Wednesday 14 April 2010

Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly was a famous bushranger born in 1854. He was an outlaw who fought the police. Today he is considered both an Australian hero and a villain. His story is told in every school in Australia.

Ned Kelly was the eldest of eight children. His parents were Irish. His father was sent to Australia as a convict because he stole two pigs. When Ned was young, he saved the life of a boy who was drowning. His father was arrested for stealing a horse. He died in prison when Ned was only 12 years old. Ned had to work in different jobs to support the family. He worked as a timber cutter and also looked after cattle.

At the age of 14, he was arrested for stealing ten shillings from a Chinese man but he didn’t go to prison because he was young. Later on in his life, he became a boxer. Life was tough for the family and they had to move to a place called Greta, which is 240 kilometres to the north east of Melbourne.

At that time most of the good farmland was owned by wealthy people who were called squatters. The rest of the land was given to people who normally didn’t have much money. They were known as “selectors”. For many of the selectors it was hard to make money from farming the land because the soil was poor and the land was small. Stealing horses and cattle from the wealthy squatters was common.

At the age of sixteen, Ned was sent to prison for three years for receiving a stolen horse. Later on a police officer called Fitzpatrick harassed the family. One day Fitzpatrick went to Ned Kelly’s home to arrest his younger brother Dan for stealing a horse. Fitzpatrick assaulted Ned’s sister inside the family home and Ned’s mother shot Fitzpatrick in the wrist. Because she didn’t want to get into any trouble with the police, Ned’s mother tended Fitzpatrick’s wounds, fed him and gave him something to drink. After Fitzpatrick left the home, he accused Ned’s mother of attacking him. He also accused Ned of shooting him in the wrist. At the time Ned was 400 hundred kilometres away.

Ned’s mother was sent to prison for three years. There was a reward of 200 pounds to capture Ned who was on the run. The police searched for him everywhere but couldn’t arrest him because he, his brother Dan and two other friends kept to the bush. In October 1878 three officers were killed when they tried to arrest Ned Kelly. The reward to capture him rose to 8000 pounds. Kelly and his gang started to rob banks and after each robbery he left a letter to the government explaining how he had been persecuted by the police. He described Fitzpatrick as a liar and said he had to kill the three police officers in self defence.

In 1880 Ned Kelly and his gang were at an Inn when they were surrounded by the police. Ned and his gang wore armour made of steel. There was a big gun battle and his brother and two friends were killed. Ned was badly wounded but was not killed. The police set fire to the Inn. Ned was taken to hospital and sent to court when he recovered. He was convicted of killing a police officer and was sentenced to be hanged. Thousands of people protested against the sentence because they believed he was innocent. On 11th November, 1880, Ned Kelly was hanged in Melbourne at the age of twenty-five.
Can you find some mistakes?
Ned Kelly was a famous bushranger killed in 1854. He was an outlaw who fought the police. Today he is considered both an Australian hero and a villain his story is told in every shop in Australia. Ned Kelly was the eldest of eight children. His parents were Irish. His father was sent to Australia as a convict because he stole two pigs. When Ned was young, he saved the life of a boy who was working. His father was arrested for stealing a horse. He died in prison when Ned was only 12 years old. Ned had to work in different jobs to support the family. He worked as a chocolate cutter and also looked after cattle. At the age of 14, he was arrested for stealing ten shillings from a Chinese man but he didn’t go to prison because he was young. Later on in his life, he became a boxer. Life was tough for the family and they had to move to a place called Greta, which is 240 kilometres to the north east of Melbourne. At that time most of the good farmland was owned by wealthy people who were called squatters. The rest of the land was given to people who normally didn’t have much honey. They were known as “selectors”. For many of the selectors it was hard to make money from farming the land because the soil was poor and the land was small. Stealing horses and cattle from the wealthy squatters was common. At the age of sixteen, Ned was sent to prison for three years for receiving a stolen horse. Later on a police officer called Fitzpatrick harassed the family. One day Fitzpatrick sent to Ned Kelly’s home to arrest his younger brother Dan for stealing a horse. Fitzpatrick assaulted Ned’s sister inside the family home and Ned’s mother shot Fitzpatrick in the wrist. Because she didn’t want to get into any trouble with the police, Ned’s mother tended Fitzpatrick’s wounds, fed him and gave him something to write. After Fitzpatrick left the home, he accused Ned’s mother of attacking him. He also accused Ned of shooting him in the wrist. At the time Ned was 400 hundred kilometres away. Ned’s mother was sent to prison for three years. There was a reward of 2 pounds to telephone Ned who was on the run. The police searched for him everywhere but couldn’t arrest him because he, his brother Fan and two other friends kept to the bush. In October 1878 three officers were killed when they tried to arrest Ned Kelly. The reward to capture him rose to 8000 pounds. Kelly and his gang started to rob banks and after each robbery he left a letter to the government explaining how he had been persecuted by the teachers. He described Fitzpatrick as a liar and said he had to kill the three police officers in self defence. In 1880 Ned Kelly and his gang were at an Inn when they were surrounded by the police. Ned and his gang wore armour made of steel. There was a big gun battle and his brother and two friends were killed. Ned was badly wounded but was not killed. The police set fire to the Inn. Ned was taken to hospital and sent to court when he recovered. He was convicted of killing a police officer and was sentenced to be hanged. Thousands of people protested against the sentence because they believed he was bad. On 11th November, 1880, Ned Kelly was hanged in Sydney at the age of twenty-five.

Tuesday 13 April 2010

A Visit to Africa

Two scientists from one of the finest universties in the world called Harvard University went to Africa for a short visit. They went to Liberia to visit some schools there and see how students learn there. They were shocked to see that the students were lucky enough to have seats to sit on inside their classes. Teachers stood in front of their students and talked all the time. Liberia is a very poor African country. This is because Liberia was devastated by two civil wars that left every thing in the country in a horrible situation.

Most students in Liberia learn through lectures and memorization. They listen to the teachers and read the lessons over and over again. In their science lessons they don’t have any thing to practise with in their labs. Most of them don’t even have computers to use at home.

Liberia was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves but two civil wars broke out in 1989 and ended in 2003. The wars killed hundreds of thousands of people and devastated the country’s infrastructure. During the wars, every thing in the country was destroyed. Thousands of people were murdered, trees were burnt and thousands of animals were killed.

The one thing that the two scientists noticed was that students were open to new ideas and eager to learn. They started providing training to science teachers and had a chance to visit the University of Liberia, the Ministry of Education and ten schools where they taught students. They also provided lessons on eating healthy food because they saw that many people in Liberia were still suffering from starvation.

The scientists found a room that was used as a lab. The equipment inside was never used and most of the teachers didn’t know how to use it. They also found some computers but they were heavily infected with viruses.

Now they want to send some computers to different schools in Liberia. They want to send antivirus programs and open-source software on USBs so that schools with no internet connection can use them. Open-source software is free software that programars make available for anyone to download. The two scientists also want to go back to Liberia next summer to offer whatever their help and see what else is needed.

Friday 9 April 2010

Book to Learn English

I have come across a very good book to teach listening and reading. The book is well-written and has different topics about Australia. It comes with a CD and has more than 30 lessons. One lesson takes about 45 minutes to finish. The cost is one dollar per lesson. This means just over 35 dollars per copy + CD. I will publish more details about the book very soon.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

Don't Critisize

 Look at the picture. Can you see any policemen? Well, I can see tens of them. They are not wearing police uniforms. They are in plain clothes. They are arresting a young man. The young man took part in a protest against the Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak. Hosny Mubarak has been president for 30 years and he is 82 years old. He wants his son to become the next president of Egypt. Hosny Mubarak is a close friend to America. The Egyptian people are not happy with the rule of the Mubarak family. They want a change. Millions of people became poor under the Mubarak rule. They can't buy homes or find jobs. On the other hand, thousands became very rich because there is a lot of corruption going on in Egypt.
The young man in the picture will not be able to see a lawyer. He will not go to a normal prison. He will be tortured and may be killed.
Last year more than 180 people were killed in different police stations in Egypt. Nobody can talk about their killings because the government can arrest anyone.
Young people in Egypt use Facebook to contact their friends. They also started to protest against the government online. The government has a secret service. The secret service is a secret police that can trace those people. They go to their houses in the middle of the night and arrest them. If the young people are lucky enough, they will go back home in three months or even more.