BOSS Online: The Big BOSS Debate - Wednesday 15th April

In today's debate, we discussed the environment considering the following points:

• What has happened to the environment in the last 10 years?

• The government is better at protecting the environment than the people.

• Everyone should use electric cars.

• Nobody should use a car to go to school.

• Recycling is a waste of time.

• The whole world stop buying clothes for one year.

• We should stop using planes.

Following a constructive and well educated debate, we worked as a team to put together our own top tips for protecting the environment. These tips include:

1. Use reusable materials such as metal straws and bamboo toothbrushes, etc.

2. Use your bike more.

3. Use renewable energy such as wind and water power.

4. Grow more trees and plants.

5. Use public transport whenever possible.

6. Buy locally.

7. Each house should have its own recycling bins.

8. Stop producing things that we don't need.

9. Stop throwing trash in nature.

10. Walk more and drive less to clean the air.

11. Go vegan.

12. Buy second hand products like clothes.

13. Use things more than once.

14. Don't go shopping. Make more things at home.

15. Recycle more.

If you were unable to make it to today's session, you can watch it in full below:

Takeaways from today's session

- Tomorrow we will hold our first ever online “International Day”. International Day, or International Night as we call it as BOSS because it usually takes place during the evening is your opportunity to show us what is special about your country. What kind of food do you eat? Does your country have a traditional dance? What are the people like? What is the culture like? The landscape? These are just some of the things that we want to know, and if possible experience during International Day!

- Friday is the popular BOSS Book Club. This week’s book of the week is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Please contact me if you need a copy of the book.

When reading the book, students should consider the following questions:

1. How did the book make you feel?

· Were you amused, upset, bored, angry, intrigued?

· Did you have to force yourself to get through it or were you unable to put it down?

· Are you glad you read it?

2. How do you feel about how the story was told?

· Did it start too slow or end unresolved?

· Do you wish it had been told from a different perspective?

· Did it jump around too much or hold you in suspense?

3. What did you think about the main characters?

· Did you like them? Were they believable?

· Did you approve of their decisions and behaviour?

· Who did you relate to the most/least?

4. Which parts of the book stood out to you?

· Are there any quotes, passages, or scenes you found particularly compelling?

· Were there parts of the book you thought were incredibly unique, out of place, thought-provoking, or disturbing?

5. What themes did you detect in the story?

· What were the main points you think the author was trying to make?

· Did you notice any symbolism?

6. What did you think about the ending?

· Were you satisfied or disappointed with how the story ended?

· Is anything left unresolved or ambiguous?

· How do you picture the characters’ lives after the end of the story?

7. What is your impression of the author?

· Does the story seem to fit with what you know of the author?

· What do you think about the author’s writing style?

· What do you think about the author’s storytelling ability?

· Would you read another book by the same author?

8. What changes/decisions would you hope for if the book were turned into a movie?

· Which sections would you cut?

· Who would you cast to play the main characters?

· If the book is already a movie, are you happy with the representation? Do you prefer the book or the movie?

9. How does this book compare to other books you’ve read?

· Did you like it more or less than other books in the same genre?

· Is the book different in any way from the books you usually read?

10. How did this book change you?

· Do you have a new perspective as a result of reading this book?

· Did you learn something you didn’t know before?

· Has your attitude or behaviour changed?

BOSS Online English Lessons

We are also now offering online English lessons. Should you be interested but for these, the following costs will apply:

• One-to-one lessons at £25 per hour

• Group lessons at £15 per hour (maximum class size 6)

• Exam preparation classes at £25 per hour (maximum class size 4)

If you book a block of 10 one-to-one classes, you will receive one class free saving 10%.

If you book a block of 10 group lessons, you will receive two free classes saving 20%.

To find out more about our online English lessons, please click here.

BOSS Online Activities

Please remember that all online activities are completely free and that you should register here. We will be offering these online activities for at least the next week with next week's activities below:

For now, stay safe and we hope that we will see you all for International Day, tomorrow at 13:00 (GMT)!