Sheena Gem A.

Harun
The Governor of Everyman
Radcliff (1974), in his I am Joes Brain, impressively described the
myriad functions of brain. He lets brain talk in his essay. As a speaker, brain
is proud to announce that he is not just a part of Joe, but he is Joe himself.
Joe here is no one in particular, he represents man in general. Brain built
what and how others see and perceive Joe. He comprises Joes personality,
reactions, emotions, feelings, thought and mental capacity. The brain is
responsible for processing certain stimuli sent and perceived through Joes
ears, tongue, finger and other parts of the body. He lets Joe realize that Joe is
hungry and thus, he needs to eat or else he will experience stomach pain. He
tells Joe when irregularities in his system are occurring, such as when he is
sick. Naughtily, he is also responsible for Joes sexual urges and affections.
Brain works twenty-four hours, seven days a week. He works even
when Joe is asleep. He works even when Joe feels like resting. Brain, is fast at
interpreting potential dangers to come, as such, he would automatically
signal Joe to keep safety precautions. At times when Joe is on the verge of
falling or slipping, brain will automatically send message to Joes reflexes to
either signal his arms to break the fall, or grab something to keep him from
getting slipped off. Lessons learned from Joes different experiences are kept
by Brain, so that when situations demand for such lesson, brain will

automatically signal Joe the best things to do to avoid or get the same
results or even get better results.
Brain controls and regulates Joes body system. He steps up the
breathing rate -timing the contraction and relaxation of chest muscles. He
oversees breathing and oxygen supply. Just like human beings, brain gets
exhausted and dies if he wont be fed with 20 percent of Joes inhaled
oxygen, a fifth of what the heart pumps and glucose as his supply of
nourishment.
I liked it when the writer said that brain is like an old attic containing
mementos of lifetime. Everything man does each second is recorded by the
brain, although only selected memories could be remembered by Joe.
Thence, when technology is used, all these things could possibly be
remembered by Joe.
Since brain plays a very important role in ones body, it is designed to
be fully protected by the skull and watery fluid. Nevertheless, ageing is
unstoppable and part of ageing is losing nerve cells, which is the reason why
memory loss is inevitable. Other than memory loss, when brain is damaged
and loses cells, organs and senses such as hearing, taste, smell, and sight
will be affected as well.
Thence, Radcliff (1974) is successful in presenting the importance of
the brain -- letting brain speaks for himself makes it gain more authority for

the reader to believe. If biology textbooks are written like this one, then not
only facts are shared but also

TO TEACH IS TO LOVE
Teaching is more than just standing in front of your students and
reading the text assigned for the day. It is not just reporting and then giving
exams afterwards. It is not just about recording the scores of your students
and announcing who topped. Teaching is a selfless job. It is a profession that
requires us to share valuable things from us; it is imparting a part of us.
Thus, this sharing is already a form of love, because we always think what is
best for our students. We share what we think could help them grow. We
continuously study and master different lessons to provide supplemental
learnings to our students. We sleep late just to plan how to teach such
lessons in a very effective way for our students to comprehend and learn.
As Manhit (1980) asserts in his essay To Teach is to Love, we
teachers impart knowledge that broadens our students understanding of
people and things. We teach different skills for them to practically apply in

different situations. We also teach them attitude of mind that nourishes their
being.
Specifically, as teachers, we share emotional experiences through
literature, to make our students more human and let them understand the
real world experiences. Literature is introducing peoples love and hates.
Reading the character of the literary piece lets our students get to know
them, feel for and with them. Interestingly, after such reflections, we also let
them experience the minds of the author behind the text analyzed. We allow
our students to become intimately acquainted with the authors sensitivity
and artistic use of language, letting them enjoy the writers ideas and
manner of presentation. Thus as a positive result, our students not only
perceived the ideas of life and living and the artistry of language of the piece
but at the same time they learn to express themselves.
Thus, Manhit (1980) says that teachers should work out their own
artistry or strategy, choosing activities and devices so that the students will
feel what they have felt and marvel at what they have marveled. Thence, the
first step in teaching experience is to decide on what to share; what to leave
with the students at the end of every session. In his essay he divided four
main parts of teaching literature: (1) Motivation (which includes giving of
assignment); (2) Check-up test; (3) Discussion; and (4) Integrated Scheme of
Reading and Language Teaching (ISRAELT).
It is thus necessary for us to know first the learning capacity and level
of our students. In Philippine context for instance, we cannot assume that

our students could comprehend and appreciate automatically the English

written text. We should keep in mind that most of our students are nonnative speakers. Many jargons and ideas are unfamiliar to them. Therefore,
we should bridge first these communication gaps between the selection and
our students through motivation. We have to develop first their schema and
prepare them for the possible experiences they will have when they start
reading the text. We should see to it, that they have experiences which can
somehow bridge the authors intended experiences in the text. Second, we
should develop their vocabulary concepts so that they will not have
difficulties understanding the text to be read.
An assignment before reading the actual text could be a very good
motivator to prepare the schema of our students. This assignment could be
letting the students read the text first and then give guide questions from
the text such as vocabularies, events or emotions, places and practices
found in the text. In some instances, we may give them background reading
which is easier than the intended text and give guide questions that will
bridge them to the intended material.
Next to assignment is a check-up test. This is to develop the study
habit of our students. In making such test, items should be on the literal
level, brief and use simple words; as much as possible answers should be
one word; the questions should cover the entire selection not just names of
people and places, but actions and events; each question is independent

from the others; and questions must begin with interrogative pronoun,
adjective or adverb.
Through this, our students will be motivated to study and do the
assignment assigned so that they will be able to answer the check-up test in
class. A genuine feeling of happiness comes when our students did well in
the test. Thus, the motivation to study grows. They will now focus even on
the minute details.
After the check-up test, our students would still be thinking about their
scores or even re-check the book for correct answers. Thus, it is then
necessary for us to get their minds back on track and prepare them for the
discussion proper. To do so, we have to retrieve our students experiences
that have some relation to the selection. Using a visual aid or an
anecdote is a very nice strategy in bringing up their real or vicarious
experiences. It is a must to make the discussion of literature exciting since it
is intensely human unlike math subjects. Activities should invoke excitement
letting our students engage in the discussion. These may include viewing
and talking about illustrations, reading a dialogue, reading descriptive lines
or thoughts of the main character, pantomiming and action, giving a
demonstration, making sketch, reacting to items enumerated on the board.
Sprinkle classroom interaction with these devices at the opportunity time.
After reviving their interest, the discussion unfolds in the nature of a

conversation where every answer to a question triggers the succeeding

question (Manhit), the interplay of questions.
After the students have grasped the text, it is essential that we make
use of this excitement to cultivate their English language learning. We
integrate language learning in literature learning, so that they will be able to
communicate something meaningful to them through competitive use of
language.
Activities such as combining simple sentences to make compound or
complex sentences from the text, paraphrasing, or cloze-test will help our
students develop proper understanding of one facet of English structure. In
Manhits essay for instance, he made use of organization, assimilation
exercise, presentation exercise, and dialogue (generalization) to present
connectives, which indicates relation between two or more ideas in a
compound sentence.
Nonetheless, no matter how enthusiast we plan our class to be, it does
not guarantee us that it will be 100% successful. In class for instance,
extrovert students overpower introverts. It is then our duty to encourage
shy students to participate in class by calling their attention for simpler
questions until they lower their affective filter. Challenging questions will be
given to extroverts so that they will be challenged to answer as well.
Thus, as literature teacher we have to ensure that by the end of the
semester, we have influenced our students to develop a genuine love for

literature and for reading in general. I am very much inspired with Manhits
(1980) essay, especially to the closing lines: You will have increased their
competency in oral and written English besides, and enabled them to read
more interesting and challenging materials. And hopefully, too, they will
have acquired values, and developed intellectual curiosity and an enduring
love for the life of the mind.
From his essay, I have learned that teaching literature encompasses
great responsibility. As a literature teacher, I have to ensure that my students
did not just empathize and sympathize with the text or have learned the
different styles of the authors or even learned another facet of the English
language, but more importantly that their love of reading and understanding
for humanity have been more developed and cultivated.