Xu Bing - melding language and art

Should you have the general good fortune to find yourself in the vicinity of the heavenly Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, dash with all speed towards the Xu Bing exhibition. If there is no possibilty of getting anywhere close, the miracle of the internet will bring art to you: http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/xu_bing

Xu Bing explores the interaction between language and the objects it represents. As we know, a word has specific, personal and cultural dimensions. Xu Bing plays with adapting pictograms so they represent both the shape of and the character for natural objects. The exhibition left me questioning the ways in which language is both sufficient and unsatisfactory when we try to describe our environments.

Worth more than one visit!

Final prep for our ESB public speaking assessment students

Your Brandon teachers will have prepared you well so don't panic! Use the following as your last minute check list:

Presentation

Make sure that your poster is designed to be read by an audience (large titles, clear organisation, minimal writing)
If you are using cue-cards, number them and clip them together. Be careful not to read!
Use your poster to guide you though your speech

Poem

Memorise...memorise...memorise!
Make sure you have learned your introduction: do you have to give background on the poet, analyse the language or say why you chose the poem?

Book

Ensure that your selection has a mixture of dialogue and narrative
Be prepared to introduce your selection, putting it in context
Remember not to hold your book in front of your face!

Discussion

Listen attentively and try to think of questions which will engage the rest of the group
Offer your support and encourage other speakers

 I took my first ESB assessment at the age of seven and I still remember the excitement. Ever year, the ESB assessors make incredible efforts to encourage and develop students and this year will be no different.

Good luck everyone!

For my wonderful PolyU students: never doubt your abilities

I have just finished teaching two more groups at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and (as usual) have been awed and humbled by their determination. If you ever become cynical about the potential of the next generation, I recommend spending a couple of hours at PolyU observing how the students care about each other, their school and community. It is inspiring.

The following comments are directed towards my students:


You are all talented and driven individuals with the potential to make a real difference to your worlds. Watching you grown in confidence has been a privilege.

Remember: everyone speaks with an accent, there is no one "right way" of speaking. Use your unique speaking voice rather than trying to emulate someone else.

Plan. Be prepared to change your plans. Adapt, don't panic.

Read your audience and try to understand what will engage them. Run through the skills we have learned and apply the ones you feel are most effective.

Good luck and be confident in all your endeavours!

Spring from another perspective?

We are familiar with Western poetry about the Spring but English speakers may be less familar with the following poem which has been sensitively translated by TC Lai:

Spring - Chun Kwan (1049 - 1100)

Spring has sprayed the paths with flowers
As scores of thrushes
Rishing from the bushes
Burst out like fireworks to announce their joy.

I lie in the shade of an old oak, drunk.
The clouds overhead race;
Tigers, dragons and bears
Changelings each other chase
Till the evening sun steals in and bathes
In the quick-gold of the lake unawares.

I love the contrast between the poetic flights of fancy which are punctured by the prosaic description of him being"drunk." He goes from this simple statement of condition to musing even more complex imaginings. The juxtaposition of the literary and mundane reminds me of Oscar Wilde's "we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars"

This poem is a glorious snapshot in time which will come back to you as you look at the Spring sky, wherever you are in the world.

Happy Easter

Revision Planning - IGCSE, Pre-U, A Level, Common Entrance

The exam content may differ but the basic premise is the same; you study for a period of time, assemble the facts and techniques and attempt to distill your learning into a few short hours. One of the common consequences of this situation is a month of blind panic during which you know that you should be revising and can't think where to start. So here is an idea:

1; Acquire a copy of your syllabus

2; Go through the above, dividing content into three columns marked "confident I know this," "need to go over it," "not the faintest clue"

3; At this point, you will need to seek help with anything that falls into the latter category

4; For the remaining topics, start allocating revision time. Clearly, your focus is on updating your knowledge of the familiar but consecrating more time to the unfamiliar

5; Break down your time into realistic blocks (seriously, are you going to cane through a topic a night?) Factor in time-cushions for unexpected delays

6; Get on with it!

Alternatively, come to a Brandon Learning Centre revision course!

Let me know if you would like ideas for any aspects of revision or study skills.

Focus on a poem - Fire and Ice by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

One of my all time favourites. A thoughtful, reflective poem about the terrible power of isolation, destructive emotion and absence of love. Understated elegance and a quiet, powerful voice amidst the shrieking and drama of our times.

Red this quietly and let the words speak for themselves.



Fire and Ice by Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

Choosing a UK Boarding School - follow up on my AMC seminars

We had a wonderful morning speaking to parents at our Aberdeen Marina Club Seminar. The audience had a multitude of excellent questions which underlined the commitment they have to finding the right school for their children.

Key points to take away were:

1: You know your child best. Listen to advice from friends and family but be prepared to make your own decision.
2: Don't be afraid of asking questions. In my experience, the best schools are ready and willing to work with parents and actively encourage your questions in the knowledge that this is a path to a close, co-operative relationship.
3: Engage your child in the preparation process.
4: Don't just focus on academic skills, cultural and communication skills are equally important. Brandon classes offer all three!
5: Understand the needs of your child. Children develop at different rates and an appropriate school will encourage and support a student so he can develop his full potential.

 Thank you for being such a terrific audience!