Holiday Traditions

Erika says:
Nimitz High School has a tradition – the week before Christmas many teachers volunteer to read to groups of students. They go to classrooms during their conference periods and bring with them stories about Christmas day.
Also many teachers read a lot during the break, like Ms. Terry Dodds , who is the ESL department head. She will also be preparing a “favorite books list”.
All this encourages the students to check out library books to read over their long holiday break.

Mrs. Dodds, a Holiday Reader

Another interesting activity that Nimitz High School does is singing at the library, songs like Silent Night. Last year I enjoyed this fun activity. Foreign Languages and ESL classes sang together in the various languages – English, Spanish, French, and German. Nimitz students did it this year, too. (http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/file/detail/xmas_esl.mp3 and http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/file/detail/xmas_Night.mp3

Jordan says:
A link to Jordan’s story about the Angel Tree project at Nimitz: http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/file/detail/Jordan_AngelTree.mp3
or http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/Right+Angle+Media+Studios

Participating classes decorated classroom doors creating festive atmosphere for the whole school.
A Holiday Offering from Nimitz High School: http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/file/detail/A_Holiday_Offering_From_NHS.wmv

All my classes enjoyed the stories about seasonal traditions from the local public radio station, KERA 90.1,
http://www.kera.org/traditions. Students decided to share Holiday traditions and the best recipes from their families on this blog.
My own story starts with a question: What traditions do multicultural families follow? In our family clan of mixed religions (Protestant, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, Buddhist, with Jewish and Catholic boyfriends and girlfriends of the kids) we embrace the HOLIDAY SEASON, and we call it Christmas.
As a bicultural Russian-American couple, my husband and I combine family customs.

Evergreen branches with callas

Our holiday display is very simple and includes Saint Nickolas, Russian dolls for ornaments, and evergreen branches with callas. My husband has had this figurine of Santa for many years. Looking at its kind face invariably fills me with joy – a lovely little miracle in itself. Porcelain-faced dolls in traditional costumes exemplify Russian crafts. The white callas are a tribute to my parents. My father always brought a fresh bouquet of calla lilies for my mother for the New Year. Crisp fresh callas were hard to get in the middle of Russian winter. They were a conjunction of hope between compound and complex sentences of winter and spring in the story of seasons.

The Tinnin Family Cranberry Salad
2 small packages of cranberries
2-3 oranges
2 large green apples (Granny Smith)
2-3 celery ribs
2 cups of walnuts
1+ cup of sugar in raw
(in my personal opinion, artificial sweeteners ruin the taste)
Zest of 1 orange
Cut all the ingredients into small pieces in the processor or by hand,
mix, and leave overnight. It will keep for a week, but this energy boost
is so delicious that it is gone in two days.

How I’ve Learned English

Voices from Texas: Radio essays at

http://nimitz13.wikispaces.com/Right+Angle+Media+Studios

Voices from Russia:
ON LEARNING ENGLISH

Stepanjkova Victoriya
Nowadays millions of people learn English. And everyone from them wants to spend less time on learning it, less effort, less nerves, and at last less money. Because of this there are many different methods. They were created by people finding the best way of learning and remembering. The difference between methods consists in different approaches. One advises spending more time on speaking, others say that the most important skills are writing skills. But here, however like everywhere, there is a classical system, which is used in most schools and universities. This system implies the same attention to all aspects.
For my part I`ve tried a new method once. It promised me to increase the quantity of the words. It advised to find the word in Russian with the similar pronunciation and try to use it while remembering. It seemed to me funny when I started but stupid when after two weeks I finished. The result was that I could remember only Russian words.
So now I learn English in the classical way, which is practised in my school. But of course I try to adapt learning and to make it easier. For example today I don`t need to free time for learning words as I used to do two years ago. Now I`ve got used to learning them by pronouncing loudly while doing housework. And if I can`t remember any words I write them on the place which I often see. For example, on my pencil box. I also find reading very useful. The phrases or words I meet in books stuck in my memory strongly. So I try to read more. And when I listen to music I also try to understand what is said in songs not only because it is intresting, but also because I realize that when I hear these songs next time I `ll probably remember the words they contain and while listening again and again I`ll learn them.
Actually I do nothing in particular. I don`t use any original methods, I don`t have my own helpful rules, but I learn regularly and it brings me some success.

Tatur Anastasia
I have been learning English for many years. Knowledge of the English language is neсessary for me. “Why?”, asked you.
Firstly, nowadays a lot of people know English. It is the easiest language in the world. Of course, I would like to know English for speaking with other people.
Secondly, I like visiting some countries abroad. In the city which you do not know you should know to ask the way to church, for example. Also I would like to have some practical work in London. That is why Iam learning the English language.
How do I learn it to know it well? I try to remember all rules, many words. I repeat them for remembering. Also I am listening songs and watching films in English.
Learn the English language! It is interesting and very useful.

WHY IS ENGLISH IMPORTANT?

Gorshkova Nastya
Now many people are interested in learning foreign languages. As for me I am interested in learning English, because the English language is well-known in many countries and many people can speak English. I think it is very convenient, because you should know one foreign language to speak with people in different countries around the world.
If you know English or other foreign languages you will find work faster. Now almost all employers want to have workers, who know one or more foreign languages.
Sometimes people work with foreign people and some need to have an interpreter, but often it costs very much. But if you know a foreign language by yourself you could save your money.
I learn English at school and I haven’t got any extra courses, but I try to learn English hard, because I want to have an advantage over other people, who can’t speak English, in my future. I think that learning English is very interesting and if you know English, it could help you in different situations.

Kolpakova Sasha
Learning to speak a foreign language may be the best thing you want to do. For example I can take the English language. English is the most popular language in the world. You can go everywhere and you will find someone who knows it. Also you can use English to learn more information in science, computers, sport, music, business, health. And if you communicate in English you contact with people from all over the world, you can ask directions, or have a conversation.
I had been studying English for many years before I went to school. For me it‘s really important, because my future life will be connected with English. I hope I will study at university, there I would take a degree connecting with it.

Trushina Katya
The English language is important today, because it is an international language.
If you know this language well, you will have a lot of possibilities. For example, the English language is the language of the great literature, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wild. They all wrote their books in English and, when we read the original, it is more interesting, than translation of it. Half of the world scientific journals are in English.
The English language has become a world language in politics, science, trade and cultural relationships. It is the language of computer technology, a lot of computer programmes are written in English. It is absolutely necessary for a good specialist in any country to be able at least to read English, you can talk to people of any nationality and can get necessary information anywhere in the world.
In my opinion, the English language today is important for me very much, it is not bad, if I also learn other languages. I have been studying English for 8 years in school and go to courses. The study of a foreign language will help me in my future life.

Gudkova Irina
We start learning foreign languages from early childhood because our modern life demands this. Nowadays it’s getting more and more important even necessary.
Globalization and progress in science and technology made the English language common all over the world. Today it helps people from different countries to get on in work. If you know English it means that it will be easier for you to be successful in business, to get progress in career, to have communication and partnership with people from other countries.
It has become an obligatory thing to have English as a school subject all over the world. Today children learn this language as they learn Maths or Physics. In the 10th class we have English for 7 times a week in comparison with 4 times for Russian and only 3 times for Maths. It shows the importance of this language. Of course it’s the choice of the person to know or not to know it well, but everybody wants to be successful, happy and wants to be developed as an individual.
Many people try to learn some languages because of their interest in the culture of different countries. Travelling and communicating with foreign people help people to get a sense of success. And it’s great to understand that you can do such a difficult thing as speaking with foreigners easily. It’s very hard to find time in a busy and strained life of a modern person to learn a foreign language. But when you understand that you were able to do it, it makes you feel satisfied and happier.
It’s great to be all-round developed and to be able to do a lot of different things. But we shouldn’t consider a foreign language, even the most common, more important than the native tongue.

Plyatsko Olga
Studying English in the modern world has a very important meaning. English is international. English is spoken practically all over the world. It is spoken as the mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A lot of people speak English in China, Japan, India, Africa and other countries. It is studied as a foreign language in many schools. Many people study this language; speak English with people of other countries. It’s enough to know English to be able to communicate with people of different countries.
As for me this language has an important place because it’s international. Many people speak English on forums, at international conferences; with its help we decide global problems. If you know this language you will be closer to social life. Studying languages helps to learn out the culture of that country the language of which you study. Great Britain is very rich in culture: Literature, Music and etc. Modern music is written in English mainly.
I have been studying English for 6 years. I have learnt out some traditions of English-speaking countries. I try to study English not only by school program but independently. I try to listen to English music and to translate it into Russian. I have some tapes and video-tapes in English. I read English books, which we discuss at lessons together with our teacher. Many tasks in the textbooks develop grammatical skills. I like to study English with computer games. I can learn English watching English films, different satellite TV programs in English. I study English, because I want to read English books of great writers in the original. I want to communicate with people from different countries; I want to understand their culture and traditions. Speaking English I can travel everywhere, because more than 1 billion people speak English.
So it is very useful to learn foreign languages. Knowledge of foreign languages helps us to develop friendship and understanding among people. English is very popular now. It’s the language of computers, science, business, sport and politics. English is very important to find a good job.
I think that to know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated man, for every good specialist.

Dvornikov Ivan
Why do I study English? Do I need it? This language is international. If you know English, you can be anywhere in the world. If you have excellent knowledge of English, you can find a job easily. Most computer programmes are written in English, so if you know English you can better understand them. You always can talk with interesting people on some subjects in English, moreover, you can go to other countries as a tourist. And you can understand your favourite music. And read original books. English is necessary to all. Without it people can’t live nowadays.

Lukashina Nastya
English language plays an important part in my life. I always face with science and technologe,computers and mass entertainment. It is the language of the literature,education,modern music,international tourism.
I have started to learn English at school in the second classes and I learn to this day. I do different exercises on English language. In the lessons we practise listening skill,because it is very important. So I go on English courses. When I go abroad I can practise there talking to foreingners. We speak on different themes. Also I listen to English musical groups some word I remember.
Learning a foreing language is not as easy thing. It is a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But to know English is absolutely necessary for every educated person,for every good specialist.
I learn English to speak fluently and undestand people in abroad. So English is necessary for me and my future life, because I want to travel in abroad and get a good education.

Moscows: a Place Name Survey

A research team from a high school in Polyarnye Zori, Russia, requested assistance with their interactive map project “Moscows” for a regional student conference in December. Please provide your answers to the survey questions as comments. Your assitance will be highly appreciated. Go global, Nimitz!

1. How many places called Moscow do you know in your state and in your country?
2. Where are these Moscows located?
3. What do you know about the origins of their names?
4. Do you know that there is Moscow in Russia?
5. What do you know about it? List your spontaneous ideas, not research results, please.

What Matters?

World Literature (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

Languages

Math

Clubs and extracurricular activities

Sports

Stars

Photo credits: Yasmin and Erika

On Language Learning

To follow up on the class discussions, I ask you to find quotes about language – the role it plays in society and personal affairs, the status of English as a global language of problem solving.
Type the quote in the comments including the author and the URL. Remember to use the quotation marks ” ” around your quote. Write three to five sentences explaining why you have chosen this quote.
Here are examples:
“Language is the house of being.” (Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher)
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/heidegge.htm
Similar to a house, language can build walls or open doors, can be poor and dirty or rich and beautiful. Like architects, writers create structures. Sentences need to be well-designed and form paragraphs with smooth transitions. I dwell in language – the house with form, function, and aesthetic appeal.
“I am under the spell of language, which has ruled me since I was 10.” (V.S. Pritchett, an English writer)
http://creativequotations.com/one/1931.htm
I like this quote because it reflects my intimate relation with the language from adolescence to this day. I keep dictionaries in every room in the house. Dictionary is magic. It’s a book version of hypertext before the Internet. As I am writing this, a dictionary of quotations, “Camp’s Unfamiliar Quotations from 2000 B.C. to the Present,” falls on my lap and opens on page 170 with a message from a French poet Louis Aragon,
“Language was not given to man: he seized it.” This puts the learner in the driver’s seat. My students of English understand that their effort, their investment into language education, will allow them to build a solid foundation for the edifice of their future.
(I used analogy between language and a house. House, building, and edifice are synonyms; edifice is a big fancy building.)

Freedom // Opression

A guest moderator, Mrs. Cooper, is an English/AVID teacher at Nimitz HS. She invites all the students to join the discussion.

Freedom: liberty, independence, lack of restrictions

Oppression: tyranny, repression, cruelty

…but what do they really mean?

Find one quote about freedom with which you passionately agree. In the comments section, include the quote, the author, and a three to five sentence explanation of why you agree with this quote.

Find one quote about oppression with which you passionately agree. In the comments section, include the quote, the author, and a three to five sentence explanation of why you agree with this quote.

Simile

What is your interpretation of the simile in example one?
1) “He has a tongue like a sword and a pen like a dagger.” (H. Caine)

Source: flickr.com/photos/9209225@N06/2618732607

Find which quote from the list fits this image:

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepapergirl/2086028012/

2) “She went on to say that she wanted all her children absorb the meaning of the words they sang, not just mouth them, like silly-billy parrots.” (J. D. Salinger)
3) She was obstinate as a mule, always had been, from a child.” (J. Galsworthy)
4) “When my missus gets sore she is as hot as an oven.” (D. Sayers)
5) “The air was warm and felt like a kiss as we stepped off the plane.”
6) “Like a sigh, the breath of a living thing, the smoke rose.” (K.S. Prichard)
7) “She has always been as live as a bird.” (R. Chandler)
8 ) “That’s the place where we are to lunch; and by Jove, there’s a boy with the basket, punctual as clock-work.” (Ch. Dickens)
9) “He stood immovable like a rock in a torrent.” (J. Reed)
10) “He wore a grey double-breasted waistcoat, and his eyes gleamed like raisins.” (Gr. Greene)
11) “His speech had a jerky, metallic rhythm, like a teletype.” (T. Capote)
12) “The lamp made an ellipse of a yellow light on the ceiling, and on the mantel the little alabaster clock dripped time like a leaking faucet.” (?)
13) “I left her laughing. The sound was like a hen having hiccups. (R. Chandler)
14) “His mind went round and round like a squirrel in a cage, going over the past.” (A. Christie)
15) “We can hear him coming. He’s got a tread like a rhinoceros.” (K. Amis)

Write examples you find in literature or your own examples as comments to this post. Remember to credit the author.

Flu

Hygiene and health are important! Please
Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
Picture credit: Alejandra Alfaro

Kim Corbet and John Cage

I was with John Cage for only one week in 1986 yet it was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. I was in a quartet called BL Lacerta (named for a deep space radio source) and we asked him to write us a piece for our concert at the Dallas Museum of Art.

To our great surprise he wanted to fly down and join us on stage. The first night he cooked for us and talked about being ‘in the moment’, meaning not thinking about anything but here and now and being aware of every sound.

In the concert, we were stationed in the 4 corners of the theatre while he sat on stage and chanted like a Tibetan monk. At one point I remember running faster and faster in circles around the audience playing one long note (the same note Cage was singing) on my accordion while my friends played faster and faster on clarinet, marimba and cello.

After the concert, John came to a reception at my little house in Parkdale overflowing with people from the show. I remember he was standing with his back to the kitchen sink as dozens of people got closer to hear what he had to say.

“It’s wonderful to be here” and people smiled thinking the same thing all through the house. We were very aware of being ‘here now’.
Kim Corbet’s personal performance and educational resource site:
http://faculty.smu.edu/kcorbet/projects.asp

Musician’s choice:
“okay…I’ve written my comment and think 18 (the oldest comment) is the most inclusive though they’re all very much the same. 18 simply has more complete information. plus there’s evidence of curiosity and learning. Cage would have liked that and so do I.

lemme know if there’s anything else I can do. I used to routinely visit a friend who lived right around the corner from Nimitz. great name…Nimitz.”

The winner is DR2. Congratulations!

A Page about John Cage

www.wxyc.org/blog/2009_01_01_archive.html

The words to tell John Cage’s story start with prefix COL-/COM- that means “WITH, TOGETHER”

1. Compare, comparison
Compare your school rules with Rules for Students and Teachers by John Cage

Your turn: write one sentence using compare/contrast frame.

2. Composition, compose, composer
John Cage was the most influential composer of the 20th century

Your turn: Composers compose compositions. Another way to express this idea is to say____ .

3. Collect, collection, collector
Collectors collect interesting items. The items collected make a collection.
John Cage collected sounds. He used sounds from his collection in such compositions
as Variations III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwsgAyZvgwY&feature=related

Your turn: What did you collect as a child? Why? What was special about your collection?
As a child I collected ________. My collection _____ .

4. Compete, competition, competitive
John Cage competed against other performers on I’ve Got a Secret TV show. This clip shows a segment of the competition.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/04/john_cage_on_a_.html

Your turn: What competition would you like to win?
I would like to win _____________, because ______________

5. Combine, combination
John Cage combined the sounds produced by different objects with the sound of piano in the composition Water Walk.
Your turn: What can you say about this acoustic (sound) combination?
The _______ of sounds in Water Walk by John Cage _________

What ordinary objects can you use for creating special sound effects?
I can use _____ to show _______

6. Collide, collision
Chance music invented by John Cage collided with traditional composition techniques.

Your turn: How can you explain the collision between traditional music and compositions by John Cage? __________

7, Complete
4’33” is another famous composition by John Cage. Listen to it as it is performed by the BBC Symphony orchestra.

Your turn: Search the links at the end of the post to find the year in which it was completed.
John Cage ___________ 4’33” in _________.

8. College
John Cage taught music classes at many colleges.

http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Images/cage-at-oberlin.gif

Your turn: What are you going to study at college? At college, I am going to study _________.

9. Collateral – side by side
When John Cage was young, he could not get money from a bank, because he had nothing for a collateral.

10. Convene, convention
Musicians from Other Minds, a global New Music community, convened in San Francisco to play music by Cage and other composers.
To listen to the performance of Suite for Toy Piano (1948), by Margaret Leng Tan at the Other Minds Festival in 1999 in San Francisco, go to:
http://www.archive.org/details/OM5LengTanCageSuiteforToy
Youtube video collection has a clip of this piece:

Your turn: Would you like to go to a convention or a festival of untraditional music? Why? Why not? ________

11. Compact
CD stands for ‘compact disc.’

Your turn: Would you like to have a CD with compositions by John Cage? Why? Why Not.

Links:
John Cage Online