English Tutoring by Philip Brown

About 10,000 people, said The Australian, once Australia’s paper of record.

Online lessons.
Please note, all VCE 11 and 12 students, We are available for online English and Literature lessons via Zoom during weekdays. Just call Philip to arrange on 0416 218 432 or email at [email protected].

Upcoming texts are Wuthering Heights, Jasper Jones, A Separation (film) and Wildcat Falling. A couple there are new for me. Should be interesting.
One that students are finding particularly demanding is Foe, by Coetzee. A re-imagining of Robinson Crusoe. Have put lots of time into that one! A rewarding study finally.

Books being studied this week in my classes?

Most of those in the banner above, as my students attend Eltham High, St. Helena Secondary College, Eltham College, Eltham CLC, Loyola College, Genazzano FCJ College, Montmorency Secondary College --- the list goes on.

For VCE students who are exploring the "Whose Reality" theme, a poem by Philip Larkin:

Ignorance

Strange to know nothing, never to be sure
Of what is right, or true, or real
But forced to qualify: Or so I feel
Or: Well, it does seem so,
Someone must know

Strange to be ignorant of the way things work
Their skill at finding what they need,
Their sense of shape, and punctual spread of seed
And willingness to change
Yes, it is strange

Even to wear such knowledge---for our flesh
surrounds us with its own decisions---
and yet spend all our lives on imprecisions,
that when we start to die
have no idea why.

Story time.

Nasreddin and the Smell of Soup.

One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread.

The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.

Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner's ear, and shook them, so that they made a jingling noise.

"What was that?" asked the restaurant owner.

"That was payment for you," answered Nasreddin.

"What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!" protested the restaurant owner.

"The sound of the coins is payment for the smell of the soup," answered Nasreddin. "Now go back to your restaurant."

[Nasreddin was a philosopher of 13th century Iran renowned for his funny stories and anecdotes.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB4cdRgIcB8

Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen: Read by Christopher Eccleston | Remembering World War 1 | C4 Remembering World War 1 Some of Britain's finest actors read poetry from World War I http://www.channel4.com/programmes/remembering-world-war-i/4od