CAS reflection

Familiarity breeds comfort, and sometimes we just have to step back and gain an insight into things outside our comfort zone. I've always considered myself to be a KL girl, and so I ignorantly assumed that everyone led a comfortable lifestyle the way most of us in KL do. Attending a college in the middle of a palm oil estate outside of KL and meeting people from different states in Malaysia made me realise that we were worlds apart. Never did I imagine that even top students from rural areas in Malaysia were still struggling to converse in English. I also never imagined that topics of discussion that I used to consider normal were considered taboo amongst those same students. The sad part of it is that these were the fortunate students who despite their English illiteracy were the cream of the crop where they came from. But what happens to those who weren't so lucky? Do they get casted aside to the sidelines? I recently went to a primary school where most of the students were the orang asli children and again I was shocked at the difference between it and my old primary school. Each standard only had one class, and the school only consisted of one academic block. Before a few of my friends and I started teaching, the teachers told us beforehand that the students didn't understand English and so we were to give simple instructions in Malay. I started to think. This is a

  • Word count: 619
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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The Importance of John the Baptist

The Importance of John the Baptist: "Among them that are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist . . ." (Mt. 11:11). John the Baptist, the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah was sent by god for a special mission as an ascetic Jewish preacher. He travelled all around the banks of the Jordan River, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Herds of people came admitting all their sins and he baptized each and every one of them in the Jordan River. One of the people he baptized at that time was Jesus. The man who he was assasinated by was Herod Antipas, because John had accused him for his incestuous marriage. John's ministry was followed by the people of Jesus' ministry and a few of Jesus' early followers had too been followers of John. Both John and Jesus preached at times of social, religious and political conflict. In his character, John was strong and courageous-yet humble. In his preaching he was severe-yet he demonstrated practical wisdom. He received his training in the solitude of the wilderness. John's clothing was rough, but his preaching was even rougher than his appearance. He refused to baptize the Pharisees and Sadducees, until they brought forth "fruits meet for repentance." He called them a "generation of Vipers." Both John and Jesus were conceived by the Holy Spirit. Even though John's parents were old the Angel

  • Word count: 1102
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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CAS IB Report #2

Excellent CAS The Creative Action Service (CAS) Program of my International Baccalaureate Program helped me grow in immeasurable ways. Volunteering my time was an incredibly intrinsically rewarding activity. My many excellent CAS activities introduced me to the joys of trying out new activities. I was already an active participator in school sports before excellent CAS, but lacked interest or initiative to take advantage of the innumerable service positions and creative outlets just waiting for me to explore. Excellent CAS gave me the impetus I needed, and with this initial push I soon discovered how rewarding these activities could be. The many experiences have convinced me of the need to continue volunteering and participating in activities that I have never tried before. Coaching Grade 4/5 basketball in a community basketball league turned out to be an activity I truly enjoyed and learned a lot from. Starting in the first year of IB, I enjoyed it so much I volunteered again the next year. Through this new experience I learned a lot about motivation and teaching skills. It helped me recognize the importance of patience, practice, and perseverance. Although there are some obvious differences between leading a group of kids who looked up to me and leading my peers, I feel I can apply many of these skills to my future endeavours. The development of these valuable skills as

  • Word count: 1413
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Oral Presentation: Swift and Larkin

Ladies and Gentlemen: I will be comparing the way Swift and Larkin present their pessimism of human nature in "Gulliver's Travels" and "The Whitsun Weddings" collection. By the end of this presentation you will understand how and why these two authors present their pessimism of human nature in these two texts. The definition of human nature is "the basic character or disposition of mankind including ways of thinking, feeling and acting that all human beings have in common" I believe this nature includes the capacity for both good and evil and therefore can be viewed optimistically or pessimistically. Swift's purpose in Gulliver's Travels was to stir his readers to view themselves as he viewed humankind, as creatures that were not fulfilling their potential, but were simply wallowing in selfishness and ignorance. I will be exploring the way Swift presents his pessimism of: * Basic human nature * Excessive Pride * Contemptuous intellectualism Satire is the main tone that Swift uses in Gulliver's Travels. I believe the reason for this tone was attributed to his frustration with mankind's vile nature life. He believed that by revealing our true nature through satire, we would change our shameful ways. Swift admitted himself that he wanted "vex" the world with his satire, and it is certainly in his tone, more than anything else, that you can feels his intentions. The

  • Word count: 2827
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Relatinshipe between father and son in things fall apart

The relationship between Unoka and Okonkwo, In "Things Fall Apart", many father and son relationships exist. The most notable one is the Okonkwo has with his father Unoku. Their relationship is a very strained in which Okonkwo grows up hating his father and consciously adopts opposite ideals. Unoku is often viewed as a poor, lazy man who never planned for the future. He is always in debt and as a result he left his son with nothing to live on when he dies. Two ways that shows Okonkwo's hate towards his father is the way he constantly beats his own son Nwoye. Another way is how Onkonkwo never wants to show any weakness and consciously adopts opposite ideals of his father. The constant beating of Nuroye by Onkokwo done on purpose by him in order to prevent Nwoye becoming like Unoka. Onkonkwo worries about his son following in the footsteps of his grandfather that he even refers to him as being "old enough to impregnate a woman". Okonkwo views his son as a symbol of laziness just like Unoka, and so he does his best to prevent this. The fact that Nuroye has feminine like characteristics angers his father. This includes Nwoye crying a lot when Ikmefuma is taken away and that he prefers listening to his mother's children stories rather than his father's war stories. Nuroye struggles in the shadow of his powerful, successful, and demanding father that as a result

  • Word count: 491
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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University Entrance Essay

On December 23rd, 1814, American President Andrew Jackson called upon the French privateer and smuggler, Jean Lafitte, and his fellow Baratarians to aid in fending off British invasion. In a courageous fight, together they were able to defeat the British despite being outnumbered three to one. Much of the victory is credited to the pirate turned patriot, and my direct ancestor, Jean Lafitte. In more ways than one, my life today seems to be shaped around the career of my ancestor, for I too, have sailed nearly 85,000 miles over Davy Jones' locker. When the term pirate is used, most relate this to buried treasure, cannons, and swabbing decks. However, there is more to being a pirate than that. Pirates, like me, require defining traits that shape them as a whole. The first is adventure. Jean Lafitte's perils through the waterways of New Orleans were what allowed Jackson's army to surprise the British. Similarly, my life follows the same path of adventure, without the swashbuckling of course. Spending three years of my life living on a boat sailing throughout the South Pacific islands exposed me to remote and diverse cultures at an early age. This experience opened my mind to realize how much we can potentially give to developing countries. This played a role in my inspiration to travel to the remote town of Mata Palo, Costa Rica last summer to work on a turtle conservation

  • Word count: 666
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Darkness At Noon World Lit Paper 2

World Literature Essay II: C Candidate Number: 000 119 023 Word Count:1071 Total Number of Pages: 4 The Individual vs. The Party in Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler Purpose Statement: The fundamental believes of the Party explained by Arthur Koestler were oppressive to the ideological believes of the individual. In return the revolution failed to reach a utopian society due to the oppression of the individual. The party describe in Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler represents the governmental and economic system of communism in the Soviet Union during the 1930's and 40's with the main intend of reaching a utopia in the real world. The sacrifice of the individual was necessary to carry out the will of history in the eyes of the party. The ideology of the party creates a conflict in Darkness at Noon where the ideologies of the party undermined the ideas of the grammatical fiction with a result of a failed revolution. An individual perception is needed to help the rest of humanity, without it nothing can be done to change society. Koestler uses Rubashov as a vehicle to describe the struggle between the ideas of the party and of the individual. The transformation from despising the "silent partner" to an overall understanding of the necessity to acquire it can explain the flaw of the party. As Rubashov is slowly accepting his grammatical fiction he is getting closer to

  • Word count: 1168
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Oral Presentation Like Water For Choc. Chap2

ORAL PRESENTATION IB HAND MAIDS TALE CHAPTER 2 Offred describes her living quarters and ponders her situation. Read the extract and compose a compentary on everything you learn about her as a person and as a story teller. How does Atwood try to engage your sympathy for Offred? Is she successful? Read the opening of chapter 2, "A window, two white curtains. Under the window,....who was in love with either/or." --Offred describes her surroundings in great detail ex. "... which I made of wood, in narrow strips, highly polished." Or even noticing how the room changes when the window is opened vs. closed, "makes the curtains move" (Symbolically suffocating as only partially able to open/partial air) Often sparks interior monologue about past Plenty of time to do so, nothing else occupies time --Can't control inner thoughts (area of freedom) - stream of consciousness fitting, although her memory is spotted (hint of brainwashing involved) --Separates herself from the people in authority, "they" "them" (anonymous) Even though they control her life, she does not offer them respect --Feels limited by her life and not satisfied living with maxims taught. Longs for something more, "Waste not want not. I am not being wasted. Why do I want? (Rhetorical and ironic) Playful alliteration. --She is determined to survive, even if this means denying the truth sometimes,

  • Word count: 918
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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ITGS portfolio Extension

ITGS PORTFOLIO EXTENSION Ishaan Khanna Report Criterion N: Discussion And Analysis Of The Interview According to Mr.Paraskar, Wi-Fi technology has caught momentum in India in the last four years . In the year 2007, Wi-Fi spread widely in business and industrial sites. . Mr. Paraskar has been working in the cyber crime department for five years. He has come across various security problems in Wi-Fi networks such as hacking and received a large number of complaints based on this issue. Wi-Fi is used by most personal computer operating systems, video game consoles, laptops, smart phones and many other electronic devices. The popularity of this technology is increasing day by day and airports, hotels, restaurants are offering free Wi-Fi to attract customers and slowly Wi-Fi is replacing local area networks which require wires for connection to the internet. As far as security loopholes of Wi-Fi are concerned, many Wi-Fi users do not secure their Wi-Fi networks. This makes the Wi-Fi network accessible to any outsider who has a Wi-Fi enabled device anywhere near the Wi-Fi network. Mr. Paraskar said that hacking into Wi-Fi networks is a very serious issue and a great amount of damage can be caused as a result of compromise in Wi-Fi networks. People can hack into Wi-Fi networks which have highly confidential data which can be leaked and provided to outsiders or misused

  • Word count: 1617
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Analysis of sonnet 116

Analysis of Sonnet 116 Sonnet 116 is one of the famous romantic pieces of William Shakespeare. The theme of the sonnet is true love. The love that is always constant and that survives in all circumstances or in other words, immutable. The love that is not faded in time or vanished, because if it does, it means that it was never true love. The first line of the stanza of this sonnet begins with 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments; '. This opening line uses a language that would normally be used in a marriage ceremony. The speaker is saying that he will simply not admit that true love has limitations. Here the speaker uses 'marriage' to refer to love as the communion of two perfect minds that are simply right for each other. Language devices has been used such as repetition and an emjambement. The repetition emphasises certain words such as 'love'.An enjambement is also been used to grab the reader's attention to the theme of true love by increased the pace of the sonnet and to move further into the sonnet.The speaker goes on saying 'love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds Or bends with the remover to remove,' This could be interpreted as that true love cannot change or 'bend' in any circumstances and if it does, its simply 'not love'. The poet here has used a paradox to emphasise this idea: 'love is not love' The second quatrain of

  • Word count: 671
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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