Tuesday 30 September 2014

Tuesday, Oct 30 2014 Discussion

Please read this article and consider your opinion. Remember, you do not have to understand every word. Just try to understand the general idea of the article. No dictionaries when reading for the first time.

See you in class!


Children should not start school

until age six or seven, experts warn

Children should not start formal school lessons until they are six or seven because of the “profound damage” the current education system is causing, a group of experts has warned.
An early focus on play should be introduced as part of a fundamental overhaul of the system that would bring it more into line with Scandinavian countries, according to 127 experts from academia, teaching, literature and charities.
In a letter to the Telegraph they call for changes to a system that they say focuses too early on formal lessons and the Three Rs from the age of four or five when children should be allowed to play instead.
Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the former Children's Commissioner for England and one of the letter's signatories, told the paper: "If you look at a country like Finland, children don't start formal, full-scale education until they are seven.
"These extra few years, in my view, provide a crucial opportunity, when supported by well trained, well paid and highly educated staff, for children to be children."
Other signatories of the letter include Lord Layard, director of the Well-Being Programme at the London School of Economics, Dr David Whitebread, senior lecturer in psychology of education at Cambridge University, and Catherine Prisk, director of Play England.
The Telegraph said the letter was circulated by the Save Childhood Movement, which will launch its Too Much, Too Soon campaign tomorrow.
It will reportedly call for reforms including play-based schooling for children between three and seven.
Wendy Ellyatt, the founding director of the movement, told the Telegraph: "Despite the fact that 90% of countries in the world prioritise social and emotional learning and start formal schooling at six or seven, in England we seem grimly determined to cling on to the erroneous belief that starting sooner means better results later.
"There is nothing wrong with seeking high educational standards and accountability, but there is surely something very wrong indeed if this comes at the cost of natural development."
But the Department for Education described the ideas as "misguided".
A spokesman for Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "These people represent the powerful and badly misguided lobby who are responsible for the devaluation of exams and the culture of low expectations in state schools.
"We need a system that aims to prepare pupils to solve hard problems in calculus or be a poet or engineer - a system freed from the grip of those who bleat bogus pop-psychology about 'self image', which is an excuse for not teaching poor children how to add up."


DAVID WILCOCK – The Independent - THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2013

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Sept 25 2014 discussion (Thursday discussion) (Not Wednesday discussion)

Please read the following article:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29211526

There are five stories about people with tattoos and their jobs. Do you agree with the boss or with the employee? Why? Try and think of an answer from both the point of view of a North American and of a Japanese or Korean.

Sunday 21 September 2014

Sept 23 2014 discussion

Please read the article below at least two times. On the second read, you can use a dictionary while you read. If you need to look up many words, please read the article for a third time. It might be a good idea to read the questions ahead of time also.  See you in class!

David Nutt Develops 'Alcohol Substitute' Drug
That Could Mean Getting Drunk Without The Hangover
It could be a dream come true. Scientists have developed a drug which mimics all the positive effects of being drunk, without any of the health risks, addiction - or, crucially, hangovers.
Former government adviser Proffessor David Nutt said the discovery would lead to a "serious revolution in health."
The drug targets the brain to give the taker fuzzy feelings of pleasure similar to the effects of drinking.
However, taking a simple antidote can block the effects immediately, leaving the user free to drive or return to work without a groggy head.
"It sounds like science fiction but these ambitions are well within the grasp of modern neuroscience," the scientist wrote in the Guardian.
The professor, who was fired from his post as the Government's chief drugs advisor in 2009 for saying cannabis, ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes, claimed the drug would do for alcohol what the e-cigarette had done for smoking.
His revolutionary drug could be on the market within two years - if someone will fund his research into it.
He called on the Government to give an "explicit recommendation" in support of the drug to encourage investment, saying his innovation could save the NHS millions, with the Government currently forking out £3.5billion a year on alcohol-related illness.
Prof Nutt, who once claimed that taking ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse, and his team at Imperial College London have hit a stumbling block with their research and are now appealing for funds.
Unsurprisingly, no one in the drinks industry is keen to fund the drug's development.
Debate has already been sparked by those who enjoy the social aspects of drinking, along with the taste of a wine or beer, while others have questioned whether people, including motorists, will remember to take the antidote.
One Twitter user called the drug "creepy", comparing it to the ritualistic drink 'Soma' in Aldous Huxley's distopian fantasy Brave New World, while others reacted joyfully to the news they could effectively 'get drunk' and go to work unhindered the next day.
Speaking to the Dragon's Den presenter Evan Davis on the BBC's Today programme this morning, Prof Nutt appealed for investors to come forward and support his ground-breaking research.
He said: "I think this would be a serious revolution in health... just like the e-cigarette is going to revolutionise the smoking of tobacco.
"I find it weird that we haven't been speaking about this before, as it's such a target for health improvement."
The Professor said that the drug would be taken in the form of a range of cocktails, and added he had given it a go himself.
"I've done the prototype experiments myself many years ago, where I've been inebriated and then it's been reversed by the antagonist," he said.
"That's what really gave us the idea. There's no question that you can produce a whole range of effects like alcohol by manipulating the brain."
The charity Alcohol Concern argued people might become addicted to the alcohol substitute and said the Government would be better focusing on policies such as the minimum pricing of booze, the Daily Mail reported.

The Huffington Post UK | By Charlotte Meredith Posted: 12/11/2013

Discussion Questions
1.    Do you think this new invention is a good idea? Do you think it should be made available to the public? Would you use it?
2.    Do you enjoy drinking? Why/why not? Do you get drunk easily? Do you suffer from hangovers?
3.    Do you do silly things when you drink too much? Do you ever regret your behaviour the next day after drinking? What is the stupidest or most embarrassing thing you have ever done under the influence of alcohol?
4.    What is the best hangover cure you have tried?
5.    Is alcohol addiction a big problem in your country? What could/should be done to improve the situation?
6.    How does the drinking culture here compare to the drinking cultures in other countries?
7.    Does your government have a sensible approach to alcohol regulation?
8.    If it were up to you, what laws would you enact related to alcohol?
9.    What do you think of Professor Nutt’s claims that “cannabis, ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes” and “taking ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse”? Did he deserve to be fired for making those comments?
10.“The point is the guilt; the point is the hangover. Learning to manage your alcoholic intake is, for most, part of the road travelled from infant to adult. Such lessons (of self-control) cannot be learnt if choices become consequence-free: to drink must be to volunteer oneself for risk.”Graeme Archer, The Telegraph. Discuss: does Mr Archer have a point?


Wednesday 17 September 2014

Sept 18 2014 Discussion

Please read the article at lease two times. First time without stopping to use a dictionary. 
See you in class tomorrow!

Matthew

Engagement Rings Are Actually 'Insulting'
INSULTING 'TO NOTIONS OF ACTUAL LOVE,' THAT IS: TAURIQ MOOSA

(NEWSER) – Diamonds have "little intrinsic value," writes Tauriq Moosa in the Guardian, so when large South African diamond mines were discovered in the late 1800s and De Beers Consolidates Mines was formed, its investors realized they would need to conjure up demand. That they were incredibly successful with their marketing is no surprise (who hasn't heard the tagline, "A diamond is forever"?). And yet we've forgotten that it's just that—marketing. Here's the truth, per Moosa: a diamond has nothing to do with your relationship or its permanence.

Rather, it's a useless bauble, it's overpriced (it starts decreasing in value the second you buy it, and prices continue to rise), and it's "insulting to notions of actual love." One survey found that the average engagement ring costs $5,200, and almost 12% of American couples actually spend $8,000 or more. Wouldn't that money be better spent on something else? If you think an engagement ring is a symbol of your love, consider this: "Why can't a beautiful home be a symbol? Why can't long-term investments be a symbol? Indeed, would it not be more impressive to show off a house than a finger rock?" 

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff - Posted Nov 4, 2013



Related articles and videos:

Song: Diamonds are forever          Shirley Bassey      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6kxcFcO6Y0
Song: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend   Marilyn Monroe    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCn4mTkxx2s




Discussion Questions


1.    Do you think it is necessary to buy a diamond engagement ring?


2.    How much money do you think is appropriate to spend on an engagement ring?


3.    Why are people willing to spend so much money on diamonds?


4.    Ladies: how would you feel about a man who refused to spend money on a diamond engagement ring because he wanted to put the money towards something else?

Gentlemen: how would you feel about a woman who demanded that her fiancé buy her an expensive ring?


5.    Married people: how did you/your partner propose?
Single people: how do you plan/hope to get engaged?

6.    Are you usually careful about how you spend your money or do you tend to blow it all when you want something? Do you spend a lot of money on unnecessary luxuries?


7.    What is the most extravagant thing you have ever splashed out on?
Why did you buy it? Was it worth the money? 


8.    Can you think of any other examples of useless/unnecessary products that marketing has convinced us that we all need to buy?


9.    What is the best way to show someone that you love them?



10.What is your most treasured possession (in terms of sentimental value, not monetary value) and why is it so important to you?

Tuesday 16 September 2014

Sept 17/2014 Student Elected Discussion

child crime, mischief

1. how do you define a child

2. should we punish children on their crimes

3. how can you reduce child crime,mischief

Worker nearly dies when boy cuts safety rope Description: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/images/sub_sectionImages1/readmore.png
Description:

A Chinese laborer working on the side of a tall building nearly died this week in Guizhou, south of China when a 10-year-old boy cut his safety rope in a bid to better watch cartoons.
Liu Mai was fastening security lights to the building, 30 meters from the ground with a drill. The boy, watching television, was annoyed by the sound.
“I felt my safety rope shaking. I looked up to see what was wrong,” said the man.
“I saw the boy cutting the rope with a knife. I shouted at him to stop but he didn’t listen and soon after, the rope was broken. I was petrified.”
It took 40 minutes before his coworkers arrive at the scene and rescued him safely.
“He just didn't think. We have apologized and bought the man a new rope,” the boy’s dad Tang Peng said.
“He has promised he will not do something similar again. I think we may also need to take him for some anger management therapy," the father said.

 From – korea times

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Sept 11 2014 Discussion!

http://rt.com/news/shinese-man-sues-ugly-wife-353/

Please read the article and really think about your opinion of this. Please also look up any vocabulary that you do not know.

See you tomorrow.

Matthew

Sept 10 2014 Blog Discussion

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/the-home-that-s-a-real-cliff-hanger-102233627.html

1) If you could choose this kind of this house, would you live there?
- Are you afraid of heights?

2) Your partner has a favourite house. You really love him (her), but you don't like the house. What do you do??

3) What kind of house would you enjoy living in?

4) Do you think houses like theses are going to become more common in the future?
- Would they help reduce overpopulation in cities?

5) What kind of strange house location would be possible in your country?