Australia Network - Nexus - English Bites

This week on English Bites we met a range of young people doing many different activities.

Today we're going to revisit some of them. We'll start with the story about young people who are training to become business people, and then we'll talk about some of the words used to describe these young people.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: This group of suburban teenagers is about to take part in a potentially life-changing program trying to turn today's high school dropouts into tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

LOUISE EARNSHAW, PYSCHOLOGIST: I think it's actually just giving kids, who are talented, who are maverick, who are misfits, the opportunity to find their talent.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: It's an idea out of left field, for a group of young people that haven't always followed the straight and narrow.

CHRIS LANCASTER AND GARY VOLPE: We all go out and play with fireworks - blow stuff up.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: You've blown stuff up?

CHRIS LANCASTER & GARY VOLPE: Oh yeah.

LOUSIE EARNSHAW So do you know what an entrepreneur is?

CHRIS LANCASTER: He's actually a full businessman and he already owns stuff and he knows what he's doing.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: The Certificate of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Skills program is the brainchild of psychologist Louise Earnshaw. She selected the Brisbane teenagers from a larger group referred through the Federal Government's JPET program for unemployed young people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

OK, so there were lots of nouns used there to describe the young people. Let's start at the beginning.

Listen to the reporter.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: This group of suburban teenagers is about to take part in a potentially life-changing program trying to turn today's high school dropouts into tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

He talks about teenagers, dropouts and entrepreneurs.

Of course a teenager is someone in their teens - someone aged between 13 and 19.

A dropout is someone who leaves school or college without finishing.

An entrepreneur is someone who starts a new business, usually one that is quite risky.

Now listen to this psychologist talking about the program.

LOUISE EARNSHAW, PYSCHOLOGIST: I think its actually just giving kids, who are talented, who are maverick, who are misfits, the opportunity to find their talent.

It gives kids who are maverick and who are misfits the opportunity to find their talent.

A 'maverick' is someone who thinks and acts in an independent way.

A 'misfit' is someone who is not suited to a situation. Other people do not accept them because they are different.

So the program helps teenagers who have left school early, who are independent thinkers but who don't fit in very well. They are trying to turn them into business people.

Let's watch whole the clip again.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: This group of suburban teenagers is about to take part in a potentially life-changing program trying to turn today's high school dropouts into tomorrow's entrepreneurs.

LOUISE EARNSHAW, PYSCHOLOGIST: I think its actually just giving kids, who are talented, who are maverick, who are misfits, the opportunity to find their talent.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: It's an idea out of left field, for a group of young people that haven't always followed the straight and narrow.

CHRIS LANCASTER AND GARY VOLPE: We all go out and play with fireworks - blow stuff up.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: You've blown stuff up?

CHRIS LANCASTER & GARY VOLPE: Oh yeah.

LOUSIE EARNSHAW TALKING TO KIDS: So do you know what an entrepreneur is?

CHRIS LANCASTER: He's actually a full businessman and he already owns stuff and he knows what he's doing.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: The Certificate of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Skills program is the brainchild of psychologist Louise Earnshaw. She selected the Brisbane teenagers from a larger group referred through the Federal Government's JPET program for unemployed young people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

OK. Now let's visit Taree High School again, and find out what the students are doing there.

Listen for how the word 'resource' is used.

SARAH SCHOFIELD: School's only been back for a few weeks but, with student numbers now locked in, the Department of Education has been able to inspect Taree High School and determine it's over-resourced by two demountables. This year there are 964 students attending Taree High. To keep the buildings, it needed 1020, so the school is short by 56 students.

Students on the representative council didn't see it the same way. Last week, when they were told the buildings were going, they wrote an open letter to the media, which said: "Statistics give a one-dimensional view. How can someone else use them to show what is best for our entire school and community, without knowing or caring about our current situation?

We are not asking for more resources or any new buildings, merely that they leave in place those that have long been part of our flourishing school community."

So then, what is the story behind the statistics, and is there any flexibility in the department's formula?

AMY MINETT: The two demountable rooms we're going to lose are P14, a specialist art room and the Aboriginal resource room, better known as the Koori room.

The government says the school is over-resourced.

The students say they are not looking for more resources.

The demountable rooms include the Aboriginal resource room.

We'll take a closer look at the resource word family.

Resources are supplies of something - usually useful or valuable things. Resources include things like money, buildings, land or equipment - things that people or organisations need.

The verb to 'resource' means to supply or provide someone resources - usually with money or equipment.

The adjective 'over-resourced' means having too many resources, having too much money or equipment.

And when resource is used as an adjective, as in resource room, it means relating to where resources can be found.

A resource room is a place where you will find supplies of things you need.

An Aboriginal resource room is a room where Aboriginal students can find support and other things they need for schooling.

Watch the clip again.

SARAH SCHOFIELD: School's only been back for a few weeks but, with student numbers now locked in, the Department of Education has been able to inspect Taree High School and determine it's over-resourced by two demountables. This year there are 964 students attending Taree High. To keep the buildings, it needed 1020, so the school is short by 56 students.

SARAH SCHOFIELD: Students on the representative council didn't see it the same way. Last week, when they were told the buildings were going, they wrote an open letter to the media, which said: "Statistics give a one-dimensional view. How can someone else use them to show what is best for our entire school and community, without knowing or caring about our current situation?

We are not asking for more resources or any new buildings, merely that they leave in place those that have long been part of our flourishing school community."

So then, what is the story behind the statistics, and is there any flexibility in the department's formula?

AMY MINETT: The two demountable rooms we're going to lose are P14, a specialist art room and the Aboriginal resource room, better known as the Koori room.

And that's all for this week's English Bites.

But don't forget to check out website for more.