[Professor]
My Relationship with Politics
I never expected that I can be very interested in learning deeper about politics until this class. Previously, I was not paying attention to the burning issues of our society as I was disillusioned on the current social order. I believed that the world is one big cruel jungle where people survive using their own abilities. It is always the survival of the fittest. When our teacher starts talking about the current events, I was starting to yawn but there is something in his style of teaching that drew me into listening and understanding the issues at hand. He is passionate at speaking about how injustices prevail despite in the midst of an advance society with countless laws and policies upholding justice and peace.
Our teacher did not only discuss the injustices in motherhood statements. He talked about the issues with specific examples. This led me to open my shut ears and immersed myself with what he was discussing. I appreciated that he took time to research on the ins and outs of every issue. Confidence of the topics made me look up to him and lead me to do my own research. His passion on how to attain a just and peaceful society pushed me to deepen my knowledge and understanding on politics.
His teachings did not lead me to be more disillusioned because of the negative social systems. In fact, he inspired me to become active in my own little ways as a catalyst of change: a catalyst to a just society where equality thrives across all classes and sectors. Our teacher’s discussions about current events and politics made me understand that change will not be served in a silver platter. It shall be a result of an active participation of every enlightened citizen. It will be a result of an unending and painstaking process of challenging the status quo, and helping in building alternatives. In this painstaking process, I learned that disillusionment has no place.
Shakespeare and History
On the other hand, our teacher loves to talk about Shakespeare’s works which he always relates to their historical context. The infamous Romeo and Juliet for example he always said reflects the structural powers during the 17th century. Although it revolved around the love story of Romeo and Juliet, it also reflected the rivalries of elite families. The clan or family enemies will never let their kin to intermarry. The two young adults married secretly for their families will not agree. In the end, the couple ended killing their selves because of miscommunication. Their death and their love story finally reunited the two families.
The play as our teacher said also reflects the power that the Church holds in Verona, Italy as people depend on them. Friar Lawrence in the play for example played the mediator of the mortal enemies. Also, in the beginning of the play, Romeo was devastated as he was in love with a girl named Rosaline but the latter has chosen chastity. It reflected the power of religion over matters of the heart.
Moreover, in the play Henry IV, Shakespeare in the first part showed the presence of rebellion and how the state tried to suppress it. It showed that in the 17th century, there are various revolts in Europe in the struggle for power. The status quo however in its power did all ways to maintain the system and the powers that be. The play featured the soldiers of the Church-backed state in their pursuit to quell the rebellion. In the pursuit operation, there was a famous quotation from the soldier that says, “The better part of valour is discretion” (Shakespeare). It is about saving life in the middle of the battle. It was a quotation from a soldier who feigned death to save him from being killed.
Meanwhile, Shakespeare tried to write about the moral confusion among the people in the 16th century in writing poems such as The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis. Our teacher’s passion about Shakespeare inspired me to search for some of Shakespeare’s poem despite my difficulty in understanding them. I also search for the playwright’s inspiration in writing those to understand it more contextually. In the aforementioned poems, they have erotic themes. During those times, there was a moral confusion and guilt as a result of curbed lust feelings. In the Rape of Lucrece for example, the virtuous woman named Lucrece was raped by a lustful man, Tarquin.
The two poems showed the importance virtuosity as a moral standard. They depict the need to control lust in order to follow the moral standards. It shows that rape occurs because people cannot control their lustful urges. In the above writings, it showed how the works of Shakespeare were influenced mainly by the teachings of the Church. The morals and ethics that were set by the powerful institution were reflected in the works of Shakespeare. Reading and learning the pieces from this famous playwright and poet took me to understand history. It leads me to open my mind regarding the enormous influence of the Church to most countries today.
Inspiring Manner of Teaching Meanwhile, the third thing that significantly touched my life as a student in this class is how our teacher effectively commands attention from us. I have many experiences with various teachers but I am astonished by how this particular person grabs our attention even during the not so good days. He has a skill in reading our internal life struggles but he always shifted the mood into the brighter side. His lectures most of the time are interactive. He always persuades us to express our opinions on the topics. There was no right or wrong for him in our opinions that which make us comfortable and confident in expressing.
On a more personal note, my teacher inspired me to keep my head on in challenges at school or at home. His intelligence and persuasive manner of teaching shifted my mind-set about education. Previously, I treated some of my subjects as prerequisite only but this time, I learned to value all the lessons I learned whether they are small or not. His teaching methods showed his sincerity and passion in molding the knowledge of students. His sincerity compelled us to pay attention even to what we previously thought as the boring aspects of literatures. He has his own ways of making classic literatures interesting because he will not only dwell on their historical context but relates it to currents events and to life itself. Shakespeare’s literary works for example did not catch my attention until this class.
During the interactive discussions, he appears to know every student in the way he persuade each to express opinions, and the way he encourage us to look on the brighter side of life during the gloomy days. Even though he does not express, I know that our teacher cares for every one of us in the class. He always wants us to explore and understand the world in the arena of politics and how it influenced literatures. Today, I am happy to have encountered such a teacher who triggered the opening of my mind to politics, history and literature. The way he mentored us will always remain an inspiration for me to be voracious of knowledge and to express my own opinion to current events. No teacher except him who can trigger this part of me that I didn’t know it exist.
