Little Stars On Earth

Lastly, I would like to review on the movie Taare Zameen Par that is just being shown in class. Although no one from my class dares to comment on this movie, I still want to review it because for me it is yet the greatest movie I had watch so far in my whole life. Although, I had already watch this movie long before Miss Alicia show it in class.

Entertainment Values

The genius Aamir Khan had successfully shocked the world with his movie and his decision on portraying the issue of dyslexia through his movie. This movie is about a dyslexic boy Ishan Nandikishore Awasthi who fights with the whole world with the help of his beloved teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh. He face a lot of difficulties as his teachers, friend, even his own family sees him as a trouble maker and had problem with attitude, until Ram came and realize Ishan problem and slowly mold him into a successful students. Can you imagine if the Ishaan did not meet Ram and I am sure that he would soon grow up to be a criminal or maybe a lunatic? This movie had changes my perspective on everything.

For me as a B. Ed TESL student

It is very important for an English teacher like me. Who knows someday, I might teach a dyslexic students. However, they are something that bothers me a lot ever since I watch the movie. In the movie Ram notice Ishaan problem and manage to change him, but the problem is that he notice it when Ishaan is still a boy. As for me who teach secondary school, how will I teach these kinds of students? I have been thinking a lot ever since, that it would too late for a dyslexic students to be changed during their secondary school life. So I had decided that however hard it or late it would to teach a dyslexic students, I will never give up until they can keep up although by sacrificing my own time. That is my vow as a teacher. Just like Ram the teacher who use his own time in teaching Ishaan.

Monalisa Smile

When I first watch this movie, I did not see any significant of why Dr Jaya show this movie in class. However, through at the middle of the movie I can see that this movie also is another great movie apart from “Akeela and The Bee” and “Lean On Me”.

Entertainment Values

The scene that triggers my mind towards liking the movie is when Katherine Watson made something to shut her students’ mouth up. This movie shows the life of arrogant students who thinks that they are better than teachers. So this young art teacher decided to show a picture apart from textbook and asked her students to interpret them. As the result, they all failed to interpret it correctly and realize their mistake then soon became friends with their teacher. The heroine in this movie tried to teach her students to think out of the box and not to cram their head too much with textbooks and syllabus.

For me as a B. Ed TESL student

Nowadays, students seem to be better than teacher. So I need to prepare myself in getting in this situation. I also do not want my students to rely too much on textbook or in other words exam-oriented. I want all my students will be able to think creatively using their vast imagination. I know, by doing that I will be opposing the whole system of teaching. However, I stand still with my principal on preparing my students to face the future life and not on just getting good exam results. As post in “Lean On Me” section I still hope that my students will get the best of both in life and in exam.   

Lean On Me

Entertainment Values

Lean on Me is another great movie aside from Akeela The Bee. This is also a movie about the life of a teacher who opposed the whole system of education but yet stand a winner at last. Despite being opposed by other teacher, yet he stands with his own principle in teaching. This story shows the life of a black teacher who is trying to correct his old school that is now became “An Evil Nest”.

             
For me as B. Ed TESL student
This story means a lot to me as I learned that being academically good is not enough to teach a student. A teacher need to have a pure heart where academic comes second. Maybe, when I became a teacher I will also being opposed by other teachers and students. I know that one day as a teacher I also will encounter some problematic students and need to find ways on how to dealing with them. One thing that I learned about dealing with delinquent students is that “there is no such thing as delinquent students”.

           
            As a student’s once, my teacher always treat me as a delinquent student and so did it happen, I truly became delinquent. Maybe it is wrong for me to blame the teachers of me being a delinquent, but as so Mr Clark I stand high with my principle and will never treat my students delinquently. I will never repeat the same mistake that my teacher did.   

            There is huge different between being strict and being bias. Mr Clark is being strict unlike other teacher who seems to care for the students but in fact he is the one who truly care for his students. I also need to be like Mr Clark who accepts all my students equally despite everything they had done. As the title goes, my students will surely can lean on me on everything.

The Red Shoes

            The Red Shoes is one of my most favorite stories when I was a child. It was produce by Hans Christian Andersen.  I remembered reading the simplified version of this story when I was in standard 5. Above is the synopsis of the story.

             It was about Karen who being adopted by a rich lady after her mother died. She then received a pair of red shoes from her adopted mother. Karen repeatedly wears them to church. She ignores the anger of her adopted mother. Her adoptive mother becomes ill, but Karen deserts her, preferring to attend a party in her red shoes. A mysterious soldier appears and makes strange remarks about what beautiful dancing shoes Karen has. Soon after, Karen begins to dance and she can't stop. The shoes take over; she cannot control them and they are stuck to her feet. The shoes continue to dance. She can't even attend her adoptive mother's funeral. An angel appears to her, bearing a sword, and condemns her to dance even after she dies, as a warning to vain children everywhere. Karen begs for mercy but the red shoes take her away before she hears the angel's reply. Karen finds an executioner and asks him to chop off her feet. He does so but the shoes continue to dance, now with Karen's amputated feet inside them. The executioner gives her a pair of wooden feet and crutches. Thinking that she has suffered enough for the red shoes, Karen decides to go to church in order for the people to see her. However her amputated feet, still in the red shoes, dance before her, barring the way. The following Sunday she tries again, thinking of herself at least as good as the others in church, but again the dancing red shoes bar the way. Karen gets a job as a maid in the parsonage, but when Sunday comes she dares not go to church. Instead she sits alone at home and prays to God for help. The angel reappears, now bearing a spray of roses, and gives Karen the mercy she asked for. No one there mentions the red shoes anymore.

            I think this story portrayed a lot of good moral values on how to behave around society. I believe a lot of teenagers nowadays are lacking in sense of how to behave with people. This story teaches me something and as it should be for you too.  

"if you do not want to get married then please use protection"

  Pre-marital sex is only but lead to the destruction of a family institution. In arguing my statement above I choose to strengthen it through the story of “A Great Injustice” by Heah Chwee Sian and “The Merry Maid” by Jayakaran Mukundan.

 Firstly I will talk about the destruction of a family happened in The Merry Maid. In the story Lakshmi and Shanmugam are having pre marital sex that causes her to give birth to a child out of wedlock. After a long hard time in concealing the fact that she is pregnant to her family and the society, she finally give birth to healthy baby girl only but to leave her in front of Johan’s house. Indeed of doing so Lakshmi is unconsciously destroying the relationship yet just being forge between her and the child. The reason I said that because Lakshmi will lose the most important of a mother that is the privilege of raising the child. However, When she did meet her daughter back, she still cannot form the bond of a mother and daughter. The child now is being called Sakinah and more to that a muslim as contrary to Lakshmi a hindu. Even so the institution of her family is still incomplete.

In contrary to “the Merry Maid”, Ah Nya is having a different version of problem but still is consider the same as Lakshmi. Both Steven and Ah Nya are also having a child out of wedlock in a young age. The family institution between Ah Nya, Steven and the unborn is early destroyed when Ah Nya do the abortion. The family institution between Ah Nya and her own family is also destroyed as Ah Nya is being seen as bad daughter who brought shame to the family. In my opinion because of the pressure from the society Ah Nya had to abort the child avoiding her family to also suffer her humiliation. Even that the root of this problem came from having pre marital sex that then lead to having a child out of wedlock and also lead to both family destruction.

With this problem in my mind, it is a must for teenagers to be aware of this and do not make the same mistake as both story did.

Akeela And The Bee

Akeela and The Bee is not a box office movie but it is enough to portray a few good moral values especially for me a teacher will be.

Entertainment Values
It is a story about a bright young girl Akeela whom should I say is a walking dictionary. She then enters a spelling competition and being train by Dr Larabee. However, I just want to talk about how Akeela learn the art of spelling bee. I remember a scerne when Dr Larabee told Akeel that all complicated words consist of simple words. For example, hydrophanous after being extended from the word hydro. I do not want to spoiled the movie by telling the ending, so I just want to say that is play a great deal for a students and a teacher.

 For me as a B. Ed TESL student
As for me, a B. Ed TESL students I feel ashamed compapred to her mountains of words that she knows. I need to start kicking up the horse again and to do so I already started to read a few different genres of books.

This story also reminds me of my childhood life. As a kid, people called me the Gods of English as I am good in every aspect of English subject including vocabulary, grammar, and writing but except speaking. I started to get lazy when I started studying in Maktab Pergururan. When I was a kid, English was life my passion. There isn’t any single day that I did not learn English. My dad is an English teacher and I am the one who had only possessed his specialty of English. My friends even asked me, “How did you memorize the dictionary”. Proudly, I said “my dad is my walking dictionary”. Every minute I asked him new English words despite the place. I even asked him when he is in the toilet. However, now without my father’s I have a habit not liking a dictionary. So I need to start working on my own and not being dependent to my father anymore.

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo is a children story that portrayed a lot of moral values. Also not to mention “The Great Storyteller” Dr Jaya who read the story with enthusiasm that even an adult like me became like a 5 years old child.

The story started with a mouse who met fox, owl and snake. Then he tells the terror of a Gruffalo whom he already met. As a result all three animals are scared of him. Lastly, the mouse did met “The Terror Gruffalo” and tricks The Gruffalo to follow him meeting other three animals. With that all the animals become more scared of him and so did Gruffalo.

The story shows the intelligence of the mouse who trick others and finally safe from harm. “Intelligence versus Physical” and guess which one wins. You do not need a physical like a Gruffalo to survive in my life, but it will just enough to possess the intelligence of the mouse.