TMJC GP Bulletin October 2019 (JC2)

1 General Paper Bulletin Oct 2019 (JC 2) Welcome to the final issue of TMJC’s GP Bulletin for 2019! Here are a few more essays written by your peers during the recent Preliminary Examination. Once again, thanks to the students who have contributed their essays, who have proven that good writing is very possible despite the exam conditions. Do take note again that these essays are not perfect or model essays, and while reading these essays, you may find some of the examples and points useful for application to other questions . Please exercise judgment and discretion in using such information in a manner that is relevant to the question you are answering. Lastly, you should not attempt to copy and hand them in as your own! All the best for the upcoming A-Level Exam! Editorial Team ___________________ Mdm Sukhvinder Kaur Mrs Annie Clayton Mr Teddy Tan Mr Max Cheong Contents Q2: ‘Winning at all costs ruins the spirit of sports.’ What is your view?.................................................... 2 Q4: Evaluate the claim that the regulation of technology is a desirable, but unrealistic, goal. ………... 3 Q5: To what extent does formal education guarantee success today? ………………….…………………. 5 Q9: Assess the view that poverty is the result of poor governance. ………………………......................... 7 Q11: How far do you agree that social media empower people to make a change? ……......................... 9

2 Q2. ‘Winning at all costs ruins the spirit of sports.’ What is your view? (TMJCJ2PE2019) Throughout the history of humankind, sport has always been a vehicle of unity and character. From the ancient Olympic Games, where athletes from Greek states congregated in Athens to compete for state pride, to the varied sporting events we have now, with professionals training for months and years to bring glory to their home, we see time and time again how sport is used as a vehicle for good. In modern times, however, we see increasing stakes attached to victory in such competitions, leading to a win-at-all-costs philosophy among athletes. Many argue that this thinking kicks the spirit of sport to the wayside, as it ignores all the virtues and values that sport imparts. I agree with this view. The win-at-all-costs mentality ruins the spirit of sport as it leads to unethical behaviour among sportsmen. Sport is often regarded as the best way to teach the values of honesty and respect. However, due to the idea of victory above all else, these values are forgotten, leading to a toxic culture of cheating and disrespect. A famous incident illustrating this is the Sandpaper Gate incident. The Australian cricket team, while playing agai nst South Africa, was found to have cheated when one member, Cameron Bancroft, was caught using sandpaper to rough up the ball, which would allow it to swing more and thus, harder to play. This incident shocked the cricket world, and the larger sporting world, as it brought to light the disregard sportsmen had for the rules of the game, and sparked a discussion on the rotten win -at-all-costs culture that had replaced what cricket stood for. While Bancroft and his captains were banned for a year following the incident, the damage ha d been done to the sport, and cricket, long referred to as the gentleman’s game due to its respectful and gracious s pirit, was thrown into disrepute. Thus, we can see how such a mentality could ruin the spirit of sports through a disregard for moral values. Another way this mentality ruins the spirit of sports is the unsavoury behaviour it teaches children. Athletes are often role models, ideally of sportsmanship. The concern here is that impressionable young children often copy their favourite athletes’ mannerisms and actions; and this will be disastrous if the athletes display unsportsmanlike behaviour, a key tenet of the sporting spirit. Such unsportsmanlike behaviour include especially the disregard for fair play. It is a well-known fact in several countries like Spain and Brazil : children are taught by their coaches how to dive and waste time. These children, who often grow up to become professionals or high level amateurs, continue this behaviour and pass it on to the next generation, further diluting the idea of fair competition and ruining the spirit of the sport further, continuing the vicious and destructive cycle. A look into any football match; be it at sc hool or professional level, often exhibits such unsportsmanlike behaviour. Sadly, this is not l imited to football, showing the rot wrought on by the win-at-all-costs mentality that ruins the spirit of any sport. Some may argue that winning at all costs does not ruin the spirit of sport due to the fact that it is merely entertainment that increases the accessibility of sports to the wider public. They argue that the primary purpose of sports is to entertain, and when athletes view victory above all, it provides for highly watchable entertainment. They would point to Tiger Woods, the mercurial golfer who dominated professional golf for years. While he was not the most sportsmanlike person, he made golf cool and made the once elitist-seeming sport of golf accessible to the masses. This influenced many people, particularly the youth, into taking up the sport . Thus, even with Woods’ unsavory win-at-all-costs mindset, it boosted the idea that sports was for all, thereby even enhancing the spirit of the sport. However, this is a flawed argument as many sportsmen with this mindset have harmed more than improved the spirit of sports. Professional Cyclist Lance Armstrong influenced many people into cycling, but his win -at-all-costs attitude lead to him using performance - enhancing substances and he even bullied his teammates into doing the same. When his deeds were made public, he was disgraced and many were disgusted that an athlete of Armstrong’s

3 stature did such a thing. This led to a sharp decrease in cycling fans, and as a whole, the ‘cycling spirit’ of pushing the limit of human endurance was ruined. Thus, while the win -at-all-costs mindset could be argued to bring good, it more often than not brings harm in the long run. The health of athletes themselves could also be ruined with the single-minded focus on winning at all costs. This mentality leads to sportsmen and women undertaking punishing training regimes that affects their health in the long run. Some may even be fed hormones and steroids to boost performance. These factors severely harm the health of athletes, leading to a lifetime of suffering. Cyclist Tanguy Turgis, once regarded as one of the m ost promising French riders in the professional peloton, had to retire at 21 due to heart abnormalities exacerbated by the long and arduous training he had to undertake. The East German swimmers, especially the females, had faced long lasting health problems due to hormone treatments administered by the East Germany regime. Many female swimmers had such high testosterone levels that they became infertile and could no longer give birth. The mental health of athletes have also been damaged due to such a mindset. English goalkeeper, Fraser Forster , had taken an extended break due to depression - attributed stress levels of the need to win in football matches. These all show that the win-at-all- costs mentality ruins the idea that sport is meant to be healthy for the body and mind. Thus, the failing health of many sports people illustrates why the win-at-all-cost mentality ruins the sporting spirit. In conclusion, the attitude that victory is more important than all else ruins the spirit of sports, and it can be se en through the actions and life outcomes of athletes all over the world. It is not just limited to the actions of Bancr