The concept of family:

Every country dreams of reaching a high level of development, and this is a daunting dream that deserves to be fought for. But the prosperity and stability of any nation has never occurred in a vacuum, it does, indeed, require the existence of many factors, and the jewel in crown of them resides in having a strong society, which represents the real capital and raw material to be counted on for reaching this purpose, as well as giving much focus and energy to its individuals and especially, taking the centre of stage to its small unit that we call “family”.

Family is the staple of civilisation and the focal point of any society, and its success is the success of the nation it is included in. Its basic role is flat noticeable, because it’s our first school that instils in us the very basic values we all need in our life-time and it’s our mainstay in hard times and technically, it takes a decisive role in shaping the future of our nation. Thus, no prosperity is guaranteed if the family structure is glossed over or out of condition.

Since the advent of the current political system ruling the world at this juncture, marked by the American hegemony over the world, along with the spread of new technologies, we have been witnessing an avalanche of change touching all aspects of our life, and which apparently narrowed the distance between the residents of earth, putting an end to all kinds of shackles that once represented shields against cultural exchange. Nowadays, with a simple click on a keyboard, huge quantities of information are, at the drop of a hat, sent to every corner around the globe.

All the same, the beneficial side of high technologies flunked to cover its hideous face, by putting much pressure on individuals, and amid this unprecedented shift, the family structure is prone to a devastating change threatening its strength and togetherness.

In this present-day era, people from different ages keep a smart phone, computer and television in their rooms and pockets. These gadgets, though, separated the members of family, by broadening the distance and spurring withdrawal. We find individuals directing their entire concentration towards devices, leaving no free room for communication between the members. Thus, if things keep going this way, we will end up by egotism and selfishness overwhelming the mainstream. The distinguishable effects could be understood if we take a few moments to wonder about the reason that stands behind the disappearance of family extension. In our times, when the process of education within the family is given out, others take it over, as follows, the neighbour, schools, uncles or aunts etc.

The pace of life is incredibly increasing, so the desire for consumption, which evidently puts an on-going pressure on the working families. Today’s women are strongly fighting to join in the fight to stand by their husband’s side to provide for their children, since men, who customary or considering the cultural background dominating the mainstream, stand for the breadwinners, complaining of inability to keep up with rhythmic motion of life solely, the door is open for women to present their joint effort as breadwinner, besides their steadfastness to not compromising their desire to become more economically independent, therefore, with both parents outdoors, alongside the toughness to assure the balancing act, we feel like being in the middle of a battle to give work and family the time they need, which actually lead parents to be physically and emotionally exhausted.

It’s not all about materialistic tools, what children need is being surrounded by much emotion. Every child needs a champion who, by definition, should stand by his side in order to provide the necessary care, as well as consultation in his ups and downs.

Straight from the heart, I do salute parents for their mammoth endeavour to provide good education and decent level of living for their kids, at the same time, I do admonish them for neglecting the emotional aspect, which in my book, is the basic thing they need more than any other thing, particularly to present too much sacrifice to spend more time with their beloved ones.

We are all proud of our parents, because they have done their utmost and dedicated their time and efforts to protect and provide us, with the necessary tools to lead a peaceful life and reach our dreams and aims, as well as build up a bright future. This should be an incentive to launch a wake-up call to do the necessary to uphold the family structure and save it from collapse, and come up with solutions to make it possible to balance between work and time indoors.

                                                                                                              By Ismail KAMAL

Be  to + infinitive :

1/ To convey orders and instructions:

Ex:

• At the end of the week , all students are to take two exams.

• No one is to leave the building without  my permission.

• You are to stay here till I return.

2/ Official arrangements or plans:

Ex:

• The prime minister is to visit Canada next week.

• A new train line is to be built. (Passive form)

3/Past forms :

A/ Was/were  to + infinitive for things that happened:

Ex:

• He was to travel to Paris. ( He planned the travel  and he did travel.)

B/ Was/were to + perfect infinitive for unfulfilled plans:

Ex:

• The manager was to have made a historic speech last week, but he was taken ill. (He didn't make the speech.)

• The meeting was to have been held last Monday, but it was put off due to unforeseen circumstances.(Passive form)

4/ Be to+ infinitive in if-clauses: used to talk about preconditions for something to happen.

Ex:

• If Ali is to succeed, he needs to study hard.

• If we are to solve the world's pollution problems, we must address environmental issues now.

**** Note:

We don't use be to +infinitive to talk about events that can't be controlled by people:

Ex:

• There are fears that sea level  will rise catastrophically in the next 50 years. ( Not is to be rise......)

The present perfect and the present perfect continuous :

A/

§ We use the present perfect continuous  rather than present perfect simple when we draw a conclusion from what we can see and hear, ect. This form is usually used to complain and criticise.

Ex:

-You have been working all night. You look exhausted.

- Someone has been messing around with my computer.

B/

§When we talk about the result of circumstances or an activity, we use the present perfect rather than the present perfect continuous. When the focus is on the process we use either the present perfect or the present perfect continuous .

Ex:

- The prices of houses have increased by 10%.(The focus is on the result)

- The prices of houses have been increasing recently. (or “have increased”-The focus is on the process-)

C/

§ The present perfect continuous emphasises that an activity is ongoing or repeated.

Ex:

-She has been reading the book all day.

§The present perfect suggests that an activity happened only once or on a specified number of occasions

-Sam has represented the company at 35 forums so far.

How to build a strong personality:

Having a strong personality, nowadays, is of essence. It’s the ability to stand steadfast in the face of life and its vicissitudes during one’s lifetime. Yet, it stands to reason that we should point out the bare-bones of steps one should follow to reach this aim.

In my book, each person may have a particular strategy or perception regarding how to shape a sturdy personality.

Personally, I believe that reading tops the league, as the main step to start with in a bid to build up a strong personality, due to its effectiveness of shaping one’s mindset. With no a scintilla of doubt, the more books you read, the more stable and logical you grow, therefore provided with tremendous ideas and logical evidence, which are the most critical  weapons required in this present-day era, marked by the unstoppable flow of information launched every day. At this stage, through reading, we can surround ourselves by shields to protect our minds from any foreign potential attempts of hegemony over our thoughts. This high capacity plays an important role in dealing easily with conversations.

Furthermore, I rank experience second, as another essential tool, whose impact emerges as having great outcomes on the way we think and act. As a matter of fact, being sociable, leading a daily life marked by meeting people from different realms, will apparently affect how one could respond to certain situations, as follows, daily challenges, taking swift and down-to-earth decisions, as well as developing the way to understand and deal with people.

Having said that, we have to know that, the most important thing is that our moves in life should all be around a straight and plain aim. The effectiveness of having a clear vision imparts self-confidence to individuals, the quality people need to build their own future, and face the upcoming challenges boldly. What we should bear in mind is that we don’t live alone, by definition we belong to a society, hence we are sometimes forced us to swim against the tide to overcome some social and mental barriers, it’s a question of having the ability to resist and keep the focus on our idealistic purpose in life without showing any pinch of surrender. Having this stamina will pave the way for building an unbreakable personality.

All in all, building up a strong personality doesn’t occur in a vacuum, indeed, it’s a process contingent on having the ability of stand in the face of all hindrances, being unquenchable  when it comes to knowledge updating, and finally to be one’s own master.

                                                                     By Ismail KAMAL

Self-confidence the turning point

It’s no wonder that everyone is looking for something worthy, something that makes the one appear remarkable among people, and most of us want to get ahead and do spectacularly well in life with a complete conviction that our future must be bright. In fact, words are not always enough, and success, even though we have ideas upheld by strong and plain plans, will never come true unless we possess a special quality, it’s the so-called self-confidence.

Self-confidence is a quality that let people believe in themselves, skills and competencies to build their own future, and face the upcoming challenges boldly. Those who possess this value have to be certain that their life will be driven to something special, which will be a major turning point in their life.

We have to bear in mind that any successful project is built not only on having a clear vision, but also on having the capacity to press ahead while you are facing welter of hindrances standing against your own desire for reaching your dreams.

Moreover, being a self-confident person means also to eradicate all kinds of worries that most of people have about future, and what’s so important is to always expect the good to happen. I know you may be going through unpleasant moments, but it doesn’t surprise me, because life is a room where great people are always coping with struggles and is not meant for the lazy to join in this battle.

Self-confidence as a very added value to our life, resides also in the capacity of resisting all kinds of lures and temptation that if anyone followed would be driven to a dark future. Try always to keep yourself away from things that may mar your concentration, whenever you meet the dreams killers, try to listen to yourself, your inner part and say “yes I can do, I am determined and no one in the world is able to prevent me from doing what I want”.

But the question that may raise is, how can we build a self-confident spirit? In fact, there are many paths to follow, for instance, the one will require experience, which is considered an inevitable key, besides, reading is another feature likely to help us in building a self-confident personality.

In addition to what it is already mentioned , keep in mind to never succumb to any strange voices whose aim, is to spoil your ability to bear hard times, believe in your abilities and make any possible efforts to enhance your skills  and acquire new ones. However, avoid to overestimate yourself or to put yourself on airs, on account of thinking you know everything, don’t be a snooty person.

At the end, in life you have two options, whether to trust your skills and keep pressing ahead or to relinquish to your surroundings. A self-confident person will never raise a white flag, but the one who will always keep mingling with the wise voices.

By: Ismail KAMAL

Ignorance

Ignorance:

The word ignorance is widely used by people in different situations, maybe to describe a particular state of disturbance because of behaviour, to talk about misunderstanding or even to point out one’s view regarding someone. Yet, the concept remains controversial which may produce a flurry of points of view, bidding to give a particular definition.

Taking the parts of speech, ignorance is a noun, and then comes the adjective ignorant, mostly used to describe someone. If we look up a dictionary we will obtain a conventional meaning, summed up in lack of knowledge or information about a situation. This definition is quite reasonable and acceptable, however, if we contend deeply with this notion, it will reveal a mountain of covered up truths about the concept. 

First, the question that should be raised, is ignorance related to illiteracy? In which situation a person can be deemed as ignorant?

Lack of knowledge or being ill- informed is an aspect among many. Someone who doesn’t have enough knowledge to deal with an issue, apparently will be driven astray, therefore, the process of decision making is going to undergo an exercise in futility, which madly affects one’s life. This could be understood if we consider the field of politics, for instance, where many countries are on verge of collapsing due to the implementation of false policies built on lack of information, and this picture reflects the situation in the third world, where institutions and experts who are likely to provide critical information, are not involved in the process of decision making

Let’s dive more and more deeply. In fact, many people wonder whether ignorance is only related to illiteracy. This idea can’t be rejected due to its importance to bring this concept to light, and illiteracy is one of many causes that bring about ignorance within a society. Without scintilla of doubt, the link between both can’t be neglected , and the inability to read is a focal point that most of time leads one  to  cut the cord  with the surrounding ,therefore, not being able to realize what’s going around. However, there are some exceptions, where we can meet people who can neither write nor read, but  endowed with extreme intelligence and high capacity to read between the lines and tackle the hindrances that may stand against their path, meanwhile, others, despite their high level of education can’t prove the same capacity. This paradox could be explained this way. The level of awareness in addition to education; It could also be risen by means of experience, which has a critical role in shaping people’s mindset

Indeed, ignorance emerges in many aspects, for instance, it could be detected  when it comes to stubbornness at the stage when a person keeps refuting the validity of an idea, notwithstanding the reception of irrefutable arguments during a talk. This fact draws the premeditated intention one has to overestimate oneself without giving a damn to the other side’s view, and put oneself above all any consideration, what I believe to be the epitome of selfishness covering up the stigma of ignorance.

Furthermore, ignorance is a devastating disease which is capable of striking at the heart of society, leading to turbulent moments that are able to threaten the stability as well as causing togetherness to come apart.

To my mind, now that I believe all the problems we are experiencing are in connection with ignorance, I see the long-life cure to such hazardous epidemic comes through an effective education system whose rule stands to be far more critical so as to root out this trouble from unleashing its attacks, meanwhile to elevate the level of awareness among people.

Finally, this is a very simple attempt to cast light on this concept and in the meantime to address the cultivated elite not only to consider this issue as hindrance that is halting our advance, but also to take it as an incentive to make a move and assume responsibility in order to sensitize people by taking part in raising awareness, because it’s the effective way to bring a drastic change, with one aim is to serve the common good rather than turning a blind eye.

By Ismail KAMAL

Peace, a real dream or a pipe-dream?

Each time I switch on TV to watch the news, with the aim to keep abreast of what is happening around the world, the first thing to come into sight is blood. The world is becoming full of conflicts wherever we go, humankind is yelling because of pain.

In fact, no one of us could deny that we are all on the same boat, dreaming of living in peace, but its implementation remains quite difficult.

Actually, each one of us may have one’s own vision about the way human being may bring peace to planet earth, and it would be better if we share our own perception, concerning the way we could make this happen. As a part of my duties, since I’m interested in this issue, I should take part as well, by sharing my ideas in a lieu of standing out of the picture.

Firstly, let us know what are the hindrances that stand against any attempt of spreading peace around the world? I have been thinking about this matter for years, therefore, I may say  that one among many reasons preventing us from this grace; reside in lack of communication between nations, made on purpose. The world is a room with a complete diversification in kinds of cultures and religions, yet we the dwellers of the Earth we don’t know each other. The reason why we don’t have plain ideas about each other is that no program so far exists to uphold and promote, for instance, a real interfaith dialogue or dialogue of civilisations.

Moreover, there is another factor which also leads the peace process to failure. The foundation of the international community was based on dogs eat dogs, the strong and developed countries dominate the world and impose their vision on the rest. This way, we could only expect one outcome, the other side, the dominated, will react and proceed to resistance, as their last-ditch attempt to achieve their rights and dignity, and then it’s a vicious circle.

All people have the right to dream of a world where everyone lives peacefully and has their fair share. It’s so wonderful to have ideas in minds; however, reaching a peaceful world is built on actions, because it’s the only guarantee for a real shift. Dahli Wasfi, who is an Iraqi-American peace activist, said in her famous epic speech:” No peace no justice”. As a matter of fact, such as bold voices and people are badly needed, in order to urge on the international community to change its mindset. It’s time to end carnage and bloodshed. Instead of bringing turmoil, house raids, rape and pillage, and living at the expense of others, just take a moment to think about how to build a decent future for the coming generation.

Each person, especially the literate ones, has an obligation towards the world, otherwise, keeping silent could apparently be deemed as uphold to those who are wrecking the beauty of our life. We all share the same dreams but only actions can make the difference.

Why not to exploit all possible tools to promote peace around the world, for example, nowadays people are getting more and more familiar with the new technologies, smartly social media could be the suitable field for prosperous actions of this kind, but all is about the way we proceed.

Finally, I would like to say that even though the wicked are disturbing peace around the world, let’s keep dreaming that one day we will make it happen, besides, we have to make  all huge efforts to eradicate all porous holes which may let them break in to our souls, then wreck our dream. As long as we are awake there will be no save heaven for them.

                       

By: Ismail KAMAL

                   Satisfaction the double-edged sword

                     

I’m frequently asking myself what most people are going after. Each time I get the same answer, most of them are going after a peaceful state of mind whose meaning is to live at ease, without any possibility or trace of worries and fear. This state of mind could be reached but it requires some conditions, which can be summed up as a whole in one word; satisfaction.

Satisfaction is a very crucial concept to be discussed over, especially nowadays, while a great deal of change occurs in our daily life, in a swift pace that is becoming so hard to control.

As a suggested explanation to shed light on this concept, satisfaction could be defined as the condition of having your needs and desires fulfilled along with being pleased with what you have in term of material possession, to consider your skills and characters as your only identity that define you among people, then act out yourself.

Accepting the explanation, satisfaction can be deemed as a reliable tool to eradicate any potential of greed, as a positive result, one can deal with life and its hindrances with a spirit of heroes. In fact, once you focus on what you possess and never put yourself in a situation where you may keep fighting to build a fake personality based on imitating others or even to try to please them, this time you can consider yourself you are in the right path and not going astray. Satisfaction is a very important weapon to wield during the process of aims reaching.

On the other hand, it’s necessary to point out that any misinterpretation of this concept may have a grave effect on you. The negative side of satisfaction could be touched if we carefully analyse our surroundings, have a typical look at people’s mindset, we will find many of them refuse to make an effort in order to bring a change into their lives, pretending to be satisfied with what they have. Such allegation will only drive people to a complete laziness. Moreover, there are a welter of people who are doing jobs they don’t like and making great efforts with no apparent outcome on their lives, instead, unintentionally, they are making others’ dreams become real. The misinterpretation of satisfaction will drive people to commit what we may call spiritual suicide and stop making any progress.

Satisfaction as a valuable concept in human being life should always be dealt with carefully in a bid to avoid any misinterpretation and any potential misrouting.

                                    

                                                                                                                          By Ismail KAMAL

Why school is becoming disruptive? A wake-up call

Childhood was for me a very special and compelling period in my life. It was an emblem of complete freedom. At that time, I had feelings replete with purity, with no sense of any kind of responsibility.

Most of my actions were performed without caring about the consequences, because simply, I was not under the spell of any disruptive rule, which had considerable impact on my life, paving the way for my imagination to get wider.

It’s the first time to reveal my ambition over that time, being an astronaut was more than a dream, as I was obsessed with the stars in the sky and didn’t miss any opportunity to watch programmes treating astronomical topics. I even, indeed, wondered whether we shared the universe with other dwellers, other creatures with fearsome power. Such obsession drove me to create a simple model of a spatial vessel, and playing the rule of the captain.

The unspeakable happened when I reached school, of course like any other child, in the normal course of life. Then, the dream was gradually vanishing until it came to its end. The reason behind, I was deprived from freedom, freedom of thinking and imagining things on my own. This new stage of life means to be surrounded by disruptive rules made by others and like my counterparts, I was forced to follow, otherwise we would face the music and the outcome was to be subject to punishment.

Moreover, another burden on my shoulders, a monkey on my back. It was question of dealing with a mass of daily homework, most of time not only hard and exhausting, but also made me get other people  involved in my activities by asking for  their help to solve the questions.

 School should be a room whose aim is to refine our kids’ skill, instead of being a creepy dark hole, where mistakes are never allowed, counter to human being’s nature, and caning the students is widely welcome and promoted, with no ambition to provide a space for tempting rewards. Unfortunately, this is what I was going through.

Through these lines, I’m not trying to spread a pessimistic image about school, but I would like to convey a message to those who are responsible for this failure.

If we focus on school and we try to revamp the educational system, then It will be utterly an impressive move, and not only bringing a shift to school, but we will also shape both, the future of our kids and of our countries.

Here I suggest some typical tips to take in consideration while we deal with this issue:

• A reform should take place and target the relationship between the teachers and their students. Chasm between them must be slashed. It’s question of how to come up with new workable solutions to overcome generation gap inside school. This not a very formal relationship, where we must abide by ranks, and teachers should be trained to develop the sense of friendship to grow able to understand their students’ mindset.

• According to experts, the zenith of smartness and innovation during lifetime occurs in childhood. Thus, I urge that the four or five first year of primary school must be dedicated to the process of enhancing and refining skills.

The first thing children need to learn is how to conceive life and deal with its hindrances. Before to make them bear any kind of responsibility, and we have first to prepare the ground by developing their personality so that they be able to handle the missions.

• Reward instead of canning: no wonder that the fact of committing a mistake is part of our life that teaches people how to react in the upcoming challenge. It’s time to adopt a new strategy based on rewarding students, and make them learn how to overcome the previous fall by introducing mistakes as experience likely to teach us how to face the upcoming.

• No more homework: in the first earlier years of school, the notion of homework, in my book, must be eradicated; because I consider it the main reason that let children hate school. Spending about eight hours a day at school is quite enough for a child, besides, home should be place of relaxation in order to give enough time to the children and parents to meet and strengthen their relationship.

School is a place for teaching not for canning. Let our kids love school by providing all kinds of care and love. Frowning, beating and much homework are the tools that destroy the future of both, our beloved ones and our countries, most of time unintentionally.

                              

By Ismail KAMAL