MORAL VALUES FROM LITERATURE TEXTS

  
  I really admired the masterpiece from Che Husna Azhari. Before this, I only read novels for my leisure. When I come to this PJJ course, it opens my eyes that there are plenty of talented Malaysian authors. Through Malaysia Literature In English or MLIE, I can feel the scenario. It is sad that they are not been so recognized although they are so talented.
     One of the Form 1 Literary text is Of Bunga Telur And Bally Shoes by the talented local author Che Husna Azhari. At the beginning of reading, I can sense the beauty of ideas the author in this short story. Although it is simple short story but I learn a lot from the story. Through the story, I can see that it is important to live within one's means. in Malay culture, a wedding is a big event. The story teaches us not to overspend or borrow money unnecessarily then we can get serious trouble. it is also to be practical although we have to uphold the traditions and learn to solve problems carefully.

    This story also tells us to be patient and co-operate with others. Of Bunga Telur And Bally Shoes is indeed the correct and relevant literature text for the lower secondary school. I feel that the students will  learn something from this short story.Thank you to Dr Che Husna for the brilliant story she has wrote and thank you the Ministry of Education for giving the opprtunity to students to study this story in their literature component.

DRAMA OF OUR LIFE

 

      In EDU3217 TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA, I found it difficult at first and I also wonder why we need to teach them as one of the component part in Literature in school. The drama that assigned to us were King Lear by William Shakespeare, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. to go through the language of drama that were published at their aged were extremely tough for me. Eventually, I can feel the beauty of these drama and I appreciated more of their works.

     Children benefit greatly from participating, even in small ways, in drama. They gain poise, self-confidence, and the ability to speak in front of others. They learn patience while they are waiting for their cue. They learn to be supportive when they have a small role, and they learn that they can't do it all alone when they have a bigger role. They learn to work as a team, take turns, and cooperate.

     Theater happens to be my personal favorite because in drama we pull together a wide variety of skills from different people and throw them all together. In addition to actors, dancers, and singers, a theatrical production needs good electricians, visual artists, carpenters... the possibilities do seem endless.

     And children stand to benefit from being exposed to the many individual and interconnecting disciplines in life.

WE ARE TEACHERS

                                                  

ARE WE FAIR ENOUGH TO OUR STUDENTS?

                   When in 1999 the Ministry of Education integrated the teaching of literature in English to all students in secondary schools as part of the English syllabus, amongst the aims of the components highlight contribution to personal development and character building, and broaden students’ outlook through reading about other cultures and world views. that short stories offered in the literature component does provide us with insights into cultural practices of others.  
        For example, in Ali Majod’s The Pencil, we are put in a situation where the boy, Zahid, was unjustly accused by the teacher, Mr. Jamal, of stealing a pencil and even hit Dolah, the boy he believed had stolen his pencil. It creates a flashback of a situation where perhaps we had also gone through some sort of accusation or had wrongly accused someone. When we put ourselves in the shoes of Zahid, or the selfish Mathilde in the Necklace, Heidi Munan’s patient Galau from How Dalat Got It’s Name and even any character involved in the short stories, it enables us to examine ourselves and also understand others. We tend to feel the way others have felt, why is it that they reacted in a certain way? What is it that led them to think in such a perspective? What are their concerns? What are the beliefs that they hold? We ask these questions in our head and go through the story from beginning till the end in search of an appropriate answer. We teachers, need to be more patients and try to be fair to our students.
             For me, literature components provided in Malaysians school a few years ago do provide us with insight into cultural practices of others, Malaysians and non- Malaysians. The Form 1 short stories selected revolve around the Malaysian context, which would depict various Malaysian cultural practices and aspects, issues and concerns of life, experiences and even the daily lives of people in Malaysia.

.....NOVELS.....

     ......Great Expectation by Charles Dickens, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Wuthering Height by Emily Bronte and The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Those are the novels that we have to study for EDU3215 Teaching The Language of Novels with Puan Juridah Md Rashid in Semester 6. Those novels are good and gave me a big impact on the views of women roles.

       In Great Expectation and Pride and Prejudice,both novels have the common theme that is love and expectation in the context of human relationships. Love plays an important role in life and through love; one has their own expectation in life. Love lies in everyone’s heart. Love can be defined in various meaning. To find true love or soul mate is another matter in life. Great Expectation is written by the first points of view while Pride and Prejudice is written by the third point of view. These two novels are snobbish concern for status, especially in terms of appearances or show. The main characters in both novels have a very strong characterization.  Thus, at once, the question is held up to scrutiny, whether a man's wealth exists at least partly to secure a wife. 
       We do need love to shower our lives. Wuthering Height and The Awakening, their themes consist of strong loves. Indeed, love is everyone’s needed in life. Love is strong and passion. It grows and changes in one’s life. The strongest love develops the characters in both novels. They can therefore show us how the authors of this time became more daring and defiant in the creation of these characters. Kate Chopin was ostracized from society when The Awakening was first published. This was because her character, Edna made such a departure from the female characters of earlier nineteenth-century novels, which shocked and appalled her society. In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte evokes us the character of Heathcliff. He becomes strong because he has love and also strong to fulfill his desires. 

     All those authors are brilliant. Their novels were written at their aged but the issues they highlighted still remains until now. Through the novels, I am more appreciate novels and also l learn a lot about life especially in women roles and what the women will do if they are facing those conflicts. It widen my experience about moral, love and women attitude.