Final Reflection

My opinion on the topic of ' Graciousness' has not really changed in anyway. Through this project, I felt that i have learnt a lot more about the term 'Graciousness' than before. The funny thing is that after this project, I had a stronger feeling that majority of the Singaporeans are not gracious at all and that we really have to try to inculcate this value in them to prevent our country from gaining an even worse reputation than now. Then comes the dilemma, how are we going to teach them if they are so stubborn and do not want to listen or hear what we have to say? Also, i believe that some of them might not even they are doing is wrong and that they are imposing on others. I also realised that nowadays, in public, I am more aware of the way that people act and behave. I will always have the tendency to observe them to see if they are gracious or not. :P I think that my group has performed quite well for this project as we showed teamwork and co-operation. We also split the work up so that we would be able to complete the task given on time and this showed organisation in our group too! As for me, I think i did not perform that badly but, the best people to decide are still my group mates. :) Most importantly, we have all done our best and put in our best effort in this project. In conclusion, it was really fun working with my group! :D:D:D

by: Gabrielle

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I still think that there is still a need to teach Singaporeans about being gracious towards people. My opinion about teaching Singaporeans how to be gracious have not changed in anyway. However, during the 'gracious' project i have noticed that Singaporeans do actually know the meaning of gracious. Few days back i was talking with a couple of my old friends and some of them were Singaporeans. I was mentioning about the ungracious behavior that Singaporeans usually do. One of my Singaporean friend whom was famous for his ungracious behavior in public places and in my friends circle, say that he agreed that singaporeans were ungracious and there is a need to teach them how to be gracious. He never say thank you when someone hold the door for him, but on that day i dropped my fork in the restaurant and he was seated beside me. He picked it up, and i say 'thank you', surprisingly he replied 'it's my pleasure'. I realize that one actually need to show the other party the gracious behaviors, by doing so, it would help the other party to do the same as the one showing them. I also think that Singaporeans needs to be exposed more to the gracious society. I am not saying that there is no need to teach Singaporeans how to be gracious, i'm just saying that it would be more effective if one would actually show the desired behavior towards the other parties. Our group, AbsoluteObsolute have done with the project 'gracious'. From my point of view our group have not put in our best effort to do the project. Me myself find it difficult to cope with the time given. The gracious-related poster i had to draw, only finished just on the day that it were supposed to be handed up. If more time were given i think our group would have done better. Other than that, i also have learnt how to manage time properly, the importance of teamwork and communication between group members. It was a great experience working with Bertrand, Gabrielle, Sze Yin, and Tiffanie.

by: Stanly

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I do not think that my opinion on graciousness has changed. I still believe that graciousness is important in our daily lives as it shows what kind of person we are and should be inculcated from young. It is still what is lacking in Singaporeans these days. The ungracious acts of Singaporeans will only have negative impacts on the society. Therefore, my opinion of graciousness from the beginning till now is that it is important and everyone should be gracious. There are no excuses for being ungracious, such as our parents did not teach us, etc. it is all about our individual self-responsibility. Even if parents are not willing to instill the correct values of consideration and compassion, if the individual is willing to learn, there will be no problems in achieving the goal of being a gracious citizen.
For our group performance, overall, I think we have been doing quite well, of course with a bit of minor problems here and there. We all contributed into doing the project. Gabrielle and Stanly drew the posters, Bertrand acted and gave in ideas for the video, I edited the video and Tiffanie mended the blog. Everyone did their jobs and I think that thanks to our group cooperation, we managed to finish everything successfully. However, problems such as time management and priorites were obstacles during the project. We were busy almost everyday, with our hectic schedule and all, causing us to be unable to meet up frequently to finalise, discuss and improve on our project. As a matter if fact, we managed to overcome these obstacles how ever we can and managed to finish the project :) .
Thanks for giving us this opportunity into interacting with our other classmates. We had to ask a lot of people for help while doing this project, even those whom we seldom talk to.

by: Szeyin

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After doing this project, my opinion of graciousness as shown in the first place remains the same. As when we were filming our video we have seen many examples of ungraciousness in public. The level of graciousness in Singpore is still rather low, this shows that all the gracious campaigns are still not enough to make Singapore a gracious society. Much more effort and commitment is needed.
For this project, I think my group has done really well in terms of handing in on time as compared to many previous projects. We worked together and was able to finish the video in about 3 days and the posters was done by Stanly and Gabrielle. As for myself, I am in-charge of this blog. I think I have done pretty okay, for the project as well for the video. Our group managed to overcome most of our problems like the voice recording and the time we were suppose to meet up to do the project.
Although graciousness in Singapore fairly low, I think with more efforts like these, Singapore would definitely be able to become a gracious society in the near future.

by: Tiffanie

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My thoughts on graciousness have not changed. I still feel that there is the need to educate Singaporeans to be more gracious and practice graciousness in public. There is also the need for us to reciprocate by saying a word of thanks when a good deed has been carried out for us. However, improvements can be seen. Citizens are giving up their seats to those who need it more than them and most have stopped spitting in public. This would show that all efforts by the government and by fellow Singaporeans to encourage people to be more gracious, are having a positive outcome.
I personally feel that during this project, my group members have made a huge effort to try and meet the deadlines and tried produce the best quality of work. Despite this, I think we would be able to better if we were able to manage our time better. I suppose we did fairly well and hope we will receive good grades. Overall, I feel that we did a good job.

by: Bertrand

VIDEO UP! :D
MS RAINE LOVES GABRIELLE'S POSTER. yay yay.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09TBczMRrHI

Graciousness in you
By: Absolute Obsolute

Objectives:
1) To enhance the level of graciousness in our school community.
2) To instill a sense of graciousness in each and every student.
3) To inculcate a sense of responsibility and compassion in our students. (CHRIST values)

Deliverables:
1)2 posters
- Tells students to keep to one side of the stairway in school when going up or down.
- Tells students to clear their own plates after eating in the school canteen
2) Video
- Depicts an example of gracious and ungracious behaviour in public and school
3) Powerpoint presentation and assembly talk on graciousness

Resources/Budget:
Will be provided by ourselves. Estimated cost will be about $50.

Target/Aim:
To achieve a higher level of graciousness in the school community within the shortest time possible.

2nd Reflection (Essay Intro)

Singapore today is well known for her wonderful achievements and the uniqueness of our multi-ethnic society. However, as we embark on a journey to success, the ungraciousness of Singaporeans just keeps getting in the way of becoming a wonderful country. Ungraciousness acts such as spitting on the ground in public, cutting queues and talking loudly in quiet places are just one of the few many daily occurrences that turns off tourists, leaving a bad impression behind. Therefore, for the sake of oneself and for the country, there is a need to teach Singaporeans how to be gracious. What is the use of living in a beautiful country when the characters of the people living in the country are not beautiful? Thus, in my essay, I will be stating the reasons with detailed explanations on why there is a need to teach Singaporeans how to be gracious, followed by my conclusion with my standpoint.

by: Szeyin

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What is the meaning of being gracious? To me, it is an act of showing kindness and courtesy to the people around you. Graciousness also encompasses warm, friendly, generous and elegant kindness. In the rush to get ahead in the competitive economy, we may have unwittingly relegated the importance of being gracious. Singaporeans have acquired a reputation for being business-like, impatient and self-centered. There are many observations made about Singaporeans who rushed into trains without giving way, about Singaporeans who did not give up their seats to a mother caring a child, about Singaporeans rushing to take lifts, about Singaporeans rushing for table space during lunch and about the litter left on the table by Singaporeans. We need to look at ourselves and ask what positive traits must be encouraged and ingrained. Thus, i feel that there is a need to teach Singaporeans to be gracious. In the next three paragraphs, i will elaborate more on why is there a need to teach them to be gracious and why is there a need not to. Lastly, i would sum it up with a conclusion.

by: Gabrielle

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It has been long known that Singaporeans do not express graciousness towards people. This essay will firstly define the meaning of gracious. Secondly it will show some example of the ungracious behavior that singaporeans showed. Finally i will judge my stand if I am agree to the statement.

by: Stanly

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Most singaporeans know that being gracious is being pleasently courteous and polite to the public. However, they do not act that way. Why is that so? To me, I think that it is not because they do not know how, but is that they do not want to. Singaporeans are selfish and they put often put themselves before others which is the main reason why graciousness is not shown much. A good example would be people who sit in the prority seats in the MRT, they would always pretend to be asleep once they see someone in need of that seat, example an old lady or a pregnant lady. They would not bother to offer them a seat. This is clearly ungracious and selfish behavior. I personally think that Singaporeans do not need to be taught how to be gracious, they just need to be encouraged to be more gracious as they already know how to. Thus, in my essay I will elaborate how it will be done in a proper and engaging manner.

by: Tiffanie

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To be gracious, is what Singaporeans need to be educated on. Many people know that the concept of being gracious is to show kindness, be benevolent and courteous. However, despite this knowledge, not many Singaporeans demonstrate such manners. This is why I feel that Singaporeans need to be taught how to inculcate such behaviour in their daily lives. As such, I agree with the above statement. From the rides on public transport to the hawker centres in the heartlands, ungracious actions can be seen at almost every nook and cranny in Singapore. For example, putting on a façade and pretending to be asleep on the bus or Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), just so that you will not have to give up your seat for someone else who needs it more. In hawker centres, most patrons do not clear their tables after their meals, leaving behind an unsightly mess and making it unpleasant for the next person. Therefore, in my essay, I will further elaborate on why there is a need to educate Singaporeans on being gracious.

by: Bertrand