Today on 25th of March, I faced something new that I needed to put on my other higher order thinking cap to solve the question raised by Dr. Edwin. The question was “How do you perceive yourself as a teacher and as a literature teacher?” and it made me stare at the letters in my notebook blankly for a full three minutes, or more. It struck me then that I never thought of giving myself an image of what kind of teacher I am becoming and based on my recent state of knowledge and experience, I realized that I am lacking of certain values and experiences and therefore, not fully equipped to be sent off by UPM to teach.
Another issue was determining the image that suits my perceived teacher-to-be values, which took me another minute to think. Later I came out with the image of ‘an ironed shirt’ which I felt quite appropriate for me. The lecturer accepted my idea as I asserted that it would represent me as a teacher that is well-prepared and ready to be worn by those who need me to cover certain parts, for me it is the part where literature is concerned. When the shirt is buttoned up and covers the torso completely, I perceived that as me achieving my objectives to cover the necessary knowledge and deliver optimum input for my student’s benefit. Besides that, an ironed shirt is surely clean, crisp and fresh which would suggest my fresh ideas and approaches I wish to apply to my future students.
Dr. Edwin had some opposing opinion about me saying that those who wear ironed shirt would gain more respect than those who don’t. Well, I was not implying that the statement goes to everybody but that was how I perceive myself, gaining respect from my students due to my authority as a teacher and an icon of discipline. And finally I do hope that I would be able to use all the experience about reading and studying literature in college into the teaching and learning environment in school.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Freedom Writers and The History Boys
We agreed that this was one of our favorite assignments, viewing a movie during class hours. Well, it was actually my liking to watch educational movies with my friends and was able to share opinions and thoughts later on upon finishing the viewing. I loved this movie as a whole as it portray the real lives of people on the other part of the globe and somehow acted as the representative of the reality and existentialism in life.
The character of Miss G was absolutely well presented as a teacher who was willing to do more for the sake of her students. I was happy to see her change her students’ perception on literature by introducing texts that are familiar to them, such as The Diary of Anna Frank, and took all the trouble to have Anna’s friend share her experience with the students. The issue was really happening nowadays where people are still being racist, which I wonder why they make life more miserable by doing things that are not necessary when they can just walk on the same ground and breathe the same air.
In History Boys, what attracted me so much was Hector, the big, literary scholar. He was indeed an interesting character despite his tendency for harassing his students. Anyway, I think the most crucial thing I learnt from these movies were that different teachers have different approaches in teaching. In this case, they were basically teaching literature as well as history. It tapped my mind that these two can’t be separated as we also learn history and culture and other many things through literature, and that’s miraculous. In Freedom Writers Miss G utilizes literary texts to teach Holocaust and help the fix their cold relationship with their classmates. As in the other movie, Hector applies literature heavily to somehow teach history, whereas the new professor, Irwin had more linear way of having them to write good history essays in order to prepare them for Cambridge and Oxford.
The character of Miss G was absolutely well presented as a teacher who was willing to do more for the sake of her students. I was happy to see her change her students’ perception on literature by introducing texts that are familiar to them, such as The Diary of Anna Frank, and took all the trouble to have Anna’s friend share her experience with the students. The issue was really happening nowadays where people are still being racist, which I wonder why they make life more miserable by doing things that are not necessary when they can just walk on the same ground and breathe the same air.
In History Boys, what attracted me so much was Hector, the big, literary scholar. He was indeed an interesting character despite his tendency for harassing his students. Anyway, I think the most crucial thing I learnt from these movies were that different teachers have different approaches in teaching. In this case, they were basically teaching literature as well as history. It tapped my mind that these two can’t be separated as we also learn history and culture and other many things through literature, and that’s miraculous. In Freedom Writers Miss G utilizes literary texts to teach Holocaust and help the fix their cold relationship with their classmates. As in the other movie, Hector applies literature heavily to somehow teach history, whereas the new professor, Irwin had more linear way of having them to write good history essays in order to prepare them for Cambridge and Oxford.
The Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela is an eye opener for all nations of the world. I rarely know things that had happened or are happening in the world if I do not take literature seriously. It is amazing how different genres of writing can affect people that much, especially when it was written by great leaders like Nelson Mandela.
This autobiography is an authorized version and consented by Mandela so we can assume that it is reliable and the information is valid to be read for pleasure or for educational purposes. It is quite trustworthy judging that he is a politician who really fight for his people’s rights and already established a great credibility. It also covered his thoughts and experience living in the society that practiced apartheid. It revealed the dark truth of life then, and acted as a way for him to channel his emotions, share his beliefs and ideas with others.
This autobiography is an authorized version and consented by Mandela so we can assume that it is reliable and the information is valid to be read for pleasure or for educational purposes. It is quite trustworthy judging that he is a politician who really fight for his people’s rights and already established a great credibility. It also covered his thoughts and experience living in the society that practiced apartheid. It revealed the dark truth of life then, and acted as a way for him to channel his emotions, share his beliefs and ideas with others.
Tales, Myths, Legends: Ovid’s Metamorphosis, “Pyramus n Thisbe”
This tale is not foreign to me because we have read it in the play Midsummer Night’s Dream that we learnt in a previous course. That day, Dr. Edwin had assigned En. Abu Bakar to assist us during class. Based on the text given in the compilation book, we were asked to develop a reading text of about 150-200 words and come out with a pre-reading task and two while reading tasks from it.
Throughout the two hours, my partner, Rhodhila and I had written down the simplified version of Pyramus and Thisbe and managed to complete the activities for the reading stages. For the pre-reading activity, we instruct students to underline the names of the characters that appear as teacher reads the story. We decided to ask students to read the story again and identify the plotline as the first while reading activity. They are expected to mark the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and the resolution. Later, for the second task, students are to draw the plotline and write down events that happen at each point.
Completing this short assignment was quite tiring as my partner and I had to crack our heads simplifying the story and design the tasks for the two reading stages. But we were so relieved that we managed to finish on time and later found ourselves smiling at each other, mutually thinking how we could complete such task in merely two hours and how we usually take more time doing it on our own at our cozy rooms. Well, it was quite fun sometimes, looking around the class and saw my friends put up a serious expression and immersed in thoughts with “I’m thinking hard” written on their foreheads. While walking out of the class, I knew what I am capable of doing. Speaking of which, I had learnt to write well, simplifying an archaic text trying not to water down its important events and message plus designing the reading activities. Truly, I grew to love literature more that day.
Throughout the two hours, my partner, Rhodhila and I had written down the simplified version of Pyramus and Thisbe and managed to complete the activities for the reading stages. For the pre-reading activity, we instruct students to underline the names of the characters that appear as teacher reads the story. We decided to ask students to read the story again and identify the plotline as the first while reading activity. They are expected to mark the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and the resolution. Later, for the second task, students are to draw the plotline and write down events that happen at each point.
Completing this short assignment was quite tiring as my partner and I had to crack our heads simplifying the story and design the tasks for the two reading stages. But we were so relieved that we managed to finish on time and later found ourselves smiling at each other, mutually thinking how we could complete such task in merely two hours and how we usually take more time doing it on our own at our cozy rooms. Well, it was quite fun sometimes, looking around the class and saw my friends put up a serious expression and immersed in thoughts with “I’m thinking hard” written on their foreheads. While walking out of the class, I knew what I am capable of doing. Speaking of which, I had learnt to write well, simplifying an archaic text trying not to water down its important events and message plus designing the reading activities. Truly, I grew to love literature more that day.
Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Break, break, break”
After reading this poem twice, I personally think that the persona is Daedalus, the father of Icarus. He is talking about what the people on the land did when his son has fallen down from the sky. Obviously, Daedalus was sad beyond words can express when he witnessed this tragedy but there was nothing he can do. As he weakly watched the ship sailed away, he also witnessed his son’s hands vanished into the water and his voice silenced by the sea, as stated in Stanza 3. Tennyson wrote “Break, break, break” in the first and the last quartet to signify Daedalus’ broken heart that he could not utter his thoughts knowing Icarus was dead and the poor boy would never come back to him. Tennyson also used rhyme scheme that is a, b, c, b to portray the intense emotion and the expressions “O Sea!”, “O well” and “But O for the touch…” as sighs to define Daedalus’ feelings towards the fall of Icarus.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Position paper - The thesis statement
The lecturer had asked us to think of some topics or thesis statements that we wish to analyze. At first, we just write them down in our books for him to see but later we wrote the on the whiteboard and wait for approval. I had come out with some thesis statements from A White Heron and Great Expectations. These are some of my choices:
1. Loyalty to nature should come first before the desire to fulfill our own needs.
2. Innocence made Sylvia choose loyalty to nature.
3. Miss Havisham gains nothing out of her revenge.
4. Estella represents Miss Havisham’s revenge towards men.
I chose to work on the fourth thesis statement because I felt that there are many things to discuss from it.
1. Loyalty to nature should come first before the desire to fulfill our own needs.
2. Innocence made Sylvia choose loyalty to nature.
3. Miss Havisham gains nothing out of her revenge.
4. Estella represents Miss Havisham’s revenge towards men.
I chose to work on the fourth thesis statement because I felt that there are many things to discuss from it.
Tales
Folktales and folklore have always been my favorite since I was about four or five years old. My first piece of literary reading is the famous tale, The Red Riding Hood. I never know it was literature, but I love it and eager to have my sister teach me how to pronounce the words. It was very interesting for me to read by myself then, and later I kept asking for more books to read.
For me, folktales are part and parcel of a child’s growth and that every one of us might have our own favorite tale, no matter whether we have read it somewhere or heard it from our parents as bedtime stories. According to Carl Tomlinson and Carol Lynch-Brown's Essentials of Children's Literature, folktales are stories that grow out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk. They are a form of traditional literature which began as an attempt to explain and understand the natural and spiritual world. Interestingly, the folktales that traveled by land changed a great deal because of the retelling process, while those that traveled by sea were more similar in version.
There are several distinctive elements of folktales. First is the introduction which introduces the leading characters, time/place of the story and the conflict or problem to be faced. These may be short such as "Once upon a time". Setting is also stock such as a road or a palace or in a forest. Then the action mounts steadily until it reaches a climax, where the problem or conflict will be resolved. Typically, the hero or heroine faces many obstacles and is usually reduced to helplessness before the climax. Finally is the conclusion which is usually short and sweet. The heroes and heroines are happy and the villains are punished. One convention conclusion is "and they lived happily ever after." They also appeal to a child's sense of justice – good is rewarded and evil is punished.
For me, folktales are part and parcel of a child’s growth and that every one of us might have our own favorite tale, no matter whether we have read it somewhere or heard it from our parents as bedtime stories. According to Carl Tomlinson and Carol Lynch-Brown's Essentials of Children's Literature, folktales are stories that grow out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk. They are a form of traditional literature which began as an attempt to explain and understand the natural and spiritual world. Interestingly, the folktales that traveled by land changed a great deal because of the retelling process, while those that traveled by sea were more similar in version.
There are several distinctive elements of folktales. First is the introduction which introduces the leading characters, time/place of the story and the conflict or problem to be faced. These may be short such as "Once upon a time". Setting is also stock such as a road or a palace or in a forest. Then the action mounts steadily until it reaches a climax, where the problem or conflict will be resolved. Typically, the hero or heroine faces many obstacles and is usually reduced to helplessness before the climax. Finally is the conclusion which is usually short and sweet. The heroes and heroines are happy and the villains are punished. One convention conclusion is "and they lived happily ever after." They also appeal to a child's sense of justice – good is rewarded and evil is punished.
Daedalus and Icarus - the poem by W. H. Auden
This poem is written by W. H. Auden, based on the painting “The Fall of Icarus” by Peter Breughel that he had seen in the
The poem juxtaposes ordinary events and extraordinary ones, although extraordinary events seem to deflate to everyday ones with his descriptions. Life goes on while a “miraculous birth” occurs, but also while "the disaster" of Icarus's death happens. Even the shepherd, the farmer and the sailors ignored Icarus who has fallen into the sea because they have many other things to do to keep their own survival. This situation painted by Breughel is stated in a form of poem by Auden, which I find done rather metaphorically yet beautifully. I guess they saw him falling and it was actually extraordinary witnessing such a sight but they didn’t care less and continue doing their business.
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