We are working on peacekeeping in places like East Timor at the moment and I have found a few really good resources.
One I especially like it at the War Memorial site and involved looking at artwork and thinking about what it means and the story behind the situation and what impact these things have.
This show hasn’t been running for long but I think it’s a great idea. You get advance notice of the books they will discuss so you can read them and then a group of people talk about what they thought.
It’s not quite as interactive as a real life book club or English class but it’s a very good start.
FIRST TUESDAY BOOK CLUB
Join Jennifer Byrne and her four book loving friends as they discuss The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Rutz Zafon and Longitude by Dava Sobel.
Tuesday 5 September 2006 10.05pm
ABC
Duration: 30 mins
I decided to put together a quick presentation about a ballad since everyone else is presenting one. So here it is.
Paul Kelly was born in Adelaide in 1955 but has called Melbourne home for many years. His early records were rock but has since made recording in the style of bluegrass, folk and country. He recorded his first albums with The Dots in 1981 and in the years since has recorded with The Coloured Girls, The Messengers, Uncle Bill and the Stormwater Boys.
He has written and recorded nineteen albums to date.
Paul Kelly has written and performed many iconic Australian ballads including To Her Door about a family in crisis, From Little Things Big Things Grow about the struggle for land rights, and Everything’s Turning to White which is a murder ballad/relationship song.
The song I am presenting is a quick ballad called I Was Hoping You’d Say That and it is a boy meets girl story. Like so many of Paul Kelly’s songs it is both funny and, in it’s own way, touching. This song was first released on the Paul Kelly Live May 1992 double album. Years later a studio version of this song was released as a B-side on a single that came free with the Weekend Australian newspaper. Anyhow here is the live version for you.
Perhaps my favourite podcast is the Slate Explainer. This takes an issue, usually from the news, and explains it. Sounds simple enough but it’s really interesting.
Anyhow here is their Explainer from 1999 about East Timor which might be interesting to folk in Year Eight SOSE. It’s a good rundown of recent history written really clearly.
I just read in the newspaper that Don Chipp, founder of the Australian Democrats, has died. Although he was only eighty-one I can’t rememeber a time when he didn’t look really old.
Don Chipp was a minister in Liberal governments but left the party and went on to found the Australian Democrats. This was designed to be a third party that would “keep the bastards honest”. It’s easy to forget now but the Dedmocrats held the balanace of power (which means the government needed them to get legislation through) several times and and are an important part of recent Australian political history.
Many people think the Democrats slide into obscurity when Don Chipp stopped being their leader.
In English we are going to be looking at urban legends again which is always an interesting, sometimes annoying area. I can’t count the number of emails that have landed in my inbox filled with nonsense stories which someone’s brother’s room-mate’s, band-mate’s cousin swears is true.
Anyhow for now I’ll just link to snopes and come back to the topic later.
It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.- Mark Twain
We were talking the other day about public speaking and oral presentations in English and the class cam up with some really interesting and valid ideas about what works well and doesn’t work at all.
Anyhow here are a couple of things that might be useful for those of you making an oral presentation. The first, from America, is a rubric which is something used to mark students and in this case is it for making students doing an oral presentation. This is not the same as what will be used a Hoppers but it’s still a good checklist to work with and see how your presentation might measure up.
The second resource is from an Engish university and covers some really good tips about delivering a good presentation. It’s not very long but it seems really useful.
In year eight history we are going to be looking at urban legends next week which has me thinking about legends generally. And so along comes this doco.
IN SEARCH OF MYTHS AND HEROES: JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE
The Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts’ search for the golden fleece is the ultimate quest. It has been told for over 3,000 years, and has all the ingredients of a good fairytale; heroes and princesses, magic and dragons as well as a dark strain of tragedy at its heart. But was there really an expedition beyond the limits of the known world, to find the fleece of a golden ram?
Sunday 27 August 2006 7.30pm
ABC Rating: (PG)
Duration: 55 mins
It’s not strictly on topic but the idea of why we have legends and the purpose they serve is an interesting one.
I have been thinking about Macbeth and the themes it covers this week so it was a happy coincidence when I noticed that this week’s Text Files was about plays and uses Macbeth as it’s example.
THE TEXT FILES: PLAYS
This program looks at the linguistic structures and features used in the production of plays. The program focuses on an exciting local production of Macbeth and features interviews with the director and actors about the effect of movement, costumes, dialogue and music on the audience.
Monday 28 August 2006 10.15am
ABC Rating: (G, Rpt)
Duration: 15 mins
It’s been years since I have read Macbeth and I remember going off in Year 11 to see Roman Polanski’s film of it at the local cinema and finding it brutal.
So I don’t claim any expertise when it comes to the Scottish play.
However it strikes me that some of the really interesting themes in the story are about ambition, responsibility, and loyalty.
Especially when it comes to responsibility you can probably argue for a number of characters contributing to Macbeth’s foul deeds including, of course, Macbeth. Four hundred years after it was written I think Macbeth is interesting for discussing the issues of who contributes to what behaviour and who shares (or doesn’t share) responsibility for what you do.
Lots of songs are about feelings or moments and some, the ballads, are little and big stories in and of themselves.
I saw some really good examples of student work yesterday in choosing and explaining the background to ballads, both old and new, of their choosing.
One of my favourite performers is Paul Kelly and the more I got to thinking the more of his songs I realise were ballads. As I thought about them I realised that probably his most famous song is a ballad.
Read the rest of this entry »
Australian history is very topical at the moment with a national summit being held as I write this.
So it’s a good time to watch this ten minute show about what early european settlers in Australia did for food. My guess is they didn’t eat a lot of hamburgers.
OUR HISTORY: COLONISTS ARRIVE – FOOD
This program looks at the challenges that Governor Phillip faced trying to feed the new settlers. The diet of the first white settlers was not very healthy. They tried a few local foods, but most people wanted their familiar foods. When their crops failed, the new colonists were soon put on rations. Many people became ill. The future of the colony looked quite bleak.
Tuesday 22 August 2006 10.25am
ABC Rating: (G, Rpt)
Duration: 10 mins
And on a related topic this fifteen minute show looks at the foods eaten by Indiginous Australians.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WILD TUCKER – AUSTRALIA’S INDIGENOUS FOODS
It seems strange that the foods growing naturally in Australia are the least understood by non-indigenous people. This program introduces a range of indigenous foods. It explains their traditional uses and how the more adventurous cooks among us are combining them into modern meals.
Friday 25 August 2006 10.30am
ABC Rating: (Rpt)
Duration: 15 mins
It seems it is a good week for food in history.
Once again the Text Files is on and this time those wacky characters are looking at comic books. I have never been much of a reader of comics but reading Maus recently has opened my eyes to it a bit.
So I figure this show is probably worth setting the video for.
THE TEXT FILES: COMICS
This program explores the visual and linguistic landscape of comics and looks at the techniques involved in creating the illusion of time, sound effects and motion.
Monday 21 August 2006 10.15am
ABC Rating: (G, Rpt)
Duration: 15 mins
I have been keeping my eyes open for interesting issues and resources this week but with no luck. Next week I start my last four weeks of teaching rounds at Hoppers Crossing Secondary College so, with any luck, that might cause a rush of blood to the head.
A lecturer at uni, having seen me mention The Text Files, actually lent me a couple of episodes on disc,
At first it seemed that it was pitched at really young students but the more I watched it the more I realised that you could probably watch it in grade four all teh way through to year 10 and just get a different level of information out of it.
What I really liked about this show was just how much it tells you in fifteen minutes about the particular type of text. I watched the one about news stories and camera angles and framing and actually learnt stuff from both.
