Happy new year - and no worries

A Happy New Year to all of you. And if you remember the advice given in this videoclip - you should be able to forget about your worries. That is: IF you come to grips with the question "Can you do something about it?" if the answer is "yes". If you stop there (without doing anything about it), you should start worrying.
But have a look for yourselves. And: Happy New Year.

St George and the Dragon

There is a fairly old painting by Paolo Uccello called "Saint George and the Dragon"; it was probably painted around 1470. The interesting thing about it - apart from the fact that it deserves a second and a third look - is that it has inspired a number of poets to write a poem about it.

The most famous of these poems is "Not My Best Side" by U A. Fanthorpe. But here is the picture:

By Paolo Uccello - The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=159874

And here is the poem:
UA Fanthorpe, "Not My Best Side"

If you'd like to hear it read - here's a recording (American English):

For more information about the poet, read her obituary in the Guardian (2009):

UA Fanthorpe Obituary

_________________________________________________

And finally, another interesting link:

Poems inspired by paintings

Hour of Code

It's the #HourOfCode this week. In our age of digitisation, knowing at least some basic things about computer programming has become a cultural technique that everyone should have acquired at some point.

One of the basic rules is: Computing proceeds step by step, and in order to save time, repetitive steps can be designed as loops - you can tell the computer to do certain steps again and again, until a certain condition is fulfilled (either a certain number of runs has been completed, or the computer runs out of data, or it has found what it was supposed to look for).

In today's Google Doodle, you can practice computer programming in a very easy way. By clicking symbols, you can combine certain steps and even loops to guide a little bunny towards all the tasty carrots. Try it, and have fun!

"Coding for Carrots:" 50 years of kids coding (a Google doodle)

Actually, it's a 50-year anniversary:

Kids Coding Languages (time.com)

Below you can see my results: I started out all right, but later I didn't reach the optimal solutions. Oh well, at least my bunny got its carrots in the end. ;-)

POETRY! ... or: poetry

Here are some sites where you can find great poems for our poetry book project.

Have a look at all of them, please. Maybe you'll like the third one better than the first one. Or the other way round. But who knows ... :-)

1 Poetry Daily

2 The Top 40 poems at "American Poems"

3 The "Poem of the Day" at "American Poems"

4 The Poetry Archive

5 "Freedom Poems" (National Poetry Day 2017)

6 The Favourite Poem Project

7 Poem of the month


Have you ever thought about what poetry is for? Here you can see how poets react when this question is put to them.  -->  What is poetry for?

The 6 C's for the 21st century

Somebody with the username "smarterteacher" has published an infographic called "The 6 C's of

Education for the 21st Century". You can access the whole think here, and if you scroll down you'll get a short text on each of the C's:

The 6 C's of Education for the 21st Century

The 6 C's are:

1. Think critically
2. Communicate clearly
3. Work collaboratively
4. Embrace culture
5. Develop creativity
6. Utilize connectivity

Are you getting enough "c" training at school? What could we do to improve the current situation?

School makes students stupid?

Watch the following short interview (in German) with Prof. Ulrich Weinberg at the website of DIE ZEIT:

"Verblödet die Schule unsere Kinder?"

Have a look at the comments, too. What is your comment? Give me your opinion on this topic, please.

Ulrich Weinberg is Head of the "HPI School of Design Thinking" at the University of Potsdam.

The School of Design Thinking at the Hasso-Plattner-Institute began its program in the winter term of 2007/2008. Under the directorship of Prof. Ulrich Weinberg this unique complementary program in Design Thinking (inventive development) is the first of its kind at a German university. Modelled on the famous d.school at Stanford University in California (US), the one-year program in Design Thinking will enable students to develop particularly user-friendly IT-based products and services in multidisciplinary teams.

The truly revolutionary aspect of the concept of Design Thinking is that both the three to four students in each team as well as their professors all come from different academic disciplines. Teams of computer scientists and usability experts, designers and management specialists, biologists, sociologists, and medical doctors work towards innovative solutions and the development of prototypes.     

Students from practically all disciplines, who are in the final phase of their M.A.-level university studies, are eligible to apply for this supplementary training in Design Thinking in Potsdam. The course starts annually in the fall.

A global TV hit ... produced in Germany?

The most recent edition of the Economist (24th Oct. 2017) has a lot of positive things to say about "Babylon Berlin", a TV series set at the end of the "Roaring Twenties" in Berlin (ca. 1929):
“Babylon Berlin” could be the next big German export

“Babylon Berlin” is not only Germany’s most expensive television series but also its most impressive. Dynamic, thrilling plots and moody soundtracks capture the zeitgeist of the Roaring Twenties and of today. With such resonant and engaging material, a skilful creative team at the helm and distribution in at least 60 countries, “Babylon Berlin” has the potential to be the next global television hit. 

What do you think? Have you had a chance to see an instalment of this series (on Sky Deutschland)? Were you impressed? If you haven't seen any of it yet, would the Economist article make you curious? Give reasons why you would like to see this series - or why you wouldn't.

The series is based on novels by Volker Kutscher, and it is named after their protagonist, police officer Gereon Rath (the Gereon Rath novels). The title of the first novel is Der nasse Fisch (The wet fish). 

Here you can watch a feature on the author (in German, with English subtitles).

The novel has already been translated into English, and the title of the first book was changed into "Babylon Berlin". Have a look at the publisher's website, Kiepenheuer & Witsch - you'll find a sample both in the German original and in the English translation (PDF).

Here is a German trailer, and below there's an English one. What are the differences?

Youngest female Prime Minister in New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern

Look at the new head of the New Zealand government: Jacinda Ardern, who has become New Zealand’s youngest prime minister, 26 days after the country went to the polls.

You haven't heard so much about politics in New Zealand, have you? What do you associate with NZ at all? Tell me about it.

And what do you think of Jacinda Ardern's becoming prime minister? Find out more about her as a person and as a politician.

Margaret Atwood: Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood (author of, among other books, The Handmaid's Tale) has been awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2017.

You can read her acceptance speech, given on 15th Oct. 2017 at Paulskirche, Frankfurt, in full at the site of the "Friedenspreis". If you would like to get a little excerpt, look here:

The citizens of every country must ask themselves the same question: what sort of world do they want to live in? Being of a Plutonian and sinister cast of mind, I would reduce that sentence to: Do they want to live? Because, drawing back from our human picture – drawing back so that the borders between countries disappear, and the earth becomes a blue marble in space, with much more water on it than land – it is evident that our fate as a species will be determined by whether or not we kill the oceans. If the oceans die, so will we – at least 60 percent of our oxygen comes from marine algaes.

But I will try not to depress you too much. There is hope, there is hope: brilliant minds are already at work on such problems. But meanwhile, what is an artist to do? Why make art at all, in such disturbing times? What is art, anyway? Why should we be bothered with it? What is it for? Learning, teaching, expressing ourselves, describing reality, entertaining us, enacting truth, celebrating, or even denouncing and cursing? There’s no general answer. Human beings have engaged in the arts – music, visual imagery, dramatic performances – including rituals – and language arts, including tale telling – ever since they have been recognizably human. Children respond to language and music before they themselves can speak: those capabilities seem to be built in. The art we make is specific to the culture that makes it – to its location, to its driving energy system, to its climate and food sources, and to the beliefs connected with all of these. But we have never not made art.

Below, you can watch a seven-minute TV report on the new film version of The Handmaid's Tale produced by Hulu in 2017, including interview passages with author Margaret Atwood and the Hulu version's protagonist, Elizabeth Moss.

Guns in the U.S.

Your task: Comment on the material linked to at this page (some or all), give your own opinion on gun ownership and consolidate it with arguments and examples. - Alternatively, you can find (and link in the comments) your own example of how someone deals with this topic in a creative way (song, novel, movie) and comment on it.

We've all heard of and read about the Las Vegas massacre.

We also know - from experience - that there probably won't be any changes to gun legislation in the U.S. - The N.R.A. (National Rifle Association) is an extremely powerful lobby group for gun owners and gun fanatics of all kind. They base their conviction that all Americans have a right to possess guns on the Second Amendment, which is an addition to the U.S. Constitution passed in 1791 (three years after the original version of the constitution was ratified). What the Second Amendment in fact means is still being disputed today (cf. discussion of the 2nd Amendment here), and many liberals are convinced that it should be changed or abolished (cf. Bret Stephens's opinion article here).

Here there's a slam poet giving us his view on the passivity of Congress on this matter:

'Can't you hear the children scream?' — this man's spoken word poem about America's gun violence will move you to tears (via @inqlife) pic.twitter.com/4JaviUM9RY

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) 6. Oktober 2017

 If you still have some ten minutes to spare, have a look at what Jimmy Kimmel has to say about what happened in Las Vegas. Kimmel is a comedian - exceptional in his bipartisan approach; he usually does not only make jokes about Republicans or Democrats, but is critical of both sides of the political spectrum.
If you have become really interested in the topic now, you may want to read this article in Süddeutsche Zeitung (7 Oct. 2017), which examines the historical roots of (gun-) violence in the United States and comes up with an assessment that is not at all reassuring: "So brauch ich Gewalt" by Hubert Wetzel.

21st century skills - defined by Sir Ken Robinson

Listen carefully to what Sir Ken Robinson tells interviewer Ross Hall about the competencies required in the 21st century. Then think about the question whether your school helps you acquire those competencies. If it doesn't - what can you do about it? How can you influence your teachers, your school administration to provide what you need? What can you do yourself to develop those competencies?

Silent comments ... through meaningful looks

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin (*1930) reacted with a range of expressions while Donald Trump made a speech on space.

Aldrin joined Trump at the White House as the President signed an executive order to re-establish the National Space Council. He was one of the two men who first walked on the Moon (with Neil Armstrong) in 1969.

 

The Irish Independent has the following article about Aldrin's reactions at that occasion:

"Former Astronaut Buzz Aldrin didn't look too impressed while meeting US President Trump at the White House this week. The space explorer, who was one of the first two people to land on the moon, was invited into the Oval Office to see an executive order signing which revived the National Space Council.

However, it wasn't the presidential order that made headlines, but rather Aldrin's seemingly unhappy faces as Trump spoke about Space. At one point, Trump says: "We are restoring America's proud legacy of leadership in Space", which seems to rub Aldrin up the wrong way, as he appears to shrug.

Aldrin, who is also a Korean War Veteran, then appears to look around the room to see if anyone else is reacting this way.

 The former Apollo XI explorer even managed to quote his namesake Buzz Lightyear during the signing. As Trump signs off on the order, he asks Aldrin: "There's a lot of room out there, right?" Aldrin turned to him and said: "To infinity and beyond", which drew laughter from the room."

Lost in translation - Trump's English challenges interpreters

In this article, translators and interpreters from around the world talk about the difficulty of conveying Trump's speeches to people who don't speak English:

Trump in translation

Wales - part of the UK with its own language

You may remember this from year 7, when you did the chapter on Wales: The Welsh people's own language (Welsh) is still alive and spoken, and it is even the first language for many families, especially in rural areas. These people grow up speaking Welsh, and they learn English in kindergarten and at school. Welsh is a Celtic language - approximately as old as Latin, and closely related to Gaelic (Irish and Scottish) and Breton (in France).

You see bilingual signs everywhere - traffic signs, posters, official announcements - and there are even Welsh radio and TV channels. In the video below you can see that even native speakers of English have great trouble pronouncing Welsh words, for example placenames. Watch the video and see whether you can find any rule for the pronunciation of Welsh from the explanations that follow the hopeless attempts of the English tourists.

The Netherlands introduce themselves to DJT

Have a look at this video, please - don't be put off by the Dutch beginning - the main part is in English anyway, and there are subtitles for the Dutch intro.
Find out how exactly this video satirizes Trump and his way of communicating with the world. Write a comment about it (ca. 200 words).

The Golden Globe Awards 2017 - and a Speech with no Names

You may have heard or read about it on the news - Meryl Streep, who was honoured for her Lifetime Achievement at the Golden Globe Awards yesterday, made a speech in which she referred to the importance of Hollywood for supporting truth and the power of empathy. She referred to the behaviour of the president-elect without even once using his name - but everyone knew who she was talking about.
Even Trump himself realized that it was about him, and, as has become his custom in the meantime (whenever he is criticized, he throws out a couple of tweets that prove how childish and how easily - and unreasonably - offended he is), he insulted Streep and denied his behaviour which is, however, well-documented on video. Judge for yourselves. And don't miss Stephen King's tweet at the end.

Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn't know me but attacked last night at the Golden Globes. She is a.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2017

Erm ... and this is what Stephen King has to say about the incident:

Trump's response to Meryl Streep--childish, churlish, petulant--is exactly why most Americans fear his presidency. Emtoionally unqualified.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 9, 2017