Let's go for poetry

 

 

    John Updike MIRROR
  
    When you look kool uoy nehW
into a mirror rorrim a otni
it is not ton si ti
yourself you see, ,ees uoy flesruoy
but a kind dnik a tub
of apish error rorre hsipa fo
posed in fearful lufraef ni desop
symmetry. .yrtemmys

                                                                        
                                                 Charles Simic WATERMELONS

Green Buddhas

On the fruit stand.

We eat the smile

And spit out their teeth.

 

Hi there,

Ideas is what keeps companies, individuals and the whole world going.
What are we waiting for then? 
Let us pour some of the things that have been sitting in our heads, out on our keyboards. Tiny, as they may seem to be, they may give rise to something substantial.
I am going to start the list:

I used to learn German, in the days of yore. I had two different teachers. One of the them made us learn dialogues by heart, that we presented later on in front of everybody - not a very ingenious way teaching a language. The second one, however, taught, using a textbook composed of poems, and, even tough, German was not my cup of tea, to put it mildly, I find this method fascinating. I tried to locate this book, unfortunately, I can recall neither the author, not the title. The book started with basic poems, that you can create using 5 or 6 words (J.Prévert was quite good at it), and then they slowly grew in complexity. Can you imagine the feeling when you realise, especially as a beginner, that you have just understood/written a poem in a foreign language? I don't know about you, but it did give me the impression of making the giant leap, Armstrong was talking about. I am not saying that we should all go and rely on books of poetry in teaching a language, but I have a feeling we neglect the importance of poetry in ELT ( poems are, after all, excellent mnemonic devices), fun (limericks, or playing out poems in class, turning them into one man shows) and beautiful (haiku). I remember that transforming Kathrine Mansfield's prose into short haiku-like forms was very rewarding.
If you know of any other ways of using poetry, agree or disagree with me, you know where to find me.

Have a sneaky peak at the Austin Kleon's website about BLACKOUT POETRY, 
and don't miss out his motto: "Be a teacher and remain a student".

http://austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/


I have also come across a book called THOUGHTINGS (and have recently become its happy owner). It is a collection of poems, philosophical questions, paradoxes and puzzles for both children and adults. Written by Peter Worley and Andrez Day with the aim of "transforming thinking in education". Each theme is introduced by a short poem and followed by a series of questions. The themes range from "Word Wonders" through "Number Wonders", "Space, Time and Other Weird Things" to "You, Me, Aliens and Others"....

 
I haven't had a chance to use it yet in my classes, but constantly flip through it when I am short of ideas.


 
I am going to leave you with this little gem:

"Writing a book of poetry 

is like dropping a rose petal 

down the Grand Canyon 

and waiting for the echo."

                                       

                                                                        Don Marquis

A success story that you will like

Let me tell you a few things about the story behind the now well-known Cambridge Satchel Company. The story of its success is an incredible one, if you take into consideration the different odds that were against it, you will have to admit it yourself. I was personally recently inspired by Julie Deane's (Julie Dean is the founder of the firm) who is a very optimistic and motivating person, that's why I wanted to mention it here, and also because I am doing a lesson on companies with my students tomorrow, and so it will be a great opportunity to introduce them to Cambridge satchels, to the idea of presenting a company and all this while putting across the wait- a- second-i -could- do-it-myself message.

Just listen to some of the facts:

The company was created in 2008 in Cambridge, England with 600- pounds budget (no, it is not a mistake, six hundred, that's right). The budget was enough to produce six bags. Six years later the company makes 500 bags every single day.

The business idea grew when Julie Deane was a full time mum and when she realised that her daughter was being bullied at school. She then promised her children to put them in a private school, where the tuition fees amounted to some 15,000 pounds.

She was determined enough to sit down and come up with 10 ideas that could earn her this sort of money. And this is how she decided to go for the satchels. 

On her own, without any prior knowledge, she created her website using the Microsoft web tutorial in three nights. She is also behind the creation of the logo (some copying and pasting of various online images), which proves that what we need most of all is not money but resourcefulness.

For quite a while her own kitchen served as the company's office, which led to some funny situations, like those when she was clinching deals with Harrods or Selfridges while cooking dinner, or when, in her reply to a journalist's question, she gave the name of her dog - Rupert as the security agent in order to give the impression that the company was bigger than it really was (at that time, there were only two people in the firm - Julie Deane and her 70 year old mum).

Her bags have reached the top end of the market, and these days, Julie Deane often visits schools to egg young people on and help them believe in themselves and their ideas, spreading the message that the fact of being at school doesn't prevent them from setting up their own ventures.

Doesn't it give you wings?

Below, two videos you may want to see, one was made by Google, the other by Fedex. They both present Cambridge Satchel Company in two different ways: