Whiteness is all around, but not the blank pages awaiting my input for an essay! Nope, it’s been snowing! And I reckon I’m up to date!
My UCAS personal statement has been approved by Dieca, she & Jordi have written a lovely reference and the whole kit & caboodle has been sent away to those University dons in their academic towers of ivory…I can but wait!
The Spanish essay on the various themes of “Lengua de las Mariposas” went fine: Jordi gave me a “Very Good” so I must have managed to write literately! I haven’t seen the corrected version yet so by the time I get it back, the writing will just be a distant memory! I must try and do some exs from my grammar books over the Xmas hols.
I passed the “Father & Son” assessment, which caused a lot of people problems. I’ve written an essay comparing and contrasting “Secrets” and “Dulce et Decorum est” and their treatment on war. Again I find that I’m quite happy explaining the themes, but I don’t feel comfortable discussing the literary techniques used; maybe I should try and read up on this…but I don’t want to study Literature at Uni!!
French went fine: full marks in reading 7 listening, and just a few mistakes in my writing. Cedric didn’t mention our speaking, but I think it was OK. I need to go through my notes and organise the vocab notebook..
Joe was happy with my project, and I did my wee presentation. It went OK, but I’m sure I can improve – it was strange speaking in front of my peers! I reckon I used the technology without problems, but I should have organised my notes better. I should find Joe and ask him for some comments.
I wrote the Mobile Phone essay in a bit of an altered style; more like an opinion column than a discursive essay. We’ll see what Scott has to say, but I think it was good to try and do something in a different voice.
Handed in the essay on the Liberal welfare reforms – the subject didn’t grip me as much as the other ones for History. That’s the way it’s got to be though – I can’t expect every subject to tickle my interest bones to the same extent, and there are bound to be subjects to investigate that I find dull or uninspiring.
Monday 21 December 2009
Monday 7 December 2009
Tues 8 Dec
Well, Happy December you festive frolickers! Assessments are looming, especially in languages, so I probably should be revising but I reckon I’ll get by...
I think I’ve got the UCAS personal statement sorted...it was a lot more difficult than it should have been...or was it? It’s one thing to write an essay about Chartism or a poem we’ve read, but when faced with the task of trying to explain yourself in 4000 characters.... Maybe we should have interviewed each other to get a fix on our strengths!
The Investigating Europe project is nearly there in all its glorious technicolour...all I need is for Jordi Montserat to come to college mañana! Lesson to be learned...you can’t rely on unknown volunteers to help when YOU need! I reckon it’s a good piece of work though, and it’s been an interesting and learning experience creating it. The most important thing is a good plan, and then being able to adapt that plan as you move forward. Still have to organise a wee presentation though... maybe best watch some this Wed and suss out exactly what is required!
In Literature we had a good look at ‘Dulce et decorum est’ and considered the horrors of the Great War. We then ignored the ‘Secrets’ short story, and jumped onto a 2nd World War poem ‘The Naming of the Parts’, which confused me a bit...sometimes it’s hard to switch from one form to another, especially when you’ve prepared for discussion about certain works.
Madame Deborah was off sick last week, so we were dans le curs tres grande in French...more revision, which was good fun. I just need to keep writing out my key sentences. I’m confident about reading & listening, but need to stay focussed for writing (damn those male/female changes!). Speaking should be OK providing I remember to say “Oui” and not “Si”!
We’ve got the big “Lengua de las Mariposas” essay details, and it’s a comparing & contrasting of the various themes that we’ve encountered in the stories and the film. The build up has been good, with the assignments in English pushing us in the right direction. We had a good chat last Wed about the structure of the essay to be written, but yesterday was a bit of a waste of time in my humble opinion. We spoke a bit about what we’d written in our draft but without said drafts being marked! Hard to judge how good/bad anyone was without considering the full work, no?
More essay writing work in Communication...some fun activities organising texts about elephants & surveillance cameras - not in the same text mind! I think I’ll write about mobile phone reducing real communication for my discursive essay. And we get the next 2 weeks for working in class, which is cool!
Finished the final Maths assignment no prob... poor John was getting a bit harassed as everybody is at different stages and needs different help! Maybe I should volunteer to tutor a bit...we’ll see how I feel come Friday morning!
My “Women’s Vote” essay was well received, but now we’ve got to write about the Liberals creation of a welfare state...sigh, it never seems to end! I did meet an interesting and enthusiastic History teacher on Saturday night, and we had a good chat about all the stuff we’ve been studying. She was so much better than that ignorant idiot from Hawick!!!
I think I’ve got the UCAS personal statement sorted...it was a lot more difficult than it should have been...or was it? It’s one thing to write an essay about Chartism or a poem we’ve read, but when faced with the task of trying to explain yourself in 4000 characters.... Maybe we should have interviewed each other to get a fix on our strengths!
The Investigating Europe project is nearly there in all its glorious technicolour...all I need is for Jordi Montserat to come to college mañana! Lesson to be learned...you can’t rely on unknown volunteers to help when YOU need! I reckon it’s a good piece of work though, and it’s been an interesting and learning experience creating it. The most important thing is a good plan, and then being able to adapt that plan as you move forward. Still have to organise a wee presentation though... maybe best watch some this Wed and suss out exactly what is required!
In Literature we had a good look at ‘Dulce et decorum est’ and considered the horrors of the Great War. We then ignored the ‘Secrets’ short story, and jumped onto a 2nd World War poem ‘The Naming of the Parts’, which confused me a bit...sometimes it’s hard to switch from one form to another, especially when you’ve prepared for discussion about certain works.
Madame Deborah was off sick last week, so we were dans le curs tres grande in French...more revision, which was good fun. I just need to keep writing out my key sentences. I’m confident about reading & listening, but need to stay focussed for writing (damn those male/female changes!). Speaking should be OK providing I remember to say “Oui” and not “Si”!
We’ve got the big “Lengua de las Mariposas” essay details, and it’s a comparing & contrasting of the various themes that we’ve encountered in the stories and the film. The build up has been good, with the assignments in English pushing us in the right direction. We had a good chat last Wed about the structure of the essay to be written, but yesterday was a bit of a waste of time in my humble opinion. We spoke a bit about what we’d written in our draft but without said drafts being marked! Hard to judge how good/bad anyone was without considering the full work, no?
More essay writing work in Communication...some fun activities organising texts about elephants & surveillance cameras - not in the same text mind! I think I’ll write about mobile phone reducing real communication for my discursive essay. And we get the next 2 weeks for working in class, which is cool!
Finished the final Maths assignment no prob... poor John was getting a bit harassed as everybody is at different stages and needs different help! Maybe I should volunteer to tutor a bit...we’ll see how I feel come Friday morning!
My “Women’s Vote” essay was well received, but now we’ve got to write about the Liberals creation of a welfare state...sigh, it never seems to end! I did meet an interesting and enthusiastic History teacher on Saturday night, and we had a good chat about all the stuff we’ve been studying. She was so much better than that ignorant idiot from Hawick!!!
Thursday 26 November 2009
Thursday 26th
Thursday night blog??? Well, I glass of vino has been consumed and the rain has stopped – we shouldn’t underestimate the effects of the weather on students’ ability to study and, hell, even to make it into college!
However, I’m really writing to praise the SWAP workshop thing at the beautifully located Craighouse Campus – I believe one Siegfried Sassoon once recuperated and reflected upon his contributions to the ‘glory of slaughter’. It was really good to break from routine, and have a day away from Stevenson. I realised I had been caught up a bit in the mounting pressure of the work load – half the teachers seem to have suddenly picked up on the fact that we’ve only got a month till Xmas, and have determined to chuck assignments at us, Arriba, abajo, al dentro, al centro!
Anyway, they gave me a cup o tea, which is always a winning start, and it was encouraging to see so many people, of a mature status, all eager to study! Then we heard a good talk on the ‘transitions’ we could expect on moving on up from college to uni. They’ll be a lot less contact time and no obligation to attend lectures, where up to 500 unknown faces may gather in a large, formal, impersonal environment. However, us mature students often WANT to attend because we have something to contribute. And we’re too old to deal with hangovers!
Loads of good advice regarding Note Taking was the 2nd workshop. Many lecturers post some of their notes online BEFORE the lecture, and, of course, you can always read up on the subject. I’d say note taking is a skill that I’ll develop with time, but I’m no too bad at the mo! It’s important to:
• Prepare beforehand
• Develop note taking style & strategy
• Think before you write
• Try to identify key points
• Review, reflect & possibly rewrite ASAP
We then experienced a real live lecture on Sectarianism in Scotland. Seemed interesting, but the lecturer was trying to squeeze a full lecture into 30 mins. So we just got some good stuff about Irish immigration, which we discussed and evaluated in groups before lunch.
A workshop on Academic Writing was next, which re-enforced some of the points we’d been given by Scott, and I knew from my IELTS in Cambridge tutoring. It was still good advice and during the talk... BING BANG BUMP!!
Why the arse was I so hell bent on writing so much for my Investigating Europe project?? I felt the need to write about Barça’s season in a manner that was fitting for the majesty of the triumph, and would show my literary talents to the full. Lovely. However, it’s probably more important to finish the project, and give myself time to do other stuff and have a wee pint!
The last workshop was probably the best! It concerned Reading, and led us into the ideas of being a Passive and Creative Reader....more on this later!
Ciao
However, I’m really writing to praise the SWAP workshop thing at the beautifully located Craighouse Campus – I believe one Siegfried Sassoon once recuperated and reflected upon his contributions to the ‘glory of slaughter’. It was really good to break from routine, and have a day away from Stevenson. I realised I had been caught up a bit in the mounting pressure of the work load – half the teachers seem to have suddenly picked up on the fact that we’ve only got a month till Xmas, and have determined to chuck assignments at us, Arriba, abajo, al dentro, al centro!
Anyway, they gave me a cup o tea, which is always a winning start, and it was encouraging to see so many people, of a mature status, all eager to study! Then we heard a good talk on the ‘transitions’ we could expect on moving on up from college to uni. They’ll be a lot less contact time and no obligation to attend lectures, where up to 500 unknown faces may gather in a large, formal, impersonal environment. However, us mature students often WANT to attend because we have something to contribute. And we’re too old to deal with hangovers!
Loads of good advice regarding Note Taking was the 2nd workshop. Many lecturers post some of their notes online BEFORE the lecture, and, of course, you can always read up on the subject. I’d say note taking is a skill that I’ll develop with time, but I’m no too bad at the mo! It’s important to:
• Prepare beforehand
• Develop note taking style & strategy
• Think before you write
• Try to identify key points
• Review, reflect & possibly rewrite ASAP
We then experienced a real live lecture on Sectarianism in Scotland. Seemed interesting, but the lecturer was trying to squeeze a full lecture into 30 mins. So we just got some good stuff about Irish immigration, which we discussed and evaluated in groups before lunch.
A workshop on Academic Writing was next, which re-enforced some of the points we’d been given by Scott, and I knew from my IELTS in Cambridge tutoring. It was still good advice and during the talk... BING BANG BUMP!!
Why the arse was I so hell bent on writing so much for my Investigating Europe project?? I felt the need to write about Barça’s season in a manner that was fitting for the majesty of the triumph, and would show my literary talents to the full. Lovely. However, it’s probably more important to finish the project, and give myself time to do other stuff and have a wee pint!
The last workshop was probably the best! It concerned Reading, and led us into the ideas of being a Passive and Creative Reader....more on this later!
Ciao
Monday 23 November 2009
Monday 23 November
Wow, how time flies! One month till Xmas holidays begin, and work seems to be piling up!
I managed to write down some sentences for my UCAS personal statement, but it’s going to need a lot of tidying up, sorting out and clarity of vision!
I did spend a lot of time on my Investigating Europe project last week, and, just as Joe predicted, I’m going to go over the word limit. The problem is that when I started writing about last season’s Barca games, it gave me such good memories that I wanted to write more and more!! I’ll speak to Joe this week and ask if he wants a condensed version!
Evan’s history class was very useful, and he confirmed that I was on the right lines for my “Women’s vote” essay, which can also be used in Communications. I actually started working on it on Saturday morning…a glorious sunny morning… I was sitting by the living room window with classical music playing….but then Suzanne & NJ came in, so we had to switch to crap TV!!! And that was the end of my creative period. I don’t like working in my room during the day!
Cedric gave us a wee test in French class. I had no problems with the reading and listening sections…..you get to write your answers in English. The writing section was more difficult….I’ll have to study my mistakes and rewrite my utterings! I feel fairly confident about the spoken section.
I know I made a stupid mistake in the Maths assessment….25+9= 36!!!! Why? Because I was jumping ahead and thinking about square roots. Lesson – one step at a time!
Targets for this week –
(1) Arrange interviews for Investigate Europe.
(2) Complete I.E. Season review, having spoken to Joe.
(3) Complete History essay.
(4) Rewrite French essay.
I managed to write down some sentences for my UCAS personal statement, but it’s going to need a lot of tidying up, sorting out and clarity of vision!
I did spend a lot of time on my Investigating Europe project last week, and, just as Joe predicted, I’m going to go over the word limit. The problem is that when I started writing about last season’s Barca games, it gave me such good memories that I wanted to write more and more!! I’ll speak to Joe this week and ask if he wants a condensed version!
Evan’s history class was very useful, and he confirmed that I was on the right lines for my “Women’s vote” essay, which can also be used in Communications. I actually started working on it on Saturday morning…a glorious sunny morning… I was sitting by the living room window with classical music playing….but then Suzanne & NJ came in, so we had to switch to crap TV!!! And that was the end of my creative period. I don’t like working in my room during the day!
Cedric gave us a wee test in French class. I had no problems with the reading and listening sections…..you get to write your answers in English. The writing section was more difficult….I’ll have to study my mistakes and rewrite my utterings! I feel fairly confident about the spoken section.
I know I made a stupid mistake in the Maths assessment….25+9= 36!!!! Why? Because I was jumping ahead and thinking about square roots. Lesson – one step at a time!
Targets for this week –
(1) Arrange interviews for Investigate Europe.
(2) Complete I.E. Season review, having spoken to Joe.
(3) Complete History essay.
(4) Rewrite French essay.
Monday 16 November 2009
Monday 16th
Well, the private classes went OK last week so I’m not going to starve to death…yet. We’ve just had Dieca telling us a bit more about the UCAS application process so I’ve got to write a personal statement for that….pressure!
We watched a fascinating yet tragic documentary about the Guerre Civil. We then started reading “La Lengua de las Mariposas” in class. This was difficult…I felt we worried about individual vocab items and didn’t concentrate on the more general aspects – the story, the characters. It was also complicated by the fact that the author seemed to jump about in time on the 1st page…the main character was in school then worrying about starting school. Also the PRETÉRITO IMPERFECTO is the same in 1st & 3rd person, which made it tricky to know who the subject was!
However, I did get a basic feel for the 2 principal characters…and on Saturday morning I managed to read the whole story! Of course, I didn’t understand every word but I followed the tale which is the most important thing!
Other than that, nothing much of note!
We watched a fascinating yet tragic documentary about the Guerre Civil. We then started reading “La Lengua de las Mariposas” in class. This was difficult…I felt we worried about individual vocab items and didn’t concentrate on the more general aspects – the story, the characters. It was also complicated by the fact that the author seemed to jump about in time on the 1st page…the main character was in school then worrying about starting school. Also the PRETÉRITO IMPERFECTO is the same in 1st & 3rd person, which made it tricky to know who the subject was!
However, I did get a basic feel for the 2 principal characters…and on Saturday morning I managed to read the whole story! Of course, I didn’t understand every word but I followed the tale which is the most important thing!
Other than that, nothing much of note!
Monday 9 November 2009
Monday 9th Nov
Last week was a bit of a financial disaster: no hope of extra financial support from the college, TLI won’t continue the evening classes, and the potential study at Riccarton was cancelled. That triple whammy hit me fairly hard: do I judge success by money alone? Well, no but I’d like enough to have a life! Maybe I am discovering more about the reality of student hardship. We’ll see how the private class idea works out but I guess I might have to start looking for bar work!
Enjoyed a good chat with Scottish Anna in the literature class, and it’s true that explaining your understanding of something to another person can strengthen your own understanding, and occasionally make you realise some gaps in your knowledge. I’m looking forward to doing more short story review work. I never really did suss out the Queen of Sheeba / King Solomon reference though!
The role plays in French have been great fun and I’m still pleased with how much had been implanted deep within my mind! However, I need to keep working on new vocab: car – la voiture, and what was meat??? Maybe just order boef!
Popped in to see Joe and had a brief chat about progress. I didn’t do enough last week, but I really didn’t feel like working on Thursday after the money disappointments, and the weekend??!! This week I’ll finish the History section, and do some research & planning on the Symbol of Catalonia.
Scott’s communication class has been fascinating of late: Calvinism, the Enlightenment, David Hume et al. Perhaps I should try and study Scottish history?? I didn’t finish the Hume assignment in class and this was good….The last time I pushed myself to finish my writing within the class time, and although I passed without problem I feel that I rushed the work. Better to take one’s time and experience higher levels of satisfaction.
I find Maths a very pleasant way of starting a Friday morning – it is logical captain, and there is a definite answer to be found. Onto Pythagoras and his groovy triangles!
After all my moaning about Chartism, Evan thought it was excellent and actually read out a section in class. Pleasing but a bit embarrassing!
Enjoyed a good chat with Scottish Anna in the literature class, and it’s true that explaining your understanding of something to another person can strengthen your own understanding, and occasionally make you realise some gaps in your knowledge. I’m looking forward to doing more short story review work. I never really did suss out the Queen of Sheeba / King Solomon reference though!
The role plays in French have been great fun and I’m still pleased with how much had been implanted deep within my mind! However, I need to keep working on new vocab: car – la voiture, and what was meat??? Maybe just order boef!
Popped in to see Joe and had a brief chat about progress. I didn’t do enough last week, but I really didn’t feel like working on Thursday after the money disappointments, and the weekend??!! This week I’ll finish the History section, and do some research & planning on the Symbol of Catalonia.
Scott’s communication class has been fascinating of late: Calvinism, the Enlightenment, David Hume et al. Perhaps I should try and study Scottish history?? I didn’t finish the Hume assignment in class and this was good….The last time I pushed myself to finish my writing within the class time, and although I passed without problem I feel that I rushed the work. Better to take one’s time and experience higher levels of satisfaction.
I find Maths a very pleasant way of starting a Friday morning – it is logical captain, and there is a definite answer to be found. Onto Pythagoras and his groovy triangles!
After all my moaning about Chartism, Evan thought it was excellent and actually read out a section in class. Pleasing but a bit embarrassing!
Monday 2 November 2009
Monday 2nd Nov
Hooray! I'm have a multimodal (ARK) learning preference.
Strongest in Reading & Writing, closely followed by Kinesthetic, then Aural with Visual coming in last. I'd say that makes me quite a 'traditional' learner: I like to be able to read the words and make my own deductions. Of course I also like to be able to ask questions and hear the answer. When it comes to understanding some physical processes I want to be able to touch or physically interact to feel how something works.
Strongest in Reading & Writing, closely followed by Kinesthetic, then Aural with Visual coming in last. I'd say that makes me quite a 'traditional' learner: I like to be able to read the words and make my own deductions. Of course I also like to be able to ask questions and hear the answer. When it comes to understanding some physical processes I want to be able to touch or physically interact to feel how something works.
Friday 30 October 2009
Fri 30th Sep
Been a wee while but that's because of the mid-term break.
This week has been a bit mixed:
On Monday we looked at PowerPoint in study skills, which was useful & easy.
Later in Spanish we did a wee bit of unreal conditionals which requires the use of the subjunctivo imperfecto (or something!). Anyway I seemed to remember it without too much hassle.
The Literature assessment I’d done before the holiday was fine and we’re going on to look at short stories. That should be good!
And Scott was pleased with my Communication assessment so that’s out the way. We watched a fascinating programme about the Calvinist influence on the Scottish psyche in preparation for a listening assessment. I’m looking forward to that too.
I finally finished my Chartism essay on Thursday, but today Evan told us more of what we should have included…seems a bit unfair. I handed my work in anyway, and we’ll see what he makes of it.
I also tried the Spanish listening homework on the Stevenson virtual campus thing…a challenging listening but there were really badly organised and worded exercises. I got most of the answers in the end, but left feeling hacked off!
This week has been a bit mixed:
On Monday we looked at PowerPoint in study skills, which was useful & easy.
Later in Spanish we did a wee bit of unreal conditionals which requires the use of the subjunctivo imperfecto (or something!). Anyway I seemed to remember it without too much hassle.
The Literature assessment I’d done before the holiday was fine and we’re going on to look at short stories. That should be good!
And Scott was pleased with my Communication assessment so that’s out the way. We watched a fascinating programme about the Calvinist influence on the Scottish psyche in preparation for a listening assessment. I’m looking forward to that too.
I finally finished my Chartism essay on Thursday, but today Evan told us more of what we should have included…seems a bit unfair. I handed my work in anyway, and we’ll see what he makes of it.
I also tried the Spanish listening homework on the Stevenson virtual campus thing…a challenging listening but there were really badly organised and worded exercises. I got most of the answers in the end, but left feeling hacked off!
Tuesday 13 October 2009
Tues 13th Oct
Just a quick note as I had to charge into town to pick up tickets for Nick Cave's reading tonight and so I'm not at the library!
We had the first assesment in Literature today. Although I believe my analysis of the poem was good, I found it very difficult to write about how the work had effected me on a more personal level. On first reading the poem, I felt that it did move & touch me but, following my disection of the poem I found it difficult to recall those feelings. It was as though the act of considering the individual elements reduced the power of the complete work.
Perhaps next time I should start by noting down my the emotions the poem stirs within!
We had the first assesment in Literature today. Although I believe my analysis of the poem was good, I found it very difficult to write about how the work had effected me on a more personal level. On first reading the poem, I felt that it did move & touch me but, following my disection of the poem I found it difficult to recall those feelings. It was as though the act of considering the individual elements reduced the power of the complete work.
Perhaps next time I should start by noting down my the emotions the poem stirs within!
Monday 12 October 2009
Monday 12th October
OK, here are the notes I took on Friday night in the pub on last week's antics:
Study Skills: it's well meaning & theoretically but I would prefer more practical work. I spoke to Dieca today about PowerPoint, and she said we will look at it after the mid-term break. So, I guess that was a good active thing to do!
Spanish: Jordi praised my essay on "Los Problemas de los Jovenes" but I feel I'm still making too many mistakes with SER & ESTAR...need to de revision! And carless mistakes with noun/adjective agreement...I think I need to print my work out and have a good look at it before I hand it in..... I came in early this morning and printed it, but now I need to find quiet time to read it!!
Literature: My work on "Valentine" received good marks which was pleasing as it had been written while suffering from flu, and I didn't feel it was really 'me'. I'm quite enjoying the experience of being guided through the murky world of poetry analysis. We're getting some kind of in-class assessment tomorrow, and that should be a very interesting experience!
French: No problems in class, and it's fascinating discovering the little bits of French that have been floating about my mind all these years! I still reckon French is somewhere between the 'purer' Latin languages (Italian, Spanish & Portuguese) and our 'bastard, mongrel' English! I need to do more revision....trouble is the classes aren't so difficult for me and I enjoy having to 'lower' my communicative levels!
Investigating Europe: Joe is a good guy and he approves of my project plans! Perhaps more importantly, he's given the official checks I require so I don't have to attend the class every week. That could provide a useful lunch break, as I'm teaching on a Wednesday evening. It was good fun going through the Barca games and reading up about key moments in the Spanish press & Sid Little's columns in The Guardian. I MUST FIND SOME SPANIARDS TO INTERVIEW & GET THE INTRO WRITTEN!!
Communication: We did a pre-assessment assessment but I won't get feedback till Thursday. I think I wrote too much of an essay, whereas Scott wanted something with more individual answers to the questions. Problem was I started writing the summary and found my style, so I wanted to continue in the same vein, and try to link the various points I should have taken notes to plan my specific answers I guess. I noticed that Chris was writing by hand, rather than using the computer like everyone else. He said that he gets distracted by spell checks, and loses his chain of thought...hhmmm.
Maths: I succesfully passed the geometry section, which I was pleased about as I'd had some problems with the vertical & horizontal aspects. I guessI'm not a spatial learner, well not in 2 dimensions anyway! Happily boogying through the algebraic stuff now. Should I complete Outcome 3 in the mid-term week? Will it speed things up? What exactly is the "Maths Investigation" all about then??
History: Well, we've been given our first writing assignment - 4 sides on The Chartists of all people! I think they were a bunch of middle-class people who organised demonstrations in favour of parliamentary reform...but Evan said they failed. He gave us a couple of articles to start us off, and it will be good to be able to write about a new subject without too much input from the teacher!
Study Skills: it's well meaning & theoretically but I would prefer more practical work. I spoke to Dieca today about PowerPoint, and she said we will look at it after the mid-term break. So, I guess that was a good active thing to do!
Spanish: Jordi praised my essay on "Los Problemas de los Jovenes" but I feel I'm still making too many mistakes with SER & ESTAR...need to de revision! And carless mistakes with noun/adjective agreement...I think I need to print my work out and have a good look at it before I hand it in..... I came in early this morning and printed it, but now I need to find quiet time to read it!!
Literature: My work on "Valentine" received good marks which was pleasing as it had been written while suffering from flu, and I didn't feel it was really 'me'. I'm quite enjoying the experience of being guided through the murky world of poetry analysis. We're getting some kind of in-class assessment tomorrow, and that should be a very interesting experience!
French: No problems in class, and it's fascinating discovering the little bits of French that have been floating about my mind all these years! I still reckon French is somewhere between the 'purer' Latin languages (Italian, Spanish & Portuguese) and our 'bastard, mongrel' English! I need to do more revision....trouble is the classes aren't so difficult for me and I enjoy having to 'lower' my communicative levels!
Investigating Europe: Joe is a good guy and he approves of my project plans! Perhaps more importantly, he's given the official checks I require so I don't have to attend the class every week. That could provide a useful lunch break, as I'm teaching on a Wednesday evening. It was good fun going through the Barca games and reading up about key moments in the Spanish press & Sid Little's columns in The Guardian. I MUST FIND SOME SPANIARDS TO INTERVIEW & GET THE INTRO WRITTEN!!
Communication: We did a pre-assessment assessment but I won't get feedback till Thursday. I think I wrote too much of an essay, whereas Scott wanted something with more individual answers to the questions. Problem was I started writing the summary and found my style, so I wanted to continue in the same vein, and try to link the various points I should have taken notes to plan my specific answers I guess. I noticed that Chris was writing by hand, rather than using the computer like everyone else. He said that he gets distracted by spell checks, and loses his chain of thought...hhmmm.
Maths: I succesfully passed the geometry section, which I was pleased about as I'd had some problems with the vertical & horizontal aspects. I guessI'm not a spatial learner, well not in 2 dimensions anyway! Happily boogying through the algebraic stuff now. Should I complete Outcome 3 in the mid-term week? Will it speed things up? What exactly is the "Maths Investigation" all about then??
History: Well, we've been given our first writing assignment - 4 sides on The Chartists of all people! I think they were a bunch of middle-class people who organised demonstrations in favour of parliamentary reform...but Evan said they failed. He gave us a couple of articles to start us off, and it will be good to be able to write about a new subject without too much input from the teacher!
Tuesday 6 October 2009
Tuesday 6th
I'd like to write a wee piece, but I'm not going to try and wade through all those various sections we were given by Dieca...sorry, I feel it's more important to try and access my learning thoughts and all those different areas to consider just put me off a bit!
French – I’m happy with my progress, and some long lost memories of those 80s classes are slowly filtering back. I reckon Monsieur Boyer buggered up my chances of getting anywhere with the language back in 3rd year…but that was then! I feel I’m OK with the numbers and expressing likes & dislikes was fun.
Spanish – No problem with speaking in class, and I think a lot of the other students come in from school! No wonder they look so young! I’m fine with the imperative Habla (tú) Hable (Usted) Hablad (vosotros) y Hablen (Ustedes) but I’m still a bit confused about the impersonal se…do we just use it when talking in general and writing general instructions?? What is the difference between se habla y hablase??
Big Cheer to Bill for showing me how to change keyboard settings so I can get Spanish letters!
History – generally interesting and Evan is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher. His descriptions of the Renaissance & Reformation were most illuminating. I do find it a little frustrating when we just have to sit and listen; memories of Mr Small. I guess that is something I’ll have to get used to in lectures though!
Literature – Madeleine seemed to like my essay on “Valentine”, which is good as it was produced under flu like conditions! And, hooray, we’re going to get an in-class assessment next week!!! I think a lot of people are getting a bit fed up with all the theory stuff, and want the chance to demonstrate their abilities and get some real feedback. Surf or die, baby!!!
French – I’m happy with my progress, and some long lost memories of those 80s classes are slowly filtering back. I reckon Monsieur Boyer buggered up my chances of getting anywhere with the language back in 3rd year…but that was then! I feel I’m OK with the numbers and expressing likes & dislikes was fun.
Spanish – No problem with speaking in class, and I think a lot of the other students come in from school! No wonder they look so young! I’m fine with the imperative Habla (tú) Hable (Usted) Hablad (vosotros) y Hablen (Ustedes) but I’m still a bit confused about the impersonal se…do we just use it when talking in general and writing general instructions?? What is the difference between se habla y hablase??
Big Cheer to Bill for showing me how to change keyboard settings so I can get Spanish letters!
History – generally interesting and Evan is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher. His descriptions of the Renaissance & Reformation were most illuminating. I do find it a little frustrating when we just have to sit and listen; memories of Mr Small. I guess that is something I’ll have to get used to in lectures though!
Literature – Madeleine seemed to like my essay on “Valentine”, which is good as it was produced under flu like conditions! And, hooray, we’re going to get an in-class assessment next week!!! I think a lot of people are getting a bit fed up with all the theory stuff, and want the chance to demonstrate their abilities and get some real feedback. Surf or die, baby!!!
Monday 28 September 2009
Monday 28
Looking back over last week (when I was hampered by flu!):
Monday was a holiday.
Tuesday: Eng Lit - We looked at “Red, Red Rose” & “Valentine” and considered various poetic techniques.
Wed: French – classroom expressions, numbers (with much hilarity four-twenty-ten-7 indeed!)
Investigate Europe – completed some self-analysis forms & looked for La Liga results for last year.
Spanish – Talked about la brecha generacional, mileuristas, completed & gave our European Language Day presentations, imperativo.
Thu: Communication – Read & considered Bill Bryson on English & a newspaper article about students’ inabilities to write essays.
Fri: Maths – started graph work, revised for & did Module 1 test
History – Discussed democracy in groups
French – professions (male & female), leisure time activities.
Most Interesting was the newspaper article about students’ inabilities to write essays and the discussion about democracy. The article gave me renewed determination to start writing essays. The democracy discussion / debate provided a forum for some great chat with all the class involved. It was lively, interesting, amusing and yet full of serious points.
3 main things learnt:
1. How to analyze written work; poetry or articles
2. French numbers (re-learnt!)
3. What a fascinating group I’m in…democracy rocks!!
What I previously thought was true, but now know to be false:
What did we not cover that I expected we should:
Combining subject verb profession in French.
What was new or surprising?
What have I changed my mind about?
Useful for the future?
Considering, reviewing written work.
Still unsure about:
French genders!
Monday was a holiday.
Tuesday: Eng Lit - We looked at “Red, Red Rose” & “Valentine” and considered various poetic techniques.
Wed: French – classroom expressions, numbers (with much hilarity four-twenty-ten-7 indeed!)
Investigate Europe – completed some self-analysis forms & looked for La Liga results for last year.
Spanish – Talked about la brecha generacional, mileuristas, completed & gave our European Language Day presentations, imperativo.
Thu: Communication – Read & considered Bill Bryson on English & a newspaper article about students’ inabilities to write essays.
Fri: Maths – started graph work, revised for & did Module 1 test
History – Discussed democracy in groups
French – professions (male & female), leisure time activities.
Most Interesting was the newspaper article about students’ inabilities to write essays and the discussion about democracy. The article gave me renewed determination to start writing essays. The democracy discussion / debate provided a forum for some great chat with all the class involved. It was lively, interesting, amusing and yet full of serious points.
3 main things learnt:
1. How to analyze written work; poetry or articles
2. French numbers (re-learnt!)
3. What a fascinating group I’m in…democracy rocks!!
What I previously thought was true, but now know to be false:
What did we not cover that I expected we should:
Combining subject verb profession in French.
What was new or surprising?
What have I changed my mind about?
Useful for the future?
Considering, reviewing written work.
Still unsure about:
French genders!
Tuesday 22 September 2009
Tuesday 22 Sep
Feeling well blocked up & nasal today following educational weekend down in the Borders! Had good chats with Dougal about various aspects of the course, especially Literature & History, and his University experiences. And I borrowed some useful looking books from him!
I managed to churn out something in Spanish for Jordi despite all the problems with accents! So here it is:
La Familia
Por Andy McIntosh
En la edad moderna podemos encontrar varios tipos de familias distintos. En este texto intento explicar un poco de los diferencies y las similitudes entre ellos.
Creo que en la mayoría de las culturas la familia tradicional es todavía el más común. En la familia nuclear existan los dos padres y su hijo o hijos. Aunque es el más tradicional tipo, no es verdad que el padre siempre trabaje para ganar el sueldo mientras la madre se quede en casa con los hijos.
Otra tipo de familia tradicional es la familia extensa, que compone de más de dos generaciones de la misma familia viviendo juntos. Me parece que es más normal en las culturas latinas, el tercer mundo y en zonas pobres.
En la familia mono parental hay solo un padre, normalmente la madre, con el hijo o los hijos. Este puede ser por razón del padre desconocido, divorcio o abandono. Aquí un padre tiene la responsabilidad sola de mantener y educar los hijos.
En los casos de divorcio o separación una solución puede ser la familia de padres separados. En este tipo de familia los hijos pasan tiempos distintos con los dos padres; normalmente ellos viven con un padre y visitan al otro. No creo que esta una solución ideal.
I managed to churn out something in Spanish for Jordi despite all the problems with accents! So here it is:
La Familia
Por Andy McIntosh
En la edad moderna podemos encontrar varios tipos de familias distintos. En este texto intento explicar un poco de los diferencies y las similitudes entre ellos.
Creo que en la mayoría de las culturas la familia tradicional es todavía el más común. En la familia nuclear existan los dos padres y su hijo o hijos. Aunque es el más tradicional tipo, no es verdad que el padre siempre trabaje para ganar el sueldo mientras la madre se quede en casa con los hijos.
Otra tipo de familia tradicional es la familia extensa, que compone de más de dos generaciones de la misma familia viviendo juntos. Me parece que es más normal en las culturas latinas, el tercer mundo y en zonas pobres.
En la familia mono parental hay solo un padre, normalmente la madre, con el hijo o los hijos. Este puede ser por razón del padre desconocido, divorcio o abandono. Aquí un padre tiene la responsabilidad sola de mantener y educar los hijos.
En los casos de divorcio o separación una solución puede ser la familia de padres separados. En este tipo de familia los hijos pasan tiempos distintos con los dos padres; normalmente ellos viven con un padre y visitan al otro. No creo que esta una solución ideal.
Thursday 17 September 2009
Thursday 17
Just finished my list of quotations to answer the question “What is democracy?” for the History class with Evan. Here are some personal favourites:
“A Government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.”
"Democracy: In which you say what you like and do what you're told."
"Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people."
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
It was fun researching them, although I really just used one site.
Enjoyed a good Communication class with Scott today – we watched a short film “The Flyer” for the 2nd time, and then did some Understanding, Analysis & Evaluation work.
We went on to compare, contrast & analyze 2 newspaper reports of the same story; 1 from The Sun, the other from The Guardian. There was a lot of smart comment & debate in the class, and I think I’m getting into this being a student business. It means I don’t have to always know the answer, but can take pleasure it giving my opinions and discovering those of others.
“A Government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.”
"Democracy: In which you say what you like and do what you're told."
"Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people."
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary."
It was fun researching them, although I really just used one site.
Enjoyed a good Communication class with Scott today – we watched a short film “The Flyer” for the 2nd time, and then did some Understanding, Analysis & Evaluation work.
We went on to compare, contrast & analyze 2 newspaper reports of the same story; 1 from The Sun, the other from The Guardian. There was a lot of smart comment & debate in the class, and I think I’m getting into this being a student business. It means I don’t have to always know the answer, but can take pleasure it giving my opinions and discovering those of others.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Tuesday 15th
OK, so let's look back to that first freshers’ week and reflect a wee bitty!
The visit to the Spanish exhibition at the National Gallery was interesting, but I felt a bit rushed. It was difficult to appreciate the various different styles, and their histories, while chatting to virtual strangers. Maybe I should have gone back again.
What did we do on Tuesday??
The Islam exhibition at the mosque had finished the previous Monday, and so I just got a brief look inside the mosque; it was ‘lunchtime’ prayer so I felt I was intruding a bit. Curry was filling & cheap though.
There was a lot of fascinating things in the Museum of Scotland and the views from the top floor were as spectacular as ever. I feel it could have been useful to have been given a quick overview of the contents of each floor, and the split into groups to investigate our preferred sections.
Thursday saw us meet up in the rain at the National Library, which looks to have an enthralling selection of contents. Sadly we couldn’t go in but had a quick look round the Scots emigrating exhibition, which gave some interesting insights into the hopes & needs of those long ago brave souls. What about that Darien scheme??
Then we watched Broken Embraces (los abrazos rotos), a complex and beautifully filmed love story that wasn’t as profound as it wanted to be!! I felt there was unnecessary sex (the first scene) & drugs (DJ collapse) and some areas that raised serious plot questions.
As for language, well I remember that we must follow disfrutar with de, and apparently, I can say “me tengo que ir” instead of “tengo que irme”!
Friday was another wet day, so we matriculated and scampered away to escape the rain in our own fashions.
The visit to the Spanish exhibition at the National Gallery was interesting, but I felt a bit rushed. It was difficult to appreciate the various different styles, and their histories, while chatting to virtual strangers. Maybe I should have gone back again.
What did we do on Tuesday??
The Islam exhibition at the mosque had finished the previous Monday, and so I just got a brief look inside the mosque; it was ‘lunchtime’ prayer so I felt I was intruding a bit. Curry was filling & cheap though.
There was a lot of fascinating things in the Museum of Scotland and the views from the top floor were as spectacular as ever. I feel it could have been useful to have been given a quick overview of the contents of each floor, and the split into groups to investigate our preferred sections.
Thursday saw us meet up in the rain at the National Library, which looks to have an enthralling selection of contents. Sadly we couldn’t go in but had a quick look round the Scots emigrating exhibition, which gave some interesting insights into the hopes & needs of those long ago brave souls. What about that Darien scheme??
Then we watched Broken Embraces (los abrazos rotos), a complex and beautifully filmed love story that wasn’t as profound as it wanted to be!! I felt there was unnecessary sex (the first scene) & drugs (DJ collapse) and some areas that raised serious plot questions.
As for language, well I remember that we must follow disfrutar with de, and apparently, I can say “me tengo que ir” instead of “tengo que irme”!
Friday was another wet day, so we matriculated and scampered away to escape the rain in our own fashions.
Monday 14 September 2009
Monday 14th Sep
T'was a most sunny weekend and I scaled the dizzy heights of Arthur's Seat on Saturday. Afraid I didn't study much but I was quite sensible with my drinking, tidied parents' flat a bit and did some bike maintenance.
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