This paper is in essay form and explores the question "What is great art?" by using a definition given by Bernard Shaw ?Great art can never be anything else but didactic.?
Abstract The author, based on Bernard Shaw's didactic statement, evaluates five "great" literary works in search of the answer: F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", Pearl S. Buck's "The Good Earth", Shaw's "Pygmalion", Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life" and Bauby's memoir, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly". The author concludes that Shaw's argument has validity only in regards to literature but didacticism alone does not make anything great.
From the Paper "Pearl S. Buck's classic, The Good Earth, is a work of great art that seems to defy Shaw's contention. It is a book whose greatness is attributed to the story of a family's perseverance through the barren land of china as they made their way through the dregs of society surviving famine, working for nothing, watching loved ones die, allowing their home to be ravaged, reviving their land?the story of a family's champion over life."
Abstract This paper reviews the literature to understand the possible contribution of the unique psychosomatic predisposition of boys and its relation to the underachievement. The author believes that there is a clear urgency to analyze and restructure the educational methodologies to suit the special requirements of boys. The paper suggests replacing the dependency on didactic methods with more active participation of the students, which is more productive for boys as well as girls; use of computers and complementing textbook material with graphical presentations and shorter periods.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Problem
Literature review
Father's Role
Solutions
Conclusion
From the Paper "A British research program conducted by the Oxford University stresses that active participation by the father has a significant effect on the boy's educational performance. This 40-year-old study monitored the progress of the volunteering students at different periods of time from 7,11, 16, 23 up to 33 (years). The students were graded according to the level of participation of the fathers in their educational pursuits. The research data indicated that students who had the active participation and support of their fathers were the most successful in their educational as well as their social lives. The "British market research bureau" survey indicted that only 12% of fathers participate actively in their child's education. According to Mr. Ann Buchanan, one of the chief researchers in the Oxford project, opines, "The early years are critical. More needs to be done to involve fathers and help them understand they have an important role. School parent meetings need to become more father-friendly and health visitors and hospitals need to talk to fathers.? "
An in-depth examination of the fragmented theories that apply to physical education in schools. The paper explains that there is no consensus and examines the problems involved.
Abstract Practical experience in teaching is a controversial issue. There is no consensus about it. This field includes training physical education teachers for schools. Many students believe that practical experience is the core of the teaching process that applies the theories they learned, the didactic methods to impart knowledge skills. This paper examines several influential parameters, including the interaction between teaching students and the pedagogical instructor, as well as mentor, and their contribution to the practical training of physical education instruction students. The paper also indirectly proposes changes and emphasis on content in the practical experiment curriculum of these students, which makes an essential contribution to their training success.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter A ? Literature Review
Teacher Training
The Behaviorist Model
The Rationalist ? Platonic Model
The Hermeneutic Model
The Critical Model
The Constructivist Model
Physical Education
Chapter B ? Research Methods
Chapter C ? Findings
Chapter D ? Discussion
Chapter E ? Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix A
Appendix B
From the Paper "In addition, during the practical training, factors that are involved in training students in their training process and that affect them are involved, such as pedagogy and the mentor (Reichenberg 1998). There are two basic perspectives regarding the practical application of theories in the work conducted by students of teaching.
The first, and more dominant, views actual teaching in a classroom as an applicable science, i.e. a process that links the theory to practice. In other words, the development of the ability to apply theoretical knowledge learned by the student within the educational framework, and the practical experience in the training process in schools."
Abstract This paper explains that the didactic approach is strong in both Jane Austen's "Emma" and the film "Clueless" because each of the protagonist characters, Emma and Cher respectively, works to help others in her social circle obtain true love without regard for her own need for love. The author points out the similarities in the main characters: Emma is part of the rich, upscale society of a "large and populous village" in nineteenth century England; whereas, Cher lives in rich, upscale Beverly Hills. The paper relates that in both the novel and the film the minor characters work to illustrate the main characters and continue the pace of the storyline.
From the Paper "Because of their wealth, both Emma and Cher are spoiled, in control socially, and tend to think too highly of themselves. This is a result of the lack of a maternal figure in their lives, as well as their fathers' over-indulgence. Cher has everything a teenage girl could want: money, her own Jeep, a huge wardrobe, et cetera. Like a lot of girls, she spends a large amount of time and money at the mall; however, she spends hundreds and thousands of dollars on her clothes, not the kind of money a typical teenager would spend."
The following paper discusses the multi-faceted narration in "Life in the Iron Mills" focusing on various critical questions that arise through analysis.
Abstract The following paper discusses the story of "Life in the Iron Mills" on three levels. The first level is the style of narration of the writer in the story. Second is the suitability of the writer, being a female, to write on such a topic and the third is the portrayal of poverty, and the interpretation of various actions as being the consequence of poverty.
From the Paper ""Life in the Iron Mills" has long been recognized as a strangely bifurcated narrative: with its proto naturalist detail juxtaposed against didactic direct addresses to the reader, its tone shifts frequently from scrupulous objectivity to moral exhortation. While critics rightly celebrate Davis's transitional role between the sentimental and realist traditions, they frequently betray a discomfort with the "I-you" relationship established with the audience, either outright dismissing it as "overwritten" or justifying it as part of a complicated, "ironic" narrative structure. These addresses are not uniformly didactic but manifest an effort to link the broadest possible audience by interweaving gendered styles that complement the gendered narratives of Davis's two main characters"
Abstract In this literary study, Homer's "The Odyssey" is examined in relation to the unified Epic format of ancient Greece. The writer proposes, that by examining plot structures and character actions in Homer's epic tale of Odysseus, one can realize how Plato critically examines the role of drama versus didactic narrative in the epic genre. The writer further explains that, in essence, the problem of drama in Homer's epic does portend a didactic set of moral principles in which young men should live through the philosophical principles displayed in Plato's Republic. The paper analyzes how the moral lesson of chastity and loyalty, in Book 19 of Homer's "The Odyssey", is presented though the plot structure, which is based on a dramatic marital view of Grecian society.
Abstract This paper analyzes an English dialect, the African-American Vernacular English and compares it to the Standard English. It also analyzes how and in what ways it differs from the Standard American English.
From the Paper "The African American Vernacular English, in short known as the AAVE, was previously famous as the Black English Vernacular or Vernacular Black English. Though this dialect has some very unique features but it has some common aspects that are also the part of other varieties of dialects in the U.S region. The African American Vernacular English has once been a very hot topic in the public debates as well as among the sociolinguists.
It will be quite difficult to estimate as to how many individuals speak African American English as there is a little confusion about it. some people use some unique characteristics of the pronunciation and vocabulary of this variety but they do not use the grammatical aspects of this variety. The majority of sociolinguists believe that the term of African American Vernacular English can be used only for those varieties of dialects that use the unique features of grammar which we will discuss here and compare it with the Standard American English "
Tags: vocabluary, didactic, education, primary, verbal, culture, gap
This paper discusses various children's stories from the Victorian period and shows how these stories were used to illustrate Victorian ideals and values that they wished to instill in their children.
Abstract This research paper examines children's books from the second half of the nineteenth century. It examines the overt and covert control that these works exercised, and continue to exercise, over their readers. This paper also describes the language that Victorian writers used in children's books to shape the actions, behavior and beliefs of their child readers, and the strategies they employed to persuade their readers to digest their messages.
From the Paper "Many examples of Victorian literature adopt an authoritarian control over the children. Alice is framed as a conventional children's story, from which we would expect advice, guidance and the like. Yet our expectations remain unfulfilled, for Carroll refuses to adopt a position of authority, or to invest with authority any character in the story, except perhaps Alice herself, which seems hardly acceptable by Victorian standards. However, no character in Alice is in the least 'sincere'; arguably, not even Carroll is sincere, given the apparent gap between the introductory poem and the contents of the fiction. Carroll's subversion of speech acts and the language of control operates throughout the book."
Abstract The paper shows how the fundamental structure of "The Arabian Nights" by Sir Richard Francis Burton, consists of frame texts, or stories within stories, with "The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad" as the outermost tale. The stories possess common didactic lessons, or morals, that connect them to one another. The paper examines how the morals are not often initially stated but rather revealed or re-emphasized from one tale to another, and they all possess a common feature that relate them back to the outermost tale?"The Story of King Shahrayar and Shahrazad". The paper shows that the organizing guidelines of the fables in The Arabian Nights are the particular moral, or lesson, they each portray.
From the Paper "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Demon divulges into The Tale of the Enchanted King. This tale, like The Tale of the King's Son and the She-Ghoul, displays the consequences of returning good with good. The king saves the enchanted king from spending his life as half man, half stone and gains his companionship as a result. Even more importantly, the tale connect back to the The Story of the Fisherman and the Demon because the fisherman "was the cause of saving the young man and the city" (66). The moral, therefore, is not only re-emphasized but connected with the previous tales."
Abstract This paper explores and compares the multiferous interpretations of two movies "Blade Runner" (1982) and "Brave New World" (1994). The paper shows how the contexts of the two movies are markedly different -"Blade Runner" exists in a context in which there is a growing support for libertarianism, influencing the increase in environmentalism, both of which detect the intended environmental and anti? authoritarian didactic of the texts, while "Brave New World" creates an aberration of the original intent, complicated by the mutating religious values of society.
From the Paper "The final scene of Brave New World disseminates Huxley's opinion that the suppression of human nature will ultimately lead to one's demise, a message which is especially prominent to the libertarians. Libertarian is a term to describe those who revile the concept of suppression and as such a message of freedom would be interpreted. The suppression of one's human nature creates a spiral of depression which will result in the obliteration of oneself. The savage attempted to suppress his feelings for Lenina, yet ultimately failed in his attempt. The savage had been taught, conditioned by his society that lust as with "every evil inclination has to place itself under such great restraint, don so many masks, lay itself so often on the procrustean bed of virtue" (Nietzsche), his feelings for Lenina were perceived to be evil, being contrary to the teachings of, in this case, the bible. The contradiction of his feelings and his teachings led to confusion as to the correct course of action, confusion which led to the complete suppression of emotions. The suppression of his emotions resulted in a decent into a self? destructive spiral, beginning with the use of self? punishment as a source of redemption, an act which brought him great pleasure, developing masochist instincts. The savage ultimately commits suicide, hanging himself in the tower, unable to repress his desires. The tower is a symbol of the self? destructive spiral, the concentric circles of the tower leading to the death of The savage. The suppression of human desires ultimately leads to one's demise as one enters a self? destructive spiral, until one destructs. Within Blade Runner there is an overt condemnation of oppression and suppression within the conclusion."
Abstract This paper reviews Jane Austen's "Emma", a didactic novel whose chief lesson is that, although society as it was constituted at the time was well ordered, it was up to the individual to make more or less of her/his position within that order. It examines how Emma Woodhouse, with all her advantages, was simply not ready to marry until she learned how to learn, although conventionally Emma was fully ready to marry. Emma was unready because she was unable to accept guidance. The paper analyzes the guidance she receives from Mr. Knightley and others and how she learns to be a lady during the course of the novel.
From the Paper "But the model of the lady Emma is to become does not exist at Highbury. There are a number of women who should either function as models or be fellow pupils in the art along with Emma but none of them suffices: not Miss Bates, Mrs. Elton, Mrs. Weston, Harriet Smith, nor even Jane Fairfax. In part this is the result of circumstance. Emma's mother is dead and her sister, never a strong influence, lives far away. Mrs. Weston was always "a rational, unaffected woman" as Knightley notes, but as Miss Taylor, Emma's governess and companion, she had been more dedicated to pleasing Emma, as he also notes, than to curbing her independence (Austen 11). "
Abstract This paper examines why, according to Epicurus and Lucretius, it is a mistake to fear death. The author analyzes the sentiments in Lucretius' didactic poem, "On the Nature of the Universe", and includes quotes from it to support her thesis.
Abstract Provides an example of the early American novel, with an emphasis on didactic storytelling, including plot, characters, and setting. States that the novel was based on newspaper stories of an 1841 slave rebellion.
From the Paper "The early American novel was characterized by its emphasis on storytelling, literary language derived from England, events of American history, humanitarian reform, republican ideals and politics and a didactic style. Frederick Douglass' minor novel The Heroic Slave..."
Abstract This paper discusses how Bertolt Brecht is justifiably famous as one of the greatest political dramatists and whose self-contradictory Marxist didactics have made him the subject of a love-hate relationship on both sides of the Marxist divide. It explores how a detailed scrutiny of his earliest works betrays a startling cognizance of his future developments and how, despite the fact that much of his later work was a direct response to world events, one finds that their nature, and, to some degree, the events that inspired them, can be found foretold in the umbra of his origins. In particular, it looks at how the metaphors and mythologies of Brecht's first play, "Baal", both predict, foreshadow, and, to some degree, determine the political atmosphere and ramifications of his future life and body of work.
From the Paper "BAAL has also been heralded by many as a nigh-prophetic work in terms of its discussion of the logical extensions of decadence, of revolution, and of the artistic individual within the proletariat mass. This play addresses issues that would not be entirely raised until after the 2nd World War and not fully understood until well into the Cold Wars. Some insight into the way in which Brecht's earliest work addresses issues budding at the time of his death can be seen by comparing the original BAAL to a latter-day reworking of the play called The Dream Engine (a radical anarchist piece released at Amherst College in 1969 and heralded by some as the first true rock opera)."
Abstract This paper looks at the subject, message, and broad appeal of the poetry of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, the popularity she enjoyed as a poet in her day, her philosophy of human rights, and her involvement in activities that could help further the rights of black people. The paper includes some of Harper's poems in order to demonstrate her technique, style, and use of imagery.
From the Paper "Benjamin Brawley writes of her that she was clearly a minor poet who gained a reputation in part because of other activities. For instance, for six years prior to the Civil War Harper was an anti-slavery agent in the East, and for more than thirty years after the war she was a lecturer in the South on temperance and home-building, with her major interest being in moral and social reform. She was born of free parents in Baltimore, and when they died, she had to make her own living beginning at age 13. Later, she was a teacher for three years in Ohio, but when Maryland passed an act forbidding free Negroes from the North to come to the state or they would be imprisoned and sold into slavery, she dedicated herself to fighting this wrong and other limits on freedom (Brawley 100-101)."
