Brandon Learning Centre: British Education - process, preparation and practicalities

Rearrange my pens in size order, wipe my desk, write a "thank you" letter, pay my credit card bill, loaf through Amazon... all things I have done rather than writing a chapter of my thesis. Displacement activities are myriad, I aways think that the less enticing a task is, the more you can justify doing it instead of your work. The old "well I'm not enjoying it so it isn't really wasting time" justification. Ideas: Make a realistic commitment. There is not point saying you will write an entire essay before dinner if you know in your heart of hearts that what you are really going to do is spend half an hour reading a magazine and half an hour in a blind panic meaning that you start writing fifteen minutes before you are set to eat. Break down your task into "chunks" - list each section on a piece of paper. Strike off items on your list as you write. Start at a time you know you can work; I like writing late at night and any work I produce

I was mortified to find that my e-mail account had been hacked today and a string of bogus e-mails offering dubious delights sent to everyone in my address book. I am deeply sorry for all the inconvenience. As for the hackers... To paraphrase the mighty J M Synge Lord, confound this surly hackers Blight their brows with pustules spatter, Cramp their larynx, lung, and liver, In their guts a galling give there, Let them live to earn their dinners In Mountjoy with seedy sinners: Lord, this judgment make from afar And I'm your servant, Jessica For the far worthier original (http://www.online-literature.com/synge/poem-selections/2/)

I have been reading to arthur waley's wonderful Chinese Poems   this week. I particularly enjoy the following poem as it illustrates the various groups who provide support and thus contribute to a student's achievements: family, friends and the application of the individual. The humble tone of the narrator is a joy. After Passing the Exam - Po Chui I (800ad) For   ten years I never left my books; I went up… and won unmerited praise. My high place I do not much prize; The joy of my parents will first make me proud. Fellow students, six or seven men, See me off as I leave the City gate. My covered couch is ready to drive away; Flutes and strings blend their parting tune. Hopes achieved dull the pains of parting; Fumes of wine shorten the long road… Shod with wings is the horse of him who rides On a Spring day the road that leads to home. Despite having been written over two thousand years so, there is a freshness and a sincerity in this poem which still resonat

I judged a Speech Festival a couple of years ago and was stunned by one of the candidate's performances. Not by their brilliance but by their ressemblance to a windmill. The boy in question was reading a serious, calm poem but had matched it with exuberant, dramatic gestures. Gestures will not win you a Speech Festival. At best they are unnecessary and at worst they are a distraction. Focus on the face and the voice and avoid oscillating wildly and you are in with a chance!

If you have just returned to school and have been invited to participate in the HKSMA Speech festival, the next few posts may be of interest! Rule one: When entering a Speech Festival, try to find a class you will enjoy. You have a variety to choose from: bible reading, prose reading, public speaking, poetry reading. Think of your voice, what each class requires of competitors, your own skill set and select your class with care. Next time: I think I used to know that or how to remember your piece!