THE TASTE OF SUMMER

Summer,

The season that is perfectly balanced,

Between spring and autumn,

A salvation from the cold and misery,

Like spring,

But better, longer, and infinitely more wonderful.

Summer isn't just one feeling,

It's several different sensations,

The bright sun rays that pour from the sun,

Hanging in the magnificent, blue canopy,

That stretches above us for ever,

The warm sunshine that kisses my cheeks,

The long, orange grass and sweet wild flowers,

That brush around my knees,

In the gentle, smooth breeze,

Casting pollen into the air.

BRINGER OF JOY

Lucy Pittaway 'The Joy Of Spring'

This morning,

I stepped out of the house,

And my mind was shrouded

In a cloud of misery.

I was alone.

Stranded,

In a never-ending cycle,

Of gloom and despair.

Nothing mattered.

Nothing could improve.

And then,

Out of the blue,

Through the barrier of woe,

Broke a tiny glimmer of light,

Radiating knowledge,

Truth and joy,

In the form of your smile.

CIRCLES

Vassily Kandinsky 'Squares with Concentric Rings'

For centuries, people have been fascinated by circles. Many scientists, philosophers, mathematicians, artists and religious thinkers have worked with the symbol of the circle, giving it different meanings according to its applications in real life.

There is one great reason for this interest. Above us in the sky, every day, we can see the great and magical solar circle. People depend on the Sun in so many ways. It gives us warmth and light, and it is always up there like a loyal friend. People throughout the world have regarded the solar circle as a very important symbol in their cultures.

In mythology, the Sun is usually a symbol of the divine and of a supreme God. It is full of mysterious power. The shape of the Sun is circular. For centuries, people have felt both great respect and fear towards it. Even people in ancient cultures realised that the Sun was something they could not control and that its behaviour could not always be predicted, so they could not ignore the giant circle. It was like a great ball that could bring either life or destruction.

All the changes happening to that giant circle affected human lives in many ways. Solar eclipses, for example, were seen as very bad signs, warning people of God’s punishment. Therefore, in many cultures, the Sun represented God Himself.

The circle is a universal symbol with many meanings. It represents totality, wholeness, original perfection, the Self, infinity, eternity, timelessness and all cyclical movement. As a symbol of God, the circle has no visible boundary. Or perhaps it is simply beyond human power to find and calculate the circumference of the circle when it is understood as a symbol of God. Its circumference is everywhere; there are no limits. From a spiritual point of view, God is also the centre.

The symbol of the circle also implies the idea of movement. It symbolises the cycle of time, the motion of everything that moves, the planets’ journeys around the Sun, the circle of the zodiac and the great rhythm of the universe. The circle is also represented by zero in our number system and symbolises potential or the embryo. It has magical value. 

EVERY STUDENT DESERVES A GOOD TEACHER

In this short reflection of ours, we are not going to write about the characteristics of a good teacher; we will do this separately. Here, we will try only to defend the student's right to have a good teacher.

Every student deserves a good teacher who will make him want to fly.

Education is a two-sided process - teaching and learning. There should be an equal effort and an equally honest attitude towards the process in order to achieve something.

Teachers are the most important people in schools. Together with the students, they create the image of education. But if the students still have a more dependent role, the teachers' role is the leading one. The quality of teaching and learning depends on the teachers. And although there are plenty of brilliant professionals in schools, and they make up maybe 90% of the teachers, there is still a percentage of teachers who are simply not fit for the role.

The role of the teacher is extremely demanding and challenging but, on the other hand, extremely rewarding. The teacher should not only be a brilliant expert in their subject but also a great communicator and a big fan of the students. To be a teacher means that you have a passion and love in your heart for the students. To be a good teacher means that you will always do what is right for the students, no matter how hard this is for you. It means that you have almost angelic patience. You will need a lot of patience.

Teachers create the students' memories, and the care for the students' well-being and learning should always come first. All that means that you have to embrace in your heart the philosophy of Humane Pedagogy, not the philosophy of Authoritarian Pedagogy.

TIME

Time and space are the two main features that describe our existence. Every second of our lives, we are located somewhere. We cannot describe our activities separately from time and space. After the question "When?" comes immediately the question "Where?"

Time remains one of the most mysterious aspects of the world in which we live. It connects our existence with the past, the present and the future in one continuous process. Many philosophers and scientists are still trying to define the concept of time.

Time is so fundamental to our lives that we cannot imagine our everyday existence without measuring it, as if life were one continuous process. The human brain is designed in such a way that it feels more comfortable and secure when everything is structured and organised. Without time, there would be great chaos. We need time to plan our lives and make them more organised.

Time management is important in our daily lives. We tend to think that we can manage time. Yet time moves only forwards, never backwards. 

WORDS OF ADVICE FOR ADULTS

Don't lie to children so that they can learn to be honest.

Love children so that they can learn to love.

Talk to children so that they can learn to communicate.

Listen to children so that they can learn to listen.

Be patient with children so that they can learn patience.

Trust children so that they can learn to trust others.

MEMORIES

Ramona Matei Art

All that we have ever known,

Every moment of our existence,

All that we have loved,

All that we have hated,

All the tears,

All the despair,

All the laughs,

And all the hope,

Is stacked up in our minds,

Like a giant library of memories,

So we can borrow and read them,

Learn our lessons,

To help us with the present and future.

MONEY

Money has had a long journey through human societies. It has gone through barter deals and the exchange of goods, metal coins, copper coins, gold and silver coins, paper notes, debit and credit cards, before transforming into something we call electronic money.

Today, we live in societies in which money is almost invisible. It has a discreet but powerful electronic presence.

But what is money?

I am sure we all know the answer to this question and, even more, that we all have some kind of connection with money itself or with the idea of money.

Writing about money can take many different directions. In this text, we will look at the historical development of money, how money is used in mathematics, and the influence of money on our lives.

Money is best described as a medium of exchange. The concept of money has been around since the dawn of human civilisation. Money allows individuals to trade what they have for what they need or want.

What has been considered money has varied throughout the ages and has included many different items. Currently, there are over 150 currencies used worldwide. Seventy per cent of the world's monetary value is denominated in the U.S. dollar, the euro, the U.K. pound, the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan.

Money has been part of human history for almost 3,000 years. From the origins of bartering to modern money, this is how the system has evolved.

At the dawn of humanity, bartering was used instead of money to obtain goods. One of the earliest forms of barter included cattle, sheep, vegetables and grain.

The first known currency was created by King Alyattes in Lydia, now part of modern-day Turkey, around 600 BC. The first coin ever minted featured a roaring lion. Coins later evolved into banknotes around AD 1661. The first credit card was introduced in 1946.

Money is a means of exchanging wealth indirectly, rather than directly through barter. It is a mechanism that facilitates this process. Money may take a physical form, such as coins and banknotes, or it may exist as an electronic or written record.

Resources for GCSE Maths Foundation

Lessons presentations for non-profit educational purposes only!! The content of the presentations is from various sources.

1. PLACE VALUE
2. ROUNDING
3. ADDING AND SUBTRACTING
4. MULTIPLYING and DIVIDING
5. TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS
6. SIMPLIFYING EXPRESSIONS
7. INDICES
8. EXPANDING AND FACTORISING
9. ANGLES AND LINES
10.  TRIANGLES AND QUADRILATERALS
    

PROBABILITY

People are always interested in their future, and what will happen tomorrow is sometimes more important to us than what is happening today. Tomorrow is like compensation and a gentle form of revenge for us. Most people are fascinated by tomorrow. What will our life look like? Am I going to be richer and prettier? It is like an escape from today, because today is always guilty of something.

That is why we often try to predict the future. Sometimes our predictions are based on what we know, and we have several possibilities to choose from. In this case, we simply use techniques and methods to determine which possible events are more likely than others. This kind of predictability is the subject of mathematics.

When our predictions are not based on real facts, it is difficult to decide which event has a greater chance of occurring in the future. In this case, it is like playing a blind game with no certain rules.

In this short text, it will not be possible to describe everything that is somehow related to probability. We will simply try to open the door and allow curiosity to come in.

There are many situations in real life where we have to take a chance or a risk. Based on certain situations, the likelihood of a particular event occurring can often be predicted. In simple words, the chance of a particular event occurring is what we study in probability. 

ПРИКАЗКА НА ВРАБЧЕТО РОШКО ЗА СРЕДНАТА АНГЛИЙСКА ЗЕМЯ

Здравей, мой малки приятелю!

Отново ти пиша аз, врабчето Рошко! Надявам се, че си бил послушно дете, докато очакваше следващото ми писмо! Много е важно да слушаш родителите си, защото те знаят кое е най-добре за теб и много те обичат! Надявам се, че вече си се настанил удобно, защото имам да ти разказвам разни неща за големи приключения.

Пиша ти в момента от Средната английска земя. Правилно си се досетил, че тя се намира по средата на страната Англия. Тук е родното място на един голям английски поет – Уилям Шекспир. Ще научиш повече за него, когато станеш голям и тръгнеш на училище.

В градчето Уорик пък се намира един от най-старите средновековни замъци на Англия – той така и се нарича: „Замъкът Уорик“. Потрепервам само при споменаването му, защото тук ми се случи нещо, което бих искал по-скоро да забравя. Но ще побързам да ти го разкажа, защото, ако първо аз го забравя и не го разкажа на никого, няма да има кой да помни доброто, което дойде след ужасното приключение.