Strike

Hi guys,

Today, I am sitting here in the lab with no students (16:00), and wondering  why my students are not here.

I am not sure this strike is a response to the national issues on education or if it relates to internal problems  of the faculty.

On the one hand, I understand that striking and demonstrating seem to be the only ways to be listened to in this country. On the other hand, thanks to the strikes and the way in which classes are recuperated, we only see the deterioration of an already weak educational system.

It is very complex to find a happy medium.

Write about the problems here in or in your faculty? Here are some questions to help you.

Why is Facso (and a number of faculties at U Chile) on strike this week?

How do you participate in these strikes?

What benefits do you think will be obtained?

From your experience, what are the drawbacks of these strikes?

Can you think of other means that can contribute to obtain what you (students) are after?

Write a minimum of 200 words and 3 comments.

Talk Review

Remember I told you a bit about multiple intelligences a few weeks back? Well, last week I noticed there seems to be an interest in education in this class. This is why I have selected this task for today.

This week we are taking a look at the TED website: http://www.ted.com/.

You can use subtitles in English, please!

You have to visit it, watch Sir Ken Robinson's talk "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" ,


 and then write a 200- word review on  points he makes that you found more/less interesting.
Of course, 3 comments are always a must.

Guys,
Please remember on April the 10th I published the way the blog would be evaluated.
Do not forget that formative evaluation is done in class. If you come, you get the mark. If you don't come, you get a 1.0. It is your responsibility to be in class and to do the work assigned :)
Next week may be important :)

Dear all,

Today we will do a revising task.

I told you about the theory of multiple intelligences because I have to admit I agree with Howard Gardner when he states the traditional idea of intelligence is very limited and the traditional educational models hinder the potential of a lot of children.

I structured my presentation in a way that allowed me to show you the foundation and the main elements of this theory in 3:30 minutes. I also allowed for a short justification of the topic chosen. I think like the idea that Gardner really challenged most experts in cognitive psychology and to a certain extent development. I strongly believe this theory should be applied at elementary school level so all children could develop their strengths and improve their weaknesses.

Today, I’d like you to revise for your presentations this Thursday.

Tell us about the topic you have chosen.

Why you’ve chosen it

How you will organize it

Roughly mention what  the most interesting part of this theory is, author, etc. And why you think it could be interesting for us as an audience.

Write a minimum of 190 words and write 3 comments J

Hi Guys,
Please remember you need to show command on Thursday. If you stand in front of the class to read, the máximum mark you will get is a 3.5. The same if your slides have long texts. Remember you should have just a few words and short ideas to help you and the audience :)

Dear all:

Today I’d like to tell you a bit about myself. When I finished school I realized I did not know what to do. I loved languages but I also loved music. So I took a year off and worked to save money. Later I entered translation because I liked languages. I did English and German but right in the middle of it, there was a chance to travel to Germany and work there. So I did. When I got back to Chile I fell into teaching by chance.  Later I got my teaching degree.

I think teachers are a great contribution to society but only if they have a vocation. If not, they may be great researchers or academics, but not good educators. I feel a teacher needs to be alert and attentive to what is happening in the classroom in the whole sense of the word. They also need a lot of patience & knowledge in their area of study. A teacher, as any other professional needs constant training  (formal or informal) because the world changes, students change, and so does methodology.

I think one of my favorite subjects at Uni was phonetics. I loved the idea of studying & recognizing the English sounds and also to contrast them with the Spanish sounds. I also enjoyed semantics and pragmatics.

One professional I admire in my area of study is Rod Ellis. He is very well known in the area of second language acquisition.  He has published a lot of books & I love the way he writes. In his books he has covered areas of second language acquisition not only from the traditional angle but also in a more critical fashion. He has got a very clear way to express his ideas. I think this is good because not all teachers have the time to read and if it is too complex, they may get lost and stop reading. This, I think is because the lack of research most teachers (especially school teachers!) do

Say:

-Why are you studying this career?

- How do professionals in your area contribute to society?

- What tools will a professional in your area need to have in the future?

- What is your favourite subject?

- Include this and more in your answer.

- 195 words minimum. (3 comments to classmates)