REFLECTIVE ESSAY

Title: Does School Prepare Us for Life?

The school days are crammed with facts and figures, encompassing various subjects
ranging from English to Mathematics. All of these require students to learn, memorise,
understand and to be tested. Besides grades and examinations, the school also
encompasses a wider curriculum including character moulding, citizenship building and
personality development. Indeed, I think the school does prepare us for life.

Firstly, the school teaches us self-discipline. We learn to keep to a schedule and to

adhere to the timetable. We also learn to appreciate time and to be punctual. Moreover, we
are trained to plan and manage time wisely. We also abide by and respect rules and
regulations. The disciplined students will grow up to be disciplined adults and they will do
well in their future undertakings.

The school also helps to fortify our determination and perseverance. We learn to fulfil
the demands of the school. We also learn to meet deadlines and hand in the homework on
time. Moreover, we learn to face stress and pressure. In school, students learn to overcome
challenges. Students with strength of character will be well-prepared to face the challenges
of work and life in the future.

Co-curricular activities are part and parcel of a students life. They help to mould
students character and personality so that students learn to be confident. They help to hone
the leadership qualities in the students themselves. Students learn to work together and co-
operate with others. They also learn to appreciate good values like esprit de corps. Students
learn to contribute positively and to put their best foot forward besides to take success and
failure in their stride. We as the students learn to honour values of sportsmanship and fair
play. Through co-curricular activities, students also learn loyalty, commitment and
responsibility. When they grow up, they will work well as a team with others and committed
in serious work.

The school is a micro-society. The everyday social interaction is an excellent

preparation for life in the society outside. In school, students have the opportunities to
interact with other students from varied background, creed and race. Indirectly, they learn
tolerance, acceptance and understanding. The students also have the opportunity to work
and to mingle together. This can help to foster an open mind and promote unity.

Just mention the word school and images of grades and examinations come to our
mind. Indeed students spend a lot of time and energy preparing and sitting for examinations.
Along with that they gather a string of qualifications as well as knowledge and skills. They
are crucial since they are the stepping stones and the foundation for the future. They can
help students to secure a good job and successful career.

In short, school does prepare us for life. It helps to nurture and to build strong
character in ourselves. School also prepares students with the necessary tool so that
students can fit into society and contribute positively to the nation and people in future.
Narrative Essay

Title: My Most Embarrassing Situation

Everyone has been embarrassed at one time or another. It is that moment in time
when you wish the earth would open up and swallow you. The anxiety and discomfort felt
during that time which may only last a few seconds feels like time has stood still.

I remember so well when I had my most embarrassing moment. I was in Form 4 and
it was during the school recess. The minute the bell rang for recess, I rushed to the toilet
because I had been controlling my urges since class started. I didnt want to miss class
because the lesson taught that morning was to include tips for the forthcoming examination.

Without realising, I had rushed to the girls toilet. The prolonged control and an upset
stomach made worse by two glasses of cold milk in the morning made me grunt and groan
in what I thought in what I thought was the privacy of the cubicle. I thought I heard giggling
outside and wondered why the giggles sounded unusually near. A few minutes later I came
out the cubicle and discovered my horror that I had entered the girls toilet. To make matters
worse, the few girls standing outside didnt even turn away when I came out. Instead they
looked down at me, then only they turned quickly away. Horror of horrors, I had forgotten to
zip up! No beetroot could have matched the colour of my face at this point in time!

They news of my predicament spread like wild fire throughout school. I was truly the
talk of the town. I felt like I could either walk around feeling perpetually self-conscious and
embarrassed or I could turn the situation round, perhaps even to my advantage. I
remembered my mothers words that if you cant beat them, join them. So I decided to
make fun of myself, to laugh at myself too. It works. Everyone got bored after a while and
nobody teased me after that.

It was indeed an eye-opening experience for me. I have learnt that when people
laugh at you, you should laugh along. You must not take yourself seriously. Learn to look at
yourself through other peoples eyes and you will realise that most of the time when they
laugh at you, they just want to have some fun. They mean no harm. If you can make people
laugh, its like bringing sunshine into their lives and as someone said, those who bring
sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
SPEECH

Q: Your school is having a month-long A Healthy Body Campaign. As President of the

Health Club of your school, you decide to give a speech on the Tak nak Campaign recently
launched by the government.

Tak Nak Campaign

A very good morning to our dear Principal, Mr. Hasnan bin Jaafar, teachers and
students.

Recently, our former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched an anti-
smoking campaign called Tak Nak. You can now see this short and rhyming catch phrase
Tak Nak everywhere on billboards, posters, TV ads, and sometimes I even hear it on the
radio. Though some people have criticised our government for setting aside a staggering
sum of RM100 million over 6 years for the campaign, it is nothing compared to the huge
amounts that tobacco companies spend to promote smoking.

But in this war against smoking, money definitely talks; it is necessary for the Tak
Nak Campaign to constanly remind us of the hazard of smoking because about 50
Malaysian teenagers light up for the first time every day. In fact, some of these youth
progress steadily from this to regular use, with addiction raking hold within a few years. And
this is despite the warning on every pack of cigarettes that states unequivocally Smoking is
dangerous to your health.

What can the Tak Nak Campaign do to combat this? Their aggressive advertising
creates media awareness among the public, especially among the fashionable young crowd,
that smokers have yellowed teeth and suffer from shortness of breath and tells them that it is
not cool to smoke. It is also not responsible of them to affect non-smokers with second-hand
smoke. Also, there is a succession of infomercials on TV and in the papers showing the
debilitating effects of tobacco addiction on the body and gruesome statistics of smoke-
related deaths. We are now familiar with the graphic pictures of damaged lungs on billboards
which should scare people into not smoking. This works, as I know some of my friends are
quitting now, or trying to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke per week.

However, I feel any anti-smoking campaign is more effective if other people and
organisations are actively involved too. Yes, the first step has been taken by the top, but sad
to say, many of our politicians smoke themselves. Nearer to home, so do some of our
parents and teachers. These adults have to be good role models by not smoking
themselves. If they do smoke, they should tell their children and students that they regret
that they ever started, and then take steps to quit smoking as soon as possible. They must
practise what they preach.

On a more positive note, I commend the Malaysia Amateur Athletic Union for its
zero-tolerance of smoking because they know that smoking and health just do not mix. How
can our sportsmen excel if they cannot stop smoking.

Dear teachers and students, thank you for your attention. Let me end my speech by
reiterating that smoking is a bad habit, so make Tak Nak your mantra. If you have started
smoking, say Tak Nak and quit! And if you havent started smoking, say know that smoking
not only damages your health but you are also literally burning your money.
ARTICLE
Haze: A Danger to Health

The haze is a constant phenomenon faced by Malaysia and her neighbouring

countries. The haze is basically pollution of atmosphere, which is clogged with pollutants and
other substances from forest fires.

The haze is a direct effect of forest fire in Kalimantan and other parts of Indonesia
due to slash and burn method of farming. The Indonesian authorities appear to have no
power to control farmers from practising such methods. The haze is further worsened by
open burning practised by most Malaysians. Open-field burning of rice straw by the rice
planters and open burning of dried leaves and garbage done by the public are a few
examples that done by Malaysian. Many are ignorant of the health effects of open burning.

During the haze, hospitals and clinic often report a dramatic increase in respiratory
problems, lung infections and asthma attack. The Air Pollution Index (API) usually indicates
the hazardous and dangerous levels of pollution during this period. The haze has long-term
side effects. Prolonged inhalation of polluted air will result in serious lung infection which
particularly affects the elderly.

The government must play its role to reduce the haze treat. It has to cooperate with
the Indonesian authorities to stamp out forest fires. The culprits must be brought to justice,
either through healthy fine or prison sentence. Constant vigilance would ensure the
perpetrators do not repeat their offence.

The government should also raise the public awareness of the dangers of forest fire.
Continuous campaign of the cause, solutions and steps-need-to-be-taken to reduce the haze
need to be promoted through all types of social media like television, radio, newspaper and
even via internet. The authorities should also provide assistance to farmers and introduce
more sophisticated forest clearing methods.

In Malaysia, strict laws must be imposed to penalise those who practise open
burning. On-going campaigns on the dangers of open burning should be intensified.
Individuals too have a role to play. They must participate in every campaign and stop
burning. Students can advise their parents not to practice open burning.

Every individual has to remember that we do not own the world, but instead we lent
it from our future generations. We must protect our world so that our grandchildren would
have a healthy earth to live.

Ahmad Harun bin Hashim

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan