Daily English

Preparing for an Interview

2010-03-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

This article by Jennifer Wagaman can be very useful for those of us trying to land a teaching position. The best way to approach an interview is to be prepared. Think about what kind of questions your interviewers might ask, and have clearly presented answers ready.

Also, don't overlook the importance of your resume and portfolio. An interview isn't just telling your potential employers why you are right for the job, it's also a matter of letting them know why it would be a mistake if they don't hire you. Sell yourself.

Do as much research as you can in advance. Know what the school expects from you--talk to teachers who have been in the curriculum and try to get some advice. Also, have your own example lesson plans ready to show off and demonstrate during the interview.

Read the Full Article@Suite101!

Photo by Piotr Lewandowski

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2010-03-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Our memories are card indexes consulted, and then put back in disorder by authorities whom we do not control.

-Cyril Connolly

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2010-03-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

...You can't blame the innocent, they are always guiltless. All you can do is control them or eliminate them. Innocence is a kind of insanity.

-Graham Green, *The Quiet American*

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2010-03-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes.

-Norman Douglas

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2010-03-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

It is a barren kind of criticism which tells you what a thing is not.

-R. W. Griswold

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2010-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Observance of customs and laws can very easily be a cloak for a lie so subtle that our fellow human beings are unable to detect it. It may help us to escape all criticism, we may even be able to deceive ourselves in the belief of our obvious righteousness. But deep down, below the surface of the average man's conscience, he hears a voice whispering, "There is something not right," no matter how much his rightness is supported by public opinion or by the moral code.

-Carl G. Jung, in the introduction to Frances G. Wickes' "Analysis der Kinderseele" (The Inner World of Childhood), 1931

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2010-03-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

-Mark Twain

Obama Pushes for Change in "No Child Left Behind" Policies

2010-03-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Obama administration will soon be sending congress an aggressive rewrite of "No Child Left Behind" legislation. The reason? The administration has argued that current legislation has urged schools to lower their standards to meet federal requirements.

"The new legislation will support the expansion of public charter schools and calls for giving states and school districts additional flexibility in how they spend federal dollars."

Of course, the real question is whether or not these changes, coupled with increased funding, will solve or even alleviate the greater problems that schools and classrooms are facing. It can be argued that simply throwing money at such a problem is merely a quick fix, and that rather than overhauling policy, our government should reevaluate its philosophy regarding education.

"The Obama administration's $50 billion proposed education budget adds $3 billion in funding to help schools meet these revised goals, with the possibility of an additional $1 billion if the overhaul plan passes Congress."

Read the Full Article@CNN!

Photo by Adrian van Leen

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2010-03-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

Whether one is Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is proof that you are or not fully His. We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don't know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to; therefore, who are we to condemn anybody?

-Mother Teresa

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2010-03-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.

-Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude

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2010-03-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Confronted with the choice, the American people would choose the policeman's truncheon over the anarchist's bomb.

-Spiro T. Agnew

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2010-03-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

The superior man...does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.

-Confucius, The Confucian Analects

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2010-03-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

This above all; to thine own self be true.

-William Shakespeare

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2010-03-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions.

-David Borenstein

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2010-03-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you are very valiant, it is a god, I think, who gave you this gift.

-Homer

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2010-03-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with.

-George Carlin

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2010-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

The person you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom.

-Kahlil Gibran, The Visit of Wisdom

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2010-03-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Money: There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.

-Sophocles, Antigone

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2010-03-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Beware the fury of a patient man.

-John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, 1681

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2010-03-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.

-General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

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2010-03-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.

-André Malraux, Man's Hope

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2010-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

You may delay, but time will not.

-Benjamin Franklin

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2010-02-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.

-Walter Lippmann

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2010-02-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

The difference between a boss and a leader: a boss says, 'Go!' - a leader says, 'Let's go!'

-E. M. Kelly, Growing Disciples, 1995

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2010-02-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

I must say, to die with one's sword still sheathed is most regrettable.

-Miyamoto Musashi

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2010-02-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to one category.

-Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf

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2010-02-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

In simplest terms, a leader is one who knows where he wants to go, and gets up, and goes.

-John Erksine, The Complete Life

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2010-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Abuse a man unjustly, and you will make friends for him.

-Edgar Watson Howe, 'Country Town Sayings,' 1911

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2010-02-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.

-Max De Pree

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2010-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

We have a criminal jury system which is superior to any in the world; and its efficiency is only marred by the difficulty of finding twelve men every day who don't know anything and can't read.

-Mark Twain

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2010-02-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

-Chinese Proverb

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2010-02-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

-Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

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2010-02-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

A jury consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.

-Robert Frost

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2010-02-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Open your mouth and purse cautiously; and your stock of wealth and reputation shall, at least in repute, be great.

-Johann Georg Zimmermann

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2010-02-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly becoming the author of something beautiful, even if it is only falling ash.

-Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It

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2010-02-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.

-Kierkegaard

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2010-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

I know indeed what evil I intend to do,
but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury,
fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils.

-Euripides, Medea

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2010-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond.

-Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein

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2010-02-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

As men, we are all equal in the presence of death.

-Publilius Syrus

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2010-02-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

-Oscar Wilde

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2010-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.

-Ambrose Redmoon

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2010-02-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hate no one; hate their vices, not themselves.

-J. G. C. Brainard

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2010-02-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

-Frank Herbert, Dune, "Litany Against Fear", 1965

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2010-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.

-Mahatma Gandhi

vernal

2010-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(vur-nl)

1. of or pertaining to spring.

2. occuring in spring.

3. youthful or characteristic of youth.

“As soon as spring arrives, Julia’s backyard will explode into a bloom of lush, vernal growth that a even a weed-eater would struggle with.”

Syn. – childlike, fresh, greeen, tender, young

Ant. – adult, experienced, mature, old

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2010-02-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

In battling evil, excess is good; for he who is moderate in announcing the truth is presenting half-truth. He conceals the other half out of fear of the people's wrath.

-Kahlil Gibran, 'Narcotics and Dissecting Knives,' Thoughts and Meditations, 1960

jargon

2010-02-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

-noun

(jahr-gon)

1. the language and vocabulary specific to a trade, profession, or group.

2. unintelliglbe or meaningless speech or writing; gibberish.

3. any speech or writing that one does not understand.

4. Biology: the phylogenetic relationship between two organisms or groups of organisms resulting in a resemblance in general plan or structure, or in the essential structural parts.

5. Chemistry: the force by which atoms are held together in chemical compounds.

“Bob was well-versed in law and business practic before joining the firm, but it still took him a few months to learn the crafty jargon used in the office and courtroom.”

Syn. – argot, balderdash, doublespeak, idiom, patter

Ant. – quiet, sense, wisdom

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2010-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

We all live in the protection of certain cowardices which we call our principles.

-Mark Twain

disparage

2010-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

-verb

(di-spar-ij)

1. to belittle; depreciate; insult.

2. to reproach; discredit; to lower the estimation of.

“Having disparaged the customs of the local people for so long, Angela was no longer greeted by neighbors or welcomed into her friend’s homes.”

Syn. – abuse, decry, defame, disdain, ridicule

Ant. – approve, commend, compliment, praise

acuity

2010-02-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

-noun

(uh-kyoo-i-tee)

intelligence; sharpness; keenness.

“Harry cruised through the interview process and the psych test, but when it came to being tested on the firing range, it became apparent that he lacked the visual acuity to become a police officer.”

Syn. – astuteness, awareness, cleverness, discernment, wit

Ant. – denseness, ignorance, stupidity

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2010-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.

-Sir Winston Churchill

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2010-02-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.

-Josef Stalin

vernacular

2010-02-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

-noun

(ver-nak-yuh-ler)

1. native speech or language.

2. the language or vocabulary specific to a class or profession.

3. the common name of an animal or plant as distinguished from its Latin Scientific name.

4. a style of architecture exemplifying the commenst techniques, features, and materials of a particular historical period, region, or people.

-adjective

5. native or indigenous (as a language).

6. expressed or writeen in the native language of a place.

7. plain, ordinary language

“After living in Japan for two years, Greg was able to learn the language, but he still struggled with understanding the vernacular of the popular culture. Slang and jokes continued to elude him.”

Syn. – common, informal, ingrained, natural, ordinary

Ant. – standard

5 Things That Can’t Be Copyrighted

2010-02-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Understanding copyright law and permissions can be confusing, especially if you are planning on using material in the classroom or if you are writing for the public. But having a basic grasp of what you can and cannot legally do will help you be more efficient and make confident decisions when it comes to your projects.

Read the Full Article@PlagiarismToday!

Photo by Jason Morrison

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2010-02-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

No one would be foolish enough to choose war over peace--in peace sons bury their fathers, but in war fathers bury their sons.

-Croesus of Lydia

lingo

2010-02-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

-noun

(ling-goh)

1. the languge, speech, jargon, or slang of a particular group or individual.

2. language or speech, especialy foreign

“While living in Spain, it took Sean some time to learn the lingo. But now, three months later, he can strike up a conversation just like a local.”

Syn. – argot, idiom, language, talk, tongue

Ant. – standard

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2010-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.

–Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

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2010-01-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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2010-01-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

The world makes up for all its follies and injustices by being damnably sentimental.

-Thomas H. Huxley

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2010-01-27T12:00:00.000-08:00

Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

-Italian Proverb

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2010-01-26T11:50:00.000-08:00

He who dies with the most toys is, nonetheless, still dead.

-Anon.

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2010-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

We trained hard, but it seemed every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

-Petronii Arbitri Satyricon, AD 66

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2010-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect.

-Mark Twain

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2010-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Be ashamed to die unless you have won some victory for humanity.

-Horace Mann

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2010-01-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

-Albert Einstein

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2010-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

-Abraham Lincoln

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2010-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.

-Pancho Villa, last words

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2010-01-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

As you journey through life, take a minute now and then to give a thought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something.

-Hagar the Horrible

36 Poetry Writing Tips

2010-01-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Are you a poet? Do you want to write poetry? Thinking about it? Want to be a better poet? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this article by Melissa Donovan might just be for you.

Poetry is for everyone, even those who don't think of themselves as poets. Why? Because poetry has no limitations or boundaries. You can do anything. Can't express your thoughts clearly in an essay or novel? Write a poem. Poems allow us to extend beyond the common rules of language, grammar, and communication and express something artistic, funny, or emotional. Practicing with poetry not only allows us to better touch and understand that reservoir of feeling within us, but makes us better writers for the effort.

Read the Full Article@WritingForward!

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2010-01-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

Criticism is prejudice made plausible.

-H.L. Mencken

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2010-01-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled.

-Sir Barnett Cocks

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2010-01-16T12:00:00.001-08:00

I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.

-An English Professor, Ohio University

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2010-01-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.

-Bill Vaughan

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2010-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.

-Art Spander

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2010-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

What luck for rulers that men do not think.

-Adolf Hitler

consituent

2010-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

-noun

(kuh n-stich-oo-uhnt)

1. a component; a constituent element or material.

2. a person who authorizes another to act on his behalf.

-adjective

3. component; composing or making up a thing.

4. having power to frame or alter a political constitution or fundamental law.

“Barry ordered a desk for his office through the department store and assembled it himself at home. Needless to say, the box lacked all of the constituent parts, and he had to call the company.”

Syn. – basic, component, fundamental, part, unit

Ant. – whole

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2010-01-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

What's another word for Thesaurus?

-Steven Wright

dross

2010-01-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

-noun

(draws)

1. waste matter; refuse.

2. a waste product removed from molten metal during smelting.

“Once it cooled, Harry shoveled the dross into a wheelbarrow and threw it in the dumpster with the rest of the trash.”

Syn. – dregs, impurity, remains, slag, trash

Ant. – cleanliness, purity

rapport

2010-01-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

-noun

(ra-pohr)

a relationship or connection, especially one that is harmonious or sympathetic.

“It was rare for Professor Halbert to form any meaningful relationships with students, but the rapport he formed with John made them friends for life.”

Syn. – affinity, bond, empathy, link, unity

Ant. – antagonism, coldness, denial, opposition

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2010-01-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

-Benjamin Franklin

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2010-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

The cure for writer's cramp is writer's block.

-Inigo Deleon

How to Study for English Class

2010-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

If you're having trouble in your English or humanities classes, this article by Paul L. Martin can offer you some useful advice. Not only does Martin touch on the ideas of taking lecture notes and methods for studying effectively, but also reminds us that in order to succeed we have to want to.

Another practice mentioned by the author that students should draw upon more is making use of a journal. Simply recording one's thoughts makes us practice our writing skills, review the information we've absorbed throughout the day, and makes us better thinkers. Don't limit the use of your journals either: write about your passions, your hobbies, and the things you read. You'll become a better writer, a better student, and you can even turn your journal activities into a portfolio or a blog.

Read the Full Article@TheTeachersView!

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2010-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.

-Henry David Thoreau

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2010-01-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Never raise your hand to your children; it leaves your midsection unprotected.

-Robert Orben

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2010-01-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my shelf.

-Robert Bloch

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2010-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man.

-Mark Twain

sagacious

2010-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(suh-gey-shuhs)

acute mental ability and practical sense; keen; shrewd.

“Susan, the theatre manager, was nervous: one of the movie patrons was so corpulent she doubted he would be able to fit in the seats.”

Syn. – acute, apt, astute, clever, perceptive

Ant. – careless, foolish, ignorant, stupid

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2010-01-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

We'll begin with a reign of terror. A few murders here and there. Murders of great men, murders of little men, just to show we make no distinction. We might even wreck a train or two. Just these fingers 'round a signalman's throat. That's all.

-R.C. Sherriff
The Invisible Man, explaining his plans to Kemp

corpulent

2010-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(kawr-pyuh-luhnt)

large or bulky; stout; fat.

“Susan, the theatre manager, was nervous: one of the movie patrons was so corpulent she doubted he would be able to fit in the seats.”

Syn. – beefy, chubby, fat, husky, obese

Ant. – skinny, slender, thin

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2010-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

'Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.' Under the influence of this pestilent morality, I am forever letting tomorrow's work slop backwards into today's, and doing painfully and nervously today what I could do quickly and easily tomorrow.

-J. A. Spender

immutable

2010-01-04T09:00:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(i-myoo-tuh-buhl)

not mutable; unchangeable; changeless.

“Even in the worst of times, in the throes of the greatest confusion, Calvin could always find a sense of stability in the immutable laws of physics that he taught to his class.”

Syn. – ageless, constant, enduring, invariable, perpetual

Ant. – irregular, unstable, variable

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2010-01-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Be aware that a halo has to fall only a few inches to be a noose.

-Dan McKinnon

deride

2010-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

-verb

(di-rahyd)

to laugh at in scorn or contempt; mock.

“The derision Manuel suffered at the hands of his employer eventually led to a lawsuit.”

Syn. – disdain, disparage, knock, scoff, scorn

Ant. – commend, compliment, flatter, praise, revere

sonorous

2010-01-02T13:00:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(son-er-uhs)

1. loud, deep, or resonant, as a sound.

2. rich and full in sound, as language or verse.

3. high-flown, grandiose, as in speech.

“William’s sonorous voice awarded him many opportunities, and he eventually became a professional narrator for audio books.”

Syn. – booming, ornate, resounding, strong, verbose

Ant. – humble, plain, quiet, soft

How Getting An F On Your School Paper Makes You A Better Blogger

2010-01-01T19:10:00.000-08:00

The truth is, throughout school and college we are essentially programmed to be "academic" writers. In other words, we've been molded into boring writers. Any writing style you might have picked up won't be of much use to you or of much appeal to the rest of the world. There aren't many people out there who want to read your essay on The Old Man and the Sea.

This article reminds us that poor performance in school doesn't translate to bad writing in the real world. In fact, you might just be better off with a poor academic style: the real world (especially readers on the Internet) want human writing that sounds natural and isn't stilted or lofty. Rob Sutton lists numerous ways to tweak and utilize your writing to make it palatable and possibly even profitable.

Remember, your writing abilities can extend beyond the classroom!

Read the Full Article@ProBlogger!

morose

2010-01-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

-adjective

(muh-rohs)

1. gloomily or sullenly ill-humored, as a person or mood.

2. characterized by or expressing gloom.

“Wilson always stayed in his room with the lights off, reading dark poetry, and sulking. His friends never called him: he was too morose for them.”

Syn. – churlish, depressed, dour, low, pessimistic

Ant. – cheerful, friendly, happy

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2010-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality.

-Clifton Fadiman

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2009-12-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.

-Dave Barry

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2009-12-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.

-Rich Cook

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2009-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

I say beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes.

-Henry David Thoreau