Creating a Myth vs. Studying Myth

Creating my own myth and teaching/ studying mythology was similar; yet very different at the same time. I don’t want to be repetitive and say that creating my own myth requires creativity, just like writing my own poetry, but that is what overlaps when you write or create your own piece. When writing your own myth, there are really no rules or limitations, so it allows you to think outside the box and explore your creativity. Although most existing myths are considered to be fiction, you can even create a fictional myth based on a non-fictional story. I think writing your own myth or any kind of piece really allows students to experience different types of writing styles and is definitely a chance for them to try a new writing style that they always avoided. Although writing your own fictional story can be a burden at first, it not only pushes you out from the comfort zone and make you realize that writing is more than just being creative. Teaching or studying mythology was a bit different. It definitely helps students to experience different types of writing by reading and learning about numerous myths; yet in order to attain each story properly, it is important to understand the concept and structure of the story. While creating your own myth has no rules or limitation, studying or teaching myth requires you to follow certain rules in order to absorb the lessons in the myth. Every myth can be perceived and understood differently depending on each student’s perspective, yet they still need to follow the structure that is given within the myth. Both experiences can be very contrasting and similar at the same time, it is true that they both provide students with new learning experience.  

Writing Poetry vs. Writing About Poetry

Writing poetry and writing about poetry sound very different but similar at the same time. For me, it is hard to say which one is easier, since I think they are both very difficult in their own ways.

Writing about poetry does not give me as much as pressure than writing poetry, since it requires less creativity than writing my own poetry; however analyzing poetry also requires creativity as well. Every reader can interpret poem differently depending on their own thoughts and experiences and it is hard to say whether their interpretation is right or wrong. It may be different from what the writer had intended to deliver to the readers, but that does not mean their interpretation is wrong. By analyzing poetry, you can also learn about different techniques used in the poem, which is one of the differences from writing your own poetry. It really gives you a chance to not only interpret the meaning of the poem, but also break them down by word by word and see how each word takes a role in the poem. This will allow you to look at the poem from the writer’s perspective as well. Writing your own poetry does give me a little more pressure, because there really are no limitation or rules, meaning that it requires much more creativity. At the same time, I think that is the beauty of the poetry. By writing your own poetry, you get to express your thoughts and feelings to others without following any rules and there are absolutely no boundaries. It may be hard at first to create your own poetry, but it really is a great chance to express yourself to the fullest.

Both writing poetry and writing about poetry are great ways for students to learn about poetry in general. They will both give them a chance to widen their view and perspective and also expand on their creativity as well. It may be hard in the beginning, but as they start interpreting poetry in their own ways by analyzing different poem, it will eventually help them to not only look at poetry in different ways, but also help them to gain interest in creating their own poetry as well. 

Hello Everyone.

My name is HyunJung Ko, I am currently attending CSUN majoring in ESM and will be graduating in the Spring '17.  I plan to go back to Korea, where I was born, and teach English there.

As someone who wants to be in a teaching field, I do believe that media technology is an important part in teaching; yet it can be very distracting at the same time. For this reason, it is significant to balance that out and make sure to make a correct use of media technology. Technology has taken over many students' lives that it is destroying their education. Barely any of the students in class nowadays are taking notes by handwriting, but taking notes on their laptops instead. This may be convenient at the moment, but many students do not realize that they will be able to obtain the information better by handwriting. Not only students prefer to take notes on their electronic devices, but they do not meet up in person anymore for group works or projects. Instead of meeting up and discussing in face to face, students prefer texting or google docs to make the work easier and they are not willing to invest their time for meetings. And once again, this may be convenient just as much as the note taking on laptops, but it will not allow them to form a unity in group and learn how to work as a group. For reasons like this, I believe technology can be very distracting; yet convenient at the same time. When teachers or professors need to cancel class for any circumstances, technology does come in very handy to upload lecture notes or any other learning materials online for students to still learn what they need to learn. However, it should not be an excuse for students to reduce the time and amount of work that they need to do instead of actually investing their time and effort.

We cannot and should not completely leave out technology when it comes to teaching and education; however I believe that it is very significant to find a balance and make a correct use of technology. Technology should serve as a helping material in teaching, not a distracting source.