Review of the course

When I take out again our coursebook, I see it consists 108 pages, with different styles of writings and works. Those texts are of various genre such as tales, myths, legends, poems of feminist writings, autobiography, diaries, letters, the essay, speech, parody, limericks and a short guide to writing about literature.

EDU3234 brings me an intense and deep study of texts for its function served in the literature classroom rather than merely its writing styles and formats. Every time when I sat in for the lecture, I felt myself getting more inspiration and it seemed to be never ending questionings and thinkings with Dr Edwin's lectures.

And I know that he is trying his every way to teach us and guide us to be a REAL teacher. A teacher who concerns about students' needs but not syllabus needs; A teacher who can open up the students' minds but not spoon-feeding them; A teacher who leads students to be responsible for their own learning and not whom to tell them every single steps to take. And apart from it all, a teacher who teaches students how to read, appreciate the words and texts as well as the life we live in.

Thank you Dr Edwin for teaching us throughout the years and offering this pleasant course to all of us!

The Devil's Dictionary

We are introduced with Ambrose Bierce's greatest work in his life--"The Devil's Dictionary". He was said to be a very cynical person who hated of mankind.

This greatest work of all in his life time actually started off in a weekly paper in 1881, at where he had a column to write and define term with his own satire, irreverence and a lack of inhibition view. Then, later his compiling of all the terms and published as "The Devil's Dictionary" which made him famous until today. According to Wikipedia, The Devil's Dictionary has inspired many imitations both in its day and more recently. Recent examples include The Computer Contradictionary, The Devil's Dictionary X and Lucifer's Lexicon.

I found this dictionary quite interesting as normally we are advised to see things happened around us in positive perception. However, Bierce redefined things as what he perceived through his experience, quite pessimistic, I think and very ironic as he disliked life but he was living in it once. And I think for some human like us, somehow or rather, we tend to feel like the same way he perceived things to be. I guess that's why "The Devil's Dictionary" became popular.

Let's see some examples of some terms that he defined, "Life"-- A spiritual pickle preserving in the body from decay. We live in daily apprehension of its loss; yet when lost it is not missed. Bierce redefined the term "life" and afterwards people started questioning:"Is life worth living?" which left a great impact to the society.

Also, "Love"-- A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder. This disease, like caries and many other ailments, is prevalent only among civilized races living under artificial conditions; barbarous nations breathing pure air and eating simple food enjoy immunity from its ravages. It is sometimes fatal, but more frequently to the physician than to the patient. He viewed "love" as a kind of disease and disaster rather than an intense feeling which makes people feel happy most of the time.

Well, I guess Dr Edwin introduced this type of parody to us is to inspire us and remind us to always "think outside the box". There are many ways one can perceive a thing, however, it depends very much on which one we choose to see it as.

Fun lesson we have today

Today we were taught about two kinds of rhythmic literary works, which are parody and limericks. And later we were asked to write a limerick in a group. Overall, there are eight groups formed in the class and I've copied those which are quite interesting to me. Let's have a look~~~

1) There once was a lecturer from Serdang
All the while she hoped she was in Pulau Redang
So she went there
And had an affair
That stern lecturer from Serdang

2) There once was an old man from Taiping
All this while he hoped to marry Siew Ching
So he proposed to her in town
And she coldly turned him down
That poor old man from Taiping

And our group wrote these:

1) There once was a man from West
All this while he thought he was the best
So he went for a fight
To prove himself right
But he ended up last among the rest

2) I once met a girl from UPM
Every day she slept at 4 am
But whenever she had a test
The girl just had to rest
That strange nocturnal girl from UPM

We have had fun during the class and we didn't even feel the times passed and the class ended soon. The lesson was interesting and can trigger the interest to learn among the students, even the Low English Proficiency Students. As we discussed further on about using limerick in classroom, I found that indeed there are many advantages and benefits to the students. The students can learn to respect each other through the discussion and communication as well as integration flow well among the students. I guess this can proper positive tie among the students' relationship.

Also , this activity can help the students to learn the aspect of the language such as vocabulary and grammar through a very relaxing and fun way, which will lower their level of anxiety. It is essential for an educator like us to identify various activity that can help the students in learning in which related to themselves. I will definitely try out this activity with my students in the future.

I wish to be an apple tree......

It was quite imaginative for us to symbolize ourselves, teachers-to-be as something else during today class. At first, I thought it is just how Dr Edwin wants know how creative we can be. But then, this activity slowly changed my perception as he actually wants us to know ourselves as a teacher, what we can be and we can do for the students.

Most of us wants to be guidance and knowledge provider which stand a wide range of metaphor from living things to non living things such as to be a star, a candle, a thread, a compass, a pair of eyes, a library, ATM machine, sky, water, an angel, a mountain and an ocean. As for me, I'm ranged under this category which is an apple tree that literally full of essential mineral for human's life and the tree can be shelter for people.

There are also some of the course mates who would like to be the sun, the light at the end of the horizon, an umbrella, a shepherd, spectacles and engineer as they wish to be the hope and protector to the students.

I found it quite interesting when someone said she wants to be fire as at first I've negative connotation of it which will burn the students. However, it turns out to be the courage giver and supporter. Also, two who said they wish to be tv and the wind, they gave me a sense of unsureness as tv could stands for 'idiot box' and wind could be 'uncertainty'. Doubts aroused in my mind like: Do we wish our students to be fool? Of course not! It just doesn't convince me when they actually explained that they want to provide students' neccessary information and right path in the way of their life as both the tv and the wind just don't seem to me that indicate such meanings. Yet, we do have a lot of laughters and reflection gained through the lesson.

Reflection on movie "The Road Home"

This movie starts with the discussion between the protagonist and the villagers of Sanhetun about the arrangement of the protagonist's father's death. They were figuring out the way to take the dead body back as the mother insists on carrying the dead all the way from the hospital in the city to home in the village as it is an old tradition and custom to follow.

Though the movie focused on the little romance between the protagonist's parents when they were young. However, the impact of the protagonist's father as a teacher to the students is the part where stirred my thought.

As a teacher came from city, I think the protagonist's father adapted himself well with the life in a village. He didn't discriminate the villagers who are poor and uneducated. When the villagers decided to build a classroom for the young kids to study, the teacher involved himself in helping to build the classroom. He didn't distant himself from the villagers, however, he tried to know them, he walked the students back home and also accepted the offer of having meal at their house everyday. He displayed a good image as a teacher and I guess that's why he left a enormous impact on the villagers.

I think the protagonist's father-the teacher didn't even realize that he had such a numerous influence or the long-term effects that he left to the students. When the ceremony of bringing him back to the village was carried, his students came from other cities, some even traveled from faraway city,Guangzhou came to join the funeral even it was in the winter. Also, in the end, the students paid the undertakers and all the expenses. I think these acts not only explained the students' love and respect to the teacher, it also tells us that the teacher everlasting influence within the students which constrained the students to go back to the village and paid the last respect to the teacher.

This reveals that as a teacher, we will never know how much and how deep the long-term effects we have had to the students' life. It actually encourages me to be a good teacher, the one that inspire and motivate the students. I really wish that I can help the students especially those have been through the dark side of life.

My presentation

For our tutorial session started last week, we are asked to do oral presentation based on our position paper. As for me, I have done it this week. Mr Omid commented that my introduction and conclusion wasn't really clear enough to support my thesis statement. I guess this also lead me to have a few marks deduced.........

However, I think it's really useful for us to present our position paper in such a way. Firstly, people can get to understand and know the topic that we are doing and secondly, it is a way to train us to be brave, confident and prepared on stage as a teacher-to-be. I found some of my course mates have pretty interesting presentation like Punitha. I think she is assertive and very sure of herself on stage when she presented and also Hidayah Jumat, her thesis statement and the topic of "The Great Injustice" really caught my attention throughout her presentation.

I have done my position paper and now I started to worry about my research paper which is going to due like within one month. Most importantly, I need some rest before I can continue my journey. Chaos and good luck for me!

Andy Warhol is an INSPIRATION!!

Watching the video clips about the works of Andy Warhol was an inspiration to me. Even though it was a documentary video clips which isn't fun and entertaning as most commercial video, I felt surprised and amazed by his works as the more I watched, just like watching the fireworks during count-down, there are so many different type of achievement that he accomplished in his life.

How should I address him? An artist? A painter? Commercial illustrator? Producer? An Author? A designer? A famous person? He is ALL of these. He painted and painted a lot of great paintings like the portraits of celebrities:Marilyn Monroe, Liss and Alvis Presley. Also, the idea of the concept paintings like "Fear of Death" and religious paintings of Christianity. He designed and illustrated many commercial products and made his own style to the brand--Campbell, Brillo, Kelloyg and Mott. He also produced films and music. And also, as an author, he wrote and displayed his personal and cultural observations.WOW, so amazing to find such a person with great talent famous across decades!! Andy Warhol is truly a life inspiration!

When I was watching the video, there was a question came across my mind--"What kind of person is he like?" Well, from his works, I figured out that he is very passionate to his life and his work. He is sensible, innovative, daring, creative, sensitive, clever, ingenious and artistic. That is why he is special, his works are unique, amazing and fabulous. He is famous because he is marvelous.

I think I'm going to use him as a model to teach in my classroom as I think he has the influence to this world and hopefully my students will be inspired and motivated by him. wow, wOw, WOW! This is the only blog I used the most adjectives to describe a person. He is just so inspiring!!

Nelson Mandela's autobiography

In my opinion, an autobiography is a written work that based entirely on the writer's memory and perception, something which is similar to a diary. It tells about matters like who you are in life, what life means to you and what your outlook on the future is.

Reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography--“Long Walk to Freedom” didn't bring me any pleasure but in fact some thinking and reflection on my life. Perhaps I'm in a wonderful country and society which I didn't face the treatment and discrimination, so I couldn't really understand how does it feel like to be discriminated. Well, from his autobiography, imagination starts in my mind, figuring the situation he was in the prison, longing so much to be free physically and also spiritually.

The situation of Apartheid happened a lot in many countries all over the world even till today. People just couldn't get rid of the mindset of different skin colour we have. It makes life miserable for everyone. It is very judgemental to look down on a person just because of the skin colour that he or she is. As for Nelson Mandela, the battle is far more challenging despite that he is a black in South Africa. He was asked to wear "short" in the prison in Robben Island,which is a great insult to the black people as it represents that society perceived them as immature and lower class. When I read until this part, feeling of sadness arouses inside me. The colonists want to show their superiority and greatness through downgrading the black which to me is an very immature and irrational act. They are just like some kids who wants to show their power and ability to conquer through humiliating and criticising other. What a shame!

I think it is great for Nelson Mandela to refuse the treatment even he has to be punished for that. As it shows his unity and courage to defend and protest their comrade's right. It would be a great injustice to the black if he put on the short just for his own goodness sake as it shows that he is betraying his own people for his own reason. This is also a lesson for us to learn as we are bound of our own ethnic. We should always stand for own pride and do not give up our right by surrender to what it seemed to be strong and empowered. In fat, the greatest power in this world is within ourselves.

Nelson Mandela stands for his people, courage and freedom to right!Nelson Mandela, I really salute him for that.

Meeting with Supervisor

Let me introduce my supervisor, he is the lecturer of this course and he is noticeable for literature and methodology in teaching. I guess I'm glad to have him as my supervisor for the reasearch paper writing. The first meeting I thought I have to prepare some kind of outline draft to show him about the topic that I wished to do. Nevertheless, it was rejected. I have chosen "The storm" by Kate Chopin and "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner. Accoring to Dr Edwin, there isn't any obvious connection between two texts and it'll be hard to explode on the topics. Even though my draft was rejected for the very first time I met him, it is indeed very helpful for him to do so as I will not be lost and clueless if I go on with my own ideas. I guess that's why we need a supervisor to watch over us especially on the first step we are going to take off in doing this research paper.

Reading of tales..........

We are assigned to read several tales in the course books which include "Mahabharata", "The Son of the Turtle-Spirit" and some Aesop's Fables. I thought this idea was really nice, as I think reading tales is a pleasure, and also relaxing. Certainly, there are some tasks for us after reading too, which is to figure out some answers of the questions related to the tales.

The more I read about the tale, the more I found about the moral values and its implication to the readers' life. The creation of tale is a way of expressing myths, legends or even some fantasy idea that we have had sometimes in our life. That was what I thought! So, for me, reading tales are like reading someone's piece of mind. However, this time with the task that we need to fulfilled beside reading. It actually lead me to think about the uses and purposes of the tales in our society. Then, I started to realize that, in fact, we give advices or criticize some behaviors or mindset that are thought to be destructive to our society through the reading of the tales.

For example, in "Mahabharata", I figured out that it reminds us the important virtue of our life-to hold on our promise, do not be greedy and be satisfied with what we already have. As for "The Son of the Turtle-Spirit", it tells us about some violence and dark side matters happened in our society, then how can it be used to teach us moral values? Therefore, I come to understand that also by understanding the personality of the characters, we learn that do not follow what it to be wrong and always reflect our own behaviour.

Well, I guess I gained pretty much insights and have my knowledge expended on the tales. Thanks to Dr. Edwin!It'll never be the same for the second times reading even with the same text,I guess.

Thesis Statement of position paper

For today's tutorial session, we discuss about the thesis statement that you have drafted. It seems to me that most of the course mates have their thesis statement made through the inspiration of the issue in the text. However, for my thesis statement, I think I still need to work on it as the tutor, Mr Omid commented that it might not have enough supporting details for the thesis statement.

Anyway, through the activity of editing thesis statement together in class, I found it very helpful for us to proceed our writing of the paper as we might not even know our limitation and grammatical errors until we are corrected by the rest of the course mates.

Also, I feel lucky to find out that Punitha, Faezah, Yen Yi and Rose are doing the same topic as mine,which is "Boys and Girls" by Alice Munro. I first felt that to do the position paper is very hard for me, but now with Mr Omid's suggestion that we can sit in a group to discuss our position paper on the rest of the tutorial classes, I really feel less burden and pressure. Good luck to all!

First draft of position paper

Our third tutorial with Mr Omid today was discussion of the thesis statement from our course mates. He has called out plenty of course mates to write their thesis statement on the board and later we discussed together whether the thesis statement is suitable or can be improved.

I think this activity actually helped us to identify the central idea of the thesis statement wrote on the board by the course mates. It has inspired me on the issues that are to be discussed regarding the thesis statement written. Mr Omid has pointed out a very useful tips that we should not look at the text from just one perspectives, which is likely to "top down" model. however, we should have examined the text from different views and conclude as a whole so as to produce a good thesis statement, which is very similar to "bottom up" model.

Later, he also provided two samples of outlining the draft of the position paper because we thought that it can be done in "point form" or "notes form" and we just prepare a brief outline of the draft. Somehow or rather, I think that we still need a lot of knowledge about preparing a position paper and I am think ing of borrowing some reference books from the library later.

A poem by W. H. Auden. --Musee des Beaux Arts

By reading the title of the poem, it is from French. The title of the poem means "Museum of fine Arts". I think it actually refers to the text about the story of Icarus who didn't listen to his father's advices of flying low to avoid the heat of the sun. Somehow or rather, the picture shows the foolishness of a man for not listening to the advices.

There is a picture which painted by William Carlos William on 1936 based on W.H Auden's poem about the fall of Icarus. The poem has taught a lesson on human's foolishness and disobedience and the paintings is meant to be a reminder for human's foolishness. It shows no changes to the world when one thinks that he or she is majestic and powerful.And when the downfall of the person happens, people would not felt sorry or regret on losing such a person as the world still remain the same.

As for me, I think the paintings and the poem can be a very essential material in teaching literature and moral values in the English classroom and I would like to use it as a source of material in my teaching.

Tutorial Session 2

The tutorial today has brought me one step further into the knowledge of writing the appropriate thesis statement regarding to the literary text chosen. We were examining the love story of "Pyramus and Thisbe" in Ovid's Metamorphosis to find the thesis statement of the story. I noticed that from the same story that I read with my course mates, there are several thesis statements that we can made from many different point of views.

For example: "The possessive love between Pyramus and Thisbe leads to foolishness in their action(s)." The supporting ideas are surrounded with the explanation of the possessive love described by the writer and several foolishness in the characters' action.

Also, there is a coursemate who has makes a thesis statement from a different points of view, which is " The pains are more than happiness in Pyramus and Thisbe's love". All the pains that the characters have encountered in the love became the suporting ideas of this statement.

As for myself, I have came up with the statement of "Pyramus and Thisbe's love has led them to make unwise decisions that resulted them to commit suicide." As for the moment, I still think this statement can be implemented to become a better one. Therefore, I will talk about it with sufficient supporting ideas that discovered the unwise decisions the characters have made in the story.

All in all, the Session 2 tutorial has helped me much in the progress of drafting out my position paper with the relationship between the thesis statement and the supporting ideas explained by our tutor.

Hello EDU3234,Goodbye EDU3217

We have done the course of EDU3217 Teaching the language of drama with Dr. Edwin last semester and TODAY with the same lecturer, we are introduced to another TESL course, EDU3234, which is entitled "Readings and Project Work for Teaching Literature". So, HELLO EDU 3234, and GOODBYE EDU3217.

As far as I know about the course, all of us need to do a brief research paper regarding at least two literary texts that we have learned throughout TESL courses and also a position paper. That's a real big concern of mine!

Our Iranian tutor for this course, Omid was introduced to us on our first meeting with Dr. Edwin. I don't know how would it be to have the tutorial class with him. I just hope that I can understand the language came from him for I am not really a good listeners.*Sigh!!*

The first meeting with Dr. Edwin was an introduction about the course and things that we would do for this course. As usual, the e-forum is still an assessment for all of us. (I actually like it as I thought I wouldn't) However, there is basically no examination for this course and the evaluation is mostly depends on the position paper and research paper.

In fact, I was wondering about the texts to be chosen for the position papers so I decided to start out by revising all the listed texts. For now, I have chosen "Barn Burning"by William Faulkner to be my topic of research paper. As for the position paper, I will have to discuss with Mr Omid whether he will provide a list of choices or we can choose the topic our own. So, right now I just start out with revising the texts and list down the problems or the issues discussed in the texts.