To be honest, before this learning journey, I was never too
keen on Singapore poetry. And the best thing about this learning journey is
that I have developed a new appreciation for it. This is credited to the fact
that the learning journey enabled me to really understand the themes of
preservation and change. So, for this reason, I would definitely bring my
students to enjoy this awakening experience.
The learning journey was really enjoyable. What I liked best
was reading the poems on paper and simply looking up to see the places the
poems were talking about. I felt a little more connected to poem, like I was
either immersed in these places of the past as I looked at the old buildings on
“Ang Siang Hill” or was witness to the changes talked about in the poems as I saw
the “Singapore River” and looked up at the giant skyscrapers.
However, as I reflect, I feel that more background knowledge
on certain places, example Ang Siang Hill, could have been given because although
I knew where we were, I did not entirely know the significance of the place.
Did people live there? If so, who? What kind of street was it? were just some
questions that ran through my mind. Especially with students, I feel that they
may simply take a particular place to be just that mentioned in the poem and a
place to do the task. So when designing learning journeys, it is important to give a brief historical
background or significance of the place
to Singapore history to contextualise students understanding of the poem like
what was done in the Singapore River task. This can be done en route to
locations or as a pre-learning journey task in the classroom. This being said, I
think the possibilities for cross disciplinary studies is possible, especially
with history, as I feel that to deal with the poems and fully explore the different
threads of themes running through the poems, a historical perspective would deepen
students’ appreciation of the poems.
I enjoyed all the activities, as in their own way, they
brought light the issue of preservation, asking the fundamental question of
what exactly it is we are preserving-buildings or memories? Is there actually a
sense nostalgia or value in the buildings preserved? And questions about the
changes we are making as a nation, and at what cost. The activities flowed
nicely, starting at URA building where we learnt about Singapore’s progression,
in historical and geographical terms, and ending at the heart of Singapore’s
commerce trade, Raffles place.
Albeit initial apprehension at having to “accost” strangers”
in the River task, I actually found it enjoyable and feel that it can be
adapted to use when bring our own students. After reading the poem as a group, I
actually had to explain to the tourists about the poem and the significance of
the Singapore River. Thus, students can both learn from what the tourists/ Singaporeans
have to say and also learn when sharing knowledge on the poem/River. The teacher can annotate poem with the class
and talk about the themes and historical significance of the poem. Then in
groups, students can craft questions to ask the tourist so that they will be
more prepared and less apprehensive in approaching strangers. The teacher must
also brief students on basic courtesy and politeness when talking to others as
we do not want the students to offend any member of the public. This way,
students will get many perspectives on river that may not be possible in the
classroom (like the Complaining Singaporean Kheng May’s group spoke to).
Finally, the creative writing task was a great way to end
the learning journey as it really made me think and reflect on all the issues
and thoughts we’d shared the whole day. While writing poetry or builds
creativity, it also allows students to express their own thoughts and opinions
on some of the issues they’d dealt with in the day. I especially like the part
where we got to share our poems with our classmates, almost as if we were poets
in an exclusive literary circle. Such sharing, I feel, will give students pride in their
own work and also the opportunity to appreciate each other’s poems. The visual-spatial
learners can also upload pictures to form a class photo journal to document
their learning.
Therefore, while I agree that there will definitely be a lot
of work required to bring students on such a learning journey, I feel that it
is an experience we must not deny them. I will definitely try to bring my
students out if I have the opportunity to.
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