Leave Your Comfort Zone

Bono Wu (吳翰), a former student who graduated in 2006, paid me a visit today before he goes to the army this Wednesday. During our three-hour chat, he shared with me his extensive experience. It wowed me!

Life Is the Best Teacher--現實生活才是最好的老師

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/6684554.shtml

現實生活才是最好的老師

【聯合報╱李寶珍／國中教師（新北市）】

2011.10.30 02:45 am

What is "Occupy Wall Street"?

Since mid-September this year, the term "occupy wall street" has been seen in the media. It is a resistance against discrepancy between the rich and the poor. The following is the definiton by Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street

"Secrets of Straight-A Students"--an Online RD Article

In the latest issue of RD, on the "Click" page is information about the RD website. Some articles are listed for reference, including "A Healthy Life Is All in the Timing," "Learn How to Make a Princess Cake," and "Secrets of Straight-A Students." If you are interested in any of them, visit the website http://www.rdasia.com and key in the title. The following is "Secrets of Straight-A Students." By reading it, you can not only learn some study skills but also acquire authentic English.

http://www.rdasia.com/secrets-of-straight-a-students

Secrets of Straight-A Students

Master the basic techniques that top students use to get good grades

By Edwin Kiester, Jr., and Sally Valente Kiester

On Creativity--牛頓地心引力 那顆蘋果非全貌

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/6680803.shtml

牛頓地心引力 那顆蘋果非全貌

【聯合報╱林清富／台大電機系暨光電所教授（台北市）】

2011.10.28 02:42 am

About Steve Jobs--"Steve Jobs not always smooth-talking media star"

While I was searching for news for students to read, I came across this article on the Bilingual Pages of the Taipei Times. Visit the webpage and you can not only read the English article but also its Chinese translation, plus Today's Vocabulary. Great for English learners.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2011/10/12/2003515495

Steve Jobs not always smooth-talking media star

Wed, Oct 12, 2011 , Taipei Times

Old Clothes Donation

 


On Earlier College Admission-- 多元入學Q&A

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=349844

多元入學Q&A／報名繁星 至少成績全校前50%

【聯合報╱記者張錦弘）】 2011/10/24

It's Their Own Responsibility--自己做功課 孩子的責任

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/6673374.shtml

自己做功課 孩子的責任

【聯合報╱宋元志／中學教師（宜縣羅東）】
2011.10.25 03:03 am

Students' Definition of a Good Teacher

After my students read the artilce "Best Teacher I Ever Had," they had two missions to complete. One is to write a summary of the story; the other to give their own definition of a good teacher.
Here is one of the summaries by students followed by students' definition.

Dr. King's "I Have a Dream"--the Video

For those who want to watch Dr. King deliver his famous speech "I Have a Dream," here is the video.

By doing "shadowing," that is, repeating after Dr. King while listening, you can practice giving an eloquent speech in English.

A former student of mine who I taught in 2008-09 told me that while we were going over this lesson, whenever she turned on her computer, the first thing she would do was watch/listen to the speech.

A Touching Moment at an Engagement Banquet

This noon I attended a former student's engagement banquet. Since it seems she wants to keep low-key, I won't reveal her name or post her photos here until I got her permission.

Hold Fast, and Look Forward

This evening, while driving home, I heard on the radio a car commercial. The last sentence is impressive.

手抓穩，向前看，你一定行。

Scientific American: 60-Second Reports

"It'll take only a minute."--Scientific American's Podcast offers a series of 60-second reports or commentarary on the latest news in different fields, including science, mind, earth, space, health, and tech. Each report has its transcript below it.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/

"We Are Graduating in Around Eight Months. 'Cheese.'"

This morning, the first 11 senior classes had their graduation class photos taken. My three classes happened to be among them. When the photographer were taking the photos, I also had some photos taken with my camera.  The following photos show their cute side.



Class 301

Parallelism in "I Have a Dream"

To touch the students with the beauty and the power of the rhetoric of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream," I decided to give the students a handout--the transcript of the whole speech.

The First Five Minutes of Dr. King's Speech "I Have a Dream"

Today we read Martin Luther King's famous speech "I Have a Dream." Before we went to the excerpt presented by the textbook, which is the last part of the speech, I had the students watch/listen to and read the first five minutes of the speech.

Warm-up Activities for the Lesson "I Have a Dream"

Today in class we started "I Have a Dream." However, we didn't go directly to the reading text. To warm the students up, I asked them what dream they had. After several students giving their answer, we sang the song "I Have a Dream." Then we discussed the warm-up questions in the textbook so that the students could get some idea about the speaker and the background. More than that, I asked them to give me extra information about Dr. King based on the handout I gave last Friday.

Tribute to Dennis Ritchie--重返人間時 再來一個D語言

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/X1/6654736.shtml

重返人間時 再來一個D語言

【聯合報╱陸士傑（台北市）】2011.10.16 02:57 am

Quotes about Love

On the front page of today's UDN is a sentence from Victor Hugo, a French literary figure:

生活中最大的幸福是堅信有人愛我們。

Before you read on, try to translate it into English.

"Thanks for the Future"--an Article in Newsweek about Steve Jobs

I was ecstatic when Yao-chang (黃耀昌), a student in Class 303, asked during the break this afternoon to take a look at the latest issue of the TIME magazine I brought to class and later asked me if the articles on Steve Jobs would be too hard for him to read. To encourage him to read, I promised to make a copy of one of the articles for him. However, I forgot it. Well, I will remember to do it next Monday.

For those who want to read something about Steve Jobs, here's one from Newsweek. If reading it in one sitting seems a little daunting, then divide it into several parts and read one part a day.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/10/09/thanks-for-the-future.print.html

Thanks for the Future

How a college dropout trusted his gut, defied corporate America, and carried us into tomorrow.

Go Vote for Yushan as One of the Seven Wonders of Nature--為玉山催票 淡大高唱美麗島

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_MAIN_ID=87&f_SUB_ID=327&f_ART_ID=347793

為玉山催票 淡大高唱美麗島

【聯合報╱記者林昭彰／淡水報導】2011/10/13

"In a Private Light"--7 Photographs of Steve Jobs by Diana Walker

It's no suprise that the latest issue of the TIME magazine features Steve Jobs, the late inventor and entrepreneur who changed our lives. One of the articles, entitled "In a Private Light" by Diana Walker, presents seven photos of Jobs, including one taken with his wife Laurean.

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/10/06/in-a-private-light-diana-walkers-photos-of-steve-jobs/#1

What Is Your Story?--周行一：你的故事是什麼？

http://udn.com/NEWS/OPINION/OPI4/6643955.shtml

周行一：你的故事是什麼？

【聯合報╱周行一】

2011.10.11 02:04 am

College Admission--大學甄選成主流 提早準備勿放棄

http://mag.udn.com/mag/campus/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=347234

大學甄選成主流 提早準備勿放棄

【聯合報╱記者張錦弘／專題報導】2011/10/10

Vocabulary Exercise--Sanmin 501-504

For those who want to test themselves on the vocabulary of Units 1-4 before the mid-term, here is a vocabulary exercise I made based on the test item bank provided by the textbook publisher. You can download and print it out.

Letters to Steve Jobs

The following webpage presents seven letters to Steve Jobs.

http://mashable.com/2011/10/06/letters-to-steve-jobs/#28685You-inspired-me

The first letter reads as follows:

Tributes to Steve Jobs

http://mashable.com/2011/10/05/apple-com-tribute-steve-jobs/

Apple Pays Tribute to Steve Jobs 

Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder and longtime leader of Apple, has passed away at the age of 56. 

To honor his memory, Apple.com now displays a full-page tribute to the man that helped reinvent computing, entertainment and mobile. Apple has also posted a short letter. It reads as follows:

Steve Jobs Passed Away

I was shocked when this afternoon Class 311 broke the news to me that Steve Jobs had passed away. Still, I will always salute him from the bottom of my heart.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/05/us/obit-steve-jobs/

Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies

By Brandon Griggs, CNN

October 6, 2011 -- Updated 0312 GMT (1112 HKT)