What Teachers Make, by Taylor Mali & Gavin Aung Than

Labor students,

Back in October 2010 we gave you the wonderful poem What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali. And now artist Gavin Aung Than has turned it into a brilliant comic:

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

5 Ways to Make Your Life More Creative, by John Cleese

(Reblogged from Explore Blog and Brain Pickings)

“Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating.”

Much has been said about how creativity works, its secrets, its origins, and what we can do to optimize ourselves for it. In this excerpt from his fantastic 1991 lecture, John Cleese offers a recipe for creativity, delivered with his signature blend of cultural insight and comedic genius. Specifically, Cleese outlines “the 5 factors that you can arrange to make your lives more creative”:

1. Space (“You can’t become playful, and therefore creative, if you’re under your usual pressures.”)
2. Time (“It’s not enough to create space; you have to create your space for a specific period of time.”)
3. Time (“Giving your mind as long as possible to come up with something original,” and learning to tolerate thediscomfort of pondering time and indecision.)
4. Confidence (“Nothing will stop you being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.”)
5. Humor (“The main evolutionary significance of humoris that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.”)

St James's Day 2013

From the lost Paradise to Judgement Day. Pórtico de la Gloria in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the first great movie of mankind, filmed in stone.

Perhaps the chief beauty of the cathedral, however, is the 12th century Portico da Gloria, behind the western facade. This Portico da Gloria in the narthex of the west portal is a remains from the Romanesque period. It is a masterwork of Romanesque sculpture built between 1168 and 1188 by Master Mateo at the request of king Ferdinand II of Leon. The vigorous naturalism of the figures in this triple portal is an expression of an art form, varied in its details, workmanship and polychromy (of which faint traces of colour remain). The shafts, tympana and archivolts of the three doorways which open onto the nave and the two aisles are a mass of strong and nervous sculpture representing the Last Judgment.

Summer Reading

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non commercial purposes.

10 Tips on Writing from David Ogilvy

(Reblogged from Brain Pickings)

Iconic businessman and original “Mad Man” David Ogilvy. On September 7th, 1982, Ogilvy sent the following internal memo to all agency employees, titled “How to Write” and found in the 1986 gem The Unpublished David Ogilvy (public library):

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well.

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

1. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:
2. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
3. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
4. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
5. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize,demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
6. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
7. Check your quotations.
8. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
9. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
10. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
11. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

David

This, and much more of Ogilvy’s timeless advice, can be found in The Unpublished David Ogilvy: A Selection of His Writings from the Files of His Partners,

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Here I Stand, Graduation Speech by Erica Goldson

(Reblogged from America Via Erica)

Below is the video and transcript of the Coxsackie-Athens HS Class of 2010 valedictory speech that went viral on the web, thus proclaiming me as the 'valedictorian who spoke out against schooling.'

Here I Stand

Erica Goldson

June 25, 2010

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years." 
The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast - How long then?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years." "But, if Ireally, really work at it, how long then?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?" 
Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

This is the dilemma I've faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Erica Goldson: Graduation Speech Comic by Zen Pencils

(Reblogged from Zen Pencils)

This is part of the speech Erica Goldson, the 2010 Valedictorian of Coxsackie-Athens High School, gave at her graduation ceremony. 

The speech was uploaded on YouTube, went viral and Erica became known as the ‘Valedictorian who spoke out against schooling’. You can watch the entire speech and read the transcript here.

Erica’s speech really struck a nerve with me because I was totally like her when I was in school. I always did what I was told, didn’t ask too many questions, mindlessly memorised then regurgitated facts and figures. I remember I would write out an entire essay for homework, memorise the whole thing, then write it down verbatim on test day … and then promptly forget it and move on to the next assignment. I graduated near the top of my class, but on hindsight, I’m not sure I learnt much. The pattern continued as I went on to university, even though I never really wanted to be a graphic designer. But the piece of paper I received at the end did help me land a job, so it was all worth it in the end right? Maybe if I had heard this speech back in high school, I would have realised I was stuck in the system and gone down a different path.

Mad World, by Karen Mello Burton

It is not the first time we post Mad World  on LEZ (check this entry from December 12th 2009), but we are sure all of you will agree this mesmerizing song is worth it.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Hardest Languages to Learn

(Reblogged from Voxy)

Learning a new language can be difficult, but some languages can be trickier than others. For native English speakers, the difficulty level of a new language depends on a variety of factors. So which are the most difficult to learn? And which languages would you be able to master in under a year? View the infographic below to learn more.

Source

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non commercial purposes.

Pronounciation: -ed Verb Endings

Remember: 

/Id /infinitives that end in the sounds /t/ or /d/	/ d / infinitives that end in a voiced sound	/ t / infinitves that end in an unvoiced sound
needed hated dated seated	lived chilled enjoyed tried	shopped picked wished crunched

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes.