Meet the two New Yorkers who are starting preschool for adults

Meet the two New Yorkers who are starting preschool for adults

A Lapidos is a part-hippie, part-four-year-old devoted to seeing adults break out of their routines and rediscover the “magic” of childhood. It is one of the reasons that Lapidos, 30, is starting a preschool for adults. Anyone older 18 can enroll in Lapidos’s Preschool Mastermind, a month-long course where adults can carry out activities like finger-painting, show-and-tell, nap time, or a class picture day.”

B Lapidos, who in 2013 started a skipping club in Brooklyn, says she’s always looking for new ways to get people in touch with the freedom of childhood. “Adults are in this routine, this stagnation, and by tapping into the ‘play’ part of our brains by skipping or doing the things that we did in preschool, we’re bringing ourselves back to another place, another time with ourselves, maybe when we were more believing of ourselves, when we were more confident and ready to take on the world. And I want to nourish that in people,” Lapidos says.

C Candice Kilpatrick, who is her teaching assistant, has a master’s degree in teaching. Adults can relearn and master things that they failed to understand as children, Kilpatrick explains, offering the example of “bilateral integration skills” (being able to perform tasks with both sides of your body simultaneously). “Using both sides of the body at the same time is like stair steps; you master this level, then you go to the next level. “Maybe your life would be more enhanced if you did go back,” she says, expounding on the possibilities of their novel program. If Lapidos is the dreamer in this project, Kilpatrick is the grounded realist. But their outlook on life is determinedly rooted in optimism.

D The price of the course ranges from $333 to $999, excluding art-supply, snack-day, and class-trip expenses. Classes will be held at night once every week in Lapidos’s home-office “play space” in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Beyond getting adults to reconnect with their four-year-old selves, Lapidos and Kilpatrick want Preschool Mastermind applicants to be “stuck” people who are seeking a new way of approaching life.

E Kaufman, who has himself waxed nostalgic about the magic of preschool, says introducing that childhood ritual to adults could actually be valuable. “Allowing adults to break free of their critical thinking and ordinary experience can jolt them into a new awareness that changes their perspective and allows for greater insights.” With their brains and a lot of optimism, the two women are ready to spark creativity in a class of ten students. “It’s New York. You take any type of adventure you want in New York, and now you can go back to preschool!” Lapidos declares.

Adjusted to (1)

tapping – poklepávání

enhanced – zlepšený, zvýrazněný

expound – vysvětlit

stuck – uvíznutý, zaseknutý

waxed – stat se, přibývat

jolt – otřást, trhnout, cuknout

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Kilpatrick thinks people should go back

2 Adults can break free in New York

3 Prise and content of the classes

4 A month-long preschool for adults

5 Adults need to break free

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What is Lapidos’s job?

2 Why did she decide to do that?

3 Who is her partner? What are her opinions?

4 What do they say about the course?

5 How can life of enrollers change after attending the course?

3) Explain the following words and phrases.

1 nap time

2 skipping club

3 dreamer in this project

4 class-trip expenses

5 seeking a new way of approaching life

4) Answer the following questions.

What is leisure time? How can adults spend it? What are ways of spending leisure? Why is active leisure important? What is the biggest problem concerning a valuable spending of free time?

Video:

https://goo.gl/DqY6ij

https://goo.gl/Yl5hXY

https://goo.gl/ZshjjF

Tips, sources of information:

http://goo.gl/WtbfKl

http://goo.gl/meYnQw

Source:

(1)

CHIDINMA NWOYE, Irene. Meet the two New Yorkers who are starting preschool for adults. The Village Voice [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://www.villagevoice.com/news/meet-the-two-new-yorkers-who-are-starting-a-preschool-for-adults-6686092

Will Czechs say no to free fruit and veg in schools?

Will Czechs say no to free fruit and veg in schools?

A The European Union wants to subsidize the hand-out of free fruit and vegetables in Czech schools to tackle child obesity. The system has already been tried in other EU member states, but may be rejected by Czech MPs, many of whom claim that it is up to parents, not politicians, to dictate how children eat.

B “I’m standing outside one of the hundreds of little fruit and vegetable shops in downtown Prague where today, in the glorious sunshine, the produce on display looks very appetizing indeed. This Wednesday, trade may be brisk, but reports suggest that more widely Czechs are not getting their five-a-day, and are getting fat. In a bid to change this, the EU has suggested handing out free fruit and vegetables to children in schools. Christian Democrat MEP Zuzana Roithová is all for the idea: “The World Health Organization says that we should work towards educating people, encouraging them to up their consumption of fruit and vegetables. Children are especially important in this fight. This is the only way to lower the growing rate of obesity, because now on average every tenth child is obese. And we should do this by spending money on fruit and vegetables for children, not by spending money on adverts.”

C But not everyone agrees. Agriculture Minister Petr Gandalovič is one of the plan’s biggest critics. He says that it is the responsibility of children’s parents, and not their schoolteachers, to ensure they have a healthy diet. His views are shared by fellow Civic Democrat, MEP Miroslav Ouzký: “I think Minister Gandalovič is right when he says that any sort of state intervention, or any attempt by the state to take responsibility away from parents, is wrong. That should only be used as a last resort. And let’s remember that Ceausescu tried to hand out fruit and vegetables to school children in Romania. So I think the EU’s idea belongs to the category of directives which we have already lived through under communism.”

D Germany is also said to be skeptical about the idea, but it is the Czech Republic alone who is on the cusp of refusing the EU’s offer of subsidized fruit and veg. Miroslav Ouzký argues that there are other, practical reasons for doing so: “I remember as well how at break times we used to have milk wars. I worry that these milk wars will be replaced by apple wars. So the whole idea seems a bit strange from its conception, if you ask me.”

E The EU subsidies would account for only a portion of the money spent on distributing fruit and vegetables in schools – the Czech government would have to pay for the rest. But there are those, such as Zuzana Roithová, who fear that refusing the EU’s help with this scheme would be biting the hand that’s trying to feed.

Adjusted to (1)

subsidize – dotovat

tackle – poprat se

cusp – na pokraji, rozhraní

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 There are reasons to refuse EU project

2 Children should eat more fruit and vegetables

3 The European Union wants to fight with child obesity

4 Parents should offer healthy diet food to their children

5 Czech government will have to finance the program too

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What is hand-out of free fruit and vegetables? What’s the reason for that?

2 Who is Zuzana Roithová? What does she say about the idea?

3 Who is Petr Gandalovič? Why does he disagree with the plan?

4 How does Miroslav Ouzký compare the EU plan with milk diets in his childhood?

5 What is Roithová afraid of?

3) Explain the following words and phrases.

1 Czechs are not getting their five-a-day

2 growing rate of obesity

3 take responsibility away from parents

4 break times

5 conception

4) Answer the following questions.

What is healthy diet? How does it affect mental and emotional health? How can we change our eating habits? What are tips to promote healthy childhood eating? What should toddlers and children eat regularly?

Video:

https://goo.gl/y20AZz

https://goo.gl/ij8NFN

https://goo.gl/qMqvgo

Tips, sources of information:

http://goo.gl/6sEjCt

http://goo.gl/8I02yu

Source:

(1)

JOHNSTON, Rosie. Will Czechs say no to free fruit and veg in schools? Český rozhlas [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/will-czechs-say-no-to-free-fruit-and-veg-in-schools

Popular children’s game Pexeso marks 50 years

Popular children’s game Pexeso marks 50 years

A Pexeso, the Czech answer to Memory, is turning 50. The game, ever popular with children and their parents, traditionally consists of 32 identical pairs of drawings to be matched up.

B Pexeso appeared in 1965 as the brainchild of Zdeněk Princ. The name came from a TV game show at the time called Pekelně se soustřed, meaning to focus very intensively. Like its German predecessor, Memory, Pexeso requires players to turn over matching pairs from memory. This is one game where kids usually have an advantage over adults. One child, taking part in a Pexeso competition, told Czech TV the kind he liked the best: “The best ones are the cartoons or fairy tale ones. The most difficult are the ones featuring national flags.”

C In Czechoslovakia, Pexeso caught on largely because of children’s animated TV series such as Večerníček, depicting popular cartoon characters, from Krtek (Little Mole) to Maxipes Fík (a friendly talking dog). It is a mainstay sold at Czech castles, hotels, theme parks, and toy stores. Every year, a good number of firms even have Pexeso games printed as cheap marketing tools, depicting even items as banal as door handles, Czech TV noted. Annually, some 500 new sets are published, many no longer identical matches but thematic ones: a pair of soccer-themed Pexeso cards might feature a picture of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi on one, and a close-up of his famous left boot kicking the ball on the other. You have to match them up.

D Not surprisingly, with so many editions published over the years, the game has its collectors. The second-largest collection in the Czech Republic is said to belong to belong to Tomáš Hanzal. He owns more than 3,600 different editions: “That’s my treasure, have a look. There are 34 of these small boxes in all. This is first edition from TV, this is the first one to feature photographs, in B&W.”

E Other rarities include Pexeso sets only one centimeter by centimeter in size, or unusual subjects, many fiendishly difficult to tell apart. One set from neighbouring Slovakia (where Pexeso also remains popular) features the famous ice caves in Slovenský raj national park. Telling some of the icy chambers apart is enough to give anyone over the age of 10 a migraine in no time flat, requiring a pack of ice on your forehead. Best avoided, unless you are a seasoned Pexeso fan.

Adjusted to (1)

depict – zobrazit

close-up – záběr z blízka

fiendishly – ďábelský, zapeklitý

tell apart – rozlišit

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 The origin of Pexeso

2 Pexeso – a memory game

3 Collections of Pexeso

4 Difficulties of Pexeso

5 Pexeso pictures

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What is Pexeso?

2 What are the rules?

3 What are popular pictures onPexeso?

4 What is newly depicted on Pexeso pictures?

5 Why is Pexeso sometimes very difficult?

3) Explain the following words and phrases.

1 identical pairs of drawings

2 predecessor

3 collector

4 rarity

5 a pack of ice on your forehead

4) Answer the following questions.

Why do we play Pexeso with children? What are other popular games? Can you describe their rules? Why is playing of these games important? How can parents educate their child playing card and board games?

Video:

https://goo.gl/xf9fFe

https://goo.gl/7jW5iR

https://goo.gl/RcSSi7

Tips, sources of information:

http://goo.gl/8gQjgG

http://goo.gl/aMcaY8

http://goo.gl/6YkEJV

Source:

(1)

VELINGER, Jan. Popular children’s game Pexeso marks 50 years. Český rozhlas [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/popular-childrens-game-pexeso-marks-50-years

Reformed Pionýr children’s movement marks 25th anniversary

Reformed Pionýr children’s movement marks 25th anniversary

A After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, everybody thought that the country’s biggest children’s organizations, Pionýr, would fall into oblivion, being replaced by the more respected Scouts. But Pionýr has bounced back and this year celebrates 25 years since it was reinvented. Ruth Fraňková spoke to Pionýr’s Jakub Kořínek and first asked him if the organisation had any ties to its communist predecessor. “We don’t have any ties to any ideology, political or religious. We are just an organisation for children. We do leisure time activities, summer camps, trips. We have groups and open clubs for non-members.”

B So the organisation has nothing to do with the Communist Party or with the former Pionýr. “Pionýr was not tied that much to the Communist Party. It wasn’t a part of the Communist Party. I can’t say that there were no ties, but it was always mainly about activities for children: summer camps, winter camps and so on. That has not changed. Pionýr today still works for children. In these aspects it is the same. We just don’t have any ties to any ideology. That’s the only change.”

C What about the Scouts? Do you regard them as competition? “I can’t say that we are in any strict competition. The target group is similar, of course. Some of the activities are also similar as well. But there are also some significant differences. We have no ties to any ideology, while boy scouts have ties to Christianity. Also our activities are co-educated while boys’ scouts, as the title suggests, have their activities separated, in principle. So that’s also a big difference.”

D How big is the organisation today? How many people are there currently in Pionýr? “There are currently about 15 thousand members. But as I sad, we have open clubs, which are open, so anyone can come and join the activities. Our summer and winter camps are also open and about one-third to one half of their participants are non-members.”

E What about the attributes of Pionýr, such as the blue shirts and red scarves? Have you kept any of these? “We don’t have blue shirts any more. We have a new logo, but there is no dress code. We do have some common things, which you can wear but you are not required to. Like many things in Pionýr today, it is optional.”

Adjusted to (1)

oblivion – zapomnění

bounce back – otřepat se, sebrat se

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Ties to political ideologies

2 Uniforms

3 New Pionýr organization

4 Differences between Scout and Pionýr organizations

5 Members of the organization

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What did the organization look like before the year 1989?

2 What changed after the revolution?

3 What are their activities like?

4 What are differences between Scout and Pionýr organizations?

5 How can we recognize a Pionýr member?

3) Explain the following words and phrases.

1 predecessor

2 target group

3 co-educated activities

4 non-members

5 optional

4) Answer the following questions.

What is Pionýr striving for? What does an ideal Pionýr look like? Who is a scout and what is Junák organization? What activities are done at their summer camps? How do these organizations influence children? What do you know about Czech Sokol Organization?

Video:

https://goo.gl/tRo3Xv

https://goo.gl/H04jFF

https://goo.gl/HmwCLJ

Tips, sources of information:

http://www.pionyr.cz/en

http://goo.gl/0bDhw5

http://goo.gl/bKlhkD

http://goo.gl/UV6vto

https://goo.gl/Q4WH5A

Source:

(1)

FRAŇKOVÁ, Ruth. Reformed Pionýr children’s movement marks 25th anniversary. Český rozhlas [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/ reformed-pionyr-childrens-movement-marks-25th-anniversary

Nicky Morgan vows to ease needless bureaucracy for teachers

Nicky Morgan vows to ease needless bureaucracy for teachers

A The education secretary has promised teachers she will tackle unnecessary bureaucracy in schools by establishing working groups on marking, lesson planning and pupil data, following years of complaints from those in the profession.

B Nicky Morgan said she would ask the three committees to look at the administrative burden faced by teachers and school leaders. She suggested teachers could reduce workload simply by not answering emails after 5pm. “Teachers and leaders have told us that much of the work they do every day – such as marking, planning and tracking pupil progress – is essential, but that it’s the volume, duplication, bureaucracy or detail that can prove unnecessary or unproductive,” Morgan said. “So that’s why we’ll be setting up new working groups to address the three biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and resources, and data management.”

C Morgan warned that “there’s only so much that government can do to reduce workload and that the real battle is about changing behaviour”. The three working parties will look at schools that have developed effective techniques without generating unnecessary workload, and recommend models for other schools to follow. “I can say that the working parties will be made up of frontline professionals who will look at these key areas and produce real and concrete recommendations for the department, for schools and for heads to minimize unnecessary workload,” Morgan said.

D In recent years teachers have complained about the adoption of double and triple marking of student work as a means of giving feedback to pupils, encouraged by Ofsted inspectors. Lesson planning is one of the most time-consuming areas of preparation, according to many classroom teachers. Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said it was a key issue. “The workload challenge can be solved by more intelligent accountability, better planning and fewer changes from government,” Hobby said.

E In her speech, Morgan also made a further plea for retired professionals to consider retraining as teachers, as unions and school leaders warn of a recruitment crisis. “But I stand by that statement, because just as I want dynamic young graduates to bring their energy into the classroom, so too do I want those with years of experience in a range of careers to bring their wealth of knowledge into the classroom as well. I believe that those at the end of their careers have a huge amount to offer our classrooms.”

Adjusted to (1)

tackle – poprat se

burden – břemeno, zátěž

accountability – zodpovědnost

plea – žádost, prosba

1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.

1 Morgan wants to reduce workload

2 Morgan calls for help of retired teachers

3 Workload and Hobby’s recommendation

4 Bureaucracy in schools should be reduced

5 Morgan wants to establish three committees

2) Read the article and answer the questions.

1 What is bureaucracy in schools?

2 Who is Nicky Morgan? What does she say about administrative burden of teachers?

3 How does she want to solve the situation?

4 What do teachers complain about?

5 Why does Morgan call for retired professionals?

3) Explain the following words and phrases.

1 reduce workload

2 marking, planning and tracking pupil progress

3 frontline professionals

4 lesson planning is one of the most time-consuming

5 consider retraining as teachers

4) Answer the following questions.

What are duties and responsibilities of a classroom teacher? What are duties and responsibilities of a preschool teacher? What are their everyday activities?

Video:

https://goo.gl/sUsNuL

https://goo.gl/pYSl7i

https://goo.gl/Vg6ppl

Tips, sources of information:

http://goo.gl/BQxQ84

http://goo.gl/WRRkYX

http://goo.gl/cyjqPJ

http://goo.gl/97FkXw

Source:

(1)

ADAMS, Richard. Nicky Morgan vows to ease needless bureaucracy for teachers. The Guardian [online]. 2015 [cit. 2015-09-20]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/ education/2015/jul/29/education-nicky-morgan-unnecessary-bureaucracy-teachers