It was last
Friday. I was going to an important place. It was "my Own Black Friday”…..but luckily
everything was ok!!!!
On my way I took these wonderful pictures…..
and this poem came to my mind!
Leaves….
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers,
away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
Emily Bronte
One of my
favourite writers, with her poems and her novel “Wuthering Heights”. It reminds
my youth, when I read the book and I fell in love with Heathcliff and Cathy…and
their love.
September is
nearly over….shool started on the 12th…..and we’re all back!
Back to our
classes, to our desks, to our books, to our programs, to our electronic register,
to colleagues…..to everything belonging to the special world that is called “SCHOOL”.
It’s a long
time since I wrote my last post. It has
been a hard period…and I want to forget!
It will be a
new year. I want to work with a smile. I want to work with the same energy I’ve
always had.
Hopefully I’ll
be strong enough to face everything …..
Never too
late to wish everybody “Happy new SCHOOL
year”
And to start
smiling…….this must have been what I looked like just after the first day....
Un post dedicato a colui che ha fatto pulsare le mie vene,
che ha fatto vibrare le emozioni, le cui parole rimangono impresse nella mente,
parole che ho scelto per mostrarmi su questo blog!
William Shakespeare
“Shall I compare Thee to a Summer’s Day
Thou art more lovely and more temperate..”
Versi dedicati all’eternità della bellezza, versi dedicati
all’amore, amore di ogni tipo…duttile, variopinto, libero, come solo il “bardo”
poteva declamare già 400 anni fa.
Ma non solo d’amore parlava il grande poeta!
Il suo teatro entra nella profondità dell’anima e ne fa
scaturire i tratti più intimi!
Non sono qui ad esporre di cosa tratta Hamlet o a fare una
lezione su Shakespeare. Ciò che voglio raccontare sono le emozioni che provo
ogni volta che ne parlo ai miei studenti.
E guardare i loro visi incredibilmente coinvolti, ammirati e
spesso emozionati è ciò che più mi gratifica come docente.
Ma tutto ciò è grazie a lui, che, benché la leggenda parli
di un “anonymous” scrittore dei suoi drammi, ha saputo riportare in modo
assolutamente moderno passioni intime e profonde.
E oggi potremmo
parlare di un MacBeth, la cui sete di potere riesce a farlo diventare ciò che
oggi verrebbe chiamato “serial killer”.
Di un ragazzo di nome Hamlet e del suo profondo affetto per
un padre che viene a mancare e per una madre di cui improvvisamente scopre un
volto che lo “disturba”. E da quel momento il suo dolore cambia “colore” e
diventa simile alla pazzia….vera….presunta? Chissa!
Di due ragazzi, giovani, innamorati, purtroppo provenienti
da mondi diversi, che dovranno per questo arrendersi a regole che l’amore non
conosce. Nonostante la forza del loro amore, ma nell’inconsapevolezza che li
avvolge, andranno incontro a qualcosa che non si aspettano.
Ecco, questo è Shakespeare per me. E’ lo scrittore che cerco
di trasmettere ai miei studenti, quello che da adulti ricorderanno come portatore
di emozioni, di parole studiate ed evocatrici di passioni.
E allora oggi ricordarlo è doveroso per me e per il mondo.
Si….si….”Coming back to life”, una canzone di David Gilmour
che riproduce perfettamente il senso di quanto avvenuto!
Aggiungerei…”Coming back to MY life”, perché è questo quello
che è successo ieri!
Periodo di fatica, a volte sofferenza, di attesa, privazione
di ciò che è la propria vita e voglia infinita di tornarci!
Decisione affrettata, ma mai più ponderata!
Sveglia alle 5.00 a.m., direzione Fiumicino…..occhi
assonnati, luce dell’alba ancora insufficiente per leggere le indicazioni ---e
quindi sbagliare uscita del Raccordo…..finire sull’Aurelia….tornare indietro…..col
cuore in gola!
Lasciare l’auto in parcheggi troppo grandi e troppo lontani
per non far venire il cuore in gola…..un cuore che batteva all’impazzata…..
Cercare…..il “meeting
point”…..cercarli…. e finalmente vederli!
Chi?
I miei studenti! Si, quelli che incontro in classe, che mi
vedono in classe……e che mi hanno accompaganta in questo percorso, giorno per
giorno! Sempre! Una parola di conforto e una di sostegno….le loro! Quelle che
ti fanno ridere! Quelle che puoi sentire solo da un ragazzo! Senza nessuna
pretesa di essere seri…… quelle che aiutano di più…perché arrivano dal cuore!
Ma anche parole di riflessione….
E ieri loro erano lì! Pronti per il loro viaggio….destinazione
Berlino! Tanto ambito, organizzato, voluto. E sono stata felice che sia
arrivato.
Un urlo….”la prof!!!!”….una corsa….la mia….la loro…un
abbraccio di mille braccia!
E il mio cuore….inarrestabile….
Il mio sorriso….infinito!
La mia felicità….indescrivibile!
Ecco….questo è successo ieri!
Il passato mi guardava le spalle, dandomi la sicurezza
necessaria.
Il futuro di fronte a me, a darmi la forza di non mollare e
di andare avanti!
E io andrò avanti. Con loro. Per loro. Per il passato e per
il futuro.
According to Wikipedia“immigration is the movement
of people into a destination country to which they are not native or do not
possess its citizenship in order to settle or reside there, especially as
permanent residents or naturalized citizens, or to take-up employment as a
migrant worker or temporarily as a foreign worker”
In Italy the situation has been getting difficult lately
and, in my opinion, we can’t help dealing with it.
Anyway, what we are considering in our programme is the early
20th century immigration to the U.S.A.
Ellis Island was
considered a gate to the country.
It opened in 1892 as a federal immigration station, a
purpose it served for more than 60 years.
It is said that at least 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens
have their ancestors to Ellis Island.
Here is a video about arrivals in Ellis Island from the
website History
When Ellis Island opened, a great change was taking place in
immigration to the United States. Arrivals
from northern and western Europe slowed and more and more immigrants came from
southern and eastern Europe. Among this new generation were Jews escaping from
political and economic oppression and Italians escaping poverty in their
country. Everybody had hopes for greater
opportunity in the New World.
After an arduous sea voyage, immigrants passed through long
lines for medical and legal inspections to determine if they were fit for the United States. From 1900 to
1914 from 5,000 to 10,000 people passed through the immigration station every
day. 80 percent successfully passed ,
but others were detained for days or weeks.
Passage of the Immigrant Quota Act of 1921 and the National
Origins Act of 1924, which limited the number and nationality of immigrants
allowed into the United States, effectively ended the era of mass immigration
into New York.
Ellis Island opened to the public in 1976. Today, visitors
can tour the Ellis Island Immigration
Museum in the restored Main Arrivals Hall and trace their ancestors through
millions of immmigrants.
Task: Find out the main current Italian immigration rules and make a comparison with American and British ones. Report them into a talk which we are going to discuss when in class, giving your opinion about this challenging topic.
It has been a long time since we went to the “Hard Rock
Café” with my 5D and 5H, I know! But unfortunately it has been a very difficult
period for me, as I’ve already said!
It was the 7th December and we took part to an involving
lesson about the history of rock’n’roll.
We met there at 10.00 a.m.
We were all excited.
It was an
engaging occasion.
A different way of studying.
This school year I have included music topics and
artists in the last year programme: I
think it is a way to talk about social changes because music has always been
meaningful in the way of the world!
And students live with music….so…..why don’t we deal with
this topic so important to them????
That’s why when I found out that Hard Rock Café organizes
such lessons, I immediately booked one for my students….I was sure they would
love it…..and me, too!
Here below you’ll find the videos the two classes have
prepared about the day…..watch and enjoy both of them!
Our programme is approaching to the present days and the
following writer is one who really deals
with themes so common to us.
Eric Blair, best known by his pen name George Orwell.
His Big Brother
is one of the most famous characters of his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four , really well-known nowadays, for different
reasons!
In 1949, when Nineteen
Eighty-Four first appeared the New
York Times book reviewer wrote that though it was “not impressive as a novel about
particular human beings”, it was“superb” as a “prophecy and a warning”.
Most of you should know the story, as I suggested to read
the book in the summer. Anyway, you will have heard it for sure, since it is mentioned
everytime newspapers talk about “privacy
“.
That’s why I’d like you to learn something more about the word “orwellian” and what it really means.
Watch the following video from TED, a helpful educational website. It explains the origin of the
word and gives information about Orwell and his novel.
1st TASK : get
ready to answer the following questions about the video during the lesson:
What sense is “orwellian” commonly used for?.
What is the sense Orwell used it for actually?
What about Orwell’s political ideas?
What’s his opinion about language?
What is
Oceania? What do they try to do there?
What forms of control are present in the novel?
What is “propaganda” for?
What is “doublespeak” and why is it ironical?
How does the
regime control language?
What is Newspeak?
What’s the effect created on the mind?
What’s the connection with totalitarianism ?
What was Orwell warning democratic societies against?
What is “political language” according to
Orwell?
What’s the aim of medialanguage nowadays?
Finally, what’s the real sense for “orwellian”
then….?
The historical background for Nineteen Eighty-Four is two totalitarian dictatorships, the Nazy Germany and the Soviet Russia.
Dictators such as Adolf
Hitler in Germany and Joseph Stalin
in the Soviet Union inspired Owell for his novel. Stalin himself may have suggested the famous
character of Big Brother.
Like Stalin, Adolph Hitler denied his subjects access to the
truth. His Third Reich “can be read
as a war against memory_ an orwellian falsification of reality…” (Primo Levi)
Nineteen Eighty-Four has
a particular geopolitical situation.
The novel opens with the main character Winston Smith commiting
thoughtcrime by keeping an illegal diary which describes his nightmarish
life and his hatred of The Party. He
falls in love with Julia who also hates
The Party. Eventually they both join an anty-Party group called The Brotherhood but this leads to major
problems for Winston and Julia.
2nd TASK:
Why keping a diary?
Can you make examples of people keeping a diary?
What do you think about writing to keep memories ? Have you ever
done that?
Some of the main themes
dealt with in the novel are:
üThe deprivation
of privacy
üThe prohibition
of sex
üThe destruction
of history
üThe essential
nature of memory
üThe appreciation
of history
üThe ultimate
fallibility of human mind
ü
3rd TASK: For the ones who have read the book , look
for examples of these themes.
you will find the entire novel. Have a look if you like!
Well, let’s give a conclusion to this topic…..
Can we define “1984”
a novel of despair?
NO!
George Orwell offers a
political choice, between the protection of truth and a slide into
expedient falsehood for the benefit of rulers and the exploitation of the
ruled. It’s a protest against immoral
rulers, the authoritarian in every personality and unquestioning
conformism.
After the information above and after defining the word “orwellian”
a question…..
DO WE LIVE IN AN ORWELLIAN WORLD? Waiting for your opinions!
Now I want you to watch a very particular and viral video:
it’s the famous “1984” Apple Macintosh
commercial which ran during that year’s Super
Bowl. It pioneered the idea of big-concept, big-budget spots created
especially for the occasion.
Do you think at present we can give it the same meaning? Or
do you think it may have something in common with Big Brother?
To give a perfect ending to this post, I ‘d like to give a
tribute to the greatest Thin White Duke,
David Bowie.
“1984” is a 1974 single from his album Diamond Dogs. Written in 1973, it was inspired by George
Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and,
like much of its parent album, originally intended for a stage musical based on
the novel, which was never produced because permission was refused by Orwell's
wife.
Let’s enjoy the video with scenes from the movie “1984”directed by Michael Radford, starring
John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, and Cyril Cusack.
