What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
What do you hope to gain from this course?
_____
Calvino, I. (1986) Why read the classics? The New York Review of Books, 33(15).
Eagleton, T. (1983) What is literature? In Literary theory: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 1-14). London: Blackwell.
Booth, W. (1998) The ethics of teaching literature. College English, 61(1), 41-55.
Ministry of Education. Literature in English Syllabi’s Aims and Outcomes.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDelete-I wanted to teach English but I needed another teaching subject also I was concerned that just teaching English only might be too boring so I decided to teach Literature as well since I like reading.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
-During my secondary school days, I enjoyed "No longer at ease" and "Roll of thunder hear my cry". Both are novels about racial marginalisation. Now, I am still interested in books with this theme.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
-I hope to become a more skillful Lit teacher that will not only help my students score well for Literature BUT to develop a love for Literature and is able to critically analyse what he reads.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI have an abiding interest in English literature though i have always been better in History. I think it is important for people to read good books to have a well rounded education. The humanities have the potential to humanise.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling expereinces influence your professional biography?
- I tended to read books on theology, history, philosphy and politics. I felt that i had to enjoy more novels/short stories. They put flesh onto concepts and sometimes can be "less heavy".
What do you hope to gain from this course?
To be a skillful literature teacher and being able to pass on the love for reading to my students.
What makes me still want to teach Literature after all these years?
ReplyDeleteJohn Dewey (1897) in "My Pedagogic Creed," had this to say on my behalf: " I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. I believe that all reforms which rest simply upon the enactment of law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile." - http://dewey.pragmatism.org/creed.htm
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI loved Literature when I studied it in school and believe that Literature is important as a balance to the "hardcore Sciences" (maybe because I did better in Literature, hm). That said, I suppose English and Literature as a CS combination is pretty common.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I did various texts during my Secondary and JC school days. One particular genre I love and still read is Dystopian Literature. I find books like '1984', 'Handmaid's Tale' and movies like the recent 'In Time', fascinating! I think that many people, students included, can relate to this theme.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I hope to learn skills and strategies that will help me to become a good Literature teacher. I think it is important to enjoy literary and non-literary works, and be able to analyze information critically when the need arises.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDelete- Literature has been my favourite subject since I was first exposed to it in Secondary One. Choosing Literature as one of my core subjects was thus an easy choice for me.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling expereinces influence your professional biography?
- I believe that it did; studying Shakespeare's works, both at a Secondary School and JC Level, enabled me to appreciate the importance of appropriate practical criticism of texts at a greater degree. This was when I saw the importance of exploring different genres of literary works. Still, on a personal level, nothing beats a Jeffrey Archer or John Grisham novel!
What do you hope to gain from this course?
- I hope to be able to fully appreciate and apply the theoretical and practical pedagogies of the teaching of Literature in a manner that is both relevant and interesting to students.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteLiterature was, pardon the cliche, my first love, and teaching was a natural extension from loving the word. I was also inspired by my JC tutors, who demonstrated the power of literature in moving hearts and shaping worlds. There's really no better way of paying this debt forward than by bringing others to the fold.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
ER Braithwaite's "To Sir, with Love"--terribly dated, but so influential in my impressionable days (especially when coupled with the cheeesythemesong from the film adaptation). This was my version of "Dead Poets Society", before I knew anything about Welton Academy or carpe diem.
I read quite widely, and so am keen to diversify the texts in my classroom. It'll be especially great to transcend the usual Shakespeare, and reshape the meaning of "literature" by looking at popular/genre fictions!
What do you hope to gain from this course?
An appreciation of the demands (and limitations) of our Literature syllabus, and how we can work with (around?) it to impart a more sophisticated understanding of Literature.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDelete- Literature has been one of my favourite subjects since I was exposed to it in secondary school. I remember looking forward to Literature lessons, which always allowed me to express my views and exchange opinions with classmates about characters and themes from various texts. I went on to take Literature in JC, as well as pursue a Minor in Drama & Performance as an undergraduate in NTU. So when I decided to go into teaching, choosing Literature as one of two subjects came very naturally to me.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
- Definitely. As a Literature student in secondary school and junior college, I was exposed to everything from Shakespeare's Macbeth to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Arthur Miller's The Crucible, which made me appreciate how dynamic Literature can be as an academic subject. As a contract teacher last year, I had to teach The Little Prince to Secondary One students, which made me fall in love with the story all over again. As a kid, I read many Roald Dahl books, but in recent years, I confess to reading mainly bestsellers like Tuesdays With Morrie and Eat, Pray Love.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
- It seems increasingly common to hear views about how Literature is dying a slow but certain death in Singapore's education landscape. I don't know enough about what's happening in schools to agree or disagree, but I do feel that arts education here is more important than most people give it credit for. Janice Koh just gave a brilliant speech on the topic as a new NMP, and I think one way to move forward would be to place greater emphasis on local and regional texts for the Literature syllabus.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
- To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare and poetry, which are obviously important aspects of the Literature syllabus. So I guess I would love to find out more about how to teach them effectively to my future students?
- Colin Lim
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ReplyDeleteWhat made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI chose to major in Linguistics, but like a bona fide fickle female, I occasionally miss the beauty and lyrical quality of Literature. Being a Literature teacher (with Language as my first CS) gives me the best of both worlds. Also, I am fortunate enough to have exceedingly inspiring Literature teachers, and that cemented my decision even more.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
When a lot of students had to read the whole text for To Kill a Mockingbird, we were instead tasked to read the screenplay in lower secondary, and that got me hooked on to Literature. My love for Literature was further fueled by Sylvia Plath's poetry for my A levels, which resonated with me as a result of belated teenage angst. The Theatre of the Absurd also broadened my literary horizons and forced me to reconsider my preconceived notions of theatre and drama.
In light of the wide range of texts that I have been exposed to, I believe in exposing students to a wider variety of texts and not just the conventional ones from the traditional literary canon. Of course, this begets the question of what literature is and what literary texts (should) constitute.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
A deeper understanding and appreciation of the demands of the Literature syllabus, as well as the pedagogical approaches that can be employed to meet them. Even if we ultimately have to settle for conventional texts, I hope that we can discover unconventional (but effective!) approaches to teaching them.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteLiterature is a subject that I have enjoyed since the first time I had a taste of it in Sec 1 and as they say, there are few things better than doing what you love for a living. I also had a brilliant literature teacher back in secondary school and I hope to emulate her passion in the subject.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I had my first taste of Shakespeare back in secondary school when I did Romeo & Juliet for my O levels and it triggered my love for plays, word play and Shakespeare's works. I hope to get the opportunity to explore more of Shakespeare's plays as a teacher.
I also enjoyed books like Lolita and Frankenstein which I feel are classics and should be taught in schools today.
With that said, I also read a lot of contemporary books. Margaret Atwood and Terry Brooks are two of my favourite authors. I don't think literature has to be about the classics alone. It would be useful to bring in popular culture like Harry Potter into literature lessons.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
Firstly, I would like to learn more about the Literature syllabus and the skills that Literature teachers have to work on with students. I also want to learn teaching strategies that will make my lessons easily understood and interesting. Lastly, I would also like to broaden my knowledge on the subject and be exposed to more texts and ways of thinking.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I never saw myself as one. I always saw myself teaching English or blowing something up in the science lab, but never as a Lit Teacher. But I guess that changed when I went to Uni where I pursued a degree in English and Lit. Somehow I felt Lit had a lot more to offer me in a more humanistic way than Science ever had.
I enjoyed my Lit lessons in Uni, having a charismatic Lit Lecturer. Furthermore, I felt that Lit had more to offer in terms of educating moral values in an age where Science and Maths seem to dominate, creating a more rigid and statistically-obsessed atmosphere (sucking the life out of us) in society today.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I enjoyed classics like Frankenstein, Pride & Prejudice, Othello and Wide Sargasso Sea but I particularly enjoyed reading post-colonial works such as Athol Fugard's Port Elizabeth Plays and Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners. I remember reading Singaporean works as well like Emily on Emerald Hill and a collection of works from Philip Jeyaretnam's Tiger in Paradise. The themes in these works somehow had a great influence over me especially during my contract teaching experience where I had to discuss local Lit works such as Catherine Lim's Little Ironies with my students.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
Literature education in Singapore has been often deemed a chore or something that is far less worthwhile in pursuing, falling in pecking order to subjects like Maths and Science which seem to be held on a higher and more prestigious pedestal. Literature works should not be restricted to the exploration of the canon only. A wider selection of material should be considered both locally and from abroad. Agree with Marliyana on tapping on Mr Potter. But I wouldn't rush by casting an expeliamos spell on Shakespeare's works just yet.
What do you hope to gain from this course
I hope to be enlightened on the various aspects on teaching Literature and at the same time learn teaching strategies and approaches to motivate my students by helping them value Literature rather than having to labour through it during their academic life.
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ReplyDeleteQuestion 1
ReplyDeleteI was six when I watched Robin Williams introduce a class of varyingly indifferent schoolboys to the joys and wonders of the written word. From the moment he brought forth the notion that words and ideas could change the world, I was hooked. As I grew up, I became increasingly convinced that there was nothing I wanted more than to be him. I wanted to be John Keating, the inspiring teacher who changed the lives of a group of (initially) insipid boys and turned them into intrepid men … all through his fiery enthusiasm for literature.
Although I never had a John Keating around to encourage me in my early schooling days, I was lucky enough to have one during my university years. And it was my personal John Keating, combined with my ever growing love for literature and the desire to share that passion with those around me, which ultimately sealed my fate to my current profession.
Question 2
In school and college, the focus had been on the classics: Macbeth and Twelfth Night, Pride and Prejudice, The Knight’s Tale, The Pearl and 1984. Then, in university, I was exposed to other genres of literature (namely postcolonial, diasporic and contemporary) where I analysed novels like Fury by Salman Rushdie, Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
As a result, I’m now a firm believer that the study of literature should be a delicate balance between the conventional and the unconventional. Because as much as I do appreciate and enjoy Shakespeare, Austen, Plath and Ishiguro, I also see nothing wrong in extending the same sort of literary respect to popular fiction authors like Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, Jeffrey Archer ... and yes, even so-called “fluff” writers like Nora Roberts and J.K. Rowling.
Because hey, if children’s books like Alice in Wonderland and fantasy novels like The Wizard of Oz can be considered legitimate texts for literary studies, there should be no reason why titles like American Gods and The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy can’t be used for critical analysis either. And who knows? It might even help inspire the future generation into developing a passion for literature.
Question 3
To be honest, I don’t know enough yet about the Singaporean community to give a proper answer on this. However, from what I can see, based on my four months of contract teaching, is that Literature is slowly becoming a dying art in this country. Too much focus is placed on the Sciences; and although MOE is working towards a more balanced education system, parents still tend to direct their children to take up “more practical” humanities subjects like Geography and History. I think, if Literature is to reestablish any sort of ground in Singapore, I agree with my colleagues that a wider selection of texts should be implemented to capture the students’ interest. At the same time, the skills that can be acquired from studying Literature (i.e. analytical skills, an appreciation for beauty) should not only be stressed upon when promoting the subject, but their relation to real-world contexts should also be highlighted … if only to prove that lit skills CAN be applied in real life.
Question 4
I echo the sentiments of several of my colleagues. I wish to come away from this course with a deeper understanding of what is expected of us Literature teachers, as well as a strong idea on how to implement the various pedagogical approaches into our lessons in order to motivate, encourage and convince our students that Literature is more than what local society has pegged it to be.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI began with a love for reading, and that transited smoothly into a love for Literature when I came into contact with the subject in Sec 1. I haven't stopped to look back since - choosing the Arts stream in upper secondary and JC made perfect sense, and getting the acceptance letter to read Literature in NTU, then in its pioneering year of English Literature education by a truly inspiration team of professors, is probably one of the happiest and most fulfilling days of my day to date. Furthering my education in the subject was also a privilege and a joy, and I do hope for many continued years with literature, both in the privacy of my own reading world, and in academia or teaching.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I specialised in Victorian literature while in school, but Victorian authors or canon was never my preferred reading list. I do love reading feminist or protofeminist authors and poets though ( or really, just any (mostly) women authors who write about gender, or the idea of womanhood), so stumbling into, and focusing on, the sub-category of feminism or forgotten female novelists of the Victorian age was a wonderful accident.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
I wish we could teach students to love the subject here in Singapore immediately at the government school level, and not only when students make it into universities. I feel horribly discouraged when I read about students not wishing to take literature because it is deemed a subject that is difficult to do well for - but I have no idea how we, as teachers, could go about packaging Literature as an academically-attractive and yet beautiful (I know, I know) subject. But so many of us came into a love for the subject while in school, and I hope that is a testament to at least the implicit success of our current school approach.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
The know-how to give back to my future students what some of my best Literature teachers, and professors, have given me - a passion for the subject, a conviction in what I read and how I read, and a curiosity for the infinite number of authors and periods and movements out there.
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ReplyDeleteWhat made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI did Sociology in university and I chose to do Literature as a CS2 because I shudder at the thought of teaching social studies like most Sociology majors who are teachers end up teaching. I was always more inclined to language and reading books. Lit classes in secondary school were always fun; we rearranged the classroom and sat in a discussion friendly way. To me, teaching Lit will be a bit of a break from teaching English, which can be too exam driven and technical sometimes. I would love to pass on the love for Literature to students or at least, make them enjoy the subject and not be filled with dread every time their Lit class comes around.
Did your “reading biography” and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
Yes it did. I did the War Literature in JC and it was fascinating to explore how Literature can be effective social commentary as well. One thing that stuck with me is the notion of Appearance vs. Reality; that things are not always what they seem. This is a common theme in Othello, which I studied in JC as well. When I was in primary/secondary school, I read mostly Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl books. After JC, I remember the first serious novel I read out of my own curiosity was The Blind Assassin, which also had a WW1/WW2 backdrop. Then I realized I tend to gravitate towards fictional books which are written in the first person, and have themes of magical realism, existentialism, familial issues. I like Anansi Boys and Kafka on the Shore especially. I am guilty of not reading the classics like Macbeth.. or The Great Gatsby. I guess this will influence my professional biography in that I will take a more contemporary, empathetic approach when discussing themes and characterization with my students.
What are your beliefs about the “why” and “what” and “how” of English Literature education in Singapore?
I think English Literature is still very much relevant in Singapore; with the music and theatre scene receiving more support from the government and with slightly more creative liberty. It is therefore important to encourage secondary school students to pursue literature, if they are inclined towards it. This is more challenging in neighbourhood schools; as most students have a poorer command of English and have a hard time grappling with the language, making it harder for them to appreciate Literature. Despite all these, it is important to continue with English Literature education in Singapore; it can even be a tool to make English Language more interesting for the students eg. Language Arts programmes in some schools.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I would like to broaden my horizons; expand on my knowledge of Literature. It will be nice to gather more ideas for teaching Literature in the classrooms as well.
Jillyan Siow
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI've been more linguistically inclined since young, and choosing to study and teach Literature wasn't so much a dilemma than a practical solution to make things easy for myself. I couldn't make sense of numbers or of science and neither could I read maps, so as you can see, choosing to teach any other subject (besides History and Literature) would have resulted in a rather disastrous outcome for both my students and I.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I guess it did in a way. I came from the only class that studied Literature back in an all-girls secondary school. We played on this exclusivity as a class to show the school that we were different and more "well-read". SO that meant that we started to go to plays together, shared class jokes on literary pun and what not. In order to keep abreast, I started to read widely as well and started to fall in love with texts beyond Shakespeare and the norm.
In JC, I was introduced to the realm of Asian literature through the book 'The god of Small Things' (which many of you would have read for A levels, I believe). I'm still hooked on it, with my latest conquest being Murakami's series (:
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I would like to explore the various boundaries that govern the teaching of Literature in Singapore and also to figure out how to bridge the divide between the creativity of the discipline and the rigid nature of examinations.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI like books. I really like them. I want everyone to like them too. If I can be put in a position where I can shove books down people's throats - that's even better.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
Of course. I read all sorts of nonsense. I can profess love for Dostoevsky and Orson Scott Card in the same sentence. I still read Young Adult fiction these days so that I can tell the kids that most of the stuff they're reading are crap, and here, take this better novel because I say so.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
There are a lot of good teachers out there. But it seems like they're bound by things like The Syllabus and the Scheme of Work and that's terribly saddening.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
Teach me everything you know, O Great Educator. Theories are nice too.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI would like to try to change the perception of students that the study of literature is about mainly reading books written by people who are decomposed six feet under the ground. Skills learnt in critically reading literature can also be transferred to and applied in real life.
Did your “reading biography” and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
Yes it did. I don’t have a specific pattern of reading. If something falls in my lap I’ll just read it in my spare time. Random reading ftw. Slowly piquing the students interest in reading and literature appreciation is also important role of a literature teacher.
What are your beliefs about the “why” and “what” and “how” of English Literature education in Singapore?
A lot of emphasis is placed on classics such as Shakespeare and often students are turned off by them. Skills to read literature is more important to me than reading the syllabus. Additionally, whenever the opportunity arises, I would like to link how texts written hundreds of years ago can be viable and related to real-world context today. However, as educators, we have to follow the guidelines given because eventually, the exams are what is important to the students. But in that timeframe, I hope I can be given the opportunity to explore literature beyond the text.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I hope to learn everyone’s views on literature and their interpretation of the different texts we are to study or look through throughout the course.
EEEP very sorry this is late, Kat and Idros! I won't forget again :( -Karmun
ReplyDeleteWhat made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
My primary 6 English teacher did The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe with us, and it wasn't part of the syllabus so it always felt like we were doing something exciting and forbidden. Still sometimes kind of does.
I think I'd like to be part of the movement that gets people to realise how much they'd love reading too, if they only had the opportunity to try. Properly.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
I read almost anything and it all makes a difference to the way I think and feel. Samuel Beckett and Neil Gaiman can both make me feel funny, for example.
Does professional biography refer to my professional life thus far? Reading makes me want to do weird things the characters do. Though instead of testing chocolate at a factory, I 'tested' chocolate ice-cream when waitressing at Swensens. And reading books on how education and access to language change the world makes me want to be able to facilitate this.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
I kind of understand the need for standardised texts but I wish the 'S' paper kids do at JC could be made available as an option to everyone. It would be amazing to be able to write on absolutely anything you wanted!
The most important thing should be about understanding what you're reading and being able to think whatever you want about it afterwards. And I'd be happy to do anything I can to help make that happen.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
How to make Lit even more appealing, accessible and relevant to young minds. And to collate a new list of must-read books based on everyone's recommendations
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI have loved reading since young and I really hope to impart this love of reading to my students. I'm sure we are all in agreement that kids nowadays don't read enough!
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
Definitely. I have been lucky enough to have good Literature teachers during my school life and the books that they make me read are still relevant today.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
In a nutshell, it's too structured and there's not much room for movement. I understand syllabi and reading lists exist for a reason but where's the sense in teaching Catherine Lim to a bunch of Sec 2 boys who couldn't care less and would rather read Neil Gaiman... Who is a pretty awesome writer by the way!
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I hope to gain whatever I do not already have.
- AC
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteReading makes me happy; I'd like to share this love for Literature with my future students in the hope that they may have a more heartfelt instead of pragmatic view of life.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
To quite a large extent. I tend to be verbose (hence, I'm an arts student) in writing and sometimes in speech, and several of my friends confidently attribute this to my reading of the classics.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
Literature needs to be human. I think, on top of anything, Literature should open students' minds to different perspectives and ideas and emotions, and teach them about the frailties of the human race so they may remember that no one man is all that great and is always correct.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I'd like to be able to learn the skills to transfer a love for Literature to my students, and become more human in the process.
-Sharifah Nadzirah
Thomas Huxley, Matthew Arnold's contemporary, wrote in his 1880 essay "Science and Culture": “For I hold very strongly by two convictions: The first is, that neither the discipline nor the subject-matter of classical education is of such direct value to the student of physical science as to justify the expenditure of valuable time upon either; and the second is, that for the purpose of attaining real culture, an exclusively scientific education is at least as effectual as an exclusively literary education.”
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the majority of us were not given over to an "exclusively scientific education" in our schooling years. Did we abandon math, physics, chemistry, biology, etc. for the love of literature? Was this a simple matter of taste and preference? Or something deeper/greater? If we're all liberal-humanists (judging from practically every post i've read), would we also agree (with Huxley) that the sciences are just as capable of imparting to students the humanist values that literature affords us? After all, aren't our Singaporeans scientists (or, for that matter, all students in the "pure science" streams) just as educated as we humanists? Why bother with the Yale-Singapore university tie-up?
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteI have always loved reading since young, and was exposed to Literature in Secondary School (not by choice) and fell in love with this subject. Having studied Literature, I tend to see things beyond the superficial level and find meaning in things that might seem meaningless to many.
I did not decide to become a Literature teacher but MOE made me one. I am just very relieved that somehow things worked out very well during my contract teaching.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
Sort of. I was never a fan of Gothic Literature until I got to study it for my A level. Now I see this genre with a new perspective and appreciate it a lot more. The books which I have studied in Secondary School and JC remain useful even up till now (come on, how can Romeo and Juliet not be relevant in my teaching next time? Haha)
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
There should never be a fixed way of teaching and learning English Literature. Each individual is entitled to their own point of view, own way of understanding a text (as long as it's not too absurd and out of point) and have a unique way of justifying their understanding. Literature isn't like Mathematics or English grammar, there's no fixed rule to it, a style more like it. Students should be taught critical thinking skills on top of critical reading skills to fully appreciate Literature in a way it should be appreciated.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
I hope to be able to recap (and learn) whatever skills and school of thoughts which might be useful for the teaching of Literature to my students next time.
In truth, I did not choose to be a Literature teacher - my subjects were chosen for me by MOE. Had I been given the free choice, I would have picked History and EL. However, I have experienced teaching Literature during my contract teaching, and I am glad things turned out this way after all.
ReplyDeleteI did not initially fancy the choice of English Literature because my last experience with the subject, in JC, had left me with a little discomfort, because I felt things were too subjective or "fluffy", for lack of a better word. It seemed to me that in order to score for Literature, I would be required to pretend to feel things I did not feel, see things I did not see, and generally "read too much" into texts.
However, my teaching experience gave me a different experience. I felt that I could use the subject as a pathway into exploring the broader topics of life, the human condition, ethics, and humanist morality with my students. I saw it as a way to get my students to examine and question things they always believed about themselves and the world, by viewing it through the lens of other people.
It didn't hurt as well that marking Literature essays was far easier than marking EL essays.
I believe that Literature should have two aims. Firstly, to teach students about life, human nature, and empathy. Secondly, to build their skills in explaining why they feel or think a certain way.
What I hope to gain is even more ways to relate the writings of (mostly) dead white men to the everyday lives of students.
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, it was because MOE gave me English as my CS2 and I didn't want to go through the horror that was relearning all the technicalities of grammar all over again, but also because I've always enjoyed lit immensely as a subject (because it made me feel intelligent and artsy) even though I never quite managed to score at it.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
(Actually I'm not really sure what this means D: but...assuming it means did what we read in school affect what we read now) It did, for like approximately 1 month after awesome lit module I did in university, until I got lazy and went back to online gaming and threw my books aside.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
More understanding, more feeling, less formula. But I guess that is subject to the ability of the students we're teaching at the same time.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
To learn how to endear the subject to my students. I have seen the Singapore system make fellow students hate the subject with a passion which is a pity because to me its a lot more than just an exam paper, its a whole new way of looking at the world.
Andrea
What made you decide to become a Literature teacher?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, it was because MOE gave me English as my CS2 and I didn't want to go through the horror that was relearning all the technicalities of grammar all over again, but also because I've always enjoyed lit immensely as a subject (because it made me feel intelligent and artsy) even though I never quite managed to score at it.
Did your "reading biography" and schooling experiences influence your professional biography?
(Actually I'm not really sure what this means D: but...assuming it means did what we read in school affect what we read now) It did, for like approximately 1 month after awesome lit module I did in university, until I got lazy and went back to online gaming and threw my books aside.
What are your beliefs about the "why" and "what" and "how" of English Literature education in Singapore?
More understanding, more feeling, less formula. But I guess that is subject to the ability of the students we're teaching at the same time.
What do you hope to gain from this course?
To learn how to endear the subject to my students. I have seen the Singapore system make fellow students hate the subject with a passion which is a pity because to me its a lot more than just an exam paper, its a whole new way of looking at the world.
Andrea