Journal 7: Would we still be happy if we don't follow our dreams?

I believe that I would only be happy if I don’t follow my dreams only when I know that the people I have sacrificed my dreams for will benefit. For example, if Dawan didn’t follow her dreams and let Kwai go for the scholarship, I think she would be sad at first, but happy in the end because Kwai would be able to fulfil his dreams. This is because if Dawan went for the scholarship, Kwai would have to answer to his father and the rest of the village. So in not following her dreams, Dawan would do Kwai a big favour, and she would be happy for him. Personally, I would find it hard to be happy if I don’t follow my dreams, and I will have many regrets. If I were Dawan and I had to give up my dreams, it would it be very hard for me to be happy, but I will do my best to be happy for Kwai.

Done by: Tan Xiao Ming

Journal 1:

I like to dream, I like to think about going to other countries.

~Babarella Chantelle Martin~

Journal 8: Should we follow our dreams?

I think that if our dreams will inconvenience others, then I should not follow it, for instance like if my dream is to get a Ferrari, but my parents have no money and neither do I, I should not follow. But if I follow my dreams and it benefits a lot of people in the end, I should really pursue my dreams. Personally I feel that Dawan should follow her dreams, because even though it is for herself that she wants to further her education, I feel that it will benefit the village if she can actually use her knowledge to help the villagers grow more and better crops. In fact, at the end of the book, the father allowed her to go to the town to study and Kwai sung for her to give her his blessing to go for further studies, with such encouragement and such a bright future ahead of her, she should go follow her dreams of furthering her studies in the city.

Done by: Maia Lee

Rubrics for Journal:

Grade	What it means	Criteria
Freddie Mercury	Excellent response, you deserve a standing ovation for your performance	·         Thoughtful and personal engagement with text       ·         Excellent understanding of text       ·         Accurate use of English and able to express self with precision       ·         Great effort at sharing reflection
Not bad	As what it suggests in the title	·         Thoughtful and personal engagement with text       ·         Good understanding of text       ·         Generally accurate use of English despite occasional grammatical errors       ·         Good effort at sharing reflection
OK guy	You have met my expectations but you could do  better	·         Adequate understanding of text       ·         Sufficient engagement with text       ·         Generally accurate use of English despite occasional grammatical errors       ·         Adequate effort at sharing reflection
Everything went better than expected	You have exceeded my expectations	Generally for students who have done better than usual in terms of:       ·         Engagement with the text (personal response and opinions)       ·         Understanding the text       ·         Use of language (accuracy in grammar and expression of ideas)       ·         Effort (originality and specific details)
Y U no try harder! (why didn’t you try harder?)	I expected a lot more from you, what happened?	·         Little or no evidence of engagement of the text       ·         Little or no understanding of text       ·         Inaccurate use of English       ·         Poor expression of ideas       ·         Little or no effort made at sharing reflection

Expectations for journals

Dear 1E1, you will have to write a journal entry on the class literature blog every week after each lesson. The question for the entry will be given in class. These are the list of things that are expected out of each entry:

1. Each journal entry must be about 100-200 words long. Journal 8, your final entry would be 200-250 words long.
2. You need to reflect on the issues and themes that are discussed in class. Think about how they relate to your own life.
3. You have to engage with the text Sing to the Dawn e.g. Use evidence from the text to support your answer to the question.
4. Always remember, a better journal entry is not the one with many points, but the one with points that are well thought out and explained points!
5. You must post your entry on the blog by the next lesson. Anyone who does not do so will get a fail grade immediately.

Only the last entry will have a formal grade on it. You must complete the 7 entries before starting on the last one. Any missing entries before the last one will be considered a fail grade. Don’t worry, the previous journals and I will guide you through.

Have fun posting!

Any questions, feel free to ask me in class or email me at izzan_yusoff@moe.edu.sg

Love,
Mr. Izzan