On the move

     

 My dear Victoria!

    Last days, enjoying a relaxing holiday with my family, I had chanced to look through our old photos. How I miss our old good days. It was time, when we did not have to apply for a visa; we did not even have a visa planing a trip overseas, only a valid passport. Unfortunately, the length of our trips, that we could afford, lasts the whole life and was called a migration.     

   The war was declared when I was 10 and my father, being in a tight corner, made a decision to flee from it. We found numerous refugees as we were, because people were not given an asylum. Prejudiced people from ethnic minority joined us and we left our native country, Italy. Refugees were flooding the USA. There were no airplanes, helicopters or yachts. We had to move by passenger trawler.

   

          Having arrived to New York, according to the stereotype, we felt culture shock and strong desire to go back. In addition, in Ellis Island, “eye man” investigated us. So, we were asked not to show any illnesses. Nevertheless, we did not feel animosity to inhabitants and tried to live in peace with them. We had strong faith in better future and were ready to stand all difficult circumstances. Moreover, needless to mention your donation and assisting in all branches of our new lives.  You helped us to find our apartment, helped with luggage. Your father has a work shop and having got accustomed to a new house, we helped him with his work. Do you remember? I can’t forget our lazing around old cobbled streets. New York was stunning and vibrant city and architecture was remarkably diverse. It had its unique charm. Sometimes, when we wanted to get away from it all, we climbed on the hill and observed this thriving city. And at the evenings washed clothes.
          As far as my brothers concerned, they went to school as well as yours. We often played games on the street or went to Nekelodeon (I adored Charley Chaplin).
         We had magnificent adolescence. Thank you for participating in my life at that difficult for me time.Yours faithfully,Rosalia

His story Her story

The war of Titans 

How to whisper a confession to your closest people under the sound of bullets above your head? Are you acquainted with life during wartime? Likely, I am not. You are trembling while thinking about it. Now we are at the edge of war. For some people, it has already started, being not yet declared, threatening world peace. The entire world try to launch a peace campaign and gives a plea for peace to avert war. The peace talks are led by outstanding nations because all they had an experience of being in war and realize all horror of it.

Let’s turn several pages of our history and revise, how the deadliest conflict in our history broke out, who took part in the most decisive battles and how desire of world domination of one person can turn into all-out war.

76 years past when Germany invaded Poland, not paying attention to a peace treaty, previously signed by Hitler and Stalin. Germany was preparing for this war and the fundamental desire was to enslave the whole Europe. The had a lot of tanks, helicopters, missiles and other stuff to commit this crime against humanity. Having coped with Poland in a few days, they were on the Soviet Union’s territory. Many boys, being prisoners of circumstances, were mobilized and had to go to war. Our army was not so well equipped and soldiers had to be within firing range of the enemy. Just imagine, by September 3, France and Britain were involved in war with Hitler and in a week, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Australia joined a war. It was six bloody years in our history.  From Normandy to Stalingrad, from icy Norway to the boiling deserts of Libya. On sea, on land and in the air, Italians fought Americans, Japanese fought Australians and Poles struggled Germans.  

The entire world turned into utter chaos. Thanks wise country’s army, navy and air force and devoted residents,  that served the army giving them all funding and assisting in all branches, all operations were successful.

A great wish and pure thoughts sometimes are stronger than powerful weapon.   

News travel fast

Hello my dear readers. The latest news came in and I’d like to run a story about my visit to a wonderful place, to a candle of Ukrainian civilization, to Ostroh academy.

However, before I had started, let me tell you some pre – story. My husband and I had a lovely holiday at the west coast of France when the story broke. One day I decided to flick through the newspaper and saw that we have become an item of news. Frankly, I hate it. The scandal was the front-page headline in all the newspapers “A ROYAL KISS AND TELL. FAIRYTALE WEDDING AND A MESSY DIVORCE”. I was shocked, I’ve never thought about dumping William. Incidentally, dear journalists, thanks for such meteoric rise of our prominence. Thanks God, such scandal rumours  did not reach tabloids in Ostroh and become in the public eye.

So let’s move to my visit to Ostroh academy. It is needless to say, I’ve mat a wonderful people in a wonderful place. How can I be so sure? They didn’t met me like a celebrity. They didn’t told the history of their university up, as others usually do, embellishing the facts. I hate people who are economical with the truth, because It’s so difficult to sustain a phoney knowing the truth. It looks like a cheap foul play. In Ostroh, there were no uneasy questions that usually lead you into a tight corner. Thank you, guys , for comfortable cooperation. I’ve missed some interesting things that happened to me here. Because as I was told, “WHAT HAPPENS IN OSTROH, STAYES IN OSTROH”
J read my blog. Next city will be Lviv. We’ll meet there)

                                       

Education

Education or How to turn mirrors into windows

     Having given a birth, new created family started dreaming about giving the best things for their baby.  One from such things is giving good education. They try to invest all savings in your school period and continue paying for your education in universities.  And what is the sake? They hope, that being straight A student graduated from university you will definitely reach the stars. Do You agree with this common opinion?

I watched two suggested videos and bumped into interesting thoughts about education. Sugata Mitra tells that schools used to produce people that would be a part of burocratik machine. They took young eager for knowledge people and made them identical to each other.

    Another his thought was that we mustn’t divide people with unusual intelligence and remarkable mental agility from another. All are unique and being bookworm or eager beaver, learning many materials by hurt and burning the midnight oil allow, people with different natural talents can sit their exams with flying colors and add themselves to Honor roll . The real problem to excel in studying is bed methods of teaching. We never hit the books or even crack a book when we hate our teacher or lesson at all. It leads to skipping the lessons or worse, dropping out of a course. For such pupils studying is only goofing off. The background of such abhorrence is punishment. Sugata Mitra agrees with neuroscientists, which proves that when we are threatened, the central part in our brains is blocked. How can we study? Of course, we fall behind with studying.

    The author of second video, Ken Robinson, suggests another solution. He tells that real education have to pay equal attention to Art, Humanities, and Physical education.

You can make your own consequences, but when we don’t change methods of education in our country, I’d want you to remember such as easy as ABS things:

• -         Don’t make your child be a copycat of his successful classmate
• -          Some things come with practice
• -         Life lesson always gives a crash course to catch up with sth  you’ve missed at school
• -         Good marks don’t show that knowledge covers a lot of ground

    Remember, that the best education is self – education. Change your mirrors into windows by your own! Keep studying ;)