The Power of Believing

Bieber fever is everywhere. It is amazing to see a 17 year old boy rocked the world through his single hit “Baby”. He has become an inspiration for the whole world, let it be teenagers or adults, everybody want to be Justin Bieber. Among his best hits, one that made the whole world turn to him is the song “Pray”. This song is written by Justin Bieber with Adam Messenger,Nasri and Omar Martinez. It is also an inspiration from Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” song.

            What we can see in the music video are the victims of devastating earthquake in Haiti which happened 2010. Many people were affected because of this and they were featured in this music video. There are also victims of Katrina hurricane of New Orleans, soldiers being reunited with their family members and those who are homeless also featured in this music video. It is more like a short documentary of how all these people were given another reason that life still has to go on.

            The lines from this song highlight the difficulties and sufferings of people around us. There are issues of poverty, how innocent lives are being affected, sacrifices made by soldiers fighting for their country, living behind their loved ones. There is a way for us to change all these, we have to pray. We must believe in the power of believing and have faith in GOD. The purpose of Bieber singing this song is to instill hope on those who are giving up in life. We can see this from his visit to the hospitals, homes and soldier camps. We can also evidence it through the lines from the song; “Cause I know there's sunshine behind that rain, I know there's good times behind that pain”, “I close my eyes and pray”.

                This song can be used in the classroom to create awareness among the students of how lucky they are. Most of us are not appreciating what we have. We often waste food, water and other necessities. We do not appreciate the love of our parents and we do not appreciate the beauty of nature around us. On the other hand, less fortunate people are craving for everything that we have been wasting. So, through this song, we can show the students how people are suffering, how happy they are when they get something that they really wish for. The students are also given a chance to use their critical thinking skills. They are given a chance to imagine something that they hve never experienced before. This will make them realize how lucky they are to live a happy life.

            At the end of the music video, there is a quotation that relates all of us to the Almighty; “God speaks in the silence of the heart. Listening is the beginning of prayer.” This phrase is very true as we should never let the faith towards God fade away and by praying, we are moving closer to God.

Two different sides of coin with the same value

     One of the super powers that are really attainable is the power of persuasion. You do not need any gadgets for it, just use what God has given you, mouth, tongue, voice and the mentality to manipulate words. Two best superheroes that the world has witnessed are Adolf Hitler and Churchill. These are the best public speakers as well and till today, people are analyzing their speech and use it as example to learn the skill of persuading people. Even though they both practice different belief, they have the same style in presenting their intention.

     First of all, both of them use persuasive language that we can clearly see. For example, in the speech of “We will fight on the beaches” by Churchill, he has used persuasive words like …“I have, myself, full of confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home…”, “…we shall not flag or fail…”, “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France…”. Hitler has the same trait as Churchill. It is clearly noticed through his speech as well; “Now here are 85 million Germans looking into pride and confidence. They are heirs of a great history. We had a world empire when England was nothing but a small island and for a longer time than for 300 years”, “We go into the new year with a fighting force armed as never before in German history. The number of our divisions on land has been enormously increased. Pay has been increased…”  What we can notice is that both leaders are trying to gain their audience’s support through this persuasive skill that they possess.

      Further similar trait that we can notice is the use of pronoun “We” and “I”. The use of “We” here shows the connectivity between the leaders and their audience. It is a good way to gain support because when the pronoun “We” is used, the leaders are including the audience as direct involvement. This gives the audience confidence that the leaders are giving them the attention that they needed. The use of “I” here shows superiority. Both leaders are very influential, that we know. Hitler is a famous symbol for dictatorship. We can see his urge for power through the usage of “I” in his speeches. Churchill is not a dictator but in his speech, we can find the usage of “I”. This is maybe to show his influence of what he has done, addressing his achievements.

Moreover, they both are well prepared for their speech. This is truly a quality that a leader should have. We can see their confidence in their speech and this is one of the evidences that they are well prepared. There are no pauses or fillers in unnecessary places. This is also another sign of how much they have prepared. Moreover, their speeches are spontaneous as they only have main points with them when they gave the speech. Not all can do that but a great leader like Adolf Hitler and Churchill.

 

What are we, pigs or humans???

     Thanks to George Orwell and one of his masterpiece, the question is now arisen. Are we really behaving like humans or did we revolutionize ourselves from characteristics of animals? Is Darwin’s theory is proven? This is because no matter how you control yourself the animal inside will wake up one day, which is a true statement, whether we realize it directly or no. Psychology aside, let just focus on the animals. This story is about how the animals started to fight for their rights and started a ruling government of their own among themselves. The smartest of their kind are the pigs, how contradicting. It is a good example of how both dictatorship and socialism have their own pros and cons.

     I do not want to see this from the angle of representation of the characters towards any person who lived or lives on the surface of planet earth. Let us just see this as a story with moral values. The animals wanted to bring revolution to their farm and that is not wrong at all. They fought for their rights, they earned themselves of what they deserve, freedom. So, Napoleon and Snowball, the smart and competitive pig started to take over. They did not lead but just monitor things around. Things seemed to go in the right flow. They even created seven commandments;

1.       Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2.       Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3.       No animal shall wear clothes.

4.       No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5.       No animal shall drink alcohol.

6.       No animal shall kill any other animal.

7.       All animals are equal.

     Such were their rules that they based their life upon. All the animals did their job as usual, only this time they did it happily with no pressure or fear of being mistreated. But things turned ugly when Napoleon secretly plans to topple Snowball even though they were getting the same rights as the monitors of the animals. He secretly reared the puppies for quite some time. He used these dogs as his weapon to threaten other animals and eventually gain control of them. Soon, he began to change the commandments to suit his actions. At the end, commandments were as below;

Four legs good, two legs better.

No animals shall sleep in bed with sheets.

No animals shall drink alcohol to excess.

No animals shall kill any other animal without cause.

All animals are equal BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

     The best part has to be the ending where the pigs and humans celebrate their reunion but the celebration ended in a brawl. This is what happens when animals try to behave like humans and humans behave like animals. Dictatorship or socialism, it all depends on the heart that follows it. If you have a strong heart that you can practice certain beliefs without deviating from the original path, then what you are doing is right. There can be some changes, but those changes should bring improvement and not degradation. What we should learn from this story is that as humans, we are better species than the others; we are given special gifts by the God, the ability to think. We should never use them to behave like animals and demolish our own kinds or torture animals. Everyone has their own specialty and it should be respected or else “from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man; it will be impossible to say which was which”.

Lady-like Smile

     A star studded movie is always a movie worth watching few times. Julia Roberts, Kirtsen Dunst and few other big names are a bunch of talented crew that can be found in the movie Mona Lisa smile. For me, I viewed this movie from a perception of a feminist or rather I was made into thinking that way because most of the casts in this movie are ladies, I just cannot help thinking that way. Nevertheless, it was very entertaining as I never have the thought that I would be watching a movie from this point of view.

     Feminism is one of the theories in literature and so was taught to me. To me, this is absolutely a good theory because it stands up for the women who deserve to shine like a star among the suns in the literature galaxy. In this movie, Julia Roberts is appointed as a lecturer to teach arts in a famous college in Wellesley. The first day does not go as how she had expected because the students were just too smart. They have studied everything in the syllabus and it was just another day for them. But Julia Roberts’ character sensed something that they lack, freedom. All they have in their mind is to finish studying and find the right guy to be married to. So, the savior steps up to the duty and does her job well in making the girls realize that life is not only about getting married. Women have their rights to choose what they want to do with their life and they have expectations, ambitions and dreams that worth chasing.

     My favourite part is when Julia Roberts shows them a picture of flower in a vase and the students could not answer what kind of art it is. They started arguing within themselves and that is when Julia Roberts started to put some sense into them. This is what I would like to do to my students. Education is not for them to pass examination. Knowledge is not something to be copied on the answering sheets and be forgotten the next day. It is something that worth keeping forever, it is meant to be shared with everone. Life has to offer so much yet we constrain them and make the hell out of it.

     This movie has really put some sense into me as well. My students will be friends. There are limits and rules to be followed but apart from that, I want them to know that as a teacher, I am able to make a difference in their life and I would want to gain their trust. All this is through the innocent smile introduced by a legend that never spoke a word or even blink her eyes, Mona Lisa.

 

Lean On Me...

At first, this movie seemed to be one of those movies that I would not really watch even if I have the free time. The reasons are it is kind of old, the colour was not so clear and it is just not my type of movie. But to watch beyond all those reason is what the real deal is. As for the entertainment value, this movie should be in the list because it has all the elements that an entertaining movie has to have. Comedy, suspense, drama, all these can be witnessed in the movie. As it the setting takes place in a suburban area, the students in the school are mostly African-Americans and some of them are South Americans. Their slang is one of the entertainments in this movie. Moreover, the incidents that happen in the movie serve as the fun lesson for the audience as it makes them laugh and think at the same time. This is how an entertaining movie should be.

Personally, I feel that this movie is a little bit exaggerated. I do not know the real situation in that country or specifically, that part of the state. But, I was taken by surprise to see the condition of the school. It really reminds me of how it will be when I go to school and start my career as a teacher. For me, first impression is always important. If the first school that I’m going to teach will be in that condition, then, I should see my way out of this noble profession soon because I could not take it even when I watch it in the movie. You can always control what happens in the movie but when it comes to reality, you cannot predict what will happen. That is why watching the movie really scares me.

Principal Clark acted by Morgan Freeman is really the concrete pillar that holds the movie together. He is the boss and he acts like one. His best weapons are his self-composure and the persuasive speech that one can never avoid. He constantly pushes his staffs and everyone has to work their sweat off. It really looks harsh but at the end, the result is something that no one had expected. The school passed the Basic Skill Test and that is all Principal Clark needed. He really reminds me of my Secondary school principal, Tuan Haji Farid. If Morgan Freeman’s power is his speech, Tuan Hj Farid’s power is silence. Whenever he passes by the classes, students will even try not to breath. When he gives speech, it seems to be normal, but to think of it now, I can see the dedication and the hopes that he has for the students and the school’s achievement. The fear that we had for him made us go all out and it made our school one of the best performing school in state of Pahang academically and also in co-curricular activities. He is truly one of the best Principal that I have seen.

What I have learnt from this movie is that, at times, to fight terrorism, we need to be one of them. That is what Principal Clark has done. He did not give mercy to any of the problematic students until they realize their mistakes and come asking for a second chance. But that does not mean that I can constantly push everyone around me to do the work that I wanted. I learnt to press the right button at the right time. I also understand the power of persuasion. Speeches given by Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi prove to be the best examples, these people are my inspiration and I will adapt their skills so that I can persuade my students as well. Of course, even if not the whole school, I will try my best to change at least a bunch of students. This goes into my to-do list when I start my career as a teacher and I will make sure that my students will remember me as I remember the teachers that made me change my life.

Lean On Me Lyrics

Songwriter: Bill Withers

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tommorow

Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won't let show

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand (Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Second Verse
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand (Chorus)
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you need to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me

Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (Call me)
Call me (if you need a friend)
Call me (if you ever need a friend)
Call me (Call me)
Call me
Call me (if you need a friend)

Lean On Me Lyrics © Interior Music Corp



 

Bad is better than worse

There are so many cases of dumped babies nowadays. There could be so many reasons for it but there is only one life is affected, the innocent baby. it is very saddening to see it happening around us. There is no value for a human life and the evidences are everywhere. If killing the baby after its born is a sin, then killing it while it’s in the womb is not less than that. Youngsters, they tend to rush into things and does not have the courage to be responsible of their own deeds. Yes, pre-marital sex is culturally and morally wrong. But when it happens, we should see what the consequences are and be responsible of it. If the girl gets pregnant, aborting baby is not the best solution. As a matter of fact, we should not even consider it as an option. There are other ways to deal with it.

In the story of “Great Injustice”, Ah Nya commits the same mistake. But Steven is not willing to take the responsibility for it. As Ah Nya takes the decision to abort the baby, she blames it on the society for her action. It is true that the society provoked her but that is what they do all the time. She should have been able to stand tall against all the talking and gossips because she is the reason why they were talking such things. Her mother, her greatest strength had agreed to help her and take care of the baby. But she still went for the abortion. This shows that she herself does not have the confidence to be responsible for her mistake.

On the other hand, Lakshmi from the story “Merry Maid” took a better solution compared to Ah Nya. Lakshmi is also a victim of situation when she has pre-marital sex and gets pregnant. But she does not think about abortion at all. She chooses to abandon the baby in anyone’s house so that the baby will have a better future. She even chooses the best house so that her baby will live a better life. After a few years, she comes back to the house and work as a maid so that she could stay with her daughter as much as she wants. This shows her love towards her baby.

It is clearly shown that there are other ways to help children born out of wedlock. Abortion is not the only way. There are so many NGOs and even government organization to help people who are facing this situation. It can be justified that Ah Nya did it out of her motherly love yet she does not has the right to take away a life. So, that is why I feel, giving the child away is better than killing it.

Good turns bad

One of the issues that always stir up the Indian community is the dowry system. Even though years have passed since the Indians came to Malaysia, some of the culture still remains as it is being passed through generations. It is the inheritance that will never go missing. As such is the dowry system. To be truthful, it is not a bad culture. The real purpose of dowry is actually an emergency fund set up by the father or the brother of the bride. It functions as a sum of money to help the bride in case of abandonment or the death of the husband. But now, if the bride does not provide enough dowries, it becomes a cause for her death. This is how a good thing turns bad.

This was the case in the stories “Everything’s Arranged” and “Question of Dowry”. First of all, in the story of “Everything’s Arranged”, the dowry system is mistreated for real. When Devanayaki’s parents “assumed” that Devanayaki is in love with Johny, the Chinese boy, they decide to stop Devanayaki’s education in university. But earlier, they have promised to bridegroom’s family that she will be an undergraduate. So, to overcome this problem, they increase the bribery or so called “dowry” 20,000 more as compensation. This is absolutely something that should not happen in the first place. A bride is not a property to be sold and if it is void in any way, people get to sell it in some kind of garage sale or anything like that. This is the kind of mentality of the people who does not consider the heart of a human or more likely when it comes to a young girl.

For the second story “Question of Dowry”,  Sivasothie is clearly treated as a property by both her own family and the bridegroom’s family. Just because Mr.Ramachandran could not pay for the necklace, the marriage is called off. Even the bridegroom did not consider about this and Mrs.Ramachandran acted as though she does not care about anything. No one considered Sivasothie’s feelings. All she had to do is nod her head whenever they want. All this is the consequence of mistreatment of the dowry system.

The examples above are how the dowry system has been mistreated. It all comes down to the tradition that has been followed. There might be some changes made here and there. Yet, in my opinion, the root cause would be the first step of inheriting unnecessary culture. 

The Sweet Stinging Bee

 

    In my opinion, entertainment is one of the reasons why movies exist. Part of their role in our society is to provide entertainment to those who come seeking for one. As for that, this movie will never fail to provide what the audience wants. Usually, if it is a movie that involves kids or animals, it would be great miss if we do not watch that movie. As in this movie, it revolves around a little girl named Akeelah and her passion in spelling. She is a brilliant student but her life is not balanced as she had lost her father. It really creates an interest in me as I started watching this movie as it started with a simple narration that straight away brings the audience into the storyline. It is also fun to watch how the kids from ghetto talks of their slang, it was like listening to a rap song. This movie is really fun to be watched from the beginning till the end.

    As a student of B.Ed TESL, I was very impressed with the words that they used in the spelling bee competition. I have never come across those words in my life before. Probably I would have screwed up even in the school level. Taking it in a positive way, this is my inspiration to learn more new words. Not only that, but I would like to use them when I write or speak. The real purpose is not to make myself sound bombastic but it is just for my self-satisfaction. I just feel that I am learning to make myself better and when I see the fruitful outcome from it, that is what happiness is to me. So, basically, this movie acts as one of my inspiration for me to learn more, not only in the aspects of new words but together with all the elements of this course, such as teaching methods, research skills, every single element that will be useful to me.

Seeing the character of Dr.Larabee by LaurenceFishburne reminds me of my primary school teachers who trained me for district level public speaking competition, Pn.Zainon and En.Zabadi. They really did their best that whenever they have time, they will hang out with me just to make sure that I will be able to speak well. I know it was not only for the purpose of school’s achievement, they were very sincere in their jobs. We became more like a small group of friends rather than teachers and student. They would call me to their office and we would talk stories while practicing. I spent quality time with them that they have become part of my life. They gave me so much of confidence and I would daringly say that they are one of the reasons why I am who I am today. This movie reminded of my good moments and bad moments that I had my teachers. It was worth the tears that would have shed if I had continued thinking about for quite some time.

     

     “Our biggest fear is not that we are inadequate, but how strong we are, it is beyond measure”. This has to be the turning point of Akeelah’s life when Dr.Larabee asked her to read them. The same happened to me. Those lines were very strong and deep and I told myself that this has to be the best line from the movie. I used to think very negatively because of my past experience. But recently, I read so many motivational books and I have managed to change my mind to be more positive. This line has become a boost for me to be more positive. We are our on master, we have more power than we could imagine, we are our own super heroes, when we fully realize this life would be different for real. As a future teacher, I also have learnt that I must have the passion to teach and I must be sincere in what I do. I just hope that as long as I can be a teacher, I would like to create at least ten students who would make me proud and that would satisfy myself as a teacher.

Edward and The Dragon

Childhood is one period of time where it is filled with fantasies and amazing stories. Everything is possible in the stories because our imagination know no limit for it. Therefore, children story are often the best method to make children keep quiet, at least for a while.

The story that I have chosen is Edward and the dragon. I read this story when I was in primary school. It is about a young knight named Edward. Despite his young age, he has fought so many enemies and won over them without using any weapons. His best weapon is his intelligence. One day, he comes across a cave as he goes for a walking. He heard voices crying for help and he goes searching or it. He reaches a castle and heard the voices again. He finds that they are locked there for years and treated as slaves by a dragon. As he climbed the castle wall to rescue them, he almost got killed by a fireball from his back. There is the dragon standing furiously behind Edward. Without getting angry, Edward tells the dragon that he forgives the dragon because it does not know who Edward is. The dragon is shocked as no one dared to speak like that to the dragon. He challenged Edward to fight with him. Edward used his intelligence and created a story telling that he is the owner of Great Crystal Sword. The only place that the sword’s magic would not work is the Gold Castle at the other end of the world. Edward told the dragon that he will wait for the dragon there and creates thick smoke so that he can hide. The dragon flies off to find the castle and Edward took his time to rescue the people in the castle. What happens to the dragon? Well, it found the castle and squeezed itself into the castle. It is stuck in it and still waiting to be rescued till today.

The reason why I chose this story is because I always have been fascinated with dragons. As I was born in the year of Dragon, I feel that I am a part of it. It gives me so much of inspiration as the creature is legendary. Anything that relates to dragon would catch my attention, even till today. I feel that this story is interesting because the bravery of Edward facing the dragon despite his small size compared to the dragon is something that we should make exemplary of. I wish I could be Edward and fight the dragon. I would have made the story filled with actions.

The characters shown in the story are a boy, a dragon and the people who are slaves. Dragon is shown as the villain of the story and they often do not have enough intelligence as the hero. That is why it got tricked by Edward who is better in using his brain and win against the dragon without raising his sword. This story is really suitable for the children because they will be able to represent themselves as Edward and learn from him to be brave. As Edward is also a small boy, this would create a relationship with the children as they would feel that it is someone just like them. Probably, the children would even gear up like Edward and ready to face a dragon. This story helps them to be braver and widen their imagination so that they would be able to solve the problems which seems to be bigger than them without any help.

Learning through the children's world

Who says that we cannot learn from children? No one set the rule that adults are created to teach children and children are only to learn from what the adults say. There are so many things that we, as adults can learn from the children. They often remind us of our past, our beautiful childhood memory and they form as reminders of the lesson that we inherited from our ancestors.

One of the good example would be the story of "Edwina the Emu" by Sheena Knowles. It is a story of a female emu, going out of her nest to work and support her ten new emus that are ready to crack out from their eggs. Edwina goes to town, while her husband takes care of the eggs. She becomes a ballerina but rejected because she's a dancing emu. She's rejected for the second time because she's an emu that can sweep chimneys and lastly, she runs away to her nest when a guy said that he could eat ten eggs for breakfast. This story is written with wonderful ryhming lines that even adults like us would enjoy reading it anytime.

What should be taken note is that lesson inflicted in this story is a reminder of the lesson that we have learned from the past. Being a female, Edwina would be the best person to raise up her babies. But she forgets her duty and goes out to find a job. I did not mean to be gender bias but I feel that it is the duty of a woman to raise and take care of the family while a man goes out and provides what is necessary. This is what the lesson of the story is all about. It is a wonderfully illustrated and funny alarm of reminder.

There is another children's story that would be a good lesson for all of us, regardless of the age to learn. It is the story of "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson. This story is one of the best tool that can be used to expand our imagination as it is our own world, we are the king of our own imagination. Whatever goes through our mind, is because we think of it, there is no other reason. The mouse, the protagonist in this story, creates an imaginary wild animal that would scare off other animals that want to eat the mouse. eventually, he bumps into a gruffalo, an animal that he thought does not exist and he uses his imagination to overcome the problem with the same method.

What we can learn here is that, we are responsible for what we are saying to people and we must have the guts to face the conequences. As for the mouse, he is aware of what he had said and he is ready to face the consequences. At the end, he manages to send the gruffalo running for his life. The exciting part is how the mouse imagines a gruffalo to be and describes it to his enemies. We should have the ability to imagine and we know that the children are really good at it. So, this would be give a helpful hand for them to expand their imaginative skills and what do you know, you're kids might be the future creative heads of the country.

So, here is a suggestion, preferably a request for parents or adults to get the book and read it out for yourself and kids around. It is time for us to go back to our roots and let our kids learn good lesson from us. It also time for us to remind ourselves of our own duty. Equality is one part but let us see what is our duty and what we are good at as our priority. This is how we learn through the children's world.