Yup!!! I can do limerick!!!

Yes, at first I did not know what was limerick, how to do one, and am I capable to do a limerick? These questions come to mind when we was taught about it.

Well, for those who do not have idea what is limerick, here I give you a brief description about it (of course this description is taken from our course book). A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. If a couplet is a two-line rhymed poem, then a triplet would be a three-line rhymed poem. The rhyme pattern is a b b a with lines 1, 2 and 5 containing 3 beats and rhyming, and lines 3 and 4 having two beats and rhyming. Some people say that the limerick was invented be soldiers returning from France to the Irish town of Limerick in the 1700’s. Limericks are meant to be funny. They often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, idioms, puns, and other figurative devices. The last line of good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or “heart of the joke.”

There you go! It is a brief description about limerick. This limerick activity is very good to be conducted as group as it will promote creativity, cooperation, exchanging ideas and respecting others’ opinions (give and take). As to this activity’s response, the class move quickly and why don’t you try this with good Form 1 class first.

Well, now, let me share to you the steps on how we (as a group of 5) created a limerick as our class activity. First of all we need to name a place. As for my group, we chose Taiping. Then, for the last word of the second line of the limerick, we need to find any word with the same rhyming to the first word we chose (Taiping). At this stage, we come out with our friend’s name who is Siew Ching. Notice that the rhyming of Taiping and Siew Ching are the same? Then, using the examples and templates given, we complete the blanks with our own rhyming words. We complete the limerick as if we are telling a short funny story about someone. It our case, is a story about an old man from Taiping. Don’t forget that a limerick suppose to be written in past tense form. This is what we produced in couples of minutes.

There once was a man from Taiping,
All the while he hoped to marry Siew Ching,
So he went to propose to her in town,
And she coldly turned him down,
That poor old man from Taiping.

Here is our limerick! Well done!

Reflection on 'Shooting an Elephant'

Foremost, I would say that I really like to read this short story. It seems like I can bring my emotion when reading it. I pity the elephant that had been shooting by the author. But one thing I that I want to talk about here is how successful Geogre Orwell (the author) to write and deliver this story with sensation. He himself never had been an elephant shooter before. He never experienced what it feels to live in burdensome duty. But, it is amazing that he can put himself in the situation and bring the reader to feel it also. This is what we call the fiction of fact.

I notice that the word ‘Empire’ in the story plays an important role to show what the author believes. In this story, the word Empire is actually refers to the British Empire. From this story we can see two types of people which are the colonial people (refers to the British) and colonized people (refers to the Burmise/local). From the story, we can see that the author perceives imperialism as ‘an evil thing’.

He also portrays what happened in prison in the second paragraph:

‘The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos—all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.’

Other than that, we also notice his peculiar situation on how he sees himself as a colonial officer, in situation which he is controlled over.

Teacher as AIR

When my lecturer asked our opinion on what is the suitable metaphor to symbolize teacher, the first metaphor comes to mind is the classical and traditional ‘candle’. This is because candle symbolizes sacrifice; it burns itself to light other people’s darkness. An individual without knowledge is like living in the darkness. But then again, on the second thought, I think that teacher’s role is more than that!

So, I come out with a metaphor that teacher is like AIR. Air is a vital necessity for the entire living creature, not to only human being. Imagine our life without air, we will die in minutes! See how crucial it is for us to have a teacher. It does not matter whether she or he is your formal or informal teacher. It does not matter if she or he teaches you in a classroom or just under a tree. It does not matter really! What is important is the necessity for us to have a teacher is just like we need the air. It does not matter if the air is polluted as long as you can live and go on with life! In short we need a teacher until the last breath we exhale.

My 3 Best Teachers

I can still remember my lecturer said that ‘Education teach us too lose our innocent’. When my lecturer asked the class who are our 3 best teachers, I have no doubt of my answers.

My best teachers that teach us the way of life are:
1. Parents
2. University
3. Books and Mass Media

My parents are the most responsible person of who I am today. They are the one who nurture me from the very first touch. I adore them so much that make me want to be just like them. Both my parents are teacher in Labuan. Even tough that they are teachers in primary school, this does not stop me to be an educator also. I can still remember my father said that being a teacher is like planting a fruit tree. Once the tree fruits, you can share it fruits to other people. The taste of the fruit will last in that persons’ blood as what we eaten will become part of us.

University life teaches me to be independent. Because, staying away from family and friends force me to be wise in handling life.