... but you sure put a big smile on my face when I see there is one more of you guys on my list! :D
Thanks! I'll try not to disappoint you.
(Now what do I do to make you tell me IN WORDS what you think about all this? Let me think...)
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Happy Women's Day!
To all you women out there - may this be YOUR day, whatever the reasons may have been to make this day special
and celebrating it in your country or not - may it celebrate all those things you contribute to the lives of the people around you! Everything you are and all the good that you do!
and celebrating it in your country or not - may it celebrate all those things you contribute to the lives of the people around you! Everything you are and all the good that you do!
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Naughty boy
We were revising present simple, "my day" stuff, you know... There were just these two boys in the classroom and me. Not a regular class, but an extra lesson for those who are willing to put some more work into studying in order to improve their grades. In fact, one of these two boys was talked into it after a discussion with his mum (me an her, that is) and after me talking to him on several occasions. Well, he's finally here. Let's name him Bob.
The other one decided to be a good boy that day, I guess, or just figured out that with some more revising in a smaller group (there should be five or six other students) he would have to study less at home. I don't know.
None of these boys is what we would call "a good boy". But Bob - he can really wreck my nerves. Turning around ten times a minute to talk to someone instead of listening, he always answers with a broad smile on his face when I say something to him. He comes to class without homework, doesn't start doing the exercise many have already finished - he draws a mustache on a face in his workbook instead - interrupts my explanation or instructions annoying one neighbour or another and yet, he denies doing anything wrong. Grrrrr! But we can't let him get away without actually learning something. After all, he will be studying English for six or seven more years.
Anyway, we were revising "My Day". You know: I get up at six o'clock... They described their day in turns - one sentence each. We came to the evening, went past dinner, now what? My suggestion was shower...
"Well, I don't know, I said, maybe you don't have it in the evening. Maybe you have a shower in the morning."
This boy's answer was: I have it on Saturdays.
I just wanted to overhear that, but Bob was shocked: "What?!!? Not every day?"
The other boy then named some more days - the ones when he had practice (football or basketball, I'm not sure), saying that he always has a shower after practice, he came to some five days a week, so maybe he was just interrupted too soon the first time... but Bob...:
"I have a shower every day! At least twice!"
"Twice a day???"
"Of course! In the morning I go to my horses and feed them. When I come from the stable I must have a shower.I can't come too school all smelly, can I? And after homework, I go out and help dad with the horses and the rest of the animals. so, of course, I need a shower before going to bed..."
From present simple we came to all sorts of thoughts spinning in my head: Then this menace I can hardly stand some days is actually a boy who does some serious work - and I didn't hear a tone of complaint in his voice, he liked it!- and had a shower BEFORE CATCHING THE SCHOOLBUS! We start school at seven thirty so his bus must be leaving around seven!!! And he is happy to do the same in the afernoon... Wow!
I'm not sure this new knowledge about this boy's life will help me in any way. Perhaps it will. I'll try to make the best of it.
The other one decided to be a good boy that day, I guess, or just figured out that with some more revising in a smaller group (there should be five or six other students) he would have to study less at home. I don't know.
None of these boys is what we would call "a good boy". But Bob - he can really wreck my nerves. Turning around ten times a minute to talk to someone instead of listening, he always answers with a broad smile on his face when I say something to him. He comes to class without homework, doesn't start doing the exercise many have already finished - he draws a mustache on a face in his workbook instead - interrupts my explanation or instructions annoying one neighbour or another and yet, he denies doing anything wrong. Grrrrr! But we can't let him get away without actually learning something. After all, he will be studying English for six or seven more years.
Anyway, we were revising "My Day". You know: I get up at six o'clock... They described their day in turns - one sentence each. We came to the evening, went past dinner, now what? My suggestion was shower...
"Well, I don't know, I said, maybe you don't have it in the evening. Maybe you have a shower in the morning."
This boy's answer was: I have it on Saturdays.
I just wanted to overhear that, but Bob was shocked: "What?!!? Not every day?"
The other boy then named some more days - the ones when he had practice (football or basketball, I'm not sure), saying that he always has a shower after practice, he came to some five days a week, so maybe he was just interrupted too soon the first time... but Bob...:
"I have a shower every day! At least twice!"
"Twice a day???"
"Of course! In the morning I go to my horses and feed them. When I come from the stable I must have a shower.I can't come too school all smelly, can I? And after homework, I go out and help dad with the horses and the rest of the animals. so, of course, I need a shower before going to bed..."
From present simple we came to all sorts of thoughts spinning in my head: Then this menace I can hardly stand some days is actually a boy who does some serious work - and I didn't hear a tone of complaint in his voice, he liked it!- and had a shower BEFORE CATCHING THE SCHOOLBUS! We start school at seven thirty so his bus must be leaving around seven!!! And he is happy to do the same in the afernoon... Wow!
I'm not sure this new knowledge about this boy's life will help me in any way. Perhaps it will. I'll try to make the best of it.
Friday, 6 March 2009
What's on TV today?
Dust usually lies on things that are used very rarely and rests there until a diligent housewife deals with it.
Our TV is anything but unused. Maybe that is also the reason why I didn't notice the thick layer of that unwanted substance sooner. And when I did, it was ime to do other things (or bedtime), I decided to do it later and then forgot.
I often watch news in the morning, around six o'clock before leaving home. That is my news time. I don't usually watch the evening news. That morning programme helps me - together with my cup of coffee - wake up slowly and easily.
This morning, however, there was something different on: no news, no music, just a nice landscape with a tree and a little sunshine, all framed very neatly:
(click to enlarge)
It was my son that made my morning more interesting and sunnier than usual. No, he is not five. He is seventeen (17!). I guess it's a good thing to be a little childish at all times.
Needless to say, I did the dusting before I left for work. And I'm going to do some more now.
Our TV is anything but unused. Maybe that is also the reason why I didn't notice the thick layer of that unwanted substance sooner. And when I did, it was ime to do other things (or bedtime), I decided to do it later and then forgot.
I often watch news in the morning, around six o'clock before leaving home. That is my news time. I don't usually watch the evening news. That morning programme helps me - together with my cup of coffee - wake up slowly and easily.
This morning, however, there was something different on: no news, no music, just a nice landscape with a tree and a little sunshine, all framed very neatly:
(click to enlarge)Needless to say, I did the dusting before I left for work. And I'm going to do some more now.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Vivid explanation
We all know about these modern car keys. You can use them from a distance to lock or unlock your car. So far so good.
My colleague was curious, though, what the heck is that other button for. What do you do with that one?
Our headmaster was glad to explain it to her. Sitting in the staffroom and drinking coffee, he explained it and showed it to her:
"If you press this button and hold it for a little while, like this, all four windows come down. It's very convenient in summer, so that the car is aired a little before you even get there. It works from...I don't know...twenty, thirty metres..."
"Oh, I see... I..."
She couldn't finish the sentence when our janitor runs into the staffroom:
"Headmaster!! I don't know what happened, I mean, I don't know why, but suddenly all four windows of the school's car opened!"
Yep, the key does work from distance... and through thick concrete walls!
My colleague was curious, though, what the heck is that other button for. What do you do with that one?
Our headmaster was glad to explain it to her. Sitting in the staffroom and drinking coffee, he explained it and showed it to her:
"If you press this button and hold it for a little while, like this, all four windows come down. It's very convenient in summer, so that the car is aired a little before you even get there. It works from...I don't know...twenty, thirty metres..."
"Oh, I see... I..."
She couldn't finish the sentence when our janitor runs into the staffroom:
"Headmaster!! I don't know what happened, I mean, I don't know why, but suddenly all four windows of the school's car opened!"
Yep, the key does work from distance... and through thick concrete walls!
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
What makes your morning?
I like mornings. If I only have enough time. Isn't it nice to get up before others do, have a cup of coffee in peace and start the day slowly?
I usually come to work much before I need to and have time to think it over - what I'm going to do and how. I check a blog or two and in the meantime, I make coffee for my colleagues. And myself, of course. Maybe I write a few comments and then people stasrt dropping into the staff room. One of my colleagues often pours coffee for me - isn't that just sweet - and start talking about one thing or another. No tension. i like coming to work and I feel blessed for it.
Let me end here and look for some exercises now.
I usually come to work much before I need to and have time to think it over - what I'm going to do and how. I check a blog or two and in the meantime, I make coffee for my colleagues. And myself, of course. Maybe I write a few comments and then people stasrt dropping into the staff room. One of my colleagues often pours coffee for me - isn't that just sweet - and start talking about one thing or another. No tension. i like coming to work and I feel blessed for it.
Let me end here and look for some exercises now.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Testing and Grading
How do you remember being tested at school? And by this I mean the tests you had to write to get grades at any subject you were studying. Did you like that?
No matter how you change your teaching methods or what subject you teach, no matter what topic you're dealing with at the moment, you are required to grade your students in the end (with very few exceptions).
When you are dealing with something new, don't you tell your students: "Revise this at home, if possible, do it TODAY"? I know I do. And I offer extra help for those with more problems. And we check their homework together and I try to let their parents know if they are not doing well.
One day I come to the class with a testpaper. They are not happy about it. But we've done something similar about a week ago. And done more exercises. Revised. Now what?
They have forty-five minutes to solve what they can as well as they can and earn a grade.
I don't like that. But we have to do it. We have to find out how much they've learned. But do we?
There is this child who is very bright and understands connections between things, different concepts in life and can also deal with numbers very easily. Brilliant at music and fairly good at art, the child can barely read. Is this student really so bad at language if the test is poorly written? Will we be fair enough to this child to let his or her potentials evolve?
There is this student who hasn't got a good ear for language. I IS and I ARE both sound good to this student. But just before the test a thousand exercises get solved and the chapter in the textbook studied back and forth and all the notes in the notebook become of all sorts of different colours. So much work must do some good and the test goes fine. We are all happy. The knowledge, well, it lasts or not.
And there is this other student. You feel a perfect understanding of everything you're teaching somewhere behind the gestures that indicate self-consciousness. This student shines at revising, but comes to the class all pale and nervous on the "test day". The results do not meet the expectations. There must be a way to overcome this. Or not?
And another one: this little person is convinced in their own geniality which makes any kind of studying needless without saying. No exercises. No work. No studying. The result? Sometimes good and sometimes disappointing.
And yet another: not brilliant, but with some work this student comes by with fairly good grades. Will they remember next year what we are studying now?
And another: there is almost no way for this kid to pass. Not without one more chance and yet another one to make up for failing the test. But if we go abroad, this might be the child to actually use the language and talk to someone. With big mistakes, but still...
And others. And others. And more others. All different.
Some students want to know. A lot. As much as possible. Because they're curious. Because they're ambitious - positively ambitious. Because they want to be praised. Because good grades make them feel good.
Others lack ambition and motivation. They have accepted the generally known fact that they are the ones with the low grades. For some it would only take to think a little and their grades would go up.
My question is: should we grade what hey know? Their skills? Or how well they can show them? Their attitude? Their work? Their willingness to use the language?
I think I grade how well they can present their skills and knowledge. I don't always like that, but that's how it is. It is the only thing we have. No matter how well I understand how they feel when they don't do so well, I'll even bring more tests to the classroom. Get used to it, kids! Feeling happy, sad, frustrated, tired, stressed out, disappointed, feeling fine or not so fine, doing things you like and those you hate - that's life!
No matter how you change your teaching methods or what subject you teach, no matter what topic you're dealing with at the moment, you are required to grade your students in the end (with very few exceptions).
When you are dealing with something new, don't you tell your students: "Revise this at home, if possible, do it TODAY"? I know I do. And I offer extra help for those with more problems. And we check their homework together and I try to let their parents know if they are not doing well.
One day I come to the class with a testpaper. They are not happy about it. But we've done something similar about a week ago. And done more exercises. Revised. Now what?
They have forty-five minutes to solve what they can as well as they can and earn a grade.
I don't like that. But we have to do it. We have to find out how much they've learned. But do we?
There is this child who is very bright and understands connections between things, different concepts in life and can also deal with numbers very easily. Brilliant at music and fairly good at art, the child can barely read. Is this student really so bad at language if the test is poorly written? Will we be fair enough to this child to let his or her potentials evolve?
There is this student who hasn't got a good ear for language. I IS and I ARE both sound good to this student. But just before the test a thousand exercises get solved and the chapter in the textbook studied back and forth and all the notes in the notebook become of all sorts of different colours. So much work must do some good and the test goes fine. We are all happy. The knowledge, well, it lasts or not.
And there is this other student. You feel a perfect understanding of everything you're teaching somewhere behind the gestures that indicate self-consciousness. This student shines at revising, but comes to the class all pale and nervous on the "test day". The results do not meet the expectations. There must be a way to overcome this. Or not?
And another one: this little person is convinced in their own geniality which makes any kind of studying needless without saying. No exercises. No work. No studying. The result? Sometimes good and sometimes disappointing.
And yet another: not brilliant, but with some work this student comes by with fairly good grades. Will they remember next year what we are studying now?
And another: there is almost no way for this kid to pass. Not without one more chance and yet another one to make up for failing the test. But if we go abroad, this might be the child to actually use the language and talk to someone. With big mistakes, but still...
And others. And others. And more others. All different.
Some students want to know. A lot. As much as possible. Because they're curious. Because they're ambitious - positively ambitious. Because they want to be praised. Because good grades make them feel good.
Others lack ambition and motivation. They have accepted the generally known fact that they are the ones with the low grades. For some it would only take to think a little and their grades would go up.
My question is: should we grade what hey know? Their skills? Or how well they can show them? Their attitude? Their work? Their willingness to use the language?
I think I grade how well they can present their skills and knowledge. I don't always like that, but that's how it is. It is the only thing we have. No matter how well I understand how they feel when they don't do so well, I'll even bring more tests to the classroom. Get used to it, kids! Feeling happy, sad, frustrated, tired, stressed out, disappointed, feeling fine or not so fine, doing things you like and those you hate - that's life!
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