Monday, April 4, 2011

Two Ballots

Hello!

Today we kicked off our lunch and learn club. We had a lot to decide today!

First of all, we discussed the purpose of the space and time together. You all told me that we have two purposes: eat lunch and practice English. I asked you if you know which one is the higher priority. Yes, you're right! Nick has told me that first and foremost, the space is for you to have a comfortable place to eat lunch. Secondary to this is a chance to practice English. That said, many of you are very keen to get to the activities!

The first thing we had to discuss was how to handle eating and learning in the same hour. Many people have said that they can't participate in a speaking exercise while trying to chew their food. So I asked you all if you would like to divide the hour into two parts: a time for eating and a time for the activity. Many of you nodded in agreement. You like that idea a lot.

Wen was concerned that our time together is very brief. She doesn't want to lose 30 minutes of it to eating. Esterline suggested that we finish eating by 11: 40 or 11:45, but Mindy said that gobbling your food down in a hurry isn't good for you. I agree. Rushing through your meal is not healthful and not mindful.

Zhen and Wen said that perhaps we could have something playing in the background while we quietly eat and listen. Then at 12:00, after I have also finished my lunch, we can start an activity related to the audio or video.

So then we brainstormed some ideas for things you want to see or listen to.


The next item up for a vote was how committed we are to speaking only English over the lunch hour. I put three choices on the board:

100% English, 95% English, I don't care.

We talked about what each one of these choices means, then I passed out the magnets. Each person got one vote (magnet). While my back was turned, you put your magnets next to your choice. Here we can see the results. You should be able to see nine little round magnets of different colours (yellow, pink, white, blue).


It looks like "95% English" won by a landslide.

Finally we used our last 15 minutes to listen again to the Windsor Rap Song. Tomorrow we will start discussing it stanza by stanza. I have a print-out of the words, which I will give you either tomorrow or Wednesday.

I think our "Lunch and Learn" Club is off to a fun start. See you tomorrow!

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