Reflection 3- Learning Journey

The official start of the LJ started at the URA building. What caught my attention the most was this photo slideshow that showed a famous location in Singapore (e.g Queen Elizabeth walk) in the 1960s followed by what it looks like in the year 2000 and onwards.. The time spent at URA allowed me to see the past, present and future in one setting. While viewing the proposals for the future development of Singapore as well as proposed areas for housing, it dawned on me that where I may be staying today, or what I see, may not be here in 10-20 years time. I feel that this reflection of the past, present and future in the URA building is a good starting destination for students when they go on Learning Journeys, to have a visual understanding of the past they might have never heard or seen before and also a glimpse of what might unfold for them as a society in the near future.

The stop that impacted me the most was at Ann Siang Hill. Combined with the reading of “Old House at Ann Siang Hill” by Arthur Yap, got me thinking of the value of preserving buildings. While the physical architecture has been preserved, little is known exactly about the significance of the place. Truly, it is what occupies the space that gives meaning to the physical architecture, echoing what the persona in Arthur Yap’s poem laments about the grandfather’s ghost who “doesn’t’ live here anymore”. In this place, students can be given time to walk around and to notice the shops that occupy the shophouses. Later on, they could be given a short write up about the history of Ann Siang Hill and the main business that took place in this area. They could, then, be asked to discuss what’s the difference and what has been lost over time. Personally, I would want to get students to realize that while preservation of buildings are good, for cultural purposes, as a person living in Singapore, we must learn to create our own memories that are not defined by a space or location, but rather by what we have done or who have done it with.

            The activity at the Singapore River was particularly fun as we had to approach random strangers and read the poem to them as well as to ask them about what they knew or felt towards the Singapore River. For students, the Singapore River would probably be a pretty well known destination for them, but other than it being a tourist hot spot or a trading port in the 1950s, students may not see anything more than that. The poem “Singapore River” by Lee Tzu Peng allows students to look beyond the river, but to see how the “clean up” of the river also reflects the “clean up” of the rest of Singapore in that era and the memories that may have been swept away with it. Students can be asked to “capture the moment” by drawing their own impression of the Singapore River (for instance, adding clouds of families in the river to represent it being washed away).

           

            The poems definitely played a significant role in drawing out emotions and thoughts during the LJ. Students could read the poem in class before heading out for the LJ and while they are reading the poem at the site itself, they could be asked how their impression of the poem might have changed. Bringing the students into the context and environment of the poem would most possibly give students a deeper understanding and experience of the poem as well as the larger meaning that the poets want to bring across.