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

Wrong play but my favourite epilogue. The world of the Globe is a very special one; detached from reality allowing you to luxuriate in the glories of Shakespeare. Bliss. Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. William Shakespeare From The Tempest , Act 4 Scene 1 To find out more about A Midsummer Night's Dream: http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/whats-on/globe-theatre/a-midsummer-nights-dream-2013?utm_source=hp&utm_medium=customBlock&utm_campaign=Midsummer_hp

Latin mass at Farm Street followed by the most glorious of London spring days reminded me of Gerard Manley Hopkin's luminous poem "Pied Beauty." The poet's sparkling reflections on the visible evidence of God's work is a reminder to glory in imperfections ending in a heartfelt cry of exultation which lingers in the mind after long reading. Heavenly. Pied Beauty Glory be to God for dappled things - For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings; Landscape plotted and pieced - fold, fallow, and plough; And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.

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!

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 t

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 confiden

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

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

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

One of the major barriers to confidence in public speaking is the uncertainty of how an audience perceives you as a speaker. Here is a five minute public speaking exercise for you that we often use at Brandon Learning Centre to develop self awareness. Arm yourself with a book or newspaper. Find a quiet spot with a full length mirror. Take a deep breath and read the text as though, behind the mirror, lies an invisible audience. Watch your face and body language as you progress through the reading. Try to match your gestures and facial expressions to the content of your literature. Throughout the exercise, identify moments when you are relaxed and engaged and remember how this feels. With practice, the objective is to be able to extend these moments and to become aware of how you can adapt your behaviour to connect with an audience When you first try this exercise, your initial reaction will be to laugh and/or be bashful. Persist and, as you drive away the demons of doubt, you will f

You have written the perfect speech; blending humour, sincerity and hard fact, there is something for everyone. Now how can you avoid undermining all your hard work with a lacklustre presentation? My next few posts will focus on delivery and are a supplement to a course I am currently teaching at PolyU to a wonderful group of engaged and dedicated students. Step one: read through your speech outloud, record yourself at this point. Step two: listen to the recording whilst scanning your speech, notice where you stop and pause for breath. Do your pauses mean that key phrases are lost? Step three: mark your copy with to indicate phrases. You will end up with something that looks like this: We are all aware of how the weather affects our moods/ but do we also think about the effect on our animals?/ Do we consider how miserable,/ how uncomfortable/ or how confused they may feel when they first encouter snow? / By marking your phrasing, you break up the speech into manageable pieces

I watched one of our Brandon students practising for the HKSMSA Speech Festival today. She has a terrific voice and the interpretation of her poem is sensitive and engaging. In short, a terrific performance. If you are preparing for a speech festival, try to focus your efforts on your voice and face. Your facial expressions should follow and complement your voice. Try the following: Practice by reading in front of a mirror. Does your face show the emotion you are trying to put into your voice? If not, is it working against you? After a few readings, you will be able to understand the connection between your two main tools and will start to create a perfect performance!