Wednesday 30 September 2015

Final MOCK for October Exam

Please note the following for the MOCK tomorrow.
Image result for mock test SAT
  1. Starts exactly at 8.45 am
  2. Must be here by 8.30 am
  3. Bring 12 (One Dozen) 2B Pencils (NO PENCIL Sharpener to be Allowed)
  4. ONE bar of chocolate
  5. Half-litre of water (You will NOT be allowed to use Washroom)
  6. Calculator 
  7. PASSPORT
  8. Mock Paper will be Provided at class (Mock Fee Taka 50/-) 

Monday 28 September 2015

Readings BEING Done in the Class Today

We are doing the following this morning:


  1. Jeremy Conbyn and Trident Issue with the Labour Party
  2. Cicero and his Political Decisions based on Political Gains
  3. Indonesia suffers Air Pollution at the cost of Development
  4. John Milton and His Idea of Freedom
  5. Selection from Areopagitica - Oxford Anthology
  6. Dartmouth MILTON Page (Great Portal)
All of you are now required to read the 4th item in 40 min. Take NOTES and Report Orally. Take note of the references of Isocrates, Euripedes, Areopagus. The picture shows Milton dictating his Magnum Opus - Paradise Lost - to his daughters. Milton went blind during this time.


Sunday 27 September 2015

Look at the following List of Items from Writing Sections

This snapshot on the right contains the list of problems that are checked in the SAT Writing Section. This is a FULL list. There will be hardly any other problem in the Writing Section. Please also notice the Red-pen comment at the end that claims that 90% of your Answers have the possibility of being Correct if you can Identify the Subject.

I have used the note taken from Ifrat's.

Note the following items as well:
  1. Modifiers are two types: Misplaced & Dangling
  2. Pronouns have 3 Types of Errors: (a) Pron Shift; (b) Pron Case; (c) Pron Ambiguity.
  3. Oh! We forgot to add Diction Error.
We are doing a FULL Mock Today - but instead of 2 mocks, we shall discuss the Errors that emerge in the end. 

Labib, Azima, and Mahir are absent today - so they are all instructed to take a careful look at the list. If possible, you should also take a Mock Test at home.

Saturday 26 September 2015

Double MOCK Tomorrow

This is to confirm that we shall resume our MOCK Tests from tomorrow. I intend to take TWO mocks tomorrow. It is expected that you will make MINIMUM mistakes in Math and Writing sections.

You will also be required to Bring PENCILS. NO Pen.

Everyone is requested to send me REPORTS on Poems of either Frost's OR Neruda's Poems. You should read from Poetry Foundation Website.

Pablo Neruda
Robert Frost

Thursday 24 September 2015

A Don’s Life: Cicero and the drones

A Don’s Life: Cicero and the drones

Cicero
Today morning we all had been doing our Final Pre-Eid Mock and were asked to write an essay on the following topic " Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places." It would be an interesting exercise to look through a short 500 words article published in TLS, the most prestigious opinion magazine from the UK. [The link has already been given above.]

The painting on the left shows great Roman Orator and Writer Cicero at the Roman Parliament.

The Rogue Economist's Guide to America

The Prof-rogue has turned the head of everyone. Find out how and WHY. The first link is the summary. The second link is a Princeton Professor mumbling. The last one is the BOOK Itself - but really you need not go through this again if you have already covered the first two. The final one is a review of the Original Freakonomics by the Author of Freak-Freakonomics; he is unashamed of his admiration for the Original and confident of the relative excellence of his own Book - an absolutely great treat.
  1. Summary
  2. Princeton Professor Spakes
  3. The Big Bite Itself
  4. Against FREAKONOMICS
Finally, something for the pathological skeptic:

BIG Read 100 - How Many do YOU Know - Happy Eid!

The Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth LongfellowHere are two 100 Books list - a project by UK National Arts Council. Please check how many books have you read - and how many you can WISH.

First 100
BBC 100 - with Prompts to Help You

It would be an excellent idea to pick one book after another and finally settle on a text that can give you company for the next 3 days. As part of our Poetry Week you are also requested to read as many poems of Robert Frost as possible.

OR, just click on the book's Cover-page on this link and you will be guided to a Beautifully Designed reader's Guide. Try your Luck -


Book_stack_small

Wednesday 23 September 2015

3 Items Should be Done Today

Rape of the Lock
Mac Flecknoe
The Hour of the Star

Write an Essay based on ONE of the following TOPIC - you must ONLY use the example from Rape Lock - you may use information from any of the page in your Rape of Lock document.

1. People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.
2. The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority.
3. Laws should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places.
4. The best way to teach is to praise positive actions and ignore negative ones.
5. The luxuries and conveniences of contemporary life prevent people from developing into truly strong and independent individuals.
6. Society should make efforts to save endangered species only if the potential extinction of those species is the result of human activities.
7. As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more complex and mysterious.
8. College students should base their choice of a field of study on the availability of jobs in that field.
9. Educational institutions should dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed.

Tuesday 22 September 2015

Words Covered in Class Today + Thursday MOCK

Image result for works works todayWe have covered a substantial number of words in the class between 9 am and 3 pm. Here is a rough estimate -
  1. 3 Page Word Group: 660 Words
  2. Words With Latin Roots: around 100
  3. Words from Arts and Other Disciplines: 100
  4. Word Quiz: 40 x 7 = 300
  5. Additional Words at Random: 100
The TOTAL goes to around 1200 words. IN addition we worked on the Stanford University Report on Undergraduate Education, Possible Worlds (Intro to Logic & Philosophy), a brief discussion of the nature of surrealist imagination. 

We had visible absences from Azima, Labib, and Ishtiaq. I am sure that they will have to cover these materials on their own in the next two days. Tomorrow we shall work according to following schedule:
  1. First 45 min - 45 Quiz in BLACK Book
  2. Cover some challenging Reading Materials and have Seminar-style meetings.
  3. Shed some more lights on Activity List of Common Application. 
On THURSDAY we will have a FULL MOCK starting from 8.30 am.

Monday 21 September 2015

URGENT Notice - Tomorrow's Class Content

We shall start the class at 8.00 am and continue till lunch time. I will cover 1200 words tomorrow and write a 2 Issue Based essays. We shall also work on a LARGE number of reading items. You are all requested to access the BLOG items of the last one week.

This is also to request Abir to access the following 2 essays. The first one is by George Orwell and the second one is by Shaheera Jafar. Both essays address the issue already handled by the essay with the title "Snobbishness of the Learned". Ishtiaq, Labib, Rayan, and Bushra are also requested to Read and Report the following 2 essays.

Orwell Essay - Politics of English Language
Same Title as ABOVE - but different approach

Today Morning We ALL Work from HOME

Image result for urgent
Everyone is requested to send me FB messages that they are ONLINE. I will expect that everyone will respond to the blog-posts from yesterday. It is of great importance that we will probably have 3 or 4 days of reading before the SAT exam takes place. So use this time to prepare yourself into EXTREME-reading - and please NOTE today's first post - mail from Clarke University.

Message from Clark University

Image result for clark universityDear Sir,

I hope you have been doing great. It has been more than a month since I have been here in the United States and I can already say that I feel worn out. So a notice to all people in Logophiles now: 'You may think you are going through a lot in your current stage but wait till you get to college and start classes and then you will know that you are currently much at peace'. But yes I have to admit that the training I went through for the past one year has been fruitful in helping me to cope up with the intensity of college studies. Whereas most people are already frustrated, and though I do admit that I too feel exhausted, at least I have been able to keep up with the workload far better than the average others. 
Image result for physics club          Getting onto my courses, I am taking Intro Chem, Honors Calculus (the class which kills), hons physics with calculus and a writing course. There is not much to say about the chem or physics classes but there is quite a lot to say about the other two. Firstly calculus seems very easy in High School but you know its true form in college. Whereas in school you directly differentiate x to be 1, in college you need to mathematically, using the fundamental concepts of maths, prove that the derivative is 1. Its tiring but then again it is teaching you math from the very basics to really think instead of just following the rules set out. For English writing class, my professor does not care about the final essay I write much. Rather he looks at all steps. I need to submit not only the essay drafts but how I chose a topic, what thoughts led to the topic and how the drafts were being developed. Again its tiring but the good thing is that he has been trying to teach us to concentrate more on how to bring out the thinking (a problem most of us face when you know what you want to say but you cannot just express). There is a lot of free writing we do here like I used to do before in Anglophiles to write down all the things that comes to mind without stopping even for a moment.
            One of the most important aspects of college life is that its not just doing great on the courses that make you look great. What you are doing out of class is a matter of major importance. There is a lot going on here and there. So you find something that interests you or you make something that you want to do. In my case I have been closely working with Philosophy and Astronomy Club. Moreover I will soon be founding Clark's Society of Physics Students (SPS) which will then be an official chapter of the SPS of American Institute of Physics (AIP) for my college. Its a great opportunity to look at physics outside of class, to really learn instead of just knowing. Plus it gives an opportunity to meet with students and professors of physics of different universities for example in my case I can work with people from MIT and Harvard. Moreover I do have an intention to either apply for research here for summer or apply to a summer research internship at premier science labs in the US.
             I do have a lot more to say but I will leave it for some other day. Plus I do want to write an email for the current batch of Logophiles about what to do to either stand out in this market for selling themselves or to be 'enlightened' whichever option the reader may choose.

Sincerely Yours,
Rakibul

Sunday 20 September 2015

Undergrad Education at Stanford - 130 Page Report

Dear Everyone,
I am sure that you are all wondering the huge amount of posts being uploaded today. I would want any one of you report this document in the next Tuesday Class. It was published in 2012 - therefore, it should be very recent. One thing very interesting about this REPORT is that it places an extraordinary amount of emphasis on (1) Written and Oral Communication, (2) Language Requirement, (3) Ways of Thinking, Ways of Doing: Fostering Breadth (Pages 34-42). If yo look at the 3rd area of development, you MAY notice that in our class we are constantly working towards goals. 

Stanford Report 2012

Apart from the above - here is another essay on Books, Reading, and Undergrad Education.

Books - Reading - Undergrad Education

Pukarta Chala Hun Main - Culture and Hybridity


  1. How would you define Cultural Hybridity?
  2. In what way cultural iconography reassess, redefines, reproduces, relocates, recuperates and resembles "Source Material?"
  3. How does reminiscence, geographical location, perspective, prejudice, distance etc influence the interpretation, incorporation, replication of cultural products (intellectual properties)?
  4. In what way cultural iconography influence economic activity (this question has been put in its head instead on its legs) put it in right order.
  5. Is Communication of our ideas possible by what we SAY and DO? Answer this question based on the way each singer/performer tried to RENDER the song in their OWN Imagined way. Keep in mind that Derrida believed that any attempt to find a Singular Truth is NOTHING but a self-blinding act.
  6. Of all the "Performances" - which one do you find telling a "Significant" Story? (Minimum 800 words)

What I have Been Doing Today Morning

I have spent the entire morning working with Maisha Rahman and prepared some very strategically crucial documents. The areas we worked on are quite daunting and vast in terms of time coverage and effort needed for preparing the document. The WORK today follows exactly the model developed through Bloom Taxonomy. I will again work tomorrow and will want ONE student to come and work. 

Snobbishness of the Learned

Image result for walter t stace philosophy
Ishtiaq, Abir, Azima, and Wasifur are requested to report the following essay. The room is that of Princeton University Philosophy Department in the early 20th Century before the First World War. W. T. Stace, the writer of the essay, is one of the doyen of the department. 

Susan Should Read Report this Essay

Image result for slave tradeThis essay focuses on Transatlantic Slave Trade and Industrial revolution. Only Susan is required to Access the essay and report it immediately. Deadline TODAY by 6 pm.

Slave Trade and Industrial Revolution

However, if anyone else is interested to read the item and report - may do it - and you will be hugely profited by the connections of thoughts. It is also expected to improve your Critical Reading Abilities.

Essay Written 70 Years ago in MIT

All are requested to access this essay and report it immediately. It came out from MIT in 1945.

AS WE MAY THINK 

Publo Neruda - People's Poet

Pablo Neruda, Chile's greatest poet, communist, and a man of great learning, died two years after receiving Nobel Prize for literature. It had been alleged that he was poisoned by the fascist regime of Pinochet Govt. His death anniversary is on 23 September. I do not see any activity in Dhaka to commemorate the works of this great poet. As part of our Poetry-week, I am hereby submitting a few links and a few pictures from my book collection. Poetry Foundation runs a wonderful page on Neruda - take a look.







Friday 18 September 2015

Tomorrow's Class CONTENT + Bloom Taxonomy

  1. Tomorrow we cover around 300 words in 2 hours. Bring STRESS Books.
  2. I shall ask someone to talk about the Bloom Taxonomy - for about 5 minutes.
  3. I will ask anyone to talk about Renaissance & Doctor Faustus
  4. I will TRY to give an opening of a good Why Major
  5. Please read the following post on the Clock-boy

New Bloom Triangle
You are also invited to take a look at the canonical Surrealist Painting by Dali. It would be a great thing to take a look at the webpage maintained by UK Education Group. This site is part of British Library's National Heritage Archive. Here is the link - Dali's Dissolution of Mechanical Time

I am also adding the link to Bloom Taxonomy - this one is short and simple. Please use this to identify your own thinking tendency.

Bloom Taxonomy

Wednesday 16 September 2015

Our MEETING Tomorrow

Our classroom WIFI has become operational again. I would like to meet all of you tomorrow from 8.00 am till 2 pm. Our work shall exclusively focus on WHY Major. Only Ishtiaq and Azima will be absent. Everyone else will be expected.  

MUST bring LAPTOP.
Image result for why major