“I have a dream”…by Martin Luther King, Jr

We have studied the speech of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a dream” today. The speech is said to be one of the best speeches spoken in the world before. Martin Luther King Jr, one of the Peaceful Warriors in the world, who uses non violence approach of freedom, listed along with Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and etc had given a speech on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. This speech “I have a dream” is about the plight of his people, talking about the liberation of the African American, to unite the whites and blacks in America and this speech is to motivate them to work and live harmoniously together in American. This speech is one of the best in the world as this speech is of good and suitable content to motivate its citizen to act unitarily. This speech is also worth to be studied as it contains a lot of literary elements such as binaries, imageries, symbolisms, and metaphors. The examples of binaries used in this speech are the use of shadow and light, daybreak and night, island and ocean, poverty and prosperity and many more. It is impressive that the binaries are used in a same sentence. Moreover, binaries such as now and gradualism, dark and sunlit and lastly, quicksand and solid rock are used in order to show the comparison and how things differ from one and another. There is also the repetition used of the word “must” which shows the obligation of the citizen to their country. The stylistic writings of this speech made this speech a great speech, one that has power to move the people to take action and act according to the speech. If you have not heard any speech that is so powerful and charismatic before, listen to this one and I am sure that you will be impressed. Dr Edwin had also showed us the a Youtube video clip of Martin Luther King Jr giving his speech years ago at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. According to our lecturer, if Martin Luther King Jr’s speech “I have a dream” is a good speech and Martin Luther King Jr is a powerful speaker then, in our country, Tunku Abdul Rahman with his speech of “Declaration of Independence” in our country would be the most powerful speaker and speech. None of us in the class have heard of the speech of “Declaration of Indepence” by Tunku Abdul Rahman before and none of us know the content of the speech but Dr Edwin had read the speech before in a hotel in Malacca and he hoped that everyone of us could get to read the speech ourselves if we were to do our practical in Malacca. I am really interested and look forward to speech by Tunku Abdul Rahman. I am just so proud that our nations once have had a powerful and good speaker such as Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Research paper submitted to Dr Jaya!

I have submitted my research paper to my supervisor, Dr Jaya today. After months of hard work, finally, I have come out with my very own and first research paper and have submitted it to my supervisor to be graded. Dr Jaya told us that he will grade our research papers as soon as possible, possibly by this week and will directly send our marks to Dr Edwin. Hopefully my research paper will get a good grade and I can get a good grade for my course, EDU 3234. Through my process of producing my research paper, I have learnt that they are many scopes and aspects that we can research on in the literature field and we can gain deeper insights and knowledge on certain literary texts when we carry research on certain literary texts. I have also learnt that once we have deeper understanding about a text, then we will have interest in reading the text deeply and this will further interest us to indulge ourselves in reading literary texts. Although I have to work very hard in producing this research paper, but I have felt a lot of joy and fun too. I find the experience of producing this research paper interesting as I learnt a lot of new things and widen up my knowledge in the literature field. I am glad that my research paper is completed and submitted to Dr Jaya. I just want to keep my fingers crossed and hope that my research paper is a standard and good one!

Yahoo!! It’s my full and complete research paper!

Yahoo!! Finally, I have completed my research paper! After months of toils and sweats, at last, I have my full and complete research paper. I am so happy and proud that I have managed to produce my very first and own research paper. I enjoyed doing and completing the very first research paper of mine as I found that I have learnt a lot of new things through my process of carrying out this research paper. I gained a lot of new insights on both the literary texts that I have chosen to study for my research paper and found joy in reading these two texts in a different perspective-the perspective of the men. At first, I thought that my effort of trying to read both texts through the perspective of the men would be a challenge for me but after much trying, not only that I did not find it difficult to read the texts from the view point of the men, instead I found joy in reading them in the new perspective as I found that both texts are much more interesting to be read now-in the view point of the men compared to reading the texts as they are years before. I learnt that I have missed out a lot of interesting points when I first read both texts years ago. Now, I learnt that both texts are more meaningful and I understood the real messages underlying each story that the authors may want to convey to the readers. As the saying goes, “Do not judge the book by its cover”. In this case of mine, I would say that do not judge the story but it surface. What we read from the story, usually, are only the surface of the story. We should read deeper into the story to find the true meaning of the story. Before this, I have done a lot of deep readings on different stories, whether to analyze the characters, the settings, plot or other literary elements but I have never found so much joy before than this time when I tried to read the stories from the perspective of the men-the type of reading that is different than the usual we read the story. I find it interesting and exciting reading both stories from the perspective of the men and go further into men’s study. Although many people had told me that it is risky for me to read both texts from the perspective of the men as the topic for my research paper but I am willing to take up the challenge and tried on something that is new for me. I am really glad that I have managed to find enjoyment and widen up my knowledge through my research and be able to tap on something new which I find fun and suits my interest of study.

The Making Of “My Research Paper”

I have been working on my research for days, hoping that I can get more information and details for both of the literary texts that I have chosen for my research paper so that I can add in more information and points into my first draft of my research paper in my effort to produce a complete, good piece of my research paper on reading the literary works through the perspective of a man. Although Dr Jaya commented that every one of us who are under his supervision for the research paper did a great job in our first draft, yet, I am still not satisfied with my very own first draft. Hence, I surfed on the net days and nights, hoping that I can gain more relevant points to be included into my research paper. In the process of looking for the suitable points and details for my research paper, I found out there are a lot of websites out there that provide the students with lots of crucial information on the literary works that they are studying in the secondary schools. There is this one website on the net which is published by “Just English” really impressed me. In this website, students can get all the information they wanted on the literature component that is being introduced in the secondary schools. Everything is arranged neatly and nicely on the web and only by one click on the selected icon, one can assess to the required section. I log on to this website for quite a number of hours as I am also looking for information for the literary text that I am studying for my research paper which is “The Drover’s Wife”. Besides, I also surfed on numerous websites on “The Drover’s Wife” which prove to be a great help to me in my process of completing my research paper. I get all thrilled up surfing the net for these few days. Before this, I have always thought that looking for information and completing a research paper would be a painful experience but it proves to me that I am wrong as I found joy in completing my research paper. Although I just managed to obtain information on “The Drover’s Wife” but I will not give up in looking for more information for my the other literary text that I am studying for the research paper. Keep it girl!

Limerick and Parody

What is limerick? My first impression of what limerick is is that limerick is the sibling for lime juice, some sort of juice that is similar to lime juice. Silly me! Limerick is actually a kind of poetry. Just like any other kind of poetry such as sonnet and all but limerick has its own set of system. A Limerick rhyme is aabba. Limerick consists of five lines with a couplet and a triplet. What is important in a limerick is its rhymes and beats. Limerick is usually funny and should not sound serious. Therefore, today, Dr Edwin assigned us to create 2 limericks in group of 5 with the stems given in the handbook. It was fun sharing and brainstorming ideas with other group members. It is really true of what people say, “2 minds are better than 1”. In only about 5 minutes, we can already come out with 2 limericks. Thanks to the cooperation given by all the group mates. They were creative and so do I-therefore “2 minds are better than 1” concept did really work in this context. I would to share with you guys on the limericks done by my group :

There once was a boy from Ruanda,
All the while he hoped to drive a Honda,
So he went to the showroom,
And he could just afford a broom,
That poor boy from Ruanda

I once met an old lady from New York,
Everyday she eats with a fork,
But whenever she eats with a spoon,
The lady will become a balloon,
That strange old lady from New York.

It was really interesting to be in the group and came out with these 2 limericks. It was really fun to be in the process of finding words which rhyme the same. In the end, Dr Edwin discussed with the benefits of using limericks and having this activity in the classrooms. I have learnt that the benefits of using limericks in teaching can promote language development, vocabulary, grammar and rhyming systems as all these aspects are very much put into emphasis in limericks. Besides, this activity can also foster creativity, responsibility, teamwork, tolerance and respecting each other among the students. Students will not see themselves as one whole person only but will work in a group. That’s what we want to instill into our students.
Lets us look at parody now. What’s a parody? Parody is a form of satirical criticism or comic mockery that resembles the style of the meaning of the original writers. Parody is a funny definition of a certain noun that is different from the meaning provided by the original writer. The language used in parody is beautiful as the words needs to give a vivid image to the readers of its true meaning.
Today’s class was fun and interesting! It tap on my creative and critical thinking skills. Bravo limericks!

First draft had been approved!

Today, while we were watching the movie “Dangerous Minds” at Bilik Seminar, Dr Jaya came into our class and told us that all the 8 of us who are under his supervision for the EDU 3234’s research paper are allowed to continue our work on the research paper as he is very satisfied with all of our first draft which we had submitted on week 7. Dr Jaya said that all of us did a great job in our research paper and he would like us to continue on our work so that we can submit our research papers to him on week 13, just after the Hari Raya’s break. I am so glad and happy to hear Dr Jaya’s comments. I still need to work on my research paper so that my real research paper which I am going to submit on week 13 can gain me better and higher marks. Thank you, Dr Jaya!

Water!! That’s what I am!

After viewing the movie “The Road Home” last week, today, Dr Edwin asked us what we have gained from the movie. Basically, all of us learn that the profession of the teacher is very much respected and appreciated by the societies that encourage us more to be good and dedicated teachers. Then, Dr Edwin asked everyone to think of a metaphor or an image that we can see in ourselves as a teacher. Funny and cute answers were given by each of us. Some say they were the sun, some say compass, candle, fire and many more. I will say that I am the water! I would say that I am the water as in my opinion, water is an important, perhaps, it is the most important element in my life. Water not only makes up 70% of my body but it is also an element that completes my life. I use water to clean myself, to freshen up myself, to drink and many more. Without water, my life won’t be complete. Therefore, I would say that I am the water when I see myself as a teacher. I am the water as I am the knowledge provider to the students. Students are thirsty for water(knowledge), therefore, I will be there to quench the thirst. I am the water(knowledge provider). Hence, as a teacher, I see that my main objective in teaching the students is to provide the knowledge to the students. Water!! That’s what I am!!