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…