Monday 27 June 2016
Friday 24 June 2016
Final Post
The 17 June 2016 marks the end of my A level and International Baccalaureate full time teaching at Richmond upon Thames College. And as a result this blog has come to an end.
The blog was set up primarily to help my OCR H071 - H471 AS / A2 English Literature students, my AQA 2720 AS / A2 English Language and English Literature students . These syllabuses ended in 2015 and 2016. It was also set up to help my IB A1 English Literature students.
There are about 700 posts on this blog.
I'm going to leave it online for a little while but I expect to take it offline by Christmas 2016.
I began the blog in 2011 as an experiment.
I think students have generally found it helpful.
I've just done a few calculations.
Although the blog is open to the public and there is evidence of people visiting from various parts of the world. The vast majority of visitors come from south west London in the UK.
The blog has been running for 5 years. An academic year is 36 weeks long. This adds up to 180 academic weeks. However I was absent from college for 30 weeks due to ill health over this period.
The blog has been online for that whole period of time and used by students as a learning resource; but live as a semi-interactive blog for 156 weeks. That is 1092 days.
At the time of this calculation there have been 58,566 page views.
And that works out to be 375 page views per week. Or 54 page views per day.
I've just posted all archived posts to the blog.
So the full extent of the blog is now live and online.
As I've recorded earlier. I'll leave the blog live and online probably until Christmas 2016 at the latest.
Finally here are a few comments students have made anonymously about this teaching blog.
100 visits to this blog since it was shut down 5 days ago
If you come by I hope you enjoy browsing the posts.
With love, David
The blog was set up primarily to help my OCR H071 - H471 AS / A2 English Literature students, my AQA 2720 AS / A2 English Language and English Literature students . These syllabuses ended in 2015 and 2016. It was also set up to help my IB A1 English Literature students.
There are about 700 posts on this blog.
I'm going to leave it online for a little while but I expect to take it offline by Christmas 2016.
I began the blog in 2011 as an experiment.
I think students have generally found it helpful.
I've just done a few calculations.
Although the blog is open to the public and there is evidence of people visiting from various parts of the world. The vast majority of visitors come from south west London in the UK.
The blog has been running for 5 years. An academic year is 36 weeks long. This adds up to 180 academic weeks. However I was absent from college for 30 weeks due to ill health over this period.
The blog has been online for that whole period of time and used by students as a learning resource; but live as a semi-interactive blog for 156 weeks. That is 1092 days.
At the time of this calculation there have been 58,566 page views.
And that works out to be 375 page views per week. Or 54 page views per day.
I've just posted all archived posts to the blog.
So the full extent of the blog is now live and online.
As I've recorded earlier. I'll leave the blog live and online probably until Christmas 2016 at the latest.
Finally here are a few comments students have made anonymously about this teaching blog.
"Take five minutes of your time TODAY! And see how it feels to get an A* grade. You won't forget it."
"Be inspired by English Language and Literature."
"This website will help you achieve the grade you want."
100 visits to this blog since it was shut down 5 days ago
If you come by I hope you enjoy browsing the posts.
With love, David
Monday 20 June 2016
A2 LL - Through the Pain Barrier - notes
Through the Pain Barrier
Andrea Dworkin
The Guardian April 2005
Page 304
1
• Osteoarthritis – starts before symptoms are made manifest, perhaps began during period of homelessness, sexual and physical abuse.Her partner John blames the book – took 9 years to write on Jewish identity and women’s liberation. Dworkin blames the rape in 1999 Paris
2
told she is going to die, treated well by nurses – allowed to spend time with partner in hospital bed
3
• There is no medical evidence to support her claim that the rape is a causal link to her present medical condition
4
• After being discharged from hospital her knees developed problems. Avoided NY subway and bought a cell phone to call cabs in emergency
5
• Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in the knees, treated with painkillers and steroids. Free from pain she chatted to a neighbour but in excruciating pain when she got up. Pain free for an hour
6
• Mobility decreased. Pain increased. Became limited to her home. Home was physically very badly designed for her. Crawled up stairs. Remained in bed. John brought her food. Only outing was to the doctors.
7
• Drug management very difficult. Doctors prescribe and pharmacist advises. Eventually knees needed replacing together. The process of amputation and fitting prosthesis was very difficult.
Page 305
8
• The amputations were barbaric – sawing through bone. Very painful. Morphine used to control pain.
9
• Experienced severe hallucinations fear of falling downstairs
10
• One day rather wet the bed than experience the pain of getting onto a bedpan
11
• Walking very painful. Tried to walk to chair but had to be dragged to a chair. Waited 2 hours – to recover from pain and then carried back to bed. Nurses try to be positive. They are patronising.
12
• You cannot die from pain. Suffering cannot be measured. It’s unbearable – and will be for the next 2 years.
13
• Moved to an institute. Required to take painkillers and attend classes. She could only manage a very few steps. She was in constant pain
14
• Classes are large. She’s relieved by the long wait between turns. Improvement is very slow. Eventually she can walk few steps and is given crutches.
15
• Rehabilitation is very slow. Occupational health. Mundane daily tasks, repetition. Life seems very limited and restricted for her.
16
• She also sees the psychologist every week for no apparent purpose. The pain relief medication helps her cope with the psychologist.
17
• Her cynicism continues to deepen about her stay in the rehabilitation unit. She learns to kick cats and uses her crutches to do this. She has learned to stay indoors if the weather is bad even if this means missing medical appointments despite this being considered sacrilegious and finally she’s earned never hold on to anything that moves
18
• On discharge she I provided with basic care and resources that include a young poorly trained nurse home help who can do basic medical care and help with bathroom, kitchen duties. She’s also provided with a physiotherapist. She too knows only the basic fitness routine.
19
• She attends a pain management centre. She seems contemptuous of the staff. She is given a detailed irrelevant questionnaire to answer that seems suitable for people with cancer and who have sex.
20
• They are reluctant to issue repeat prescriptions for such powerful drugs so she has to return every 30 days to undergo a series of humiliating and degrading procedures like undressing for examinations before being given a further prescription.
21
• once she has given tolerable drugs where she can ignore the pain she begin to write about her life as a way of recalling happy memories. However the side effects of the drugs limit her capacity to work for longer than an hour a day. They cause memory loss and slurred speech.
22
• One day the pain in one knee disappears and she goes out to get a coffee. She watches ordinary people walking the street. Each walker has a unique way of walking. She longs to be like them. Ordinary pedestrians appear to her to be artists. She remembers that she was once like them.
23
• As the years pass there is gradual improvement in managing the pain and walking. A walking can replaces crutches. This is seen as a victory. The pain eventually lessens in her left knee she is taken off the painkillers but suffers terrible withdrawal symptoms from methadone.
24
• They move to Washington as John has a new job there. But despite finding a place to live that is more suited to her needs she experiences a sudden decline in her right knee. Her medical condition is affecting other parts of her legs now. She needs both crutches to walk. She has to see a physiotherapist twice a week. She feels fragile and vulnerable. Falling over is dangerous and is a constant threat.
Page 308
25
• At a new rehabilitation unit an orthopaedic surgeon recommends a leg brace to restrict the movement of her knee.
26
• The knee brace takes months to make by specialists. It looks science-fiction. It is completely rigid. She hates it. It is very complicated and difficult to use. It takes months for her to work it properly. She loses her balance and once miraculously falls backwards into a chair.
27
• Ordinary jobs are really difficult for example clearing up the mess her cat has made. Her efforts to stay upright throughout the process are super human and she manages it somehow.
28
• The physical landscape is fraught with dangers and threaten her stability. Everyday ordinary things are hazards to her walking like a broken pavement, the wind and people walking too close.
29
• She really resents her disability. A simple task like carrying a cup of tea from kitchen to sitting room in one go is enormous. And many times she has failed. The cup has breaks. She has become very angry and utterly exhausted by the experience of being disabled.
Page 309
30
• Disability is humiliating sometimes she is treated as if she is a stupid child. Sometimes the physical obstacles are too overpowering, for example having to walk three flights of stairs for a party given in her honour. She did not go to the party. Using toilets in public bars and having to navigate slippery surfaces is a nightmare. A friend can barely hide the revulsion she feels at this woman’s life.
31
• Loneliness and alienation are significant features of life for disabled people. There needs to be a huge change in government policy and public awareness to help disabled people live fully integrated lives. There must be equal opportunity for people with disabilities. – She should have moved to London.
32
• There needs to be changes in the urban environment to include people with special needs. In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the environment must be made available to people with disabilities. Excluding the disabled is discrimination according to the act.
33
• Disability groups employed lawyers to sue companies for non-compliance of implementing measures to include and integrate the disabled. Apparently big business in the US hates to lose money so compliance became the cheaper option and many big businesses implemented new disability policies supporting inclusion and integration.
Page 310
34
• Now things have changed considerably for disabled people. Both public and private space has facilities that make it possible to navigate through the urban landscape easily for disabled people. For example wheelchairs and grab rails are provided. Disabled people don’t have to be invisible of feel ashamed in public.
35
• The work of aggressive lawyers working on behalf of the disabled has made this all work. They are hated by the Republicans and George W Bush.
36
• Despite all the difficulties she experiences there are moments listening to Yo-Yo Mar playing Bach or Loretta Lynn’s Von Lear Rose she knows she is healing. Music can transcend suffering.
Andrea Dworkin
The Guardian April 2005
Page 304
1
• Osteoarthritis – starts before symptoms are made manifest, perhaps began during period of homelessness, sexual and physical abuse.Her partner John blames the book – took 9 years to write on Jewish identity and women’s liberation. Dworkin blames the rape in 1999 Paris
2
- After fathers death, she is admitted to hospital with infections, blood clots
told she is going to die, treated well by nurses – allowed to spend time with partner in hospital bed
3
• There is no medical evidence to support her claim that the rape is a causal link to her present medical condition
4
• After being discharged from hospital her knees developed problems. Avoided NY subway and bought a cell phone to call cabs in emergency
5
• Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in the knees, treated with painkillers and steroids. Free from pain she chatted to a neighbour but in excruciating pain when she got up. Pain free for an hour
6
• Mobility decreased. Pain increased. Became limited to her home. Home was physically very badly designed for her. Crawled up stairs. Remained in bed. John brought her food. Only outing was to the doctors.
7
• Drug management very difficult. Doctors prescribe and pharmacist advises. Eventually knees needed replacing together. The process of amputation and fitting prosthesis was very difficult.
Page 305
8
• The amputations were barbaric – sawing through bone. Very painful. Morphine used to control pain.
9
• Experienced severe hallucinations fear of falling downstairs
10
• One day rather wet the bed than experience the pain of getting onto a bedpan
11
• Walking very painful. Tried to walk to chair but had to be dragged to a chair. Waited 2 hours – to recover from pain and then carried back to bed. Nurses try to be positive. They are patronising.
12
• You cannot die from pain. Suffering cannot be measured. It’s unbearable – and will be for the next 2 years.
13
• Moved to an institute. Required to take painkillers and attend classes. She could only manage a very few steps. She was in constant pain
14
• Classes are large. She’s relieved by the long wait between turns. Improvement is very slow. Eventually she can walk few steps and is given crutches.
15
• Rehabilitation is very slow. Occupational health. Mundane daily tasks, repetition. Life seems very limited and restricted for her.
16
• She also sees the psychologist every week for no apparent purpose. The pain relief medication helps her cope with the psychologist.
17
• Her cynicism continues to deepen about her stay in the rehabilitation unit. She learns to kick cats and uses her crutches to do this. She has learned to stay indoors if the weather is bad even if this means missing medical appointments despite this being considered sacrilegious and finally she’s earned never hold on to anything that moves
18
• On discharge she I provided with basic care and resources that include a young poorly trained nurse home help who can do basic medical care and help with bathroom, kitchen duties. She’s also provided with a physiotherapist. She too knows only the basic fitness routine.
19
• She attends a pain management centre. She seems contemptuous of the staff. She is given a detailed irrelevant questionnaire to answer that seems suitable for people with cancer and who have sex.
20
• They are reluctant to issue repeat prescriptions for such powerful drugs so she has to return every 30 days to undergo a series of humiliating and degrading procedures like undressing for examinations before being given a further prescription.
21
• once she has given tolerable drugs where she can ignore the pain she begin to write about her life as a way of recalling happy memories. However the side effects of the drugs limit her capacity to work for longer than an hour a day. They cause memory loss and slurred speech.
22
• One day the pain in one knee disappears and she goes out to get a coffee. She watches ordinary people walking the street. Each walker has a unique way of walking. She longs to be like them. Ordinary pedestrians appear to her to be artists. She remembers that she was once like them.
23
• As the years pass there is gradual improvement in managing the pain and walking. A walking can replaces crutches. This is seen as a victory. The pain eventually lessens in her left knee she is taken off the painkillers but suffers terrible withdrawal symptoms from methadone.
24
• They move to Washington as John has a new job there. But despite finding a place to live that is more suited to her needs she experiences a sudden decline in her right knee. Her medical condition is affecting other parts of her legs now. She needs both crutches to walk. She has to see a physiotherapist twice a week. She feels fragile and vulnerable. Falling over is dangerous and is a constant threat.
Page 308
25
• At a new rehabilitation unit an orthopaedic surgeon recommends a leg brace to restrict the movement of her knee.
26
• The knee brace takes months to make by specialists. It looks science-fiction. It is completely rigid. She hates it. It is very complicated and difficult to use. It takes months for her to work it properly. She loses her balance and once miraculously falls backwards into a chair.
27
• Ordinary jobs are really difficult for example clearing up the mess her cat has made. Her efforts to stay upright throughout the process are super human and she manages it somehow.
28
• The physical landscape is fraught with dangers and threaten her stability. Everyday ordinary things are hazards to her walking like a broken pavement, the wind and people walking too close.
29
• She really resents her disability. A simple task like carrying a cup of tea from kitchen to sitting room in one go is enormous. And many times she has failed. The cup has breaks. She has become very angry and utterly exhausted by the experience of being disabled.
Page 309
30
• Disability is humiliating sometimes she is treated as if she is a stupid child. Sometimes the physical obstacles are too overpowering, for example having to walk three flights of stairs for a party given in her honour. She did not go to the party. Using toilets in public bars and having to navigate slippery surfaces is a nightmare. A friend can barely hide the revulsion she feels at this woman’s life.
31
• Loneliness and alienation are significant features of life for disabled people. There needs to be a huge change in government policy and public awareness to help disabled people live fully integrated lives. There must be equal opportunity for people with disabilities. – She should have moved to London.
32
• There needs to be changes in the urban environment to include people with special needs. In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the environment must be made available to people with disabilities. Excluding the disabled is discrimination according to the act.
33
• Disability groups employed lawyers to sue companies for non-compliance of implementing measures to include and integrate the disabled. Apparently big business in the US hates to lose money so compliance became the cheaper option and many big businesses implemented new disability policies supporting inclusion and integration.
Page 310
34
• Now things have changed considerably for disabled people. Both public and private space has facilities that make it possible to navigate through the urban landscape easily for disabled people. For example wheelchairs and grab rails are provided. Disabled people don’t have to be invisible of feel ashamed in public.
35
• The work of aggressive lawyers working on behalf of the disabled has made this all work. They are hated by the Republicans and George W Bush.
36
• Despite all the difficulties she experiences there are moments listening to Yo-Yo Mar playing Bach or Loretta Lynn’s Von Lear Rose she knows she is healing. Music can transcend suffering.
A2 LL - Through the Pain Barrier - notes
Through the Pain Barrier
Andrea Dworkin
The Guardian April 2005
Page 304
1
• Osteoarthritis – starts before symptoms are made manifest, perhaps began during period of homelessness, sexual and physical abuse.Her partner John blames the book – took 9 years to write on Jewish identity and women’s liberation. Dworkin blames the rape in 1999 Paris
2
told she is going to die, treated well by nurses – allowed to spend time with partner in hospital bed
3
• There is no medical evidence to support her claim that the rape is a causal link to her present medical condition
4
• After being discharged from hospital her knees developed problems. Avoided NY subway and bought a cell phone to call cabs in emergency
5
• Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in the knees, treated with painkillers and steroids. Free from pain she chatted to a neighbour but in excruciating pain when she got up. Pain free for an hour
6
• Mobility decreased. Pain increased. Became limited to her home. Home was physically very badly designed for her. Crawled up stairs. Remained in bed. John brought her food. Only outing was to the doctors.
7
• Drug management very difficult. Doctors prescribe and pharmacist advises. Eventually knees needed replacing together. The process of amputation and fitting prosthesis was very difficult.
Page 305
8
• The amputations were barbaric – sawing through bone. Very painful. Morphine used to control pain.
9
• Experienced severe hallucinations fear of falling downstairs
10
• One day rather wet the bed than experience the pain of getting onto a bedpan
11
• Walking very painful. Tried to walk to chair but had to be dragged to a chair. Waited 2 hours – to recover from pain and then carried back to bed. Nurses try to be positive. They are patronising.
12
• You cannot die from pain. Suffering cannot be measured. It’s unbearable – and will be for the next 2 years.
13
• Moved to an institute. Required to take painkillers and attend classes. She could only manage a very few steps. She was in constant pain
14
• Classes are large. She’s relieved by the long wait between turns. Improvement is very slow. Eventually she can walk few steps and is given crutches.
15
• Rehabilitation is very slow. Occupational health. Mundane daily tasks, repetition. Life seems very limited and restricted for her.
16
• She also sees the psychologist every week for no apparent purpose. The pain relief medication helps her cope with the psychologist.
17
• Her cynicism continues to deepen about her stay in the rehabilitation unit. She learns to kick cats and uses her crutches to do this. She has learned to stay indoors if the weather is bad even if this means missing medical appointments despite this being considered sacrilegious and finally she’s earned never hold on to anything that moves
18
• On discharge she I provided with basic care and resources that include a young poorly trained nurse home help who can do basic medical care and help with bathroom, kitchen duties. She’s also provided with a physiotherapist. She too knows only the basic fitness routine.
19
• She attends a pain management centre. She seems contemptuous of the staff. She is given a detailed irrelevant questionnaire to answer that seems suitable for people with cancer and who have sex.
20
• They are reluctant to issue repeat prescriptions for such powerful drugs so she has to return every 30 days to undergo a series of humiliating and degrading procedures like undressing for examinations before being given a further prescription.
21
• once she has given tolerable drugs where she can ignore the pain she begin to write about her life as a way of recalling happy memories. However the side effects of the drugs limit her capacity to work for longer than an hour a day. They cause memory loss and slurred speech.
22
• One day the pain in one knee disappears and she goes out to get a coffee. She watches ordinary people walking the street. Each walker has a unique way of walking. She longs to be like them. Ordinary pedestrians appear to her to be artists. She remembers that she was once like them.
23
• As the years pass there is gradual improvement in managing the pain and walking. A walking can replaces crutches. This is seen as a victory. The pain eventually lessens in her left knee she is taken off the painkillers but suffers terrible withdrawal symptoms from methadone.
24
• They move to Washington as John has a new job there. But despite finding a place to live that is more suited to her needs she experiences a sudden decline in her right knee. Her medical condition is affecting other parts of her legs now. She needs both crutches to walk. She has to see a physiotherapist twice a week. She feels fragile and vulnerable. Falling over is dangerous and is a constant threat.
Page 308
25
• At a new rehabilitation unit an orthopaedic surgeon recommends a leg brace to restrict the movement of her knee.
26
• The knee brace takes months to make by specialists. It looks science-fiction. It is completely rigid. She hates it. It is very complicated and difficult to use. It takes months for her to work it properly. She loses her balance and once miraculously falls backwards into a chair.
27
• Ordinary jobs are really difficult for example clearing up the mess her cat has made. Her efforts to stay upright throughout the process are super human and she manages it somehow.
28
• The physical landscape is fraught with dangers and threaten her stability. Everyday ordinary things are hazards to her walking like a broken pavement, the wind and people walking too close.
29
• She really resents her disability. A simple task like carrying a cup of tea from kitchen to sitting room in one go is enormous. And many times she has failed. The cup has breaks. She has become very angry and utterly exhausted by the experience of being disabled.
Page 309
30
• Disability is humiliating sometimes she is treated as if she is a stupid child. Sometimes the physical obstacles are too overpowering, for example having to walk three flights of stairs for a party given in her honour. She did not go to the party. Using toilets in public bars and having to navigate slippery surfaces is a nightmare. A friend can barely hide the revulsion she feels at this woman’s life.
31
• Loneliness and alienation are significant features of life for disabled people. There needs to be a huge change in government policy and public awareness to help disabled people live fully integrated lives. There must be equal opportunity for people with disabilities. – She should have moved to London.
32
• There needs to be changes in the urban environment to include people with special needs. In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the environment must be made available to people with disabilities. Excluding the disabled is discrimination according to the act.
33
• Disability groups employed lawyers to sue companies for non-compliance of implementing measures to include and integrate the disabled. Apparently big business in the US hates to lose money so compliance became the cheaper option and many big businesses implemented new disability policies supporting inclusion and integration.
Page 310
34
• Now things have changed considerably for disabled people. Both public and private space has facilities that make it possible to navigate through the urban landscape easily for disabled people. For example wheelchairs and grab rails are provided. Disabled people don’t have to be invisible of feel ashamed in public.
35
• The work of aggressive lawyers working on behalf of the disabled has made this all work. They are hated by the Republicans and George W Bush.
36
• Despite all the difficulties she experiences there are moments listening to Yo-Yo Mar playing Bach or Loretta Lynn’s Von Lear Rose she knows she is healing. Music can transcend suffering.
Andrea Dworkin
The Guardian April 2005
Page 304
1
• Osteoarthritis – starts before symptoms are made manifest, perhaps began during period of homelessness, sexual and physical abuse.Her partner John blames the book – took 9 years to write on Jewish identity and women’s liberation. Dworkin blames the rape in 1999 Paris
2
- After fathers death, she is admitted to hospital with infections, blood clots
told she is going to die, treated well by nurses – allowed to spend time with partner in hospital bed
3
• There is no medical evidence to support her claim that the rape is a causal link to her present medical condition
4
• After being discharged from hospital her knees developed problems. Avoided NY subway and bought a cell phone to call cabs in emergency
5
• Diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in the knees, treated with painkillers and steroids. Free from pain she chatted to a neighbour but in excruciating pain when she got up. Pain free for an hour
6
• Mobility decreased. Pain increased. Became limited to her home. Home was physically very badly designed for her. Crawled up stairs. Remained in bed. John brought her food. Only outing was to the doctors.
7
• Drug management very difficult. Doctors prescribe and pharmacist advises. Eventually knees needed replacing together. The process of amputation and fitting prosthesis was very difficult.
Page 305
8
• The amputations were barbaric – sawing through bone. Very painful. Morphine used to control pain.
9
• Experienced severe hallucinations fear of falling downstairs
10
• One day rather wet the bed than experience the pain of getting onto a bedpan
11
• Walking very painful. Tried to walk to chair but had to be dragged to a chair. Waited 2 hours – to recover from pain and then carried back to bed. Nurses try to be positive. They are patronising.
12
• You cannot die from pain. Suffering cannot be measured. It’s unbearable – and will be for the next 2 years.
13
• Moved to an institute. Required to take painkillers and attend classes. She could only manage a very few steps. She was in constant pain
14
• Classes are large. She’s relieved by the long wait between turns. Improvement is very slow. Eventually she can walk few steps and is given crutches.
15
• Rehabilitation is very slow. Occupational health. Mundane daily tasks, repetition. Life seems very limited and restricted for her.
16
• She also sees the psychologist every week for no apparent purpose. The pain relief medication helps her cope with the psychologist.
17
• Her cynicism continues to deepen about her stay in the rehabilitation unit. She learns to kick cats and uses her crutches to do this. She has learned to stay indoors if the weather is bad even if this means missing medical appointments despite this being considered sacrilegious and finally she’s earned never hold on to anything that moves
18
• On discharge she I provided with basic care and resources that include a young poorly trained nurse home help who can do basic medical care and help with bathroom, kitchen duties. She’s also provided with a physiotherapist. She too knows only the basic fitness routine.
19
• She attends a pain management centre. She seems contemptuous of the staff. She is given a detailed irrelevant questionnaire to answer that seems suitable for people with cancer and who have sex.
20
• They are reluctant to issue repeat prescriptions for such powerful drugs so she has to return every 30 days to undergo a series of humiliating and degrading procedures like undressing for examinations before being given a further prescription.
21
• once she has given tolerable drugs where she can ignore the pain she begin to write about her life as a way of recalling happy memories. However the side effects of the drugs limit her capacity to work for longer than an hour a day. They cause memory loss and slurred speech.
22
• One day the pain in one knee disappears and she goes out to get a coffee. She watches ordinary people walking the street. Each walker has a unique way of walking. She longs to be like them. Ordinary pedestrians appear to her to be artists. She remembers that she was once like them.
23
• As the years pass there is gradual improvement in managing the pain and walking. A walking can replaces crutches. This is seen as a victory. The pain eventually lessens in her left knee she is taken off the painkillers but suffers terrible withdrawal symptoms from methadone.
24
• They move to Washington as John has a new job there. But despite finding a place to live that is more suited to her needs she experiences a sudden decline in her right knee. Her medical condition is affecting other parts of her legs now. She needs both crutches to walk. She has to see a physiotherapist twice a week. She feels fragile and vulnerable. Falling over is dangerous and is a constant threat.
Page 308
25
• At a new rehabilitation unit an orthopaedic surgeon recommends a leg brace to restrict the movement of her knee.
26
• The knee brace takes months to make by specialists. It looks science-fiction. It is completely rigid. She hates it. It is very complicated and difficult to use. It takes months for her to work it properly. She loses her balance and once miraculously falls backwards into a chair.
27
• Ordinary jobs are really difficult for example clearing up the mess her cat has made. Her efforts to stay upright throughout the process are super human and she manages it somehow.
28
• The physical landscape is fraught with dangers and threaten her stability. Everyday ordinary things are hazards to her walking like a broken pavement, the wind and people walking too close.
29
• She really resents her disability. A simple task like carrying a cup of tea from kitchen to sitting room in one go is enormous. And many times she has failed. The cup has breaks. She has become very angry and utterly exhausted by the experience of being disabled.
Page 309
30
• Disability is humiliating sometimes she is treated as if she is a stupid child. Sometimes the physical obstacles are too overpowering, for example having to walk three flights of stairs for a party given in her honour. She did not go to the party. Using toilets in public bars and having to navigate slippery surfaces is a nightmare. A friend can barely hide the revulsion she feels at this woman’s life.
31
• Loneliness and alienation are significant features of life for disabled people. There needs to be a huge change in government policy and public awareness to help disabled people live fully integrated lives. There must be equal opportunity for people with disabilities. – She should have moved to London.
32
• There needs to be changes in the urban environment to include people with special needs. In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act states that the environment must be made available to people with disabilities. Excluding the disabled is discrimination according to the act.
33
• Disability groups employed lawyers to sue companies for non-compliance of implementing measures to include and integrate the disabled. Apparently big business in the US hates to lose money so compliance became the cheaper option and many big businesses implemented new disability policies supporting inclusion and integration.
Page 310
34
• Now things have changed considerably for disabled people. Both public and private space has facilities that make it possible to navigate through the urban landscape easily for disabled people. For example wheelchairs and grab rails are provided. Disabled people don’t have to be invisible of feel ashamed in public.
35
• The work of aggressive lawyers working on behalf of the disabled has made this all work. They are hated by the Republicans and George W Bush.
36
• Despite all the difficulties she experiences there are moments listening to Yo-Yo Mar playing Bach or Loretta Lynn’s Von Lear Rose she knows she is healing. Music can transcend suffering.
A2 LL - NOTES ON You Know I'm Not Everybody's Cup of Tea
You Know I'm Not Everybody's Cup of Tea
Lynn Barber
Observer July 2001
Page 348
Page 349
Page 350
Page 351
Page 352
Page 353
Page 354
Two sections
page 348 - 349 - pre-interview
page 349 -354 - the interview
MF is annoying but Barber actually likes her
MF acts as if she is a princess - she's very demanding, wants everyone to do things for her,
she is very undisciplined, always late, chaotic,
she can be charming when she chooses to be
she's doing the interview to promote the film Intimacy by Patrice Chereau
But Barber and her Observer audience are much more interested in her past rock n roll life style
She has one son Nicholas - she has grandchildren
although had the potential to be a good actress MF chose a career in music - music is her life
born in 1946
she's lived the life of a pop celebrity at 17 in 1963, at 18 in 1964 a mother, at 19 in 1965 girlfriend to Mick Jagger at 24 in 1970 split up with Mick Jagger by 30 in 1976 a junkie
Lynn Barber
Observer July 2001
Page 348
- Lynn Barber is not impressed with Marianne Faithfully.
- First met MF sitting alone and reading a newspaper at 192 restaurant. She seemed sad and alone.
- When she was joined by a man she handed him a section and carried on reading.
- She was so cool and put everyone else in the restaurant in the shadows.
- When Barber heard she was in London to publicize her new film Intimacy she rushed to interview her.
- The plan was to pick her up from David Bailey's studio. He's an old friend. At 4.00. Do the interview. MF flight back to Dublin at 6.00
- Where could Barber take her for 2 hours.
- But MF was late to the studio. Barber arrived at 5
- The atmosphere is tense.
- Studio crowded with stylists, make up people etc
- Barber told to come back later.
- Barber meets MF manager. He's French. Promises dinner later.
- Barber has to cancel her own plans.
- When B returns MF still not ready. B complains that without an interview the photos are useless
- They are taking sex kittens photos of MF despite her being 55. Really inappropriate
- B finds the whole thing tortuous
- Suddenly session finishes. At 6.45 limo MF, manager and B to a restaurant only 50 yards away. MF can't possibly walk.
- Small family run restaurant.
- B makes mistakes but MF and B sit alone at a table with manager and PR overlooking
Page 349
- MF expects manager to do all the ordering. MF is very annoying
- MF impatient
- B fed up not even started the interview
- Suddenly MF becomes charming
Interview begins here
- B compliments MF's autobiography pop star at 17, mother at 18, girlfriend to Mick Jagger 19, heroine addict by 30
- But MF only wants to talk about the film
- MF asked the director if she could be in his next film
- He wrote a small - unglamorous part - part for her in his next film
- But she would do anything to be in his films. She loves him and his work.
- B thinks MF does well in the film
- B thinks MF had potential to have a career in acting but MF says that music was her top priority.
- films she did are rubbish
- B thinks she threw away the chance to be an actress by behaving so badly
- B thinks she really wanted to be a junkie - more than acting, music, marriage to MJ - who was very indulgent to her
- MJ said her pills were his. He was convicted
- Split with MJ in 1970, she became a junkie, lived in squats, got onto NHS rehab programme thanks to friends
- MF does not know how she survived the 1970's. No money, no job, did not sign on the dole - she is a snob
- B asks her why she took drugs, doesn't really know, loved forgetting about real life
- Spent much of the 1980's in various rehab clinics in the UK and US
- Moved to a remote Irish cottage alone, isolated for 9 years.
- MF sees this as healthy
- MF admits she's not liked by many
- B tries to give advice but MF doesn't want it. Gets rescued by PR they want to talk about the film
Page 352
- They get back on track MF talks about the film
- They discuss the sex scenes in the film including an orgy - she's not in them
- MF admits she found sex difficult in the 1960's, image, fantasy, illusion
- MF has a lover now. She is in love. Sex is not a problem
- In Dublin now she looks after herself
- She keeps fit, sees friends, watches TV, goes to bed early, avoids London because of the paparazzi,
- Misses her son and grandchildren
Page 353
- On good terms with him now
- She describes having Nicholas as fate or spiritual
- She admits her manager is her lover.
- He comes over to the table drunk. He gets angry, insults B and the Observer, demands the Observer will pay the bill
- B pays the bill, fantasizes revenge but leaves
- B like MF but finds her difficult
- B wonders who does MF thinks MF is?
Page 354
- will MF be remembered as MJ's girlfriend, a small part actress with a couple of good films, an artist yet to be at her best
Two sections
page 348 - 349 - pre-interview
page 349 -354 - the interview
MF is annoying but Barber actually likes her
MF acts as if she is a princess - she's very demanding, wants everyone to do things for her,
she is very undisciplined, always late, chaotic,
she can be charming when she chooses to be
she's doing the interview to promote the film Intimacy by Patrice Chereau
But Barber and her Observer audience are much more interested in her past rock n roll life style
She has one son Nicholas - she has grandchildren
although had the potential to be a good actress MF chose a career in music - music is her life
born in 1946
she's lived the life of a pop celebrity at 17 in 1963, at 18 in 1964 a mother, at 19 in 1965 girlfriend to Mick Jagger at 24 in 1970 split up with Mick Jagger by 30 in 1976 a junkie
SELECTED NOTES ON PUTTING HER BEST FACE ON A MURKY BUSINESS
Putting her Best Face on a Murky Business - Notes
Eleanor Mills
Interview
Sunday Times October 1999
Eleanor Mills
Interview
Sunday Times October 1999
- Benazir Bhutto seemed like an ideal PM for Pakistan
- First woman PM of Muslim country - she gave birth while in office
- She is part of a dynasty of political leaders
- She was PM twice
- She represented an optimistic future for Pakistan
- Bhutto has been accused of stealing 1 billion pounds
- and faces imprisonment, ban from holding public office and large fines
- She now rents a flat in Kensington
- She denies the accusations of corruption
- Bhutto was educated at Oxford
- She was the head of the Oxford Union
- Has a strong sense of duty and public service
- She is a high profile international woman
- She is friends with famous political and public figures
- She lives an unstable public life
- compared to the friends she has in England who are stable, successful and conventional
- She has lived a life of extremes
- Many of her family - brothers, her father have been assassinated
- this has been traumatic and terrible for her
- Very little opportunity to live a normal life
- She claims the charges against her are politically motivated
- However the source of her extraordinary wealth is unexplained and very suspicious
- While in office there were suspicions around her husbands wealth and power
- Corruption in Pakistani politics is embedded - difficult to consider her innocent
- She claims her wealth is legitimate
- She claims to be forced by pressure from her party and duty to continue to be active in politics
- Bhutto enjoys spending time with her daughters
- She says she is politics to serve
- Being a mother and domestic concerns now dominate her life
- Her friend the king of Spain has not come to her aid
- Thatcher has been a support to Bhutto
A2 LL - CUPCAKES - NOTES FOR FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL BY ANN LESLIE
1. Incredible, fantastic, unbelievable Lots of people couldn’t believe that this
freedom, liberation was really happening
2. A lot of people,!! Grand masses, overwhelming
crowds, hordes, felt like a festival.
3. Sudden freedom of movement between East and West
Berlin – bird set free from a cage
4. People were climbing on the wall and dancing
5. The wall, towers and the barbed wire were no longer
objects of terror
6. But the violent parts of their jobs no longer
exists - relief, thankful
7. The border guards let thousands of people through
without checking them
8. Border guards were worried about the workload – comparative pair – small work load
increase to overwhelming
9. People didn’t worry about the Stasi
10. Divided families were able to be reunited
11. The fall of the wall came about due to the work of
the presidents of the USSR and the US
12. Hopeful about the future
I don’t have the words yet Klaus to tell you that I
probably won’t have to arrest or shoot anybody for crossing this border
anymore.
· Emotive language
· Hedging
· Direct address – personal pronoun and proper name
· Semantic field – violence
· Declarative
· Ellipsis – don’t
Sunday 19 June 2016
Final Post
The 17 June 2016 marks the end of my A level and International Baccalaureate full time teaching at Richmond upon Thames College. And as a result this blog has come to an end.
I'm going to leave it online for a little while but I expect to take it offline by Christmas 2016.
I began the blog in 2011 as an experiment.
I think students have generally found it helpful.
I've just done a few calculations.
Although the blog is open to the public and there is evidence of people visiting from various parts of the world. The vast majority of visitors come from south west London in the UK.
The blog has been running for 5 years. An academic year is 36 weeks long. This adds up to 180 academic weeks. However I was absent from college for 30 weeks due to ill health over this period.
The blog has been online for that whole period of time and used by students as a learning resource; but live as a semi-interactive blog for 156 weeks. That is 1092 days.
At the time of this calculation there have been 58,566 page views.
And that works out to be 375 page views per week. Or 54 page views per day.
I'm going to leave it online for a little while but I expect to take it offline by Christmas 2016.
I began the blog in 2011 as an experiment.
I think students have generally found it helpful.
I've just done a few calculations.
Although the blog is open to the public and there is evidence of people visiting from various parts of the world. The vast majority of visitors come from south west London in the UK.
The blog has been running for 5 years. An academic year is 36 weeks long. This adds up to 180 academic weeks. However I was absent from college for 30 weeks due to ill health over this period.
The blog has been online for that whole period of time and used by students as a learning resource; but live as a semi-interactive blog for 156 weeks. That is 1092 days.
At the time of this calculation there have been 58,566 page views.
And that works out to be 375 page views per week. Or 54 page views per day.
Thursday 16 June 2016
A2 LL - CUPCAKES QUESTION ON THE IRON BUTTERFLY BY CATHERINE SCOTT
Question 2
Read the source material which is taken from The Iron Butterfly: Helen Gurley Brown, by Catherine Stott. Read [from "When she began..." on page 325 to "...in a very quiet and deadly way" on page 326.] and answer both questions:
It was first published in the [Guardian in April 1968]
You [have been asked to script a radio documentary about the editor - Helen Gurley Brown - of Cosmopolitan - - the woman's magazine.
Produce the script for a section introducing Helen Gurley Brown and her editorship.
You should adapt the source material, using your own words. Your [scripted radio documentary] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.
In your adaptation you should:
• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience
• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.
(25 marks)
AND
Question 3
Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your[scripted radio documentary] commenting on the following:
• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose
• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.
You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.
(15 marks)
Read the source material which is taken from The Iron Butterfly: Helen Gurley Brown, by Catherine Stott. Read [from "When she began..." on page 325 to "...in a very quiet and deadly way" on page 326.] and answer both questions:
It was first published in the [Guardian in April 1968]
You [have been asked to script a radio documentary about the editor - Helen Gurley Brown - of Cosmopolitan - - the woman's magazine.
Produce the script for a section introducing Helen Gurley Brown and her editorship.
You should adapt the source material, using your own words. Your [scripted radio documentary] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.
In your adaptation you should:
• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience
• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.
(25 marks)
AND
Question 3
Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your[scripted radio documentary] commenting on the following:
• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose
• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.
You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.
(15 marks)
Thursday 9 June 2016
A2 CC - THE MAIN POINTS FROM MOUNTAIN SIDES OF HELL
Below are the main points you could have used from the extract from the source text Mountainsides of Hell by Julie Flint.
The extract begins, 'Despite the cold and hunger...' and ends, ' 'Baaaa,' said a Turkish soldier, prodding him with a stick.'
The extract begins, 'Despite the cold and hunger...' and ends, ' 'Baaaa,' said a Turkish soldier, prodding him with a stick.'
- The refuges experience cold and hunger but their biggest problem is clean water.
- The refuges are exhausted
- Snow is melting and snow is dirty and polluted
- Water is suitable for washing feet and clothes. But not suitable for cooking or drinking.
- People are so desperate they try and cook without water
- It is like people have gone back in time to a more barbaric and savage age
- Local aid is not getting through to the refugees
- Non essential aid is rejected in the desperate panic for food
- Aid is not properly targeted at the actual needs of the refugees and is therefore inappropriate. This adds to the problems of the refugees and aid workers trying to help
- The Turkish soldiers are more interested in securing the refugees on the mountain - stopping them from leaving the mountain - rather than helping and looking after the refugees
- The relations between the soldiers and refugees is very problematic
- The refuges feel they have moved from one prison to another
- No one is allowed off the mountainside
- The soldiers offer no support to the refugees
- Instead they are beaten
- The refugees claim that the soldiers are open to being bribed
- There are reports that refugees have been killed
- The refugees are highly educated, sophisticated, middle class
- There is no common language between refugees and soldiers
- Abandoned child
A2 LL - FEEDBACK ON MOUNTAINSIDES OF HELL
Below is a number of feedback points from answers to the following question:
Question 2
Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:
Text A is from an article entitled [Mountainside of Hell] by [Julie Flint]
It was first published in the [The Observer]
Read from 'Despite the cold and the hunger...' on page 40 to the end of the article on page 41.
You are [are working for an aid agency and have been asked to write a leaflet raising awareness of the plight of these Iraqi Kurds]
Using the source material, write the [text of the leaflet.]
Your audience [are the general public]
You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible.
Your [leaflet] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.
In your adaptation you should:
• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience
• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.
(25 marks)
AND
Question 3
Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your [leaflet]
commenting on the following:
• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose
• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.
You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.
(15 marks)
Question 2
Read the source material which follows and answer both questions:
Text A is from an article entitled [Mountainside of Hell] by [Julie Flint]
It was first published in the [The Observer]
Read from 'Despite the cold and the hunger...' on page 40 to the end of the article on page 41.
You are [are working for an aid agency and have been asked to write a leaflet raising awareness of the plight of these Iraqi Kurds]
Using the source material, write the [text of the leaflet.]
Your audience [are the general public]
You should adapt the source material, using your own words as far as possible.
Your [leaflet] should be approximately 300 – 400 words in length.
In your adaptation you should:
• use language appropriately to address purpose and audience
• write accurately and coherently, applying relevant ideas and concepts.
(25 marks)
AND
Question 3
Write a commentary which explains the choices you made when writing your [leaflet]
commenting on the following:
• how language and form have been used to suit audience and purpose
• how vocabulary and other stylistic features have been used to shape meaning and
achieve particular effects.
You should aim to write about 150 – 250 words in this commentary.
(15 marks)
Feedback points
- Most of your recast text must be drawn from specific details from the source text.
- Focussing your attention on the genre conventions is irrelevant and there are no marks available for over using genre conventions at the expense of detailed recast points from the actual text.
- I strongly recommend that you begin paragraphs by making statements about audience, purpose or genre.
- Avoid making your opening paragraph sentence identifying language features. This leads to feature spotting and distorts your commentary so that you do not answer the question.
- Make sure the exam marker knows you have written a leaflet. do this by using provocative titles and sub headings, call your audience to take specific and detailed action.
- The extract can be split into two sections: physical problems and relations with the Turks. As a result this structure and content MUST inform your leaflet. I'd expect you to refer to the breakdown in relations between the soldiers and refugees. I'd also expect you to call on volunteers from your audience to go out to help the refugees in this crisis. As one way of responding to this difficult relationship.
- To get the top marks for this question you must thoroughly engage with the task and adopt an angle - a particular way of approaching or considering an issue or problem.
- You must assume a perspective, a way of looking at the crisis. point of view, viewpoint, standpoint, position, side, aspect, slant, direction, approach, outlook, light.
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