Schools in Singapore are now educating students about plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of copying another person’s idea or work.

Quoted from North Vista Primary principal Phua Kia Wang, he mentioned that 'When told to do research, their first instinct was to copy whole paragraphs from their textbooks or the
Internet,' he recalled. 'The first thing we teach them is to understand and respect the rights of the author, and how to give credit.' This actually teaches students to apply what they learn and understand. There is no point asking the students to do research if they are going to copy and paste everything from the sources. If students practice plagiarism, they are not going to learn anything. They should be taught on plagiarism at a young age. This is to prepare them for future national exams such as the GCE A-level Project Work.

Plagiarism is seen as a serious issue as there will be consequences. At primary level, it usually only involves counselling while polytechnics and universities said the penalties would normally be a fail grade in the course, suspension, or expulsion in the most severe cases. Tokyo universities are also taking the issue of plagiarism more seriously. For instance, they have revoked a doctorate degree.

People who practice plagiarism show that they are not capable of thinking. All they do is just copying and pasting the information. They are taking it for granted and not show appreciation to the author.

julia.

Labels: Plagiarism

Plagiarism in primary school is not a serious matter.
Plagiarism in secondary school is a serious matter.
So what is the difference in the seriousness of the similar matter but in different educational system?

In Primary school, students seldom do projects. Their homework and test come from either textbook, workbook or in assessment books or papers. So there is little or no projects involved that requires online research. In tertiary education like Junior Colleges, Polytechnics and Universities,
there are lots of projects that need to be completed.These projects
reflects in their scoring systems in the year-end result slips. To successfully complete these projects, online researching is required. When students plagiarise information and put them into their projects, it is said to be a project that is not done by the owner. Answers are not generated by the owner itself. In another words it's simply called as copying. The possibility of getting a higher or better grade would lead to unfair judgement towards peers who used personal understanding on that topic itself. More over, more serious cases like examination projects if successful, would lead to being rewarded with a degree or scholarship. Such rewards are not deserving. Take for example of a Turkish assistant professor, Anilir, who plagiarized about 40 percent of the data and parts in the University of Tokyo. It caused him his doctoral degree revoked.
However, we must be aware that plagiarism has also a serious impact in primary schools. For an example of a primary 6 student copying essays from a well-known writer. Yes, plagiarism is a critical issue on educational sector but we must still be aware that in primary school, students take take their examination through test or exam papers. Similarly with Tertiary students but tertiary students include projects as one of the contributions in their final year end result. Therefor, there isn't really a huge impact on primary school students but a huge ones on tertiary students.

Overall, plagiarism is one thing that as students to best stay away from when completing any work. It is useful in plagiarism of notes for personal revision purposes if applicable but not strongly adviced in plagiarism on projects purposes.

Er Chin

Labels: Plagiarism

Plagiarism is also known as duplicating of others' work without seeking the permission from the author. It can be catergories in various ways and of different levels, borrowing of ideas without lending approval or citing sources from the material is a very common case too. Primary school pupils who normally want to find the meanings of some words that they don;t understand, they will just suf the internet and use "copy and paste" method to complete their task aimlessly.

Due to user-friendliness of resources on the internet which allows student to find materials from which to copy and turn in as their own have already become very common in academic world. Therefore, the serious nature of plagiarism is required to put on the syllabus or course guidelines to let students know the importance of it.

All tertiary schools do not accept plagiarism and work rigid to make students aware of the consequences. It is unforgiving and it is not worth it as it could cost a student career ended. Moreover, if the student is not expelled permanently, all schools have the rights to include details about the student's academic history on transcripts. These will eventually go to future employers and bother the student for the rest of his or her life. What could people think about when you was one kicked out of school or even put on probation is not something desirable and thus it should be kept in mind that the punishment does not end just like this.


Jasmine :D

Labels: Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the copying of authorised work without the author's permission. Within local context, besides tertiary institutions, plagiarism also affects primary school students. With their immature mindsets, they simply 'copy' information found in the internet and 'paste' it as their own work. Primary level students are usually unaware that such doings are wrong. They see the action of copying as perfectly fine to extract needed passages from the internet since it is 'open' information for everyone. Whereas for secondary and tertiary level students who are at an older age, they should know that plagiarism is a serious offence. However, they take the offence lightly and a few are even unbothered by the consequences that they may face if found to have committed the offence. As a result, the teachers will have to take disciplinary action against those students, either by giving them a fail grade, suspension or in the worse scenario, expulsion.

An increasing number of primary schools these days have taken action in advance by imparting the right principles to students; to cite relevant information from websites rather than copying all in a huge chunk. Teachers have taught students to compile essential information that can also be revised through their own words. Thus, students understand that they have to respect the author/publisher of the textbook/online reference websites and select only the needed information for their own purpose.

On the other hand, while primary students learn and comply with the rule of not committing plagiarism, there are tertiary students who still 'illegally' use other author's work and pledge as their own. Tertiary institutions do take such offences seriously and punish the students accordingly. Students should know how to use the information wisely by being more creative to present their answers or projects through their own style of writing.

Out of foolishness, adults also do commit the plagiarism offence. They present false credentials or education certificates which truly belonged to others, while trying to land a job. There are cases of university professors who try to present their 'own' thesis which was in fact plagiarised from other sources. This issue brings out the importance of moral principles and values. Everyone deserves a right to have their own materials copyrighted as their private property though others may refer to it. By plagiarising other people's work, it is being unfair to the author who worked hard to come up with his own work, but ended up being named under someone else's instead. Anyone can just simply 'copy and paste' directly without doing any hard thinking.

Despite all the plagiarism that is going around, primary schools are applauded for taking the initiative to teach younger students how to cite accurate information from resources provided. At a young age, to have knowledge about plagiarism being a wrong method of presenting information beats having no idea about its existence. People are often encouraged to think by processing information that they acquire from various sources. In this way, they can learn much more compared to just blindly copying from others.

-Pearlyn :D-

Labels: Plagiarism

Quality education is the key behind many success Singaporeans had achieve over the years. This is credited to the strong emphasis on education by the government bodies, where every citizen has to gone through the compulsory primary education. However, recent disputes over Mother Tongue have raised some attention over the subjects’ combination. Furthermore, many youths today are always facing difficulties in applying book knowledge into practical use in society. Education needs to move toward to be more technical and applicable to create more benefits.

With more innovations and better industries created in the market, it is definitely going to bring more economic and social benefits. However, it is sadly true that there are older generation of local work force struggling to keep up with the ever-changing technologies and new skills. Thus, it is wiser to maintain the pace to allow them to catch before the nation advanced as a whole. In addition, although the past industries may be replaceable by modern skills and technologies, to a certain extent, these industries may form parts of our heritage. Appropriate classifications and measures should be taken to prevent such irreversible losses.

Expansion of towns into cities and cities into metropolis seems common recently. However, it is still necessary to sustain the rural area before they become unproductive by natural agents, such as desertification in Sahel region. With rising consumption, major cities are going to face challenges in rising pollutions and wastages. A serial of strategic solutions are needed to be sought immediately before such issues took place.

To increase quality and maintain compatibility in our society, an influx of foreign talent is essential. It will encourage locals to improve and keep up with the increasing challenges posted from external source. Thus, it will require more effort to preserve the multi-racial but harmonious culture in Singapore.

Despite the challenges and possible hazards on the path, a highly rejuvenated and capable leadership will be able to ensure that Singapore can pass through smmothly. Leadership also influences a body or organization greatly and always determines the success or failure of its operation. Therefore,in comparison,an incorruptible, upright but understanding government is suggested to be the primary key factor to keep Singapore vibrant, young and innovative.

EDWARD

Labels: How Singapore can stay Forever Young?

A strong culture of education and learning is important as it affects Singapore’s economic. We need workers who are well-equipped and skilled in our knowledge-based economy as it will be reflected in our economic progress. How will Singapore prosper and stay young if lowly-skilled workers are employed? Learning does not imply only to students. There is also a population of older workers in the job sector. A company is bound to hire a fresh university graduate rather than an older worker with no qualifications. Hence, the workforce should continue to upgrade their skills.
Singapore needs to practice the culture of seeking knowledge, innovation and ideas. We need to focus on effectiveness and efficiency. We need to keep innovating and inventing new products so that we will not be labelled as the ‘rust belt’. Singapore needs to keep local talent and attract foreign talent. Drawing foreign talent Singapore will help to create more business opportunities and jobs in Singapore. Singaporeans will have more job prospects and unemployment rate will decrease. Wouldn’t this help to boost Singapore’s economy and keep Singapore young? However, bear in mind that we should also sustain the population and expertise of Singaporeans in Singapore and not only depend on foreigners.
Quoted from the article, a strong and forward-looking leadership means to have a capable, experienced and committed team that is able to look ahead. A leader needs to be our role-model. If the leader fails to be a role-model, it will lead to Singapore’s downfall.
Singapore is experiencing a declining birth rate. The government can implement measures such as introducing more attractive baby bonus packages. Since now Singaporeans are more careers minded, couples are reluctant to bear children. Community clubs can organise talks to motivate couples to have babies and assist them in their family planning. Access to better healthcare facilities also plays a part. Hospitals and clinics should be well-equipped and provide better services.
Apart from these, Singapore should actively take part in organisational events. A good example would be the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and F1. Setting up more casinos and integrated resorts will definitely improve the tourism hub. On the other hand, it also leads to more Singaporeans gambling. It is not wrong to gamble but shouldn’t Singaporeans try not to adopt this habit?

Rest assured, with these factors, Singapore will remain young in the long run.

julia.

Labels: How Singapopre can stay 'Forever Young'

In general, Singapore has done a lot for its people so as to keep up with the change in globalization. From the student point of view, the government had improved the education system for the students and provides many opportunities for both parents and students to develop their skills and knowledge. Apart from this, they could also learn third or fourth language such as France, Japanese and Korean etc. As the certificates obtained are highly recognized in many countries, it could help its people to get hold of better position in the tertiary industry. There is a phrase that says, “Learning is a process from the beginning till the end”, thus people have to keep improving themselves so as to remain relevant to the transformation of the world.

In addition, there are also other factors like seeking for innovation, ideas and knowledge. From the data collected over the past few years, Singapore has allow many countries to invest and grow into research and development hub not only in just one category, but also in many other categories, from electronics to pharmaceuticals, wealth management to water management , biomedical engineering to financial engine and even till media and design. Categories from industry side to those which will interact with other daily life. Other than having new innovation, Singapore has also seek talent from other countries and employ them by giving them high value job, as it is believe that those talent would bring the passion and knowledge to the locals, by doing so Singaporeans would also benefits from it. This is why many companies’ cooperation from other country is drawn to this city. Due to the invitation from other countries; Singapore has grown in its reputation, which makes Singapore well- known by the people in the world.

Another factor is that in a city area, land and space are limited so many of the resources are closely knit which make things easier to be done then having to find them in an open spacious area. This could help them in greater multiple effect in generating innovation and economic activity. Additionally, Singapore security is firm; sustainable and socially integrated thus it creates a sense of security to the people.

Due to the low population rate and limited resources, Singapore lack of talented people and natural resources, therefore they have to approach others to allow Singapore to sustain its population and economic growth and dynamism this also includes maintaining our social cohesion and stability. However, the people who intend to migrate to Singapore might have to think twice as they may face problems like social injustice which could lead them off to think of coming to Singapore.

Leadership is the key, having capable and honest leaders build strong trust between its people and the government which brings about a greater support to the country. The leader could then commit a team that is forward looking; understand the concerns and aspirations of all Singaporeans. They must also know how to make the right decisions in order to bring the country to a higher level of development.

Currently, those events which were organized by Singapore government have successfully kept the country’s reputation up. Therefore with this, it allows the foreigners; tourists and investors to have a good perception of Singapore that will then further help in the growth of economy. Overall, the five factors above, of improving in the education system, attracting more talented people to maintain the population rate, and having a good and capable leader will enable ‘Singapore to stay forever young as a country.’

Jasmine

Labels: How Singapore can stay 'Forever Young'

Shopping Malls are very common in Singapore. You can find shopping malls everywhere and anywhere. These are some of the examples how government have actually attract tourist and young people to hang out. However, without the government's decision to construct and plan such infrastructure, Singaporeans will not enjoy such places with alot of activities going on.

In our Deputy Prime Minister Teo's speech, there are 2 out of 5 points that are the most important factors that contributes to Singapore staying forever young. They are "For Singapore to be a vibrant global city" and "A strong and forward-looking leadership".

In terms of vibrant global city, Singapore need to be a vibrant global city where people live, work and play. Such movements or activities helps Singaporeans communicate and bond together. When there is alot of movements, we can see that Singapore is young.Why?Because when there's no movement, the place is quiet and it results to "dead' city. Mr Teo pointed out that "Our new growth precincts such as Marina Bay and Punggol will serve as 'living laboratories' for new ideas and technology in sustainable development". The creation of Marina Barrage have benefited Singaporean in terms of water issue and also create a place for gatherings among the young and the old. Events held at Marina Barrage such as marathons have made Singaporeans grow younger and healthier. The Formula one introduced in Singapore has made Lion City into one of the country targeted for sports event. In addition to the upcoming Youth Olympics Games, it encourages both Singapore youths and the elderly to take up sports and be involved in it. Such organizations helps to keep Singapore a young lively country. In such a urban country like Singapore, it is most important to have alot of people concentrated to make Singapore a competitive country. It is important for Singapore to be built for sustainable and renewable living - physically and socially.

In terms of a strong and forward-looking leadership, Singapore have good and capable government who have the forward-looking attitude. One such example is the Marina Barrage. It helps Singapore to have more usable water resources if Singapore have to be independent on water issue. Government have been trying to make Singapore a younger country by introducing casinos, integrated resort and the universal studio. However, good government is important to handle any negative output caused by such activities. One example is the controlling of the gambling rate in Singapore. There are many Singaporeans who are in dangers of gambling addiction. Cheating in casino have also caused major problems. These problems can lead to increase crime rate. Government have introduced a new security organization to handle such problems. In this way, we can see that the government is able to make the right decisions to handle many problems in Singapore. Therefore, Singapore government have injected new ideas. This shows that Singapore government are upright, capable, experienced and committed team who look ahead and understanding the concerns and aspirations of all Singaporeans. They also make right decisions to lead our country forward by the policy of what is right and not what is popular.

In conclusion, making Singapore stay forever young, these two factors must be present. To think of implementing a busy and urban country, good leadership team such as the government must be present to make such goals to be met successfully. Similarly, good government will find ways such as implementing a busy and urban country to help improve and keep the country young. We can see that these two factors link up with each other to make Singapore a success. It is possible to help Singapore stay forever young. As long as there are leisure activities that allow the nation to enjoy and bond with, people will feel energetic. Energetic ressembles and make them think as they are still back into the youths. New inventions of integrated resort, universal studio etc have attracted people around the world. As long as such happenings are available consistenly and in such a small busy, spirited and lively country like Singapore, it is no doubt that Singapore won't feel forever young!

Er Chin

Labels: How Singapore Can Stay Forever Young.

Labels: How Singapore can stay 'Forever Young'

From a sarcastic point of view, such move seems to be a final solution or temporary restitution to a prolonged negligence, without taking consideration of its permanent impairment.

There has been great intensity among local youths who struggled with mastering their second language, Mother Tongue, particularly Chinese Language. It was researched to be the toughest language of the world to be learnt, due to its complexity in writing and pronunciation. Thus, students who are able to do well in both languages are worth rewarding, as commended by Timothy Low, a NTU undergraduate. However, likening the change in Mother Tongue weighing to punishment seemed a bit too harsh. As a core subject in primary education, it should share equal status to the remaining 3 subjects. Sadly, many sectors of the society fail to recognize. On the contrast, Mathematics and Science are prioritized by parents due to the criteria set by tertiary education, despite not all theories learnt through these subjects are as applicable as a language that can build communication. How often will one use Pythagoras' Therom or explain photo-synthesis in our daily life?

As there is increasing, or rather, overstressed importance placed on English Language, Mother Tongue has gradually lost its foot-hold in Asian culture, especially in highly urbanized and westernized Singapore. As a result, many students treat their Mother Tongue as a foreign language, instead of an ethic language. Even the Northeast Asian, such as Chinese and Korean, are learning English Language, so it does not seem to affect local talents in engaging China’s market in future.

However, Boston Lee, a web designer, pointed out the possibility of social problems that might arise if the society forsakes Mother Tongue. It has been, to a certain extent, a tragedy that majority of the Chinese could not speak dialects. Chinese dialects had been eliminated by Chinese Language, after government started promoting Chinese Language as a common language among local Chinese. Now, Singaporeans may face the possibility of having Mother Tongue, including Chinese Language, eliminated by English Language, if history repeats itself. In fact, such problem had existed long ago, but was ignored.

In rebuttal to Monica Lim's point of view, should students from non-English speaking home consider, or even be encouraged to drop English Language to reduce 'language load' and exam stress?

As a conclusion, it is rather unfair to the students, the educators, or even the society as a whole to implement such a change in the education system. Education determines the future of individuals, a nation and society; it is simply unwise to impose such a controversial impact on the compulsory primary education. As a democratic nation and society, such changes should be presented as an alternative, instead of a policy.

EDWARD

Labels: Singaporean split on Mother Tongue weighing

Mother Tongue is a language that is used to distinguish the different ethnic groups in Singapore. Lowering the weighting implies that students will tend to focus more on studying their English language rather than their respective Mother Tongue Language. Students will also communicate in English more frequent. Since Singapore is recognised as a multi-ethnic country, wouldn’t it affect Singapore’s identity if Mother Tongue language is used less frequent?

Ms Monica Lim, 40, said that ‘reduced Mother Tongue weighting would help lessen exam stress on the bulk of students who come from English-speaking homes.’ What is an examination without stress and feeling pressurized? If students think that the Mother tongue papers are tough, shouldn’t this motivate them to study harder? All languages are learnt through frequent speaking and reading. How will children learn if parents don’t communicate in their Mother Tongue at home?

When Singaporeans enter the working sector, it would be at their advantage to be bilingual. For instance, employees will be sent for attachments overseas to countries like China, where they are required to speak in Mandarin. A communication breakdown will occur if Singaporean employees do not understand or speak fluently in Mandarin. Thus, companies will be at loss and this may affect their reputation.

On the other hand, lowering the weighting of Mother Tongue in the PSLE would be an advantage.
Those who excel better in English, Mathematics and Science would score better in the PSLE. Some people do not see a need to apply Mother Tongue language in future. In tertiary institutions like Polytechnics, Mother Tongue language is not a compulsory module for students.

I conclude that the MOE should not lower the weighting of Mother Tongue language. Singaporeans should not lose their distinct languages and uphold the national identity. Being bilingual is something that Singaporeans should be proud of.

julia.

Labels: Singaporean split on Mother Tongue weighting.

The policy of Bilingualism should remain as important, as there is no need to lower the weighting of Mother Tongue and hinder the next generation who may be less fluent in their Mother Tongue. As such, Mother Tongue language should be changed to how they are being taught to entice the interest of students and help them relate to their daily life.

Regarding the issue of the weighting of Mother Tongue in primary school has pros and cons to it. Students who have stronger foundation on Mother Tongue language will be of beneficial as they are ahead of others. These students usually are more confident in their Mother Tongue which could pose as an advantage to them to pull up their overall results.

However, students who come from English-speaking family may find it difficult and make it hard for them to score well. Therefore, they are required to grasp the basics of Mother Tongue by practicing and reading books to understand the meaning of a word or phrase. Thus, if the weightage is slightly lower than other core subjects (English, Mathematics and Science) will they put in more effort for the subject? This would definitely be a case to further consider when decision is being made to reallocate the importance of the subjects taken into account.

Students may find Mother Tongue difficult to learn and make it hard for them to enter a reputable secondary school. Moreover, they can barely cope with the increase in the difficulty of the Mother Tongue as the language competency gap keeps increasing until they find it hard to catch up and eventually give up.

Mother Tongue is our origin as we learn and communicate since young. Without Mother Tongue it would encompass as a handicap to the communication with our elderly. This is the cultural background that Singapore has, which is the multi-racial society. If Singapore were to do away with Mother Tongue language, Singapore would remove its advantage to convey moral values and cultural traditions in each race.

However, the Mother Tongue will still become a mere requirement for academic progress, rather than a competitive advantage in our future careers. This should not be put across the mind of the current or prospecting students as it would diminish the focus on the subject itself.

In addition, this could be probably link to the upcoming China economy which the Singapore government has establish it a need for its own people to be versatile in both major languages such as English and Mother Tongue. Thus, this has also led on to the movement of the Singapore government to emphasize on the importance of Mother Tongue language which they have previously remove from the act.

In conclusion, standing by Mother Tongue language makes us proud of our ethnic-society.

-Jasmine-

Labels: Singaporeans Spilt On Mother Tongue Weighting

"In a multi-racial country like Singapore, it is important for each and everyone to know how to communicate within their racial group. That is where when Mother Tongue steps in.". From the above statement, you can see how important is Mother Tongue in Singapore. To reduce the weighting of Mother Tongue in primary school is definitely not a smart idea. Students must improve on their individual Mother Tongue as it is a language subject similar to English. Now, since both of them are a language subject, why must Mother Tongue language be taken "less seriously"? Keeping and upholding individual Mother Tongue skills is very important. To neglect Mother Tongue, one would be lost of their individual racial culture of "who they are" and "where they come from".

There have been concerns on the advantage of foreign students who have very strong foundation in Mother Tongue to be doing well in the examinations in Singapore. However, their English language issue must also be considered. So there is fairness in saying that foreign students are not advantaged. Being a chinese, the importance of knowing how to read and speak good mandarin is crucial. In addition, mandarin can be used as a way for future communication. To be aware that China's economy has been improving, there is very high chance that Singapore companies would have to seek companies from China for economy co-operation. If Mother Tongue is not being treated seriously, such co-operation with China would be lost as communication problems could occur and when that happens, Singapore could loose the chance to make profit and to improve their economy.

The press conference conduted by Dr Ng(Minister for education) and Mr Lee(Prime Minister of Singapore) have announced that thE Ministry Of Education WILL NOT reduce the weightage of the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). This has been a much relieve to parents and teachers who have huge concerns of the importance of Mother Tongue.

So, in my conclusion to take Mother Tongue lightly is not a good idea as it could cause so much happenings in Singapore. Both in Economic situation and bilingualism situation. Bilingualism is important! Everyone should strive towards a positive educational attitude!

Er Chin

Labels: Singaporeans Spilt On Mother Tongue Weighting

-Pearlyn :D-

Labels: Singaporeans Spilt On Mother Tongue Weighting

EDWARD
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