THE MEANING OF SCHOOL HOLIDAY ASSIGNMENTS
and what they perpetuate it as
15/12/2004
and no, I haven't started on my homework.
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Chapter one: What is a School Holiday?
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The School Holidays have started and students all over Singapore rush out of schools in an exuberant mood, for the exams have ended and it is a time away from school. All are happy and their lives have temporarily become carefree.
It is the New Year. Most people are celebrating. Meanwhile, students are huddled in homes, at study tables rushing through Holiday Assignments like a mad cow. Some even resort to copying each other�s work due to the lack of time management.
Before I continue on my rant, let us take a look at the definitions listed below. They are from reputable sources and none of them contradict one another, thus supporting each other�s information that they each provide.
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Definitions
School
Dictionary.com
"An institution for the instruction of children or people under college age.�
Wikipedia
"A school is any place designated for learning."
Merriam-Webster Online
"1: an organization that provides instruction: as a : an institution for the teaching of children"
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
"a place where children go to be educated"
Holiday
Dictonary.com
"1: leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure...
...2: a day on which work is suspended by law or custom..."
Wikipedia
"... a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity."
Merriam-Webster Online
"2 : a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically : a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event
3 chiefly British: a period of relaxation�"
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
"1 a time, often one or two weeks, when someone does not go to work or school but is free to do what they want, such as travel or relax"
"2 an official day when you do not have to go to work or school"
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NOTE: No entry for the term �School Holiday� could be found on any of the above listed web sites.
As no definition of the term �School Holiday� can be found, I think that using common sense one can guess the definition of the term �School Holiday� for yourselves. For me, I have deduced that the definition of the term �School Holiday� refers to �taking a period of relaxation from school, whereby school is suspended by law or custom.� And there should be NO HOLIDAY ASSIGNMENTS AT ALL! Damn those fascist bastards.
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Chapter Two: Why I think there should be no Holiday Assignments
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I began my crusade for no holiday homework by searching for Student Rights in Singapore on the internet. However after one hour of aggressive trawling, I had not caught any thing on student rights. They must have censored it. ****! So, I looked up the meanings of the separate words and conjured up a definition for the term by looking at all the definitions and comparing it to my peers� views; none of them contradicted, so here I am, typing this out. As stated clearly in the definition, a holiday is a period of relaxation. I wonder how many people actually enjoy doing homework. Sure, there might be some over-enthusiastic-I-must-do-homework-to-live people, but I am very sure that they are the minority group. Dislike != relaxation. Thus, the reason is very clear that a holiday was not intended for a student to do something he or she dislikes. I hope that no further elaboration is needed, or you can just sit your ass down in school and slog it out doing mounds and mounds of homework for 500 hours and the reason will magically appear in front of you. Damn those fascist bastards.
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Chapter Three: Counter-Argument
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The bringers of light and knowledge (teachers) might argue my point. �IT�S TO MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LOSE TOUCH WITH THE SUBJECT YOU MORONIC TOOT�, they might say. However answer this. Does missing one or two months of school deplete our knowledge of the subject? If it is so, people who graduate will lose all knowledge of what they have learnt in school in just a few years. Is this the point of education? The definition of education is as follows:
�the process of teaching or learning in a school or college, or the knowledge that you get from this�
The knowledge we get. If we lose all this knowledge once we leave school, what is the point of educating us in the first place? Since you all decide to be stubborn and continue to use this 2000 year old technique of educating us, what is the difference between taking a short break and leaving school? I hope this answers any queries you have in your mind. If not, I recommend you to sit your ass down in school and slog it out doing mounds and mounds of homework for 500 hours and your answer will magically appear in front of you.
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Final Chapter: Conclusion
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Even though I doubt that my little rant will change this Confucian practice in modern Singapore, I sincerely hope that the age old culture of giving holiday assignments during school holidays will be abolished in the near future, and children all over Singapore can live a happy and innocent childhood with completely no holiday-stress at all. Damn those fascist bastards.
end.