MEN'S STUDIES ...

Today, we learnt something new and interesting and guess what ! Men’s Studies. This is a very interesting study to study about and since I am the only guy or let me be more classic, the only thorn among the roses, I was very excited because I can say what I want as well as bring out some issues regarding men. Now all the girls will be wondering what is going to happen next. In fact, I always knew something new will come up and thank you Dr.Edwin so much for introducing this study. Especially for men, this study is something important to consider about and being a guy, we should know what our students (boys) needs. Same goes to girls. Only a girl can understand another girl’s needs. But if we see nowadays, it would be best to know and understand what a boy and a girl needs and sometimes we still need to go and reinvestigate those issues. I believe that only teachers can understand this because they know what their students really need. In this study, we read 4 extracts and it was very nice. I got to know what is really behind those extracts and it was like a discovery learning for me. I should say that is something fresh and good.

MY REFLECTION ON 'IF YOU COME SOFTLY BY JACQUELINE WOODSON

The novel ‘If you come softly’ by Jacqueline Woodson is a great novel for young adult readers. It has influenced me in a sense that there are lots of issues which can be discussed. Issues such as love, friendship and many more can be used to generate students ideas. This would serve them in understanding the text. As a result, they will learn the moral values and know themselves better.

MY REFLECTION ON 'HERO' BY S.L.ROTTMAN

‘The Hero’ by S.L.Rottman is a very inspiring story as well as motivational. It would be a great book for middle school and reluctant high-school readers. It has very strong themes and most of all readability. This book could be used in many ways in terms of designing activities and tasks. For example, it could be used as a pre-reading strategty such as discussions, making predictions, brainstorming, generating questions and many more. In this book, students could predict what Sean will say in his essay or how the story will end. Students could also compare this book to another which they have read and explain why they prefer one over the other. This can bridge the gap of what they know and what they don’t know. Apart from that, students can also do research from this book whereby further research can be conducted on topics such as physical abuse and then present the information to the class. In this way, interaction will be generated and discussion will take place. This will also improve their thinking skills. Besides, they will appreciate the book and know what is the story about. Further classroom activities can also be conducted by asking the students to do a research on a hero. Questions like if the hero is dead, is he or she still admired ?, what made the hero to be successful ? and so on can be posed. This will make them to think and generate ideas. On the other hand, if students are having a hard time deciding which hero to study, the teacher can suggest some of the famous persons’ to look at like Neil Armstrong, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana and so on. Besides that, activities like what is responsibility ? and asking the class to name and discuss the different kinds of responsibility like personal, family, friends, society can be done. Questions like how do our responsibility change ? and many more can be posed. This will make them to get to know themselves better and appreciate their learning.

MY REFLECTION ON 'THE CHOCOLATE WAR' BY ROBERT CORMIER

My reading of young adult literature texts as part of teacher development has influenced me a lot. For this course, we were required to read 3 young adult literature texts that is ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier, ‘Hero’ by S.L.Rottman and ‘If you come softly’ by Jacqueline Woodson. Each of these novels has its unique characteristics and I will reflect it one by one. Starting with ‘The Chocolate War’ by Robert Cormier, this book is extremely an amazing story. Although it has been banned in some schools in the States due to its harsh violence, but it is not that very serious whereby the students can learn from it. This book would also be a good choice for boys since there are a lot of things which a boy does and they can associate easily. This is not to say it is not appropriate for girls. Girls and even other age groups can read it. In terms of designing activities, this book has a lot of things that can be discussed. For example, the teacher can do some theme openers like telling the students what is the book is about and then can ask them to jot down in their notebooks ideas about their own school community. Topics such as peer pressure, violence and drugs, discipline and other issues can be integrated. They also can do some brainstorming activity and have discussions like explaining to the students on a quotation on a poster in the protagonist’s locker which reads, “Do I dare disturb the universe ?”. Students can then interpret this question through different ways. As a result students will get different answers and this would be a good starting point for further discussion. This will encourage them to ‘think out of the box’ and manage their own learning and discussion.

DR. EDWIN'S BIBLIOTHERAPY WORKSHOP

Today we did some workshop on bibliotherapy. In fact it was a nice learning experience for me since it involves group work and collaboration with other members. Our book was ‘If you come softly’ by Jacqueline Woodson. We had a lot of discussions and we can’t wait to present. WOW!

CHAP.11: MORE STRATEGIES FOR USING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

The characteristics of young adult literature is that it has characters and issues young readers can identify with; those issues and characters are treated in a way that does not invalidate, minimize, or evaluate them, framed in language that young readers can understand, emphasizes plot above everything else and written for an audience of young adults.

The similarities and differences with more traditional works is for similarities, the theme would be more or less the same, it can be read by anyone and has values. In terms of differences, it basically caters for young adults since during their time, they will face issues such as bullying, social problems, dislocation and many more. This would make them to associate easily with the characters in the book. Also the usage of words is not very high, which in return makes the reading more easy and pleasureable compare to traditional works where the choice of words is unlimited. In other words, sexism words are avoided.

CHAP.10: IMPROVING CLASSROOM INTERACTION: MAKING DISCUSSION AND WRITING REAL

Discussion can help me understand my feelings and clarify my thinking about a selection I am reading by exchanging questions and thoughts. By doing this, I not only get to know what the other person is discussing but also I get to voice out my views. By doing this, we can develop higher-level thinking skills. Also I get to correct myself if something is unright, and this will in return improve my understanding towards the text. We also can talk about the characters like when I was reading, I thought about … and this will encourage more interaction. Besides, by discussing we get to develop a “grand communication” about books. There are lots of things that can be discussed and we get to know other things which is not in the book. For example, the perception of my reading will not be the same as others where other people may have different perceptions. By looking at this, we get to improve ourselves.

Writing can also help me understand and clarify my thinking by responding to a journal. For example, I can jot down my initial impressions and expectations or engage in making predictions before reading a selection. This will some sort give me an understanding of the book that I am going to work on. This can be further improved by asking someone else to read and react to it. By doing this, we get to know the other person’s ideas and at the same time develop our thinking.

CHAP.9: CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

When I either work in pairs or small groups, my understanding appreciation of literature can be enhanced by sharing experiences with the members of the groups. This can be achieved if each one of us read a book and discuss the story or the important aspects with the other members in the group. By doing this, not only me but also my other members will get what they did not get in their book. It will definitely improve my understanding towards the book as well as the other members in the group. We can also discuss other things like issues, what can be improved, characters and many more. In other words, we will not only stick within the book but go beyond that.

Same goes to working in pairs. In pairs, we can either discuss both books or different books. But I prefer both books are the best since it is just only the two of us and we can exchange our thoughts and opinions easily. In pairs, we do activities such as dialogue journals, recommending books and many more. We can also create a blog and we can put whatever thoughts or writing in there. Most of all, we get to gain trust and cooperate well. Since in pairs we have mutual responsibilities and mutual needs, therefore the level of commitment and involvement is usually high. This will establish a strong relationship not only in pairs but also in books.

CHAP.8: SELECTING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

Basically, I have read 3 young adult literature books. They are Jacqueline Woodson’s , if you come softly, Robert Cormier’s, the chocolate war and S.L.Rottman’s, hero. These 3 books has really influenced me of what young adult literature is about. It is like an introduction to these young adult literature books. When I read these 3 books, I noticed that it deals a lot with issues such as love, bullying, being who you are and many more. For me I perceive it as a motivational book since there are lots of examples and good values. This would be great for students to read. Lately, I got hold of the ‘twilight’ book and I am looking forward to read it. What made me to get this book is firstly, it is the best selling books among young adult literature. Secondly, the story is told from a different perspective and not like the usual vampire story. Thirdly, it has been sold like hot cakes and that made me to get curious what made this book to be a huge success. Fourthly, it has been made into a movie and that itself interests me a lot since I love movies especially those that are adapted. Fifthly, the colour of the book which is black which again suggests that darkness and mystery correlated together and finally the front cover of the book where a picture of two hands holding an apple. When I looked at this picture, the first thing striked my mind was it is very symbolic. I am sure there will be different interpretations, but for me it suggests that the hands belong to the girl and the apple refers to the vampire’s object which is waiting to be eaten. In other words, the apple here may also refer to the sweetness of the girl or the lips of the girl. It can also refer to as romantic and the sign of love. It can also even suggests the freshness of the blood. These are some of the factors that will inform me to read a book.

I have also read another young adult literature book which is ‘The Not-So-Star-Spangled Life of Sunita Sen written by Mitali Perkins. Basically, the author is a Bengali (one form of Indian ethnic groups) who talks about immigrant children who faces challenges, dislocation in a new country and many more. Her books mainly centers on immigrant children facing the above issues.

CHAP. 7: TEACHER ROLES FOR TEACHING YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

My favourite K-12 teacher of literature is a lady who was very devoted to teaching literature. She really taught us with full love and enthusiasm. Basically, she uses her own materials when teaching literature and I really loved that. This method which she used is very much user friendly. For example, she does activities like reading aloud, getting ourselves to move around and many more to name. Her literature lesson is usually accompanied by soft music which she feels will relax our minds. Now I realized that she used ‘Suggestopedia’ method and it works. Since our literature subject is after recess and she knows that we will fall asleep, she brings music to the class. This is accompanied either by reciting a poem or reading a short story.

Furthermore, the learning environment established in the classroom is very friendly. There will be motivational posters, pictures and drawings in our classroom. It really doesn’t look like a classroom but like an exhibition hall. It is really beautiful and we all feel very comfortable to learn. We also have different types of tasks to do like pair work, group work and many more. This has made us to participate more in the class. The teacher is also not very strict but very humorous and good. I do not know whether she still teaches or not but I know that she has done a good job and I must go and visit her one day.

CHAP. 6: IMPLEMENTING THE YOUNG ADULT READER INVOLVEMENT MODEL

Recognizing the range and diversity of readers in a classroom, young adult literature can help the teacher to meet their needs by getting to know their students first. It is very important for a teacher to look at their students and get to know them slowly. One of the ways which they can do this is to get the students to introduce themselves and ask them who are their favourite authors or books and then learn from them slowly. By getting to know the students, the teacher will know what books they like to read and giving them a choice to choose books that they love to read. It is best if the teacher does this since, there is a range and diversity among students. Getting the students to choose their favourite book will make them to read more and most of all appreciate it. This will provide them some enthusiasm and interest. If we look from a different perspective where the teacher provides the book, some students will feel that the teacher is forcing them to read the book and not based by their own interest. Although some will agree with the teacher’s selection, but overall students would like to prefer something which they have a good background knowledge and the interest to read. Therefore, it is always best if the teacher can give them some opportunity to choose books which they love to read.

Besides that, giving them a list of the bestseller books and a summary of it will give them more happiness to select books which they love to read. As all of us know, students love something new and if the teacher can provide a list like this, the students can choose books that they like to read. But, the teacher also needs to be careful and know what books the students are choosing. This is to make sure that they are not brought to sensitive issues but towards developing good values.

For students with discipline problems and who are reluctant to read, the teacher here can choose books that depicts their characters. For example, if that student is very naughty, the teacher can choose books that depicts the characters which are naughty. In other words, students will be indirectly related to it. When these type of students read these books, they will be able to associate themselves with the character and later begin to improve themselves. This will in return reduce the teacher’s burden when dealing with these type of students.

CHAP. 5, BENEFITS OF SHARING AND DIFFERENT WAYS AND REASONS

There are lots of benefits which I receive when I share something which I am reading with others like can improve my understanding on a certain book. By having a discussion on the differences between the book which my friend is reading and the one which I am reading is that I can share what is not in that book with others. For example if I am reading a book on mystery whereas the other person is reading a book on love, I get to share with him or her what is so mysterious about this book and vice versa. This will in return give me a clear picture of what is there and not there in a book. Also when it comes to sharing, we can have a small book club discussion by posting questions like what I like in this book ?, what are the advantages or disadvantages ?, what makes this book become a bestseller or why it didn’t reach the bestseller lists and many more. By posting questions like these, I get to know the secret behind the books. This will in return make me to appreciate the author’s works.

Furthermore, there are lots of ways to share a book like borrowing, discussing through emails, skyping, chatting and many more. Among the different ways of sharing, the one I most enjoy sharing is to have a book club discussion. By having a book club discussion, I would not only get to know what other people’s view on that book, but also I can voice out my opinions and views. In other words, to get to know what other person’s view as well as mine. There are lots of things that can be discussed like characters, author’s works and many more. Most of all, it is very informal and I can have a cup of coffee while discussing it.

INTRO TO YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE, WOW !

Today we learnt on young adult literature. We did some brainstorming activity of words that are associated with young adult literature. We got a whole lot of words and now I got a clear picture of what is young adult literature and who does it cater for. I always had this perception that young adult literature is for teenagers. But, it actually caters for everybody if we look at as a whole. since teenage life is full of issues and problems, young adult literature would be very much suitable for this group. Even within 2 hours, I managed to absorb the information on young adult literature. It was a wonderful learning experience for me and good job Dr.Edwin for introducing us on young adult literature.

I am looking forward to learn more on this literature

TEXT SELECTION CRITERIA

Today, we learnt on text selection criteria. We learnt on the different ways to select a text. It was a good thing for teachers to know some criteria when selecting a text so that the students will understand better and read enthusiastically. It is very important for teachers to do this selection in order to get to know our students better and provide a friendly environment for literature to take place.

INTRO TO SPSS

Today we had an introduction on how to use the SPSS. I have not heard this name and I do not know what is this ‘SPSS’ thing is about. After having a good introduction by Dr.Edwin’s research assistants, I know now what is SPSS. The version which we have to use is only version 16 and I immediately when the next day to look for it. I went to Mines Shopping Complex and luckily I managed to find it. I was so desperate to get it. I immediately installed and guess what it was corrupted. I was so upset and quickly went the next day to return exchange it. This time I got a new one and it worked !. I was so happy and I feel like I am above the clouds. I still can’t forget the day I ran and exchanged it afraid that they would not give me a new one. The SPSS requires a lot of work, but it is a new learning experience for me and I know it would be very useful when I’m doing my Ph.D later on.