The "end" of EDU 3234

So what have I learned from taking the paper. Plenty i must say.I learned the importance of education and the importance of a teacher. I have more texts so that there are a variety of text that can be used in teaching literature. And further more Dr.Edwin actually inspired me to do more learning outside the classroom. I could proudly say that I GET literature now. Its not just about reading the text its about what creates the text. I have done more research on literature texts in this course compared to any other literature courses. I can actually say I can see the literary devices, different choose of word and plenty more in a text now. My work on the position paper and my research paper has also helped me in doing more productive research. But the most important of all is that during this course it has made me to think literature and teaching literature in a clearer and more positive perspective. I would like to thanks Dr. Edwin, my course mates and not forgetting Dr.Nooreen for making my EDU 3234 journey a smooth one. I would like to end by saying 'a teachers purpose is not to create students in his/her own image,but to develop students who can create their own image.Till then...
P/s Good luck for the teaching practice people.

The Dream...

Today I read ‘I have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. This speech was delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. King was considered to be a peaceful warrior. He gave this speech to proclaim his desire for a future where blacks and whites among others would coexist harmoniously as equals. King's speech resembles the style of a Baptist sermon. The repetition of a phrase at the beginning of sentences is a rhetorical tool employed throughout the speech. He also used a lot of oppositional images to show differences. He used words like shadow vs. light, Island vs. ocean, poverty vs. prosperity to highlight the conditions on the Black and his desire for their future. There were plenty of imageries of money used in the speech and King used this to draw attention to the issue of moral bankruptcy of the American Society. I believe this is a great text to use in a classroom. Apart from the rich literary elements to the text, this text also could give an emotional impact to the readers. It could also help in their personal growth where they may take their owe initiative to know more about Martin Luther King and his speech. I think it’s a great achievement to a teacher when their students learn literature outside the classroom.

My research paper journey

After meeting my supervisor for some guidance I started to write my research paper. Basically I talked about the similar devices used to develop the theme of dysfunctional family communication. I discussed mainly analyzed the portrayal of the characters and the use of symbols by the authors. I gave simple definition of what is family and what is family communication.Then I continued to talk about the various issues in each of the stories. In O’Neill’s ‘Long Nights Journey into Night’ I discussed about Mary’s morphine addiction; Tyrone, Jamie, and Edmunds’ alcoholism; Tyrone’s frugality; the sons’ attitude toward work and money. And in William’s ‘Street Car Named Desire’ I discussed about the troubled attitude of Stanley toward his wife and Blanche.I then continued with discussing about the symbols and it relation to the statement of dysfunctional family communication. In ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’the fog is one of the strongest symbols which in many ways assert the family’s fate. Another devise O’Neill uses is Mary’s glasses to symbolized her inability to see thing clearly. She frequently misplaces them, and really doesn't want to find them because that would force her to face reality, which she desperately tries to hide from. The symbolic use of the shadows and cries and the meat is also evidence of poor family communication in Williams’ Street Car Named Desire’. Both plays had great impact to the educational enterprise. They definitely play an important in educating the students in terms of good judgment; respect to ones self, humanizing the educational system as well as creating a better society.I faced many problems in writing this paper and one was finding suitable words when describing. And also faced constant “writers block” but all is done. I am happy with I wrote my paper. I learned to write with organization, better flow and clearly putting my thought into proper words.It’s a great practice to develop more language skills and not forgetting literature skills.

The Devil's Dictionary

I was introduced to the term parody today. It’s actually a form of satirical criticism or comic mockery that imitates the style of or a particular writer as to emphasize the weakness of the writer. The devils dictionary is a good example of a parody. During class we discussed mockery on the word women, man, love, and life. I was quite interested on the creativity of definition. So I browsed through the internet and came across more words. These are some of the words and its definition that I liked:

POETRY A form of expression peculiar to the Land beyond the Magazines

EDUCATION That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding.

MONEY A blessing that is of no advantage to us excepting when we part with it. An evidence of culture and a passport to polite society. Supportable property.

A Rainbow

And that was my answer when Dr. Edwin asked me what metaphor I would use to describe myself (a teachers perspective). Of course there were some giggles when I told that.I choose the rainbow because I believe a teacher should portray an image of happiness because in students nowadays have more than learning problems. Many come from broken home. So the teacher and the lesson should be something that should be looked forward and not dreaded. I had a great time listening the others version. They were some that were interesting, some that were funny and then they were some that were outrageous. I like Syamimi’s version where she choose a gardener (a nurturer) and Ira’s a mirror (reflect one’s self for more learning). The funniest would be Nalini’s when she said we sees herself as an ATM machine. I think I’ll remember this one for a long time. I think the rationale behind this activity could be that Dr. Edwin expects us to think and feel like a teacher. And not for getting to bring the lighter side of one.

Kafka

This particular text was a focus on education. But Kafka views here were different from other writers because he believes that one should reflect on one’s education. He used a lot of repetition techniques to highlight the issue of what harm education has done to him. I believe that this text is suitable to students of high proficiency. One it helps them to develop literature skills and secondly teachers can introduce students to the importance of education. It may help them to distinguish what is education to them rather than what education is to teachers, the school, and the education system. Personal value systems are developed.I am sure using this text in class helps in getting to class interested in the whole education system. So for that this is a great conversation text which can be used in classroom.Till then...

“Apartheid”

The word “Apartheid” still in rings in my head every time I think of this reading text. A few days ago we read a part from Nelson Mandel’s autobiography. This word was used a number of times. Here it means the discrimination of the majority by the minority. Nelson Mandela fought for the freedom of the Blacks. I felt I was able to connect to the text in whole new way because I am considered a minority in this country. Even though I do not go through discrimination on a regular basis but I know how it could feel. I ask myself this question: What could be some of the reasons for using autobiography in a literature classroom? I believe such content helps students’ global awareness. Knowing more on world happening could help them develop value system. Imagine using the traditional literature texts like short story, poems, novel all year around. I am sure students will get bored and loose interest in appreciate literature. There are also considered to be authentic materials which can be analyzed for deeper understanding. In a nutshell before introducing difficult texts like novels teacher can take a tip from autobiography so that learning can take place more smoothly. Till then…

Presenting my position paper.

Today I presented my position paper to Mr. Omid and the rest of my class. I started out quite well but could not avoid babbling. I tend to do that when I'm nervous. But overall I managed to talk about my thesis statement which was "The unnamed female protagonist’s hardship on the rites of passage into adulthood was significantly caused by the unfairness of sex-role stereotyping". I also discussed about my supporting details. I talked about the use of diction and the author’s choice of words in developing the theme of sex-role stereotyping. As the characters were a huge factor in development of the theme I included the speech, the thought and the response of few characters. For example the farther, the narrator, the brother and the other female characters. I also talked about another similar short story by Gilman. Gilman in his “The Yellow Wallpaper” explored the same theme of gender stereotyping. I included this in my paper to shown how the authors explored similar theme by developing the characters. After my presentation I meet Mr. Omid to get his views on my presentation. He said I could have included more points from the paper into my presentation slide. I am hopeful that I would be graded well. Till then…

One day Poet

Today I was pleasantly surprised with a visit by some people of the British council. I loved her presence. She was so enthusiastic and interesting. We sort of had learning and sharing session with a poet. It was fun to see her conduct the class with just great personality. She gave a small insight on how to conduct a literature classroom. She gave all of us a poem titled “Lulu”. I loved the first activity she conducted. I read poem every time but I loved the way she asked us to read the poem. She asked us to read the poem silently and then read it aloud as a group. She told us that poetry should be read aloud to be better appreciated. I was surprised that about 100 of us read the poem properly. Later we were asked three questions which were what do we know? What do we think we know? And finally what do we want to know? I think these questions are perfect as set induction and pre reading questions. I loved how she linked these question t make us understand the poem. After understanding the meaning of the poem we continue a session where we had to generate our own poem. When we were asked to present there were varieties of poem. I truly believe that this session with her was so worth while. The impact of the “presentation” is great to me personally and I am sure I’ll use some of her technique during my teaching times. So that till then…

Position Paper- group discussion

A few of us gathered today to discuss about our position paper. About five of us who were writing on the same text talked about the points that can be elaborated on. Siew Ching looked at my paper and commanded on my final point that was quite vague. I agreed and took points to better the supporting details. We also looked at the quotes that can be used to strengthen the argument. Faezah always had an eye for details so I asked if my paper had enough details. She gave me plenty of details to work with.I am very grateful that I manage to discuss with them because it helped me in drafting my final paper for submission. And now we wait for the presentation of the position paper.

The name is Warhol, Andy Warhol

Today I was looking forward for the class as my course mates told me we would be viewing a movie. I got a front seat so that I would miss anything about the movie. But to my disappointment it was a boring documentary about Andy Warhol. I liked looking at the pictures but how many times can one look at pictures of Marilyn Moore and Campbell soup cans. To tell truth I was so bored I even feel asleep a few times. But I was determined to find out what inspires him to come up with pictures that I don’t find interesting at all. I went online and surf the net to find out more about him. I found out that the art he creates are called pop art. So what is Pop Art you may ask? Through some snooping around the internet I found out that pop art in created by using mass produced visual commodities of popular culture. So by now I knew why Andy Warhol was so into pictures that revolved around popular cultures. As part of the reading assignment I read the diary entries of Andy Warhol edited by Pat Hackett. I noticed that his entries were filled with the Hollywood celebrities. Even though I don’t like his work cause they look up tide to me but he is an artiste and his works are well known by everyone. Till then…

2nd meeting with Dr.Nooreen

Today i meet Dr Nooreen for the second time to discuss about the development of my research paper. I had already come up with an thesis statement to start of with.This is my statement:

" The portrayal of the family institution in 'Street car Named desire' and 'Long Days' Journey into night'. After discussing with Dr.Nooreen she advice me to make the statement more specific so that i wont find difficulties when writing the paper. she gave me some suggestion like maybe using the characters and the symbols to talk about the family communication. I also found difficulties on what to write about in the educational implication. She gave me ideas like including theories of family communication and linking it to education.Im glad that Dr.Nooreen was able to help me out so much. Thanks to Dr.Nooreen and now i should start writing my research paper.Till then...

2nd draft of my position paper...

Today I meet Mr.Omid to discuss about my position paper. I asked few question to make sure that I was at the right track. I asked him if I needed more supporting details and he told me to add about 2 to 3 more supporting details. He also asked me to put in examples from other literature work. So I did. I manage put in a few more point and added in other stories that revolve around the same theme of gender stereotyping. After the class I manage to finish up my 2nd draft so that it can be edited more during the group discussion scheduled for next week.Im looking forward to the group discussion.Hope it will help me better my position paper.Till then...

First meeting with Dr.Nooreen( My Supervisor)

Today I went to meet my supervisor which is Dr. Nooreen. As this was my first meeting a few of my friends went to meet her to introduce ourselves and seek her guidance to start the research paper. It was quite comforting to know that Dr Nooreen had a fixed particular way of how she wants the research paper to be. She told us about what she is looking for in a good research paper and basically gave us an outline on what she wants. We asked for examples of research paper which she gladly gave us a few. She asked us to include the biography of the writers, a summary and most importantly the analysis and the implication on education. She gave us the freedom to choose our texts and the thesis statement that should be developed. I think the meeting with Dr. Nooreen went well. I got most of the information needed to start off my research paper. I think I will meet her in a week or so to discuss about my thesis statement. Till then...

My attempt on the position paper....

Today I started to actually think of my position paper. I choose “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro. Okay there many reasons behind choosing this literature text. One it was the easiest of all the given text and because it was a familiar text it made to choose this text even more. I always liked stories revolving female stereotype and story that relate to female empowering so to speak. I stated of by coming up with a statement so that I could have a staring point in completing my paper. I came up with:

The unnamed female protagonist’s hardship on the rites of passage into
adulthood was significantly caused by the unfairness of sex-role stereotyping.

My first draft was not a great one. I had limited points to talk about and constantly experiencing “writers block”. But I guess it happens when we deal with first drafts. I tried looking at the element of hardship through the use of names and the narrator’s action and responses. I think I will consult Mr Omid on making my paper better. I have a long way to go. Till then…I’m off.

All about Icarus...

Today we read this short story called “Daedalus and Icarus”. Before discussing it in class I sort of had few assignments on what to do before the reading process. Okay I start by surfing the net to get this painting titled “The Fall of Icarus”. Finding the picture was not difficult at all but finding the correct picture was a struggle I must say. But finally I manage to find the correct painting. Then I went on searching for a poem by W.H Auden. I had no idea what was the relevancy of the painting and the poem to the story that was about to be studied. I read it once before class and saw how the painting and the poem could help in understanding the text better.
During the discussion in class I was asked to identify the story of Icarus in particular. I was surprised to find out how it was easy to imagine the story with the help of other materials like the painting and the poem. Even thought there were some differences from the painting but the painting helps in many ways. I also had an assignment where I had to create a lesson using the picture and a rewritten story of “Icarus”

I teamed up with Soon Mun to create a lesson to teach the story of Icarus. Firstly we rewrote the story. Soon Mun came up with this great idea of rewriting the story from Daedalus's point of view. After completing it we came up with an idea of using the painting as a set induction lesson. We edited the painting by erasing the action of Icarus in the water. Our objective was for the students to guess the possible topic of the lesson. It helps in tapping the correct schemata. In general i enjoyed reading this with the help of visual aids like the painting.

Tutorial with Mr. Omid

Today I had my 1^st tutorial session with Mr. Omid. He was not very easy to be understood as he had a thick Iranian accent but I managed some how. After introducing himself he worked on the story of Ovid’s metamorphosis “Pyramus and Thisbe”. As I had already worked on the story with Dr. Edwin during lecture it was quite easy to detect the major points discussed in the story. We were given a task to generate a thesis statement for the story “Pyramus and Thisbe”. To tell the truth I had so much of difficulty in writing the thesis statement. Not knowing how exactly a thesis statement should sound like is not a good situation to be at. After “extensive” question and answer session I finally manage to produce one thesis statement.

“The causes of obsessive desire will bring about suffering which leads to death”

I came up this statement as i felt there few many circumstances/situation that foreshadowed DEATH. So I took that into my advantage and produced a thesis statement. I then joined the class discussion on making every one's thesis statement better. Lucky or unlucky me i had to present first. To my surprise it was okay. Mr.Omid said it was a good thesis statements clear and specific. So I returned to my place with a wide smile. In general i think everyone faced similar problem in creating their statement specific. Most of us had a problem where the statement was too general. The discussion should continue for few more weeks to come as there are 60 of us to present our thesis statement. It was quite boring BUT i did learn from others mistakes. Maybe it could help me in my position paper and not forgetting the research paper.

Reading...

Today I started off reading some of the reading texts that i was assigned to do. I started off by reading " The Mahabharata".It was quite a simple story with not too many difficult words. Because it was a religious text I was able to make connections of the cultural references. The names, the strong desire to uphold promises, the "mystery" was similar to other stories that i have read. I then went on to read "The Son of the Turtle Spirit" It was simple with of a lot of super natural elements.Because the were quite a number of pre-reading questions to answer so it was not just about reading but understanding and making a lot of connection.

My first class

I started my 1st class for EDU3234 Reading and Project Work for Teaching Literature In ESL context. I knew from the start that this course needs a lot of work. Even during the 1st class I was already given tasks to do. I had to read a compilation of reading texts. It was interesting reading them because one they are short and there are from different genres of stories like tales, autobiography,texts of painting and plenty more.It was a good start as i have a clear view on what is my responsibility for this paper.