Reading "I have A Dream" by Martin Luther King,Jr

Wow... this is the second time I am reading on "I have A Dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr. Still, it leaves a big impact on me. Why do we still practise segregation and discrimination while we claim ourselves to be in a civilised society of 21st century? To segregrate and discriminate people because of thier skin colours, religions and beliefs are acts that should not appear in a civilised society!

Again, this speech reminds me that how sufferings of living beings never end in this world. Historical facts from World War I and World War II until the incidence of 9-11 show that humans never stop fighting with each other over larger pieces of lands and bigger shares of wealth. How leaders and nations have always tried very hard to overpower each other -- to prove their countries are stronger in military and more influential politically. These struggles for more power and wealth always lead the people to suffer even more!

We really do need more leaders who fights for equality and justice for all human-beings in the non-violence ways! Violence cannot solve our problems. In fact, we should not segregate and discriminate people in the first place! Like the famous line from the speech of Martin Luther's King, "All men are created equal". Nobody should try to overule the others because we are all the same under the names of Gods! When our time is up, nobody has the previlage to linger even one minute more than the others. We are all the same when deaths approach us!

Freedom Writers

It is a very touching movie. It teaches us about the real situations that we might face in the classroom. As a teacher trainee, I feel that to some extent this movie exposes me to the reality out there– how it will never be easy for the teacher to handle students from different economical, social and cultural backgrounds. All the challenges that had been faced by Mrs. G perhaps I will face it myself in the near future. The reality will not be as idealized as our imaginary. The school authorities might not be supportive; the parents are unconcerned about the education of their children, and even the students themselves are disinterested in the learning process itself.

How could I survive all these challenges? What should I do to get my students interested in the lesson? I think Mrs. G has done a pretty good job there. She is flexible and changes her method of teaching after the typical chalks and notes do not work out in her classroom. She tries her best to relate the lessons to the real life contexts of students. She tailors her lessons according to the students’ needs. To me, this is the main reason as well why there is the need for education. Lessons should enable students to put into practice what they have learnt in the classrooms. Education should give students an alternative or an opportunity to make changes in their lives. Teachers play the roles to expose these opportunities to the students. However, to change or not to change will depend on the students. At least, we as teachers should have done the best that we could. Teachers are not the perfect persons, but we could learn and grow together with the students along the way. As long as we still have the passion for teaching, there will be ways to make our lessons better, and there will be even more chances for us to express concerns to our students.

However, I do not think I will sacrifice my family because of my career. Perhaps the husband of Mrs. G has some weaknesses himself, but it is also obvious that she has neglected her family. She has some share of fault as well when the marriage fails. Imagine if she has a child? Isn’t it her responsibility as well to educate her own child? I would not do anything so extreme in my life. Yes, teaching might be a vocation to many of us. However, the teaching of Buddha teaches me about the necessity to be modest. We have to follow the middle path if we are to have genuine happiness in our lives. Nothing should be too extreme in our lives, because extreme enjoyment or extreme suffering is not good either. I strongly believe that I should find a balanced point in everything I do. I could be a dedicated teacher while still taking good care of my family. Yes, my students need me, but my elderly parents, my siblings, my future spouse and children need me as well. I have to treat them fairly and be responsible to each and every one of them. All these people are equally important in my life. My life would be sort of incomplete if I am to be without any of them.

About Vincent van Gogh

Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch artist. His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces. Some of Vincent van Gogh famous works include “The Potato Eaters”, “Sunflowers” and “The Starry Night”. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his relationship with Paul Gauguin. After this, he suffered of mental illness, which led to his suicide.

Vincent van Gough seemed to behave quite radically in everything that he did. Not only cutting down his left ear, Vincent behaved as feverishly as well when he was a priest in the village of Petit Wasmes. Vincent opted to live like those he preached to, sharing their hardships to the extent of sleeping on straw in a small hut at the back of the baker's house. His choice of poor living conditions did not please the church authorities, and Vincent was being dismissed for "undermining the dignity of the priesthood."

The central figure in Van Gogh's life was his brother Theo, who continually and selflessly provided financial support to Vincent. Their lifelong friendship is documented in numerous letters they exchanged from August 1872 onwards. In the letter, Vincent shared with Theo about his religious belief, and his passion in drawing. They even exchanged their most inner thoughts and feelings. This means of communication enabled Vincent to express his opinions regarding what art was in his eyes. He was depressed because he cannot work while he was ill. “Art is jealous; she does not like taking second place to illness.”

Implications for Education -- by using “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” as the literary texts

I would strongly recommend that both the novels “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” be included as literary texts for Malaysia secondary school curriculum. How can both the novels be used to teach values in Malaysian secondary schools?

First of all, I personally feel that these two novels have given a very good exposure to students regarding the cultural and societal values of the eighteenth century. In fact, the teachers in classrooms can use both “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” as points-of-entry to teach about values of the eighteenth century. The teachers can do in-depth study together with the students to find out what might be the historical contexts that influenced the mindsets, values, and actions of the characters. For example, these two novels present clearly that women in Jane Austen’s era could only seek financial and social security through obtaining good marriages. The role of the teachers in here is – to function as the facilitators and guide the students in finding out what are the reasons behind the behaviour of the characters. Why a marriage in the Jane Austen’s society has become an economic event?


Secondly, both “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” are useful in exposing students to the mistreatment that women received in the eighteenth century. Students could be made aware that the society in Jane Austen’s era has imposed far more obstacles than opportunities for women to realise their personal desire for freedom, education, and even choices of life partners. From here, the teachers could ask the students to compare and contrast the values of the society and the values of both Elizabeth and Fanny. How much do both protagonists represent the values of the society? And yet, how much do both protagonists different from the ordinary women of her society? What are the roles and expectations of women at Jane Austen’s era? Teachers could encourage students to think over those questions and read more extensively to find out the possible explanations.


Thirdly, both novels “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” also provide opportunities for students to think about what personal happiness might mean to them. Happiness may mean different things to different people. Therefore, teachers could mention to students about the importance of constructive criticism. Students should learn to respect and not criticising others’ opinions in the first place. They should learn to listen first before they give out their own opinions.


Fourthly, the societal contexts in both novels can be applied to modern world as well. The society has never changed much either in eighteenth or twenty-first centuries – how the people are still in eager pursue of more wealth and higher social status. People have lost the true understanding towards what might personal happiness mean. Worse still, the society is getting more and more materialistic in the modern world. We could never feel satisfied with the current figures in our bank accounts and we postpone our chances for genuine happiness by saying the following statements:
v I'll be happy when I make RM 100,000 a year.
v I'll be happy when I get my dream house.
v I'll be happy when I have enough money to quit my job.

However, students should be told by the teachers that happiness is not necessary associated with wealth and status. Of course money could provide us with all the basic necessities in life, but there are many others factors that contribute to ones’ personal happiness. For example, a person could feel happy when he/she is having the freedom to make choices, or a person with strong religious faiths could always feel contented in life. These values should be put into consideration as well. Therefore, students should be encouraged to think more openly and thoroughly before they make any decision in their life.


In conclusion, both novels “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park” have exposed various social issues to the students. Both novels have touched on the issues of societal expectations versus individual values and also on fates of women in the eighteenth century. Therefore, both novels would be very good texts indeed if they are to be used as teaching materials in secondary schools.

Writing the first draft of my research paper

It took me quite a long time to write out my first draft. I spent a lot of time on rereading the novels "Pride and Prejudice" and "Mansfield Park". It was a rather tedious process to find out what are all the suitable qoutations for my research paper as well.


Then, I initially had a very difficult time to give a smooth flow to my essay. I had to go through the editing processes for many times before I could arrive at a paragraph that I felt satisfied with. I had to rearrange the structure of my essay and recombine some of the sentences in order to have a coherent piece of writing. Through out the writing process, I had to compare and contrast what are the similarities and differences of these two novels.


In fact, I had done some researches to find out how the historical and societal contexts of Jane Austen's era had influenced the values and actions of the characters. What were the society's expectations towards the behaviour of the characters during that era? What were the roles of women in the eighteenth century?


In conclusion, although it took me roughly two weeks to get my first draft of my reserach paper done, I still felt that it was a worthwhile process because I had learnt up alot of things through out the process.

Fighting for more time to read my second readings of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park”

This week had not been an easy week for me. So many assignments and societal activities to be handled at the same time! Now and then were meetings and group discussions! Therefore, I really was literally fighting for more time to read my second readings of “Pride and Prejudice” and “Mansfield Park”.

It had never been easy for me to understand the language that Jane Austen used in the novels. Most the time, I had to read it twice before I could really understand the gist of the meaning. The compound-complex sentences used by Jane Austen were rather lengthy and complicated. The eighteen-century’s language was sometimes archaic and beyond my context of comprehension. Therefore, these situations made second readings compulsory in my case.

Indeed, I considered my accomplished task for second readings as a form of achievement!

Why do the teachers need to expose students to different types of Malaysian Festival Celebrations?

It is important for the teachers to expose students to different cultural practices and celebrations of different races. In a multi-racial country like Malaysia, unity and understanding among different races could only be achieved under the condition that the students or people in general know what are cultural values and norms of each other. If we understand the superstitions and taboos of other races, we would not offend the feelings of other races.

In fact, knowing the cultural practices of other races enable students to behave according to society’s expectations. For example, students are expected not to wear red colour or fanciful clothes while attending Chinese’s funeral rituals.

Last but not least, teaching cultural practices and celebrations enable students to be selective on what are the practices and values to be followed by them and what are not to be followed. The teachers could try to make students aware that old-fashioned / gender-biased / superstitious practices should not be continued. For example, the superstitious practice that says we should not buy books during Chinese New Year seems rather ridiculous to me.

Reflection after my oral presentation on position paper

Finally, it was my turn to present my position paper! I was glad that it was over because I had been waiting anxiously to get it done.:) How nervous I was during the presentation!Luckily, Dr. Edwin did not comment much on my oral presentation, may be because my thesis statement was well-supported with appropriate supporting details. Perhaps, my style of presentation and language used can be considered appropriate and effective.


I used to face rather great difficulty to present in front of the class. I am confident that I am proficient in my written language but I always worry that I am not competent enough in my spoken language. I still have great rooms for improvement. I am trying very hard to avoid mispronunciations and slips of tongue. I have improved in some aspects in my spoken language
but there is still a very far way from being a fluent and articulate speaker.


As what Dr. Edwin had said before, it really was our own responsibilities to polish up our language skills. As we are to become teachers and not cheaters! To become a second-rated teacher in my students' eyes is not what I have wished for through out the years! Therefore, I should work harder in improving myself!

What is personal happiness?

I have an interest to explore what might be the possible explanations to personal happiness. Personal happiness is also the issue that I would like to discuss in my Research Paper and these are a few explanations that I have concluded.

"Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length."
-Robert Frost

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English describes the meaning of HAPPINESS as "an agreeable feeling or condition of the soul - arising from good fortune; enjoyment; contentment; or joyful satisfaction."

Different people have different notions towards what personal happiness is. It could be giving a surprise gift to a loved one; or a RM20 to a stranger in need. It could be helping an elderly woman with her groceries. It could be buying a cone of ice cream for your kids; or taking your dog for a walk.

There is an ancient tale of happiness that appears in many cultures, and it goes like this: “Once there was a prince who was terribly unhappy. The king dispatched messengers to find the shirt of a happy man, as his advisers told him that was the only cure. They finally encountered a poor farmer who was supremely content. Alas, the happy man owned no shirt.”

Therefore, the lesson that I have learnt from the ancient tale is – be contented with what you have. Seek out happiness RIGHT NOW! Do not wait until you have more money or more time. Always be grateful! Plan the activities in your life, so that you could experience that elusive emotion called happiness!

About Nelson Mandela

After reading on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, I was very impressed with his leadership and strong determination to fight for equality for every human being. In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela retold his personal experiences on how he was imprisoned and being treated badly on Robben Island, yet, he did not give in to the South Africa government that practicing Apartheid. His keen spirit in fighting for justice made me wanted me to read more about this heroic man.

Nelson Mandela was born in 18 July 1918. He was the former President of South Africa, the first person who was being elected in democratic elections. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress and its armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. Among opponents of apartheid in South Africa, he became a symbol of freedom and equality, but the apartheid government condemned him and the ANC as communists and terrorists.

Nelson Mandela went through a lot of hardship, yet, he still fought for his political ideology – to promote democratic society that allowed everyone to have the equal right to vote, to voice up their opinions and to have the freedom to make choices in their lives. Mandela's political was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired him and succeeding generations of South African anti-apartheid activists. Here I have taken out the inspiring quotes from Nelson Mandela to share with others. How Nelson Mandela prepared to sacrifice even his own life for his political ideology if it was necessary.

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Mandela has received more than one hundred awards over four decades, most notably the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. To millions of people around the world, Nelson Mandela stands for the triumph of dignity over despair, of love over discrimination and evil.

The values of an autobiography

People write autobiographies because they want to share their experiences with others. A lot of writers use autobiographies to reflect about life itself. They want others to know what they have gone through. Basically, an autobiography is a personal account of events that had taken place.

Writing an autobiography can be seen as a means for us to release emotions, because we could put in our thoughts and personal feelings into the autobiography. Therefore, an autobiography may not necessarily be a serious piece of writing sometimes, but more as an element of entertainment. However, people like politicians do write autobiographies to share /to influence others about their beliefs. These people may write autobiographies to gain more support for their beliefs.

Although autobiographies may have high degree of subjectivity, they still provide a means for the readers to understand the writers better. Sometimes, autobiographies provide the readers insights towards certain national issues or personalities of the leaders/politicians.

Writing out A Thesis Statement and Supporting Details

It has never been easy for me to come out with a thesis statement and five supporting details for my position papers. I always find the character of Nora interesting and engaging while reading Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”, therefore, I have decided to write my position paper based on the character of Nora.

In “A Doll’s House”, Nora is portrayed as a doll to both her father and her husband. They both see Nora as someone who is attractive but always helpless and dependent. They treat her just like the way a child treats her doll. Her freedom is restrained in the household. Nora’s husband, Torvald intervenes in every aspect her life. The husband still disallows her to eat macaroons even when she is already mother of two.

However, my in-depth study of this play made me think the other way round regarding the character of Nora. Therefore, I come up with a thesis statement that sounds “Nora is not the doll that her husband perceives her to be”. Besides, I have also five supporting details to support my argument.

First of all, Nora is manipulative. She pretends to be innocent and helpless because Torvald likes her to be so, but it is not her actual self. She does this to satisfy Torvald’s male ego because Torvald likes people to look up to him. Besides, Nora uses her physical beauty as superficial manifestation to get what ever she wants. When she pleads and begs, Torvald will give in to her demands. This shows that Nora knows what methods work best with Torvald, and thus, influences him psychologically. Nora uses this method to ask for more money for herself.

Secondly, Nora is not the traditional woman of her time. Nora’s self-image is not the typical mother figure. She thinks herself as good as man because she too could earn money and support her family. In fact, working and earning money is her “pride and joy”. Rather than waiting passively for things to happen by themselves, Nora takes the initiatives to figure out ways to solve her problems.

Thirdly, Nora thinks ahead of time. She knows what would be the consequences if Torvald knows that she had forged a signature and committed a crime. She could no longer be happy with Torvald and her marriage would be ruined because Torvald wants only a perfect wife.

Fourthly, Nora is persistent in doing whatever she thinks is right. Nora has her own thinking regarding what is right or wrong. Most of the time she disregards what has been stated by the laws. She does not think that the action of forging the signature is a criminal act because the motives are good. She does this just to save her family and her husband.

Fifthly, Nora finally achieves the realisation that self-independence is her salvation but not her marriage. She realises she does not have a true marriage with Torvald because they do not love each other. Nora eventually leaves Torvald for the better good of herself. She wants to fulfil her duty to herself, not only as a mother and wife. She knows that only through self-independence would free her from her husband’s control and domination.

In conclusion, Nora is not the doll that her husband perceives her to be. She is manipulative and uses her physical beauty as her manifestation to get whatever she wants. Yet, Nora has some positive qualities also. She has her own mindsets and thoughts that distinguish her from the women of her era. Nora knows that she must exist as individual and be independent before she could be happy with her life. She would not let people determine her fate for her.

Why My Position Paper would be on Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"?

When we were told to write a position paper by Dr. Edwin, a few of my favourite books came across my mind. Of course Jane Austen's work would be on the list, yet I would not discuss about her work in my position paper because I wanted to reserve those work for my research paper. So, I finally decided to write a position paper on Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"!

When the first time I read about Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House", I found the play interesting. Athough the text was rather lengthy, the twisted plot and complicated characters' traits still made the story very engaging to me. This play made me ponder over a lot of matters!

In fact, Henrik Ibsen was known as the "father of modern drama" because he elevated theatre from entertainment to a forum for exposing social problems. Ibsen broke away from the romantic tradition of his time -- his writing pieces were full of realistic portrayals of individual characters and his focus on psychological concerns. Henrik Ibsen sought to portray the real world, especially the position of woman in society.

Ibsen believed that women were best suited to be mothers and wives, but at the same time, he had an eye for injustice. He knew that Helmer's demeaning treatment of Nora was a common problem in the society of that era.

Initially, Henrik Ibsen presented the play in a rather conventional way. There were a lovely and docile wife, Nora, and a hardworking and responsible husband, Torvald. The wife took care of the household and three little children while the husband worked hard and earned money outside. The most important thing was -- Nora and Torvald had a close rapport in their marriage and seemed to be deeply in love with each other. What a picture of a happy family!

Yet, what attracted me more while reading "A Doll's House" was the extraordinary and unexpected ending of the play. In the end of the play, Nora resolved to leave Torvald. She was aware that true wedlock was impossible between them because neither of them loved the other, or was even capable of doing so. Nora realized that, before she could be a wife, she must first discover herself through venturing out into the world. Nora left an unformed soul, determined to become a full person rather than the doll of the male figures in her life.

By: Chuah Kar Wooi (134185)

B. Ed. (TESL)

The Teaching of Tales in the Classroom

Tales have great values in the educational purposes. Tales are generally capable of generating interests among students. Therefore, it is a good method for the teacher to use Tales as a set induction, because it helps to activate students’ network of schemata or prior knowledge. When the teacher is able to engage students’ attention and interest since the beginning of the lesson, students tend to concentrate more during the rest of the class.

Besides that, tales are usually quite familiar to the students. Even though some of the students may not read the tales in English before, they might have read the tales in their mother tongues. Therefore, the students actually can understand the contexts of the story and the development of the plotlines even they do not have a very good command of English. Students can make prediction and guess out what the story is all about with their prior knowledge. In fact, we can say that tales are useful in helping students mastering the English language -- when students already have understandings towards the development of the story, they can concentrate better towards the use of the language. Perhaps, in the long terms, they can acquire more vocabularies indirectly.

Moreover, tales help to cultivate the reading habits of the students. Tales are easily digestible materials for the students; thus, it would not create high level of anxiety among the students even the teacher requires them to read up tales at home. When students have built up their confidence towards English reading materials, they are willing to read more and read in wider scope of genres.

In fact, tales are effective in enhancing students' learning experience in language classroom. There are many ways in which tales can be incorporated in a language classroom. First of all, tales can be incorporated in students' writing processes. The students can recreate and rewrite their own versions of the tales. In that way, students can fully utilise their creativity. For examples, they can create different beginning and different ending for a tale. A tale does not necessarily ends with the prince and princess live happily ever after.

Besides that, tales can be incorporated in role-play activities as well. Students can dramatise the tales and get a better understanding on the storylines. When students act out, they experience how a character behaves and feels, thus, making their interpretation of the text more personal and meaningful. In fact, pantomiming the tales would be an effective way for the students to demonstrate their creativity and maturity of thoughts. Actually, in a self-directed sketch, students also can design their monologues or dialogues based on the storylines of tales and fables.

In conclusion, tales have great values for educational purposes and they can be incorporated in many ways in our language classroom.

By: Chuah Kar Wooi (134185)

B. Ed. (TESL)

Humans' sufferings

"Seeing the pain in someone's eyes,

or hearing the sadness,

or worry in his or her voice,

how can we not care?

how can we not be kind?"

This is a short qoutation that I have taken out from Buddhism "Path to Peace". However, this is an utopian idea because loving-kindness is no longer commonly found in today's competitive world. Too many of us are indifferent towards the sufferings of others. We no longer care and be kind to those who are less fortunate.

Take a look on those who are from the third world countries, and how they have struggled so hard just to survive. The poor at those places are always in hunger and coldness, and the statistic even shows that every five minutes a child dies as a result of famine. A lot more are without shelters. In fact, the rich and powerful oppress the poor and powerless in a lot of countries. The poor have no says over a lot of matters. To be realistic, there seem no hope for us to close up the social and economical gap because nobody really cares and sympathises with the sufferings of others.

In fact, I personally feel that both poems W. H. Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts"and Lord Alfred Tennyson's "Break, Break, Break" depict humankind's indifference towards the sufferings of others. In "Musee des Beaux Arts", even though Icarus is drowning, nobody really concerns with his life. The ploughman, shepherd and fishermen are oblivious to the tragedy of Icarus. We are just like the ploughman, shepherd and fishemen who are too engrossed in the day's routines -- we might "have heard the splash, the forsaken cry" but have somewhere else to go. Only those who are nearest to us like our families will moan over our deaths.

In "Break, Break, Break", life goes on as usual even a tragedy just happened. One's sufferings have no consequence to the others around him. Nobody will really bother whether you are dying or not. They mind only their own business, just like "the sailor lad sings in his boat on the bay" and "the stately ships go on to their haven under the hill" even though that is a hand disappearing!There are no helping hands!

By: Chuah Kar Wooi (134185)

B.Ed. (TESL)

Group 21

The Fall of Icarus

When the first time I went through internet websites and searched for the painting "The Fall of Icarus", I felt very confused. Why there were so many versions of the painting? Which one was the authentic one? I downloaded critiques on both the painting "The Fall of Icarus" and the tale "Daedalus and Icarus" and read about those critiques before I could really understand what the painting and the tale were all about.

Different artists drew the painting "The Fall of Icarus" in different ways. The differences in presentations in "The Fall of Icarus" were due in part to the times in which the pieces were made. In some of those paintings, the clothing was changed so that it represented those of contemporary times. In others, the pieces reflect the geography around the artist. The setting in which they painted the piece might have been the only setting that they knew. Other differences could have stemmed from the artist’s upbringing. The painting might also reflect what the artists knew about the ancient world and what they thought the ancient world had been like.

However, I still felt that it was really a great idea to expose students in set induction to the painting "The Fall of Icarus" before they started to look at and study about the tale "Daedalus and Icarus". Most of the students were visually-oriented, and they learnt better through visual aids. After viewing the painting, students would grasp an overall concept on how the setting of the tale looked like. In fact, I felt that the painting was in fact closely represented the setting of the tale. There were setting sun, ploughing fields and the sea. Through the painting, students could understand better what were the characters in the tales. The main characters -- fishermen, the shepherd and the ploughman existed in both the painting and the tale.

Besides that, I agreed with Dr. Edwin's idea that there was the need to simplify the language of the tale "Daedalus and Icarus" if students were to better understand the whole story. The original version of the tale was too crowded with descriptive words and excessive details, until I myself had to read it twice before I could trace out the development of the plot and understand the gist of the story.

After all, "Daedalus and Icarus" was interesting to read on.

By: Chuah Kar Wooi (134185)

B.Ed. (TESL)