And so, I stepped up in front of a grand audience of two (initially one because Alvin Goh went away for awhile), and started to present my Oral Defense.
What was my Oral Defense based on? I had seen tennis, a growing beanstalk, PLAY, travelling around the world... I had seen a growing bunch of different styles of Oral Defense, some intensely related to oneself, while others... not really something very close to one's heart. I decided to choose something close to my heart... and that is, yes, the Dark League.
It's funny how I used the Dark League for my Oral Defense, considering the Dark League is something negative (lowest results in class... how positive can that be?), and we are actually supposed to showcase our best achievements. However, I argued that the Dark League is actually close to my heart, and I sort of personify the Dark League in a sense. Also, one of the aims of the Oral Defense was to focus on thinking processes and not the results anyway, so I figured it would be okay.
Anyway, I introduce you to the official cover of my Dark League Oral Defense:
Special thanks goes to Jon Gan for drawing up the hand in the first place (which was based off my hand... or so I think).
Anyway it makes me rather proud to be able to defend myself and my growth through the Dark League. Instead of tossing in a chockful of content into an insincere presentation, I am proud to say that I managed to pull it off... to create a sincere presentation which displays the true me. I am not one who fakes my character and fakes my attitude in front of others just to get close to them, and through this experience of Oral Defense I was actually able to express myself and the way I think in a sincere and wholesome manner.
But, it is a pity.
It is a pity that the environment we are brought up in stifles creative development. It is a pity that the school thinks that creative assignments are actually creative and meant to develop our creativity. It is a pity that we as students are forced to endure four years of grinding of knowledge into our brains, which we cannot absorb. It is... a pity.
I strongly feel that the school should continue with this Oral Defense, at least for the English curriculum. It is one in which every one of us, who is different, is able to express ourselves and not find ourselves doing something which everyone else is doing. This is the real development of creativity, not some stinky creative assignments which are assumed to really develop the students' creative potential.
I read one of Eugene's past articles on techies-and-pudgies about the limits of which we are placed under, the boundaries in which we are kept captive. As I think about it and ponder about whether it was really true and applicable to every student, I can only say... it is a pity.
ivan fed the world.