indeed. so a theist can openly express his faith, and everyone else is supposed to respect that for "religions are sensitive issues". and yet the faith of a solipcist is considered disrespectful?

i do not see the importance of religious tolerance. i see how respecting other people's faith is critical to my survival and my well being. i see that might makes right.

indeed the time has come where we are allowed to question more. still, we are supposed to ask what the teacher want us to ask. nothing more, preferably nothing less. it seems contradictory to the idea of thinking out of the box. but, oh well, they give the grades, they call the shots, and so we shall obey, or we land into some kind of trouble.

i remember in p6 science prelims, there was an mcq question that contained a circuit. the circuit had the wire coiled around an iron nail, a wooden doll, and a part of straight wire. the question asked, which one of the above would attract paper clips? well, being the honest me i chose "iron nail and wooden doll". WRONG. answer is iron nail only. i was quite indignant, i showed a book i borrowed from the library and told the teacher that the wire coil would act as a solenoid, and it can still attract paperclips. "well, you are not supposed to know that anyway." indeed. and i didn't get my marks.

i remember in sec 2 exam, there was an mcq question that asks if a fish in water directly underneath a fly would see the fly as nearer, farther, or same distance away. i chose farther, because a fly still has positive horizonal dimensions, and a fish has two eyes. WRONG. the answer is "same distance away". why? i asked the teacher. i had no chance to speak. "i had told you so many times that when you are directly above you cannot tell the distance, and you got it wrong and serves you right!" next year i clarified the answer with my sec 3 physics relief teacher. he said that my answer was correct. and of course i never got my marks back.

i remember my sec 4 math performance task asking us for the velocity of a spaceship in terms of light years per hour. and no, the answer was not in decimal point with many zeroes in front. it was around 44 light years per hour. when i saw that question i immediately knew that it is physically wrong. oh well, they are math teachers and they probably know about the theory of relativity. it is a math question, not a science question, and i didn't like the idea of challenging a question that accounts for 40% of the marks for a performance task and getting it wrong "because you are not expected to know that", or "because you are supposed to apply what you have learnt". so i faithfully did the question, and got an answer that defies science.

and guess what? people who pointed out that the question is wrong got 2 bonus marks.

oh well, those we give the marks call the shots. whether "they" value creativity, or understanding of the syllabus, or the courage to stand up for the truth, ultimately your teacher decides your score.

indeed, such is the case, based on my experiences.