Do lectures

Do lectures is an impressive site Russell Stannard informed about in his November newsletter.

This is what Do lectures say about their site:

The idea is a simple one— that people who Do things can inspire the rest of us to go and Do things, too. So each year Do lectures invite a group of people who have stood out in a field to talk about what they do. They can be small Do’s or big Do’s or just extraordinary Do’s. But when you listen to their stories, they light a fire in your belly to go and Do your thing, your passion, the thing that sits in the back of your head each day, just waiting, and waiting for you to follow your heart.

To go find your cause to fight, your company to start, your invention to invent, your book to write, your mountain to climb. The one thing the Doers of the world Do, apart from Do amazing things, is to inspire the rest of us to go and Do amazing things too. They are fire-starters.

NFB

The National Film Board of Canada is a website where you can watch films about arts, the world, biographies, history.

Many of the films are only available under subscription or registration, but there are also dozens of films open to everybody, some of which include a CC option.

Occupy Wall Street

This is a video on the Wall Street protests that I found on ESL Writing.

Rob White suggests some activities for us to do with the video, as you can try them if you wish:

1. Describe some of the daily life activities that you saw.

2. Make a list of the verbs that you see in action.
3. Why are people protesting on the street?
4. Summarize the story.

Anyway, the video gives us a fresh insight into what's going on in these protests and has a value of its own that you will appreciate just by watching it.


Right Here All Over (Occupy Wall St.) from Alex Mallis on Vimeo.

Experimental school

Read this The New York Times lengthy article by Clifford J. Levy, who is a deputy metro editor of the Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his coverage of Russia in 2011.

For four years three American siblings attended an experimental school in Moscow where instruction is only in Russian and classes are videotaped to improve teaching.

You can watch a video showing some of the highlights of the experience embedded in the newspaper article or by clicking here.