Freedom Writers: Journals

Freedom writers really showed me how journals can be used as a reflection to teaching and learning process in class. When I was in my secondary schooling experience, my teacher tried to implement this in class. However, she quitted after a while, considering that it is not worthwhile and she started to get short unreflecting responses from some of us. But the ideas of private and confidential and also view-able journals were there. I think that Miss G's effort is more accepted because she is handling a group of people who have lots of issues to rise but they do not have the medium to channel their thoughts. So, I think what my teacher should have done is to not to stop the activity because the first month would be very discouraging especially when the students felt that the teacher will not read their responses. Perhaps the teacher response to the entire journal entries by an article pasted on the class notice board. The response should be a reply to the whole class, so points should not be ignored; creating an appreciated feeling among themselves. So, there would be some suggestion made by the students, titles of books, comments; meaning improvements should be made. Students are clients, so some of their needs should be taken into account. Angry clients would decrease the profit (which means they will stop writing and worse, they will not believe you anymore). So, when you believe in something, do not stop believing and fight for it.

History Boys: Should Literature be Learned by Heart or by Force?

Frankly speaking, I might not have the chance to teach such brilliant students like the boys in the movie but I strongly believe that they also excel because of their strong willpower and that they take literature not as a subject but as a part of their life. I like Hector’s approach to teaching; except the fact that he is a bit laid back in his lesson. But it is always about real life situation where students have access to a more meaningful learning rather than chalk and talk. Poems are made into lyrics and sang in harmony melodious tune; they even made into sketches. This is not merely memorizing; it is understandings. However, life is mechanical because there are always human needs to judge and evaluate; there comes examination. Irwin is being very practical. He knows that the students need to study for their examination and the papers are not only based on understanding; the students have to reflect. I think Irwin’s technique involves a bit of force but he is using it in a correct way. A perfect teacher for me would be a combination of both Irwin and also Hector; they can be entertainers but they also have to play the role of dance choreographers. Hector’s noticed crime made him a bad teacher but he had done sufficient effort to work literature in the class. Hector had touched all the five senses without the others realizing it.

Freedom Writers: Should Miss G Be Put To Blame?

This is a question asked by Dr. Edwin as a reflection to the movie that we watched entitled The Freedom Writers. I think that both of them should be put to blame; Miss G’s husband’s inferiority complex and also her inability to juggle her responsibility as a teacher and wife. Patrick Dempsey (who is playing the character of her husband) was trying to act very positively in the earlier part of the story. however, it turn out to be not the real self because he was suffering a great loss because of his failure to be an architect like what he had been dreaming for. Miss G, in the other hand is a very successful and bright teacher but she seems to put extra priority on her career rather than her personal life. There are students who think that it is not wrong for Miss G to focus more on her teaching life; but real life is much more complicated than how it seems. I would rather regard her act as a very noble one but in the eyes of a very family person; she is actually being unfair to her husband. She often came back very late and did not manage to cook a proper meal for her husband; these are expectations that she need to pursue besides giving the students a real literature lesson. However, there are always different moral values behind every different story; Miss G’s character tells us (as future teachers) to never stop improving and learning from the students. Meanwhile other responsibilities should not also be neglected because as human beings; teachers would not be able to escape from expectations.

Project Paper: A Revised Topic

After discussing with my instructor, I was then advised to revise my topic. Therefore my project paper should revolve around the issue of bringing moral values into the classroom. Initially, my brainstorming session was a bit depressing because I could not think of a thing to be discussed about. However, after listening to my lecture for Content Based Learning and also Educational Research, I was able to see the torch at the end of the tunnel. Many educators and researchers have been discussing about instilling moral values in lesson; now, through these short but powerful tales, we are able to do it. Hans Christian Andersen presentation of moral values is quite direct; thus providing some revision for our subject of moral and Islamic education. These good qualities becomes more memorable because whenever the students in that particular situation, they will be able to come back to their memories of reading the short stories.
By conducting the lesson through various always-available-in the Internet activities, there are alternatives hubs for the students to channel their thoughts on certain issues; so the teacher is aware of students’ current situation and able to take a further action to improve or maintain it. So, there will always be link between what they have learned in literature to the other subject. This is very good because students tend to forget their facts and data because they take them as different things altogether, disregarding the fact that knowledge is interconnected. This is suggested by my lecturer when she once gave out a saying for us in class:
“Tell me & I forgot, show me & I remember, involve me & I understand”

Honoring My Selected Author for Project Paper

Hans Christian Andersen’s life is so much reflected in his tales and stories. Hence, they provide a real learning experience for the students. The best way to describe his works is “short but meaningful”. I believe that Hans Christian Andersen’s stories are authentic powerful ones because they are illustrated from his perception of life. His endurance from such hardships during childhood should be a motivation for the others. With this, let me share with you a short account of how the famous Andersen gained his name. Just like him, many of his tales illustrate characters who gain happiness in life after suffering and conflicts.
Hans Christian Andersen led a unpromising childhood life; beginning with the fact that he was born in the slums of Odense. His father, Hans Andersen, was a literate poor shoemaker who believed that he was of aristocratic origin. Andersen's mother, Anne Marie , worked as washerwoman. Although she was uneducated and superstitious, she introduced the world of folklore to her son. Anne Marie died of alcoholism in 1833 in an old folks home. She is so much reflected in the story 'Hun duede ikke'. Andersen's half-sister Karen Marie is believed to work as a prostitute for some time; however, she contacted her famous brother only a few times before dying in 1846. Andersen received little education and he suffers all kinds of fears and humiliations because of his tallness and effeminate interests. Besides, his few attacks of cramps were falsely diagnosed as epileptic fits.
Andersen’s keen interest in tales and short stories was derived from his parents’ support. Besides having a mistress of tales as a mother; his father cheered for him through their short time together before he passed away in 1816.
"My father gratified me in all my wishes, I possessed his whole heart; he lived for me. On Sundays, he made me perspective glasses, theatres, and pictures which could be changed; he read to me from Holberg's plays and the Arabian Tales; it was only in such moments as these that I can remember to have seen him really cheerful, for he never felt himself happy in his life and as a handicrafts-man."
The True Story of My Life (1846)
After his father died, he moved to Copenhagen at the age of 14 to start a career as a singer, dancer or an actor - he had a beautiful soprano voice. He lived a hard life for the following three years although he found supporters who paved his way to the theatre. After making it through the Royal Theater, he had to leave it when his voice began to change. Then, Andersen was awakened to his passion of writing.

Position Paper: A Re-working

After we were all done with our position paper presentation, Dr. Edwin gave us some comments on the structuring of points. There are certain students who were required to re-work the whole position paper but most of us are up for minor improvements. Some of us have good thesis statement but the supporting points are not clear, while the quotations cited did not match the points at all. However, majority of us had neglected the importance of elaborating on our discussion about the supporting points we put up. This further discussion should strengthen the points, not repeating it in a different way. This is a big problem for me because I felt that I had put my best, most brief sentence for the points, so I feel that I do not have anything to say to further discuss the points. After recalling back some of my friends’ presentations, I finally have some idea for my re-working of the position paper. Some phrases in the cited quotations are important; they are the ones which should be discussed and related back to the points (the inner strengths of Hester). The keyword is: analysis of the language use to reflect the author’s intention to describe the condition and feelings of certain situation.

Project Paper: A Revision

After my instructor had gone through the out line I gave her, we were all called for a revision of our original idea. Then she gave out suggestion for improvements, so that our project paper would not be similar to the work of others because she was afraid that it might affect our marks. Some of us who decided to work on common novels used in the classroom were advised to pair up one learned novel (Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen) with another two new novels from the same author (Persuasion and Emma). Some points are taken out and some things are considered more deeply, so we have a clearer direction of what we are suggesting. For me, the topic was accepted but I was advised to narrow my discussion down to the moral values found only. Hans Christian Andersen short stories are rich sources of moral values, therefore they are known as the best children’s reading materials. I asked for the other requirements for my project paper; and Puan Juridah gave me three; a more brief account of the writer’s profile, summaries of the short stories I use and implications for teaching. She had also asked me to change the short stories I suggested to something uncommon. Hopefully, my second draft would be a more successful one and accepted so that I can move on to the next level.

My Presentation Day

I have waited so long for this day to come; I did not dare to come out in front and volunteered to present my position paper because I thought that I would get some tips from the earlier presenters. And I did learn from some of them; I managed to deduct three main tips for the position paper oral presentation. First, never try to make general evaluation. There were a lot of us who generalize thing; the condition differs to every person. For an example, we might say that people marry for love but there are lots of the character who married for status, security and even revenge. So, we should not expect unhappiness in these people if their marriage did not work (like Heathcliff). Second, look very closely at your supporting details and make sure they have strong relation to the thesis statement. Never try to repeat your supporting details by rephrasing them. You might get caught and worse, you have to re-work. For an example, I claimed Hester Pryne is an independent woman but I have also included that she solves her own problem. These two points are quite similar, so I have to change it to “Hester Pryne takes her own responsibility”. Third, never use complicated long sentences. Present your case briefly and direct to the point. More words mean you have higher risk to be trapped by the statements you made. However, nervousness will make you lost your points and you can never be confident enough when you are presenting to Dr. Edwin, so make sure you know your points well. Lastly, never write your text, you will lose track when you are asked so many questions during the presentation.

The New Beginning of Project Paper

As what we have done for the position paper, we did the same thing for the project paper and certain things become worse this time. I totally cracked my head to think of a thesis statement. So I tried to propose something similar to what I have in the position paper but it seems that my instructor did not see my points because they are weak. (Cannot blame her for that…) Besides, she wanted something new and not recycled from our previous semester lecture notes. So, the idea of adultery and Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is rejected. Realizing that I need to think of fresh ideas, I dug into my piles of previous knowledge. Then, Dr. Edwin’s idea of using fables in the classrooms came across my mind. However, I hesitated a little bit because this is something different from what my friends are doing for their project paper; discussions based on one or two literary texts. I am afraid that I might be drifted too far. But I am running of time, so I tried to think of my favourite childhood short stories; Hans Christian Andersen. Then, I went for an Internet search and found so many websites pertaining to him; the history and long list of his children literary pieces. I also went through some topics of research done on his work; most of them are discussing about the reliability of these texts as a reading material in the classroom. I have read some of the short stories wrote by him, the abridged and original ones; they are good because his characters and settings revolves caters children imagination level. They discuss some very serious issues in a light, relaxed manner. Some of the issues are of adult thinking level too. Then, a question came across my mind; “Why are not these short stories used in our classrooms?” So, I typed out my outline titled: Hans Christian Andersen Short Stories Should Be Used in ESL Classrooms and supported that with several details like the language, the issues discussed and so on. I hope that my Instructor will approve this case.

Referential and Representational Language in Understanding Literary Work

As we move on with our literature lesson, we learned more about referential and representational language. The rule is simple, referential language is something that we refer to while representational language is words that represent things or issue emphasized by the author. In literature, the language used is mostly representational because each literature text is meant to discuss a theme/topic/issue. Teachers should encourage the students to not to only take the words literally because it may lead to misunderstandings. However, choice of words (diction) is not the only concern in literature, it is the way of presenting that matters. The title of the poem is also an aspect to look at. Based on the words used for the title, teacher can create questions of different levels for students to ponder on. This is because, referential language also does matter. Perhaps, what a teacher can do is to ask questions pertaining to the actual meaning of the words and then relate it to the text context.
In literary texts, some authors choose to repeat words several times; some chooses to use sentence structure differently. The language involved here is not only the word, but also the syntax, grammar and so on. To make the students see more clearly, teachers can compare two different poems discussing about the same thing in different ways. Certain highlighted features like animal imagery and verbs pattern should be focused on. For a complete understanding of the literary text, a stylistic analysis is needed. This is not only to ensure an interactive and interesting lesson, but also made a meaningful one.