Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Planning Your Dream Home

So, you need to write an essay about your dream home? Well there's a lot to think about, but let's start with the grammar.

1. Since this topic is about something that probably won't happen (sorry) it's best to use the 2nd conditional:

"If I had a billion dollars, I would have a dream house. It would have ten floors. It would have two swimming pools. It would have a cinema. etc."

In Slovak, "Keby som mal miliardu dolárov, mal by som dom snov. Ten dom by mal desať poschodí. Mal by dva bazény. Mal by kino."

2. Another thing to remember - when counting rooms, you need to count all of them. Don't say,

"The 2nd floor would have four rooms and two bathrooms." That's six rooms!

Say, "The 2nd floor would have four bedrooms and two bathrooms."

3. In English, we say, "How it would look," or, "What it would look like."

We never say, "How it would look like." That's wrong.

4. In English, host = hostiteľ The word for someone who visits your house isn't 'host' but 'guest'.

5. Every year one student mixes up the words 'bed' and 'bad'. Bed means 'posteľ' and bad means 'zlý'. If you want a "badroom" please don't tell me about it. I don't want to know. It sounds like something from Fifty Shades of Grey.

You also need to think about the kind of home you want. Do you prefer something big or small? What style? See here for choices.

Do you want one dream home or two? Or maybe three or four? Would you like to travel during the year, and live in different places in different seasons? Where do you want your homes located? Do you want to live somewhere tropical or exotic? Or do you want to stay in Slovakia? Think about it because some places have unique features you can only find there:




Once you answer these questions, you may want to give your home some unique features and characteristics that make it special. Here are some ideas. Let's see if they inspire you:








  


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

 




 
 

 
 

Monday, March 9, 2015

Last Week Tonight Discusses the U.S. Territories

In this short video, comedian John Oliver discusses the unfairness of US Policy in its territories Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa, where people are citizens but are denied full rights, including the right to vote for president.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Education Chart

The following chart compares the education systems in Slovakia, The UK, and the US:


 
 The UK
 The USA
 Slovakia
  Pre-School
  a Nursery (Jasle): Age 1-4
Playgroup (Škôlka): Age 2-4
  a Nursery: Age 1-4
Pre-K (Nursery School): Age 3-4
Head Start Programs – for poor children in big cities: Age 3-4
Jasle: Age 1-3
Škôlka: Age 3-6
 Primary Education
Infant School (The first year is called Reception): Age 5-8
Junior School: Age 8-11
Elementary/Grammar School:
Kindergarten – 6th Grade: Age 5-11
Základná škola
Age: 6-15 (11 for some students)
Secondary Education
Comprehensive Schools: state
Academies: Fancy name for a comprehensive school.
Grammar Schools: state schools that require an entrance exam, called The 11 Plus
Free Schools: independently controlled state schools
Private Schools: charge a fee
Public Schools: high status private schools, like Eton, Harrow
GCSE Exam (Age 16)
College (2 years) – preparation for University. Age 17-18
Middle school: Grade 7th – 8th Ages 12-14
High School: Grade 9th – 12th Ages 14-19
Public Schools: state schools
Private Schools: are private J
Charter Schools: like free schools.
Magnet Schools: specialize in one subject. They choose students by lottery or entrance tests.
Pilot Schools: a school created as an experiment in education.
Home Schooling: Parents teach you
Day Care: afterschool childcare for working parents. It’s privately run.
Stredná škola:
Gymnazium: preparation for university.
Stredná odborná škola: vocational school.
Združená stredná škola: a combined school.
Učilište: trade school with no Maturita, and you can’t go to university.
 School Traditions
Prom/School Formal: spring dance, Age 16, and again at 18
Homecoming Dance: fall dance, for 1st football game on home field.
Senior Prom: spring dance, last year of high school.
Ples: fall dance for 2nd year students.
Stušková: fall event for seniors
 Controversies:
 
1. Failing schools
2. Grammar Schools are elitist.
3. Do you mix students with
    different abilities or not?
4. Confusing system keeps
    changing.
5. University has become too
    expensive.
6. Easy universities with grade
    inflation are giving “Mickey
    Mouse” degrees.
 
1. Funding & Failing Schools
2. Teachers’ Unions, Tenure &
    Firing Bad Teachers
3. Standardized Testing
4. Religion & Prayer in School
5. School Vouchers
6. Bilingual Education
7. Textbooks & Censorship
8. Affirmative Action, Segregation, &    
    School Busing
9. Creationism vs. Evolution
 
1. School Funding
2. Teacher Salaries
3. Corruption
4. Schools lowering
    their standards,
    due to low
    student
    enrollment.
5. easy universities
     giving “Mickey
   “Mouse” degrees.
 Graduation Exams
GCSE for Secondary School.
None for college. You don’t graduate, there’s no ceremony.
Final Exams: every year, and
Senior State Exams: like the Maturita, and different in each state
Maturita: state exam with different difficulty levels.
 University Placement Tests:
A Levels: one test for all university applications
SAT (east & west coast)
ACT (mid-west)
Prijímačky – each school is different
 
Higher Education
 
Tuition:
 
 
Undergraduate Degree:
 
 
 
 
Graduate Degrees:
 
University
 
 
£.9000 (€11125,00)
 
 
Bachelor’s Degree: 3 years*
* 1 year extra for practicum in architecture, engineering, surveying, foreign languages (study abroad)
 
Master’s Degree: 2 years
 
College (private)/University (public)
Community College: cheaper, less reputable.
$28,500 a year (€20886) (average)
Scholarships: need-based & academic.
 
Bachelor’s Degree: 4 years
 
Graduate School:
-Law School: 3-4 years
-Med School: 8 years
 
2+ years for a Master’s Degree
4+ years for a PhD
 
Vysoká škola
 
 
0 (€2000 for dorm and travel)
 
Bachalarska diplom: 3 years
 
Ingeniersky/
Magistersky
Diplom: 2 years
Phd: 3 years