Wednesday 29 September 2010

ESSAY WRITING class

Dear Students,

We are going to have a ESSAY WRITING class tomorrow at 8.00 till 11.00

Alternately, the same class will be held on Friday at 10.00 till 1.00 pm.

Please make your choice.

MAMUN
Dear Sir,

I spotted my most frequently made mistakes in critical reading and that is vocabulary. I'm weak in vocabulary. On average, I make 4 to 6 mistakes in the first 8 questions of a critical reading section.

And you were right; I tend to over-analyze some simple questions. In writing sections, my number of mistakes ranges from 8-15, depending on the tests. And I used to make over 14 mistakes in maths; now the number is reduced to less than 6.
I also found out the reason behind my terrible handwriting. No matter how sharp the pencil I use, I apply a lot of stroke-pressure on the tip. I'm practicing hard to address these problems.

I'm reading the words from the word lists, and I'm practicing writings from Barrons. To me, it is the toughest. Thank you for your critical reading class; it really helped a lot to suppress my mistakes.

Utsho
Sir,

I have an outrageous demand. More of a request actually.

In quite a few previous classes, you have traversed Bengali Literature (Rabindranath's Chinnopotro is one that I can recall) through intercontextualization. From that I gather that it was not really a digression to discuss Bengali Literature (of course only slightly) in SAT class. Keeping that in mind, I must make an absurd request for you to hold a discussion one day of a duration of your choice, on a poem of Jibanananda Das, AAT BOCHOR AGER EK DIN.

SAT is knocking on the door so I guess it's not possible before October 10. I am almost entirely sure that my wish will remain unfulfilled, because it probably seems useless and fruitless and unnecessary and digressive and disturbing and redundant (I am lost for adjectives at this point) to do so, but I felt it necessary to voice it anyway.

I hope the mail did not enrage you in anyway and I'd like to reassure you that my focus is almost entirely on SAT-I now; this was just something that I needed to send out to you and get it out of my mind.

Here's hoping the class does come one day, (maybe after January 15 if not possible before?)

Anik

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Problems Persistent

The following post was provided by Arman. I have no doubt that many of you will see some of your problems reflected in it. We can talk about the issues in the next class. So, here it goes -


Dear Sir,

I am having serious problems in finishing my SAT essays in the framed time. No matter what I do, finishing the full 2 pages remains a major problem for me. Basically, I need a bit time to think and plan out how I would like to construct my essay; but that wasted time is the spoiler - there's no time for "thinking" just yet!

Barrons and Kaplan tell me to take time and do a bit of brainstorming at first, but that really can not be done so easily as they say - due to the time factor.

Can you please give me some suggestions as of how to at least complete the full 2 pages fast? If you want, we can discuss it in class in details.

Arman.

Monday 27 September 2010

Sometimes I think you are all so Sweet - 2010 Students!

Dear Boys and Ladies,

Sometimes I go overboard to make sure that you work day and night to meet all the demands made by Anglophiles SAT program.

In the past years I often told my students how they fall miserably short of the TRUE academic stature. Well, I won't say that I was wrong all the way - but then how frequently my students proved that they can do REALLY very well given the time and opportunity we have.

So, in the end, I DO believe that you people are a wonderful bunch. As a Bangalee I have reasons to believe that you ARE the future of our country.

Please do not consider this post to be an emotional outburst - it was written as a deliberate attempt to confirm that - YOU INSPIRE ME.

Please keep sending me any query regarding SAT preparation.

Sunday 26 September 2010

SAT Mock Test on the 25th September

যারা Mock পরীক্ষায় অংশ নিয়েছ তাদের অভিনন্দন জানাচ্ছি।

Please make sure that you are doing the following things –

1. Review WORDS from – Official SAT Words List; 430 Word List; Word Smart List.
2. 100 Words List – is the single most important list.
3. Review Chapter 12 (Maths Review Chapter) from Barron’s
4. Read and re-read the 60 page Social Studies Handbook.
5. Review all reading items that you have done so far.
6. Remember – the 5 Don’ts of essay writing.

Saturday 25 September 2010

SAT ক্লাস টাইমিং

প্রিয় ছাত্র/ছাত্রী

স্বাগতম!

অবশেষে আবার আমরা ক্লাস শুরু করতে যাচ্ছি।

1. আগামীকাল (অর্থাৎ রবিবার) ৭:৩০ মিনিটে মক টেস্ট শুরু হবে।
2. যারা স্কুলে যাচ্ছে তারা বেলা ২:০০-৬:০০ টায় মক দেবে।
3. যারা ২:০০ টায় পারবে না তারা ৩:০০-৭:০০ টায় মক দেবে।

মকের জন্য ৩ টা বই আনতে হবে।
1. Barrons
2. Princeton 11
3. 10 Real SAT (Old-স্টাইল Book)

প্রিয় SAT ছাত্র/ছাত্রী-রা,

নিয়মিতভাবে এই ব্লগটি ভিসিট করার জন্য অনুরোধ করছি।


Shahidul Mamun

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Shahidul Mamun at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Birmingham

Blog entries on Shahidul Mamun produced by Dr. Nick Walton at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

http://bloggingshakespeare.com/much-ado-about-tagore

The following blogpost includes a recitation of Sonnet 29 in Bengali translation.

http://bloggingshakespeare.com/such-wealth-brings

A Poetaster's Versification of being Common

This is a "poem" by a poetaster - an impostor - a pathetic mimicry of the concept of a public man. But this is also about the crisis of displaying emotion in public. The poem was written after listening to a popular song by a 'common' anonymous singer.



My hands weeping

________________________________________
When the chords tell the stories
In meager words, amid much
Heaving and longingly
Fill the room with the gushes of
Yesteryears’ balmy breath and thou –
Take shape without calling
Lighter than a shadow riding a passing whisper
And none but I see you pass by.

The drizzle stops without anyone’s ever
Being aware as they hoot and stand at ovation
And I look downwards with a head fallen
My hands weeping
As if in humbleness
It is only a personal tale I hide.
________________________________________