Hi everyone, I didn’t give it much thinking as my choice was pretty obvious. Of course I recommend to you Ralph Waldo Emerson. All of you are familiar with some of his works, probably with “Self-reliance”. I really wish we had devoted more time to Emerson during our course in American literature. I consider Emerson the best poet I have ever had a privilege to read. Thanks to his innovational ideas and thoughts I went on thinking about previously ignored matters. His profound reflections on the selected areas of life, which are either deliberately or subconsciously ignored on a day – to – day basis, make the reader realize the phenomenon of widespread apathy towards human nature, the world and the ever – lasting circle of life. I really suggest reading his works; it’ll make you look at yourselves from the perspective rotated by 180 °.
Here’s the link leading to a descent website about Emerson. Enjoy. R W Emerson
Hi there, Once I had a clear vision of my future but reality caught me off guard and struck me on my head. I’m not an optimist any more but still think I can achieve at least a few of my miserable objectives. To begin with, in five years time, I picture myself walking up at 6 a.m. as usual, taking a shower, brushing my teeth and having my breakfast, something light and healthy. As I’ve given up smoking I won’t (hopefully) spend additional five minutes thinking about my day with a cig between my fingers. After reorganizing my sheets of paper, I will rush to work. I believe I’m gonna work as a teacher in a high school and after my regular hours, I will certainly have to moonlight in a private language school, you know extra money always in demand. Hopefully, I will get a chance to teach in a college or university, I’m not talking about giving lectures or showing how smart I’m alleged to be. I just wanna teach them a few things I’ve learnt. Besides, I’d like to stay in touch with English at certain level and be more motivated to work. You know, college or university students are not the same as high school guys. Afterwards, I will come back to my apartment, which I’m gonna rent, and spend the rest of my day snowed under work and being angry with myself for not having PhD.
Hi pals and gals, Yeah, I know... I’m not a regular visitor here but this case about politics is quite overwhelming to me. I’m not interested in politics now. I used to be when I was a rebellious youngster aiming at something that has already slipped my mind. Personally, I just don’t find it interesting. Nevertheless, I’m glad that a man with a darker complexion than mine became a president. I think it’s a good sign of some conversion of thoughts and ideas. I mean slavery and so on. It’s good that the position of the black man has changed.
Honestly, teaching practice wasn’t any stressful event for me and it wasn’t he result of my potential special abilities or predispositions. The point is that teaching isn’t anything new to me as I’ve been teaching English for one and a half year in a private language school. I dealt with university students, adults, teenagers and kids. For this reason, it wasn’t a very big deal for me.
My personal reflection on teaching. Teaching is like music. You must feel it and devote yourself to it. I think the best way to illustrate my point of view is by drawing analogy to musicians who play jam-session. When I stand in front of my students I play my music; free, spontaneous and interactive. I try to sense when it is the right time to apply some patterns and previously prepared plans and when it is necessary to improvise and catch the unpredicted flow. I don’t believe in the concept of “The teacher’s mask” which assumes that a good teacher should pose for somebody else during their classes and play a role of a mentor. It doesn’t work like this… What teachers need to do is to be themselves, be natural, be human, and humane when necessary. Another important point is that regardless of the number of academic titles we have, it is necessary to remember we are learning too. We have the right not to know the answer and we should be honest about that with our students, otherwise we can seriously hurt them, well in an abstract sense. It is crucial to be careful because we deal with people and our mistakes can easily affect their future life and learning.
As far as my studies go, nothing has changed. I wanted to be a teacher and still I can’t imagine my life without doing this. Despite the fact that there are a lot of useless subjects which make me furious and sometimes depressed, I would never change my studies.
I assume that most of my post is irrelevant to the topic but at least it was from the bottom of my heart.
Hi people,
I've always believed that the kind of music we love depicts a lot of our inside. Well, it was more obvious than revealing. Never mind, what I want to say is I’d like to introduce to you the history of the music that changed my life and, to some extend, shaped the person I am now.
It’s all begun with a hard beat…
Believe or not, but I started listening to music at the age of 15. Before that, I had no favorite bands or singers and, to be honest, I had no idea of music at all. As I said before, I started at the age of 15 and the only kind of music I accepted at time was heavy metal. My favorite band was Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson. (By the way, not many of us know that Bruce is a first tenor. )
After the long period of listening to heavy metal, which equaled more or less 4 years, I ''dressed down'' (changed my black clothes), and turned to totally different direction. I ceased to be gloomy and sullen for 24h and launched my idea of new perception of the world. I cheered up, chilled out and found my way of living, at least for some time. That’s how I morphed into a hippie. Check out this soft and comforting sound:
Well, as some of the readers can see in the class, I'm not a hippie anymore. I grew up and began to perceive the world in a different dimention. I refused limitation and ignorance towards all the parts of my inside. Finally, I understood that the phase of denial doesn't contribute to anything constructive and creative. I decided to absorb the music. I figured that the kind itself is no longer the point for me, what really counts is if I like it, if it carries me away and evokes emotions. That's the reason I listen to various kinds of music I didn't even know before. When I'm asked what music I like, I have no idea what to say, what to start with. You can figure out what I mean by having a glimpse on the videos below.
Freddie was a fascinating figure and his voice makes my heart explode.
Blues is like a being which can live on its own. Ray Charles was definitely an important figure in the later blues.
There is also something about Sting.
When I heard Rysiek Riedel for the first time all I wanted to do was to sing.
There was a young guy, a real hot shot. Ritchie Valens.
There are many others who inspired me but it is impossible to write about them all. I'm not a musician and I'll never be one but music is what has an enormous impact on me and my feelings.
Hi pals and gals , My childhood evokes very contradictory emotions in me. Sometimes, I think that I was one of the happiest kids on the planet, who experienced the world with open heart and mind. However, most often when I think of those years, I conclude that I was so miserable child, doing nothing but playing and experiencing nothing but the borders of its own stupidity. Sad but true… Anyways, at the bottom of that post there is a photo of a kid who was certainly dropped on his head.
As we all know, we were to describe our home town so I can’t be worse than you. Ok, who am I kidding? I have never thought that describing my town equals any knowledge of it as you must feel it deep inside to understand it. Hmm, that sounds like Emerson, doesn’t it?
Anyways, I was brought up in Pułtusk, the town which is also known as The Venice of Mazowsze. Yeah I know, probably nobody has ever heard about its existence but my home town has always been very important to me. It is located by the Narew river, exactly between Warsaw and Ostrołęka. It is pretty small and its industrial development isn’t anything any other town can be envious of. However, to your information, you can find the longest market place in Euro
pe there. I’m not kidding, it is a fact. I have always felt very attached to my town, I was brought up there, went to school and learned quiet a lot, I’m not talking about the library knowledge but the knowledge of life.
