CPDEC

Could any CPE December candidate who has not received their timetable by Wednesday please be sure to tell me in the lesson. Thanks.

Homework and Assessment

Several students missed class last week. CP1, CP2 and CPDEC were all working around the same theme: espionage. There was a written homework set to ALL groups, which was to apply for a job with the SIS. Go to this link: http://www.sis.gov.uk/output/Page4.html, follow the links to the various careers, and then write a letter of application of around 350 words in length. To be handed in to me in the lesson before Christmas at the latest; before if possible. Only send it to SIS if you really want to work for them...

First in-class assessment for CP1 students is this week, on Tuesday 29th December. We'll need the whole class, so do try to be on time. As you usually are! =)

Buddhists and the Death Penalty

For no other reason than it's of immense concern to me.

An interview:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/event2/lion.html?boardid=482170373&domainid=1330

A (very long) article:
http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/damin2.htm
I have this on Word if anyone wants to take a copy.

"Since 2000, only five countries are known to have executed juvenile offenders: China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Pakistan, and the USA. 13 of these 21 executions have been in the USA. On January 21, 2004, Amnesty International launched its Stop Child Executions campaigning action to end this "shameful practice" once and for all."

If anyone wants to discuss this, post on the Hub!

Teen Brains

If you're a teenager, or if you know one, or if you've got one (!?), these links might stimulate some thought. Though if you are a teenager, the thought they stimulate might be different to if you are post teen.

I vaguely remember my teens...

This link includes a full 60-minute programme discussing teen brains.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

The Secret Life of the Brain
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/episode3/

The science of neural development tangles with the juvenile death penalty
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040508/bob9.asp

Google 'Teen Brain' for more links. It's a fascinating area.

Always late? Find the beginning of time!

If you're into space and things spacey, check out the NewScientist Space website. And there's an article on finding the beginning of time... which for some of you less punctual people might be an interesting read.

http://www.newscientistspace.com/home.ns

New Scientist Podcasts

I'm listening to one of these as I type this. Very nice indeed.

http://www.newscientist.com/podcast.ns

Animal Idioms

A very nice little article explaining some animal idioms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv355.shtml

Responsibility

If you are responsible, you will take the responsibility to respond responsibly to this post. And spell RESPONSIBLE correctly in future! =)

Gay Priests

Or was our discussion about discrimination?...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1643912,00.html

Teenager murdered over skin colour, court told

Following our discussion on race. From today's Guardian Online:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,2763,1643902,00.html

Simple Search of BNC-World

Simple Search of BNC-World

Once again...

http://sara.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/lookup.html

The London News Review

For a rather alternative look at the news, check out the London News Review:

http://www.lnreview.co.uk/

BBC World Service

Live programmes, recorded programmes, articles to read, online discussions... it's all here on the BBC World Service. Do have a look at this excellent site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/

Environment 2

Some more links to sites related to conservation and the environment

A brief look at conservation issues from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/environment/conservationnow/global/

Conservation in the United Kingdom, and links to lots of related sites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_in_the_United_Kingdom

A more personal look at the environment…
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/6243/index.html

Some fun with animals, the names of their babies, and what are they called when they are a group. Or a flock. Or a herd. Or a gaggle…
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/Animalbabies.shtml

Buddhist Evangelist

Knowing I practice Buddhism, some people have expressed an interest in Buddhist ideas and thoughts. At the risk of becoming a Buddhist evangelist, here are a couple of links you might find interesting.

The teacher I have been most influenced by is the Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. He lives in a Buddhist community called Plum Village in the south of France. The website is www.plumvillage.org . If you click on the link to Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and then Transcripts of selected Dharma Talks you will access a range of talks he has given on retreats at Plum Village. This is on http://www.plumvillage.org/teachings/DharmaTalkTranscripts/TranscriptsOfSelectedDT.htm I recommend you begin with talks from summer retreats, as these are for laypeople, not necessarily practising Buddhists or Buddhist monks and nuns.

A great introduction to Buddhism as it can be practised in everyday life is given by Jack Kornfield in his Householder Series. Jack is an American who spent years as a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Monk tradition. He returned to America to teach, and with his insight into Buddhist thought and the western mind, is a wonderful Buddhist teacher. Click on each of the separate 10 chapters to read this free online book. It can also be copied and downloaded.
http://www.saigon.com/~anson/ebud/jk8p/jk8p_00.htm

Absolute Friends

One of the best novels I've read for a very long time is John le Carré's 'Absolute Friends'. It looks at the question of what happened to spies, on both sides of the iron curtain, after the end of the cold war, and also explores the theme of friendship, and how far do you take it. Real suspense and quite a moving book, with a 'heart in your mouth' ending. Check out the first chapter on:

http://www.johnlecarre.com/absolute_friends_5.html

British Council Hub

Don't forget to log on to the Hub now and then to check out new posts. There's a little discussion started about world languages - why not add your opinion to that?

http://britishcouncilhub.blogspot.com

Rosa Parks

All CPE students will have a chance to talk about discrimination over the next couple of weeks. I hope to look at these texts, talk about discrimination in general, and listen to a song on the same theme.

If you're going to miss class this or next week, or if you just want to take a sneak peek, go to this link and look at the interview and the biography. It's a nice site, and you can listen to extracts of the interview, too.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1

Wildlife in the Classroom

Both CPE1 and CPE2 classes have wildlife and environmental issues coming up. Take a look at these sites to get you in the mood!

WWF-UK
http://www.wwf.org.uk/core/index.asp

Greenpeace
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/

RSPB
http://www.rspb.org.uk/

If you want to help wildlife and the environment in an easy way, why not change your email address to care2.com? You get 100MB of free storage space, and every time you log on you are helping the environment. "Care2 is the largest Online Network for people who Care2 make a difference - with over 4 million members. We make it easy for you to help the environment, human rights, education, healthy living, women's rights, animal welfare, and much more... all in one place!" http://www.care2.com/aboutus/ for more details.