Singapore School System Not Detecting Little 12 Year Old Dawn Yangs.

[Debonerman]

Dec 10, 2009

Schoolgirl plagiarises

By Sandra Davie, Senior Writer


What was written
'There are many paths to enlightenment - their teachings rich and varied, offering wisdom and 'food for thought', and everything we need for our journey to awakening lies within us. In the beginning, spirituality appears like a bud on a bloom, opening gradually, tempting us with a glimpse of its splendour and unfathomable depths. It is here we create the blueprint for our collective existence.'

Private tutor Anne Tok, said she googled a line from the essay and up popped the work of Canadian spiritual healer Nancy Tabah Whynott. 'Surely, any teacher reading it would have suspected that the essay was plagiarised or, at the least, written by the parent,' said Madam Tok.

IT IS a contemplative essay on life, and appears in Many Dreams, One World, a book featuring works of primary school pupils.

But two parents who read the 440-word piece, entitled The Journey Of Life, were not convinced it was the work of a 12-year-old.

They chanced upon it after their children brought home the book handed out by a group of primary schools in the southern part of Singapore as examples of good writing.

An Internet check confirmed their suspicions. The Primary 6 pupil had plagiarised the work of an adult Canadian author.

One of the parents said her suspicions were aroused by the seriousness of the subject - on how life's difficulties present an opportunity for spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

The other, private tutor Anne Tok, said she googled a line from the essay and up popped the work of Canadian spiritual healer Nancy Tabah Whynott. 'Surely, any teacher reading it would have suspected that the essay was plagiarised or, at the least, written by the parent,' said Madam Tok.


[email protected]


<According to the Straits Times today, when told, the student's primary school principal expressed "Surprise" and claimed she was not aware of it!>

 

[TRWatch]

Just caught someone here plagiarizing:

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?t=45493

To read more about temasek review plagiarizing, go to my blog indicated in my signature.

 

[Debonerman]

What was written
'There are many paths to enlightenment - their teachings rich and varied, offering wisdom and 'food for thought', and everything we need for our journey to awakening lies within us. In the beginning, spirituality appears like a bud on a bloom, opening gradually, tempting us with a glimpse of its splendour and unfathomable depths. It is here we create the blueprint for our collective existence.'


Anyone here can offer the percentage of our local fresh graduates who can compose a piece of work like that?

 

[Debonerman]

Netizens accuse Dawn Yang of plagiarism

By Daryl Lim, newsroom intern

LOCAL blogger Dawn Yang has come under fire from netizens for alleged plagiarism in her blog.


In the past week, threads on popular local forums have surfaced, each containing what some posters have called evidence of Ms Yang's plagiarism.


Posters took screen shots of the 23-year-old's blog on Straits Times Online Media Portal (Stomp), and their corresponding sources from elsewhere on the Internet.


The alleged sources run the gamut from PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech in 2006 to comments made by Marvel Comics guru Stan Lee.


At the latest count, more than 20 such posts containing the alleged plagiarism have been spotted by sharp-eyed netizens.


The posts are still up. The New Paper last visited the blog on Monday. Netizens are miffed about the alleged deception.


Said one forum poster: "This certainly is pathetic."


The New Paper also received many e-mails from readers.


How did local bloggers and forum denizens notice the alleged plagiarism?


One forum poster thought that the ongoing spat between Ms Yang and another local blogger, Ms Wendy Cheng, prompted fans to dig up dirt on Ms Yang.


In a post on the Stomp forums, he said: "Her (Ms Yang's) biggest mistake was to file that lawsuit in the first place. Now everything bad about her is rising to the surface."


Recently, Ms Cheng, 23, received a letter from Ms Yang's lawyer calling on Ms Cheng to make a public apology for alleged defamatory remarks she made against Ms Yang, and to propose a settlement for damages.


But Ms Cheng, better known online as Xiaxue, said she is not apologising.


Meanwhile, Ms Cheng has weighed in with her thoughts on plagiarism.


In a post on her blog dated 26 Jul, she announced that plagiarism was "the lowest a blogger can hit".


She said: "A blog is meant to be an outlet for your thoughts and opinions - so if you have none, why bother to have a blog at all?"


But she went out of her way to avoid any name-calling, cautioning her readers that comments with names would be deleted.


In an interview with The New Paper on Wednesday, Ms Yang admitted she had made a mistake.


"I apologise to all my readers. I didn't do this intentionally," she said.


She said that at the time she posted the entries, she didn't really think citations were necessary.


"It didn't cross my mind that I was doing something wrong," she said.


She promised she would be more careful about citing her sources in future.


But she felt that many of her detractors were not just focusing on the plagiarism, but were instead digging into her personal life.


She said: "Because it's me, because of this spat, they've gone up in arms. You can talk about it, but please don't cross the lines of civility."

This article was first published in The New Paper on 1 August 2008.

 

[leetahbar]

What was written
'There are many paths to enlightenment - their teachings rich and varied, offering wisdom and 'food for thought', and everything we need for our journey to awakening lies within us. In the beginning, spirituality appears like a bud on a bloom, opening gradually, tempting us with a glimpse of its splendour and unfathomable depths. It is here we create the blueprint for our collective existence.'


Anyone here can offer the percentage of our local fresh graduates who can compose a piece of work like that?

aren't you the one with FULL OF SHITS? are u implying that phd nerd should be deserving better choices and returns?

 

[Shin Orochi]

Dawn Yang is a bitch.

 

[Debonerman]

aren't you the one with FULL OF SHITS?

Wasn't I the one who exposed your plagiarism in this forum some time ago? You arse on fire this morning aren't you. Oh the pain of being ignored! The pain! The pain!

 

[Debonerman]

Wasn't I the one who exposed your plagiarism in this forum some time ago? You arse on fire this morning aren't you. Oh the pain of being ignored! The pain! The pain!

50 year old jobless plagiarisers are so easy to detect. Now back to the topic.:p

 

[Debonerman]

Does 12 year olds have it in them to be so conniving or the guilty parties are their parents and the PAP Government which had nurtured the trait over the last 40 odd years?

 

[scroobal]

Disgraceful. There were many people required to out these essays together. Were they all blind. And we pay these goons such high salaries.

Dec 10, 2009

Schoolgirl plagiarises

By Sandra Davie, Senior Writer



But two parents who read the 440-word piece, entitled The Journey Of Life, were not convinced it was the work of a 12-year-old.

]

 

[Debonerman]

vbauthor

Today, 09:25 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I always get some kind of creepy feelings when I read news of kids writing books, as I find it hard to believe that kids can write well enough to go into publication. It is not easy to be a writer for an adult, let alone kids. The same goes for news on students in other areas like innovation, inventions, great ideas, etc. We had news of young entrepreneurs who were a few months into a 'business' and our media picked it up like a story on UFO sightings. We had news on kids who designed some simple webpages and our media called them 'whizz kids'. Did anybody make any checks, like this case? Most like the principal, teachers and parents were all ready to take credit and boost the name of their school and did not think about other problems.

In SG, we need to face harsh reality and not give our next generation the wrong impression that the journey to success and fame is a straight and wide road. Besides parents and teachers, the media like ST should act as a check by asking questions and throw doubts before believing that a piece of news is to be believed.


vbauthor
Send a private message to vbauthor
Find all posts by vbauthor


Twocentsworth123

Today, 10:02 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Expose the names of the group of primary schools handing out this essay to shame them.

If the schools do not have morale values and promote plagiarism how do you expect our children to grow up to be good citizens.

Another Ris Low in the making?


Twocentsworth123
Send a private message to Twocentsworth123
Find all posts by Twocentsworth123


Xiaowei_69

Today, 10:11 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You see these kiasu kids are driving themselves to death. Clever boys and girls. But the tutor is smarter. Shame on them. Ought to be shot!


Xiaowei_69
Send a private message to Xiaowei_69
Find all posts by Xiaowei_69


people

Today, 10:14 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would the ministry of education care to comment?


people
Send a private message to people
Find all posts by people


ForgiveForget

Today, 10:43 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is great news - it shows just how IT savvy our kids are.


ForgiveForget
Send a private message to ForgiveForget
Find all posts by ForgiveForget


Misnomer

Today, 11:00 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cheat at such a young age is disturbing. Everybody wants a shortcut to fame and riches.


Misnomer
Send a private message to Misnomer
Find all posts by Misnomer


kampongkid

Today, 11:32 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once my son’s best friend’s composition was given very high marks and was highly praised by their teacher. She even made photocopies of it and distributed to everyone in class.

When my son congratulated this best friend for such a well written piece of essay, he confided to my son that the WHOLE composition was in fact written by his tutor.

I wonder should his parents feel happy or sad about it???????


kampongkid
Send a private message to kampongkid
Find all posts by kampongkid


Melvinchanko

Today, 11:34 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dishonesty starts at a young age. Is Gen Z to become worse than Gen Y?


Melvinchanko
Send a private message to Melvinchanko
Find all posts by Melvinchanko


akira772

Today, 11:49 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plagiarism also takes skill... it is an art. Unless of cos, the whole essay is plagiarised. Maybe what we should do is to encourage writers to honour which writer a quote or paragraph is taken from...

singamania

Today, 12:14 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parents and educators can use this as a teaching moment to help the young aware why this behaviour amounts to cheating.


singamania
Send a private message to singamania
Find all posts by singamania


lancelin

Today, 03:22 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The child is suppose to be very smart and hails from the 'best' P6 class in her school. Yet she did not even feel that what she did was wrong. This is disturbing to say the least. Don't they teach integrity in school anymore? Or do they only care about students acing exams?


lancelin
Send a private message to lancelin
Find all posts by lancelin


checkpoint

Today, 03:56 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surely qualify for "Prank of the Year" title. Or just call it child's play,


checkpoint
Send a private message to checkpoint
Find all posts by checkpoint


kewldude

Today, 04:02 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i guess this is another analogy of 'work smart'.. heheh..


kewldude
Send a private message to kewldude
Find all posts by kewldude


RisLowCheeBuy

Today, 04:40 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations to this smart kid's parents. The world is your oyster. It is perfectly alright kid. Be like me, cheat the banks and spend others money like yours. You cheat them once, shame on them.


RisLowCheeBuy
Send a private message to RisLowCheeBuy
Find all posts by RisLowCheeBuy


unewolke

Today, 05:03 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well, it is true that if the student has a high level of proficiency in the language in general and is of above average intelligence, you tend to be less suspicious.

it is also true that you don't expect 12-year-olds to know what plagiarism means. even at college i have had students who have no clue what it means. how much is plagiarism? what is plagiarism? it depends on the cultural background as well.

and there's often a thin line between work that the student has produced independently and one that's been heavily edited by a more competent person.


unewolke
Send a private message to unewolke
Find all posts by unewolke


Misnomer

Today, 05:36 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully, the child and his parents understand that they are fooling noone but themselves.


Misnomer
Send a private message to Misnomer
Find all posts by Misnomer


vajrapani

Today, 05:39 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.”

-- Wilson Mizner, American playwright


vajrapani
Send a private message to vajrapani
Find all posts by vajrapani


munny123

Today, 05:47 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a parent, I won't do my kid's homework or project because they won't learn anything in the end. It is time MOE reflect on the usefulness of homework or project work, because it is nearly impossible to determine originality.

If schools want to assess student project skills, put them inside a room and let them out when ready for presentation.