3H Chew Sze Lin (5)

At the beginning, I dreaded the thought of having to accompany elderly folks that are learning how to use the ipad. However, when I attended the session where the elderly folks learnt how to operate the ipad, I was quite amazed at how fast they could grasp the knowledge of using an ipad. Maybe I underestimated them. All of them were in fact looking forward to learning how to use the ipad. At first, it was rather challenging to teach them the basics but after they had gotten the hang of it, everything else was rather, I would say, a breeze. Soon, the elderly folks were maneuvering around with the ipad, playing the games and bidding for a high score. I enjoyed seeing how the elderly folks competed with one another to get a high score, it was satisfying to see when the elderly that you taught achieved one of the high scores.     

After this service learning, I feel that we should all do our part in giving back to society and I will definitely be more involved in the community during my adult years. I feel that there are still many more unfortunate people waiting for us to lend out a helping hand to them. Even though what we do may seem insignificant to us but to them, it will be a great help to their well being as well as their future. All in all, I learnt that all of us should at least give back to the society which has brought us up even if it means at the expense of your time.  

3H Edmund Pun (12)

For our service learning, we went to an elderly day care centre, to help out with activities like bingo and iPad training. Through this service learning, I realised that there are indeed some elderly that are lonely because their family is out schooling and working. I feel that it is really nice to accompany them, as this will bring some meaning into their lives. All of us will get old one day, and i am sure that we do not want to be lonely. 

To see the smile on their faces after helping them just gives me the sense of achievement. It is heartwarming to know that you have made a change in a person's life, for the better. If given the chance, i will surely go back and help the needy in the society, and play my part in helping this society to be a better place

3H Daryl Tan(10)

When I first attended the service learning, I thought that it would be quite boring as most old folks are not that technologically advanced. However, when I attended the session, it was not what I expected. The old folks were looking forward to learning how to use the ipad, rather like that of a young child looking forward to playing with a new toy. It was rather challenging but by the time we taught finish them the basic functions of the ipad, it was rather satisfying. The session was also challenging since some of the old folks spoke dialect which few of us, the students, could understand. We managed to overcome the challenge somehow and finished the job in the end. Even though there is a big generation gap, there are still similarities between the old folks and us. After all, we are all humans and deserve a chance to learn something new.

3H Ejaz Latiff (13)

The prospect of spending 3 straight hours with a group of elderly folks who well, share little in common with me, is fairly depressing. Whilst I knew my responsibilities in helping the community and the benefits that come along with it, I wasn't exactly looking forward to the service learning project. Who would have thought that after my first day i would already have a complete change in mindset and find myself having fun instead. 

There are 3 things that contributed to my change in perception. Firstly, it was the look on the faces of the old folks. From those who were truly intrigued by the fascinating functions of the ipad to those who were thrilled just to be conversing with the students, it was this happiness and positivity that beamed from their eyes which touched me. Secondly, it was the satisfaction that filled me upon teaching them about the ipad. Knowledge goes a long way and I was glad to be passing it on to the old folks. Finally, the stories which some of the old folks shared with me. Whether it was about their children or their daily activities, they spoke so passionately that I was pleased to be listening to them. Especially when they gave me useful pieces of advice. 

I must say however that I had almost nothing negative to bring out of this experience. So from all the positive experiences, I have built a stronger connection with helping the community and most importantly, an understanding behind my actions. All in all, I hope this will inspire me to continue aiding the community in various ways as my life progresses.     

3H Tran Thanh Tung (36)

At first I was wondering how boring could it be spending time with the old people, as what I had experienced with my grandparents before. However this Service learning had changed my perspective towards old people and my own responsibility for the society and the community.

One thing that made me very happy is the warm welcome from the person in charge. He also instructed us what to do and helped us with it. The first day we played board games, although it was difficult due to language barrier and the old people just played the game without following the rules, it was quite fun after all. The second day we were involved in easy exercises and I enjoyed watching how active the old people were.

I cannot deny this but I really like this Service learning and hope the school can organize more sessions during the holiday or after the exams. Besides contributing to the community, this will also build a sense of responsibility to the society and a different thinking of old people.

3H Tan Hui Yang (33)

Initially, I feared going for the service learning as i would be dealing with elderly folks. In my mind, the worse that could happen was that we could not communicate with them at all and they would start being restless and start scolding us. However, they turned out to be very friendly and just want to enjoy themselves. Also, there was no real language barrier as most of them could understand Chinese. Luckily, some of us knew some dialect, making it all the easier to communicate. In the end, the elderly enjoyed the game and they brought back a lot of gifts back too. I guess there was nothing to be afraid of in the first place. I do see myself involved in the community as the world is ever aging. It is only human to help each other and provide joy and support to each other when the going gets tough. And it is especially though when one gets older and face a higher chance of medical ailments and falling ill.

3H Ng Syn Kae (26)

At first I was not too receptive in the idea of helping out the old folks as I felt that it was a waste of time, but after the service learning experience my attitude has changed towards helping the needy as after seeing the old folks, I felt that we should help the less fortunate ones. 

 

The best experience in service learning was teaching the elderly how to operate an iPad. This was an interesting service learning as I felt that a normal one would be to help out the elderly in exercising etc. I learnt that we should be more patient in teaching the old folks as they do not pick up IT knowledge as fast as the younger generations.

 

 After this service learning I feel that I will be more involved in the community during my adult years as I have learnt that we should help the less fortunate people. Furthermore, Singapore is facing an ageing population and we should play our part by helping the elderly.

3H Pham Quang Minh (30)

The Service Learning was an extremely meaningful activity for me. Not only did it make me change my attidtude towards the elderly folks, it did help build up my sense of responsibility in the society.

During the session, we played Board games with them, the elderly folks. At first it was very hard for me to get on with them. It was because of the language barrier and also the generation gap. However, we got on well during the games. We played Bingo, Jenga and many other popular board games. I used to be afraid of playing with the elderly as I thought that they were often troublesome and sometimes treat youngsters like kids. But what I experienced was totally the opposite. They really welcomed us coming to play with them. I felt very blessed that I was playing with them, which I had never thought I would do. I could not help laughing with ecstacy with them because the games were so fun.

The games went on so enjoyably that we all forgot about the time. When we had a tea at the end of the session, we all talked to each other and I realised a lot of things that I had never known about the elderly folks before. Waving goodbye to them, I kept thinking about when I become old like them. It was then I understand how the elderly folks feel and how much they need us, the future of the world. And now I can easily sense the responsibility I have to take for the society, especially the elderly.

3H DARREN THER (9)

Elderly folk. A bunch of old smelly people whom I detest. However, that immature and insensible way of thinking was merely how I viewed the elderly in the past. In fact, I stayed away from elderly people in the past as I felt that they were troublesome and required a large amount of attention and help in order for them to complete daily activities. To the astonishment of many, I even hated them as they seemed smelly and untidy and felt that they were thorns of the society. However, after this service learning course, I have learnt that the elderly folk are not as frightening as I thought them to be. Instead, they are friendly and always smiling, and also show concern about others as they constantly asked questions about us to know more about our school and life as students. They are not smelly, untidy and troublesome. Many of the elderly folks are able to do many things that you and me can do. For example, during the course, we exercised with them and also taught them how to use the iPad. Not only were they energetic and eager to learn, they also learned how to use the iPad quickly and showed interest in the games which we taught them how to play, particularly the interactive Talking Tom which they found funny due to the way the cat mimicked their voices. After the course, I feel that I should not have detested elderly folks and I should have showed them more concern and given them my fullest attention. Elderly folk are less able to move about as they are older and have difficulties in movement and are more fragile. I should have understood that this is the way humans are and that it is not their choice to have become less able to do things. Furthermore, some elderly folks are eager to learn although they are unable to learn as quickly as others. Additionally, elderly folks have far more experience in life, and they do not hesitate to share their experiences and knowledge, thus I feel really respect them. For example, an elderly man enjoyed talking to me and even shared his experiences in life when he was younger and during the World War ll with me. Also, an elderly man could do many tricks such as spinning his umbrella on the tip of a pen and cracking hilarious jokes which made us burst out laughing. It really goes to show that I have the wrong perspective towards elderly people as I had shut them out from my heart and caused misunderstandings to occur. During the service learning course, one thing that I can never forget is something which happened during the iPad training lesson. During that lesson, a classmate and I had been chosen to host the lesson and to teach a group of elderly folk how to use the iPad. Initially, I thought that it would take forever for them to learn it as the technology was highly advanced. However, to my astonishment, an old lady was able to learn very quickly, even surpassing my knowledge of the iPad. For example, in the drawing pad for the iPad, I did not know how to use a certain function. However, she was able to use that function to further enhance her drawing to make it look very professional, leaving me stunned and amazed. Furthermore, almost all of the elderly folk were able to follow the lesson closely, hence most of the student helpers did not need to assist them as they could understand the lesson and learn quickly. This incident proved me wrong as elderly folks are not slow and can also use advanced technology like teenagers and young adults do. I really look up to elderly folk now as they have showed me that I am wrong to think that they are irritating and troublesome. Furthermore, everyone will become old one day, and that does not change who they are inside. I should have looked at their hearts and not their appearances. One can never judge a book by its cover. Overall, the service learning program was a great experience. In the future, I would really love to be able to have such opportunities to give back to the society by doing voluntary community service for no profit or self benefits. It is important for young people like us to understand the fact that we should be constantly finding ways to give back to society and to be grateful of the peaceful community we have today. A Chinese proverb states that when someone offers help, he himself will feel a sense of achievement and incomparable happiness, which is true as I felt happy while serving the elderly folks. Therefore, when I get older, I will definitely participate in community-involvement programs as seeing them smiling happily will surely make me feel happy too, and at the same time enable them to receive the assistance which they deserve.

3H Kelvin Chan (4)

 
The service learning was a good experience for me and it changed my opinions towards the elderly. I used to feel that the elderly are unfriendly towards people. For example, they push through crowds without apologising and also always seem to scold people with their dialects. However, through this service learning, i found out that the elderly are actually very warm and friendly. 
My service learning was to join the elderly folks on an exercise session. Many of them were already there when the group of us arrived and I could see that they were eager to start the activity, especially with young people joining them. I was pretty nervous and embarassed at the start and therefore stood outside the shade for the exercises. I did not realised that I was sweating profusely until an elderly folk kindly told me to stand in the shade as I was out in the hot sun. I was touched at that moment as the elderly I thought to be cool and unfriendly turned out to be such warm and caring people. This made me interact with them even more and participate more actively in the exercises. They also shared their life experiences with me and i learnt how hard life was like for them in the past. This made me realised that it was these elderly that made Singapore such a prosperous country and that we should give back to society and start with entertaining these elderly folks who were essential in the making of Singapore.
After the exercise, we had to serve snacks and drinks for the eldery. They seemed very happy to have people accompanying them as they are neglected at home as their children are always busy at work. This is why they are here, in search of friends and entertainment so that they would not be alone at home, which encouraged me to be actively involved in the community in the near future to provide company for them and also for another great experience!

VSCE

Service learning provides a platform for students to engage with people from our society and find out more about them and how we can help them. It is a very engaging and interesting learning process whereby we all students can present our point of view and also listen to their concerns and how does it affect our society.

For this year CE, we all visited a community centre where we all taught the elderly on how to use the Ipads. At first we all taught it will be a tedious process as many of us do not interact with elderly often and also the elderly present were a mixture of races and religions whereby all of them speak a different language. However we managed to overcome the language barrier as some of decided to be a translator. The apps chosen to be taught to the elderly were simple, hence did not consume much time. After explaining the basic concept of how to use the Ipad we all split up and joined our Elderly partner. At first we taught that it will be a quiet session but to our surprise the Elderly were interested to interact with us and also crack many jokes. We all laughed together and talked to each other not knowing when the age , language and race gaps disappeared. I hope to have more of such sessions so that we can have a chance to interact with people that we usually do not interact with and learn more about them. Thank you!

By Mohammed Aliasgar

VS CE Reflections

3H Ding Lin (7)

Service learning is a good way to enable interaction between students and the elderly. It changed the way i perceived the elderly. For example, in the past, i used to think that the elderly are slow in picking up new skills but after going through the iPad training, i was surprised that they all managed to get the basics of using an unknown operating system interface. 

The best experience was the teaching of iPad applications. They were new not to them but also to us. However, we have came across many similar applications so we had an easier time dealing with it. Also, we had fun dealing with the new applications with the elderly and had a good time laughing and playing the games. Also, i was lucky to have an english speaking elderly "buddy" although i know dialect but english would be a better medium of communication.

I do see myself staying involved in the community because in the future, Singapore would be facing an ageing population thus, dealing with the community especially the elderly would be inevitable, not saying that it is a bad thing. 

3H Neam Sing Chien (25)

The service learning experience has taught me many things. For example, how to communicate with people of different ages and crossing language barriers. I used to think that the elderly were very unfriendly as they felt that the younger generation was out of control, but with this service learning, I've learnt otherwise. There are some elderly that are very friendly, even cracking jokes with you.


The best experience for this service learning is when we played the Ipad games with the elderly folks, teaching them how to use it efficiently. The hardest part of this service experience would be trying to get our message across when the elderly cannot understand what we're saying due to the language barrier. Personally, I cannot speak dialect hence it'll be harder for me to communicate with the elderly who only know how to speak dialect.


I might stay and help in the community while I'm older as I personally feel that this is a very good experience.