Last year, King Charles III adressed his first Christmas speech to his country and the Commonwealth. Pay attention to his pronunciation, rhythm and entonation. Read the full transcript down below.
"I'm standing here in this exquisite chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother the late Queen is laid to rest with my dear father. I'm reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself, and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.
Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season, and remember them in each cherished tradition.
King Charles III adresses his first Christmas speech to his country and the Commonwealth. Pay attention to his pronunciation, rhythm and entonation. Read the full transcript down below.
"I'm standing here in this exquisite chapel of St. George at Windsor Castle, so close to where my beloved mother the late Queen is laid to rest with my dear father. I'm reminded of the deeply touching letters, cards and messages which so many of you have sent my wife and myself, and I cannot thank you enough for the love and sympathy you have shown our whole family.
Christmas is a particularly poignant time for all of us who have lost loved ones. We feel their absence at every familiar turn of the season, and remember them in each cherished tradition.
The long-reigning monarch, 96, died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, with her eldest child, Charles, now ascending the throne. In honor of the UK’s new royal ruler, the national anthem has been tweaked from “God Save the Queen” to “God Save the King.” The content of the song will remain the same, with the word “queen” simply being swapped out for “king,” and the she/her pronouns changed to he/him.
The national anthem was written in 1745 and was originally titled “God Save the King” in honor of then-ruler King George III. The song did not become the country’s anthem until the early 1800s. Since then, the anthem has switched back and forth between “God Save the King” and “God Save the Queen,” depending on the sex of the monarch.
On Thursday, many Britons took to Twitter to say it would be “weird” to hear the changed national anthem after 70 years of “God Save the Queen.”
“I suppose Britain’s national anthem switches back to God Save the King — that’s gonna be weird for a while,” one stated.
Meanwhile, another chimed in saying the country would subsequently alter in a myriad of other small ways, too.
“I cannot emphasize enough how much Britain will change in the coming year,” they wrote. “New monarch. New money. New national anthem. New stamps. It will change in a thousand seemingly minor, but major ways.”
The death of the queen came Thursday evening British time, just hours after Buckingham Palace said that her doctors had been “concerned for Her Majesty’s health.” Charles released a statement after the death was announced, mourning his late mother:
“The death of my beloved mother, Her Majesty, the queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” the 73-year-old said.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”
Charles’ coronation is not expected to take place for months, as the country enters a prolonged period of mourning.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15th 1929. Following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps, he was ordained as a minister in 1948. Dr. King became one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement in the U.S., advocating a nonviolent approach to fighting for equal rights. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history asthe greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.Five score years ago, a great... (click to read the full transcript)
The School Day of Non-Violence and Peace is an observance founded by the Spanish poet Llorenc Vidal in Majorca in 1964 as a starting point and support for a pacifying and non-violent education of a permanent character.
No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15th 1929. Following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps, he was ordained as a minister in 1948. Dr. King became one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement in the U.S., advocating a nonviolent approach to fighting for equal rights. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history asthe greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.Five score years ago, a great... (click to read the full transcript)
Since Finns dare to dream and believe the impossible, 100-year-old independent Finland has become a success story. Its story deserves to be heard. #congratsfinland#finland100
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During his final moments in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama folded into thirds a handwritten letter to Donald Trump, slid it into an envelope, and in neat capital letters addressed it to "Mr. President."
Dear Mr. President -
Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.
This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don't know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.
First, we've both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It's up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that's willing to work hard.
Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It's up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that's expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.
Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions -- like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties -- that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it's up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.
And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They'll get you through the inevitable rough patches.
Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.
Good luck and Godspeed,
BO
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The School Day of Non-Violence and Peace is an observance founded by the Spanish poet Llorenc Vidal in Majorca in 1964 as a starting point and support for a pacifying and non-violent education of a permanent character.
No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.
This is your PBL assignment for this 2014-15 second term. Your task is to download this image above and translate its text into the language of your choice, Spanish or Galician, using the same font as in the original picture (or one as similar as possible, in order to fit it into the speech bubble) by means of some photo editing software (such as Paint, Gimp, Photoshop, etc.).
You must create a .jpg, .gif or .png file, identify it with your group name (for instance, BLUE_4A.jpg) and send it to our email. You must fill in the "subject" section of your mail messages with YOUR GROUP IDENTIFICATION and the word "PBL". You must also include the names of each and every group member and the percentage of work that every member has carried out (your marks will be in direct mathematical relation to that percentage). Your group identification must be as follows: GROUPCOLOUR_CLASS. Example: BLUE_4A.
Points will be deducted for every instruction you do not follow and each group will be deducted 1 point from their mark for every student who does not bring their copy (in English!!) of this document to class next Wednesday 11th February.
Every group must email their answers BEFORE Sunday 1st March at precisely 23:59:59. No mails will be admitted after the deadline, so please do not wait until the very last minute and get down to work as soon as possible.
No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.
We are witnessing a historic moment. Some time or another in the future you will be asked where you were, what you were doing and what you remember about June 2nd 2014, the day King Juan Carlos announced his abdication:
We give you now an edited translation of his full speech as broadcast on television reblogged from El País in English:
“When I was proclaimed king, nearly four decades ago, I took on a firm commitment to serve Spain’s general interest, moved by the desire to make citizens the agents of their own destinies and for our nation to become a modern democracy, one that was fully integrated into Europe.
“I proposed leading the exciting national task of allowing citizens to choose their legitimate representatives and to carry out the great, positive transformation that we all needed so much.
“Today, when I look back, I cannot help feeling proud and grateful to you.
“Proud because of the many good things we have achieved together throughout the years.
“And grateful for your support, which has made my reign – which I began as a young man at a time of great uncertainty and difficulty – a long period of peace, freedom, stability and progress.
“Loyal to the political wishes of my father, from whom I inherited the historical legacy of the Spanish monarchy, I have always wanted to be a king for all Spaniards. I identified with your aspirations, felt joy at your successes and suffered when pain or suffering overwhelmed you.”
In a speech that made a point of expressing hope in the future, Juan Carlos nevertheless made a reference to the crisis and its effects.
“The long, deep economic recession we are enduring has left serious scars in the social fabric, but it is also pointing out a future path that is filled with hope.
“These difficult years have enabled us to do some critical stocktaking to analyze our mistakes and limitations as a society.
“On the other hand, they have also reactivated the proud awareness of what we have been and continue to be: a great nation. All of this has awakened within us a desire for renewal, for self-improvement, for correcting our mistakes and for paving the way to a decidedly better future.
“A new generation is legitimately demanding a central role in the forging of this future. A younger generation with new energy has the determination to undertake the transformation and reforms demanded by the current situation.
“My sole ambition has always been, and always will be, to help attain progress and wellbeing for all Spaniards in a climate of freedom.
“I want the best for Spain, to which I have dedicated my entire life and at whose service I have placed all my ability, my enthusiasm and my work.
“My son Felipe, Prince of Asturias and heir to the Crown, embodies the stability that is a defining feature of our monarchy.
“When I turned 76 last January, I felt that the time had come to prepare the handover to make way for someone who is in the best possible conditions to maintain that stability.
“The Prince of Asturias has the maturity, training and sense of responsibility that are necessary to fully guarantee his position as head of state and begin a new period of hope that combines acquired experience with the thrust of a new generation.
“I am sure he will always be able to count on the support of Princess Letizia.
“And so, guided by the firm belief that I am doing the best service to Spaniards, and now that I have recovered physically and gone back to my institutional activities, I have decided to bring my reign to an end and abdicate the Spanish crown.
“I wish to express my gratitude to the Spanish people, to all the individuals who have embodied the state’s powers and agencies during my reign, and everyone who has generously and loyally helped me perform my duties.
“My gratitude also goes out to Queen Sofia, whose cooperation and generous support have never failed me.
“Spain will always be in my heart.”
No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.
Mandela’s favourite poem. William Ernest Henley’s Invictus, first published in 1875, motivated and kept Mandela’s spirits up during his 27 years in prison, and he would often recite it to his fellow inmates.
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was an English poet who’s main claim to fame is writing this beautiful poem. Henley was diagnosed with tuberculosis and had one of his legs amputated when he was 17. In spite of this disability, Henley went on to live an active and successful life and used his experience to write Invictus when he was 26.
I won’t attempt to tell you how much of a inspiring man Mandela was, it’s been done far better by most news outlets around the world. You can visit the Nelson Mandela Foundation for all the information you might need on his life and times. My favourite Mandela quote that I’ve read a lot online recently is also his most famous – the words he spoke as the closing statement during his trial in 1964 before he was sentenced to life in prison:
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for. But, my lord, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
During Tuesday's memorial service at South Africa's largest soccer stadium, President Obama delivered a 20-minute eulogy that compared Mandela to Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln and America's founding fathers.
Mandela, Obama said in Johannesburg, was the "last great liberator of the 20th century." He was not only a man of politics, but a pragmatist and flawed human being who managed to discipline his anger to turn centuries of oppression into what Mandela liked to call a "Rainbow Nation."
We've embedded audio of Obama's eulogy below, where we've also pasted text of his speech as it was prepared for delivery. Obama strayed a bit from that. We'll put up a transcript once we get it:
To Graça Machel and the Mandela family; to President Zuma and members of the government; to heads of states and government, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honour to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other. To the people of South Africa - people of every race and walk of life - the world thanks you for sharing Nelson Mandela with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and your hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.
Zen Pencils is a website launched in February 2012 by Gavin Aung Than, a freelance illustrator living in Melbourne, Australia. On Zen pencils you will find inspirational quotes from famous people adapted into cartoons. The site is updated once a week, every Tuesday (Australian Eastern Standard time). What type of quotes does Gavin adapt? Anything and everything. Poets to Presidents, comedians to colonels – anyone who inspires him, challenges his way of thinking, wakes him up or just makes him laugh.
Edgar Mitchell (1930-) was the pilot of Apollo 14 and the sixth man to walk on the moon in 1971. On his journey back into Earth orbit, Mitchell had a profound outer-body experience where he says he became aware of a universal consciousness. Since then he has immersed himself in the study of noetic science and channeling the power of the mind. He also has controversial views on UFOs, claiming that aliens have visited Earth and there has been a massive government cover-up to deny their existence.
Education Secretary Michael Gove has apologised to his former French teacher for misbehaving in class 30 years ago.
In a letter published in the Radio Times, he says he cringes when he remembers himself, aged 15, competing to ask "clever-dick questions" and indulging in "pathetic showing off".
He asks the teacher, Mr Montgomery, whom he refers to as Danny, to accept his apology.
Mr Gove goes on to pay tribute to the work of the teaching profession.
Debido a su interés reproducimos íntegramente ahora el artículo que Alejandra Aguado ha publicado hoy, domingo 15 de abril, en el diario El País.
Se pueden saber idiomas sin viajar (pero no igual)
La máxima inmersión en otra lengua se consigue con estancias largas en el extranjero.-La relación profesor-alumno no reproduce del mismo modo situaciones reales en otra sociedad.
We would like to give you and your parents this article by Pam Platt published on Courier-Journal.com. We hope it will make you all think. By the way, this article is in direct connection with this other published on Sunday 24th October 2010including a video by Taylor Mali which you will find, again, at the end of this post.
Last fall, I went to Florida for a few days, to a place where my sisters and brother and I had grown up, and where my parents had worked hard to provide for our presents and our futures. Dad retired from his pilot duties in the Air Force, earned his master's degree in education and became an ROTC instructor at a private school. Mom taught sixth grade at the same public school for 24 years.
On my trip back there, I spent a few hours in a museum dedicated to sunken treasure that had been lost and found along the coast over hundreds of years. I decided to buy a couple of books on the subject and gave my debit card to the park ranger, a guy who looked to be about my age, maybe a little younger, who also staffed the gift shop (everyone is multi-tasking these days). He looked at my name on the card and then asked if my mom was Mrs. Platt, who had been his teacher in a school not far away more than three decades ago.
When I said yes, it was as if the sun decided to shine directly from his face. He beamed. He instantly summoned memories of my mom in the classroom, what kind of teacher she had been, and how she made learning so much fun. I got a little choked up, to tell you the truth.
This chance meeting at a museum reminded me of the living legacy of a teacher. After I left, I couldn't get to my cellphone quickly enough to tell my mom that there was nothing retired about the impact she continued to have on her students, no matter how many years she had been out of the classroom. (And thank you again, and still, Mr. Clarke and Mr. Truex, the teachers from whom I still learn, almost 40 years after I sat in their classrooms.)
I've thought about that encounter recently, and the powerful truth it tells about teachers, especially as I've listened to the rants against public education, and school teachers, and their mission in communities throughout our country.
A month ago, The New York Times ran a piece titled, “Teachers wonder, why the scorn?” I wondered that, too.
“Around the country, many teachers see demands to cut their income, benefits and say in how schools are run through collective bargaining as attacks not just on their livelihoods, but on their value to society,” the article stated. “Education experts say teachers have rarely been the targets of such scorn from politicians and voters.”
The story noted the pitch of battle around the stewards of our children's public education: attempts to roll back tenure and seniority protections in some states, threatened layoffs in major cities and throughout the country (in its most recent survey, the National Education Association says nine of 10 superintendents expect to lay off school personnel in the fall), slings and arrows at unions and union efforts, accountability measures and test scores measuring student achievements, top-down remedies with little teacher input, character impunities. Is it any wonder that the article also mentions the high attrition rate in the profession?
No one gets rich off being a teacher. I know. I grew up in a home headed by two of them. I also watched how they worked in the evenings and on weekends. They didn't have the kind of job you could leave at the office. They also didn't earn the salaries commensurate with other professions that carry similar responsibilities. That's why I don't get the scorn that has been heaped upon teachers in recent days, and I don't feel like any of us should be putting up with it anymore.
There are more than 3 million public school teachers for more than 49 million public school students. The average teacher salary in the U.S. is about $55,000. According to the NEA, the average salary of public school teachers is almost $50,000 in Indiana, and more than $49,000 in Kentucky. Over the past 10 years, average salaries for teachers increased about 3.5 percent.
Most teachers have one or more advanced degrees — almost half hold at least a master's degree. Most of the nation's elementary and secondary teachers have an average of 13 years in the classroom. Most of them participate in professional development programs each year. Their average age is 42. The overwhelming majority are women.
Teachers spend more than 52 hours a week on all teaching duties and spend their own money on school supplies for their classrooms, as well as instructional materials. One survey said teachers spent more than $900 of their own money in a school year on those items.
Most teachers enter the profession because they feel called to work with young people, and most stay in the profession because that feeling never goes away. Still, about 30 percent of teachers leave the profession in the first five years.
Beyond those facts, what does it mean to be a teacher?
Nancy Esarey, a teacher for 16 years who came from a family of teachers, parent and grandparent of public school students, now teaching science at Seneca High School: “Every day, when I think about what I am doing in my room, I think back on my own children and now on my grandchildren and ask to myself — would I be happy about what they did in this class today? If my students were my own children, would I teach them any differently? Or would I do just what I am doing? So I think of the parents of my students — am I doing the job you would want me to do for your child?
“Teaching is taking students by the hand and trying to take them to a better and brighter future — to give them the chance to make it using their knowledge and confidence. It also means allowing for them to learn from stumbling. If you do not allow people to make mistakes, they can never learn from them.”
Niki Ross, a teacher for 11 years, now a kindergarten teacher at McFerran Preparatory Academy: “To be a teacher means that I have been given the responsibility to encourage, educate and motivate my students to be able to reach for the stars regardless of their race, color, nationality or backgrounds. It means that I believe that each of my students deserves a great public education so that they can be successful in their lives.”
What don't people understand about the job?
Esarey: “I feel most people think they know a whole lot about education because they all went to school. All people have also gone to the doctor during their lifetime (probably many times), but this does not mean they know a whole lot about medicine. People think inside the box when it comes to their child. They do not think about the overall picture of one teacher with classes of 30 students five periods a day. That means we (teachers) are dealing with 150 little Johnny's every single day.
“Trying to stay on top of teaching bell-to-bell, classroom management, grading, and noticing any changes from the norm in our students is challenging and exhausting. I want every child to have the same opportunity to learn, become engaged and see the importance of their education to their future. Sometimes it can be difficult because some of the 150 students are disruptive or plain just shut down. Trying to reach every student takes every bit of passion, determination and control a teacher can muster.”
Ross: “I think some people forget that a child's first educational experience should start in the home, especially when it comes to appropriate behavior in an educational or social setting. I also think people fail to realize that teachers are part of the community, they have families to support and provide for, their children are students in the same schools, and teachers work hard to be able to provide a quality public education.”
What about the difference in the way parents and students treat teachers now as opposed to five or 10 years ago?
Esarey: “When I grew up, if my parents ever got a call from school about my behavior or academics, there would be no questions about who was in trouble — it would have been me. Today, when I contact some parents, it gets turned around to being the school's fault or my fault as a teacher.
“Many students are from single parent homes. Many students that I have work 20 hours a week to help the family financially. Many students I have do not see their parents much because the parents work two or three jobs to make ends meet. And, lastly, some of my students are already parents themselves, several times over. “I do not think the difference is in the way parents and students treat teachers — it is in the way they see education as irrelevant to their child's future.”
Re-read that last sentence. Is that what the scorn for teachers is all about? Chilling thought.
I don't know about you, but I don't know that I could manage the energy, the inspiration, the idealism or the fortitude to do everything a teacher does for one day, let alone an entire school year.
We need to retire the old saying, “Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.” It's hateful, it feeds corrosive stereotypes, and it's simply not true.
And so, finally, I am reminded of a fellow pilot who retired from the Air Force along with my dad; both were war veterans. They earned their teaching credentials and did their classroom teaching internships around the same time. At the end of his assignment, the friend told my dad he was going to write a book and it was going to be titled: “I'd Rather Be a Fighter Pilot in Vietnam than Teach Junior High School.”
In other words, those who can … teach.
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Sanitation was voted the most significant medical advance in the last 150 years by the British Medical Journal readership, yet 2.6 billion people around the world still do not have access to basic sanitation, that is, a toilet. Awareness is the first step to change. This video was thus made in an attempt to help sanitation gain its much overdue attention. By solving the world toilet crisis, we will help leverage solutions to many other problems.
No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.
