how do i view a teacher...metaphorically

Few days ago, Dr. Edwin asks my class a question, ‘how will you view you yourself as a teacher’? At first I thought he want us to write down our feelings or our view as a teacher and after a few stabbing words on how we don’t understand English or literature finally we understand what he meant was for us to draw an image that metaphorically define our view of how teacher suppose to be or what kind of teacher. I draw a picture of a factory with a sign written ‘inspected by ISO, PTA and S.O.C.I.A.L E.X.P.E.C.T.A.T.I.O.N’ the reason I draw this is because I feel like teachers actually don’t have freedom in shaping the future of the students as they are tied up with all the regulations, red-tape, expectation and requirements so teacher is just like a factory and students is their products. Then I draw an image of a painter with no face and an empty drawing to symbolize the literature teacher. For me in literature both side, teacher and students is the painter and the drawing block that take turns to paint, putting their colour and come out with different drawing but same intentions. The painter with no face and empty drawing is to show that students and teachers can learn from each pother in literature as different person has different ideas and interpretation.

the supervisor for my thesis

Now I’m pursuing my degree, to have a degree right now I’m doing my thesis and I have a supervisor for it and he is Dr. Arshad. It is kind of flattering when you have an important person as the deputy dean to be your supervisor and beside he has teach us last semester for grammar subject he is also my Personal Advisor (P.A) so in a way I know how does he work. I have to admit that he is a very busy person as it’s quite hard to meet him to discuss about our thesis. But when we able to meet him he gave us a well understood instruction and direction for us to complete our thesis. I can say that he is a very nice and caliber man (not I want to ‘bodek’ him) because although I see he is kind of laid back in explaining our question but still his words are firm and well put. Well what I want to say here is I admire how he manage to handle is tight schedule and busyness and still able to make up time for us, now that is professionalism that I think we should look up to

O' Forum

Again this semester we have to involve with the on-line forum at the MELTA website, but this time we are the one in charge of our topic. now we have to initiate a topic that are related with literature and then let other people respond to our topic as we also respond to other people's topic. my topic is 'Literature in science and technology era', i wan5t to discuss on how does literature become relevant to be teach in todays classrooms and what should we tell to students when they ask why should they learn literature.

there are a lot of good, interesting and critical topic that can squeeze my brain cap in the forum, but i think this is a good way for us teachers to discuss about a lot of important thing that relate to our matter of teaching or learning literature. by using this forum i can even discuss with experienced teacher or professor. Beside, it is free, how can it be better right?

oh research paper!!

Finally it has come to this, coming out with a little research for my degree. At first I was kind of blurred out, have no idea what I want to do. After space out for a while I decide I’ll go with Roald Dahl (again, what can I say, I like him). I’ve choose the story ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ and ‘Mrs. Dixby and the Colonel’s coat’. The reason I chose these two stories is because that these two share the same thing, irony. Both have ironies in the plot that really spark my interest in making a research on it. It would be very interesting if you realize that the plainness mood of the story where you didn’t expecting anything drastic and suddenly when you read a line, your view of the story turn 180. my research is on how Roald Dahl make keeping the mood of the story so well that you keep on reading even though there are nothing happen and suddenly you said ‘I really didn’t see it coming…’ and also how doe Roald Dahl’s history and background influence his writing.

A movie that move me

People said that teachers have the heart of steel because they face a lot of challenge in teaching. From my own..well from my father’s experience you do need the heart of steel to become a good teacher. He use to tell me story of parents come to school with machete when their sons been scold or students just don’t want to come your class at all just because they feel like it. I thought I’ve seen (or heard the worst), but after watching the movie ‘Freedom Writers’ (it is based on true story) I guess there are more challenging world for us teachers out there.

Set in the so-called-land of opportunity the story is about a teacher Mrs. G (sorry I couldn’t remember her name) that been accepted in a high school where an integration program become a racial war between the students (Asian, African American, Caucasian, Latinos) although it is just a movie but I know it is true in USA there are place where when you woke up every day the only thing you looking forward to is to survive and be alive for another day. I’m trying imagining what would I feel if I am a teacher in that place where every day is a war even for teachers, a war to keep students interest in study and not letting their morale and judgment succumb to society’s sickness. It is really interesting how Mrs. G taking a step each day trying to make the students keep on coming to class (although it looks clumsy when she try to be as hip as the students). She know students have problems but no wall to write on (although there are students who make graffiti on administration’s office) so she gave them a book to write on as a journal, to write their problem in it and let her read it only if they wanted to. She makes them read the diary of Anne Frank and even find the survivors of the Holocaust (and also the person that help Anne Frank) to tell her students how hard life can be and how strong human will can be. I can see step-by-steps the students change not their life become better in an instant but how they become a better and stronger person. It is a very beautiful and inspiring story especially for us teachers, although Mrs. G lost her marriage due to her commitment to her students (besides her husband cant understand what she is doing) but I think that can be avoided, besides she sacrifice her happiness and gain happiness for her 20 to 30 students, don’t you think she has done a noble things. Don’t you?

Talking about Wall (the poem not the ice cream)

The first impression when I first saw (not even read it yet) this poem by Abdul Ghafar Ibrahim is ‘WOW’, this is a very unique poem not just from its radical form of writing but also its’ content that only have 5 words in the poem. This poem has no stanza and has one line and words written in box-shape matter however when I read it I can see what the poet wanted to show and actually even a beginner reader of poetry also can see what the poem is all about because the way the word ‘the wall’ is constructed and where the line ‘I cannot escape’ is put show the theme of the poem. I can say that the poet succeed very well in conveying his intentions through this poem and with the least choice of words readers still can feel the persona been trapped in the wall. All I can say is that this poem is so simple yet so powerful and beautiful.

Fishermen friends? Not really

It is quite interesting when I was first introduced to this poem, the lecturer only give a stanza from the poem and we have to guess to whom the lines are spoken, who the narrator is and what the poem is all about. Well the class gives a lot of answer and after we read the whole poem then we knows what the poem is all about. The poem is about the life of fishermen that depend on the sea to live even though it is hard, full of challenge and uncertain of what would happen to them at sea. However the title of the poem is very interesting ‘Three Beserah Fishermen’, Beserah is a name of an actual village by the seaside but however it is also a pun as it sounds like the word ‘berserah’ which means surrender. When I read the poem again it does tell about fishermen that surrender their fate and life to the sea. It is really interesting when a poet use such play of words that give both literal and conotated meaning to the poem that it shows how creative the poet is

from a teacher to (a group of) teachers

Just a few days ago Dr. Edwin brought his ex-students who is now a teacher to our class, it’s a session where she will share with us her experience as a teacher and how she incorporating what she has learn throughout he years with Dr. Edwin into her classrooms. Since she is using Dr. Edwin’s note in her classrooms so I can see that she focus more explaining on the teaching of literature in the classroom. At first she told us about her early years in teaching in school. Then she explained to us all of the activities that she has done in the classrooms. I was quite impressed because she is so creative in the she conduct the classrooms. The main activity that she explains is how she asks students to come out with a play. Well to act is one thing but here she asks students to perform a play from scratch where students have to come out with all the dialogues, costumes, setting and etc. When she explain how she guide students to come out with a play even for a low proficiency students, I realize that she really dedicate with what she was doing. She also explains all the hardship that she has to face for a new teacher to conduct such a thing. But I can see that she found that all of her effort is worth it a she told us how the play comes out. Although I laugh mostly when she told her story but I think has made a point that it is possible to use what we have learn here in the classroom in the future. I also realize it is not easy to tackle students’ interest but if we manage to do that it will be very rewarding.

The reflection as I see Deadalus watching Icarus fall

Before I read this short story, I already know about this one guy who tries to fly, made a wing from wax and then fall down because he is too close to the sun, it’s a Greek myth that I learn from a cartoon series (a learn something from the idiot box, what an irony). I never thought it would come a day where I will actually really learn about the story. For me it is an interesting story with the invention of wings from wax and the morale values that I learn when Icarus not listening to Deadalus thus causes him his death. After read the story, my lecturer asks us to find a painting called ‘The Fall of Icarus’. Well we did found the painting (the picture of the painting I mean), the pictures is about a normal day in a business city by the seaside. There are horses, ships and merchants, but the weird part is the part Icarus fall into the sea is just a small part in the painting although the painting is name after the incident. Again it is an irony (I guess there are a lot of irony in my life recently). After a thorough discussion in the classroom about why does Icarus is shown just on a small part in the painting and what is more vividly seen is the activity of the city. After a few ideas (good and ridiculous one) finally some genius manage to explain that the reason the picture were painted that way is to show that even though a death has happen but the life must go on. Well I really never thought of the picture that way but I guess the painter manage to show the theme of his painting very well.

I just realize I'm a sucker for Roald Dahl

Why I made this statement? Well I do like Roald Dahl all this time but I guess it is because I just like to read. This semester I was required to do a research paper and a position paper based on any literature text, and guest what I choose without hesitate for a split second? Roald Dahl’s short stories. I chose to use ‘The Way Up to Heaven’ for my position paper and ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ and ‘Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s coat’ for my research paper. Even for my second teaching package, I and my partner chose to use ‘The Landlady’ as our source. Well why would I become such a fan to this guy? I guess his way presenting his stories that got me hooked. He likes to use a normal start by using typical characters but with a little problem, dilemma or twist to start his story. In ‘The Way Up to Heaven’ Mr. and Mrs. Foster depicted as a normal rich old couple but the lady has a fear of being late while in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Mary and Patrick is a couple having a relationship problems. When he introduce the characters along with their problems or dilemma, my attention are put on the problem but later as the story develop, Roald Dahl will slowly taking the plot to another level and creating a situation that we wouldn’t thought. I really like the usage of irony in his stories because for me the shock that struck me will keep my interest to read and I think if this work for me, it would work for students in secondary school. For me direct short stories without much twist in the plot or irony will make the reading dull and kill the interest to read. Again as a fan of literature and Roald Dahl, you should read his story and see that reading is fun. and with his lots and lots of experience going around the world in his young days (he is a fighter jet pilot during WW1) we can see the side of the world and human that we could not imagine.

getting my thesis statement approved for Position Paper

I never thought that to get my thesis statement approved by my lecturer would feel like Hercules facing the 12 task by Zeus, a lot of rejection and sarcasm by lecturers but hey, that what makes life interesting right, hardship and sarcasm. Well the lecturer did approve my thesis statement ‘Mrs Foster is the symbol of feminism against male chauvinism’ however he not convinced with my supporting points and whether it related to my thesis statement. I saw the reaction of my friends when the lecturer rejects the thesis statement of half of the class when he wipes the white board where we wrote all of our thesis statements; like a wave wiping out the sand castle made by the children on the shore. Well you get the point. At first the lecturer said 2 of my points are not relevant so I change it. Then he said that I need to change the action of the character in the story that I use as points and actually change it into points instead of directly use it as point. Well it took me a week to remix everything that I had and change it into acceptable points. For me this is the first time facing such a requirements from the lecturer in coming out with thesis statements and it is a nice experience for me in pursuing my degree.

Position Paper?Thesis Statement?

Well this 'Project Paper' subject is not a shock as a need to make a thesis for my degree but when I need to submit a position paper, I was quite blur because I really have no idea what it is all about. The after a little bit explanation by Dr Edwin, the position paper is actually like a thesis itself just shorter and the scope is narrower. Now I have to come out with a thesis statement and after a few headaches and burning some midnight oil I decided to become a feminist and my thesis statement is ‘Mrs. Foster is a symbol of feminism against male chauvinism’ base on the short story The way up to heaven by Roald Dahl. Quite ironic right for a guy to come out with a feminist statement against male chauvist, well I find it is an interesting topic from the way Roald Dahl put it in his story and how one need to really understand the understated meaning of the story to get the point. Besides I think a male presenting feminist point could somehow scrape an extra point somewhere in my presentation later, I really hope so because nowadays students would kill for extra marks,hypothetically.