Why I don’t believe in coincidences? I was walking around in the city with Nóra before the club meeting. No sooner had we reached Vörösmarty square than we heard somebody playing the trumpet. It was a middled-aged woman. We were standing meters away from her, and I said to Nóra: ‘I wish she played Take Five.’ When she finished, I walked up to her and dropped some coins into her box. We exchanged a smile, but not a single word was spoken. I turned around and went back to Nóra. That was the moment when the woman began to play Take Five. How is that possible? She had surely been playing for a while, and when we got there, she started playing the music I wanted to hear. On top of that, it was Thursday afternoon.
Facebook me!
Last week we began with a TED talk recommended by Nóra. In her 20-minute long presentation, Sherry Turkle talks about how social networks have changed relationships and the way we shape our self-image. The witty title Connected, but alone? suggests that even though we are able to get in touch with a huge number of people via the net, it isn’t necessarily the way out of solitude. As a matter of fact, it might have the opposite effect.
Zoli reflected on the presentation in detail by giving a speech offhand. He pointed out that it’s not the technology that influences social behavior, but the way we use it. He says that a weak-minded person or somebody who is inherently socially awkward will easily fall victim to virtual reality. It is up to us to keep it under control. You will be able to read more in his upcoming post.
After discussing how much time we spend socializing online, we attempted to collect the pros and cons with regard to social networks. Among the most useful features are organizing groups or events. The advertising potential of these sites are also worth mentioning. In addition to inviting all your contacts to check out your new page, you have the possibility to invest money into advertising. You can even narrow down your target audience based on age, gender, or anything.
The most irritating downside is obviously the loads of spam we encounter on these sites. Besides constantly receiving requests from friends (asking to vote on their pictures or videos for a contest), we come across the most malicious invention of the internet: hoax – scientifically doubtful writings that warn us about the dangers of butter, or fake solicitations with stock photos… and the list goes on forever. Unfortunately, people don’t take the trouble to look them up on sites specializing in scams and hoaxes, just carelessly click on share.
We finished our discussion with the question “Have you had any unpleasant experiences with online communication?” The most frequent answer was related to the previously mentioned socially awkward people who act totally differently behind the screen and in person.
We will keep pursuing exciting and controversial topics. Check our Facebook page for the latest event.
Going viral
Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s the latest advertisement for the club. It is spreading on Facebook like wild fire, and we will have A/3 posters and flyers printed soon. If you have any creative ideas for boosting our publicity, don’t hesitate to share with us!
Family reunion
The club was more of a family reunion this week with its total of five guests. This number can be attributed to the spring break at schools. Ironically, people have free time to visit the club when they have no free time. (This paradox – of course – can be resolved with ease.)
A fresh article was served as an appetizer. Let’s review the case in a nutshell.
Imagine Doug Crossan’s face when he was notified of a £3,700 charge on his bank account. His son began to play so-called freemium games on his iPad, and finally ran up an unforgettable bill for daddy. Mr. Crossan decided on reporting his son as fraudulent to the police. Thus a criminal record could be filed which could later be used against Apple in the father’s fight for refund. It is obvious that no fraud had occurred, yet Apple had mercy on them, just like on many other families in similar situations.
How do you think you would react if you were the father? Whose fault is it anyway? With these questions the conversation slowly faded into discussing family issues, such as child-rearing and family values. Everybody had to collect three important family events of their lives, whether it be a one-off or a regular occasion.
The final question was: In what way do you think family life will change in the future? We ended up at social networks. All of us agreed that online communication does have an influence on personal relationships. This is a topical issue yet to be discussed between the walls of the club.
After tying up all loose ends, we drew Taboo cards and turned the hourglass.
Zsombor: ‘What is the opposite of an ordinary restaurant?’
Balázs: ‘An extraordinary restaurant.’
Religious matters
Last week we decided to raise a rather sensitive topic to find out how far we can go. Based on a thought-provoking article, we set the goal of discussing all the possible aspects of religion.
“The False Equation: Religion Equals Morality”. However obvious this message might seem, it served as a perfect debate starter. Before diving into the matter, we took a piece of wise advice from Balázs, that is, we should primarily distinguish between faith, religion and the church. We subsequently formed groups of two and started approaching the topic from numerous perspectives. Besides commenting on the article, we collected a bunch of reasonable questions.
- What is it like to be raised on the Bible?
- Do you attend a religious service on a regular basis?
- If so, what does it give to you?
- Is there a difference in terms of moral values between a religious and a non-religious person?
- Have you ever encountered an extreme situation with regard to religion?
(E.g. someone tried to convert you in a sly manner.) - Is it possible in the 21st century to live our lives following the “rules” of the scripture?
The last one was brought in by Enikő. She recommended an article about A. J. Jacobs, a man who decided to live one year of his life according to the Bible. We could even take a look at his book The Year of Living Biblically.
Although the topic was meant to be provocative, the tone of the conversations stayed moderate all along. Everybody seemed to be cautious and respectful.
In the remaining hour we continued to play Alibi.
Teachers with guns
“Hard-hitting questions and sensitive topics” says the description of HARDTalk, an outstanding BBC program. In hopes of inciting heated debates along with refreshing high-level English speech, we took on that slogan and raised the first fairly controversial issue in the club.
As a response to recent school shootings in the states, a bill has been passed in South Dakota which allows teachers to carry guns in school districts. A long list of questions arose when we passed around the article.
- Is it truly effective? Can a teacher, who is obviously not a highly skilled shooter, act normally in a panic situation and make use of his gun?
- Does it affect the atmosphere in schools, that is, cause fear among students or staff members? Doesn’t it stand in the way of children’s emotional development?
- Is there any other way to protect schools?
Some of the points people made were:
- Teachers may do more harm during a rampage than the shooter would do alone.
- It might come with collateral damage, but at least they have a chance to protect themselves.
- Is it the appropriate message to kids that the only answer to a shooter is to shoot back?
- If the teachers don’t tell the students about the guns directly, it won’t affect them.
- If there are a number of guns scattered in a school, the odds of misusing them increase. (Teachers with unreliable mental status, students who find out the whereabouts of the guns, etc.)
- If it is a publicly known fact that schools are armed, shooters may back off.
After all the groups had exhausted the topic, we rearranged the chairs to make it look like a debate show on TV. Two chairs were placed in the center, facing each other. There was only one person who supported the bill with no reservations, so he was chosen to be one of the debaters. Then we drew a name for the “contra” chair. First, we let them discuss the matter without being interrupted. In the end, everybody could address either of the debaters with questions.
It must have been tough to sit in the center of the room being flooded by questions, but I must say that both of them passed the test.
After disassembling the studio, we began to play Alibi.
In case you haven’t heard of the game: Two players are suspected of a crime. They have to leave the room, and make up a story as to where they were together in the time of the crime. Then, the remaining players (as police officers) interrogate both suspects. The second suspect has to stay outside, so that he cannot hear the questions. The point of the game: The two alibis have to match to a high degree. If they don’t, the suspects are arrested.
Fanni and Balázs claimed to be in a pub. They won. Zoli and I were stuck in an elevator between two floors. We could walk away, too. Nóra and Zsófi were arrested. The night at the theater seemed to hold too many contradictions. 😉 This wasn’t the last time we played Alibi.
Feel free to make your comments below. You may also send us your writings regarding the topic or personal accounts on the club meetings, which we will publish under your name.
From childhood to animals
This week we took a brief journey back in time. Everyone had to pick three of their most memorable childhood moments, whether it be joyous, funny or awkward. Then, we all shared our memories with each other in groups of two. As soon as the storytelling began, the pairs seemed to get swallowed by the past. I could feel the nostalgia in the air.
Later on, we added the questions “What was your favorite animal?” and “Do you have any stories with animals as a kid?” I won a chance to tell how I found myself in the cage of the gray cattle when I was 3.
This part served as an elegant transition to the subsequent topic: intelligent animals. We discussed cases in which certain animals managed to learn human languages to a limited extent. A gorilla named Koko is able to understand more than 1,000 signs and approximately 2,000 spoken words. Alex, a gray parrot, knew colors, objects, numbers, foods, and could even express his feelings or needs. It is amazing how they overcome the barrier between humans and animals.
We gladly take your further comments on the topics below the post. You can also send us your personal accounts on anything related to the club, which we will publish on the blog.
March 7th
Censored co-organizer
“Clubcakes” by Nóra 🙂
Day one: Back on track
Ladies and Gentlemen, we proudly announce that we have successfully re-launched the world-famous and highly acclaimed TAKE FIVE – English Language Club! After endless months of dire anticipation, the club has eventually regained its strength and emerged from the swamp of oblivion.
May 17th, 2012. This was the day of the last meeting that was followed by a break, more than half a year long.
What was the reason behind the shutdown? After months of grueling work, I realized that I no longer had the capacity to run the club all by myself. I found that the only way to continue was to recruit at least one co-organizer who could even take over the club in case of my absence. Fanni was the first to take this position, although we didn’t manage to restart the club during the previous semester. Then came Zsuzsi who also offered to play an active role in organizing.
Three people proved to be enough to pull the chairs together, plug the stereo in, and start Take Five.
It was a euphoric feeling to walk along the way up to the room. I stopped in the center and slowly looked around. Everything seemed as if we’d never left. The chairs rested along the walls. The two lamps, the stereo and the good old cardboard box were also awaiting us. What’s more, we found the legendary red metal box with a considerable sum of money in it. I did a little shopping while Fanni got ready to receive the early birds.
To my surprise, quite a number of people had already gathered when I arrived with the bags. The clock soon struck six and nothing but English could be heard thereafter. Despite my predictions, the session went seamlessly with a total of 12 visitors. We will keep advertising the club both online and on street posters. The latter is “on the drawing board”.
The show must go on. See you next Thursday!
TAKE FIVE — English Language Club 