New School!

As of August 2018, I am not teaching at Haileybury Almaty. Thank you for a wonderful 4 years KTJ! 

Please note, due to permissions and sharing on Google Drive, some of the older posts may no longer be available. 

The Japanese in Seremban: A family story

On the 8th of December 1941 the Japanese invaded the north of the Malay Peninsula. Through the use of light tanks and bicycles they quickly took over, making their way down the west coast through KL, Seremban and on towards Singapore. The occupation of what is now Malaysia was complete with the occupation of Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) on 8 January 1942. 

In this article I will write about a local’s experience during the war that is about my maternal grandfather, Mr Zulkarnain, who lived in Seremban a city 20 minutes away from KTJ.

Japanese troops in the early 1940's

A local’s experience
Mr Zulkarnain was 12 when the Japanese successfully invaded Malaya. His father was a district officer for Seremban, serving the British colonial administration. After the fall of Malaya his father then started to work with the Japanese after being threatened by the the Japanese Kempeitai (military secret police).

Kempeitai, Japanese milary secret 

School in Seremban during WWII
Malayans school children were forced to learn through Japanese and there was a concerted effort to inspire respect towards the Japanese through threats and propaganda.  During the occupation the locals in Seremban had to bow to Japanese soldiers every time they met or saw the soldiers, even if they were on their bikes. 

”There was a time when one of my friends did not bow to a Japanese soldier guarding the school gate. He got slapped by the soldier and he told my friend that he is supposed to bow to him” said Mr. Zulkarnain.

At school, the students were required to sing Japanese patriotic songs and Japan’s national anthem. Mr Zulkarnain still remember the songs that they were forced to sing in school like Aikoku Konshinkyoku, a patriotic war song. 

Racial tensions
Mr Zulkarnain witnessed some acts of torture committed by the Japanese such as water torture. "This method of torture was commonly used against the Chinese migrants in Malaya". The Chinese were particularly targeted as many had sent money to support the Chinese resistance to Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the 1930's.

"The Japanese inspired Malay nationalism and created racial tensions amongst the Malays and the Chinese" added Mr Zulkarnain. 

The Japanese attempted to gain Malay support through their newly introduced slogan which is "Asia belongs to Asians". Many Malays hated the British, the old colonial masters, and saw them as the real enemy. This resulted in many Malays assisting the Kempeitai . The European settlers and migrants also were treated harshly. The Malay pro-independence groups thought that the Japanese would give Malaya her independence. 

Conditions in the local area
"During the war lights were not allowed during night time and radios were banned and if you are caught having a radio you will be imprisoned" said Mr Zulkarnain, remembering the moments that his family was caught having a radio in the house and his father was beaten by the Kempeitai. 

The Japanese forced villagers around Nilai and Mantin (the two nearest towns to KTJ) to give them supplies such as rice, water and rubber (for those who worked in the rubber estates). Since Mantin was famous for tin mining, a lot of Chinese migrants had settled there over the proceeding 80 years. This had caused a lot of tension in the area and there were accounts of ethnic Chinese being killed in the area by the Kempeitai due to lack of rice production by the Chinese villagers.

Resistance
Mr Zulkarnain's father was once threatened by the Kempeitai and he almost get killed by them, but luckily the Malay regiment part of the British Army came over and ambushed them. This event occurred months before the Japanese surrendered. This was when Force 136 started to put real pressure Malaya. Force 136 was joined by the first Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and the first Deputy Prime Minister and future Second Prime Minister Dato Abdul Razak (Tun Abdul Razak).

Above and below, Malaysian founding father's and members of Force 136

Force 136
Force 136 was established in 1941 it was a trained team of soldiers designed to make hit and run attacks. Force 136 made alliances with local partisans, including the communists, to make guerrilla attacks on the Japanese.

After years of Allied forces campaigning in Burma they managed to push the Japanese south towards Malaya. With the help of the irregular troops and the communists within Malaya, the British managed to harass the Japanese. 

In 1945 Britain regained its land from the Japanese when, a few hours after the second atomic bombing on Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered to the British in Malaya. One of the Japanese officer's representatives came to the District Officer's office and gave Mr Baki (Mr Zulkarnain's father) and the Governor of Negeri Sembilan a samurai sword to show their official surrender in the area. The sword is still in Mr Baki's family today.

By Azim, with help from Hong Sean

Mr Wilkinson says... want to know about World War II in Thailand? Jinno, created a Google Doc that contains more information. Click on the link below...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OvbhiSnGy5E5tAD5oZnVxU21xNvZI2tKczptHC7ZB9c/edit?usp=sharing

France in WWII; The untold story of Antoine and Madeleine

During Form 3 Rattana and myself have been studying World War II. As part of this study we were challenged to find out about the impact of the war on ordinary people. We turned to our very own Houseparent, Ms  Cecile Louise Madeleine Karrer, for inspiration and we ended up finding out a very interesting area of history that we were unaware of. Antoine and Madeleine were Ms Cecile's grandparents from Alsace-Lorraine in France. Antoine was seen as a traitor by France. Whereas, Madeleine was seen as a traitor by Germany. How is this possible? 

This is Antoine Karrer - Ms.Cecile's grandfather. He was from France, born in 1921 and had been a part of World war 2. Antoine was seen as a traitor even when he was not. He was just an innocent man forced to take actions against his own country by the Germans! He could have refused to do it but why didn't he?

This is Madeleine Karrer - Ms.Cecile's grandmother. She was also born in 1921 and had been involved in World war 2. She was indeed a strong woman because what she did needed courage and many women would not dare to do such risky things! Lets find out their stories...

3rd September 1939 France and Great Britain declare war against Germany, after the invasion of Poland. After the Phoney War from 1939 to 1940 things changed in May 1940 when the Germans invaded and defeated France within 7 weeks.

How did Antoine and Madeleine meet each other ?

"My grandpa and my grandma knew each other way before the war started. Their family just somehow knew each other very well and they were like the sweethearts before they even got married. So I guess it was a love marriage."

What was Antoine and Madeleine's experiences in the war ?

In 1933, after the Treaty of Versailles, the German people voted for a leader named Adolf Hitler, who led a political party called the Nazis. Hitler promised to make his country great again and quickly began to arm Germany, to seize land from other countries. 

“My grandfather was drafted by the German army because we live in Alsace-Lorraine, an area that was annexed by Germany after the fall of France. Basically, all the men from that region were sent to the Russian front to fight for the Germans. Technically they were French but because they have been annexed, the Germans did not want them to fight in France because then it would have been made it too easy for them to run away. So my Grandpa was sent on the Russian front to fight for the Germans. My Grandmother stayed at home and she had little involvement with them but she was arrested because she passed on letters from an English pilot to the French resistance. She was then sent to a work camp.”

How was France impacted by World War II ?

When the Nazis took over Northern France, they let both the Franc and the Reichsmark be used, but one Reichsmark was worth 20 Francs. This was essentially an organised and legal form of looting, and resulted in massive food shortages, and consequently, malnutrition especially in children and the elderly.

"Obviously, a lot of people died. After the Fall of France, the Germans divided the country into an unoccupied (Vichy) and an occupied zone. Rationing was a real problem for French people to deal with. People living in the country were often better off than those in the city because they were able to supplement their rations with food from their farm or from hunting.

For my Grandpa it was difficult because he was seen as a traitor when he came back as he was fighting for the Germans, not that he chose to but he was threatened that his family would be killed if he did not fight for the Germans. So, he felt like he did not have any choice. That created a lot of tension after the war because people saw those who fought for the Germans or helped the Germans as traitors. So there was a lot of anger and tension which was just not great.”

What Country did Antoine and Madeleine come part of and why ?

If Ms.Cecile was born during Alsace-Lorraine still being part of Germany then she would have been a German.

"Originally when my grandparents were born, they were French. They were born in 1921 and they were French for a while and then early on in the war their area became annexed, so they became German. It was against their choice and against their will. So they started as French, and then they converted to German and converted back to French again later on."

Can you explain more about Alsace-Lorraine being part of France and Germany ?

The Alsace-Lorraine region was part of a "messy inheritance" between the grandsons of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the king of the Franks. His realm stretched over the European heartland and was easily claimed by France. It was the Franks who gave France its name "La France". But the region could also be claimed by Germans since the Franks were technically Germanic people.

"Originally, Alsace-Lorraine was French, no question about that. It was a land of territory that was ceded by France to Germany in 1871 after the Franco-German war. It was then retroceded to France in 1919 after World War I, was ceded back again to Germany in 1940 during World War II, that was the second German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine and was again retroceded to France in 1945."

Did France suffer economically from the loss of Alsace-Lorraine ?

Alsace-Lorraine was rich in minerals.

"France suffered economically from the loss of Alsace-Lorraine's valuable iron ore deposits, iron and steel making, and other industries to Germany."

How did Antoine escape from the Russian front ?

"My grandpa was forced to fight for the Germans because their area was annexed by Germany so, they all were sent to fight in the Russian front. My grandpa then was injured really badly but the Germans won't admit him in a hospital. Hence, he started to pick on his wounds so that it became worse. Finally, he was taken to a hospital and then he saw a way to escape from there. He therefore walked all the way to Austria and by that time Germany and western Europe was being overrun by the allies. He then just gave himself in to the Americans."

 Was it compulsory for all to fight in the war ?

Conscription was finally introduced to France, like many other countries.

"To start with, it was voluntary and then it became that everyone was drafted so anyone who was normally over 18 and who was fit enough to fight was sent to join the army because they needed more and more people as it lasted for long."

Was there any propaganda techniques used in France to convince men to join the army ?

"Oui (Yes), there were propaganda posters and newspapers. The posters usually are made to look very attractive. Also there were radio stations announcing good things about the army and how one will be a hero."

Laissez-nous tranquilles! means Leave us in Peace!
Distribution : France during German occupation; France 

Manufacture : Paris (France) 
France is symbolized by a couple caring for the land, representing the safety and stability of France. They are threatened by three wolves labelled Freemasonry, Jews, and de Gaulle, supported by Lies, a three-headed snake, who seek to stop the regeneration of France. France was occupied by Nazi Germany from June 1940- fall 1944. The Free French were those who sought to continue the war against Germany even though France had surrendered.

Ms.Cecile Louise Madeleine Karrer

By: Azima and Rattana

World War II: How did it affect Korea?

By Anna Kang and Ella Lee

Introduction
We are Anna and Ella, two form 3 KTJ students. We were studying about the big events of World War 2 in our history class, such as Pearl Harbour and Germany’s attacks in Europe. As the term went on, we started thinking about how normal people were effected by these big events. So we decided to research on how our country, Korea, went through the war. 

Actually, Korea's war started long before the official outbreak of World War 2. Korea was declared a Japanese protectorate because of the Eulsa Treaty of 1905, and on 22 August 1910 it was added into Japanese borders after the Japan-Korea  Annexation Treaty.

A tense relationship

Relationships between Korean and Japanese occupiers were tense and there were a number of rebellions and reprisals. For example, Japan killed 7,000 people during the uprising of 1919 and after the Gwangju Students Anti-Japanese Movement of 3 Nov 1929, many of the freedoms were limited by the Japanese government.

Japanese troops

Family impact: Anna’s family
Anna's great-grandfather was involved in the independence movement working with a famous independence activist, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho, who established the Shinminhoe. The Shinminhoe was a community designed to fight the Japanese occupation of Korea and to educate Koreans about their traditional culture and national spirit. This organisation was repressed by the Japanese armed forces.

Anna’s mom said, “Your grandfather bought a sword by himself
and headed to Manchuria to fight against the Japanese. Unfortunately he was caught and arrested by the Japanese soldiers. But due to complications from imprisonment under harsh conditions, inhumane torture and severe internal illness, he passed away after he was released from jail."

Many independence movements occurred before and during WW2. The “Man-Se” movement was a famous example which was waving Korean flags and reading the Declaration of Independence made by 33 people representing Korean activists. This protest was a trigger to the independence movements. Gwangju Students Independence movement and establishment of Shanghai provisional government in 1919 followed. Anna's grandfather, who was a student, also participated in Gwangju Students movement. 

Dosan Ahn Chang Ho

Conditions in Korea
Punishments were often harsh and inhumane to Koreans under control of Japanese occupiers. Atrocities that were well known to Anna's grandmother at the time and she talked about beatings and murders of Koreans, as well as taking away of women and girls to Japan for sex or slave labour. These women were called Comfort Women. Understandably many Koreans were afraid of being implicated in resistance activities.

Anna's mom said, “My mother was afraid if it would affect her son, so she burned all the letters that grandfather received from Ahn Chang Ho and buried the sword on the mountain. That was why my grandfather couldn’t even get a certificate after the war because the evidence that he fought for independence was not enough.”

Comfort Women

After the War
After World War 2, many Korean people suffered from poverty and illness as Korea struggled after years of occupation. Anna's mom told Anna, “Your great grandmother suffered because she had to raise two daughters and one son alone".

Clearly there was some ill feeling between members of Korean society, with claims and counter-claims about who had supported the Japanese occupation.

"My father also had a tough childhood without a father. In many cases the activists’ families weren’t properly compensated by the government. On the other hand, pro-Japan collaborators who were wealthy and stable educated their children well to make their families thrive.”

Whilst there were many cases of the Korean ruling classes being purged of Japanese influence after the war, there were many cases of civil servants being re-employed as the allies tried to re-establish an independent,s elf governing Korea.

Ella’s grandfather
Ella’s grandfather was a scholar, journalist, and independent activist. At the time, TV, radio, news and newspapers were used for propaganda and breaking news. 

Ella’s grandmother said, “He made newspapers and distributed to people free of 

charge to dream of independence. It was a campaign to regain the people who had already lost their country and lost their spirit." 

Ella's grandfather and others like him attempted to fight the Japanese propaganda and pushes towards the universal adoption of the Japanese language and culture, over Korean ones. “As he lived in Seoul, he began to work harder as a national activist. He also traveled through various schools in Korean villages and lectured on Korean history and inspired independent thought.”

Ella’s grandfather should have used Japanese because, Japanese was the native language and Korean was the informal language that only some of the Koreans used.

Korean Comfort Women photographed at the end of World War 2.

Conclusion: Our thoughts
We believe that people, who worked and sacrificed for our country should have been treated better. In the early times after the independence, many pro-Japanese people remained in power as the US military that governed Korea needed civil servants. We feel that those that fought for independence should be recognised more and their families supported.

Lim Chung Bee, a Malaysian in World War Two

Introduction

In this blog we will be studying about Lim Chung Bee’s, an ordinary Malaysian, and his experience during WW2. We are writing about this is because we have been studying about the big events of WW2 over the last term. Our teacher, Mr Wilkinson, decided to give us a task in which we were to find an individual story on one of the survivors during WW2. Whilst other people were able to find first hand oral history, the information we accumulated included a video recording of oral history Chung Bee on the website last survivors. It was recorded during 2016 and can be accessed through the link.

We have researched about Chung Bee because he is one of last survivors from WW2 and we also wanted the next generation to remember this person's history. We also researched on how WW2 affected Malaysia's lifestyle (Eg. Education),and how Malaysia was impacted by WW2.

His experiences

Chung Mee was a young man at the start of WW2. "I was a Malaysian and when I was 17 years old I was living in Taiping, during the time when Japanese invaded Malaysia their headquarters was in Taiping." At the time he was in the British armed forces. Indeed at the time of the invasion of Malaya, very few of the colony's troops were actually from the UK, instead most were from colonies and dominions such as India and Australia.

Japanese soldiers in the invasion of Malaysia

Malaysia, along with other areas of South East Asia, was invaded by the Japanese in late 1941 in order to gain access to vital war resources like oil and rubber, commodities needed to power tanks, aircraft and ships in Japan's Chinese campaign. The invasion took the British largely unawares and, despite having more troops the British troops were powerless to prevent the Japanese driving south towards Singapore.

"I was serving the British Royal Air Force as a soldier. I was captured by the Japanese because the Japanese bombed my ship when I was on my way to Australia. Then the Japanese sent me to Tokyo. While I was on my way to Tokyo I was on a 'hell ship', the Singapore Maru. I was transported with other POWs (Prisoner Of War) in a ship that had very poor conditions like smells of vomit and feces."

The Singapore Maru 1942, the ship used to transport POWs.

The treatment of POWS

The downfall of Malaya and Singapore was very quick and a huge numbers of allied troops were captured, either in Singapore, or like Chung Bee by being shipwrecked when attempting to escape Singapore via ship. Many of these troops were sent to work on the Death Railway in Burma. Chung Bee's transportation to Japan was less common.

"When I arrived at Tokyo I was working in a dam, I carried many heavy stones because the Japanese was building a dam in Tokyo. Then I went to the copper mine and worked up to 12 hours per day and mined 1,000 meters down. Everyday somebody will die there, they beat our backs,took off our trousers and I was suffering from starvation and torture, also POWs were only allowed to bathe in a pool of water that is shared with hundreds and thousands of other POWs which would give them lice!''

Lice, a common problem for POWs

The Dam Chung Bee helped to build

What were his feelings towards his captors?

"At the camp I became friends with one of the Japanese home guards". After speaking to his son for many years Chung Bee later said, “Japanese are normally very good people but when it comes to war they are very dirty". Although he has now forgiven the Japanese, the war still horrifies him,his son said he would hear his father calling for him at the middle of the night saying ”Why are there Japanese in the house?”.

Chung Bee prior to is capture

What was the impact on Malaysia?

Those left in Malaya were also impacted because they had to follow rules like bowing when seeing the soldiers,and they didn't have much freedom. The people couldn’t say bad things about the Japanese because there were garrisons that would arrest people if they say bad things about the Japanese. (Similar to Germany's SS)

The Japanese used strong slogans like “Asia untuk orang Asia” which means Asia is meant for Asians, and said they are actually saving Malaya because the British wanted to exploit Malaya’s resources, this led to some support for the Japanese among the population.

By:Angel & Zoe

Mr Wilkinson says... want to know how Britain was impacted by World War Two? Adrian and Lewis have created an excellent Google Doc. Click on the link below to view.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvuvmqGTPFuyr0sguhZ2zs_pV2yuydqc3XOt_gYxBGk/edit?usp=sharing

Malaysian Experiences in World War 2

Introduction
World War 2 began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. While Germany was invading Europe, Japan was also busy expanding territory in Asia, particularly South East Asia. Japan decided to launch surprise attacks on the same day at Pearl Harbor, The Philippines and where we are from, Malaysia (at the time Malaya), due to the resources available in these places and to buy them time before the Americans joined the war. In this post, we will talking about the experiences of our great grandparents during WW2 in Malaysia. We interviewed our parents and grandparents about the experiences that their parents and grandparents had in the war.

https://www.cuti.my/v1/Sub/Kl/guide_kuala_lumpur_national_monument.htm

This monument in Malaysia known as National Monument (Tugu Negara), was built during 1966 to commemorate all the brave soldiers that fought for Malaysia's freedom during WW2.

What did your relatives do in War? What were their experiences?

The Japanese would often force locals into hard labour 
" My mum told me that my grandpa had been caught by Japanese soldiers to do labour works" (Cheng Yet's mom)
" That time a lot of youngsters got kidnapped to build the railway near Thailand and a lot of people never came back. These are the stories ah mah (granny) told me when I was young.” (Sonia's Grandpa)

Many had to flee their homes into the jungle to hide from the Japanese. 
"Your Great Grandma was forced to bring the whole family and run all the way to the jungle or orchards to hide and protect themselves from Japanese attacks. Their living conditions in the jungle was very tough. Great grandma had to do everything by herself for example, taking care of her children, searching for food and escaping enemies by finding a safe place" (Cheng Yet's mom)

"I heard from ah mah (my mom) that she used to stay in Teluk Intan. When the Japanese came they moved to Gopeng and stayed there, when there was an air raid they had to hide in the nearby jungle" (Sonia's Grandpa)

Much of the crops grown by locals had to be given to the Japanese.
"Food conditions were really harsh and limited at that time.There were almost not enough food for the people. So, most of the time they were staying in a cave and ate sweet potatoes to survive." (Cheng Yet's mom)

"Even though food was provided, it was very scarce. He said that they ate only rice and sweet potato, everyone was malnourished." (Sonia's dad)

"They had no food and most of the time they ate tapioca mixed with some rice to make porridge." (Sonia's Grandpa)

Many people died during the Japanese occupation
"Many people died due to starvation and the Japanese’s infamous public executions. He also said that many babies and young children were killed because while the locals were escaping the children would cry and expose them." (Sonia's dad)

How did the Japanese treat locals?
The Japanese often treated locals, especially the Chinese very harshly due to many sending help back to China during the Japanese invasions of China during the 1930s. However those with key skills to help the Japanese in the occupation, such as drivers, clerks and mechanics were often fared better than the majority of the local population.
"Japanese soldiers treated Malaysians very cruelly in WW2 by just shooting and burning their bodies when they tried to escape or disobeyed the military laws.” (Cheng Yet's mom )

"He told me that he was captured by the Japanese and since he was a bus driver, they made him their driver. He was lucky as the Japanese also gave him food and let him live. He also said that the Japanese particularly hated the Chinese and would treat them harshly.” (Sonia's dad)

“My mom told me that they caught a lot of men and kill them together then threw them all in a big hole.” (Sonia's Grandma)

This is a Japanese propaganda mural in Jawi script from a building in the town of Kuching. The text, is written in Arabic and translates to "Ya Allah, terpeliharalah kami oleh tentera Jepun daripada aniayai" in Malay (O Allah, save us from the persecution by the Japanese troops).

How did life change?
All the locals life had changed to become extremely harsh
“Your great grandma’s life became a nightmare and it was a horrible journey for her after losing dependence from her husband.” (Cheng Yet's mom)

“Grandpa said that life changed from comfortable to living in constant fear. A fear of the Japanese.” (Sonia's dad)

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384705993150975880/

This propaganda poster shows that a Malay boy (wearing sarung and baju kurung) is holding a Japanese book. It seems that he is a student studying Japanese courses."Belajarlah! Pakailah! Sikbo! Isternal karo! Bahasa Nippon! Nippon-Gozaban!" says that "Use and study Nippon language for Japan!"

What was the education system like?
Locals were forced to learn Japanese and Japanese culture. Local education systems were also widely banned.
“Your grandma said that majority of the schools were closed when Japan started to invade. She was 12 or 13 years old at that time and she was not allowed to go to school. After some time, the school was reopened again by using propaganda to respect and be loyal to the Japanese emperor. At the same time, the English and Mandarin languages were banned in the school, alternatively the students were taught the Japanese language and courses were changed to Japanese. It was also compulsory for them to sing the Japanese national song each morning before classes began to demonstrate their love for the Japanese emperor.” (Cheng Yet's mom)


Locals had to sing nationalist Japanese songs.
"My grandpa told be that they had to sing Japanese nationalist songs everyday and honor and respect the Japanese" (Sonia's dad)

What had to be done to protect themselves?
Many women disguised themselves as men as there were cases of Japanese soldiers raping women that they encountered.
“ My grandma told me that women had to dress up as men when they had to leave the house. She told me that if they were discovered as woman, the Japanese would rape then kill them." (Sonia's mom)

http://www.malaysiadesignarchive.org/10-dollars-banana-money/

How was the country impacted socially and economically?
The Japanese invasion resulted in many going into debt as they stopped many economic activities such as trading with other countries. The Japanese also often raided the locals.
“Mum said that the economy during WW2 were controlled by Japan. During the Japanese occupation years in Malaysia, the export of primary products was limited to the relatively small amounts required for the Japanese economy. This led to the abandonment of large areas of rubber plantations and the closure of many mines, the later progressively was affected by a shortage of spare parts for machinery. Businesses, especially those owned by Chinese people, were taken over and reassigned to Japanese interests. Rice imports fell heavily and thus the population contributed a large part of their efforts to producing enough food to stay alive." (Cheng Yet's mom)

"She said that everything had to either be pawned or hidden. They pawned belongings as they did not have enough food and hid belongings as the Japanese often raided homes.” (Sonia's mom)

The Japanese also introduced a new currency resulting in many economic problems for locals.
“ The currency was changed to ‘Banana Money’, this was issued by the Japanese." (Sonia's mom)

Due to the fear of the Japanese, many avoided leaving their homes.

"The streets would be very quiet as many would stay in their homes.”

(Sonia's mom)

Plastic Waste Infographics

In recent weeks Form 2 have been looking at the impact and causes of plastic waste. This is an issue that has come to global prominence, especially since the release of Blue Planet 2. In the final episode of the programme, the sheer scale of the problem of  plastics entering the ocean was laid bare. Problems range from the death of marine animals through accumulation of micro-plastics at the top of the food chain, to giant masses of plastics such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

To demonstrate their understanding of the problems and causes of plastic waste, but also to try and discourage their fellow students from using too many single use plastics, Form 2 created infographics. Below are some of the best efforts. Please note that all members of the class have English as a second or third language.

Yun

Nate

Catherine

Kah Wei

Headland Features

This year's Form 4s have just finished their module on coasts, a major unit of the Cambridge IGCSE Geography syllabus. This is their last unit of work before they pick up the rest of the two year course with their new teacher next year. 

However, before I go, I would like to share some of the excellent diagrams the students created of a headland using Playdoh and modelling clay. This was the same task that I had challenged the previous year to do in 2017. (See here for their efforts.) 

Qistina

I have shared Qistina's diagram because it was very clear and showed real attention to detail. I liked the touch of using the computer to type up her labels, meaning it was very easy to follow. Overall it was an excellent diagram that deserved to be shared with the wider world. However, like all Geographers there are ways she could have improved. For example she could have talked more about wave refraction. 

Wave refraction is so important to mention when explaining coastal erosion as it helps to shape the unique features shown in a headland. As waves approach a coast they are refracted (bent) due to the different depths of the seabed. This means that wave energy is focused around headlands not around bays. As a result the retreat of a headland is not uniform as the sides of the headland are attacked, creating features like faults, caves and arches.

Jenny

Jenny also created a visually impressive diagram of a headland, showing real ingenuity in her display. She had plenty of detail on the types of erosion breaking down the headland. However, a way to make this even better would have been to give detail about weathering. Weathering is where rocks are broken down where they are by weather, plants and animals. Weathering plays a really important role in the initial weakening of the rock and the eventual collapse of the arch. Stronger answers at IGCSE would include specific reference to types of erosion such as hydraulic action as well as types of weathering like freeze-thaw when explaining how headland features are formed.

Other notable diagrams from the class. Zan (left) and Adele (right).

A final note from me...
Over the year the students have grown in confidence and are now beginning to show mastery of Geographical knowledge and skills. If they continue to work as hard as they have this academic year, I have no doubts that they will fare well in June 2019. I wish them all well as I head for my new school in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It has been a pleasure teaching them as they typify the core values of most students at KTJ; a strong work ethic, a desire to achieve and a friendly and supportive approach to their fellow learners and teachers.

Ed Puzzle: Plastic Waste

Propaganda!

For much of this term Form 3 have been studying Communist Russia between 1918 to 1939. The topics we have studied, incldung collectivisation, the five year plans and Stalin's personality cult have been brought to life by analysing propaganda sources; looking for their meaning and discussing their purpose and reliability. Propaganda, as we discovered, was used on both sides of the political divide; Soviet Russia and The White's; a wide ranging group of anti communists 

 

Left: An anti-communist poster created by Russian exiles commenting on Stalin's use violence to silence potential critics. Right: A soviet poster portraying Stalin as an inspirational global leader.

Having discussed and written countless answers about sources, the class were tasked with creating their own propaganda sources about different elements of Stalininist Russia. They were asked to come up with, and explain the rationale for, two posters about the same topic, one from a Soviet point of view and one from the point of view of an exiled Russian who was against Communist reforms in the country. I think you will agree there are some very clever ideas...

Stalin's personality cult

             

Left: Poster by Azima (anti-Stalin). Right: Poster by Rattana (pro-Stalin)

Mr W: What topic did you decide to cover?
Anna: The personality cult of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union who served for 30 years from 1922 to 1952. He built a society that was under his control. To do that, he made himself as a powerful political figure but behaved modestly in public and he often pretended that he and the commoners were socially and emotionally linked through posters and other propaganda campaigns. In other campaigns he is made to look strong or as a visionary.

Mr W: So what have you decided to draw to demonstrate his personality cult?
Anna: My propaganda poster shows kids giving flowers to Stalin and kids in a line at the back of Stalin. Giving flowers to Stalin represents that kids are respecting and praising Stalin. Stalin is also smiling so that he looks like a kind, generous leader, like the father of a nation. Kids at the back means they are following and are loyal to their leader. They are smiling too as if they are so glad that their leader is Stalin. It suggests that Stalin is the one who brings hope and happiness to kids. The caption again tells that Stalin is a great leader who cares about the commoners. The one on the left is obviously anti-Stalin!

Above: Pro-Stalin and anti-Stalin propaganda drawn by Anna

Mr W: Yours looks very different Azima, what is it about? (see above)
Azima: My first poster is about the propaganda of Joseph Stalin. Who is he? He is the leader of the Soviet Union and is best known for fighting the Germans in WW2 and starting the Cold war! In my poster you can learn that Stalin has been blinding the whole world with his “Red Propaganda”. This is shown by the drawing of Stalin pouring red propaganda from a bucket on top of the globe. This suggests that Stalin wants the whole world to think of him as a great global leader. The “black toxic” Stalin is pouring on top of the globe can also suggest oil production, something that increased in Stalin's five year plans. Therefore Stalin is well known for Russia’s oil. The table underneath the globe is the flag of Russia. This shows that not only other countries are blinded by Stalin but so are the Russian people.

Mr W: What about the poster at the top right?
Rattana: This is a propaganda that is pro-Stalin. I drew a group of family members watching Stalin’s speech together in living room and they were supporting him, that suggests that they loved him so much. And on the wall there’s also a picture of him hanging. It’s mean they really support him and loved him so much.

Mr W: I see, although remember that there weren't many TVs around when Stalin was in power, especially in the USSR!

Stakhanovite movement

Mr W: I was drawn to Benjy's poster, not because of the art, but rather the clever iconography of a coal miner. He choose the Stakanovite movement.  A Stakhanovite was a diligent worker who followed the example of Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov, a coal miner who supposedly held the record for the most amount of coal mined in a shift. Although these workers were used for propaganda purposes by the government, they were arguably uncommunist as Benjy explains.

Above: A poster about the Stakhanobite workers by Benjy

Mr W: So what is the message here Benjy?

Benjy: My propaganda poster is from the perspective of an exiled Russia. It shows a miner chipping away at a huge chunk of coal. Inside the coal is the communist symbol. This was to represent how the Stakhanovite miners, those workers that were seen as model workers, were actually destroying the idea of communism. This is because for the Stakhanovites, the government’s rule was, the more you work, the more you get. But is this really communism? No. Communism’s idealism is to share everything and wages should be largely equal. Thus the Stakahanovite system doesn’t fall into that idea.

Collectivisation

Mr W: What was Collectivisation?

Que-Bi: Collectivisation was the grouping of farms together into a collective farm. This was done in the late 1920's by Stalin.  Peasants were forced to give up their individual farms and join large farms. During this time Russia sold large quantities of grain and manufactured goods to other countries, but collectivisation resulted in famine as farmers burnt their crops and grew less food in protest at the reforms, causing severe food shortages, and villagers who did not cooperate were sent to the Gulags.

     

Left: Poster by Melanie (anti-Collectivisation_. Right: Pro- Colelctivisation Poster by Lisha

Mr W: How have you decided to talk about it?
Melanie: In did two posters. The propaganda poster shown above is from the perspective of a Russian exile. It shows how different life in Russia can be. In this picture there is Stalin standing on a mountain of gold coins, and a beggar dressing in torn clothes with only one gold coin in the hat. It shows that they both are living in very different conditions, despite the theories of communism. 

Above: Collectivisation Propaganda drawn by Cheng Yet

Mr W: What about the posters above?

Cheng Yet: The first picture is pro-collectivisation. It shows that the woman, as a farmer seems to be very happy while working in the collective farms. It suggests that there is a lot of food and that problems of the past, such as small farms and low technology have been solved.

In the second I am trying to show that farmers are sad and scared. This is clearly shown in the picture where the peasant is begging the government not to take away their food as they did not have enough for themselves. The Soviet government force-ably removed food before collectivisation, causing wide-spread famine.

Mr W: What about you Lisha?
Lisha: In Source 1, I made the poster look colorful, I drew Stalin smiling and some animals which look healthy. I drew this because that was the expectation of collectivisation, that it was a success. This poster also convinces people that Stalin made collectivisation a success and Stalin is a trust able and responsible leader.

The Race is On!: Form 1 Atlas Race 17/18

After a very close race by last year's Form 1, the new Form 1 are on their world quest! They are trying to visit every country in the world. To do that they need to answer 20 questions a week on cities, countries, continents or natural features of the world.

Each correct answer counts for one country visited. This year they are visiting each country in continent order - starting in Asia. The overall winner is the student who visits all 201 territories on the quest, although there are other prizes for each completed continent.

To check the leader-board and weekly progress of each student see the slides presentation below. You will be able to see a number of maps to see each country they have chalked off so far.

LAST UPDATED 27/0/17