American Idol and the study of Lit.
I just watched Elliott Yamin, my favourite singer in American Idol this round suffer the indignity of being in the bottom 3 again so I am still recovering. I am convinced he is the best singer, but I am sure he fails to deliver in terms of looks. But if sympathy votes count at all, he should be comfortable because he really is a Ruben-Clay Aiken proposition, isn't he? I mean, he was literally thrown out of school, so he is educationally disadvantaged like Ruben. Like Clay, he has a single Mum to count on. On top of that, the man is diabetic and deaf in one ear. If we go with the underdog theory - which worked for single mum Fantasia and lowly employed Ruben - Elliott Yamin votes should be overwhelming. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
What has all this got to do with Lit.?
In an oblique way, if your secondary school years are still ahead of you or if you are a parent of some teens struggling with the subject, the point should be made that LIT. as a subject teaches judgement. Simon Cowell, the millionaire judge in American Idol is the LIT. man in show. He is the reason we watch American Idol.
We can always count on him to trot out the truth. We can also count on him to INFER very accurately what the American voters were thinking when they punched in their votes.
Paula Abdul's comments, on the other hand, are the opposite of veiled insults. They are "veiled praise". You bet she makes distinctions too - except in her case, you have to INFER what she means.
If you can INFER from what she says what she means, you can tackle Lit.
Inference is a skill you get to practise in Lit.
You make inferences in Lit. when you try to tell the difference between what was written and what was meant. For example, when a character makes a comment about another, most of the time it tells us more about the speaker rather than the object of his comment. You have to figure out the truth behind the comment, the motivation behind it.
Which brings me back to my earlier posting about the "Double Benefits" of a Lit. A. You know how a Lit. A automatically means you have another A in the bag?
Reason? Simple - look at the Comprehension Paper, a major component of Singapore's Secondary 4 O Levels English Language Paper. Having been responsible for setting "killer" Comprehension Papers in the past, I can tell you the questions that separate the men from the boys are (you guessed it!) the INFERENCE Questions.
So, the tip of the day for the study of Lit.: Watch American Idol, listen to the songs, assess the singers yourselves, and follow what the judges have to say. Most importantly, INFER from what the judges have said what they really meant.
What has all this got to do with Lit.?
In an oblique way, if your secondary school years are still ahead of you or if you are a parent of some teens struggling with the subject, the point should be made that LIT. as a subject teaches judgement. Simon Cowell, the millionaire judge in American Idol is the LIT. man in show. He is the reason we watch American Idol.
We can always count on him to trot out the truth. We can also count on him to INFER very accurately what the American voters were thinking when they punched in their votes.
Paula Abdul's comments, on the other hand, are the opposite of veiled insults. They are "veiled praise". You bet she makes distinctions too - except in her case, you have to INFER what she means.
If you can INFER from what she says what she means, you can tackle Lit.
Inference is a skill you get to practise in Lit.
You make inferences in Lit. when you try to tell the difference between what was written and what was meant. For example, when a character makes a comment about another, most of the time it tells us more about the speaker rather than the object of his comment. You have to figure out the truth behind the comment, the motivation behind it.
Which brings me back to my earlier posting about the "Double Benefits" of a Lit. A. You know how a Lit. A automatically means you have another A in the bag?
Reason? Simple - look at the Comprehension Paper, a major component of Singapore's Secondary 4 O Levels English Language Paper. Having been responsible for setting "killer" Comprehension Papers in the past, I can tell you the questions that separate the men from the boys are (you guessed it!) the INFERENCE Questions.
So, the tip of the day for the study of Lit.: Watch American Idol, listen to the songs, assess the singers yourselves, and follow what the judges have to say. Most importantly, INFER from what the judges have said what they really meant.
Comments
Your Blogs are certainly spot on for literature students. Good job!
I particularly enjoyed reading the blog on the American Idol. It shows very well that you are a literature trainer.
All the best for future blogs.
Thanks for the feedback cos it tells me which way to go. I have to remind myself not to be too "teacherly".
Nora
Anyway, I really enjoy reading your posts. Coincidentially, Lit. is the subject that Im most interested in so I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon this blog. Good luck for you future posts and people would start the grasp this beautiful subject!