tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949365541133088444.post4959691781466842749..comments2023-10-22T11:07:36.024-05:00Comments on Thought's Treasure Trove: No More SN's Masterpieces in KOMSAS?novahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142082915035808383noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-949365541133088444.post-79232094427704323552009-09-24T20:53:24.732-05:002009-09-24T20:53:24.732-05:00Changes are coming for the Lit component for PMR a...Changes are coming for the Lit component for PMR and SPM English in 2010, probably using the same argument(s) they proferred for the changes in KOMSAS - too heavy, dull etc. I began teaching the Lit component in 2002 and it was an awful struggle to get the message(s) of each poem & short story across. Ours is a rural school where the kids barely understood English then. I relied on 'Anecdote' Teaching: drawing on my life experiences to make the Lit come alive for the kids. And it worked, in that I got their attention for the most part but come exam time, when excerpts of the actual texts were presented, the kids got lost in the maelstrom of difficult vocabulary and foreign imagery, and ultimately gave up. 7 years on, we now have kids with a pretty good grasp of English. More importantly, I have matured as a teacher. God has guided me to teach the kids to relate issues explored in the Lit component to issues and complexities faced by these kids in their own lives. I have also begun guiding them to link what they've learned to various social issues and concerns. All of a sudden, it's no longer some Italian/Australian/English person's issues. I have, to some extent, been able to help blur the lines between gender, race and creed, and this has helped most of the kids to identify with the characters they have learned about. They have learned to be inspired by them. They have learned empathy. If teachers feel that the old texts are a wrong choice (as I once did, myself), well, they're wrong! It's not the texts that must be blamed. It's us. PFernandez, MalaysiaPFernandezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758006687101158764noreply@blogger.com