Creativity :the Drama

21/02/17 marks the day of joy for 5 Angsana! Why, because we won the drama competition!

Drama is a unique tool to explore and express human feeling.

Drama is an essential form of behaviour in all cultures, it is a fundamental human activity.In this site we are investigating the benefits Drama can have on child development when applied functionally within a primary classroom. Drama has the potential, as a diverse medium, to enhance cognitive, affective and motor development.A high degree of thinking, feeling and moving is involved and subsequently aids in the development of skills for all other learning within and outside of schools (transfer of learning).

Drama assists in the development of :

-the use of imagination

-powers of creative self expression

-decision making and problem solving skills and understanding of self and the world

-self confidence, asense of worth and respect and consideration for others.

There are many forms of Drama. Here is a non-exhaustive list with a simple explanation of each:

Improvisation / Let's Pretend

Role Plays

Mime

Masked Drama

The main props are masks. Children then feel less inhibited to perform and overact while participating in this form of drama.

Puppet Plays

Children use puppets to say and do thngs that they may feel too inhibited to say or do themselves.

Performance Poetry

While reciting a poem the children are encourage to act out the story from the poem.

Radio Drama

Similar to script reading with the addition of other sound affects, The painting of the mental picture is important

The story is about our best actor, Mr. P had banned the spark of creativity and thus the world has been a mood less place. Until Jing, the mysterious guy came around to find Alex ,thus set the begining of an ending. Alex then found the gang of creativity. Artist​, musician, dancers and he himself. 

After long term of arguments and fights, Mr. P was defeated by the gang of creativity and thus the world has been a better place.
Yes, I'm not going to talk about the whole tale, but hey let your own imagination wild shall we?

Pros and cons of assignments

Homework is one of the least interesting tasks for students. They tend to avoid writing homework assignments because they are repetitive and boring. Exams are less stressful because they come occasionally and remain for a week or so. Home tasks are repetitive and monotonous. Students hate to attempt these assignments because they do not have enough time to give to each subject and assignment.

From a student’s point of view, home tasks are unnecessary. From a teacher’s point of view, these tasks are important to help the students revise the concepts taught in class and perform better at the subject.

Everything has good and bad things about it. Home tasks have their good and bad sides as well. Research shows that students should have two hours of studying at home after the school assignments during high school. The amount of home tasks has increased greatly since the past two decades. This makes it difficult for students to cope up with. Average amount of home tasks is perfectly fine for the students.

Pros:
-It helps the students improve their understanding of the subject.
-They can develop a better understanding of the subject and its applications when they attempt assignments on their own
-Students who have trouble in grabbing the concepts will learn better when they attempt the assignmentIt will help them revise the concepts they read in schoolIt motivates them to take initiative and carry out research to attempt the home task
-It is a good way to prepare for exams and tests. They will practice the assignment and get prepared for the exam

Even though there are many advantages of home tasks, but they can have some drawbacks as well if in excess amount

Cons:
-Students cannot take time out to dedicate to each assignmentThey do not find time for their other activities and extracurricular tasks
-They do not have enough free time to learn and develop their personal skills
-Students who have excess home work may feel anxiety and stress if they cannot complete the paper on time
-It can be challenging for parents to sit with students and help them out in their academic tasks
-It may (will) make the student hate the subject itself

Pros and cons of stocks

Stocks
 Pros

Stocks typically have potential for higher returns compared with other types of investments over the long term.Some stocks pay dividens, which can cushion a drop in share price, provide extra income or be used to buy more shares.  

Pros

Great OpportunitiesAs you will undoubtedly be aware, the markets have been very volatile lately. There are two ways to look at this, you can be fearful or you can take advantage of the opportunities that arise.

LiquidityWith the exception of stocks that have a very low trading volume, if an investor wishes to sell a stock, the transaction can be executed almost instantly. This gives investors the peace of mind that if they want to get their money out of a particular stock or the market as a whole they can do so without delay.

Opportunity for Substantial ReturnsSmall investors may be drawn to the stock market because of the challenge of trying to pick the next big "winners" before other investors do. But the primary reason people purchase stocks is because compared with other investment vehicles, the historical returns stock investors receive have been higher.

Earn Income From DividendsThere are many relatively low-risk stocks at present that offer fantastic dividends yields, many well in excess of 3%. This is alone is much higher than treasuries and money market funds

Lots of help and AdviceIf you are new to trading stock market shares, there is a lot of free useful advice available online such as blogs like Brainstorm.

Cons

Stock prices can rise and fall dramatically.There is no guaranteed returns.  

Pros

Bonds tend to rise and fall less dramatically than stocks, which means their prices may fluctuate less.Certain bonds can provide a level of income stability.Some bonds, such as U.S. Treasuries, can provide both stability and liquidity .  

Cons

Historically, bonds have provided lower long-term returns than stocks.Bond prices fall when interest rates go up. Long-term bonds, especially, suffer from price fluctuations as interest rates rise and fall.

As you can see, each type of investment has its own potential rewards and risks. Stocks offer an opportunity for higher long-term returns compared with bonds but come with greater risk. Bonds are generally more stable than stocks but have provided lower long-term returns.

By owning a mix of different investments, you’re diversifying your portfolio. Doing so can curb the risks you’d assume by putting all of your money in a single type of investment.

Investments are not FDIC-insured, nor are they deposits of or guaranteed by a bank or any other entity.

The Nine World:Niflheim

Have you ever thought about a different world? Or a different fantasy? Here's one, to me, is like the world of ice 😂😂

Niflheim (or Niflheimr) ("Mist Home", the "Abode of Mist" or "Mist World", or probably world of the darkness according to the Oxford English Dictionary is one of the  nine worlds and is a location in  Norse mythology which sometimes overlaps with the notions of  Niflhel and Hel. The name Niflheimr only appears in two extant sources.

Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with the frozen river of Elivágar and the well of Hvergelmir, from which come all the rivers. According to Gylfaginning, Niflheim was one of the two primordial realms, the other one being Muspelheim , the realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to form a "creating steam". Later, it became the abode of Hel, a goddess daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects, those who did not die a heroic or notable death.

CNY taboo's

Chinese people believe that, as the Spring Festival is the start of a new year, what you do then will affect your luck in the coming year. There are many things you should not do.

Traditionally many taboos are associated with the New Year Festival, but in recent years some of them have been discarded, especially among the modern urban populations in larger cities and the younger generation.

Here are top 6 things that people should avoid doing on the first day of the Chinese New Year.

1. Avoid taking medicine.
It is a taboo for a person to brew herbal medicine or take medicine on the first day of the lunar year, otherwise it is believed he or she will get ill for a whole year. 

In some places, after the bell announcing the New Year at midnight New Year's Day, sickly people break their gallipots (medicine pots) in the belief that this custom will drive the illness away in the coming year.

2. Don't sweep or take out garbage. 
The act of sweeping on this day is associated with sweeping wealth away. Taking out garbage symbolizes dumping out the good luck or good fortune from the house.

3. Don't eat porridge and meat for breakfast.
Porridge should not be eaten, because it is considered that only poor people have porridge for breakfast, and people don't want to start the year "poor" as this is a bad omen. 

Besides, meat should not be eaten at this breakfast out of respect for the (Buddhist) gods (who are believed to be against killing of animals), as all gods are expected to be out meeting and wishing a happy New Year to each other.

4. Don't wash clothes and hair.
People do not wash clothes on the first and second day, because these two days are celebrated as the birthday of Shuishen (水神, the Water God).

Hair must not be washed on the first day of the lunar year. In Chinese language, hair (发) has the same pronunciation (and indeed is the same character) as fa in facai (发财), which means 'to become wealthy’. Therefore, it is seen as not a good thing to “wash one’s fortune away” at the beginning of the New Year.

5. Needle work should not be done.
The use of knives and scissors is to be avoided for any accident, whether harming a person or tool, is thought to lead to inauspicious things and the depletion of wealth in the coming year.

6. A married daughter is not allowed to visit the house of her parents. 
A married daughter is not allowed to visit the house of her parents, as this is believed to bring bad luck to the parents, causing economic hardship for the family. Traditionally a married daughter visits the house of her parents on the second day of Chinese New Year.

Spring Festival Season Taboos
During the New Year Festival season (from the 1st to 15th of the Lunar New Year) the following taboos apply:

Red is a lucky color in China.

The cry of a child is believed to bring bad luck to the family, so parents do their best to keep children from crying by whatever means possible.
Breaking tools or other equipment during this period is associated with a loss of wealth for the coming year; therefore tradesmen and business people in general take great precautions to prevent it.
A visit to the hospital during this period is believed to bring illness to the person in question for the duration of coming year; therefore visits to the hospital are avoided, except in cases of extreme emergency.
Theft: Do not let other people take objects, including money, from your pocket during the Spring Festival, and take care not to have your pocket picked, as this is believed to portend your whole wealth in the coming year being stolen.
Debt: Money should not be lent on New Year’s Day, and all debts have to be paid by New Year’s Eve, and, if someone who owes you money, do not go to his or her home to demand it. Anyone who does so it is said will be unlucky all the year.
The rice jar should not be allowed to become empty. This causes grave anxiety, as the cessation of cooking during the New Year period is an ill omen.
Damaged clothes: Do not wear new clothes that are damaged. If kids especially wear such clothes in the first lunar month, it is said to bring bad luck.
No killing. Killing in the Spring Festival should be avoided as blood is considered an ill omen, which will cause misfortunes such as a knife wound, or a bloody disaster.  
Do not wear white or black clothes as these two colors are associated with mourning traditionally.
Don't give certain gifts, like clocks, scissors, and pears, as they have a bad meaning in Chinese culture.

Selfie, fun?

As Oxford Dictionary’s word of the 2013 year, “selfies” have been flooding social media websites. Most of the world has been caught in this frenzy- either directly participating in it, or mocking it. Young students, however, seem to be the most affected by this new trend. As damaging as selfies are portrayed to be, they may actually prove to have several advantages, including raising self-esteem.

Despite freshman Caroline Kim’s strong self-assurance and confidence, when she posts a photo of herself on Facebook, she also secretly hopes to get multiple encouraging and flattering comments, likes, and shares. And for each one she receives, her confidence goes up one notch higher.

“Every like and positive comment I get does help raise my confidence,” Kim said. “I feel I am socially well integrated and have a lot of friends. When I post a picture, of course I always hope that I will get a lot of likes and comments, and I do get a little insecure. However, I do know the internet isn’t everything and I would rather be out with my friends.”

According to a survey conducted by Common Sense Media of more than 1000 teens aged 13 to 17-years-old, one in five teens felt more confident, popular, and better about themselves when using social media while only 4 percent of teens felt worse about themselves.

While Pen Psychology AP teacher Vararat Chaiyont believes that selfies should not be used as a way to boost self-esteem, she does acknowledge that they have considerable influence over people.

“If someone posts a selfie of him/herself, then depending on the public’s response, it will either encourage him/her to continuing posting selfies or discourage him/her,” Chaiyont said. “It’s the reactions that will shape a person’s behavior. Insecure people probably are not going to take selfies and post them [but if they do and receive positive feedback] it would encourage them to do it more. I might not necessarily make them more self-confident, but it will make them less shy exhibiting themselves.”

Ps: out of ideas

The Road Not Taken poem review.

This week's blog entry should be on The Road Not Taken. If you never hear or read before thus poem,here ya go.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

___________
Life is a decision itself. Whether you make the move today or not. You never know what to expect when you make a decision. Whether you'll miss your chance of fame or happiness. You'll never know. Some decisions at a one chance. That mean when you choose A, you can never choose B.
So, whether to make a decision in life. It's your choice to choose.