Alex Trebek wife

George Alexander Trebek[1] OC (/trəˈbɛk/; born July 22, 1940) is a Canadian-American television personality. He has been the host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! since its revival in 1984, and has also hosted a number of other game shows, including The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth. Trebek is contracted to host Jeopardy! until 2022.[2] Trebek has also made appearances in numerous television series, in which he usually played himself. A native of Canada, he became a naturalized American citizen in 1998
Early life
Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, on July 22, 1940,[4][5][6] the son of George Edward Trebek, a chef who had emigrated from Ukraine as a child, and Lucille Lagacé (born April 14, 1921), a Franco-Ontarian.[7] He grew up in a bilingual French-English household.[8] Trebek's first job was when he was 13; he was a bellhop at the hotel where his father worked as a chef.[9]

Trebek attended Sudbury High School, now Sudbury Secondary School and then attended the University of Ottawa.[10] Trebek graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in philosophy in 1961.[4][11] While a university student, he was a member of the English Debating Society. At the time, he was interested in a career in broadcast news, and before completing his degree, Trebek began his career in 1961 working for the CBC.[4] According to Trebek, "I went to school in the mornings and worked at nights; I did everything, at one time replacing every announcer in every possible job".[12] He would eventually read the national news and cover a wide range of special events for the CBC's radio and television divisions, including curling[13] and horse racing
Trebek's first hosting job was on a Canadian music program called Music Hop in 1963.[14] In 1966 he hosted a high school quiz show called Reach for the Top. From 1967 to 1970 he was a host for the CBC, introducing classical music programs including performances by Glenn Gould. For one or two seasons he hosted a weekly skating program. Starting in spring 1969, Trebek also hosted Strategy which aired on week days.[12]

In 1973, he moved to the United States and worked for NBC as host of a new game show, The Wizard of Odds. A year later Trebek hosted the popular Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley game show, High Rollers, which had two incarnations on NBC (1974–76 and 1978–80), and an accompanying syndicated season (1975–76). In between stints as host of High Rollers, Trebek hosted the short-lived CBS game show Double Dare[15] (not to be confused with the 1986 Nickelodeon game show of the same name). Double Dare turned out to be his only game show with the CBS network (he returned to CBS in 1994 to host Pillsbury Bake-Off until 1998), and the first show he hosted for what was then Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions, as well as the second season of the syndicated series The $128,000 Question, which was recorded in Toronto.

Since the second incarnation of High Rollers premiered while The $128,000 Question was still airing and taping episodes, Trebek became one of two hosts to emcee shows in both the United States and Canada, joining Jim Perry, who was hosting Definition and Headline Hunters in Canada and Card Sharks, which, coincidentally, premiered the same day as High Rollers in 1978 in the United States. Trebek's francophone side was put on display in 1978, in a special bilingual edition of Reach for the Top and its Radio-Canada equivalent, Génies en herbe. In this show Trebek alternated smoothly between French and English throughout.[16]

Like other hosts of the day, Trebek made several guest appearances as a panelist or player on other shows. One of his guest appearances was on a special week of NBC's Card Sharks, in 1980. He and several other game show hosts (Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen, Wink Martindale, Jack Clark, Gene Rayburn, and Jim Lange) competed in a week-long round robin tournament for charity. Trebek won the tournament, defeating Cullen in the finals. Trebek also appeared as a celebrity teammate on the NBC game show The Magnificent Marble Machine in 1975, and the Tom Kennedy-hosted NBC word game To Say the Least in 1978. Both of those shows were produced by Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley Productions, which also produced High Rollers, the show Trebek was hosting during both of those guest appearances. Trebek also was a contestant on Celebrity Bowling in 1976, teamed with Jim McKrell. The duo won their match against Dick Gautier and Scatman Crothers.

After High Rollers was cancelled in 1980, Trebek moved on to Battlestars for NBC. The series debuted in October 1981, and was cancelled in April 1982 after only six months on the air.[17] In September 1981 Trebek took the helm of the syndicated Pitfall, which taped in Vancouver and forced him to commute, as he had done while hosting High Rollers and The $128,000 Question in 1978. Pitfall was cancelled after its production company, Catalena Productions, went bankrupt. As a result, he was never paid for that series. After both series ended, Trebek hosted a revival of Battlestars called The New Battlestars that ended after thirteen weeks, then shot a series of pilots for other series for producers Merrill Heatter, for whom he had worked hosting High Rollers and Battlestars, and Merv Griffin. The Heatter pilots were Malcolm, an NBC-ordered pilot featuring Trebek with an animated character as his co-host, and Lucky Numbers, an attempt at a revival of High Rollers that failed to sell. For Griffin, he shot two pilots for a revival of Jeopardy! when original host Art Fleming (a friend of Trebek's) declined to return to the role due to creative differences. This revival sold; Trebek began hosting the revival in 1984 and has hosted ever since.

In 1987, while still hosting Jeopardy!, Trebek returned to daytime television as host of NBC's Classic Concentration his second show for Mark Goodson. He hosted both shows simultaneously until September 20, 1991, when Classic Concentration aired its final first-run episode[18] (NBC would air repeats until 1993). In 1991 Trebek made broadcast history by becoming the first person to host three American game shows at the same time, earning this distinction on February 4, 1991, when he took over for Lynn Swann as host of NBC's To Tell the Truth, also for Goodson-Todman, which he hosted until the end of the series' run on May 31, 1991.[19]

In 1994, Trebek returned to the CBS network for the first time since hosting Double Dare to host the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which he hosted until 1998.

In August 1995 in a return to his broadcast-news roots, Trebek filled in for Charles Gibson for a week on Good Morning America.

Trebek was a guest star in season 3 of The X-Files, playing one of two "Men in Black" (human agents charged with the supervision of extraterrestrial lifeforms on Earth, hiding their existence from other humans) opposite Jesse Ventura, in the episode Jose Chung's From Outer Space, which first aired on April 12, 1996.[20]

Trebek and Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune, traded places on April Fools' Day 1997. Pat Sajak hosted Jeopardy! and Alex Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune with Sajak's wife, Lesly, as Trebek's co-host.[21] Sajak and Wheel of Fortune co-host Vanna White played contestants at the wheel, with winnings going toward charities.

Trebek appeared on Celebrity Poker Showdown in 2005. He came in second place in his qualifying game, losing to Cheryl Hines. On May 9, 2008, Trebek was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On the program, he discussed his 24-year career as the host of Jeopardy!. Revisiting Kimmel in 2011, he talked about the IBM Challenge on Jeopardy!.

Trebek also appears in many commercials for Colonial Penn Life Insurance, of which he is a "compensated endorser", and he reprised his role as host of To Tell the Truth in a 2010 advertisement for DirecTV
In December 2010, Trebek guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother.[23]

On March 26, 2014, Alex Trebek made a guest appearance on Hot in Cleveland as himself.[24]

On June 13, 2014, Guinness World Records presented Alex with the world record for most episodes of a game show hosted, with 6,829 episodes at the time.[25]

On the December 18, 2014 series-finale episode of The Colbert Report, Trebek (introduced as "the one with all the answers") greets Colbert as he boards a sleigh driven by Santa Claus and Abraham Lincoln and leaves the studio for the last time.[26]

On June 24, 2018, Trebek returned as a panelist on the ABC revival of To Tell the Truth.

On October 1, 2018, Trebek moderated the only debate in the Pennsylvania governor's race.[27] According to news outlets, he wanted to change the flow of the debate to be more conversational instead of the more traditional format. He dominated the debate and talked for 41% of it,[28] often talking about himself without giving candidates time to discuss important political issues.[29] He also made surprising and unprovoked remarks regarding the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Trebek later apologized for his performance, stating that he was "naive" and "misunderstood" the role of a moderator. "I offer my sincere apologies to the people of Pennsylvania, a state I dearly love," he said.[30]

Trebek will host a Jeopardy! primetime special event titled The Greatest of All Time on ABC in January 2020, pitting the highest money winners in the show's history, Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer, against each other.[31]

Personal life
Trebek married businesswoman Elaine Callei in 1974.[32] The couple had no children and divorced in 1981. In 1990, he married Jean Currivan, a real estate project manager from New York.[33] They have two children, Matthew and Emily.

In 1996, Trebek ran the Olympic torch in Jacksonville, Florida, through a leg of its journey to Atlanta.[34]

Trebek became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1998.[35]

In late 2001 during Jeopardy!'s 18th season, Trebek shaved the mustache that he had worn for over 30 years. He wore a fake mustache for the first half of the April 1, 2008, episode as an April Fools' joke.[36] In summer 2014, Trebek regrew the mustache for the 31st season of Jeopardy!, only to shave it off again a month into the season.[37][38] Trebek grew out a full beard at the beginning of the 2018 season, shaving it down to a goatee for the second episode, and a mustache by the second week, and then the next day clean shaven again. [39]

On January 30, 2004, Trebek escaped major injury after falling asleep behind the wheel of his pick-up truck while driving alone on a rural road in the Central Coast town of Templeton, California, returning from a family home in Lake Nacimiento.[40][41] The truck sideswiped a string of mailboxes, flew 45 feet[42] over an embankment, and came to rest against a utility pole in a ditch. Trebek was not cited for the accident and returned to work taping Jeopardy! the following Tuesday, just four days after the accident.[43][44]

Trebek owned and managed a 700-acre ranch near Paso Robles in Creston, California, known as Creston Farms, where he bred and trained thoroughbred race horses.[35] Trebek's colt, Reba's Gold, is the stakes-winning son of Slew o' Gold.[45] Trebek sold the operation in 2008 and the property is now an event center called Windfall Farms.[46]

In 2018, in an interview with Vulture, Trebek stated that he was a political moderate and registered independent, neither conservative nor liberal, with some libertarian leanings.[47]

Health
On December 11, 2007, Trebek suffered a minor heart attack in his home, but returned to work as scheduled in January.[48][49][50] He injured an Achilles tendon, requiring six weeks in a cast, while chasing a burglar who had entered his San Francisco hotel room on July 27, 2011.[51][52] He suffered a mild heart attack on June 23, 2012,[53] but returned to work in July.[54]

On December 15, 2017, over the winter break of Jeopardy! taping, Trebek was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after reportedly experiencing complications from a fall in October of that year. The incident resulted in a subdural hematoma.[55] Trebek underwent surgery to remove blood clots from his brain the following day.[56] On January 4, 2018, the verified Twitter account of Jeopardy! announced that Trebek had been suffering from the fall. Trebek required a short medical leave and returned to regular hosting duty in mid-January 2018.[57]

In 2018, while being interviewed by Harvey Levin on Fox News, Trebek floated the idea of retirement, saying the odds of him leaving Jeopardy! in 2020 were 50/50 "and a little less". He added that he might continue if he is "not making too many mistakes" but would make an "intelligent decision" as to when he should give up the emcee role.[58] In October that year, he signed a new contract to continue as host through 2022,[2] stating in January 2019 that although he was beginning to slow down due to his age, the show's work schedule, consisting of 46 taping sessions each year, was still manageable.[59]

On March 6, 2019, Trebek announced that he had been diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. He had been experiencing persistent stomachache before the diagnosis but did not recognize it as a symptom of the disease.[60] In a prepared video announcement of the diagnosis, Trebek noted that his prognosis was poor but that he would aggressively fight the cancer in hopes of beating the odds and would continue hosting Jeopardy! for as long as he was able, joking that his contract obligated him to do so for three more years.[61] Trebek updated the situation in May 2019, stating that he was responding exceptionally well to treatment and that some of the tumors had shrunk to half their previously observed size; he credited the prayers and well-wishes of his fans for the better-than-usual results. He will undergo several more rounds of chemotherapy in hopes of pushing the cancer into full remission.[62] Trebek hoped to beat the odds as only 3% of patients with stage 4 pancreatic cancer are still alive 5 years after being diagnosed.[63] Trebek finished that round of chemotherapy treatments in time to resume taping of the show in August 2019.[64] Follow-up immunotherapy was ineffective, and Trebek resumed chemotherapy in September.[65]

On October 4, 2019, in an interview with CTV's Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Lisa LaFlamme, Trebek said “I’m not afraid of dying,” and “I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life … if it happens, why should I be afraid [of] that?” In the same interview, Trebek noted that sores in his mouth, a side effect from the chemotherapy, were interfering with his ability to speak, noting that "there will come a point when they (fans and producers) will no longer be able to say, ‘It’s okay.’"[66] On November 11, 2019, he revealed that he was reentering treatment. That night, during the Final Jeopardy! round, a player's response stated "What is We ♥ you, Alex!", to which Trebek became choked up. Hours later #WeLoveYouAlex was trending on Twitter.[67] In a December 2019 interview with ABC News, Trebek stated that he would begin looking at experimental treatments and chemotherapies and that despite periods of severe pain and depression, he was still in good enough physical condition to handle construction projects.[68] Trebek also stated that he had already prepared an on-air farewell statement before his cancer diagnosis.[68]

Philanthropy and activism
Trebek hosts the annual The Great Canadian Geography Challenge in Canada and previously hosted the National Geographic Bee in the United States. He hosted the National Geographic Bee until 2013. Active with World Vision Canada, a charitable organization, he has travelled to many developing countries with World Vision projects, taping reports on the group's efforts on behalf of children around the world.[69]

Trebek and the entire Jeopardy! crew became involved with the United Service Organizations in 1995 and have appeared on several military bases throughout the world, both in an attempt to find contestants and as a morale booster for the troops.[70]

In 1998, Trebek donated 74 acres (30 hectares) of open land in the Hollywood Hills (worth over $2 million at the time) to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.[71]

The American Foundation for the Blind, in 2001, awarded Trebek one of the year's six Access Awards[72] for his role in accommodating notable Jeopardy! champion Eddie Timanus.

In 2016, Trebek donated $5 million to the University of Ottawa to fund the Alex Trebek Forum for Dialogue, the objective of which is "to expose students to a wide range of diverse views, through speeches, public panels, events and lectures by University of Ottawa researchers, senior government officials and guests speakers from around the world."[73] Trebek's gifts to the university, which at the time totaled $7.5 million, also fund a Distinguished Speaker Series, which has included a presentation by Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee, introduced by Trebek.[73] In 2017, Trebek funded the Alex Trebek Leadership Award at the University of Ottawa, an annual $10,000 award to a summa cum laude graduate who has also demonstrated community leadership.[74]

Awards and honors
In 1997 Alex Trebek was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of the University (D.Uni
v) from the University of Ottawa. [75]

In addition to awards for Jeopardy!, Trebek has received a great deal of recognition. In March 2006, it was announced that he would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.[76][77] He is the second game show host to be inducted (the first being Monty Hall of Let's Make a Deal and the third being Howie Mandel of Deal or No Deal). His star is located on King Street West near those of the Crazy Canucks and Eugene Levy
Trebek has been awarded six Outstanding Game Show Host Emmy Awards (1989, 1990, 2003, 2006, 2008, and 2019),[78][79] and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (located at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard, near those for Ann-Margret and Vincent Price).

On November 4, 2010, Trebek received the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's Gold Medal for his contribution to geographic education and the popular study of geography.[80] Previous recipients of this award include the author and anthropologist Wade Davis (2009), Peter Gzowski (1997), and Mary May Simon (1998).[81]

In 2011, it was announced that Trebek would be one of the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards.[82][83]

As of June 13, 2014, Trebek has held a Guinness World Record for "the most gameshow episodes hosted by the same presenter (same program)" for having hosted 6,829 episodes of Jeopardy!,[84] overtaking previous record holder Bob Barker.[85] On May 4, 2015, Trebek's alma mater, the University of Ottawa, named its alumni hall in his honour, as a benefactor to the university.[86]

In 2016 Alex Trebek was named the Honorary President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. [87]

On June 30, 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada by then Governor General David Johnston for "his iconic achievements in television and for his promotion of learning, notably as a champion for geographical literacy."[88]

On June 28, 2019, the Daughters of the American Revolution awarded the 2019 Americanism Award to Trebek.[89][90]

Television and film appearances
Shows hosted
1963–1964: Music Hop
1964: Vacation Time – co-host
1966–1970: CBC Championship Curling – announcer
1966–1973: Reach for the Top
1969: Barris & Company – co-host/announcer (pilot)
1969: Strategy
1971: Pick and Choose
1972: Outside/Inside
1973: TGIF – announcer
1973: The Wizard of Odds
1974–1976, 1978–1980: High Rollers (NBC)
1976–1977: Double Dare (CBS)
1976–1980: Stars on Ice (CTV)
1977–1978: The $128,000 Question
1980–1981: Wall $treet
1981–1982: Pitfall
1981–1983: Battlestars
1983: Malcolm (pilot)
1983: Starcade (pilot)
1984–present: Jeopardy!
1985: Lucky Numbers (pilot)
1987: VTV-Value Television – co-host with Meredith MacRae
1987–1991: Classic Concentration
1989–2013: The National Geographic Bee national finals
1990: Super Jeopardy!
1991: To Tell the Truth (1990–1991) – from February to May 1991
1993: The Red Badge of Courage/Heart of Courage – Canadian-produced show highlighting brave individuals
1996–1998: The Pillsbury Bake-Off
1997: Wheel of Fortune – April Fools' Day episode (also a substitute host in August 1980)
1999: Live from the Hollywood Bowl – annual live broadcast
2017: Game Changers – host and executive producer
Acting
1987: Mama's Family – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1988: For Keeps – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1988: Rain Man – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1990: Cheers – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 8.14 – "What Is... Cliff Clavin?")
1990: Predator 2 – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (voice)
1990: The Earth Day Special – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1991: WrestleMania VII – as himself, a ring announcer and interviewer
1992: The Golden Girls – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 7.16 – "Questions and Answers")
1992: White Men Can't Jump – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1993: Short Cuts – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1993: Groundhog Day – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! show #1656
1993: The Larry Sanders Show – as himself, the minister who marries Hank Kinsley (episode 2.15 – "Hank's Wedding")
1993: Rugrats – as Alan Quebec, the host of "Super Stumpers" (episode 2.37 – "Game Show Didi")
1995: The Nanny – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 3.2 – "Franny and the Professor")
1995: Beverly Hills, 90210 – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1995: Blossom – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 5.14 – "Who's Not on First")
1995: Jury Duty – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1996: The X-Files – as a Man in Black who Agent Mulder thought looked "incredibly" like himself (episode: "Jose Chung's From Outer Space")
1996: Seinfeld – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 8.9 – "The Abstinence")
1996: The Magic School Bus – Announcer (voice) (episode 2.6 – "Shows and Tells")
1996: Ellen's Energy Adventure – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1997: "Ned and Stacey - as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
1997: The Simpsons – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! in "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" (Voice)
1998: Baywatch – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (episode 9.8 – "Swept Away")
1998: The Weird Al Show – as himself, the Host of Jeopardy! (voice)
1998: Mafia! – himself, riding on a parade float
2000: Finding Forrester – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
2000: Charlie's Angels – as himself, the host of Jeopardy!
2000: Saturday Night Live – himself
2000: Arthur – as Alex Lebek, the host of Riddle Quest[91]
2000: Pepper Ann – as himself (2 episodes)
2002: Saturday Night Live – himself
2006: Family Guy – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! in "I Take Thee Quagmire" (voice)
2008: The Bucket List – as himself, the host of Jeopardy! (voice)
2010: How I Met Your Mother – himself in "False Positive"
2013: How I Met Your Mother – himself in "P.S. I Love You"
2013: Delta Air Lines – as himself, answering a Jeopardy-like question in the final segment of Delta's Holiday-themed safety video.
2014: Hot in Cleveland – as himself and Park Ranger Alex Trebek[24]
2014: Delta Air Lines – as himself, seen raising hand after being asked if the passengers have any questions toward the end of a Delta safety video.
2014: The Colbert Report (series finale) – as himself, "the man who knows all the answers", in Santa's sleigh.
2015: The Amazing Race Canada – as himself/season 3 pit stop greeter
2018: Orange Is the New Black – as himself
2018: RuPaul's Drag Race – as himself

Classroom

A classroom is a learning space, a room in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education or training is provided, such as corporations and religious and humanitarian organizations. The classroom provides a space where learning can take place uninterrupted by outside distractions.
Types of classroom
In elementary schools (grades: [Kindergarten] through 5th), classrooms can have a whole group of 18 to 30 students and one, two, or even three teachers. When there are two teachers in a classroom, one is the lead teacher and the other one is the associate. Or the second teacher may be a special education teacher. There may be a third teacher in the back watching and taking notes. In lower elementary the classrooms are set up slightly different than upper elementary. In these classrooms there are tables instead of desks, a rug with a (smart board) for whole group learning, a library, computers, and centers. The rug is the vocal point of the classroom and everything else is strategically placed around it. The teacher must be able to move swiftly through the classroom. To determine if the classroom is meeting the highest level of quality there is a grading scale called ECERS (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale). There are 43 items on this checklist and it is divided into 7 categories and they are as follows: Space and Furnishings, Personal Care Routines, Language-Reasoning, Activities, Interactions, Program Structure, and Parents and Staff.[1] In an upper elementary classroom students now use desks, there is no rug for whole group learning but there is a smart board and computers. Students also start practicing switching classes to get accustomed to middle and high, usually in fifth grade school transitions.

In a self-contained classrooms there are 7 or less students. Self-contained classrooms are designed for children that need more one-on-one time. Teachers get to solely focus on their small group of students and create individualized lessons for each child. An integrated or inclusion classroom can be thought of as a mix between a traditional classroom and a self-contained classroom. In this style of classroom, there is a mix of general students and students that need services. There are two teachers in this style of classroom, a general education teacher and special education teacher. They both teach and serve the students in the classroom, but during certain parts of the day the special education teacher may pull the students that have services to give them additional support. This allows students with accommodations or an Individual Education Program (IEP), to still get to be in a general classroom but also get the individualized instruction they need.

Middle school and high school classrooms are set up quite similar. There is one teacher and students transition from one classroom to the next. They do not stay in one classroom all day. These classrooms can have around 20 students. Students may not exactly have the same group of students in each class depending on the students schedule.

Then college classrooms are set up in a lecture hall or auditorium with one teacher, also called a professor. Typically this teacher has a Teacher Assistant (TA), which is a grad student. This person may help administer or grade tests. They can also hold review sessions for college students to come to once or twice a week.

Some other types of classrooms that a middle/high school or college might have are: computer labs for IT lessons, gymnasiums for sports, and science laboratories for biology, chemistry and physics.

Decor and design
The layout, design and decor of the classroom has a significant effect upon the quality of the educational experience.[2] Attention to the acoustics and colour scheme may reduce distractions and aid concentration. The lighting and furniture likewise influence factors such as student attention span.
istorically, relatively few pupil-centric design principles were used in the construction of classrooms. In 19th century Britain, one of the few common considerations was to try and orient new buildings so the class windows faced north as much as possible, while avoiding west or southern facing windows, as in Britain northern light causes less glare.[4] Desks were often arranged in columns and rows, with a teacher's desk at the front, where he or she would stand and lecture the class. Little color was used for fear of distracting the children. In the 1950s and 60s cheap and harsh fluorescent lights were sometimes used, which could cause eyestrain. Research has suggested that optimal use of daylight, acoustics, color selection and even the arrangement of the furniture in the classroom can affect pupils academic success.[citation needed] Georgetown University found that test scores increased by 11% through the improvement of a classroom's physical environment.[5]

In the design of a classroom, desk arrangements are essential to the decor and design of the classroom followed by seating arrangements for the students. Usually classroom desks are arranged in rows or columns, but there are many more ways to arrange the desks, for example making a circle with the desks so that it's more of a group discussion or having the desks in a "U" shape for group discussions and easy access for the teacher. Another common principle is arrangement in 'clusters' or small groups, which usually improves interaction and participation in (small) group-processes. Color is also a big asset to the classroom by realating the colors to the subjects learned in the classroom to help the students learn. Also color helps the atmosphere be fun and exciting and help visual stimulation for the students.

Acoustics
The acoustics of the classroom are very often overlooked, but are an important part of the success of a child. Choosing only materials that cause sound to reverberate, such as tile floors and hard wall surfaces, greatly increases noise levels and can prove detrimental to learning. One study of hyperactive versus control groups of children found that white noise has no impact on either group, but that auditory stimulation such as distant conversations or music has a negative effect on both groups of students. Children with attention deficit disorder scored higher on tests when white noise was being pumped into the classroom than when music was played. The control group of children as well as the hyperactive group of children averaged the same test scores when there was no sound as when white noise was being played.[6]

By utilizing soft surfaces, especially on the floor, the sounds within and outside of the classroom will be diminished, taking away from the distractions facing students and improving not just the test scores of hyperactive children, but those without attention deficit disorder as well. Although carpet is an obvious choice for sound absorption, it may not be suitable for high traffic areas like hallways. In such cases, other sound absorbing materials, such as cork, can be used. The use of sound absorbing ceiling tiles may also be a wise choice for areas where carpet cannot be used for practical purposes.

Color selection
Color theory refers to the psychological effects color has on the human body. Red is said to increase both aggression and appetite, a poor combination for a school's interior. Yellow increases adrenaline levels and is also undesirable for a school setting. Blue, green, and brown create a relaxing and calming environment, which is a positive for the classroom.[7] However, blue also is associated with cold and sadness and elongates the sense of time, which would make a blue classroom tortuous for students (Vodvarka, 1999). Warm colors are often favored by students, making them more alert and increasing brain activity, which helps in increasing test scores. Cool colors had the opposite effect.[8] By balancing warm and cool colors, bright and subdued, a pleasing effect can be achieved that will reduce absenteeism in schools and keep the students focused on what the teacher is saying. Test scores go up when children are not in a stark white environment, which can feel sterile and cold.[9][10]

Furniture arrangement
Furniture is an important aspect because students spend most of their time seated in the classroom. The furniture should be able to move and easy to arrange to allow students to sit in places that are best suited for their learning styles so they can focus on work[11]

Traditionally, classrooms have had one setup: straight rows of desks facing the front of the classroom. The row style allows teachers ample amount of space to walk around.[12] This makes it easier for teachers to supervise the students work and catch any students that may be misbehaving, insuring that students stay focused. Studies have found that the row style also fosters less off topic talking causing the atmosphere to be more conducive to learning.[13] While the row style sounds ideal from a teacher's standpoint it can be damaging to the student's well being. The row style of desk arrangement has been found to cause the students to withdraw.[14]

An alternative to the traditional row style desk pavement is to arrange the desks in groups. Phil Beadle, a UK Secondary Teacher of the Year, believes that it is best to arrange the desks in groups of six desks if at all possible. This allows for the most use out of the desk arrangement as you have the ability to utilize groups of two, three, or six students without moving a single chair.[15] Beadle isn't the only teacher to swear by group desk arrangement; studies have shown that the group desk placement setup produces a greater number of on task actions than any other form of desk placement.[14] The group setup does have one potentially serious negative side effect. Students sitting in group desk placements are more likely to misbehave when the teacher isn't looking, like using iPads that are provided by the school, such as in the Cupertino Union School District.[12] To avoid this the groups of desks should be arranged around the outside of the room giving the teacher plenty of room to walk around and supervise as well as providing room for kinesthetic activities that can be beneficial to the students learning.[15]

The final popular desk arrangement is the circle/semicircle placement. This particular desk setup is growing in popularity due to the numerous positive outcomes it provides. The circle desk arrangement facilitates the flow of ideas by fostering positive group dynamics.[12] When sitting in a circle it is easier for students to not only see who is talking, but to make eye contact with the speaker. Students sitting in a circle arrangement tend to feel more comfortable speaking up and asking questions.[13] This style of desk placement also makes it easier for teachers to control the class, preventing misbehaving and off task comments as it allows them to easily see all the students, and allows all the students to see the teacher.[12] Besides, the type of furniture may play an important role in the learning space. There is a relationship between the ergonomic characteristics of the educational furniture and the number of cognitive errors, as the more ergonomics characteristics of the furniture, the less error. There is also an error percentage reduction using separated chair and desk[16].


Challenges to the classroom
Online learning technologies make it possible for learning to take place at any time, at any place, and at any pace that the learner desires. This is particularly important for adult students who may need to schedule their learning around work and parenting responsibilities.[17] According to the American Society for Training and Development, as of 2014, approximately 25% of employee training hours take place online rather than in a classroom.[18] However, critics argue that even the classroom space is full of distractions in the 21st century since even though access to the online world may be restricted by some institutions, students may find distractions in their physical vicinity and so tend to multitask and divide their attention without focusing on any one task at a time.[19]

The traditional classroom has also been attacked by advocates of various forms of alternative education. Italian educator Maria Montessori wrote that "Stationary desks and chairs [are] proof that the principle of slavery still informs the school"

نجوى قاسم

نجوى قاسم (7 يوليو 1967 - 2 يناير2020-)، إعلامية لبنانية عملت مقدمة برامج سياسية في تلفزيون المستقبل قناة العربية والعربية الحدث حيثُ قدمت البرنامج اليومي «حدث اليوم» و«نهاية الأسبوع»
حياتها
وُلدت في بلدة جون محافظة جبل لبنان، وإنتقلت للعاصمة بيروت مع عائلتها في عمر السنتين حيث ترعرعت فتابعت دراستها هناك ، أكملت دراستها الجامعية في الجامعة اللبنانية ، تخرّجت منها في العام 1993 ونالت شهادة الماجستير فيها لكنها تحولت للعمل الإعلامي لشغفها بالسياسة،لم تتزوج

مشوارها المهني
بدايتها في الإعلام كانت عام 1993 "عبر قناة الجديد" عندما أعلن حاجتة لمذيعين جدد تقدّمت بطلب وتم قبوها حيث عملت هناك لأشهر قليلة إنتقلت بعدها لتكون أول مذيعة تطل عبر تلفزيون المستقبل في العام نفسه ، غطّت أخبار الحروب في أفغانستان والعراق ولبنان؛ وعملت فيه لمدة أحد عشر عامًا قدمت فيه برامج مهمة مختصة بالأسرى اللبنانيين والعرب في السجون الإسرائيلية حيث تابعت هذه القضية بشغف كبير حتى تحرير عدد كبير من هؤلاء الأسرى. كما واجهت العديد من الصعوبات و المحطات الرئيسية لها كإعلامية خلال وذلك في تغطية العديد من الأحداث المهمة محلياً وعالمياً كتغطية الحرب على أفغانستان في العام 2001 كمراسلة حربية كما أنها كانت شاهدة على الغزو الأميركي للعراق في العام 2003 حيث نجت بأعجوبة من الموت بعد تعرّض "فندق فلسطين" للقصف الأميركي. ،إنتقلت إلى قناة العربية في عام 2003 كصحفية ومذيعة رغبةً منها في قناة أكثر تخصصًا في الأخبار السياسية .

نجاتها من تفجير إرهابي في بغداد
في العام 2004 نجت من حادثة تفجير إرهابي استهدف مكتب قناة العربية في بغداد، نهضت من بين الحطام حاملة المايكرفون لتبُث على الهواء وقائع الحادث قبل أن تهرع إلى الشارع لإيقاف السيارات لنقل الجرحى للمستشفيات

ألقابها
حصلت في عام 2006 على جائزة أفضل مذيعة في المهرجان العربي الرابع للإعلام في بيروت. سُمّيت على موقع قناة العربية بـ «قطعة الكريستال» وسمّتها جريدة الرياض السعودية بـ «المراسلة الحربيّة».اختيرت في عام 2011 من بينِ أقوى مائة سيدة في العالم العربي من قبل مجلة أريبيان بزنس؛ وحصلت في العام الموالي على جائزة مؤسسة مي شدياق للإبداع التلفزيوني
وفاتها
أأعلن مالك الروقي مدير أخبار قناة إم بي سي عن وفاتها في الثاني من كانون الثاني/يناير 2020، بسبب سكتة قلبية وذلك عبرَ تغريدةٍ نشرها على حسابهِ الرسمي في موقع التدوينات المُصغّر تويتر.

آخر ما كتبته ، كان خلال الاحتفال برأس السنة الجديدة في دبي ، قائلة :

««يا رب عام خير على الجميع يا رب يا رب.. يا رب احفظ بلادنا، وعينك على لبنان»»

ردود الفعل على وفاتها
الرئيس سعد الحريري "صدمة حقيقية ومحزنة، أن ترحل نجوى قاسم في عز العطاء والشباب. رافقت مشوار تلفزيون المستقبل منذ تأسيسه وسطعت على شاشته نجمة متألقة، قبل أن تنتقل إلى دبي حيث تابعت التفوق والنجاح. خسارة لنا وللإعلام اللبناني العربي. رحم الله نجوى قاسم وأحر التعازي لأسرتها وأسرة العربية – الحدث".
سفير السعودية في الإمارات، تركي الدخيل: "وداعاً للصديقة الغالية الأستاذة نجوى_قاسم... وداعاً سيدة الأخلاق والأدب والمهنية والاحترافية... وداعاً صديقة الجميع... رحمة الله عليك رحمة واسعة... إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون".
الوزيرة مي شدياق"صُعقت بالخبر المؤلم مع مطلع العام الجديد ماذا حصل! أنا عاجزة عن إيقاف دموعي! لقد بكيت كثيراً! أنت صديقة وفية، إعلامية لامعة!".
أحمد رمضان، رئيس حركة العمل الوطني من أجل سوريا "رحم الله الزميلة نجوي_قاسم الإعلامية الماهرة وصاحبة الحضور المميز، والبصمة الهامة في الإعلام العربي. العزاء لعائلتها، وأسرتها الإعلامية الكبيرة، والزملاء في العربية و الحدث، وألهمهم الصبر. سنفتقدك كثيراً يا نجوى الرحمة لك والعزاء لمحبيك".
الإعلامي مصطفى الآغا "بداية حزينة لعالم 2020 وخبر وفاة الزميلة نجوي قاسم بذبحة قلبية حسبما سمعنا ... خالص العزاء لأسرتها وزملاء مهنتها الذين تأثروا جداً برحيلها المفاجئ".
زاهي وهبي "خبرٌ مباغتٌ ومحزنٌ في مطلع العام الجديد. وداعًا نجوى قاسم زميلة المهنة والبدايات والمتاعب ومشقّات الحياة، لروحها الرحمة والمغفرة والسلام".
الإعلامي محمد أبو عبيد : "وآخر نجواها أن ترجو للناس عاما ملؤه الخير، وأن تسأل رب العباد أن يحفظ البلاد، ووطنها في العام الجديد 2020. كأنها قدمت وصيتها كي ترحل وقلبها منشغل ببلدها. ترحلين جسدا وروحك باقية فينا كم أذعت من الأخبار وتنهين المسيرة بأنك الخبر الفاجع. رحمك الله نجوي قاسم إنا على فراقك لمحزونون".
الإعلامي السعودي، مفيد النويصر "رحم الله قطعة الكريستال الأستاذة نجوى قاسم، الزميلة في قناة العربية، كانت صحافية ومراسلة حربية من طراز رفيع، إذ غطت أخبار الحروب بأفغانستان والعراق ولبنان.. وواجهت أحداث تفجير مكتب العربية ببغداد 2004 ولم يمنعها هذا الحادث أن تواصل تغطيتها ثم تركض للشارع لتسعف الجرحى".
الإعلامية ديانا مقلد، في تغريدة على حسابها عبر "تويتر" قاسم، مشيرةً، الى أنّ "نجوى رفيقة البدايات في التسعينيات، سكت قلبها في منزلها في دبي "نجوى إعلامية مكافحة كانت تعطي بسخاء وكرست حياتها كلها لعائلتها ومحبيها وكانت متفانية في عملها حتى اللحظة الأخيرة خبر حزين جدًا وصادم جدًا جدًا".
الفنانة اللبنانية، نجوى كرم "الله يرحم الإعلامية نجوى قاسم وتكون روحها في السماء".
الفنانة اللبنانية إليسا وقالت "شو محزن هالخبر مع بداية السنة الجديدة. نجوى قاسم كان العمر قدامها طويلا وكان عندها كتير لتقدمو بمشوارها بعد. الله يرحمها ويصبّر عيلتها عا هالمأساة. الموت حق وربنا يصبرن".

ماليكا أرورا

ماليكا أرورا (بالإنجليزية: Malaika Arora) (ولدت في 23 أغسطس سنة 1973) هي عارضة أزياء هندية وممثلة في بوليوود
نشأتها
ولدت ماليكا في مومباي لأم مالايالمية، هي جويس بوليكارب ،وأب بنجابي ،هو انيل أرورا. وقد عمل والدها في البحرية التجارية. وأختها الصغرى، أمريتا أرورا هي ممثلة في بوليوود.

وأنهت صفها العاشر من مدرسة سوامي فيفيكاناند شيمبور (مومباي). وكانت خالتها جريس بوليكارب مديرة المدرسة.وهي أيضا من خريجي الصليب المقدس في مدرسة ثانوية ثينمدرسة الصليب المقدس0} حيث درست هناك حتى الصف التاسع. وعاشت في مجتمع بورلا، بخلاف بسنت اسلكي قبل عملها بمهنة عارضة الازياء.

حياتها المهنية
وقد تم اختيار ماليكا كأحد الفنانات الاستعراضيات، عندما بدأت قناة " إم تي في " عملها في الهند. ثم ارتقت لتعمل كمحاورة على ام.تى.في الهندية، لتصبح أشهر ممثلة، وعارضة ازياء في الهند.

وقد اسندت إليها ال"ام.تى.في" عندما اكتشفت إمكانياتها أدوارا هامة مع سايروس بروتشا في البرنامج الشهير "لف لاين اند ستايل تشيك" ، في احتفالات "اوورد" والحفلات الموسيقية على القناة تلفزيونية. ثم دخلت بعد ذلك إلى عالم الأزياء. وعملها كاعارضة ازياء كان على نفس مستوى النجاح.

وقد ظهرت ماليكا في العديد من الإعلانات، وكذلك في سلسلة من الرقص والغناء، مثل شيايا شيايا في فيلم ديل سي وماهى في في كانتى ، وحصلت فيه على لقب، قنبلة الجنس. ومنذ ذلك الحين وهى تركز على مهنتها كاعارضة ازياء.

في عام 2005، قامت بمجموعة رقصات، كال دامال في فيلم كال . وأيضا قامت مؤخرا باستعراض ماهيش بابو لـالتيلوجو فيلم. وفي عام 2007، قامت بأداء أغنية فيلم هيى بيبى إخراج ساجد خان وأغنية أخرى معروفة لـأوم شانتي أوم التي أخرجتهافرح خان وهي شقيقة ساجد.

حياتها الشخصية
هي زوجة فنان بوليوود ارباز خان الذي قابلته أثناء تبادل لإطلاق النار باعلان قهوة. وانجبا ابنا "ارهان". وشقيقتها الممثلة أمريتا أرورا، واصهارها أيضا ممثلين، سلمان خان وسهيل خان. وأبو زوجها هو كاتب السيناريو الشهير السيد "سليم خان".

وقد قال ارباز في مقابلة شخصية "انها توازن بين عملها وبيتها وطفلها بشكل جميل". كما قالت أمريتا في برنامج كوفى الشهير مع كاران انها لا تعرف أحدا في بوليوود قد حافظ على رشاقته، كماليكا، حتى بعد انجابها.
ناتش بيلى
كما ظهرت ماليكا في البرنامج التلفزيوني ناتش بيلى بوصفها أحد الحكام الثلاثة وأذيع البرنامج على الهواء على ستار وان في منتصف 2005، واستمرت في منصب الحاكم في ناتش بيلى 2 الذي بدأ بثه على الهواء في الربع الأخير من عام 2006. وفي ذلك أيضا، قدمت العديد من الاستعراضات كنموذج لجميع المتسابقين.

زارا ناتشك ديكا
كما حكمت ماليكا في برنامج زارا ناتشك ديكا كحكم مع الممثل الهندي شانكى باندي.

Malaika Arora

Malaika Arora is an Indian actress, dancer, model, VJ, and television personality,[1] who is best known for her all-rounded work throughout Hindi cinema. She made her debut as a film producer in 2008, with former husband Arbaaz Khan,[2] founding the company Arbaaz Khan Productions, which has created the Dabangg film series. As an actress, Arora has starred in main roles in films Kaante (2002) and EMI (2008). As a dancer, she is acclaimed for her performances in the songs Chaiyya Chaiyya (1998), Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha (1998), Maahi Ve (2002), Kaal Dhamaal (2005), and Munni Badnaam Hui (2010).
Early life and background
Malaika Arora was named after the Swahili word "Malaika" meaning "angel".[3] She was born in Thane, Maharastra. Her parents divorced when she was 11 years old and she moved to Chembur with her mother & sister Amrita. Her mother, Joyce Polycarp, is a Malayali Catholic and her father, Anil Arora, was a Punjabi native to Indian border town of Fazilka, who worked in the Merchant Navy.[4][5][6][7]

She completed her secondary education from Swami Vivekanand School in Chembur. Her aunt, Grace Polycarp, was the principal of the school. She is also an alumnus of the Holy Cross High School Thane where she studied until ninth grade. She pursued her college education from Jai Hind College, Churchgate but did not complete it on account of professional engagements. She lived in Borla Society, Chembur opposite Basant Talkies before starting her modelling career.[8]

Career
Arora was selected as one of the VJs when MTV India started its operations. She began working as an interviewer, hosted shows such as Club MTV,[9] and later co-hosted with Cyrus Broacha the shows Love Line and Style Check.[10] Malaika then entered the modelling world, appearing in many advertisements, for album songs like Bally Sagoo's "Gur Naalo Ishq Mitha" opposite Jas Arora and item numbers such as "Chaiyya Chaiyya" in the 1998 Bollywood film Dil Se...[10]

In the 2000s, apart from featuring in item numbers for various films, she made cameo appearances in a few films. In 2008, she appeared in her first major acting role in the film EMI which was a box-office failure.

In 2010, she featured in the item song "Munni Badnaam Hui" in the film Dabangg, which was produced by her former husband Arbaaz Khan.[11] On 12 March 2011, she helped set a world record with 1235 participants performing a choreographed dance to "Munni Badnaam" which she led.[12]

She was the Taiwan Excellence celebrity endorser in 2012.[13] She endorsed Dabur's 30-plus.[14] She states that she never wanted to do acting.[15] She performed live alongside Atif Aslam, Shaan and Bipasha Basu in a series of concerts[16] at LG Arena in Birmingham[17] and The O2 Arena in London.

In 2014, she confirmed that she would make a cameo appearance in the Farah Khan-directed action comedy-drama film Happy New Year.[18]

Television
Malaika appeared on the television show Nach Baliye as one of the three judges.[1] The show was aired on STAR One in mid-2005. She continued as a judge in Nach Baliye 2 which started airing in the last quarter of 2006. In this show, she performed many item numbers as an example for the contestants. She appeared on the show Zara Nachke Dikha as a judge on Star One.[4] She was a judge on the show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in 2010.[19]

Malaika is on the judges panel in the show India's Got Talent.[20]

Personal life
Malaika was married to Bollywood actor-director-producer Arbaaz Khan in 1998 whom she met during a coffee ad shoot.[2] On 28 March 2016, they announced separation citing compatibility issues.[21][22] The couple officially got divorced on May 11, 2017.[23] Together they have a son, Arhaan, born on 9 November 2002.[24] The custody of the son after the divorce is with Malaika. While Arbaz has visitation rights on his son, as per the settlement reached in the Bandra Family Court. Her sister is actress Amrita Arora, and her former brothers-in-law are Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Bollywood actor-director-producer Sohail Khan. Her former father-in-law is scriptwriter Salim Khan.[1]

Filmography
As actress and dancer
1998: Dil Se.. in Chaiyya Chaiyya
1999: Pyar Ke Geet in Dholna
2000: Bichhoo in Ekwari Tak Le
2001: Indian in Yeh Pyar
2002: Maa Tujhhe Salaam (cameo appearance)
2002: Kaante as Lisa
2005: Kaal in Kaal Dhamaal
2007: Heyy Babyy in Heyy Babyy
2007: Athidhi in Rathraina (Telugu)
2007: Om Shanti Om in Deewangi Deewangi
2007: Welcome in Hoth Rasiley
2008: EMI as Nancy
2009: Helloo India (cameo appearance)2010: Prem Kaa Game in I Wanna Fall Fall in Love
2010: Dabangg in Munni Badnaam Hui
2012: Gabbar Singh in Kevvu Keka (Telugu film)
2012: Housefull 2 in Anarkali Disco Chali
2012: Dabangg 2 in Pandey Ji Seeti
2014: Happy New Year (cameo appearance)
2015: Dolly Ki Doli in Fashion Khatam Mujh Par
2018: Pataakha in Hello Hello
As producer
2010: Dabangg – Filmfare Award for Best Film,[25] National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment[26]
2012: Dabangg 2
2015: Dolly Ki Doli

Premier League

The Premier League, often referred to as the English Premier League or the EPL outside England, is the top level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football League (EFL).

The Premier League is a corporation in which the member clubs act as shareholders. Seasons run from August to May with each team playing 38 matches (playing all 19 other teams both home and away).[1] Most games are played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The Premier League has featured 47 English and two Welsh clubs since its inception, making it a cross-border league.

The competition was formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from the Football League, founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal.[2] The deal was worth £1 billion a year domestically as of 2013–14, with Sky and BT Group securing the domestic rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively.[3] The league generates €2.2 billion per year in domestic and international television rights.[4] Clubs were apportioned central payment revenues of £2.4 billion in 2016–17, with a further £343 million in solidarity payments to English Football League (EFL) clubs.[5]

The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people.[6][7] For the 2018–19 season average Premier League match attendance was at 38,181,[8] second to the Bundesliga's 43,500,[9] while aggregated attendance across all matches is the highest of any league at 14,508,981.[10] Most stadium occupancies are near capacity.[11] The Premier League ranks second in the UEFA coefficients of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons as of 2019, only behind Spain's La Liga.[12]

Forty-nine clubs have competed since the inception of the Premier League in 1992. Six of them have won the title since then: Manchester United (13), Chelsea (5), Manchester City (4), Arsenal (3), Blackburn Rovers (1), and Leicester City (1). The record of most points in a Premier League season is 100, set by Manchester City in 2017–18.
History
Origins
Despite significant European success in the 1970s and early 1980s, the late 1980s marked a low point for English football. Stadiums were crumbling, supporters endured poor facilities, hooliganism was rife, and English clubs were banned from European competition for five years following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.[13] The Football League First Division, the top level of English football since 1888, was behind leagues such as Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga in attendances and revenues, and several top English players had moved abroad.[14]

By the turn of the 1990s the downward trend was starting to reverse. At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, England reached the semi-finals; UEFA, European football's governing body, lifted the five-year ban on English clubs playing in European competitions in 1990, resulting in Manchester United lifting the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1991. The Taylor Report on stadium safety standards, which proposed expensive upgrades to create all-seater stadiums in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, was published in January 1990.[15]

In the 1980s, major English clubs had begun to transform into business ventures, applying commercial principles to club administration to maximise revenue. Martin Edwards of Manchester United, Irving Scholar of Tottenham Hotspur, and David Dein of Arsenal were among the leaders in this transformation.[16] The commercial imperative led to the top clubs seeking to increase their power and revenue; the clubs in Division One threatened to break away from the Football League, and in so doing they managed to increase their voting power and gain more favourable financial arrangement, taking a 50% share of all television and sponsorship income in 1986.[16] They demanded that television companies should pay more for their coverage of football matches,[17] and revenue from television grew in importance. The Football League received £6.3 million for a two-year agreement in 1986, but by 1988, in a deal agreed with ITV, the price rose to £44 million over four years with the leading clubs taking 75% of the cash.[18][19] According to Scholar who was involved in the negotiations of television deals, each of the First Division clubs received only around £25,000 per year from television rights before 1986, this increased to around £50,000 in the 1986 negotiation, then to £600,000 in 1988.[20] The 1988 negotiations were conducted under the threat of ten clubs leaving to form a "super league", but they were eventually persuaded to stay with the top clubs taking the lion's share of the deal.[18][21][22] The negotiations also convinced the bigger clubs that in order to receive enough votes, they needed to take the whole of First Division with them instead of a smaller "super league".[23] By the beginning of the 1990s, the big clubs again considered breaking away, especially now that they had to fund the cost of stadium upgrade as proposed by the Taylor Report.[24]

Foundation
In 1990, the managing director of London Weekend Television (LWT), Greg Dyke, met with the representatives of the "big five" football clubs in England (Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Everton and Arsenal) over a dinner.[25] The meeting was to pave the way for a break away from The Football League.[26] Dyke believed that it would be more lucrative for LWT if only the larger clubs in the country were featured on national television and wanted to establish whether the clubs would be interested in a larger share of television rights money.[27] The five clubs agreed with the suggestion and decided to press ahead with it; however, the league would have no credibility without the backing of The Football Association and so David Dein of Arsenal held talks to see whether the FA were receptive to the idea. The FA did not enjoy an amicable relationship with the Football League at the time and considered it as a way to weaken the Football League's position.[28] The FA released a report in June 1991, Blueprint for the Future of Football, that supported the plan for Premier League with FA the ultimate authority that would oversee the breakaway league.[23]

At the close of the 1991 season, a proposal was tabled for the establishment of a new league that would bring more money into the game overall. The Founder Members Agreement, signed on 17 July 1991 by the game's top-flight clubs, established the basic principles for setting up the FA Premier League.[29] The newly formed top division would have commercial independence from The Football Association and the Football League, giving the FA Premier League licence to negotiate its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The argument given at the time was that the extra income would allow English clubs to compete with teams across Europe.[14] Although Dyke played a significant role in the creation of the Premier League, Dyke and ITV would lose out in the bidding for broadcast rights as BSkyB won with a bid of £304 million over five years with the BBC awarded the highlights package broadcast on Match of the Day.[25][27]

In 1992, the First Division clubs resigned from the Football League en masse and on 27 May 1992 the FA Premier League was formed as a limited company working out of an office at the Football Association's then headquarters in Lancaster Gate.[14] This meant a break-up of the 104-year-old Football League that had operated until then with four divisions; the Premier League would operate with a single division and the Football League with three. There was no change in competition format; the same number of teams competed in the top flight, and promotion and relegation between the Premier League and the new First Division remained the same as the old First and Second Divisions with three teams relegated from the league and three promoted.[22]

The league held its first season in 1992–93. It was composed of 22 clubs for that season. The first Premier League goal was scored by Brian Deane of Sheffield United in a 2–1 win against Manchester United.[30] The 22 inaugural members of the new Premier League were Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Coventry City, Crystal Palace, Everton, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Wimbledon.[31] Luton Town, Notts County, and West Ham United were the three teams relegated from the old first division at the end of the 1991–92 season, and did not take part in the inaugural Premier League season
"Top Four" dominance (2000s)
One significant feature of the Premier League in the mid-2000s was the dominance of the so-called "Top Four" clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.[33][34] During this decade, they dominated the top four spots, which came with UEFA Champions League qualification, taking all top-four places in 5 out of 6 seasons from 2003–04 to 2008–09 inclusive, while every season during the 2000s saw the "Big Four" always qualifying for European competition. Following the 2003–04 season, Arsenal acquired the nickname "The Invincibles" as they became the first club to complete a Premier League campaign without losing a single game, the only time it has ever happened in the Premier League.[35][36]

During the 2000s, only four sides outside the "Top Four" managed to qualify for the Champions League: Leeds United (1999–2000), Newcastle United (2001–02 and 2002–03), Everton (2004–05) and Tottenham Hotspur (2009–10) – each occupying the final Champions League spot, with the exception of Newcastle in the 2002–03 season, who finished third.

In May 2008 Kevin Keegan stated that "Top Four" dominance threatened the division, "This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world."[37] Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said in defence: "There are a lot of different tussles that go on in the Premier League depending on whether you're at the top, in the middle or at the bottom that make it interesting."[38]

Between 2005 and 2012, there was a Premier League representative in seven of the eight Champions League finals, with only "Top Four" clubs reaching that stage. Liverpool (2005), Manchester United (2008) and Chelsea (2012) won the competition during this period, with Arsenal (2006), Liverpool (2007), Chelsea (2008) and Manchester United (2009 and 2011) all losing Champions League finals.[39] Leeds United were the only non-"Top Four" side to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League, in the 2000–01 season.

Additionally, between the 1999–2000 and 2009–10 seasons, four Premier League sides reached UEFA Cup or Europa League finals, with only Liverpool managing to win the competition in 2001. Arsenal (2000), Middlesbrough (2006) and Fulham (2010) all lost their finals.[40]

Although the group's dominance was reduced to a degree after this period with the emergence of Manchester City and Tottenham, in terms of all time Premier League points won they remain clear by some margin. As of the end of the 2018–19 season – the 27th season of the Premier League – Liverpool, in fourth place in the all-time points table, were over 250 points ahead of the next team, Tottenham Hotspur. They are also the only teams to maintain a winning average of over 50% throughout their entire Premier League tenures.[41]

Emergence of the "Big Six" (2010s)
The years following 2009 marked a shift in the structure of the "Top Four" with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City both breaking into the top four places on a regular basis, turning the "Top Four" into the "Big Six".[42] In the 2009–10 season, Tottenham finished fourth and became the first team to break the top four since Everton five years prior.[43] Criticism of the gap between an elite group of "super clubs" and the majority of the Premier League has continued, nevertheless, due to their increasing ability to spend more than the other Premier League clubs.[44] Manchester City won the title in the 2011–12 season, becoming the first club outside the "Big Four" to win since Blackburn Rovers in the 1994–95 season. That season also saw two of the "Big Four" (Chelsea and Liverpool) finish outside the top four places for the first time since that season.
With only four UEFA Champions League qualifying places available in the league, greater competition for qualification now exists, albeit from a narrow base of six clubs. If the teams are level on points and goal difference, play off for UEFA Champions League spots will be played in neutral ground. In the following five seasons after the 2011–12 campaign, Manchester United and Liverpool both found themselves outside of the top four three times while Chelsea finished 10th in the 2015–16 season. Arsenal finished 5th in 2016–17, ending their record run of 20 consecutive top-four finishes.[45]

In the 2015–16 season, the top four was breached by a non-Big Six side for the first time since Everton in 2005. Leicester City were the surprise winners of the league, qualifying for the Champions League as a result.[46]

Off the pitch, the "Big Six" wield significant financial power and influence, with these clubs arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of revenue due to the greater stature of their clubs globally and the attractive football they aim to play.[47] Objectors argue that the egalitarian revenue structure in the Premier League helps to maintain a competitive league which is vital for its future success.[48]

The 2016–17 Deloitte Football Money League report showed the financial disparity between the "Big Six" and the rest of the division. All of the "Big Six" had revenues greater than €350 million, with Manchester United having the largest revenue in the league at €676.3 million. Leicester City was the closest club to the "Big Six" in terms of revenue, recording a figure of €271.1 million for that season – helped by participation in the Champions League. The eighth largest revenue generator West Ham, who didn't play in European competition, had revenues of €213.3 million, nearly half of the club with the fifth largest revenue, Liverpool (€424.2 million).[49] A substantial part of the clubs' revenue by then came from television broadcast deals, with the biggest clubs each taking from around £150 million to nearly £200 million in the 2016–17 season from such deals.[50] In Deloitte's 2019 report, all of the "Big Six" were in the top ten of the world's richest clubs.[51]

Development
The number of clubs was reduced to 20, down from 22, in 1995 when four teams were relegated from the league and only two teams promoted.[52][53] The top flight had only been expanded to 22 teams at the start of the 1991–92 season – the year prior to the formation of the Premier League.[53]

On 8 June 2006, FIFA requested that all major European leagues, including Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga, be reduced to 18 teams by the start of the 2007–08 season. The Premier League responded by announcing their intention to resist such a reduction.[54] Ultimately, the 2007–08 season kicked off again with 20 teams.[55]

The league changed its name from the FA Premier League to simply the Premier League in 2007.[56]

Corporate structure
The Football Association Premier League Ltd (FAPL)[57][58][59] is operated as a corporation and is owned by the 20 member clubs. Each club is a shareholder, with one vote each on issues such as rule changes and contracts. The clubs elect a chairman, chief executive, and board of directors to oversee the daily operations of the league.[60] The Football Association is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations of the Premier League, but has veto power as a special shareholder during the election of the chairman and chief executive and when new rules are adopted by the league.[61]

The current chairman is Sir Dave Richards, who was appointed in April 1999, and the chief executive is Richard Scudamore, appointed in November 1999.[62] The former chairman and chief executive, John Quinton and Peter Leaver, were forced to resign in March 1999 after awarding consultancy contracts to former Sky executives Sam Chisholm and David Chance.[63] Rick Parry was the league's first chief executive.[64] On 13 November 2018, Susanna Dinnage was announced as Scudamore's successor due to start in early 2019.[65]

The Premier League sends representatives to UEFA's European Club Association, the number of clubs and the clubs themselves chosen according to UEFA coefficients. For the 2012–13 season the Premier League has 10 representatives in the Association: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.[66] The European Club Association is responsible for electing three members to UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, which is involved in the operations of UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and UEFA Europa League.[67]

Competition format
Competition
There are 20 clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (from August to May) each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents', for 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank.[68]

Promotion and relegation
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Premier League and the EFL Championship. The three lowest placed teams in the Premier League are relegated to the Championship, and the top two teams from the Championship promoted to the Premier League,[69] with an additional team promoted after a series of play-offs involving the third, fourth, fifth and sixth placed clubs.[70] The Premier League had 22 teams when it began in 1992, but this was reduced to the present 20-team format in 1995

Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories is a 2017 British horror film written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, based on their 2010 stage play of the same name.[3] It stars Nyman reprising his role from the play, as a man devoted to debunking fraudulent psychics, who is tasked with solving three unexplained paranormal events. Paul Whitehouse, Alex Lawther, and Martin Freeman co-star as the individuals who attest to the supernatural encounters.[4]

The film premiered at the London Film Festival on 5 October 2017 and was released nationwide in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2018 by Lionsgate. It received positive reviews from film critics.
Plot
In 1979, Phillip Goodman's strict Jewish father threw his sister out of the family for dating a South Asian man. As an adult, Goodman is lonely and single; he is also a well-known professor and television presenter whose show is devoted to debunking fraudulent psychics, which he regards as his life's work to stop people's lives being ruined by superstition the way his family's were. He receives an invitation to visit a famed 1970s paranormal investigator, Charles Cameron, who inspired him as a boy, but who has been missing for decades and is now living in a caravan, sick and impoverished. Cameron asks him to investigate three incidents of supposedly real supernatural ghost sightings.

The first case is a night watchman, Tony Matthews, whose wife has died of cancer and who feels guilty that he stopped visiting his daughter, who suffers from locked-in syndrome. He was haunted by the spirit of a young girl while working in a disused asylum for women. The second is a teenager, Simon Rifkind, who is obsessed with the occult and has a poor relationship with his parents. His car breaks down after running over the Devil in the woods. Goodman, although unsettled by the second case, believes that each of them has an obvious rational explanation: the supposed victims imagined them, based on their neuroses. The third case is a financier in the City, Mike Priddle, who was plagued by a poltergeist while awaiting the birth of his child. His wife's ghost appeared to him as she died giving birth to an (it is implied) inhuman child. Suddenly, the financier commits suicide with a shotgun.

Goodman returns to Cameron, who tears a latex mask off of his face, revealing himself to be Priddle. Goodman at first believes that he is the victim of an elaborate hoax, but reality soon breaks down altogether. Priddle leads Goodman back in time to the scene of a childhood incident in which he watched two bullies entice a mentally disabled boy into a drain, where he died of an asthma attack. Goodman has felt guilty all his life about his failure to rescue the victim. The decaying corpse of the bullied boy appears, tormenting Goodman and leading him to a hospital bed, where he is made to lie down. The ghoul lies on top of him and forces his finger into Goodman's mouth as Goodman cries "No, not again!" implying this is a recurring event.

In the real world, Goodman is comatose in a hospital with tubes in his mouth. He suffers from locked-in syndrome after a suicide attempt in his car. All the characters and events Goodman has experienced were inspired by the staff and objects in his hospital room. The doctors incorrectly believe that his persistent vegetative state allows him no awareness of his surroundings. The senior doctor predicts that Goodman is "here for keeps", without a chance of recovery. As he leaves the room, the senior doctor says to his junior colleague: "I hope his dreams are sweet". The hospital cleaner, in contrast, chats to Goodman and moves a mirror to give him a different view.

Cast
Andy Nyman as Professor Phillip Goodman, a famous professor and television presenter, whose show is devoted to debunking fraudulent psychics and explaining paranormal events.
Martin Freeman as Mike Priddle/senior doctor
Paul Whitehouse as Tony Matthews/hospital cleaner
Alex Lawther as Simon Rifkind/junior doctor
Nicholas Burns as Mark Van Rhys
Jill Halfpenny as Peggy Van Rhys
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Father Emery
Daniel Hill as Mr Goodman
Amy Doyle as Esther Goodman
Ramzan Miah as Esther's boyfriend
Emily Carding as Maria Priddle
Paul Warren as Woolly
Leonard Byrne as Charles Cameron
Jeremy Dyson has an uncredited appearance as the DJ at Phillip's Bar Mitzvah.

Reception
Ghost Stories was described by The Guardian as "an anthology of creepy supernatural tales in the intensely English tradition of Amicus portmanteau movies from the 1960s."[3] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 98 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skillfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews.