HI, ladies!!
Plum, it’s interesting for us to learn baby-care English on your DVD, which would certainly help coming works with your new grandchild. But I’m now concerned about your hectic days and self-reliance in writing our next essays…!
These days we can feel autumn most at a supermarket, where various kinds of fruits are lined on its storefronts. The other day I got some figs, ichijiku, after a long time, because my kids once said they’d never eaten them. At that night, I eagerly showed and gave the children those fresh figs. But after biting a bit, both of them hesitated to eat them up, and seemed to have felt unpleasant. I’d forgotten that they were kids, green-behind-the-ears…I’m going to boil them down into jam, which would taste good.
So, see you tomorrow, bye!!
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Hello Friends,
Plum, what a great idea of watching DVD about taking care of a baby in English! It seems very interesting to learn about the raising children from a psychologist, a nurse, and a doctor. I’m sure I will learn many things as well as English vocabulary.
Cherry, what a suitable word “a déjà vu” is! Mr. Fukuda announced his resignation by apologizing and asking the Cabinet members to pursue their own duties. I would have to say he is irresponsible as the Prime Minister, though I feel sorry for him a little bit in a weird way.
As for the natural disaster, there are some people who predict the Tokai earthquake will occur in the very near future. Maybe we should recheck an emergency evacuation bag and place to prepare for a major earthquake.
Please take care of yourself in this strange weather.
Hello, Cherry and my precious friends.
How kind of you to let us know the DVD about raising a baby. I’m very pleased to watch the DVD produced in Australia with you all. I’m grateful to Plum who is always willing to provide us with good chances to learn practical English.
Indeed, I thought I’ve already completed raising children, but your suggestion gave me a second thought. I’m going to become a granny of two babies next year. It is worth watching because I’ve almost forgotten how to care for babies. Moreover there must be some new convenient and effective information which will help me babysit my future grandchildren.
Now its time to take a bath.
Good-night, my sweet friends.
Hello Cherry and ladies,
Politicians in the U.S. and Japan entertain us with their different attitude toward power, don't they?
Mr. MaCain, the U.S. presidential candidate, picked Mrs. Palin as a running mate.
According to BBC News (2008.8.29), Mrs. Pelin is seen as a strong conservative, fiscally and socially.
I think American politicians do have more guts or tenacity to get and secure the seat of President than Japanese counterparts do.
Ms. Palin, however, would hurt Mr. MaCain's liberal Republican image by her conservative policy to some extent, I suppose.
I don't think Ms. Clinton's supporters would choose Ms. Palin, just because of her sex.
Being a hard-line anti-abortionist and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association would be fatal.
But for Hilary, Mr. MaCain's victory might make her next trial in four years (may be) easier than Mr. Obama's, I guess.
Well, I hope that Ms. Koike should join the race for the leader of LDP to stimulate her fellow politicians. As the Olympic Games showed, Japanese women have become both mentally and physically strong enough to represent Japan. Ha ha ha...... Seriously, we need more female political leaders. Don't you think so?
Good night
Dear Cherry and friends,
Hi. How are you?
I wrote the first draft of my report and I'm still not sure whether I can finish this or not.
In fact, any paper can never be finished before the deadline comes. So I put it aside temporarily and decided to finish it on Saturday. On Sunday, the seminar starts.
* -------------------------------------------- *
I'm reading “Victorian Education and the Ideal of Womanhood” by Joan N. Burstyn.
Although I read the first 3 chapters of it last year when I rewrote the essay on Hannah Riddell, I'm rereading it from the first chapter.
Burstyn focuses on the opposition to the higher education for women and attempts to disentangle the opponents' arguments.
She argues that there are three primary kinds of arguments to oppose the higher education for women: first, the economic ramifications of it; second, the evidence from comparative anatomy and physiology; and third, Biblical authority and social convention.
Before exploring these arguments, the readers can overview the background where the opposition developed.
The first chapter explains about the Victorian middle classes and compares education for both sexes.
The Victorian middle classes are defined as the families whose earning was roughly between 100 pounds and 300 pounds. Each middle class family should afford at least a domestic servant.
Property was not the only condition which made a middle class family. Respectability was regarded as an important virtue embodied by middle class men and women.
They also set a standard of refinement. Language, behaviour, and individual manners were refined. Therefore, they often used euphemisms.
Women of the middle classes enjoyed leisure. The amount of time a woman family member afforded leisure indicated how resourceful her husband or son was.
Education for boys and men should make them acquire the professional skills and and the attributes of respectability. The former was “useful” subjects which led to competitive examinations. The latter was the traditional curriculum which were not useful but the hallmark of gentlemen.
More parents hoped that their sons would acquire professional skills so that they were qualified as professionals without patronage.
Women and men were supposed to live in separate spheres. While men acquired their status through competence, income and property, women gained theirs through men. Women lived in the private sphere. Men in public. Women were not expected work and “were taught to internalize the constraints of refinement.” (p. 21)
Women and girls were educated to obtain social skills rather than obtaining intellectual skills. They were educated by governesses or at small private schools. The movement for women's higher education gradually developed.
In 1843, the Governesses' Benevolent Institution was established. This was not for women but for established families who wished to protect their position. The qualification of governesses had to be improved for such families.
In 1848, Queen's College opened.
In the next decade, the North London Collegiate School for Girls and Cheltenham Ladies College opened.
In 1857, the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (NAPSS) was organized.
In 1867, the Cambridge local examination syndicate allowed women to take the exam permanently.
In 1869, Emily Davies began the experiment of establishing a women's college “where women undertook the same courses as men and were expected to complete them in the same amount of time.”(p. 26)
In 1871, Newham College was opened at Cambridge.
In 1872, the Girls' Public Day School Company was established.
In 1878, women were admitted to all degrees of the University of London.
In 1879, Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville College were opened in Oxford.
* -------------------------------------------- *
Good night.
Hello, friends.
Cherry, why don't you try fig jelly? That is one of my speciality in this season. My children like it very much, even Kazuya who can't drink alcohol loves fig wine jelly.
It's a very easy cooking and it helps when I bought figs which taste dull and not sweat at all.
I'll teach you the recipe.
Peel 5 or 6 figs and boil in the 300cc red wine with 60grams of sugar and 2 slices of lemon or some lemon juice for about 15 or 20 minutes.
Pick out figs and put each of them in the jelly cup.
Put 5g of gelatin in the residue of the pan, mix it and pour it into the jelly cup.
You can make nice fig jellies in the fridge in a few hours.
Have fun!
Hi, ladies!!
I was so enchanted with Sara Palin’s address at the Republican National Convention held at Twin Cities. How about you?
I just let you know one of my students’ English diary, which is actually a summer holiday assignment given by me. The author of this writing is in a pre-intermediate level class and her English speaking skill is almost zero. Yet, her writing skill is not as bad as her speaking one, and curiously enough, her writing ability has been improving year by year. I just show you her writing, though her English proficiency is not as great as yours but I assume you could enjoy reading what happened to her on September 1. (The best point about her writing is that she seldom makes mistakes, though repetition is seen here and there.)
Sept. 1st
When I watched news on TV tonight, I knew a farewell ceremony was held in Shizuoka for a man who was killed in Afghanistan. His name was Kazuya Ito and he was a nongovernmental organization worker. He worked there about 5 years to help Afghan people and gave a lot of agricultural advice. Then his work helped about half of Afghan people’s hunger. So his death made a deep impression on Afghan people.
Several days ago I knew the news that one Japanese man was abducted by some armed men. And the next day’s news said a man was Kazuya Ito and he was shot. I could not believe it. Occasionally we heard news something like that someone was abducted in a Middle East country, but the trouble was normally solved. But this time it was different. He was unfortunately killed.
After the farewell ceremony Ito’s mother said that she wanted his son to live longer, even one day longer, than them. I though every parent had the same idea, when I heard her comment. I felt very sorry for her about losing her greatest son. And I heard some of the cremated remains of Kazuya would be sent to Afghanistan to be entombed in there. It will be quite consideration about Kazuya. What a sad story!
Tonight my favorite program called Eigo de shaberanaito was suddenly cancelled because of big breaking news. Prime Minister Fukuda had decided to resign from his post. I was very surprised. What happened to him? He might have some special reason but it’s too sudden. It reminded me of the news of Mr. Abe’s stepping down that took place last September, almost one year ago.
I was shocked that I couldn’t watch my favorite program. And I worried Japanese politics was not in a great shape.
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