TELEVISION in our life

      Today there is television set in almost every house. In some countries, You can choose between as many as forty different channels, some shows only a single type of programs­ news, sport, music, theatre or movies; most shows with different kinds of programs, give the viewer a wide range of entertainment to choose from. In one country, a recent survey showed that the average person spent three and a half hours a day watching television. Housewive were the biggest group of viewers. They spent an average of about five hours a day watching TV while taking care of their children.

     For families with children, a major problem is getting the children a way from television to do their homework. What impact then does television have an people's life? To find out, an unusual experiment was carried out recently. A group of forty-four families were studied to see how their television sets for one month. The families were studied to see how their lives were affected by not being able to watch TV during this period.

     Four of the fcimilies found that family life simply could not continue without TV, and they withdrew from the experiment. They said they could find no other way to spend their free time. Among these who successfully kept away from television, several interesting observations were reported.

    Some 'parents were glad to end the daily struggle among family members to decide what program to watch. In some families,"the family went to bed earlier. Family members found other things to do, such as reading or playing volleyball.Many families found that they had more time to talk and play among themselves without television. Dinner time was more relaxed without the pressure of television. Children's eyesight improved in several cases.

      On the other hand, some families said they greatly missed their favorite programs. A father in one family without television started gambling and another began to drink heavily. Some children found they had nothing to talk about at school they no longer' could talk about their favorite comedians, Singers or actors. Several mother found they had to talk about with their young children.

      At the end of experiment, most of the families wanted to the televiston back in their homes. But they said that in the future they would watch only certain programs and not allow their life to be governed by television.

Read more »

Students First Days in School Need to Be Made Constructive

       In the past days and weeks schools across Indonesia have been opening up their doors again to receive students entering the new school year. Naturally enough, this has been a time of many trials and tribulations as existing students join new classrooms and new students try to find their way around a new school.

       Such times would be difficult enough for even adults. In adult life we need time to adapt to new settings and find our footing and direction to settle in and come to terms with what lies ahead. This kind of experience, difficult enough in adulthood, can prove extremely challenging for the, as yet, still young and forming hearts and minds of school-age children.

      During the first days back at school great opportunities exist to try to develop a sense of community that will help students settle in and have a firm foundation on which to build their studies during the coming year. There are almost constant complaints that there is too much to study for school students and yet time is, every year, wasted on negative and useless orientation day pranks and fooling around. Surely, when time pressures are of such a concern and teachers complain that they have too much to teach from the curriculum, the first days of school would be a great time to help students prepare for the challenges ahead. Constructive team- building and guidance towards much needed study skills would serve these students far better than nonsense tasks and ridicule.

        Schools should design these days carefully and not let them be so negligently and dangerously wasted. The benefits of good early learning experiences can be considerable and the duty that schools should exercise to consider a child's psychological welfare really have to leave little room in the first days of school for such waste and ridiculousness.

Read more »

SOLAR ENERGY

     Solar energy is one great alternative for future energy sources. It is environmentally friendly and is renewable, thus making it an excellent energy source.

     According to the United States Environmental Protection Energy (EPA) enough sunlight reaches the earth's surface every year to produce approximately 1,00 times to amount of energy produced by burning all fossil fuels mined and extracted during the same time period.

     As with renewable energy system, the initial costs of setting up these solar energy projects is quite expensive. However, the saving on electricity bills in the long-term should make up for this and year after year, the costs of these solar energy are falling which will make it more affordable and widespread.

     Solar energy will also be powering some 70.000 homes and several hundred businesses in Britain soon after the government announced a £ 10 million investment into photovoltaic (PV) technologies over the next three years.

     Photovoltaic cells provide an unlimited supply of free power by converting sunlight into electricity using modem semiconductors. Vast arrays of these cells will be placed on roof and walls around the country to provide the buildings with a renewable source of energy for lighting, heating, and storage.

     Street lighting and traffic signal can also benefit for this power supply further reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Read more »

Pollution

     There are many kinds of pollution. They can be grouped into several major classification, of which we mention here: water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, and , radiation pollution.

     Airpollution is caused by car engines and by big factories with large chimneys through which dirty air escapes.

      Land "pollution can be caused by waste or rubbish such a paper, bottles, plastic, alumunium, scraps, junk, etc. Because of our carelessness and laziness, our surroundings are very dirty. They are filled with household as well as factory waste. Some waste can be broken down by natural organisms such a bacteria. Rubbish like this is called organic waste. On the other hand, rubbish which cannot be broken down by natural organism is called inorganic waste. This is more difficult to dispose of and it makes the surroundings very unpleasant to look at.

      Noise 'pollution can be caused by several things; loud music through loud speakers, the noise of motorized vehicles such as trucks, buses, motorcycle, and also air craft. Loud noise may cause deafness. It can affect the heart and cause nervous strain.

      Radiation pollution can kill many people in one moment. It is caused by uranium and other radioactive. The testing of atomic weapons is feared by people in general because atomic weapons are radioactive. These are a few examples of the different kinds of pollution in our lives.

Read more »

Folktales - Lebai Malang

     Once upon a time, there was a man who lived on the bank of a river in Central Sumatra. His house lay between two villages. He was a religious teacher. His name was Lebai. He made a living both by teaching people and fishing. He was well-known by all in the two villages.

      One day, the richest families in both of the villages were giving a big party. Both of them invited him at the same hour of the same day. On the morning of the feast, Lebai was ready to attend one of the parties in his boat. However, a greedy thought struck him before he went. He could not decide which village to visit first. It was because the village in the North of the river slaughtered only one buffalo, while the other in the South of the river slaughtered two buffaloes.

     As the Northern village was nearer his house, he rowed his boat upstream to the North on the river. On his way he thought that people there did not know him well, so they would not respect him very much. He turned downstream. Because he would get much more respect-in the South, he could get two buffaloes' heads. He thought again that they could not cook very well. He kept thinking whether he should go upstream or downstream. He turned his boat upstream. When he nearly reached the place, he saw some people leaving the party. He turned his boat quickly downstream. Unfortunately, when he arrived there, he saw people leaving the house. He spent his time going upstream and downstream until the feasts were over; he got nothing.

     He felt weak; he paddled his boat slowly to his house. People had been enjoying delicious food and a pleasant day; but for Lebai, the day had ended in a great disappointment. He had an unlucky day, so he was called Lebai Malang-unfortunate Lebai.

Read more »

The Old Javanese Song

Java
Sluku-sluku Batok
Batoke ela elo
Si Rama menyang kuto
Oleh-olehe payung monto
Mak jentit lo lo lo bah
Wong mati ora obah
Yen Obah medeni bocah
Yen urip golek duwit

English
Scratch your head
Shake your head
Someone goes to the city
The souvenir is a royal umbrella
Keep moving or you die
The dead can only lie
If you want respect
Work hard an earn money


     Long ago people in Central Java sang the above song, while they were playing under the moon light. It was called 'tembang dolanan'(game song). They were singing while sitting on the ground with their legs straight, while they were moving their feet up and down.

     The old Javanese Song says if someone studies hard and works hard he will get a job and he will be respected. The first three lines mean someone is cofused and decides to go to the city to look for work. Line four means he is successful and brings reward back. Lines five to eight say you have to keep trying if you want to be successful.

     Some of the folk songs of Indonesia give advice or guidance for lifes. It is important they survive because they are part of Indonesian culture.

Read more »

Technique of Teaching

    The Silent Way is one of the effective language teaching techniques. It is pedagogical approach to language teaching based on the premise that the teacher should be as silent as possible in the classroom (about 90% of the time). The learners, then, are encouraged to produce as much language as possible. They have much time both to be exposed to the language and to perform practice.

     The learning hypothesis behind the Silent Way is that learning is facilitated if the learners discover or create rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. Also, students learn more effectively through problem solving involving the target language. It views language learning as a creative, problem-solving and discovering activity in which the learner is a principal actor rather than a bench-bound listener.

    Basically, in learning teachers prepare their students to have problem solving skill. And the Silent Way can be described as a problem-solving approach to language learning, and is summed up nicely in Benjamin Franklin's words:

    "Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I learn."
    I conclude that the Silent Way is an appropriate language teaching technique.

Read more »

Keong Emas

     Once upon a time, there was a king of the Antah Berantah Kingdom wishes Dewi Sekartaji became his wife. To do so, he kidnapped her. Fortunately, the God Narada saved Dewi Sekartaji by changing her into a golden snail: Keong Emas. The God told Keong Emas to drift along the river in order to find her husband, Panji Asrnoro Bangun.

     One day a poor old widow, Mbok Rondo Dadapan, who always fished along the river, found the golden snail and took it home. There, she put the snail in a jar and took good care of it. All of a sudden, unexpected good things took place in Mbok Rondo's life.

    Coming back from her daily fishing, she would find delicious dishes on the table and the house cleaned. She wondered who had been so nice to take care of her house and to do the cooking. When this went, on for several days, she could not resist the temptation to find out who the mysterious kind person was. So, one day, instead of fishing, she peeped through a hole in the wall of her house.

     To her amazement she saw a beautiful princess coming out of the jar and starting to clean the house and preparing a meal.

     The next day, the same thing happened. Without wasting any time Mbok Rondo rushed in to the house and smashed the jar. 'Homeless' Dewi Sekartaji could not tum back in to snail. She was then adopted by Mbok Rondo.

     Meanwhile, Raden Panji Asmoro Bangun searching for his wife, wandered from one village to another, finally reaching Dadapan where he found his beloved. Filled with happiness and love, they went back to their kingdom, taking along good Mbok Rondo.

Read more »

Boxing - sport or spectacles?

     Boxing amongst  other hand to hand fighting, has been with us for thousands of years, Originally it was nothing more than bare fist fighting betWeen'two'wiliing, and sometimes unwilling competitors for  the entertainment of others. Some people argue that it is a relatively safe, disciplined, highly skilled, and technical sport that brings enjoyment and employment toa  great many people: Others claim that  is a dangerous and barbaric spectacle that has no place in the civilized world. This article will explore each side's claim in more detail. It will talk about the damage that can be inflicted when two. men stand face to  face with the sale' intention of knocking each other out with their fists, It will go on to argue that boxing, or  legitimate assault , has no place in the twenty first century. 

"The bell goes and the two warriorsapproach each other.They are quick. They are strong:They are hard. They are ready to hurt and be hurt.

A  left fist launches and connects with a nose. The crowds are on their feet. Cheering. Wanting more. Wanting blood.

So, boxing; what's it all about? AII animals, mostly the males, fight from time to time. Sometimes it's playing but at other times it's serious. Lot'sof people,including me, enjoy watching boxing.It is disgusting at times though especially when there's lots of blood and some boxers died in the ring.

In conclusion, both sides of the debatehave solid foundations. As' has been shown, the arguments for and against have been put forwardsince boxing began.And it Would seem, the argument will continue for at least the foreseeable future, as compromise seems unlikely. Both sides do agree, however; that the debate better held whilst boxing is licensed and controlled rather  than not. The latter would make it, in my opinion, both sport as well as spectacle

Read more »