10
-NiE ,
26 JULY 2017
ADVANCED Caring
Who are we?
WHAT is the world around you like? Are you surrounded by groups of people and a community that are kind and caring? Or do you feel we live in a world that is cruel, chaotic and splintered? Before we judge others, let us ask ourselves these questions: ● Are you conscious of not being mean, cruel or insensitive? ● Are you generous in nature? ● Are you charitable? ● Are you responsive to the needs of others?
NiE Activity 1 Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
● Organise
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Brainstorm
● Connect
Problem solving ● Question ● Recreate
● Present
Communicating ● Written
What are some things that you have done to fill another person’s life with caring gestures? Name three such activities in the past week:
1.
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2.
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3.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Perhaps you have experienced kindness from others, too. What were their gestures? Volunteer to share your answers in class:
4.
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5.
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6.
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NiE Activity 2 ● Measure ● Organise
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Brainstorm
Problem solving ● Question ● Recreate
● Present
Your next activity is to work in pairs. Look for three pictures or stories from The Star that depict either caring or uncaring acts. Which types of acts were more easily found? Pool your answers as a class to see what your results are. ● In what ways is this a caring world? ● In what ways is it uncaring? ● Do you feel this is an accurate depiction of where we are as a society today? Discuss.
Part A
Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain - File photo
● Connect ● Invent
Communicating ● Oral
● Written
Tortured to death over a laptop
Recently, a terrible tragedy rocked the nation when 21-year-old Malaysian National Defence University student Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was tortured to death over a laptop dispute. Read the news clipping that appeared in The Star on June 3, 2017.
PETALING JAYA: He was bound, beaten and burned with an iron for days, leading to his death – all bec ause of a dispute over a laptop. When 21-year-old Malaysian Nat ional Defence University student Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was rushed to Hospital Serdang on Thursday, his body was found 80% covered in bruises and burn marks. The final-year navy cadet officer ’s two supposed friends who had rushed him to hospital were arre sted, along with 34 other studen ts – 30 from the university and fou r from Universiti Tenaga Nasional. Over the laptop dispute, he was beaten and tortured for two day s with a belt, rubber hose, iron and hanger by his varsity mates on May 20 and 21, a source said. “A week later on May 27, two of his batch mates drove the victim to a clinic in Bangi for treatment. They brought him to the clinic aga in on May 31,” the source said. This time, they did not return to the university as they had snuck out without permission, and are believed to have holed up at an apartment in Serdang. However, the duo realised that Zulfarhan’s condition had worsened at around 8pm on Thursday and they had no choice but to rush him to Hospita l Serdang. Zulfarhan succumbed to his injuries about two hours late r.
Refer to the words in red in the article. It is believed that two of the victim’s friends were involved in the ragging. Whatever happened to empathy or in this case, the lack thereof? Empathy can be defined as an ability to put oneself in another person’s shoes and see things from the other person’s perspective. How is it that the victim’s “friends” were not able to regulate their own emotional responses? To what extent would you go the extra mile for another person? Discuss.
Part B This is an example of how people who are uncaring affect their friends, school and community. In groups of four, use the news article provided to discuss how this attitude is apparent. List at least two examples for each level of society:
Friends
School
(the institution in this case)
Community
Part C Bearing in mind that there was no proof that the victim had actually been found guilty of any crime, write an essay that includes your discussion points from Parts A and B. Refer specifically to the article to support your opinion. The title of your 350-word essay is: Does today’s modern world encourage indifference? State your opinion.