Epidemics in Singapore: Polio

The current COVID pandemic feels unprecedented, and is indeed unprecedented in many ways. Yet, there have been many instances where schools were shut due to viruses and disease. Those born in the 1990s or earlier will remember the closure of schools in 2003 due to the SARS virus. 

However, did you know about the polio epidemic in 1948? Polio is a life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus, and causes paralysis by affecting the spinal cord. Three years after World War 2 ended, the epidemic spread worldwide. Here are some accounts of how the US and New Zealand were affected. 

The Rafflesian (Raffles Institution's school magazine) reported on the epidemic. The September 1948 issue described students as being happy at first as the school holidays were extended. Students who were scheduled to take School Certificate classes (probably the equivalent of O levels or A levels) liked the experience of "going to school at home" as they were not under the constant supervision of their teachers. However, when preparing for their final examinations, students generally felt they had been handicapped as "remote learning" was not as efficient. (Imagine trying to learn with the technology back then!) And for once, students hoped they could return to school. 

Source of above article: Facebook post, which drew from Raffles Institution's archives.

It also appears that health screenings and travel bans were common, just as they are in today's COVID pandemic.

Polio would still continue to strike in subsequent years, for effective vaccines were only developed in the mid-1950s. In 1958, Singapore was one of the first countries in the world to introduce live oral polio vaccinations on a mass scale, though a few polio cases continued to be reported into the 1970s. Interestingly, it was only in 2000 that Singapore was finally declared polio-free. 

SUTD students study the Japanese Occupation

In 2017, a group of students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design took a history course. Specifically, they studied the Japanese Occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945.

Many of them interviewed survivors of the Occupation and went to key landmarks of the invasion and occupation such as Changi Beach. Read the report in TODAYonline.

History of Singapore Airlines

In some ways, the history of Singapore Airlines mimics the history of modern Singapore. The main airline serving Singapore underwent several name changes that reflected what was happening geopolitically: it was called "Malayan Airways", then "Malaysian Airways", then "Malaysia-Singapore Airlines", and finally, "Singapore Airlines" in 1972. Also, just like Singapore rapidly moved from Third World to First, Singapore Airlines leapt from obscurity to become a world-class airline. This leap was rapid: for example, in 1977, Singapore Airlines used the Concorde for the Singapore-London route, becoming one of only a few airlines to ever use the majestic aircraft.

The airline has also been central to Singapore's image. Singapore Airlines has a reputation for being efficient, on-time, and delivering impeccable service, exactly what Lee Kuan Yew wanted foreigners to think about Singapore. In fact, Lee Kuan Yew valued a world-class Singapore Airlines so much that he intervened twice when airline pilots went on strike:

In the video, Lee Kuan Yew describes how he talked to the pilots face-to-face and got them to stop their strike. Towards the end of the video, you can hear his famous quote: "Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him or give it up. This is not a game of cards."

Here's an interesting video about the history of Singapore Airlines:

Part 2:

New book on Singapore's history

Fourteen academics have collaborated to produce a book detailing the first fifty years of Singapore's independence. A key focus of the book is how Singaporeans have reacted - and adapted - to PAP government policy changes since 1959. However, the book's focus is very broad, even touching on sensitive topics such as race and religion. There's even coverage of rock and roll.

Check out an article about the book, and if it seems interesting, buy it on Amazon.

Structured Essay Question Guide

Structured essay questions (SEQs) account for 40% of marks in the history paper. As such, it is important to learn how to answer the SEQ section well.

Here are some structured essay question notes. While these are based on an old syllabus, there is a lot of overlap between the old syllabus and the current syllabus. The five sets of notes listed below are still very relevant; 90% or more of the content still can be tested.

1. Impact of World War I
2. Communist Russia
3. Nazi Germany
4. War in Europe
5. War in Asia Pacific

There are some notes on Imperial Japan; but this is not in the syllabus as of time of writing. 

Edit: Notes are now hosted on Google Drive instead of Dropbox.

Sources A and B differ. Does that mean that one of them is wrong?

On occasion, one may see a question like one of the three below:

1. "Sources A and B give different accounts of the impact of Hitler's rule. Does that mean that one of them is wrong?"
2. "Sources A and B give different accounts of whether Stalin persecuted Jews. Does that mean that one of them is wrong?"
3. "Sources A says that Hitler faked the burning of the Reichstag,  but Source B says that Hitler did not. Does that mean that one of them is wrong?"

The answer is often no. The sources often are just representing different points of view. For example, it may well be Source A is talking about the economic impact of Hitler's rule, while Source B is talking about the political impact. The political impact could be bad but the economic impact could be generally good. Alternatively, Hitler's rule could be good for most Germans, but bad for the Jews; the sources could be talking about impacts on different groups. Finally, Hitler's rule could be largely beneficial before the war started, but disastrous after the war started, and the sources could be talking about different time periods.

However, it is often important to read the sources carefully, as the answer can sometimes be "Yes, one of the sources must be wrong". For example, for question 3 (the burning of the Reichstag), the reality is that either Hitler set fire to the Reichstag on purpose, or he did not. Therefore, answers of "no" are unlikely to get full credit.

The key to answering such question is to determine whether it is a difference in opinion, or a difference in fact. If it is difference in opinion, then neither of them need to be wrong. If it is a difference in fact (and they are both talking about the exact same thing), then one of them has to be wrong.

Usefulness Source Based Questions

Source A. A cartoon of Stalin which appeared in a British newspaper around 1935.

"How useful is Source A in helping you understand Stalin's rule?"

Usefulness questions are among the toughest questions in the Source Based section. Many weak students tend to write very little for this question, or worse still, nothing at all. You shouldn't be doing this! It is easy to score at least half of the points for the usefulness question, and it is not too difficult to score nearly full marks.

"How?", I hear you cry.

First and foremost, remember the Golden Rule: A source is never completely useful, nor completely useless. As such, your answer should be two sided. That is, you should start your answer with,

"Source A is useful to a large/limited/small extent in ... "

Thereafter, you should have one paragraph explaining the useful aspects of the source, "Source A's usefulness can be seen in... "

After you have finished explaining the useful aspects of the source, go into the other side of the question. "However, the usefulness of Source A is limited. This is because it does not..."

Finally, conclude.

Next, when explaining in what areas it is useful (or not useful), make sure you explain as clearly as possible. To take the cartoon as an example, you could say that "The cartoon is useful in illustrating the authoritarian aspects of Stalin's rule. This is evident from Stalin towering over all the people." Notice the first sentence identifies a specific area of Stalin's rule and the second sentence gives evidence direct from the source (by describing the relevant aspects).
For the "not useful" part of the answer, you might say that it is useful for explaining the political aspects of Stalin's rule, but not the economic aspects of his rule, because it looks like the cartoon was referring to political aspects rather than the economic aspects.

Third, you may wish to comment on reliability by comparing to your contextual knowledge or cross-referencing to other sources of the Source Based Question. In general, the more reliable a source is, the more useful it tends to be. However, even sources that are not very reliable can still be useful, as they can illustrate a particular point of view (e.g. propaganda). When referring to contextual knowledge, be sure to quote specific events (in this case, you could certainly mention that one example of Stalin's dictatorship was that he sent his opponents to gulags, or concentration camps). When cross-referencing to other sources, remember to quote directly from them. It may also be worth examining the provenance of the source. In this case, the fact that the cartoon was published in a British newspaper can either be used to support or challenge its reliability.

These are the main points for answering usefulness questions. If you've grasped them, you should be confident of scoring well in usefulness questions. But the only way to be sure that you've understood these points is to apply them. So practice, practice, and practice usefulness questions until you've got the hang of them. Good luck!