Thursday, September 9, 2010

What goes around, comes around


Very easy

A poor farmer heard a cry for help. He ran and there was a terrified boy in the bog*. The farmer saved the boy from death.
The next day a nobleman introduced himself as the father of the boy the farmer had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the father. "You saved my son's life."
"I can't accept payment," said the farmer.
The nobleman saw a boy.
"Is that your son?"
"Yes."
"Let me give him the same education as my son."
The farmer's son attended the best schools and graduated from medical school. He became Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin.

Many years later, the nobleman's son had pneumonia. He was saved by .... penicillin.
The nobleman's son was Sir Winston Churchill.
**************
The same story

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools
and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father
of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'
'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.
'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.
'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.
Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of
Penicillin..

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill .. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.
Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.
It's National Friendship Week.

*bog = marécage

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Strike

Yes, I am on strike. I am on strike because it seems to be the only way I can protest the government's action in education. Where other governments are attacking the economic crisis by investing in education with more and better paid teachers, France is reducing the number of teachers, policemen and hospital personnel. Five years ago in our lycée we arranged for all the English classes in "seconde" to be taught in small groups. Students got more attention from their teachers and more opprotunities to practice and progressed. But year after year the number of hours diminished and the program could not be continued. Is it honest to call reducing the numbers of teachers and increasing the numbers of students a "reform"?

Monday, September 6, 2010

Right brain or left brain?

If you use your left brain more than your right brain, you are good at mathematics and very verbal. You act with logic and are well-organized. You understand grammar rules and enjoy doing excercises.

If you use your right brain more, you are visual and creative. You hate grammar exercises because they seem pointless to you, but when you are in a foreign country, you quickly pick up the language. You are often guided by your emotions.

Of course these are generalizations and very few people are extreme cases of right or left brain dominance. Most people switch sides depending on the situation. Knowing which side of your brain is dominant can help you find the most efficient way to study a foreign language.

If you google "Right Brain Left Brain" you'll find questionnaires to help you discover which side of your brain you use the most.