Final Post

This post is going to be the last entry of my journal. Basically, this course has taught me a lot of things. This is my third time writing in blog because we had done this previously, also with Dr. Edwin. The first time I did this was when I was in teacher training college. During that time, we were asked to write one entry per week in a book to be read by our lecturer, Pn.Johana. Personally, I like the idea of writing journal because I used to write in diary. The only difference is this journal is going to be read by Dr. Edwin but my diary; I keep it very closely to myself. This activity allows me to reflect what I had learned and taught me to be more critical in giving my views. I like this activity because I can write everything. I can share my feelings and ideas about certain issues. This activity is good to be introduced to students as teachers will keep track of their students. Teachers will know how their students respond to what had been taught in the classroom, either positively or negatively. In the end, this writing activity can be a medium between teachers and students. Teachers will have chances to understand his/her students better.

Juno

This movie was suggested by our tutor, En. Abu Bakar. He said this was one of his favourite movies. I was excited to watch the movie because I wanted to know why he loved the movie very much. So today, we have a chance to watch “Juno”. I really love the movie probably because the issue presented is quite close to us which is about a pregnant teenager. I admire her strength to continue carrying the baby because I know it is definitely not going to be easy. Furthermore, she is only 16 years old and still studying at school. Even though I love this movie, I think it is quite unrealistic just like my friend, Aida said. This seems to be normal because it is in the movie but I don’t think in real life parents will be cool and supportive like what her parents have done. In our culture, some parents may ask their daughter to abort the baby because of shame. Or even if they allow their daughter to carry the child, once the baby is born, they will give it to adopted parents. Whatever it is, I love the movie. I can feel how the married couple especially the wife who really wants to have a child but they still do not have. The moment when Juno saw her and promised her to give the baby, she looks extremely happy and grateful. This movie probably can be used by teachers to discuss the social issues that occur around us.

The Historian Boys

Apart from ‘Freedom Writers’, we have also watched ‘The Historian Boys’. The first time I watch it, I did not understand much of the dialogues. It is not because the thick British accent that they use. But it is more to the content of the dialogue. I tried very hard to comprehend what all the characters were talking about. Most of the time, I got lost. My friends and I think that this movie is meant for higher level students so probably that’s why we have problem to understand the storyline. All that I know was the boys were finished studying at the college but they came back to prepare themselves for entering Oxford college, one of the prestige colleges around the world. One of the teachers, Hector who is the old teacher prepared the boys for the real world. This was reflected when one of the students asked him about what they were learning because they did not understand and he replied ‘you will understand soon’. The idea here is we as students might not see or understand what we are learning now but actually all the things that we learn now is to prepare us in the future. This is related to our life as well because sometimes we ask ourselves, what’s the use or function of learning so many things when we don’t see the relevance of learning it? However, as time goes by I believe that we will learn new things and realize the importance of education. Like Dr. Edwin said, “we as teachers can prepare students for whatever but we cannot guarantee what our students are going to be”.

Watching movie: Freedom Writer

Last week, Dr Edwin was not around so he assigned us to watch two movies. The first one was Freedom Writer and the second was History Boys.The two movies were basically about the lives of teachers and students. I really like the first movie. The teacher, who is called Miss. G by her students, was very dedicated and committed with her work. I try to imagine myself being in her shoes. I don’t think I have the courage or strong enough to face different behaviours of the students. She was very enthusiastic on the first day of her teaching. At first, I bet her attitude was only for a while because she had never been exposed to the real experience of teaching. That is why she seems so naïve.

However, throughout the movie, I can see that she never gives up on her students because she strongly believes all her students can contribute something to their own community as well as country. I like the scene where she had an activity with her students that required them to step on the middle line whenever they gave the right answer. I assumed that the activity was to prove to them that in the end, everyone is the same regardless of what colour their skin are. It really does not matter whether we are Chinese, Jews, Spanish or African American. However, I know that we cannot fully blame all these students because they have their own roots and history that shaped them to become who they are. For instance, one of the students Eva Benitez was a problematic teenage girl because her mother died when she was child and her father was put in prison for a crime that he did not commit. Since then, she believed that they were treated unfairly and that caused her to go against the rule.

Another example was one African American student, Jamal was her name if I’m not mistaken who was accused of killing his friend and was locked up in prison. When the truth revealed, I feel sorry for his character and I was also shocked to see that young kids like he and his friend can keep gun. Here, I think it was probably because they felt a bit more secure if they own gun to protect themselves from their enemy. Overall, using movies to teach in classroom can be one of the effective tools because students usually learn better when they can see the characters. Besides, it runs away from the traditional concept of teaching which use chalk and talk.

Presenting Position Paper

Today, I presented my position paper which is based on the story A Streetcar Named Desire. I was the second last person who presented. Only God knew how nervous I was at that time and I admit that I was shaking. Even though we had been used to so many presentations, I still feel nervous especially because it is Dr. Edwin’s subject. However, I wasn’t really satisfied with my last point which is ‘Blanche refuses to accept that she uses her own body to get attention from men’. In my written assignment I only wrote she runs after men by men to get accompaniment and when other people discover about her social life, she claims it was just panic that drove her from one to another man. I didn’t argue much about this point or shows how this denial relates to her refusal to accept reality and trapped her in world of illusion. After I submit the paper, I just realize that I probably can write a few things to support my last statement. For instance, Blanche’s inability to forget the past that make her runs after men by men. She is still haunted by her memories with Allan and that causes her to live in world of illusion where in this world, she is desired and admired by men. I am not sure if this will make any difference to my assignment but I hope so. In terms of oral presentation, I think I managed to do it well because Dr. Edwin gave me 4 out of 5 marks and I am happy with the mark. He did not comment on my presentation but still I have to wait for him to check on my written assignment. Our written assignment determines our final mark as it contributes 25%.

Letter by Vincent VanGough to his brother, Theo

We have read two letters from Vincent VanGough to his brother, Theo. The first one is quite funny in terms of the way he wrote that letter. He advised his brother to have a very good appetite and eat bread a lot. Towards the end of the letter, he asked his brother to send his regards to anyone that know him. Well, this might seem usual to anyone but the way he wrote it appears to be hilarious to me. However, through this letter we can see how close these two brother’s relationship. They concern about each other and they also share a strong passion in art. In the second letter that we learned, we discovered that Vincent was ill but he promised to his brother to act like nothing happens. His keen and passion towards art is clearly seen when he said, “People like me should not be ill. I would like to make it perfectly clear to you how I look at art. To get the essence of things one must work long and hard. I want to make drawings that tough some people”. To me, an artist is also a thinker because he/ she presented their thoughts through art. But their real challenge is to present their thoughts in an understandable manner because not all people can appreciate art (drawing) since it is very abstract. Only those who have interest and knowledge in art can appreciate their work. The same thing goes to literature. Those who study literature will see the beauty of language because they are exposed to various kinds of literary works but those who do not know literature at all will simply claim it is boring and difficult. This is not wrong but only a different perception that one has on certain thing.

Letter by John Keats to Fanny Brawne

I feel lucky because I can read a letter which was written in 1819. During this time, letter must be a very important medium to connect people especially for those who live far away from each other. However, this letter which was written by John Keats is special because the person whom he wrote this letter to was only living the next door. His letter is very lyrical and poetry and he uses beautiful images to express his feelings. He mentioned if he did not get the next kiss, his life would be miserable. This letter shows the strong and passionate love that Keats feels towards Brawne. If we compare this situation to today’s life, we can see how technology takes place in our life. Nowadays, people prefer to use SMS, e-mail, chatting to interact to people instead of letter. Maybe because letters take time. To me, letters have their own sentimental value. I used to collect letters and cards from my friends because I really appreciate what they have written to me and I still keep the collection until now. Even though they had turn to yellow-brownish colour, I feel happy each time I read them because they remind me of my past memories; the good and bad ones. I appreciate the effort and time that they spent on writing letters. On the contrary, as we live in a world that is full of technology, I admit that using this modern technology is much more easier and faster.

Meeting Miss Shu Jien

Last week, Dr. Edwin invited one of his ex-students to share her teaching experience with us. According to him, this person was special because she believes that whatever that we practised in the universities, I mean during our micro teaching and so on can be applied in classroom. I find it quite interesting because there are some teachers who have problems in applying what they have learned while they were in teacher training because they said it is not suitable and the situation is different. Miss Shu Jien introduced herself. She had been teaching for 14 years and now she is still a secondary school teacher and at the same time continuing her master in literature. She had taught some schools in urban and rural area. According to her, students need time to accept literature as part of their syllabus because for all of this time, they have been used to the concept of right and wrong when they answer question. Whereas there is no right and wrong in literature. So, they need time to accept this new concept. Therefore, don’t expect our students to like literature immediately. She applied whatever had been taught to her while she was studying in the universities. She did ask her Form Two students to come out with the play “Phantom of The Opera”. She asked them to select their group members, choose their director, scriptwriter, actors and actresses and the prop members. I am fascinated with her because I don’t think that Form Two students can come out with play. But she proves that she had done it successfully. All her students participate in the play and they claimed a lot of things they learned from the activity. Well, I am amazed because when I was in secondary school, I never had such experience but now, I believe whatever activities that we had done either in the universities or teacher training college can applied in classroom. However, I admit that it is not going to be an easy task. A lot of time and money will be spent to ensure its success. Miss Shu Jien also told us to do whatever that we think can work for our students and don’t easily get discouraged when others against you. Have confidence in ourselves and proves to others that we can create miracle if we want. Yes, it might sound an imagination, but I believe when there is a will, there will always be the way.

Finally, I have chosen topic for research paper...

Previously, I have written in this blog that I was torn into two; either to do William Blake or Wilfred Owen. Finally I made up my mind to do on Wilfred Owen, the famous war poet ever. Some of my friends asked me the reason for choosing poem instead of short story or novels. I also question myself the same thing but seriously I didn’t know why. I am not good when it comes to poems because I always have problems in understanding the underlying meaning of such poets especially Shakespeare. But I think this might give me a challenge because I work on something that I never thought I would do. For my research paper, I plan to compare the writing style between two war poets; Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke. After I went through all their works, I decided to compare and contrast “Dulcet Et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen and “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke. The message of these poems is basically about war. Thus, I am interested to know why Wilfred Owen views war negatively whereas Brooke’s poem is full of patriotism. Doest it has anything to do with their background? All I know is both poets live during the World War One. Wilfred Owen had the experience of being in the front line while was in war and he got injured a few times. On the contrary, Brooke also went to war but he went at the beginning of war which was before the reality of war was known.

Watching classmates’ presentation

Finally, all of us have presented our position paper. I was lucky to be chosen to present my work on the first week. Lots of things I can see from my friends’ presentations. Some of them have ideas but their argument is not strong enough to support their ideas. They were able to find the textual evidence but they do not elaborate it well or relate it to their thesis statement. However, there are also a few of my friends whom I think successfully presented their thoughts because they were able to relate them to their thesis statement. As I reflect my paper, I think there are also one or two points that I did not elaborate well because I only stop after providing the evidence. I do not show how this evidence is connected to the point. So my argument is not strong and I plan to redo it since Dr. Edwin still give us a chance until the end of this week to resubmit our position paper. After all presentations, Dr. Edwin made his comments. He said we are still immature in our discussion. Besides, he advised us not to judge characters based on conventional notion. We cannot say this person or that person is good or bad simply because there are no such things as good or bad people. Everyone has their own flaws but it does not mean they are bad people. In addition, he reminded us to be extra careful with our language because we are going to be English Teachers, not English learners. This is why it’s important to listen to our speech and be aware of what we are saying. He believes that we can do it, that we can be great teachers but we need to improve ourselves. There is still room for improvement if we have the intrinsic motivation to change for the better.

Diaries

Last Tuesday, we learned about diaries. Dr. Edwin asked us a few questions about the topic but one of his questions draw my attention. His question was “how diary is different to autobiography?” A few of us came out with various answers but none manage to tell the difference between these two genres because if we look at the superficial level, both diary and autobiography may look the same. Both contain the inner thought and the experience of the writer. But how are they different? Luckily, Fariha successfully gave him the right answer which was quite easy actually. I don’t know why I don’t think of that reason in the first place. Diary is private and confidential whereas autobiography is meant for others to read. As for diaries, we are our own readers, but for autobiographies, they are written to be published and read by others. Learning this topic reflects my own experience. I love to write in diary but lately I don’t write at all because I have been busy doing other things. To some people, it may look stupid or childish because if you feel angry or sad at other people, you should tell the other person so that they know your feelings. However, to me, letting everything in the diary does help me to stabilize my emotion because whenever I write, I feel relaxed because I manage to express my anger, sadness, or any negative feelings without hurting other people. I think this is better than some people who prefer to keep everything inside their heart because you know that this person will going to explode everything like a bomb when they can no longer deal with their mixed feelings.

The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela

For the upcoming lesson, we were assigned to read the autobiography of Nelson Mandela and answer some questions on the topic of autobiography. The title of the autobiography is “The Long Walk to Freedom”. After I read it, I sympathize him for the way he was treated while in prison. His passion for other’s equality even though he was in prison impressed me. This reflects his responsibility as politician and especially the president of Africa. Well, some may say that this autobiography is unreliable because it was written from the point of view of the author. So, we cannot sure whether such writers really write the truth or exaggerate to make their story more dramatic. However, I feel that there is a sense of truth in his story because as Kuo Wei said, he managed to describe events in detail and when I read it, I feel that his story was real. On the contrary, I feel dissatisfied because I have limited time to search for reference on the Internet regarding Nelson Mandela. I admit that I know nothing about him except that he was the president of Africa. So, I feel that if I have some extra knowledge about him and his contributions, I will be able to decide whether this autobiography is reliable or not.

Malaysian Celebrations

On 14/2/08, Dr. Edwin’s class was quite different from any other classes. When we entered the class, suddenly he asked us to list down Malaysian Celebrations. It was quite interesting but I still have no idea what he was going to teach because in the previous lesson, he asked us to answer some questions about autobiography. So, I thought, he will start his lesson by looking at our answers but he said he would do that after we discussed about Malaysian Celebrations. At first, we were asked to list down these celebrations on a piece of paper. So, I have listed about 15 celebrations.
Then, Dr. Edwin asked a few of my friends to write their answers on board and classify the celebrations according to groups. It can either be race, religion or culture. To me, this activity is very interesting and informational because it exposes us to many kinds of celebrations. Thus, I am grateful and admit how unique living in Malaysia because we are able to see different festivals, celebrations and cultures around us. Only after that Dr. Edwin claimed his purpose of this activity. He said he wanted to publish a book on it about Malaysian Celebrations. I also feel proud because we contributed on his project even though our contribution is only a little. By the end of the lesson, he gave us a task which is to identify any information/ pictures regarding the celebration that we are assigned to do. In my case, I was given the event ‘Awal Muharam’ and my group members are Adibah and Rhodhila.

Finding Topic for Research Paper

Finding topic for research paper is harder than what I think. It’s not that easy compared to position paper. I think it’s because this time, we need to compare two texts. Therefore, our focus will be wider. However, for this assignment we can also put our references that we use in order to complete this assignment. Therefore, it helps to make this assignment longer and KUKUH. Actually, I have been thinking about the topic all the time but I still cannot find the suitable one. I asked a few of my friends to see what story they have chosen. Some of them did Educating Rita and Pygmalion, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice, Kate Chopin’s short stories, and many more.

For this assignment, I will be supervised by Dr. Nooreen Noordin. Before the break, she had a meeting with us to see our progress. After the meeting, I had a quite clear picture about some of her requirements; we can focus on one topic if we want as long as we make a deep research about it and the step to come out with a research paper is similar to position paper. The first thing that we must do is to write a thesis statement that will sum up everything about our research. Up to this point, I still haven’t chosen my topic because I am torn between these two poets; Wilfred Owen and William Blake. Well, Wilfred Owen is one of my choices because he was known as war poets. All his poems deal with issues of war. His poems are special and different from other poets because he wrote these poems based on his experiences going to war. So, this is why his poems are all about the futility of war and even though his choice of words is quite difficult to understand sometimes, it motivates me to keep on reading to get the underlying messages. On the contrary, I’m also interested to do a research on William Blake regarding his poem, “The Chimney Sweeper”. This poem deals with issue of child labour which is also attracts my attention. I hope by the end of this week, I can make a decision on which story should I go for.

THESIS STATEMENT

One of our assignments for this semester is to write a position paper. The first thing that we all should do is to come out with a thesis statement that will summarize our focus on the story. I choose to do the story “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams. At first, I had difficulty in producing my thesis statement because I was not very clear with it even we had learned about it before. What I mean here is the way to write a thesis statement. At that moment, I had two issues that I wanted to focus on but I haven’t decided which one is the best. So, I created two thesis statements; the first one regarding the character of Stanley which is “Violence is Stanley’s way of showing power over women” and the second one regarding the character of Blanche which is “Blanche’s refusal to accept reality trapped her in world of fantasy”. During the class, Dr. Edwin asked all of us to write our thesis statement on the board. I think this is very effective activity for both the lecturer and the students as it saves a lot of time. For lecturer, it makes Dr. Edwin’s work easier because he can look at many thesis statements and corrected them at the same time as they were written on the board. As for the students, we can learn something from our friends’ thesis statement. Besides, we will know what story that our friends work on.

Talking about my thesis statement, I choose to write on the first one. Dr. Edwin liked my last sentence ‘…power over women’ but he did not like me to use the word ‘showing power’ and asked me to replace it with something else. So, I changed the word with ‘using power’ but he still did not approve it. Then, I decided to write my second thesis statement on the board because I think it sounds better than the first one. Luckily, Dr. Edwin accepted it and I was happy!

Intan Shuhada Masri
134186

This Is Just To Say

I admit that sometimes I feel scared in Dr. Edwin’s class even though there’s nothing wrong with him or his teaching. However, no matter how scared I am, I always enjoy his class because I feel lots of input was given to me. For instance, in the previous lesson, we learned something about the poem “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams. Honestly, before he explained to us what the poem was all about, I never imagined that it could have other meaning which has something to do with sex. When I first looked at the poem, I just read it, understood it, and perceived plums as fruits and nothing else. Only after Dr. Edwin’s explanation that I started to see the poem in a different way. Now, I realize and more appreciate the beauty and the ambiguity of words and how sometimes, we can fooled by the use of certain words, even simple word like ‘plums’.

Intan Shuhada Masri
134186

Daedalus and Icarus

We were asked by Dr. Edwin to find pictures of “The Fall of Icarus” on the internet. I found many pictures about this but I didn’t know which kind of picture that Dr. Edwin preferred. There are two pictures that caught my attention which are pictures of two men who were flying but one of them was nearly fell down to earth. So, I am very confident that these were the pictures which Dr. Edwin wanted to see. Unfortunately, I was wrong! The right picture was a picture that consists of farmers with their horses and also a ship which was sailing to their destination. In the first place, I never think that this picture could have any relation to the story but after I looked at it a few times, I realized that there was a drowning man who was probably asking for help. However, nobody heard it or probably pretend not to hear it. According to what I have read on the internet, the farmers might pretend that they heard nothing because the death of the man brought nothing to them. His death is not an important failure to them. The same thing goes to the ship that might have seen Icarus but they just ignored him because they need to reach their destination. After I relate and recheck the image with the story in the textbook, I just realize that this is the appropriate picture to represent the story.

Intan Shuhada Masri
134186