Yuggles

By Erica (Age 10, Chinese International School)

Editor's Note: This is a story based on Paul Jennings' Funniest Stories. 


See, no one had ever seen a yuggle before. And no one's ever seen one since. Where they came from and how they exploded has never been explained. Anyway, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. I'd better start from the beginning. This boy called Pockets was visiting his little sister Midge in hospital...

Midge had a really bad sickness that even the doctors in the hospital could not cure. The doctors said it was called Obis, and they were trying to find a cure for it but so far, nothing. Midge was a red-cheeked, blue-eyed, happy person, but as she lay on the snow-white sheets of the hospital bed, she had pale cheeks and faint blue eyes that were almost white. Pockets was crouching beside Midge. He was repeating over and over again, "You'll be all right Midge, fine, fine, fine!" He sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead.

Because I saw he was so sad, I invited him to go pick mushrooms. That was his favorite activity: picking mushrooms. We went to Yuggle Forest. No one knows why it was named that. We picked thousands of different mushrooms: death cap mushrooms and honey mushrooms. Then we saw a mushroom that we had never seen before. It was big, purple, and the stem was red and fat. They were growing on the roots of a honey oak tree and was covered with soft moss. We picked four of the eight and washed it in the stream.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons

When we got back to the hospital, we started playing with the new and strange mushrooms. A passing doctor stopped and stared at the mushrooms in our hands. "This... this is the cure... how... you can..." Pockets yelled with joy. I, for one, didn't know half of what the doctor had said. Then Pockets turned to me and said, "This is the cure for Midge!" Then he turned and followed the doctor.

The doctor squeezed the purple juice out of the mushroom into a glass. Then he went to Midge's bed and made her drink the juice. Then he fed the stem and the cap to her. Within a week, Midge was sitting up on her bed, talking and even laughing. And me? Pockets and I were heroes. We had found a type of mushroom that could cure a sickness that was spreading around the world! Even now, there were thousands of orders for the mushrooms. Scientists named it Yuggles, after the forest where it came from. It is now a cure for any type of sickness. I still come to the forest to tend to the Yuggles, and yet, I still have one of the mushrooms that Pockets and I first picked. I will pass it on to my children.

Catoptrophobia: Fear of Mirrors

By Sheren (Age 10.5, Singapore International School)

Image via WikiCommons

Hi, I am a famous actress in Canada named Tina. I have a great family and many friends. They support me whenever I go to perform. But do you know that I once had a fear called catoptrophobia? It is a fear of mirrors. Do you want to know how I overcame this fear? Well then, continue reading.

When I was young, I was raised in a small town in Canada. The first word I spoke was "mirrors". My parents were great to me and bought me tons of mirrors that piled up in my bedroom. There were mirrors hung up everywhere in my room. Every time before my mother brought me out for a walk in the park, I would always cry out loud if she did not put me in front of a mirror to make sure I was neat. My mother didn't seem to mind. She seemed to appreciate it, and she would always say, "Tina, my little daughter. I am glad you are fond of mirrors. One day, I would like you to be an actress!" Those words remained in my mind. Of course I would like to fulfill my mother's dream.

At the age of 9, I was sent to a school where I could enroll in classes like fashion and acting. I got good grades. But on August 20th, 2008, when it was still our break, I was studying acting at home. I decided to ask my mother to buy me some great clothes. After she bought me some, I immediately tried them on. I admired myself in front of the mirrors that hung in my room. My mother told me that I looked beautiful and mature. Suddenly, I felt a sudden fright come through my body. I shouted, "Ah! Why are all these mirrors hanging here? I am scared of them! Help, mom!"

My mother took me to the doctor and the doctor said I had a fear of mirrors. After that, my parents had to take off all the mirrors in my room. I was heart-broken. How could I continue my dream of being an actress? I looked at my mother, but she only shook her head. From then on, when I saw a mirror I had to put on a pair of glasses that would prevent me from looking at mirrors.

I felt that this fear was making my life more difficult and stressful. It made it more difficult to comb my hair, brush my teeth, and make sure I look neat and tidy. My dream of being an actress was coming to an end. I could not put on make-up and beautiful clothes I used to wear. I felt angry and annoyed, sad and disappointed.

One day, I said to my mother confidently, "Mom, I am going to face my phobia so I can be an actress just like you wanted."

My mother stared at me in disbelief. She said, "Well then, if my daughter wants to do it, then go ahead! Do you remember those mirrors you had when you were young? I still have them. They can help you overcome your fear. Just hang them back in your room and look at them everyday before you go to school, play, or anything!"

My mother went to the attic and pulled out a huge bag. I hesitantly opened the bag and took out the mirrors with their backs facing me. I slowly turned it over and stared into it. My heart pounded loudly like a drum. My face was pale. I then placed all the mirrors onto my wall and made a promise to myself, "You must look at these mirrors at least three times a day or more, just to overcome the fear."

From then on, I tried my best everyday to look at the mirrors. It became more and more convenient. I could continue to be an actress! As I grew up, I encountered more and more difficulties, but I plucked up my courage to face the problem. I soon became a famous actress. I have reached my goal. I still remember the day when I found out that I had catoptrophobia, the fear of mirrors. I am glad I overcame it and faced it. I feel proud and want to thank my parents for encouraging me!

Qing Ming Animation

By Christina (age 14, GSIS)

A few weeks ago, our family got tickets to go see The River of Wisdom: an exhibition of the animated version of The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, a famous Chinese painting from the 12^th century.

This version was originally exhibited at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in the China Pavilion. The size of it is huge, stretching more than 120 meters long, 30 times the original size of the painting. This animation is projected on a screen with 12 different projectors, presenting a day to night cycle every 4 minutes.

The animated version consisted of animated people walking along the street, camels being lead across bridges, and even sound effects, of the business of the market, like men shouting out what they're selling. The water of the river rippled, and the lanterns flickered in the night.

It definitely was interesting to see. I know that I'd never have another chance to see it, so I happily went with my sister and mom. The exhibition room was filled with people, all taking pictures of the giant scroll. I could see camera flashes going off every other quarter of a second. There was so many people! It was exciting to be part of the sea of viewers.

The only thing I had against it though was the fact that the cycle of the day was so short. I don't see how people can stay in the exhibition room for so long watching the same thing over and over again. I think the days could have been slightly longer: maybe 6 or 8 minutes. I think that the animated people were thought provoking to watch. They had camels pulling people, peasants carrying buckets of water, and donkeys attached to carriages.

All this made me wonder if the people those days actually lived like that, having to work so much. In the animated painting, you could actually see people walking from the far right, where the edge of the town started, to the left, where the main streets and a temple stood. If I had grown up in that town, I probably would have been so tired out after every day, walking along the streets with buckets of water on my back, or even staying in the market yelling out today's prices for the food that had arrived.

Seeing The Riverside Scene at Qingming was probably a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm glad I had the chance to go and see it. It's not the type of thing you see again and again, just because it's so good.

Every Job is Important!

By Lily (Age 6, German Swiss International School)

When I grow up I want to be a heart surgeon. When I am a heart surgeon I will help people who have bad hearts. People think it's disgusting but it's actually interesting.

The reason I want to be a heart surgeon is because I am following my grandfather's path. When I was little I used to watch Grey's Anatomy. I loved Grey's Anatomy. It was really cool, and it's cool to see inside a person's body.

If my friend told me, "Don't be a heart surgeon! Hearts are disgusting!" I would not give up on my future dream. I am not going to start something new. I am going to continue in my future job.

To be the best heart surgeon in the world I will prepare. At my house I have a 3-D book that tells you all about the body. Some nights I study that book. I study different body parts on each page. On some pages they show me tricks.

The Book of Questions

By Jessica, Dylan, Chelsea, Brandan, Philip, Ethan, and Dash (Ages 8-10)

Editor's Note: This is a collaborative poem inspired by Pablo Neruda's "The Book of Questions".

What did the waves say

looking out at the howling wind?

Is there anything in the world more quiet

than a mouse scurrying from place to place?

And what did the orange juice think

of the beautiful sun setting behind the hills?

What did the fall leaves say

floating before the setting of the evening sun?

And what did the bar of chocolate say

lying on the cake that came out of the oven?

What did the peaceful music being played by a violin say

listening to the wind, skimming through the woods?

Is there anything in the world more quiet

than the empty desert at night?

And what did the pillow as white as snow say

standing before the fluffy, warm blanket?

What did the cricket chirp
crawling beneath the birds gliding in the morning sky?

What did the loud cicadas hear
when someone whistled a tune?

And how did the crowds cheer
to the small bells ringing?

Hong Kong Bustles

By Audrey (Age 15, Chinese International School)

Photo via WikiCommons

The residents of Hong Kong love shopping - market shopping and/or shopping in department stores. Go to Sheung Wan market and you will see a huge group of women crowded together on the narrow lane, crawling like ants on top of each other, bargaining with the shop keepers. The bargaining sounds will pierce your ears even when you are far away from the market. Women shout, overlapping each others' voices, trying to bargain for cheaper prices. Meanwhile, in the dark, dimly-lighted store, men use sharp, shiny yet a bit rusty, knives. They cut through the piece of meat, fish, or vegetable. They get it ready to put it on display as if they were dolls, hoping to sell quickly for a good and reasonable price. At the back of the shop, they throw water and waste on the floor. With a spit of saliva on top for a final touch, they hope people will not notice them.

On the streets of Causeway Bay, business-like people with money shop in the department stores, such as Times Square and Sogo, for good quality clothing and food. You can see women coming out of Times Square, with a bunch of different colored and textured bags, filled with what they have bought, around their two arms. They walk like a penguin as they walk to the taxi/private car pick-up stand.

Meanwhile, in the tall apartment buildings, parents are telling their children to do exercise books, hoping that they will become as ambitious as they want to be and get into an excellent university. But not all children are obedient and hardworking. Those who are lazy and fool around are surrounded by the mothers with rulers in their hands, hitting the table to get their attention as they speak in a deafening voice. The husbands dream of a control machine that can mute them like the way they can when they watch television shows.

At night, below these apartment buildings, expats gather together in small pubs and gossip away their sport and business-related news, as they sip their big glasses of beer. You can often see most of these expats in Lan Kwai Fong, which is most famous for its night pubs and events. Most of the people there are Westerners and it is like a gathering place for them. Although there are mostly Westerners, there are still some Asians who go there for dinner.

Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps. It is filled with different contrasting actions - from local women shopping in fruit/meat/wet markets to Westerners hanging out in Lan Kwai Fong.

Life on Saturn

Life on Saturn
By Ryan (Age 10, St. Paul's)

From my spaceship, I could see Saturn. Saturn looked like a glittery orange-colored sun. There were many moons surrounding it and Saturn people must be gloomy because I saw so many clouds. The Earth was just a dot compared to Saturn. I was excited to see if there was life on Saturn's moons, Titan and Enceladus!

Finally, we landed and I stepped cautiously out of the space ship. I caught a glimpse of a weird creature approaching me. It was a furry, green, monster with sharp eyes! It stomped towards me, looking furious and suddenly, it roared. I saw lights coming and a man with a hat appeared holding a bow and arrow. He just shot the green monster and it fainted.

I was eager to thank him but when I was ready to meet him, he just vanished! I kept walking and I saw many lights shining brightly on us. Then, I saw a spooky house, filled with spider webs and insects. "Eeeeek" creaked the door as I opened it slowly. Then a loud bang! Suddenly, I was trapped inside and I fell into a hole!

"Ahhhhh!!!" I screamed nonstop. Just then, I noticed a big poisonous spider. I tip-toed past him but I caught his attention. I was scared and stepped back and felt the presence of the man with the hat again. He chased the spider and soon, I was safe. He brought me back to his house. I was eager to shake his hand and find out his name. He took off his suit and I realised he was my old friend Sam!

"Sam, what are you doing here on Saturn??" I asked.

To be continued...

Mandatory P.E. Workouts in all HK Workplaces?

Hong Kong's Mandatory Physical Activity
by Alan, Age 13, CIS

Physical exercise is a very important part of a person's life. It helps them stay healthy, active and energetic in all aspects of life. Recently China has implemented a new rule that employees of all government work places have to perform daily exercise routines. This helps workers relax during work and it improves everyone’s health. This is why I think that the Hong Kong government should make daily exercises mandatory for all companies, schools and organizations.

Hong Kong people have the busiest lives compared to people from other parts of the world. Students and workers alike have extremely tight schedules and work every day. They don’t even have much time to meet their families, let alone exercise. This why I think that I think that setting up a mandatory exercise will really help the general population of Hong Kong stay healthy and fit.  Exercising often will also help people relieve stress and help them forget their worries. Also, mornings are the prime time for people to exercise because it is when they are the most active and diligent. It will also help worker concentrate and work more efficiently throughout the day and hopefully get their work and tasks done earlier.

Many local and primaries schools across Hong Kong have mandatory exercise in place for students in the morning. A Hong Kong university study has shown that the average grades of students in schools with morning exercise is around 5 % higher than schools that don’t. Although many schools argue that they have physical education classes for students who would like to exercise during school hours, these classes are not on a daily basis and rarely occur more than a 2-3 times a week. 

Having mandatory physical exercises in the morning can help many workers and adults alike save money by not needing to attend overpriced gyms to exercise and work out. Such gyms in Hong Kong often charge at least one thousand dollars for a one month membership. Having physical morning exercises can also reduce obesity problems in Hong Kong as it becomes a rising issue throughout the general population. Although simple morning exercises do not sound as demanding and tiring as workouts in specially designed gyms, many articles published by top trainers across they work have said that if you keep exercising, even lightly, on a daily basis, it is actually more effective than going to the gym once or twice a week.

In class today, we tried exercising to an exercise song that one of the local primary schools uses each morning. I found it quite interesting as it is not quite physically demanding. Instead, it includes exercises which target various parts of my body, starting from my head and moving downwards.

However, some problems that workers might encounter while performing morning physical exercises is that when you are a front line worker such as a cashier, customers would have to wait for you when you are doing your exercise. Furthermore if you have a job such as an accountant, you may have difficulty performing such exercises because you are not wearing the right clothes. I think that these problems can be easily solved if everyone in the public did the exercise and everyone was ready and has prepared for it.

Overall I believe that having morning exercises is very beneficial to the Hong Kong people and that the government should definitely implement such a rule as soon as possible.

Bullet in the Brain (Alternate Ending, Version 2)

By Maggie (Age 13, Hong Kong International School)

Editor's Note: This is an alternate ending to Tobias Wolff's short story, "Bullet in the Brain". 


We walk into the room. Instant terror washes over the crowded bank. Eyes widen as they begin to notice the pistol I'm gripping. A trembling guard mumbles some incomprehensible words, his eyes tightly shut. He was clearly terrified of my hand on his shoulder. I point the pistol to his neck, and the feeling of adrenalin bursts within me. As always, I welcome the feeling as if it is a member of my family. This feeling is so familiar. It's like a best friend I grew up with, never leaving me, always bringing out the best, and worst, of me.

"Keep your big mouth shut!" I yell, noting that the remark was unnecessary. "One of you tellers hits the alarm, you're all dead meat, got it?" I wince as I realize how cliche my last statement was. My partner looks at me with a confused look, and it was clear that on the inside, he is laughing, mocking my petty threat. A man in line makes a quick remark about the phrase "dead meat". Part of me wants to shoot him right then and there, but I have to stick to the plan.

Handcuffing and pushing the helpless guard to the ground, I clutch the collection of hefty bags that will soon hold our money. I begin to pass a hefty bag to the tellers, commanding them to fill them with money. I make sure to swagger as  I walk, to show off my confidence and my superiority. The rush of actually robbing a bank used to freak me out, but now I'm used to it. I start to walk with a skip in my step, a slight smirk on my face; everything is going according to plan. My slight smile disappears as I come to the last slot, which is empty. This could take more time and more time means more reinforcements.

"Whose slot is that?" Impatience comes through my voice as I shout across the building.

"Mine," a shaken up lady manages to croak.

"Then get your ugly face in gear and fill that bag!" I bask in the realization of how much power I currently have. I can insult someone and they can't do a single thing.

The same obnoxious man makes another remark to the lady standing next to him. "Hey! Bright boy! Did I tell you to talk?"

"No," my gun clearly doesn't threaten him.

"Then shut your trap."

"Did you hear that?" he says, starting to anger me. "Bright boy. Right out of 'The Killers.'" The woman next to him mumbles something to him, probably a warning.

I walk over to him, warning him to keep his mouth shut. I can tell he is laughing on the inside. I can't stand being laughed at. I push the pistol to his gut. Then, everything happens so fast. He grabs my arm with surprising force, twists it, and takes the gun. The feeling of power washes away and shifts to the man with the gun.

He points the gun straight between my eyes, but clearly he doesn't know how to work it. I hide my fear with a petty laugh, but everyone knows I'm terrified. The man attempts to put the safety on, but instead pulls the trigger. The bullet crashes through my skull, right between the eyes.

It seemed like time slowed down. What felt like an hour was really a few seconds. I could feel the unbearable pain, the harsh voices around me, but slowly, they both faded, and a new setting appeared.

Three boys hanging outside the local drug store, showing all the other boys how cool they are. And a little boy; one would never guess that he would grow up to be a bank robber. The way the boy gazed at the other boys, it was clear he idolized them.

Then a petite young woman, frail and helpless, hobbles across the street with a purse clutched in one hand. The boys turned to each other and started to plot.

"Hey, we want you to go up to her and take her purse," the oldest boy gestured to the little boy, then to the woman.

"No way, that's mean."

"You want to be in our group, right?"

"Yeah," there was no hesitation in his response. He longed to be one of them.

"Then you gotta do it. You're not chicken, are ya?" the oldest boy taunted him.

"No! I just think it's mean, is all. If you're so brave, why don't you do it?!"

"Fine, I will! Watch how it's done," the eldest boy confidently swaggered over to the young woman. "Excuse me, ma'am," his voice was strangely polite. "You've seemed to have dropped something, it's rolled far behind you," he pointed off behind the woman.

In a flash, the boy grabbed the purse and darted away from the woman. She whipped her head around just in time to see the boys scooting around the corner.

"Stop! Stop! That's my purse!" she started hobbling after them.

"Run!" the pack of boys sprinted away. The youngest felt the most odd rush of excitement. His heart was thudding in his chest, adrenaline overwhelming his body. He had never done anything bad before, but now, he liked it.

Graffiti: Art or Crime?

By Carmen (Age 13, St. Paul Convent)

Graffiti art is more and more popular now. People think that graffiti art can help them to express their own feelings by writing words on the wall or even drawing characters. I think people who draw graffiti art are mainly teenagers, gangsters, or artists. However, in Hong Kong, graffiti art gives people a bad impression because this is illegal in Hong Kong. Therefore, I am not in support of graffiti art because I think it gives Hong Kong a bad image.

First, I think that it is not a form of protected speech because there may be lots of offensive words. If children see it, they may learn from it which gives them a bad influence. They might also learn from the people's drawings and they may start drawing pictures on the wall or at school, which may hurt the school and home environment. Second, it is uncontrolled. I have seen there is more and more graffiti art nowadays on the streets and old apartments. It seems to be good for the environment as graffiti art is on walls and not on paper, but actually it is very distracting for people who see this art. In my own opinion, I think it is quite selfish for the people who draw out their feelings but don't consider other peoples' feelings.

I think that graffiti art should be banned because it is not only giving bad education to the children, but it may also give a bad image to the tourists from other countries. Hong Kong is giving a good impression to people that it is a well-disciplined city. However, if this graffiti art appears more and more on every street, I think this kind of art may ruin Hong Kong's good name. Therefore, graffiti art should be banned. Also, there should be a punishment. We should give them a penalty like a fine, or in a more serious case, they might need to go to jail. I think this should be a good way to warn people.

Therefore, I think graffiti art should be done in a proper way without bad words. They may do this in a more healthy way like just using safe words with beautiful cartoon pictures. But, I think it is still important to let people know that they should not damage the environment by using some advertisements to let them be noticed. If people get warned and they do it in a proper way, I think we will get out city's good image back.

My Perfect School -- The Green Sun School

By Ryan (Age 9, St. Paul's Co-ed)

From the outside, The Green Sun School looks like a humongous sun. When you walk towards it, there are two tin cans talking. You can share anything with them. There is a big smile on the sun and on the smile of the sun are two solar panels. You see, the Green Sun School is an environmentally friendly school. Its sun rays are actually windmills! The school is massive and it includes a 50 meter swimming pool, a vast playground, and 90 classrooms.

The Green Sun School, by Ryan

The Green Sun School is different from other schools because not only is the shape and look of our school unique, but also the teachers are more kind, more patient, and more fun. They explain things clearly and they are also kind and fair. The teachers at the Green Sun School are like the teachers at The Kelly Yang Project! I think it is important to have good teachers because it can lead us to be more interested in studying.

The events are better too! Just like at KYP, we will have Spellbulary and the kids will all get super excited! We will also have Sports Day and Swimming Gala (a swimming competition at school). We can do whatever we want in our rest time. The walls of the classroom are actually big fish tanks and there are fish and turtles swimming between each classroom. How fun it is!

Although our school offers traditional subjects like Chinese, English, and Mathematics, it also offers Cooking. This is because cooking is important. When you are in university, you have to cook by yourself. All the students at Green Sun School can cook well.

I think students should come to Green Sun School because it is exciting and creative. If you go to my school, your life and attitude will change!

My Helicopter

By Anna (Age 6.5, German Swiss International School)

My name is Anna and I am a helicopter pilot. I pilot a helicopter for a living. I have been doing this for three years. Everyday, I carry people from Hong Kong to Macau.

Let me describe my helicopter for you. It is fast and soft and comfortable inside. Five people can sit in it and it is not loud. The colors are white and little red.

I love my helicopter very much.

One of the best things about my job is that it is very fun because I get to see the view and I get to see the sunset and I wake up very early to see the sunrise.

Something not so great about my job is that I don't like flying in the rainstorms and I don't like turbulence.

I try to be a good pilot by being nice and being careful because there might be bad people.

I love my job very much!

Tutoring in Hong Kong

By Trevor (Age 14, Hong Kong International School)

In this lively metropolis of Hong Kong, there is one thing that almost all parents agree on: their child needs tutors. The richer the parents are, the more well-known their child's tutor is going to be. On the other hand, even slightly poor families may sacrifice one of their lesser necessities to allow their child to hire a tutor or to send their child to a tutoring center. What is it in the word tutor that makes all the parents think that they are important? One of the reasons is because tutors are private; they never teach large groups, which means that students get more personal help and attention when needed. Another reason for this is because tutors can give comments based on what is written instead of comparing it with another student's work, so the criticism, in a way, can be more original. Still, the question remains: why can't the student do it by him/herself?

My way of viewing this is that tutoring is not exactly essential for students to be able to excel academically. If students focus and take notes in class, then there would be no need for revision from tutors. Teachers in school should already be teaching students what is needed to obtain higher grades. If this were not so, then how do some of the world's most wealthy people earn their statuses without education? What about Lee Ka Shing? Not only did he not have tutors, but he also never received proper education before in his life. Where did he get his inspiration and ideas? Tutors? It is true, however, that tutors may be the spark that lights up the splinter, but this isn't the case for everyone.

Obviously, there are some students who do better with the help of tutors. As a rule of thumb for public school kids in Hong Kong, people with more tutors tend to receive higher grades. However, what people don't do is see things beyond these statistics. More tutors will mean that the families are wealthier; the wealthier a family, they have a propensity of being more knowledgeable. These rich parents may not be educated, but definitely smart one way or another. From the students with poor family backgrounds that still have a chance to have a tutor, almost all of them achieve better grades as well. Why? One reason is because these students usually do not get much attention or that their parents don't have enough proficiency on the subject in which their child needs help on. Thus, these students typically get better grades than those who do not have tutors, but not as well as those with many tutors - the rich kids. From this information, people then start to say that it is a generalization for everyone, which is really not true in many cases.

At my school, there is a guy that gets literally all A's. He's not a super genius though. Then you're probably thinking, "He probably takes a lot of tutoring lessons if he's not naturally smart." The answer is no, he doesn't have tutors of any sort. What makes him successful at school is the fact that he is hard working. If a school did not teach enough of what was necessary for students to succeed in school, then that'd be a pretty bad school.

In my perspective, greater numbers or hours with a tutor(s) does not equal better grades. If that were to be true, then every single pupil with wealthy family backgrounds would simply get good grades. Thinking about every single rich kid, I know most people would agree that they don't all get good grades. As the saying goes, "Work hard, work harder" can sometimes be the actual stimulus of all those "smart" kids.

To Build A Fire (Alternate Ending 2)

By Ingrid (Age 13, Hong Kong International School)


Editor's Note: This is an alternate ending to Jack London's short story, "To Build a Fire".


He wet himself halfway to the knees before he floundered out to the firm crust. Shivering, he attempted once more to build a fire, only to find that the wood he had newly gathered was damp, and sparked only faintly when a flame was held to it. Cursing, the man stamped the glowing splint into the snow. The dog whimpered, wishing more than ever that his master had turned back. It was even more deathly freezing than before, and the man's stomach growled in frustration, the biscuits not occupying its interior. Still, the man pressed on, trekking through deep snow, drawing all the strength at his disposal to will his frozen limbs to move.


It was a futile effort, the dog knew. Yet, it followed its master grudgingly as he trekked through the bitter cold. The man fought: fought to keep his heavy eyelids from dropping. Finally, when he could not fight anymore, he collapsed onto the frigid snow underneath a pine tree. His heaving breaths quickly covered his beard in a thin curtain of ice. He curled himself into a shivering ball, protecting the last slivers of warmth he held in his weakening core. What to do, he pondered. There was still a long ways to go, and in his state, traveling was not an option. The dog prodded the quivering ball with its snout. His eyelids drooping, he let go, permitting them to stay shut. His breath grew shallow; the sounds around him, of the dog and of the softly falling snow, disappearing. Finally, with a last breath, he stilled, the overwhelming wind cutting through him like an icy blade. 


The blizzard grew stronger by the minute, and the dog, too, ceased to exist - his loyalty became the death of him. Snow caked onto their bodies, a heavy layer of ice, covering the evidence of the foolish pair. 

Merry the Sensitive Cow

By Sophie (Age 9, German Swiss International School)

Photo via Wikimedia

In northern South Carolina a huge and beautiful farm stood. It was placed near the sea where the sea was crystal clear and where very soft waves lightly pushed against the shore. Many tourists came to feel the icy cool and refreshing water to take a dip.

Mr. Malon, the farmer, liked this site very much. Every morning he would wake up early to feed his pigs, horses, sheep and milk the cow, Merry. First he slowly walked over to the horses, then the sheep. He glanced over at the cow whilst pouring slop from a bucket into the pig's trough. He had had some troubles with the cow a few weeks before. He had already fed the horses and sheep and decided to leave Merry alone. After all, he thought she was happy. So he ran all the way to the end of his large field and took a big gulp of fresh, country air, and started walking down the road.

Merry watched him walk off into the mist which was slowly drifting down to the field. Indeed Merry was happy. She decided to roll in the grass and celebrate while she remembered the last time that Mr Malon had milked her. Merry could remember one time that she had been milked like it was yesterday. It was a dark and stormy day. The wind howled like a dog that had been forgotten to be fed for days. Big and fat rain drops had drizzled down her black and white fur. The farmer had brought a bucket and his stool. He was new at milking and being a farmer so he had brought his Macbook. Mr. Malon dropped the stool near Merry and got down low as the internet had told him. Soon he glanced over at the computer with its waterproof cover and lightly placed his hands on Merry's udder. She was so sensitive that she took a big bite out of his Macbook. She could remember how his anger raged that afternoon and how upset he was.

The second time he had milked her was also a disaster. Mr. Malon had just come back from a competition. He had won first place for his pig Pork Chop. The farmer brought home a big golden trophy for his trophy shelf (which was empty). When the farmer's truck arrived with Pork Chop, Merry could see the happiness on his face. As he jumped out of the truck he grabbed his trophy and came to milk the cow. He ran into his shed to grab his stool and bucket and went straight to work. He put his trophy down beside the cow so he could take it after he had finished milking. But as soon as he had placed his hands on her udder she took a bite out of his trophy. That put him in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

Hopefully he would never have to milk her again. Merry was happy when the farmer came back from his walk, with a squirrel that had been injured. He ran into the shed to get his stool and bucket. Then, he placed the squirrel next to the cow and touched the udders...

The Life of a Fish

By Chloe (Age 10.5, Singapore International School)


Well, that was it. Following my cousin's advice of roaming around the fishing bay was really not such a good idea. My pink tail shivered. I was squashed by some tuna and other fish together inside a big net. At least my mother and rotten-old-dirty-liar cousin were here. Well, somewhere in the net. I felt like crying. Then finally, I fainted.


It seemed like a million years after, when I was awoken by the most annoying voice. "Wake up ya'ol' lazy bums! Boy, I could see your big sharp tail!" I smacked my cousin before I could even get on my tails. Suddenly, I felt a feeling that we were not quite in our cozy Australian home ocean. I looked around and realized we were in a dirty fish tank. The back of the tank was covered in mold, and was brown and slimy. 


I swallowed. "Someone should clean up this place. I feel like I'm living in a garbage truck in Leano Bay in the ocean," I thought. A few fish were in the same room as us. They all looked like the school smarties in our school. I couldn't find mom. "Where are we?" I asked my cousin. 

"We are in... the Mongkok market, in Hong Kong!" he said in his most dramatic voice. 


"Wow..." I said, rolling my eyes, but inside, I felt really scared. 


There were plastic bags and fish tanks everywhere in the Hong Kong Mongkok fish market. I looked at the plastic bags lined up along the entrance of the market. Wait! There was mom! She looked sad. I felt like growing legs and escaping the tank and growing taller to walk over and remove mom from the plastic bag. But that was impossible. If only, if only. I took out my fishy diary and fishy pen:

Dear Diary,

I am sad. How could my cousin do this to me and mom?! Huh, if only we were still in our home... it all started when I was playing volleyfish in the school fishyard. Then my cousin called and asked me to meet him in the "What's Your Rush? Have a Cup!" fish cafe. I said goodbye to my friends and went to the cafe. He told me there was this incredible fish ball in the Fishing Bay that was over 1000 years old. 'Come on! Let's go!' he said. Well, that's where tragedy struck. Now I'm stuck here in the Hong Kong fish market ready to be sold. Yet mom is -

A girly scream interrupted my thoughts. I placed my fins on the glass and looked out. A little girl was happily screaming, and it seemed like she was pointing at me. Uh oh.

I started screaming myself. But I was too late. A cage net swept me up and lifted me out of the tank. With a 'Plop!', I dropped into a plastic bag filled with water - fresh water. I wanted to escape, but the opening of the bag was sealed suddenly. The little girl gazed at me. She had freckles on her cheeks and had the friendliest face ever. A strange feeling occurred and I seemed to like her. She took me home and kept me in a huge, clean fish tank. It felt like home. She fed me the right amount of food everyday. She even put some decorations to make me feel happy. I was overjoyed.

Maybe being in another one's home wasn't so bad after all. Sometimes she even gave me small letters and when I opened them, they were written by my mom!

Intent

By Trevor (Age 14, Hong Kong International School)

What does it mean to do something on purpose? What about by impulse? On September 22, Tyler Clementi committed suicide after a series of actions by two bullies. Three days earlier, Dharun and Molly uploaded a video of the boy making out with a guy on Youtube. One may ask, "What led to this?" but the more important question is "What was the intent?"

Almost for sure, Ravi had a suspicion that his roommate was homosexual. Not only did he suspect, but he thought about it, and decided that he was going to spy on his roommate through a webcam. Did he accidentally turn on the webcam or was it part of 'the plan'? Most likely, Ravi turned it on manually because Tyler himself would not risk his being exposed if he had asked for the dorm for three hours in the first place. Dharun had to have intended on somehow figuring out if his roommate matched his suspicions. The next step however was the most crucial determining factor of his sentence: was he an on-purpose exposer? Or was it a click in the head saying 'I'm just gonna do this.'?

In one perspective, one could say that it was all because the immature student felt that it was funny. However, looking at the case from the opposite perspective, would it not have all been planned if Ravi had turned on the webcam in the first place? Information on health.spreadit.org showed that this was not the first video to be captured. Both Ravi and Molly had planned to post their next video before Clementi had asked for the room. With this proof, it is affirmed that they had intended to rebroadcast such a video instead of getting a good laugh at it. Premeditation was a factor in this crime because without it, the video would never have been posted. As an addition to backup this statement, he had tweeted "Roommate asked for the room... went into molly's room and turned on my web-cam... making out with a dude. Yay." Notice the word "Yay" had strong emphasis to it because it was used as an effective short sentence. Inferring from the text, these three simple letters held the meaning of how Ravi had felt successful by accomplishing his goal. Without this word in the context, this would be a whole different story because it would not have shown accomplishment in Dharun's voice over Twitter.

It is extremely possible that the two of them would not have done so if they knew of the full consequence of Tyler jumping off the bridge. It is true that Tyler must have acted on the impulse of committing suicide before he thought about what he could have done to recover from this incident. Nevertheless, this does not change the fact that they did so. What is done is done. No matter how good the track records of Dharun and Molly are, it does not change the fact that they did something horrible to a person that they only knew for about a week. There is a great chance that Tyler would not have done so if were heterosexual because he would not be as afraid of being exposed to be dragged "out of the closet" by others.

More time to rationalize meant that they had more responsibility over the situation; more time to reflect meant less impulse - or even none - which shows that it was done based on premeditation and thoughts about consequences. Therefore, as a final statement, both Ravi and Wei should be sentenced to imprisonment because they had more than enough time to think before they had acted. Wei, though possibly not the main "brains", still participated and supported this idea, thereby saying, should be equal responsible as Ravi. It is only fair for them to learn a lesson of how powerful a small prank can be on to others. Not everyone views things with the same pair of eyes.

Bullet in the Brain (Alternate Ending)

By Audrey (Age 15, Chinese International School)

Editor's Note: This is an alternate ending to Tobias Wolff's short story, "Bullet in the Brain". 


"What's so funny, bright boy?"

"Nothing."

"You think I'm comical? You think I'm some kind of clown?"

"No."

"You think you can mess with me?"

"No."

"Mess with me again, you're history. Capiche?"

Anders burst out laughing, covering his mouth with both hands and said, "Capiche - oh God, capiche," and at that, the man with the pistol raised the pistol. As he was pulling the trigger, 'Whack!' The man fell to the ground, dropping the gun. Anders turned around to see the woman he hated holding her 'bruised' bag after hitting the man hard on his head. He was shocked as he didn't think it would be the woman. He then crouched down and picked up the fallen gun and pointed it at the man. When the man saw the pistol facing him, he began to cry, begging Anders not to kill him. As the begging noise became continuous, Anders' temper began to heat up and 'Bang!' He shot the man.

It was worth nothing what the man did not remember, given what he did remember. He did not remember the death of his lovely mother and the funeral where he cried uncontrollably. He did not remember the brutal treatment that he received from his stepmother and stepsisters, or his horrible father who pushed him aside and ignored him all the time. He did not remember the feeling of carrying his children when they were babies. The man did not remember his love for his former job, a policeman, before being fired after being rumored to be a murderer. He did not remember how he suffered and became extremely depressed after losing his job. The man did not remember the night when a man approached him and changed his life, turning him into a bank robber. He did not remember how or when his wife divorced him and seeing his children for the very last time before they parted.

This is what he remembered. Snow. An alley. Darkness. The hooting of an owl nearby, himself aiming a gun towards a criminal that he and his colleagues found while taking a night stroll. He looks at the criminal while the criminal looks back at him, making eye contact. Still, he didn't want to shoot him. He just held the gun to protect himself, in case the criminal, who in fact was also holding a gun, at some point shot him.

Around him, the other policemen that were with him when he saw the man were shouting and pointing at the criminal, wanting him to shoot the man. But he didn't want to kill the man, he would rather put him in jail instead of shooting him. Just then, 'Bang!' One of his colleagues shot the gun towards the sky. Beside them, all the birds flew away, scared from the loud gunshot. Even the gunshot made him nervous, and he pulled the trigger and 'Bang!' shot the man. As the man fell to the ground, he could see his cold green eyes still staring at him. He shivered as he saw blood dripping onto the snow. He regretted killing the man. In silence, he wept, tears dripping down his face as he knew he would never forget how he first killed a man.

Fashion Trucks

By Albert (Age 12.5, Canadian International School)

There are many ways to buy clothes like going to a mall, going to a market and buying stuff online. Now there is a new way to buy clothes, on a fashion truck. The fashion truck is a truck that sells clothes on it. In America, this idea has caught on very quickly, but I don't think it will work in Hong Kong because it is inefficient.

The first reason fashion trucks won't work in Hong Kong is that the United States is huge and you can sell clothes in many different places that don't have that store. However, Hong Kong is only one city and you can get from point A to point B very easily without much difficulty. There will be no need for selling clothes on a truck because it is so easy to get around Hong Kong. It doesn't matter if you live in New Territories or Central, it is very easy to get to the store you want to go to.

Second, there is very limited parking in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong has lots of traffic and people, so if you drive around Hong Kong in your truck selling clothes, you need to find a specific place. You can't just park in the middle of a street and start selling clothes. Even if you do find a place, Hong Kong has a lot of people so if you start somewhere in Stanley, and you are going to sell clothes in Central, there is the morning rush hour to worry about. If you are going to Kowloon and New Territories, you will need to go through the tunnels, which has so much traffic 24 hours a day. So, for the customer, it is easier to take the MTR to the store, rather than wait for hours for the truck to eventually come and then start buying.

Also, there are a lot more concerns than a store. You need to worry about how you can power your truck's lighting and air conditioning. You need to worry about the enormous gas fee, and you also need to worry about the staff fee, which is larger due to the fact that you need to pay the workers more because they are away from home a lot of the time. You may even need to worry about if the government allows you to sell clothes in a truck.

On the other hand, if you have a truck, it will be more accessible to people, and you have advertising for free. You also need to pay less because there is no rent, but it is a lot more efficient in the long term to rent a store and sell from there than to sell from a truck because the negatives outweigh the positives.

Overall, I think that selling clothes from a car in Hong Kong is not efficient and in the long run, if you rent a store, you will eventually earn more money than if you use a car.

Genie in a Lamp

By Jennifer (Age 9.5, Hong Kong International School)

As I opened my eyes, I noticed the sky was pink. I stood up and hit my head on the wall. Suddenly, I smelled something very familiar. I touched the smooth curved sides just to make sure I was in it. I could taste the weird odor one could smell when one opened the Bible. And I was sure I was in a ball.

I waited for three days and I almost suffocated when somebody bounced the ball and accidentally made a hole! So I peeked outside and shielding my eyes as the gleaming sun shone into my eyes. Suddenly I saw a creature with spots on it, wagging its tail back and forth while barking. "HELP ME!" I screamed, and luckily, the girl who bounced the ball noticed me and picked up the ball.

She said her name was Lilly and Lilly asked me who I was. "I'm a genie," I replied.

"Can I ask you for three wishes?" Lilly asked.

"Sure," I replied excitedly and listened to her three wishes: 1, To be the richest. 2, To be the prettiest, and 3, To have a perfect life. "Hmm... I guess I can do that," I said as I tapped my chin. "Close your eyes and think about your three wishes and check if they come true. So she did it.

After I granted the wishes, she was furious! You might be wondering why she hated her wishes. It was because everything was the same. "You are already as rich as you can get, you're already as pretty as you can get, and you already have a perfect life." Then, I think she turned wacko and then evil, because she was so angry. She told her dog to eat the ball!

However, I knew I could leave and be free, or I could die. So I came out, and ran as fast as I could out the window and onto the porch. It was a good thing. I kind of floated on the porch even though the genie magic was fading away, so no detectives could know who ruined their house.

Size Me Up

By Andre (Age 9, Diocesan Boys' School)

Editor's note: This is a story based on Gulliver's Travels.

I am going to Lilliput because the people in Lillput are very tiny. The people in Brobdingnag are very big and I am afraid that the giants will kill me.

The people in Lilliput are as small as cockroaches. They are very kind. They give me some tiny fish for me to eat. It is delicious. After that, the mayor there brings me to his home. His house is a doll house! I couldn't fit into the doll house, so I just sleep beside the house. At night, I go to the street. I can fit into the whole street! I hear some owls screeching. It smells like chips at night. Wow! It's a surprise for me!

It is quite boring living in Lilliput. Everyday I do the same things. I catch some seafood or tiny animals in the forest for myself and the villagers to eat. Second, I go beside the ocean and wash my clothes. Then, I do some exercises. Finally, I find a place that no one lives in to sleep.

There are two benefits of my size in Lilliput. First, other people can't hurt me. Only I can hurt other people. The second thing is that I can rule the whole country if I want to because the villagers in Lilliput don't have any high-tech weapons. So, I can win the battle! But I won't hurt or rule them.

I have lived in Lilliput for a few weeks. The mayor starts to think that I want to kill all the people in Lilliput and rule this place. He announces at the city hall in Lilliput that I will kill all the people! No way! I try to tell the villagers that I won't do that but they don't trust me. They use tomatoes to throw at me. How rude! So, I run away from Lilliput and the villagers cheer.

When I was still in Lilliput, I met a friend. His name was Clever. He was also very clever. He was very nice too. When he knew that I was going away from Lilliput, he was extremely sad. He ran to me and said he wanted to have a picnic with me at the Lilliput Peak. We walked from the back of the peak to the top, so the villagers couldn't see us. It took us only a few minutes to climb up, because I put him on my shoulders and I carried him up the peak.

When we went to the peak, he showed me a few trees. Those trees were the trees I saw beside my home! They were the same size as the trees we saw today. The trees grew hamburgers and sandwiches! I was shocked! I asked him how he planted these trees. He said in his village, there was a bucket of water. If you put a sandwich or hamburger inside the soil, then poured the water into the soil, the sandwich or hamburger would become a tree that grew them! He also said that this water could only be used to grow sandwiches and hamburgers.

I asked Clever if there were any more of this water in the village. He said there was no more because people always wanted to steal it and one time, when the people were grabbing it, they accidentally spilled it! All the people in the village were furious and they used some mops to kick them out of the village. Then Clever said that no one tried to get the sandwiches and hamburgers. Some people tried to climb up the trees to get the food but they fell down and cried. I immediately climbed up the tree and got a few of them for Clever. He thanked me and we started to eat. The food was more delicious than the food I bought in McDonald's. We enjoyed the food. After we finished, I told Clever about my adventure in Brobdingnag. It was almost midnight. I said bye to Clever and I went back to my boat and I started another adventure...

The Life of a Shark

By Erica (Age 10, Chinese International School)

I was swimming along with my brother and friend, Loopy and Scales. We were heading for the playground in the spring of the Coca river. Suddenly, we saw a flash of sunlight reflect on something shiny on the surface. We started to swim to the surface, and that was the worst mistake I ever made. A knife flew out and cut off my fin, then I sank to the ground, bleeding. After a few hours, another boat arrived. My brother and my friend had swam away. A beam of red light coursed through the water, and it stayed on me.

A voice above me said, "There's a shark!" I didn't even try to attack. They released a cage and caught me, and started to drive away. I hoped they were good, so I didn't struggle. I was carefully put in a tank with another shark, who also had his fin cut off. I learned that it was a tiger shark, just like me. He told me that we were going to a fish market, and I would be sold to National Geographic, who cared for sharks.

The next day, I was put into a tank with a nice male tiger shark, who was named Blaze, and another nurse shark named Meddy. After a few minutes, a group tended to me. They put some pasty stuff and wrapped a waterproof cloth over my wound. I ate some fish that they dumped into the tank and chased Blaze for stealing the fish I was going to eat. I stared at some visitors and bared my sharp teeth at them. Some silly people screamed and Meddy and Blaze showed their teeth too! Life was pretty good at the fish market. In the morning: eat fish and chat with Meddy and Blaze. Afternoon: eat fish, show my teeth at visitors. Evening: check up with people and glow my eyes at visitors.

After a few months, a green truck pulled up on the street. It was decorated with the words "National Geographic Wildlife". Three men came out, holding a large tank between then. I thought they must be very strong. The leader motioned the men to stop and put down the tank. Then they went to buy different fish, lots of fish. They picked out an angle fish with no fins, different fish missing different parts into a smaller tank. The three men carried the tanks into the "National Geographic Wildlife" truck. Then they went to the shark tank. They picked out Blaze and Meddy and went over to me. They had a quick discussion and loaded me into the truck. I was confused. Why did they want me?

I arrived at a HUGE place, painted green. They unloaded me into a huge pool, also filled with sharks. I slowly learned that the sharks in the pool were named Rosy, Sharp, Maner, Lion, Waery, Wave, and Death. I became friends with them and now I never miss the market.

The Greed Story

By Samantha (Age 9, German Swiss International School)

There were two aliens on Mars. Their names were Jim and Kim. One day they were walking in "Twix Park", walking their dog Skipper. Skipper was a robot dachshund that barked when he sensed something interesting. When Jim and Kim were walking past a fountain, Skipper started to bark. Skipper said that there was hidden treasure. As Jim and Kim heard this they ran back to their house and got their shovels.

When they got back to the park Skipper was still barking. He had not stopped. Jim was so excited to become rich and famous. As Kim and Jim started digging Kim saw an old woman walking by. She was poor and sad. When this old woman was just nine years old her parents died in a car accident. Her name was Jennifer Johnson. After her parents passed away she got all her parents' belongings, including money, and buried them here in Finsville.

"Kim, stop daydreaming! I need help digging up treasure for Skipper to stop barking. I can't wait until I...  I mean, we, become rich and famous." 

"Sorry," Kim said. It was 2:00pm and they were still digging. At 3:00pm Kim hit something hard in the ground. Jim helped Kim dig around it and get it out. It was a treasure box! 

Jim said, "Kim, we will become famous! Let's open it!" Kim was about to open it but then saw that, covered in dust, there was a name. It said Jennifer Johnson! It was her box that she had buried with her parents' belongings and money.

Jim was about to open it when Kim yelled, "Wait! There is a name on the box, it belongs to Jennifer Johnson."

"Who cares?" said Jim. "She lost it so it is ours now."

"No, I'm bringing it back to her."

"No, I'm keeping it."

Jennifer was walking past watching this the whole time. She looked like she was about to cry. Kim yanked the box from Jim and gave it to Jennifer Johnson. She smiled and hugged Kim and then walked away in glee. Jim was mad at Kim for not making him famous, but it was mean to steal. Kim was proud of herself for doing that. 

My Party (A Poem)

Audrey (Age 10, Hong Kong International School)

Dear brother, I
have a party
tonight.

So I went
to your house
to get

the food
you prepared
for your party.

Since I have more
people
coming to my party
and you cook
very nice
    food

I decided to buy
you 5 boxes of raisins.

Thanks
for all the food.

Teacher Rankings (Part 2)

By Christopher (Age 13, Chinese International School)

Should there be a teacher ranking system for Hong Kong? No, I do not agree. Hong Kong would be using the same system as Los Angeles. This is not a very effective system and I strongly go against it.

The rating system currently in place is a system where there would be a standardized test that every student has to take. The teacher would then be rated by his or her students' progress or improvement. Therefore it's not really the teacher you are assessing but rather the students. This is unfair as 90% of standardized tests are beyond the control of the teachers. In the end, no matter how passionate or effective a teacher is, it's always up to the student's willingness to learn. Attitude is altitude.

Another major problem with this system is the message it is giving to all the teachers. As the teacher's career is at stake if they they get a bad ranking, they would have to concentrate on the test scores. Tests do not determine how good a student is. You can't have a student great at memorizing but terrible at critical thinking. Einstein always said that creativity is the key to every genius. All these rankings would just encourage quantity of work from students rather than quality.

This is also degrading the teachers, taking away the love and passion for teaching and turning it into a system where the only thing that matters is your rank. This ranking is clearly disrespectful to teachers. Their job is to teach the younger generation so their knowledge could be passed on. Now the only way to becoming a teacher is to drill and kill the students rather than teaching the love of learning.

Although you may say that this ranking system would tell teachers whether they need to improve or not, this still does not mean that the teacher would know how to improve or what to improve.

In conclusion, the ranking systems need to be changed into a more effective system rather than looking simply at the students' scores.

KYP Students in Ogilvy PR Video!

Several KYP students were recently featured in an Ogilvy PR video, in which they discussed technology and social media. Special thanks to the filmmaker, Tem Hansen!

Children: A Key to Understanding the Future? from Tem Hansen on Vimeo.

Daddy, Are We Rich?

Editor's note: An essay about not telling your children too much about money

By Jerry, Age 12

I think kids at an early age shouldn’t learn about money because it can put pressure on them in a way that can affect them physically and mentally. For instance, if they learn that they are poor then they may save their lunch money and not eat lunch.

If you tell them why you don’t or do have a summer house, mansion etc., they may feel bad or jealous of others. This could lead to other questions such as “Why aren’t we rich?”. One way we could reduce is to cut the down the chances of your child asking the question. Never give them the chance to ask the question. Be careful what you say and do not give hints about money.

If your family is rich and your child asked if you are rich and you told him the truth, he may boast about it and make others feel bad. If your family is poor and your child asked if you are rich, and you told him the truth, he might start saving up.

On the other hand, if you told your children about money at an early age it might save you a little money with them trying to save their allowances but it would have little effect on your family’s future. Or if they were rich they might hurt other’s feelings if they kept boasting about it.

Therefore you should not tell your children if you are rich or not. It would affect their lives a lot more if you told them. Don’t want your child thinking he is helping by not eating his breakfast, lunch or dinner? Don’t want your child thinking she is helping by skipping lessons to do choirs? Be smart. Don’t tell them.

Letter to My Future Self

By Chloe (Age 10.5, Singapore International School)

Dear future fifty-year old happy but old Chloe, I have a letter for you. I think I will be a vet in forty years and that's for you to know and for me to find out! I think my family will be closer than before and they will still be happy! We will live in a huge house with a huge television and a bedroom each, with our own TV set and radio! Fifty-year old Chloe, you could really lose your memories when you get older, so I have some thing to remind you:

Beware of pickpockets!
Keep your things safe!
Always go out with an interesting book!
Don't even think of wearing tights!
Beware of mosquitoes!

I think now because I'm younger than you, I can do more things than you can. Do you think you can hop or jump? Well, sure I can! Can you stretch your legs and do a full split? I can! Can you draw well? I bet you can because we will never lose that talent! Will you still be able to play the piano well? Maybe, but I can! Can you do math in three minutes? We all can! Hey, do you think your memories will run out soon? Don't worry, I've got just the cure! Here are some of the memories that are the most important to remember in life:

What we did as a family together.
All the mistakes that you made and should never make again.
How your little sister tortures you... never mind that one.
All the good things that your parents did for you.
All the things that made you happy.

You should try to remember all these things in life. And also, have a great time! Soon I'll be you! You can even use your time machine (if it is invented as I predict) to come and visit me anytime. Have fun in Australia (where I hope you are) and have a great time! Bye!

Regards,
Chloe

Teacher Rankings

By Albert (Age 12.5, Canadian International School)

In Los Angeles, there is a new system for ranking teachers. The Los Angeles Times ranks the teachers by how well the students do on a test. The Times published the rankings in the newspaper and most teachers were insulted and couldn't figure out how test scores could determine how good a teacher is. I think this is a very unfair and disrespectful way of ranking the teachers and it should be stopped. This is because the student may not have studied and got a bad grade, thereby affecting the teacher's ranking and reputation.

This is insulting for the teacher because if the teacher has a low rank, he/she might be teased, bullied, and his/her students might even have no respect for the teacher. It also insults teachers by showing the public how bad or how well they teach. It might even get them fired from their job because of the low rank. It will also lower the teacher's reputation and no one will like the teacher.

Another reason this is a bad idea is because learning is more than just test scores. It is also learning about how to live after graduation. If the newspaper rated the teachers on exams, the learning would be based on exams and memorization because the teacher would be so eager to do well on the ranking and avoid being insulted and disrespected. It would also make the quality of learning poor, despite the good grades on the test, because the students won't really understand the content.

The main reason that this is a bad rating system is that it is unfair. If the teachers teach the students with all their heart and soul, but the students don't study or just didn't do well this time, the teachers get blamed for it when it is really the student's fault that they got a bad mark. The teachers will be unfairly judged because 90% of the student's test mark comes from the student, not from the teacher. The other 10% might be help from the teacher or some tips, but it is mainly the student who determines the test mark. If the student didn't understand what the teacher taught, it is the student's job to get help, so the test score should be blamed on the student instead of the teacher.

On the other hand, it can help improve teaching quality because the teachers will be motivated to do better and not get insulted. But most teachers will be so insulted, even the ones who did well on the ranking, that they will most likely try to stop the Times from doing this because it is unfair.

Overall, I think this is a very bad system for rating teachers, who don't know and don't want to be rated in this very unfair way. I think that it would be much better if the Times rated the teachers based on what the students think of the teacher and what the principal thinks of the teacher. It would also be better if the Times told the teachers that they were rating them. 

To Build A Fire (Alternate Ending)

Editor's Note: This is an alternate ending to Jack London's short story, "To Build a Fire".

By Maggie (Age 12, Hong Kong International School)

Within seconds, his now numb legs were slowly freezing. If he were to build a fire, it would take him at least ten minutes, which he quickly realized would not be fast enough. But, being the type of person he was, he figured the ice was just ice. Yes, it would cause some discomfort, maybe even a sickness of some kind, but that was all.

Lumbering along the ground, accompanied by the dog, he rushed to find loose branches and twigs: anything to help ignite the fire. He limped to an open area, unable to bend both legs. Rubbing the sticks together as he had done before, slowly growing more and more impatient, the man sat and waited, knowing there was no other option. As sparks danced to life over the wood, the dog trotted over to the man. Without a sound, it stretched itself over the man's icy legs.

Had this been other circumstances, the man would have simply regarded the action as an action. But in this moment, he realized the significance of the situation. It was an act of loyalty and compassion, and then he realized how truly special the dog was. His soft fur, radiating warmth onto the man's legs, had a slight glow to it. The man looked around, suddenly realizing the true wonders of the wilderness. And, the imagination that had left him as a child finally returned. One simple act of compassion had changed him.

****

The man, for the first time in hours, smiled. This smile was unlike any other he had ever had. He was so pleased with himself, and with everything around him. He was a mile away from the warmth of the campsite, with a fire already going, and the love of his family. After waiting for his calves to thaw out, he set off down the hairline trail once again, the eagerness of seeing his boys bubbling inside him. 

His gaze shifted from the horizon to the husky trotting beside him. The husky, whose clear instincts had told him to burrow some place warm and protected, had stayed with the man for some odd reason. But this husky had somehow changed the man. By helping him melt the ice from his legs, it had somehow melted away something else. Like a curtain pulling away to reveal the wonders underneath, the man suddenly noticed all the spectacular things in life hidden behind his unimaginative personality.

Then he heard something from in front of him. It could've been the wind, but the man noted the sheer joy in the noise. As he looked up, his eyes rested on the image of his two boys running to him, welcoming him to the camp. And it seemed like, though he knew it was not possible, the sun had come out once again. 

Shark Attack!

By Ryan (Age 10, St. Paul's Co-Educational College)

A dorsal fin was approaching me. The dorsal fin was grey with spots. A tail was moving from side to side. I noticed it was a shark that had a scar on its head. Its look made me feel petrified and its skin was as thick as a book. Looking down into the water, I saw its eyes were all black and furious-looking, and it paralyzed me.

My heart was pounding faster and faster. Sweat drops were dropping down from my head. Questions suddenly appeared: Can I escape from this? They made me feel dizzy and that was disastrous.

First, I screamed as loud as I could. I hollered, "Go away, you shark!" I was not absolutely sure if it worked or not, but I had to give it a try and I hoped it could succeed.

The shark swung its tail from side to side, sniffing around itself and all of a sudden, his eyes got bigger and bigger. They were wide open. It was like it was extraordinarily angry. It turned around slowly and swam away, flipping its tails from side to side, faster and faster. It seemed it wanted to find someone else instead of me.

I was frozen in the water, not moving a bit. A sigh of relief came and I bellowed, "What an awful day! I hope I can get this experience out of my mind!" I promised I will never go into the water again.

Emotion vs. Rationality

By Erica (Age 14, St. Paul's College)

Intent is the first thing lawyers look for when they take up a case, especially those involving murder or manslaughter. Intent provides the motive and reason behind the crime, and maybe even the method of killing. Sometimes, it also provides an excuse for the defense lawyer or the suspect.

In a recent case in the US, a college student named Ravi lent his room to his roommate, Tyler, for the night, turned on the web cam and recorded an intimate moment between Tyler and his gay partner. Ravi then later posted the video on the Internet and even broad-casted it live on the Internet. Deeply troubled by this exploitation, Tyler ended his life by jumping off a bridge. This has sparked controversy since Ravi had indirectly caused Tyler's death, making him liable for manslaughter and therefore, invasion of privacy will be too small a charge. Since intent is one of the key factors in this case, I will start off by listing some possible motives. First, Ravi may have long suspected that Tyler was homosexual and decided to record his acts in order to feed his curiosity. Second, Ravi may be homophobic and felt uncomfortable with Tyler's sexual orientation. He might have done it in order to humiliate and embarrass Tyler because of his differences or to make himself feel superior. Also, Ravi may have used this video and exposed the secret to gain popularity and to increase his social status. Most people like to gossip about others, and this may make Ravi think that the video is the ticket to become the most admired guy in school.

However, it is undeniable that this whole exploitation was planned and schemed in advance, and not acted on a moment of impulse. This is another key point in the case. The fact that Ravi committed an organized crime is far worse than committing a crime on impulse. A crime on impulse is committed based on emotions. People think less when they feel extreme emotions, but an organized crime is done after thinking with clarity. Ravi had planned this for hours, if not days, and went against his better judgment, carrying out his plan even after weighing in the consequences. He ignored human conscience and morality in order to achieve what he wanted. He invaded his roommate's privacy, indirectly causing his death. This form of privacy invasion is far worse than reading a person's diary or eavesdropping on another person's phone call. Homosexuality is still a sensitive issue and Ravi should have known about the effects and damage he would cause after he posted the video on the Internet. He should think about the impact it will have on Tyler and even his partner. Ravi's recklessness caused an innocent person to end his life. Also, Tyler's sexual orientation is something private that he keeps to himself. Ravi had no right whatsoever to expose that to the whole world through the Internet.

I believe that Ravi and Molly, his accomplice, should be charged with manslaughter. Although Molly did not participate in the recording of the intimate moment between Tyler and his partner, she would have known the plan since Ravi watched video in her room. She should have alerted the authorities and try to stop Ravi, instead of joining an immature person to humiliate Tyler. Invasion of privacy is too less of an offense to prescribe for their acts. Their actions exposed Tyler's secret to the whole world, yet they did not care about this before carrying out this plan. Invasion of privacy can only describe their actions in the dorm, but cannot describe their motive and intentions behind this plan. They had planned for a person's humiliation. If Ravi did not stream the video live on the Internet, the case would be less serious since only three people would have known about it.

In conclusion, what Ravi and Molly did was unforgivable and no excuses should be made in order to defend them. They had taken advantage of another human being to gain popularity, for fun, and to embarrass the victim. This case was not a crime of passion, committed when feeling extreme emotions such as rage or sadness. The guilty party had premeditated about the actions, yet continued to carry them out while being aware of the damage and impact. Ravi and Molly had ruined the life of Tyler, and manslaughter should be the right term for their actions instead of invasion of privacy.

Trust Fund Kids

By Caitlin (Age 13, Hong Kong International School)

Gwyneth Paltrow and Nigella Lawson, two famous celebrities, have decided not to give their children a trust fund. Nigella thinks that her children should have no financial security, and instead will donate the money to cancer charities due to her past experiences of losing her relative.

I have to agree with Paltrow and Lawson. Although leaving a fortune for your child may help them relieve stress and guarantee them a "safety net", it will certainly not help them gain any experience in life. Most teenagers may think that inheriting money from their parents will ease their struggles in school and guide them in life, but really, that's just the beginning of being too dependent on your parents. Gwyneth Paltrow graduated from university and struggled to earn a stable income and had no modes of transportation. But that's what drove her passion. She worked hard to get auditions and now she's an extremely successful actress!

If more parents decide not to leave a trust fund for their child, then maybe there would be more hardworking people with strong, true passions in the world. Practicing this trend may allow new generations to go for their goal and set high standards. This could lead teenagers to become better people and in the future, raise a less spoiled generation. Another reason why leaving money for children may not be the best idea is because of the attitude the children would have towards their standards and goals in life. If a child knew that there was going to be a large sum of money left for them by the time they turned eighteen or twenty-one, they wouldn't focus on their studies and lower their high standards. They could set their standard to getting accepted into an Ivy League college, but then lower it to getting into an average college, just for basic knowledge and education. Children without trust funds could have a whole different aspect on life and know that if they didn't achieve their goals and get a good-paying job, they wouldn't have a comfortable, stable life ahead of them. 

Instead of having a trust fund for their child, the parents could decide to put the money to good use and donate it to a specific charity. For someone like Nigella Lawson, who has lost relatives to cancer, they might decide to donate their money to a cancer charity in order to help promote a more efficient way of fighting cancer. The money could be sent to a good cause and help make the world a better place. It could help fight poverty or diseases. It could be put to a much better use. 

Not leaving a trust for your child is a good lesson for them to know that having a lot of money might be good for a few years, but sooner or later, if they don't start earning some more money, they could be in for some trouble. 

Welcome!

Welcome to the new and improved site of The Idea Burger!

The Idea Burger is the online student magazine of The Kelly Yang Project (KYP), Hong Kong's premier, award-winning after school writing program for students 2-17. Launched in 2005, we offer creative thinking and critical reasoning classes designed to improve student writing in two ways - creative writing and expository writing. For more information on KYP please visit our website.

In the past, KYP has published paper versions of The Idea Burger, showcasing some of our students' best works. This semester we will be publishing essays and stories online, so you don't have to wait until the end of the semester to read our students' great writing!

We hope that you enjoy these essays and stories as much as we do.

Happy reading!

Sincerely,

The KYP Team