Choo Jek Bao
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: Being a 1st-year student in his second term at SMU, I believe that attendance and punctuality should be taken into consideration while assessing a person’s class participation (“CP”). Secondly, the content of a student’s conversation should be intuitive and insightful to earn him good CP. Most of my Professors (from last term) and Teaching Assistants did not formally mention what constitute good CP. However, most of my Professors stressed that in participating “Less is More”; and I translate this into my own theory: Don’t Talk “Too Much”, But Talk Smart.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: I will participate equally in my CSP project and in class. In class , it is easier to say what makes a good leader but when it comes to leading a group in the real world, there are a myriad of difficulties. All in all, this does not mean that we can’t learn more about leadership from lectures. Studying how past leaders managed their people and events will always be helpful but can never fully replace or replicate what one learns from experience. I, for example, learnt a lot from trying to change my poor leadership style during my stint in National Service.

Deborah Theseira
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: The school system around here typically treats classes as a one-way deal. The teacher talks, you sit tight and listen (or spend the next hour in the corridor, hoping the discipline master does not walk by). It was only in secondary school Literature that the learning happened in a class-wide discussion. Even then I only participate if there’s something genuinely missing, something vital that hasn’t been said.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: Within my group, I will definitely contribute as much as I can, so long as whatever I say adds value or focus to a discussion. In class, participation doesn’t feel particularly necessary or relevant so I’ll limit it to getting clarification on our project or covering content. I think my current level of participation is decent enough in quality and quantity (and I hope my group members find it so too) since I am very paranoid about talking too much and taking up air time.

Aaron Pyae Phyo Win
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: As I am a first-year student in SMU, I have very fresh experiences for the class participation from the last five classes I had taken in term 1. Being an international student, I first found it very difficult to talk in class as English is not my own tongue. Moreover, the different pedagogy and the learning environment are also posing some hindrances for me to open up in class. As for the sake of grades, I decided to try my best to do my best. I set myself some goals_ to participate at least twice in each class. I first started off by sticking to my rules. However, different classes have different ways of accessing class participating. In some classes, even though your responses were great contribution to the class discussion, the professors hardly noticed you and it made you sometimes feel that your efforts were not paid off. On the other hand, class participating can simply be regarded as “talking in class”. No matter how simple and general your responses are, the hawk-eyed TA would note down once you voiced out. So let me say that my past experience on class participation cannot be said to be a perfect one but it was a lesson learnt in time.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: So here, in my LTB club, I simply hope that I can improve the frequency of my in-class participation. To be able to accomplish such task, I need to be well-prepared when I come to the class, try to have a very logical mindset and a wide-based knowledge by reading newspaper and the reading suggestions provided by the professor. But what I suggest is to access the class participation upon the efforts of the students. The last thing is that the professor should kindly offer his recognition to the students’ participation so that we can feel somewhat encouraged. I expect a lot from this class and I hope I can do it.

Cheryl Wong
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: I have undertaken several leadership roles throughout my schooling years and have led groups of extremely different dynamics and characteristics. The journey of pursuing leadership is never ending as the circumstances a leader is faced with is never exactly the same. Such is the challenge of being a leader. However, I have enjoyed every minute of leadership and teamwork as the process of personal growth and group effort is most rewarding.

In secondary school (Raffles Girls’ Secondary), I was part of the executive committee of the prefectorial board, the patrol leader of Girl Guides, the mentor of the Congress Board as well as a house committee member. As a prefect, I was the overall organizer of Orientation for the secondary ones; one of the biggest events in school. I also organized a day camp for the Mendaki children to bring happiness and joy into their lives through meaningful activities.

In Junior College (Raffles Junior College), I was invited to a leadership conference called Global Young Leaders’ Conference in New York and Washington and learnt valuable lessons during the trip. In RJC, I was the community service director of Interact Club, the second largest CCA in the school. I spearheaded Youth Got Heart, a nationwide community service advocacy project held in Junction 8 which acted as a platform for NGOs to reach out to youth volunteers. Also, I was the publicity head of Raffles Rock which is a CCA for rock bands to practice and perform their music. Due to the jarring differences in attitudes of rock club members and interact club members, I learnt that flexibility and being quick to adapt to different groups of people are very important qualities in leadership. I participated in an overseas OCIP to Cambodia and was the documentary head. On my own initiative, I solicited funds from my team to sponsor a girl facing temporary financial difficulties to go to school for a year. Otherwise, her parents were intending to let the girl quit school till the funds are raised. As a girl’s education is often seen as unimportant in Cambodia, I was afraid stopping school was not a temporary measure but a permanent one, hence insisting on keeping her in school. Till today, she still contacts me to update me on her progress in school.

Within my first semester in SMU, I have already completed my overseas CIP stint in Bhakunde Bensi, a village in Nepal. I was the co-expedition leader of the team and this experience has been by far the most enriching one I ever had. It was fraught with setbacks, changes and unforeseen circumstances. However, we battled through the obstacles fearlessly and emerged successful in positively impacting the lives of the children of Buddha Academy school.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: Since coming into SMU, I have been an active listener in class and found myself generating many ideas and thoughts that I would like to mention to value-add to the discussion. However, very often, I find myself obstructed in the process. There is a gamut of possible scenarios that can stop me from sharing my thoughts: Someone else has already mentioned my point, the professor turned away from me just when I wanted to share my views, I feel embarrassed for speaking up a little too much during that particular class, and the list goes on. Otherwise, it would be my over-consciousness that most frequently prevents me from speaking up.

I have had many leadership experiences and have addressed crowds of hundreds of people. I am also a pianist and a singer who has performed for a theatre full of audience. Yet, class participation still remains a daunting task for me. Frankly, I am unafraid of public speaking and being the centre of everyone’s attention in class (this is provided that I am prepared for the occasion). Instead, I worry most about making a sub-standard and unintelligent comment that will condemn me into the realm of being a “bimbo” in the eyes of the class and the professor. There is always that element of uncertainty that may turn the comment that I thought was witty into something worthless and laughable. I suppose all these insecurities stem from my overwhelming desire to guard my inflated but fragile ego.

I understand that this is a challenge I must overcome especially since I will probably encounter many such circumstances where spontaneous reaction and speech is required. As such, I have been working hard at class participation and voicing out my opinion whenever conditions (as mentioned above) seem favourable enough. The more I practice, the better I become. I believe that at the end of four years, this self-coercing can be put to an end when class participation becomes second nature to me.

Phan Khoi Nguyen
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: In the past, participation in class was often quite difficult for me since I was quite not feeling comfortable about it. I used to like sitting in class and collecting ideas from the others to build up and summarize my own lessons. Sometimes I might raise hand to discuss some topics that I was in fond of with. However, those times were not quite frequently. At that time, I assumed that listening to the others is a more effective way to develop my skills rather than joining in discussion in class.

However, when I began to enter high school, I realized the importance of speaking up in class. Raising idea is indeed an effective way to learn the lessons better because I have to brainstorm myself; therefore, I can get immediate opinions from the others to avoid my mistakes in the exams. Furthermore, the lessons are more interesting and it can help me to remember the lessons longer. I found out that sitting quietly in class is boring and disinclines us from learning the subject eagerly.

Then, I begin to contribute to our lessons by giving questions I don’t understand or discussing it with the others classmates. But for sometimes, I spoke irrelevant things and made useless comment on the others points. As I began to realized how far I was lost in “earning” participation, I begin to reduce the number of speaking times in class and paid more times to listening to the other’s ideas. Listening is always as important as speaking. To balance between speaking and listening is also important, you have to know what the right time to speak is and how much you can speak. Participating in class is just not open your mouth to breathe some air but to contribute to the development of the lessons under the instruction of professors. So the quality of your contribute is more important than the quantity.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: In LTB, both in class and for CSP project, I expect that I can give my opinions freely to build the project of our groups. Also I want to comment on the other’s suggestion so we can improve the project day by day. I hope I can make good suggestions or give good solutions for the problems. Furthermore, my goal is also listening to the other’s opinions to improve myself. To do so, I have to practice more in speaking English and try to develop my points in not only broader but also deeper way

Ang Teck Siang
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: For me participation in school depends on 2 things. Firstly, my participation depends on the nature of the mod, because some subjects/topics/classes are just more suited to two-way communication between teacher and student than others (like math). Secondly, my participation depended on how receptive the teacher was towards it, and how much was expected. I also think participation encompasses an extremely wide range of activity from just showing up and listening in class to adding value to class discussions. I would favor the latter end of the spectrum, and this is not always easy to do, but I try.

Q: What are your goals with regard to participation in LTB (in class and for the CSP project)? Would you like to participate (more or less or about the same amount)? How would you like to change the quality and/or content of your participation?
A: LTB seems like a very hands-on module, so it makes sense that more participation would be expected if learning outcomes are to be achieved. I would definitely try to participate more. As for the quality of my participation, I think the dynamics would be very different from the learning environment I am used to in which a teacher or professor talks and as students we simply try to absorb as much as possible. In LTB I would be learning from my peers as much as I would from Prof, and thus the nature of my participation would be different. Participation now would also include working with my team towards an objective and personally, I think I would be able to contribute best by facilitating the generation of ideas within the team.

Liu Nian
Q: Tell us briefly about your past experience with participation in school. How much did you participate? In what ways did you participate? What did the teacher expect from your concerning participation?
A: Time and place plays a large role in many aspects of our lives, especially in our experience in leadership.

Different countries will differ in culture as well as leadership style. This is also true of team building. Back home in China, I have had reasonably good leadership roles and experiences starting from junior high school. I was the monitor of my class and helped direct our course of action as a unit. Sometimes, there came a point where it began to feel as if I even had to mother my classmates. Every day I needed to supervise "the black sheep" and keep the order. If anybody had a problem, I had come up with the best possible solutions for them. I was not properly equipped with the leadership skills to deal with these problems, merely tried my best to deal with conflict as it came my way. Everything changed when I entered High School. Everyone there seems to have a fierce self-awareness, solidity in their beliefs, values and attitudes. I was heading the student association at that time. Before putting any ideas forward, I had to be very mindful, sensitive to everyone’s else’s emotional and mental state. During this period, I begin to understand the important of Leadership not only from up activities and got to talk to people more about their experiences as well as their concerns one-to-one. I also helped plan distinctive programs for specific groups. No one is born to be a leader but when pushed, many can develop far beyond their own initiative and original potential.

Then my colourful college life started. My hometown university, Zhejiang University, is an environment which encourages creativity and is highly-motivating. Although my major is computer science, I entered an election and become the monitor of my class and the leader of a student organization. I am very interested in social science, especially leadership because I dream of being a project manager who will build software which everyone will use. “Life has value only when it has something valuable in it.”. So I put a lot of effort into learning how to be a leader and practice my skills in group activities. I took change of promotional activities for our Computer Fair, I joined the Red Cross and arranged some events to help others.

Most significantly, I was a volunteer in the Beijing 2008 Olympics' Games. However, I often still run into problems when trying exercise my leadership skills effectively. I think that the only way to overcome this is a complete personal overhaul which is why I applied to become an exchange student in SMU.

Our first shaky attempt at compressing our choices, concept and intentions. In this presentation, we learnt a great deal not just about how to improve our project but also about each other.

Learning from our mistakes, peer feedback and Professor Menkhoff's comments, we return invigorated with an even better concept for the Cohesion Camp.

The law of the land, laid down by team members in our first LTB lesson when we were still so unsure of each other and where we were headed and the plan for our choice of project.

The Singapore government recently announced several new policies which will further differentiate the treatment Singaporeans and foreigners receive so that Singaporeans will feel more privileged and secure in their homeland. However, 25.3% of the people in our nation are non-residents coming from all over the globe. This increase in privileges for locals while penalizing foreigners may contribute to social friction and increase the risk of a segregated society without a unifying identity. The first step in averting such a dire future is to increase cultural understanding and awareness between locals and foreigners at the most basic level, thereby increasing cohesion. This was the rationale behind Hand in Hand’s organisation of a cohesion camp for the international students in Singapore Management University. We aimed to encourage integration and overcome prejudice through the enjoyable as well as informative activities in the camp.



On February 24th 2010, we organised a full-day Hand-in-Hand cohesion camp on school premises which included the following activities: A Lau Par Sat food trail, an interactive language session introducing them to common Hokkien, Malay, Mandarin and Singlish phrases, an abbreviations game, a session to introduce and play popular board and card games in Singapore and finally, some sports in the form of Frisbee and Captain’s ball to wrap up the day. To ensure that the learning points are consolidated and effectively conveyed to the participants, we gave them an information booklet each for future reference.

The next day, we participated in Bukit Batok’s Chinese New Year Celebrations in collaboration with MCYC (Methodist Children and Youth Centre) at Bukit Batok Community Centre to provide an exclusive and unforgettable peek into local Chinese traditions for our foreign friends. They were able to learn more about specific Chinese New Year decorations during pre-celebration preparation, view the exciting and colourful performances on stage, interact with the Bukit Batok residents and also participate in the Yu Sheng (raw fish) tossing ceremony anchored by Hand in Hand members. We will be meeting all participants in week 11 for dinner at Café Cartel as a follow-up activity to thank them for attending our camp and to strengthen the bonds formed.

While the participants have had a lot of fun during the camp and forged valuable friendships with us, our group wishes to make the effect of our integration efforts sustainable in the long-run which is why we have set up a social networking group on Facebook. It will enable us to stay connected with all the participants, plan subsequent gatherings and to promptly address any concerns or queries they have about living in Singapore. We will also continue to work with SMU Icon to negotiate the adoption and extension of this project to be conducted on a yearly basis. In addition, we are exploring the possibility of collaborating with the Office of Student Life (OSL) to increase the scale of the project so that we can reach out to even more international students both on our campus as well as outside of it.

A letter to Mr Ben, without whom our execution would not have been as meaningful or successful.

The fruits of our labour after weeks of hard work, planning, project refinement and, not forgetting, having some fun along the way.

A record of all our meetings, mishaps and major decisions.

A closer look at the sort of things we shared with our foreign friends during Day 1 of our Cohesion Camp.