Teaching Literature in Sandbox Mode

Overview:

I am currently teaching Secondary 1 English Literature in Northland Secondary School. Northland Secondary School is a typical neighborhood school in Singapore taking in the bottom tier of students based on their PSLE scores. English Language is not the first language for many students. As a result, it is unsurprising that many feel that English Literature is a pain because it involves reading long texts that they do not understand. In addition, English Literature lessons are only offered to Secondary 1 and 2s, once a week for 45minutes [1 period]. A teacher would take the Sec 1s and another would take the Sec 2.

This implies that there is limited teaching time. there is also very little support because only 1 teacher is teaching/level. However, this is an opportunity to teach English Literature in the most efficient way. Also, there is autonomy in what I would like to teach  vis-a-vis setting assessment tasks.



Classroom Observations:

Secondary 1 students are using the textbook "Living through Literature 1." It appears that my Coordinating Mentor (CT) was focusing on content before I came. This is evident through their CA1 English Literature questions - it tested student's ability to recall the plot with questions like "describe what happened..." The majority of students had passed their examinations. I manage to speak to a few students regarding their grades. I observed that students made comments such as:

"I don't even know why I've done well"

"I write so long already why my marks still so low?"

"I anyhow write what I think also can pass!"

Based on their remarks, I was relieved that the majority of students have the capacity to engage a text at the surface level, as evident in their examination results. 

Next, the majority of the lessons I observed were teacher fronted ones. The teacher would usually be writing on the board and the onus is on the students to take notes by themselves. I observed that while the majority of students were scribbling notes in the Express classes, many on the Normal Academic classes will simply do nothing. 

I concluded the following after week 1 of observations:

- Students in the school are able to engage the story at a textual level [They are able to read! Woohoo!]

- Students are not given the opportunity to have a 'personal voice' 

- Students do not have note taking skills.

Game Plan:

Hence. I decided to launch my focus on cultivating a dialogic classroom. I have just completed my first lesson titled "What is an opinion?" The purpose of this lesson [and possibly the next few ones] is to get students to contribute their views constructively. 

So how did my first lesson turn out?

Week 2 – Day 1: 4^th March 2013

Lesson Plan:

The words were confined within distinct, rectangular, coffin-like categories. They were in fact corpses slated for a dignified buriel. I’m sorry, words, I have to put you to sleep, despite your desires to stay furiously alive. I have to classify you according to pre-lesson, main-lesson and post-lesson boxes. I hardly have a choice. This template defies the organic nature of teaching. I cannot comprehend the structured, man-made beauty of lesson planning. Why has such an evil template been treated as a holy grail?

The entire English Literature class was filled with humanoids. I entered as a human with a DNA of a robot, programmed to greet the class in the usual boring tone. Yet, I knew I had to break out of it. This is English Literature, the subject that seeks to revive the human voices of an institution that stresses on engineered harmony through conformity.

“Opinions”

It was supposed to be discussed in context of the play “A Case of Durians.”

Yet, I had to equip students with a key weapon before hand.

“The Art of Crafting Opinions”

What makes a good opinion?

A plethora of answers came spilling out of their little mouths.

“A good opinion is a suggestion, a perspective of someone.”

“A good opinion is about combining all the different point of views into 1 mighty, powerful idea.”

“A good opinion is truth!”

“NO! I disagree, a good opinion might also be a lie!”

I felt trapped due to the need to adhere to what had been pre-planned. Yet, the responses were developing into a eureka moment for me. To kill the discussion would be akin to damming a mighty river of life. I took the courage to let human nature take its course. The rebuttals, the arguments, and a little childish but precious quarrel erupted. I became a microcosm of the class, awestruck by what these Secondary One kids were producing – it was unrefined beauty, like a diamond with rough edges. The bell rang.

Trainee teacher failed to adhere to what was pre-planned. As a result, lesson objectives were not met.

That was an evaluation of myself, through the eyes of a humanoid assessor. Yet, I know that learning is an organic process, following the lesson plan in this case would not reveal the raw diamonds.

The heart of the lesson is the student, not the plan. Lesson plans should not be the sole determiner on how classes should be conducted. But rather, lesson plans and classes have an intimate, symbiotic relationship. One affects the other, both ways.

I modified the lesson plan for the next class. More space will be given for students to explore on “what makes a good opinion?” This would set the stage for a more fruitful, dialogic lesson about the text “A Case of Durians” in the next lesson.

Week 2 - Day 4: 3^rd March 2013

English Literature: An Interdisciplinary Subject

I entered class 1EA. This class is precious to the school, the crème de la crème of the cohort. This is Northland Secondary School’s only Express stream class at Secondary 1 level. I stepped in, expecting to encounter brainy students who would pose the most intelligent questions and thoughtful answers.

“In your own groups, I would like you to discuss about what an opinion is.”

Almost immediately, History textbooks began sprouting magically on the table. Students rummaged from page to page in search of the perfect answer. I was dumbfounded.

“History textbooks for my English Literature class?!”

I screamed in my heart. Yet, I was curious.

“Mr Cher, the answer is in our History textbook.”

I understood.

I was in a way, sad because almost all groups gave me the answer printed in their history textbooks. The richness of discussions is killed by a homogenic response. In contrast, the Normal Academic classes provided me with a vriety of original responses, some of which even triggered debates.

However, it was a precious opportunity to promote English Literature as an interdisplinary subject, one that students can draw knowledge from other sources such as textbooks and even their own life experiences.

Geraldine's reflection 4

State of Literature in my school

Literature in Regent Secondary School is (like many others) a dying subject too. The school has a total of 3 literature teachers teaching only lower secondary literature. There is no pure or elective literature in upper secondary. Currently, the secondary 1 students are learning literary devices such as metaphors, personification etc... while the secondary 2 students are studying prose with the help of a textbook About Literature by Andrew Koh, Alison Bickley and Elvira Holmberg. The way literature is taught and assessed in Regent is exactly this 'comprehension-style' that many have mentioned so far. All the focus is placed on understanding the meaning and plot of a story or poem through short-answer questions but nothing further than that.  

I am teaching 3 secondary 2 literature classes: 2 express classes and 1 NA class. I think literature is dying here because students are not pushed towards finding that joy in reading or studying literature. When every literature class becomes one where students copy notes and answer short, comprehension questions, it is no wonder that I have had some students chanting "Cher, cher, I hate literature" before class time. However, I feel that there are some students who genuinely show interest in the subject and will be able to excel if given the opportunity. Yet, these students know that they are not going to be able to do literature as an O level subject and this affects their attitude and enthusiasm towards it as well. I think another reason why literature is not able to flourish in this school is because the students are very weak in the English language. Many of the classes here struggle even with very basic grammar, therefore, a lot of them are not confident in expressing themselves in class. It also hinders the way they express their thoughts and ideas in their written work.

ST article

I agree that there is "a distortion of the holistic and interest-driven education that we want for students" in Singapore. We want students to pursue what they are interested in, this way, they will be motivated towards excelling in it. However, if students are not given the choice to do literature for the O levels, even when they want to, it completely goes against this notion of an "interest-driven" education. In Regent, I feel that students should be allowed to choose their core or elective subjects no matter what. Even if it's only 10 students or even 1 student who wants to do literature, schools should try to help this student do so. The reality is that our education is about practicality and being exam-focused, everything we do is driven by how well students can do in the exams and in the most efficient way possible. As such, literature is neglected because people assume that literature is difficult to understand, difficult to teach and difficult to 'score'.  

Alfie - Reflection 4

The state of literature in my school is on the brink of death. Literature is offered only to the lower secondary. So, there’s no pure or elective literature. There are only two literature teachers, my CT and another teacher. They take one level each since it’s only the sec 1’s and 2’s doing literature. Currently for the sec 1’s, we just completed prose and will soon begin on poetry in Term II. Since my TA and TP, I have not taught a sec 2 class nor have I observed any upper sec literature class.

I don’t think there is any emphasis on Literature at all considering that the school has to deal with mainstream school leavers (MSL), students continuously skipping classes, numerous student retainees, behaviour issues, special needs students etc. I think the school is trying to ensure that students get at least the basic education and move on to a decent institution after their secondary education. And since our education system focuses on English, Math and Science, Literature is just another additional subject to fulfil a criteria of some sorts. I’ve heard that there is a possibility that Literature will be scraped and merged into English in time to come.

Interestingly, I’ve yet to see or hear the students lament about Literature. They usually complete their work especially since most work is to be completed in class. My CT usually engages the students with activities that appeal to them, like telling a story through a comic or a video. For their CA, 50% is allocated to a character profile from a movie/storybook and a comic/storyboard of an original short story. So, the last two weeks have been spent bringing the students to the computer lab and facilitating their creation of their short story and character profile. These students know that there is no opportunity to take literature in the upper sec so they see lit lessons as maybe a kind of break from the seriousness of other lessons. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

Literature is usually taught through a teacher-centred approach and then a student-centred activity like drawing or mind-mapping. There is no in-depth exploration of any sorts. The activities are usually designed so that students can grasp basic understanding of the text. And since, they’re in sec 1, I guess the aim is to just pique their interest. THANKFULLY, literature is not taught as comprehension here. It’s still taught as Literature.

With regards to the decline of Literature debate, I have to agree that academic results dominate our education system. It was only recently that our Minister of Education decided to place emphasis on values and started to remove the many awards that schools tended to shape and base their school programme on. Results, however, still remain essential. Everything else is secondary. That's just the way our society functions.  Math and Science are much more emphasized in schools and we see this in the amount of period that a Science and Math teacher has as compared to a mere Literature teacher. Our system just does not see the (economic) value of Literature. And, at the end of the day, parents as well as students know that they will not be graded on their understanding of humanity. They will be graded on their math and science which will allow them to enter an economically driven industry and live happily ever after. 

I found this online. Someone does not see the importance of Literature and explains why.

(http://everythingalsocomplain.com/2013/02/28/literature-a-casualty-of-an-economically-driven-testocracy/)

It’s not so much the pursuit of excellence that makes Literature unsexy but the runaway treadmill that is modern life. Literature should remain strictly for those who love it, like vintage cheese that smells sweet to a epicurean but like sweaty underpants to the novice. Many highly successful people have no shame declaring that they have never read a single novel in their life. So what good is the subject for in this age of the 140-character limit? To me, it’s knowing how to cheekily slide your way with semantics out of a mutilation (pound of flesh), impressing a date (a rose by any other name…) and being absolutely essential if you wish to pursue a career as a ‘hip-hop artist’ or a lyricist for a crossover New-age choir of Gregorian monks. It also comes in handy if you intend to craft either the most touching proposal letter to your fiance, or the most heartbreaking suicide note in history.

I don’t know about you but I do hope he falls into a rabbit hole and gets eaten by the Jabberwocky.

Stay awesome for Week 3 J

Elizabeth Reflection 4

Literature in PLMGS is a "niche subject". As many of the students come from English speaking  backgrounds, language is not an "issue" that would deter them from learning the subject. In the Secondary 3 level, there are three classes taking Pure Literature and four classes in the Secondary 4 level. They are currently teaching Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet' and 'Roar of Thunder, Hear my Cry' by Mildred D. Taylor

As Literature is my CS2, I am taking three Secondary 2 (lower sec) classes. In general, the literature teachers are all rather "qualified" to teach Lit (the don't teach a text like its a comprehension passage)  and see value in teaching the subject, going beyond the text and teaching life lessons. The students are rather responsive in class, even in the lower end classes as they are accustomed to lessons that gives them space to imagine and be creative. 

Currently, the Secondary 2 students are reading Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice". While there is a minority who say that they don't understand what's going on in the plot,the majority of students are keen to analyze characters (not just for characterization sake) but to relate it to how they view themselves and others.

It is rather common to hear, amongst students and, that one needs good english to excel in Lit, that it is difficult to score in the subject and many other exam-related concerns. Ms Indranee also agrees with this perception that Literature is hard to obtain good grades. Why so? There is a misconception that your language has to be very good before taking Literature, and that one's answers is left to the examiner's discretion/"feeling" about what is considered good writing or even interpretation of the poem or character. 

While it may seem unfortunate that Literature has to be examinable, I feel that it is a good exercise that students take to help them see/examine how they have grown in their maturity of understanding characters, relating to situations and feeling for something that may be unfamiliar to them. Many times, there is a tendency to get carried away with the content of the text/poem (since this what is "tested") that we lose the essence of relating to the characters/story. Literature (, music and art) allows students step back and examine their own emotions, going beyond listing adjectives to describe characters. It gives the opportunity to imagine and dream of "what-could-be". 

Having said that, although Literature is considered a compulsory subject in the lower secondary level, the MOE should definitely not make it a compulsory subject in the upper sec level. After all, if the subject is about freedom of ideas and choices, students should be given that freedom. What we as teachers and the MOE can do is to alter the stereotype that is attached to the subject and improve the exploration of freedom and imagination that it brings.  

Written Reflection 4

State of Literature in my school
My school, Canberra Secondary, only offers Literature at the Lower Secondary level. Students do short stories this semester, and in both Secondary 1 and 2, they are doing the book "The Howling Silence" by Catherine Lim which is a series of ghost short stories. What really amazes me (not in a good way) is that every class only has Literature lessons once a week, and for a 2 period lesson. I do not know if this is the case in other schools, but I feel that this amount of time spent is relatively short and is not enough for Literature to have an impact on students. There is no Upper Secondary Literature program as, one, there is a lack of Literature teachers coming in and also a lack in the number of students who want to take the subject. Furthermore, teachers also mentioned that the students' command of the English Language is rather weak, thus, the subject is not offered in the Upper Secondary level. From what I have seen in the school thus far, I do not think that Literature is given much emphasis at the school level. However from interaction with my CTs, I gathered that the teachers are trying to use Literature as a platform and a tool to help students in their English Language. The new English syllabus requires students to know what is a simile, metaphor and various other literary devices in the answering of their comprehension questions. Since Literature is only offered in the Lower Secondary level, teachers are trying to use those 2 years to give students a Literature curriculum that encompasses all the essentials and to expose them to as many genres as possible and this is to also help them in better understanding and answering their English comprehension questions. I feel that this attempt to allow an integration is good in a sense that students now see a relevance in taking Literature and not see it as a subject that is (in their own words) "boring". Students in the school however have varied responses towards Literature as a subject. Some find it boring, some find it difficult, others show some form of interest in it, but the lifespan of this interest is yet to be known. My school does not have a CA exam for students for Literature, so for their CA students actually are tasked with alternative assessments such as coming up with their own poems that makes use of the various literary devices. This I find allows students to tap on their creativity and makes Literature a more fun subject to actually study. Hopefully, this helps to improve students' view of Literature over time.

The death of Literature
The Literature subject has seen a major decline in the number of students taking it over the years. When I was a student, my school still offered Literature in the Upper Secondary though there were only 5 students taking it. This I felt helped in not killing my love for the subject at that young age. Though the class size was small, I felt that we did learn a good deal. The recent debate in the newspapers talks about how students now find the subject "difficult" and how the decline can be attributed to the increase in emphasis on other humanities subjects like History and Geography and even limited demand for the subject. I agree with these points as these are some of the issues that I see in my practicum school now.
Additionally, what I find is lacking in schools in recent years is the lack of emphasis in Literature as a subject and not offering it just because there is very little students who opted to take it. While I do agree that this might be a better way of ensuring that students are not forced into taking the subject just to make the correct class size, doing this also might mean killing the love of Literature for the students who actually want to take the subject but are not able to as it is not offered. For some reason or another, as years go by, a lot of students do not see the relevance in taking Literature and would rather focus on subjects such as Mathematics and Sciences. This I find is a pretty sad sight as I used to love Literature as a student as it allows me to not only read books but also teaches me values that Mathematics and Sciences could not offer me. But this is exactly what students not see, which makes it a challenge for us Literature teachers these days. As we not only have to deliver the content to students, we also have to try to cultivate the love for Literature in them.
Perhaps what can be done is to start introducing Literature as a subject in the Primary schools, Upper Primary for instance. By introducing the subject early on, students will not feel that Literature is a foreign subject and something that might potentially be difficult. My take is that students find Literature difficult as it involves a lot of reading, and not only reading , it is the reading of books. A lot of students find this quite intimidating as the habit of reading has not been inculcated in them. Though schools have put in place systems to ensure students read (Morning assembly reading slots, purchase of newspapers for students), students still do not read enough on their own, thus making them feel that Literature is a subject that is not for them as they do not like or even want to read anything. Therefore, by introducing this subject early, we can cultivate in students this habit of reading books other than their textbooks at a younger age, in hope that when they reach the Secondary level, they will take to Literature better.

Yati's Individual Reflection 4

1. Describe the state of literature in your school - state how many classes are taking pure and elective lit at upper sec, how many students are there in each class, what texts are being used. Describe the state of lit in your school - Are teachers passionate about lit? Does the principal emphasize lit? how do the students perceive lit? What are the typical approaches to teaching and assessment?

The state of Literature in Christ Church Secondary School appears to be fairly typical of "neighbourhood" schools. All express students from Secondary 1 and 2 are required to take Literature for one semester for both years. They may choose to take up Literature for their upper secondary school years and consequently as a subject for O levels. As of right now, there are less than 20 students in Secondary 4 taking Literature for O levels and 18 students in Secondary 3. 

I have had the pleasure of teaching this Secondary 3 class twice and I can see that most of them are passionate about Literature but they are still not confident of themselves  as they told me that they are "too stupid to take Lit". Similarly in my Secondary 2 class, students complain that Literature is too difficult and told me that their parents told them not to take Literature because they won't be able to score. However, during my introduction lesson with the Sec 3s (where we had a chance to play games and get to know each other to build rapport), I was able to uncover the 18 students' reasons for choosing Literature. Indeed, when asked, students said they took Literature because they enjoy reading or are interested about learning about books and especially poems. It is heartening to know that my students gave feedback that they wanted to learn more about poems because they were intrigued by some they have read or wanted to "learn something new". 

The teacher that I observed was  passionate about Literature although he practiced "unorthodox teaching methods"  like students "stupid" or hitting them with books when they interprete a text incorrectly. The principal does not promote Literature nor does she discourage students to take Literature. Nevertheless, the principal has enforced a program for students whom are weak in English Language to take up Reading Sessions after school. Students are made to read and the teacher usually engages students with questions or discussion topics about the books.

2. Refer to debates in the media last week (see ST report "Big drop in number of students taking literature" on Feb 25 followed by forum articles and Sunday Times report). Get involved in the discussion and give your views on these matters e.g. what have you learnt from the discussion? What troubles you about the discussion? What is your own opinion about the value of lit or factors accounting for its decline based on what you’ve observed in your own school?

When I first heard of this some time back, I was rather disappointed but it was not news or rather not "new" news for me since I guessed that this would happen.  

"She added that another factor for the decrease is that there is a "common perception that it was difficult to obtain a good grade for the subject"." 

I think this quote is pretty accurate and from my own experience, many students have this perception and they decide to not take Literature because of this sole reason.I also noticed that this perception could have been realized as students constantly get very poor grades for Literature. In my previous school, the teachers tell me that it is extremely rare for students to pass Lit class tests. In the current school, similarly, majority of students received less than 10 out of a possible 30 marks in their tests. There are perhaps ways to dispel this perception but if students are constantly being told that they are "wrong" and get bad marks, their perceptions of Literature remains unchanged. I realize that students, especially in Lower Secondary, are not able to express themselves or write well although they can contribute meaningfully in class. Of course this is only an observation and right now, I can't suggest ways to improve the system. The whole demand-supply demand of Literature debate has been going on awhile but it is only now that more people are voicing their opinions on this issue. I feel that something has to be done to change the perceptions of students as well as parents' perception of Literature. As Literature teachers, I think we can make a difference, one class at a time, through the way in which we teach Lit to students so they realize that Literature is not "too chim" or "hard to score". Instead of bringing students down or telling them their opinions are not good enough, we should encourage and commend students on their courage to share and to guide students to discover Literature in a positive light.

Sarah's Blog Reflection 4

CHIJ St Joseph’s Convent has a strong history of cultivating Literature in the school. Statistically, there are almost 300 students taking Pure Literature this year (110 Secondary 3 Express and Normal Academic, 136 Secondary 4 Express and Normal Academic, and 40 Secondary 5 Normal Academic), and additional 60 students from across the level taking Upper Secondary Elective Literature. The school is also fortunate to have a large pool of Literature teachers –about 11 permanent Literature teachers – to teach Lower Secondary Literature, and Upper Secondary Elective and Pure Literature.

From the short interview sessions with some of the Literature teachers, apparently the previous principal, Mrs Susan-Crossley, strongly advocated the teaching and learning of Literature in the school. The teachers here believe that the girls have a lot of potential, and most of them have the language proficiency to do Literature for O Levels. In addition, there are no additional requirements from Lower Secondary to take Literature in Upper Secondary, unlike the other two humanities subjects. Besides, they have a larger pool of Literature teachers as compared to History and Geography teachers, and the quota placed on these two subjects encouraged students to take up Literature in upper Secondary.

According to the Upper Secondary level coordinator, Mr Andrew Teo, who is a Literature teacher himself, the students are already drilled into write essays since Secondary 1. They have been taught the skills to write essays even from the start as their focus on Literature programme is to prepare students for ‘O’ Levels. The school incorporated various types of Literature texts in classes, including the unconventional animated films. For example, for the past 7 years, the school used Dreamwork’s ‘Shrek’ to teach Secondary 1 students the concept of heroes and protagonists. They recently changed it to Disney’s ‘Tangled’ to adapt to student’s changing interests. By using these films, they entice the students, especially the Sec 1s who are new to the subject, into loving the subject.

The students were also brought to a variety of workshops, mainly inviting external speakers to talk more about the texts that they are studying. Workshops were also conducted in the school for Literature teachers to enhance their teaching strategies. In the upcoming March holidays, the Sec 5 students will be watching the play ‘SISTER: the untold stories of the sisters islands’ by Jean Tay. Not only will this play be useful for the students, it also gives them an ‘out of the classroom’ experience in stage-play.

I am pretty lucky in the sense that my school still strongly advocates the teaching of Literature in school. According to the various recent articles on the decline of students taking English Literature for O Levels, not many schools are offering this subject because lesser students are applying to take this subject for O Levels. Literature teachers in my school do not believe that Literature is hard to score. More than 50% of the students who took English Literature for O Levels last year scored distinctions. My CT herself, Mrs Lau Hay Pin (who has been teaching for 17 years), thinks that it just takes a little more effort to get the A.

What I feel about this debate is that it is important to cultivate a good Literature environment for the students from Lower Secondary. It will be even better if Literature is offered in Primary School, to give students access to a variety of poems and short stories to study and analyse. Not only will this encourage children to read, it will get them to explore a lot of areas such as values (outside of CME) and expand their imagination. Students must have the opportunity to express their thoughts and opinion, moving away from seated work.