Author Archives: evelynoconnor

Keynotes…

Posted on September 2, 2014 | 2 comments

It’s September now, summer’s only remains lie in the uncut grass taunting me every time I glance out at our overgrown lawn and it feels like I need to somehow reclaim my blogging mojo. Still at a loss for inspiration or motivation or dedication, perhaps revisiting the lost four months gone past might relight some dampened fire in my typing fingertips…

Back in May I delivered two related keynotes in quick succession, the first being the ICTedu conference in LIT, Thurles campus organised by the wonderful Pam O’Brien. It was my first time keynoting; I was grieving; I was scared; but I was also determined to prove that I could say something worth saying; that I could rise to the challenge presented.

My trusty notes app, on my phone, filled with rough cut thoughts and teaching anecdotes formed the backbone of my talk, which you can view here, should the mood take you.

[youtube_sc url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa2GWHegml4]

I was overwhelmed afterwards, with kind words and exhaustion, and the remainder of the day was quite simply a joy, particularly the inspired Learning Walk.

Although then Junior Education Minister Ciaran Cannon mentioned that he’d like to have me at the Excited conference, it wasn’t until the next day that it clicked in my teeny tiny brain that he meant he wanted to have me present. A keynote? Aw crap! Ok!

At his request, my ICTedu keynote formed the backbone of my talk, which you can view, should the mood take you, by clicking on the vimeo link below… and my reflections on the day you can read here.

http://vimeo.com/97524762

From a blogging perspective, nothing new to see here really… but a necessary dipping of toes back into the water, methinks…

2 Comments

Posted in Teachers

Rant vs well constructed argument

Posted on August 14, 2014 | 1 comment

It’s day three of cleaning out my classroom (I’m starting a new job as an English Advisor with the Junior Cycle for Teachers service in 10 days time!) and I’m really really tempted to stop sorting the good from the bad and the ugly because it’s taking so bloody long!!! 87% of me wants to just fling the lot into boxes and be done with it.

But because we’re also moving into a new house – which we’ve been painstakingly renovating all summer – I don’t want loads of boxes of unnecessary crap cramping our new living quarters.

Anyway, as the clear out progresses, what’s surprised me is how often I’m stumbling upon half crumpled scraps of paper with hastily scribbed scrawls on them that I don’t want to keep necessarily, but which I don’t want to dump either…

Here’s one such example from a public speaking class. I’m pretty sure we just brainstormed this together (co-creation of knowledge how are ya!) rather than it being something I prepared in advance.

RANT vs WELL CONSTRUCTED ARGUMENT

Rant =

  1. Collection of random thoughts with little order or structure
  2. Overwhelmingly negative
  3. Anger = dominant tone
  4. No balance
  5. No facts / statistics
  6. Examples given are all personal
  7. Flawed logic – one or two examples are used to draw big (erroneous) conclusions
  8. Ad hominem attacks – any attempts to refute other viewpoints consist of attacks on the people who hold these beliefs rather than on the beliefs themselves.

Argument =

  1. Structured
  2. Balanced
  3. Supported by facts / statistics
  4. Reasonable anger (if any) or disappointment rather than rage
  5. Personal examples situated in wider context
  6. Sound logic – inductive & deductive reasoning in evidence
  7. Refutation & rebuttal focused on the issues NOT personalities

Anyway, I figure such scraps of wisdom are better stored here rather than buried in the bottom of a box of other such random bits of paper. And it’s better than throwing them out too…

1 Comment

Posted in Composing

Tagged , , , , , ,

Poetic verbs…

Posted on August 12, 2014 | 2 comments

Some verbs should rarely – possibly never – be used when discussing a poem. “The poet tells us” or “the poet says” are problematic because poetic language is always carefully crafted, with every word and punctuation mark deliberately chosen to capture the exact feeling and idea the poet wishes to communicate.

The verbs “tells” and “says” imply that the poet is telling us things rather than hinting, showing, evoking, then allowing us to figure it out for ourselves. If he/she uses colloquial language, yes it will feel as if the poet is simply speaking, but again, this is a conscious decision, not an accident.

You need verbs which are more accurate in analysing what the poet is doing. Here are a few suggestions:

– explores

– describes

– evokes

– celebrates

– reveals

– laments

– confesses

– exposes

– challenges

– creates

– captures

 

2 Comments

Posted in Poetry, Studied poetry, Unseen poetry

Classwork Essay Titles

Posted on July 14, 2014 | 1 comment

I’m just cleaning out my classroom, so I’m going to plonk this exercise here for future reference, rather than saving a piece of paper that will end up in the bottom of a box of other random pieces of paper!

Write a response to ONE of the following. You have 1hr 10mins.

1. Write an article (serious and/or humorous) for your school magazine titled “10 ways to survive secondary school”

OR

2. Write a sensational news report or your school website describing your debs – who was there! what they wore! who got drunk! who got kissed! who got dumped!

OR

3. Write a news article giving advice (serious and/or lighthearted) to tourists visiting Ireland for the first time.

Here are some essay titles I gave my Leaving Certs in the run up to the exams:

1. Write a descriptive essay on the wonder and innocence of childhood.

2. Write a short story in which something funny happens.

3. Write a speech discussing the idea that, in schools, appearances often mask a disturbing reality. This speech will be delivered in front of the Minister for Education.

4. Write an article for a popular magazine examining some of the unanswerable questions we spend our lives pondering.

5. Write a personal essay discussing your philosophy of life and examining how this effects your behaviour and your relationships.

Here are a few more I’ve just found

1. Write a speech for International Women’s Day. You may take a serious and/or humorous approach

2. Write a descriptive essay on the beauty and the ugliness of our world.

3. Write a short story in which a small moment has a deep significance for the main character.

4. Write a personal essay in which you explore the people, the places and the experiences that have shaped you into the person you are today.

This lot below were topics for a TY public speaking competition:

  1. Irish women have yet to achieve equality
  2. Ireland does not need Europe to succeed as a nation
  3. Our greatest asset in Ireland is our education system
  4. Future generations will be furious at our indifference to protecting the environment
  5. As a nation and as individuals we must prioritise our mental health
  6. Our lack of digital literacy education in schools is a foolish and dangerous oversight
  7. In the modern world there is no such thing as a ‘generation gap’ between young and old

Yet more – all discovered over the course of two days as I clean out my classroom and dump random bits of paper scrawled with essay topics, homework exercises, class tests…

This list is from a TY public speaking class:

  1. Write out the speech you deliver at your sister / brother’s wedding or hen/stag
  2. Write the eulogy for a loved ones funeral
  3. Write a speech where you nominate someone for an award
  4. Propose some changes in the way your school is run at a student council meeting
  5. Prepare a lesson to teach first year students for a class – any subject, any topic!

Here are some debate topics I gave at some random date in the past…

Argue for or against one of the following motions:

  • Ireland should lower the voting age
  • School attendance should be voluntary
  • Parents should be punished for their childrens’ mistakes
  • TV talent shows are destroying the music industry
  • Beauty pageants do more harm than good
  • Doctor-assisted suicide should be legalised
  • Celebrities should not be role models

Every time I think I’ve come upon the last random selection of essay titles, I find more!

  1. Write a light-hearted speech about your pet hates in life
  2. Write a newspaper article in which you uncover and expose a scandal
  3. Write an entertaining descriptive essay for a competition under the title “If I ran this school”
  4. Write a debate speech in which you argue for or against the motion that “the future of publishing is digital”
  5. Write a personal essay entitled “I’m weird but that’s OK”

 

 

1 Comment

Posted in Composing, Leaving Cert Paper 1

Open Gardens

Posted on July 9, 2014 | 5 comments

Sometimes something comes along at the perfect moment. It’s been almost three months since our beloved Mary passed away and somehow it feels like we should be doing more to keep her memory alive.

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So when her husband Michael heard that we could open her private garden to the public as a fundraiser for the Irish Red Cross, he – and we – felt it would be the perfect way to honour her memory.

Mary’s legacy is evident everywhere I look – in her hat-making and painting, in her house and all her baking utensils, that now only gather dust. But her legacy is most evident in her beautiful garden which covers 1.5 acres and features over 150 varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees. As you can see from the photos below, the gardens run through the old village centre, with an old granary and a little cottage as the most visible remains of a road that no longer exists.

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If you’re a garden enthusiast or just fancy a day out, please come along this Sunday 13th July to stroll in her beautiful garden. We’ll be serving tea and buns and there may even be some live music! The garden (in a little town land between Gortaganny & Ballinlough, Co.Roscommon) will be open from 12 noon until 6pm. For more information check out facebook.com/events/624187704355270 and if you decide to take a spin this way, DM me on twitter or email me leavingcertenglishnet@gmail.com for directions / GPS co-ordinates.

If you love gardens but Roscommon is a bit of a trek too far, do keep an eye on your local paper for details of open gardens in your locality – or better still, host an open garden fundraiser yourself! You can sign up here on the Irish Red Cross page.

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p.s. Of all the things I’ve ever posted here, I can freely admit that this one has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Leaving Cert English. Or Junior Cert English. In fact its only connection to the subject may be the fact that it’s written in English.However, as this is my main portal for communication with the online world, I’ll plonk it here anyway and hope to be forgiven. It is the summer holidays after all!

5 Comments

Posted in Discussions, Teachers