Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a principal
    • ex. Several people in my family work at schools. Three are teachers, and one is a principal.
  2. punish
    • ex. Jen punished her son for breaking the window.
  3. effective
    • ex. The training was very effective; I highly recommend it.
  4. a suspension
    • ex. Max got in a fight at school, so he had a 3-day suspension.
  5. looks
    • ex. For some people, looks are important, but I care more about personality.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Principal Jason Smith is being praised for fixing one student’s problem in a creative way. Eighth-grade student Anthony Moore disliked his new haircut, so he came to school wearing a hat. Hats are against school policy, but instead of punishing the boy, Smith tried to understand his situation. The principal realized that Moore was afraid of being laughed at, so he offered to fix Moore’s haircut.

Smith had experience in haircutting, and he showed Moore old pictures of himself cutting hair. At first, Moore was unsure about the offer, but after asking his parents for permission, Moore let Smith cut his hair. The boy then went back to class without a hat.

A photo of Smith cutting Moore’s hair went viral on social media, and many people praised the principal’s creativity. They said that giving the boy a haircut was more effective than the usual school policy of sending students home or giving them a suspension. One Twitter user also praised Smith for understanding how looks can affect self-esteem, especially for teenagers.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Haircuts

  • Imagine that you’re Moore. Will you let Principal Smith cut your hair? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you agree that haircuts can affect people’s self-esteem? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • What should people do if they get a bad haircut (ex. wear a hat, go to another salon)? Why? Discuss.

School Dress Codes

  • For breaking the dress code at Smith’s school, the usual policy is to send students home or give them a suspension. Do you think that’s a good policy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you’re a principal, and you need to write a new dress code for your school. What kind of clothes and accessories will you ban (ex. shorts, hats)? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think that all schools should just have uniforms? Why or why not? Discuss.