Make Mistakes, Just Not Twice

There is a saying floating around that has been attributed to a mix of brilliant scholars. It actually came from Albert Einstein, but nonetheless it speaks a critical truth: “There are no such things as mistakes; there are simply ways not to do it.” As entrepreneurs we are told to make mistakes. They tell us we can’t have progress without regress. We need to have failures, mistakes and crash & burns so that we can learn; so that we can keep pushing toward progress. Sadly, some of us are so fearful of failure that we find the safest route is to do nothing. We find comfort by simply staying in bed, eating some Ramen Noodles and watching Reno 911 reruns. Doing nothing is the worst thing you can do /http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/the-right-actions/make-mistakes-just-not-twice-thats-for-plain-ol-stoopids-2/. But, there is another serious problem and it is rarely talked about. There are some people that don’t learn from their mistakes, and indeed thrive on making the same mistakes over and over again.

Discussion Topic: Mistakes
1. Everybody makes mistakes. What do you think is the best thing to do to fix a mistake?
2. Do you think it is hard for teachers to say that they made a mistake? Did your teacher ever make a mistake during a lesson?
3. Do you think it's hard for you admit when you've made a mistake? Why is it difficult for people to say that they were wrong?
4. Do you think that women or men can more easily admit a mistake? Why?
5. People say that you learn from mistakes. Is this true in your life? Are you better because of mistakes from the past?

Task with Partners:   More About the USA

Which American tourist site would you most like to visit (1-8):

Times Square/NYC:               Grand Canyon:       Las Vegas:        Hawaii:               Atlantic/Pacific Oceans:         Alaska:       Hollywood:      Disneyland:

Group Contest
Our Schedule: Thursday, October 20 - 17:30 - Library
                         Saturday, October 22 - 10:30 - Library
Visit Our Group on www.Facebook.com - English Club in Vinnytsia
English Club Blog - www.woavinnitsa.blogspot.com

How can stress effect our lives? Communication is the key to good health

"Communication is the key to good health." - Anonymous

How can stress effect our lives?

Stress can affect us in many ways. 

Stress can affect us in many areas of our lives. It can adversely affect our health to such a degree as to either cause death...

Topic: Stress

1. What is stress? When do you usually feel stressed? What tends to cause you stress? Do you ever feel more stressed during a particular time of the year or around certain people? If  so, why do you think you feel that way?

2. What is the difference between stress and stressful situation situation? Give an example of a stressful situation. How did you overcome any obstacles to solve this issue? After it was solved, did you still feel stressed?

3. Beyond coping with stressful situations, how do you relieve daily stresses? What activities hepl you feel better? Is there such a thing as too much stress or is all stress equal in its effects on a person?

4. Can stress be a good thing? Does stress ever motivate you to do well in work or in your studies? How can stress be good, useful or necessary in our lives?

5. How does stress affect your health? Do you think that negative feelings and emotions can cause physical symptoms? When you are stressed, how do you feel physically and emotionally? Do you have problems eating or sleeping? Can stress lead to bad health? Conversely, does limiting stress help you to stay as healthy as possible? can stress sometimes be beneficial to health?

6. Have you ever helped a friend who was feeling overly stressed? If so, how did you keep him or her distracted? Can your stress cause problems for friends or family? Can someone else's stress affect your health and wellbeing?

7. Is there such a thing as "stress free"? Could you live a stress free life?

What is Columbus Day?

What is Columbus Day?

It is also a great opportunity to have some fun with your kids and enjoy entertaining crafts and activities.Get ready to discover a whole "new world" of information about the navigator Christopher Columbus, and the American holiday named after him--Columbus Day. Columbus Day is celebrated on October 10, 2011, to commemorate the historic landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. In the United States, Columbus Day is always celebrated on the second Monday in October. In 2008, Columbus Day is celebrated on Monday, October 13. The first Columbus Day was celebrated in New York in 1792 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ historic arrival.

Why Is Columbus Day Celebrated?

“In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…"

On October 12, 1492, the Italian seaman Christopher Columbus first stepped foot on the soil of the Americas, bringing with him European culture, goods, religion and practices. While other Europeans and Asians had arrived in the “New World” before him, Columbus publicized his discoveries throughout Europe, which spurred a wave of exploration and expansion throughout the Americas.

Ironically, Columbus did not plan on discovering a “New World”. He left Iberia with the blessing (and financing) of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, hoping to arrive in the Indies, a series of islands in South East Asia that Spain frequently traded with through long and expensive journeys on land. His goal was to find a quicker, water-based route instead.

But what Columbus wasn't aware of was the existence of the land masses of North and South America. So when he sailed west, he didn't land in the Indies, but rather he anchored in the Bahamas at a place he named “San Salvador”. When he came ashore on San Salvador, he mistook the native people for natives of India, calling them Indians, a misnomer which stands to this day. In fact, Columbus returned to the Americas three more times over the course of 12 years without knowing that he had arrived in an uncharted land, halfway around the globe from his intended destination!

How Is Columbus Day Observed?

/http://holidays.kaboose.com/what-is-columbus-day.html/

/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day/

Міжвідомча конференція агенцій США

6-7 жовтня 2011 року в Києві відбулась Міжвідомча конференція агенцій США, які займаються програмами з викладання та вивчення англійської мови в Україні. Метою конференції є інформування американських та українських партнерів, що беруть участь в програмах з викладання та вивчення англійської мови, про відповідні ініціативи та проекти в Україні та всьому світі, а також координація зусиль для забезпечення більш ефективного викладання та вивчення англійської мови. 

До участі в конференції запрошені представники Міністерства освіти і науки, молоді та спорту, методисти з різних областей України, вчителі англійської мови-випускники американських програм, викладачі вищих навчальних закладів, волонтери Корпусу Миру, представники видавництв та засобів масової інформації, а також деякі керівники Інформаційних Центрів “Вікно в Америку”. 

6 жовтня учасники конференції відвідали низку презентацій від американських урядових установ, українських освітян, які зацікавлені в питанні викладання англійської мови в українських навчальних закладах, відповідних посадових осіб та ключових зацікавлених сторін з недержавного сектору щодо програм з англійської мови в Україні та усьому світі. Презентації були розділені на 5 основних тематичних напрямків, присвячених дистанційному навчанню, дистанційному підвищенню кваліфікації вчителів, навчанню студентів вищих навчальних закладів, підвищенню кваліфікації вчителів та навчальним матеріалам. 

У складі робочої групи з питань вивчення англійської мови у центрах на одній з таких презентацій, яку очолювала Валентина Пашкова - директор Центру інформаційних ресурсів Посольства США в Україні, президент Української бібліотечної асоціації,  виступила і керівник Інформаційного Центру “Вікно в Америку”, що діє при Вінницькій ОУНБ ім. К.А. Тімірязєва, Юлія Кашпрук, провідний бібліограф відділу літератури іноземними мовами. Вона виступила з презентацію “Rosetta Stone at Information Centers “Window on America”, інформуючи про ефективність використання даної інтерактивної мультимедійної навчальної програми у бібліотеці як соціокультурному та інформаційному центрі. 

U.S. Interagency Conference on English Language Programs in Ukraine "English Language Education: A United Approach"

If you are a teacher of English, you can participate in the following programs: E-teacher Scholarship Programs (http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/eteacher.html;http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/eteacher/courses.html). 7 10-week Online graduate level courses for new and experienced teachers!

The program offers seven innovative, online, graduate level classes to English teaching professionals outside of the United States through two U.S. universities, the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the University of Oregon. Take your chance. Even if you don't go abroad you will get experience and communicate with teachers from all over the world! It really works (the U.S. Interagency conference on English Language programs in Ukraine "English Language Education: A United Approach" (October 6, 2011).

Generation Gap

 Generation Gap

Fun Fact of the Day: “The oldest city in the U.S. is Santa Fe (New Mexico) founded in 1610” (http://funfacter.hubpages.com).

Topic: GENERATION GAP
/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_gap/

The generational gap is and was a term popularized in Western countries during the 1960s referring to differences between people of a younger generation and their elders, especially between children and parents.
Although some generational differences have existed throughout history, modern generational gaps have often been attributed to rapid cultural change in the postmodern period, particularly with respect to such matters as musical tastes, fashion, culture and politics. These changes are assumed to have been magnified by the unprecedented size of the young generation during the 1960s, which gave it the power and inclination to rebel against societal norms, as reflected in songs such as the 1965 hit "My Generation" by The Who and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" by Bob Dylan.
However, sociologists also point to institutional age segregation as an important contributing factor to the generational divide. In their research, for instance, Gunhild O. Hagestad and Peter Uhlenberg have observed that institutions divide society into roughly three chronological age-based groups which operate in isolated domains. Those in childhood phases are segregated within educational institutions or child-care centers, parents are isolated within work-based domains, while older generations may be relegated to retirement homes, nursing homes, or senior day care centers. Social researchers see this kind of institutionally-based age segregation as a barrier to strong intergenerational relationships, social embeddedness, and generativity (the passing down of a positive legacy through mentoring and other cross-generational interactions).
Some interventions resulting from intergenerational research have proven successful in bridging the generation gap. Examples include multigenerational music groups, or programs bringing "bookend generations" (elders and preschoolers) together in intergenerational daycare centers where the elderly mentor the young.[4] Researchers find that positive relationships built between unrelated children and elders in these settings tend to be generalized to relationships within the family at home.

Questions For Discussion:

1. What is a generation gap? Do you believe that large difference can exist between groups of people solely because of age? Have you ever felt a generation gap with friends or family? How did you overcome this situation?
2. Is it always possible to overcome a generation gap or age differences every too great to ingnore? What defines “generation” in your opinion? How many years, life experiences or important events need to occur to consider a group of people a 'generation'?
3. At what point in your life would a generation gap seem large? When would it seem small? Do differences between generations or age groups increase or decrease over time? Do older generations automatically have more authority than younger ones?
4. Do generation gaps alter relations in the workplace? If you are a generation older than your boss, how does this affect your relationship? Can you work successfully with a superior who is much younger than you? How would this age difference alter levels of respect in the workplace?
5. How do generation gaps appear in our personal lives? Can marriages between generations be successful? Can friendships be successful? How are generation gaps displayed between grandparents, parents and children?
6. When are generation gaps very evident? In use of technology? In leisure activitties and favorite pastimes? Where can you see these differences the most and in which activities are they the least visible?

Mood and Staying in "Shape"

Fun Fact of the Day: Virginia Dare, "the first English child born in America, was born in Roanoke in 1587" (http://awesomeamerica.com).

Topic: Mood and Staying in "Shape"

/Wikipedia/

Etymologically, mood derives from the Old English mōd which denoted military courage, but could also refer to a person's humour, temper, or disposition at a particular time. The cognate Gothic mōds translates both θυμός "mood, spiritedness" and ὀργή "anger".

According to psychologist Robert Thayer, mood is a product of two dimensions: energy and tension. A person can be energetic or tired while also being tense or calm. According to Thayer, people feel best when they are in a calm-energy mood, and worst when in a tense-tired state. People often use food to regulate mood. Thayer identifies a fundamental food-mood connection, and advises against the reliance on food as a mood regulator. The low energy arousal coupled with tension, as experienced in a bad mood, can be counteracted by walking. Thayer suggests walking as a means to enhanced happiness.

A recent meta-analysis found that, contrary to the stereotype of the suffering artist, creativity is enhanced most by positive moods that are activating and associated with approach motivation (e.g. happiness), rather than those that are deactivating and associated with avoidance motivation (e.g. relaxation). Negative, deactivating moods with an approach motivation (e.g. sadness) were not associated with creativity, but negative, activating moods with avoidance motivation (e.g. fear, anxiety) were associated with lower levels of creativity.

Mood is considered to be a long lasting effect that makes a difference in the way you interact with people or external stimuli. "Moods are frequently described as more diffuse and nonspecific". Moods are considered to be mild, different from the concept of an emotion. “Moods are most often described by their valence either positive or negative, happy or sad, good or bad or neutral”. There are mainly two types of moods that people consider; these are positive mood and negative moods.

Positive mood can be caused by many different aspects of life as well as have certain effects on people as a whole. People seem to experience positive mood when they have a clean slate, had a good night sleep, and feel no sense of stress in their in life. "Generally, positive mood has been found to enhance creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking.

Like positive moods, negative moods have important implications for human’s mental and physical wellbeing. Moods are basic psychological states that can occur as a reaction to an event or it can surface for no apparent external cause. Since there is no intentional object that causes the negative mood, it has no specific start and stop date. It can last for hours, days, weeks, or longer. Negative moods can manipulate how individuals interpret and translate the world around them, and can also direct their behavior.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. Many people talk about staying in 'shape' as physical exercise. What is the difference between physical and mental exercise? How do you keep 'mentally fit"? Does studying or working hard help you stay intellectually challenged and mentally fit? What else cn help you stay in shape?

2. Do you agree that staying in shape, both physically and mentally, can have a big affect on attitude and mood? How do you define the terms "attitude" and "mood"? How are they related? Does a positive attitude automatically lead to a good mood? Can good humor change your mood?

3. Many people experience changes in mood based on weather. When the weather becomes colder. how does this alter your mood? Does spending time outdoors help with your general happiness and in creating a positive attitude?

4. What other activitites affect your mood? Does spending time with friends and fanily help create a positive atmosphere for you? How do you respond to music, dancing, chatting? Do you think that positive moods and attitudes are "contagoius"?

5. What can you do to help keep a postivie attitude? What situations automatically dampen your mood (such as weather, too much work, etc.)? how can you combat negative situations in keeping a good attitude and a possitive mood?

SATURDAY, 08 October at 10:30 - Special 527 Presentation