Reflection 4 Punitha

Reflections about the State Literature in my practicum school.

The state of literature in my school currently can be deemed as a worrying one as there is no classes undertaking Pure Literature as a subject and there is only one combined class for elective Literature at the graduating level. However, as much as I agree with Dr.Poon’s statement that the pragmatic policies adopted by the state is responsible for the current state of decline for the discipline, MP Indranee’s statement in parliament about how Literature is being side-lined in favour of other options stands true in my school. In a bid to make literature engaging and literature as a discipline my school introduced Media Literacy as part of the literature curriculum as well. This was rolled out in Secondary 2, where students were taught elements of film studies such as editing, camera framing, camera movement, cinematography etc. They were then expected to apply what they have learnt by planning and directing a video that demonstrates all the elements of film making very clearly. They will also be asked to come up with their own movie scripts and dialogues and photo-boards to explain their choice of scenes, camera angles and how does it aid in the meaning making process of the film/video. They also have an external vendor who comes in to teach the students the technical knowledge of how to handle a camera and to film and edit sequences professionally.

 I should have prefaced this argument by also adding that my school offers Media Studies as an O level Subject and this programme is tied to Ngee Ann Polytechnics media studies school. So, what began as an initiative to equip students with media literacy skills (to critically analyse the media that they are being exposed to everyday and to make Literature lessons engaging and relevant to their lives) has now knowingly or unknowingly served as a platform for the school to develop media studies as a niche area for the school. Introduced as part of the Literature curriculum at the lower secondary level to lure students to the subject, it has now caused students to choose Media Studies as the more viable and interesting option up to date.

In the upper secondary literature classrooms, Teachers continue to employ the tried and tested methods of going through the text chapter and to highlight the salient points to the students. As what Michelle had said in her post, the students look to the teachers for their interpretation of the text and are often unable to substantiate opinions about the text. Students and Teachers prefer adopting the Teach to the Test approach also known as the Ten-Year Series Practice Approach, which is to practice as much past year questions and to present model answers. These attitudes then pose as challenges to when inquiry based lessons are being planned for students.

This is where I find myself to echo the stance that many has put forth that a mind-set change is necessary about the value of literature and the potential it has to serve as a discipline that promotes critical thinking and character development. Also, the public should not be the only target audience to convince them of the need to change but the school teachers and students as well.

Debate about drop in number of students in Literature

I believe that the whole argument about decline in the number of students taking Literature as an O’ level subject is related to the perceived economic value of the subject, questioning its ability to open careers beyond teaching and journalism at most. I had recently attended the Singapore Writers Festival where Christine Suchen Lim, a famous local author, came forth to present the Key note address. In her speech, she addressed this issue and listed many other career options that Literature can open doors to , thereby debunking the myth that those who pursue literature can only become teachers or writers. She warned us against looking at everything with a pragmatic or practical perspective as this would result in a loss of a whole ecosystem of teachers, writers, performers, playwrights, poets amongst many others, resulting in a void of literacy and culture.

 I think the task set out for us ahead as beginning teachers, is to not buy into the current train of thought of just teaching to the test and to push to convince our in-service teachers to embracing new means of teaching and pedagogy. I understand that it is difficult to win over our senior teachers. I sent out a survey to my Secondary 2 literature students, hoping to find out their opinion of their subject and how do they want it to be taught. Almost all of them came back saying that they do see that Literature is relevant to their lives and that they feel that they often feel daunted by didactic teaching practices and prefer group based engaging activities. So I believe that there is some hope left.