Emma https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/533480686  This article from ourkids.com is about the benefits that going to boarding school can bring to children.

Children at boarding school benefit from small classes and heightened interaction between students and their teachers.
The residential campus environment ensures that students are immersed in an educational world where learning is central to all activities. It’s a unique setting that promotes common experience, camaraderie, friendship, trust and honesty between children and adults.

  Boarding school students are uniquely prepared for university life. Graduates often end up attending the finest universities. In addition, they arrive at college better prepared for academic rigor because of they learned how to be responsible at boarding school.  Students are conditioned for future success because they are encouraged to achieve their full potential at boarding school.  Studies show that boarding school graduates not only excel at university, but advance rapidly in their professional careers.

 In conclusion, boarding schools bestow on students an independence they would not have living at home. It’s an ideal preparation for the challenges and responsibilities of adult life.



]]> 2020-04-27 13:38:19 UTC https://padlet.com/24emma/jd0d349wsisrd6p4/wish/533480686