A Pen Is Mightier Than A Sword

            It was the English play writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton who wrote the phrase; 

 " The pen is mightier than the sword"

 

What that does that mean? I'm not asking anybody to go and test which is sharper or test it by stabbing someone, just to see which one is more effective as a murder weapon. In the old days, war is the only means in conquering a nation and its people. The bigger the battalion, the more powerful they are. Later on, some activists came up with ideas of changing the mind of a society by spreading their written works. This method seemed to be more effective than using war as a tool to overpower a nation and its people’s mind.

            In medieval times, women were suppressed, they were not allowed to seek education, what more to have a say for themselves. It was a male dominated world for women then. Thus, there were some women who came up and voiced out such unfairness, demanding for some consideration or even equality, through their literary works. In this modern age, though women are better treated. There are some aspects of life that women feel shy to talk about or even hesitate to acknowledge their need and satisfaction like sex and marriage. Writers like Erica Jong raises up feminist issues like sex, gender bias, male dominance in love and oppression of women, women's rights and interests. The usage of language and literature as a tool of expression, portrays women today as highly intellectual.

Love Letters of Great Men

It has been a few years since the movie Sex and the City came out. The most unforgettable scene in the movie is when I saw Carrie Bradshaw reading a book called 'Love Letters of Great Men' in her bed. I still remember 'google-ing' it to get hold of a copy. To my frustration, the book was not real. But the love letters however were true.

                What impresses me is that how language can be manipulated to move hearts. You don’t necessarily need to have good looks and thick pockets to win a woman’s heart, but in deed sincerity and good command of language and wide vocabulary, goes a long way. One of it was Beethoven's love letter to his immortal beloved that really moved my heart.

"Your love made me the happiest and unhappiest at the same time. At my actual age I should need some continuity, sameness of life - can that exist under our circumstances? Angel, I just hear that the post goes out every day - and must close therefore, so that you get the letter at once. Be calm - love me - to-day - yesterday.

What longing in tears for you - You - my Life - my All - farewell. Oh, go on loving me - never doubt the faithfullest heart

Of your beloved

Ever thine.

Ever mine.

Ever ours.

KBSR vs KSSR

This year our Ministry of Education had introduced KSSR syllabus to be implemented in our primary schools throughout Malaysia. The reason behind this newly introduced system is to replace the KBSR syllabus and the soft landing of PPSMI or better known as ETeMS (English for Teaching Mathematics and Science). The initial intention of introducing the plan was to increase the standard of English in Malaysia. But after having so many complaints from parents who claimed that the English Language proficiency in Malaysia is getting from bad to worse, even after implementation of ETeMs, it had been called off. But this would be done gradually, thus the official end for ETeMS is in 2016. But when you look back in 2003 when they first introduced it, everything was done in a hurry. They didn’t even wait to get the teachers ready for the massive transformation. Their experience of teaching Mathematics and Science in their mother tongue for years, didn’t guarantee the same effectiveness when they used English. Old and wise they may be but some of them had English command even worse than a seven year old. In my opinion, that led to the downfall of ETeMS.

                KSSR, being new could not be judged just yet. Recently, I was appointed as a Year 1 English teacher. In my seven years of teaching experience, this is my first time teaching Year 1. What can I say about KSSR is that, it looks promising. The syllabus is designed to help the students to acquire the four skills, which is different than KBSR which focuses more on the thematic content. The best part is phonetics is being introduced as the foundation of acquiring English Language.

Poems: Short but Powerful than Thousand Words

Poems are wonderful. some are short but very deep . They convey thoughtful and meaningful messages and touch our heart and soul.

Movies as tool of teaching

 I personally enjoy watching movies.

Songs and Literature

Are songs a form of literature? Yes, for me lyrics are written are in the same form of poems. Once they are played according to melodies, they become song.