Wednesday, November 25
Creo que no son necesarias muchas palabras, estas viñetas ilustran claramente la transformación que ha experimentado la enseñanza y la sociedad española en las últimas décadas.
La violencia de baja intensidad es uno de los principales problemas a los que nos enfrentamos los profesores en nuestras aulas. Son agresiones leves como insultos, desprecios, desplantes, descalificaciones, desobediencias que nos van minando y que a veces desmotivan y desestabilizan psíquicamente a muchos docentes.
Si hacemos una pequeña historia de la enseñanza en nuestro país nos daremos cuenta cómo hemos llegado a esta situación.
Cuando en 1970 se promulgó la Ley General de Educación, establecía la enseñanza obligatoria hasta los catorce años y fomentaba además los valores cívicos como la solidaridad, el respeto, la generosidad, el esfuerzo y la responsabilidad.
La Logse en 1990 alargó la obligatoriedad de la enseñanza hasta los dieciséis años pero con un sistema que no favorecía ni promovía una actitud activa, esforzada y responsable de los alumnos. Se reducían los contenidos, se eliminaba el esfuerzo individual y la promoción era automática. Ya no estaba bien visto el enseñar valores y llegaron los "objetores escolares", alumnos obligados a permanecer en clase desinteresados, desmotivados y que sólo se dedican a molestar a los demás.
Al mismo tiempo, la sociedad ha ido evolucionando en algunos aspectos e involucionando en otros, digamos en la pérdida de respeto y responsabilidad. Unos jóvenes que no son respetuosos consigo mismos ni con los demás. Antes era habitual el intentar parecer una persona educada, culta y refinada. Aceptábamos la autoridad de cualquier persona mayor que podía reprendernos sin temor a la reacción de nuestros padres que seguramente le darían la razón. Éramos educados por todos, no solamente por nuestros padres y profesores. La urbanidad no era un esnobismo sino una forma de relacionarse con respeto.
Actualmente, no hay más que ver la televisión para cerciorarnos de que lo que prima es el vociferar, el hacer alarde de grosería y de una incultura supina. Tanto en las clases como en la calle hemos pasado del respeto (no miedo) al desprestigio y la mofa.
A ver quién se atreve a reprender una conducta inadecuada a un niño. Primero el niño se te rebota con gran descaro y te mandan "a que te pique un pollo", por no decir "a que te folle un pato loco" o lindezas por el estilo. Y los padres no se quedan atrás; te recriminan, en el mejor de los casos, con qué autoridad te dignas reñir a sus retoños sino llegan a más.
Friday, November 13
"Sonne", (German for "Sun") is a song by the German Tanz Metall group Rammstein.
This is a classical musical video with a twisted version of the Snow White tale. The band members play the 7 Dwarves. They mine gold for a gold-addicted Snow White who snorts it like cocaine. One day she overdosis while she was having a bath and the dwarves put her in a glass coffin and carry her up a hill to bury her. An apple falls from the tree above the grave and cracks open the coffin and Snow White wakes up.
Apparently, this idea came about while several of the band members were watching the Disney film, and had "Sonne" playing in the background. There were many other ideas for the video, one of them was a video about the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
I like this rhytmic song, here you have the lyrics in German. Enjoy it!
Sonne
Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf
Sechs, sieben, acht, neun, Aus.
Alle warten auf das Licht
Fürchtet euch fürchtet euch nicht
Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Augen
Sie wird heute Nacht nicht untergehen
Und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn
Eins
Hier kommt die Sonne
Zwei
Hier kommt die Sonne
Drei
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Vier
Hier kommt die Sonne
Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Händen
Kann verbrennen kann euch blenden
Wenn sie aus den Fäusten bricht
Legt sich heiss auf das Gesicht
Sie wird heute nacht nicht untergehen
Und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn
Eins
Hier kommt die Sonne
Zwei
Hier kommt die Sonne
Drei
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Vier
Hier kommt die Sonne
Fünf
Hier kommtdie Sonne
Sechs
Hier kommt die Sonne
Sieben
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Acht, neun
Hier kommt die Sonne
Die Sonne scheint mir aus den Händen
Kann verbrennen, kann dich blenden
Wenn sie aus den Fäusten bricht
Legt sich heiss auf dein Gesicht
Legt sich schmerzend auf die Brust
Das Gleichgewicht wird zum Verlust
Lässt dich hart zu Boden gehen
Und die Welt zählt laut bis zehn
Eins
Hier kommt die Sonne
Zwei
Hier kommt die Sonne
Drei
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Vier
Und wird nie vom Himmel fallen
Fünf
Hier kommt die Sonne
Sechs
Hier kommt die Sonne
Sieben
Sie ist der hellste Stern von allen
Acht, neun
Hier kommt die Sonne
Aus
Sunday, November 8
Today Berliners celebrate the Fall of the Wall with major celebrations on this 20th anniversary of the Wall's collapse, after nearly three decades - between 1961 and 1989 (28 years) - keeping East and West Berliners apart.
The opening of the Berlin Wall was preceded by a series of events in East Germany such as Mass demonstrations against the Government and the system beginning at the end of September and took until November 1989.
The World has changed since that Wednesday 9th November 1989; the comunism collapsed, the Soviet Empire imploded and Berliners were reunited in 1990.
Here are some data of the Wall:
Total lenght: 155Km. 
In Berlin: 43,1km.
Concrete wall: 107,3km.
Guard dogs: 600
watch towers: 302
Bunkers: 22
Border guards: 14,000
Arrested people: 3221
Successful flights: 5,043
Dead people trying to scape: 239 or 800 (depending on the source)
Dead policemen and soldiers: 27
Grafitty at the Wall (" Some time, every wall will fall")
People tried to escape by means of different methods; they used the sewage system, tunnels, hiding places in cars, fake passports, light aircrafts and event balloons.
Pity not to be at the Branderburg Gate today celebrating this special anniversary. Congrats Berliners!!
Wednesday, November 4
Comenius "Overcoming Stereotypes to Reach Understanding and Acceptation"
2 comentarios Publicado por isabelgg en 11:45 AM
To my friends from the Comenius "Overcoming Stereotypes to Reach Understanding and Acceptation"
It has been a great pleasure to have all the Comenius participants (teachers and students) from Turkey, Poland and Italy (Sora and Palermo) in our school IES Val do Tea in Ponteareas - Galicia (Spain).
Thanks a lot to everyone.
Enjoy the photos!
Sunday, November 1
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is an evocative beautiful folk song. It was written by Pete Seeger inspired by a poem in a Russian Mikhail Sholojov's novel "And Quiet Flows the Don".
This anti-war song reflects the senseless of dying in battle. It's rethorical "Where?" falls in the uby sunt tradition, a meditation on mortality and life's transcience.
There are many versions of this song in different languages. I only will mention the one performed by Marlene Dietrich in French, English and German and the ones by Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.
Enjoy this lovely song!
Tuesday, October 27
Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe
Eenie, meenie, miney, moe,
Choosing or counting – out rhymes are an important part of childhood. If a game is being set up and nobody wants to volunteer for a particular part or position, then a selection rhyme is used to choose one from the group.
All rhymes begin with the players in a circle. Then one of them, the singer, begins the rhyme and points around to the left or to the right, until they get to the end of the song. Whoever is being pointed at during the last word is either chosen or eliminated depending on the version or how the children choose to play.
When you sing this as a choosing game, you break it down by word. It's said like this below. On each line you're choosing a different one.
Sometimes people are counted and sometimes each person’s hands, so that you are only safe once both hands have been removed from the circle.
"Eenie, meenie, miney, moe," is the most popular selection rhyme. It was first used in the 18th Century and there exists multiple versions differing from region to region.
Some of these variations of the chants are also used to choose who would be “it” for games of tag or hide and seek.
Below there are some versions.
Eenie meenie miney moe,
Eeny, meeny, miny moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers make him pay,
Fifty dollars every day.
Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo.
Put the baby on the po.
When he's done,
Wipe his bum.
And tell his mother what he's done
Eenie meenie sicileeny,
Eeny, meany, tortellini
Eeny meeny desimeeny,
There is even a controversial version when “politically correct” did not exist and children sang this rhyme using “nigger” instead of “tiger” (no offence intended!)
But it is not clear its origin if it refers when slaves were captured in Africa or when they ran away from plantations. In any case children sang the rhyme that way.
Eenea, meenea, mina, mo,
Catch a nigger by the toe;
If he hollers let him go,
Eenee, Meenee. Mainee, Mo.
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo,
Catch a nigger by his toe,
If he won't work then let him go;
Skidum, skidee, skidoo.
But when you get money, your little bride
Will surely find out where you hide,
So there's the door and when I count four,
Then out goes you
Maybe some other time I would write about other counting rhymes. I find them very interesting.
Tuesday, October 20
Thursday, October 1
Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist and comedian has become an entertainment phenomenon including record-breaking television specials.
Apart from Achmed, the Dead Terrorist he has other characters: Peanut, Walter, José Jalapeño on a stick, Bubba J., Melvin the Superhero Guy and Sweet Daddy Dee.
Enjoy this video!
Monday, September 28
"The Elegance of the Hedgehog" , Muriel Barbery's second novel is a beautifully written book which elegantly treats the line between literary and commercial fiction. However, I must confess it didn't capture me , at least initially. Several times I was on the point of giving up and starting any other book, but slowly this novel and its characters drew me in and I was completely hooked by the end.
It's a very Fench novel: tender and satirical in its overall tone, but absorbing because of its reflections on the nature of beauty and art, the meaning of life and death. These strands provide Muriel Barbery - one-time philosophy teacher who now lives in Japan - with the opportunity to explore her favourite theme: philosophy as applied to everyday life. Clever, informative and moving, it is essentially a course in philosophy interwoven with a platonic love story. In her brief chapters, more essays than fiction, Renée Michel, its main character, offers a mini-treatise on phenomenology, discuss the function of literature in life and the barrenness of a certain kind of scholarship.
The story provides the confession of two women: Renée Michel, a 54-year old concierge in a Parisian block of luxury apartments, and Paloma Josse, a precocious 12-year old girl, daughter of a wealthy family in the house.
The two narrators alternate chapters, but the book is written from the viewpoint of Renée, with the Paloma's story woven into it. Renée's story is addressed to no one, while Paloma's takes the form of a diary crammed with what she labels "Profound Thoughts" in which she jots down haiku and tanka.
The hedgehog of the title is a witty metaphor for Renée who calls herself "short, ugly and plump", a self-consciously stereotypical working-class nobody, but despite her appearance and outward manner, she possesses a mind of the most infinite refinement and precision. She is an autodidact who loves Mozart, adores Tolstoi, is a devotee of Japanese cinema, listens to Mahler, secretly disdains Husserl's philosophy and even practices the Japanese tea ceremony in her private backroom.
In short, she is more aware and more cultivated than anyone around her. Nevertheless, her inner life is entirely clandestine and she pretends to be far more stupid and uncultivated than she is in order to keep with society's expectations of what a concierge should be.
Her unlikely counterpart is Paloma Josse. Acutely intelligent, introspective and philosophical, this precocious girl views the world as absurd and records her observations about it in her diary. She despises her coddled existence, her older sister and her well-to-do parents, especially her plant-obsessed mother. She believes her life is meaningless and has secretly decided to commit suicide on her 13th birthday.
But halfway through "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" the lives of Paloma and Renée are unexpectedly transformed when a cultured Japanese gentleman named Kakuro Ozu moves into the building. Though clearly rich, he is also immensely courtous, mysterious and shrewd. He immediately perceives that neither the little girl nor the concierge is just what she seems and he decides to discover more about their secret lives. He quickly discerns Renée and Paloma intelligence and taste; he and Renée begin a sentimental friendship based on a shared love of beauty.
As the two characters' lifes overlap, Paloma discovers Renée secret gifts and she writes in her diary: "Madame Michel has the same simple refinement as the hedgehog", a real fortress, bristling with quills on the outside... "deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary but terribly elegant" within.
These two characters provide the double narrative of "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" and you will fall in love with both. Humour and humanity exude throughout the novel, until by the last chapter you will have a tear in your eye.
I enthusiastically recomment this novel for anyone who loves books that grow slowly and then blossom suddenly.
Tuesday, September 22
Yellow autumn moon ...
Oh scarlet autumn!
autumn dusks
first autumn trees
your eyes catch mine
On a withered bough
The carpet of leaves
dying in silence , deadens
the passing of love.
Sunday, September 20
Wow! Welcome back Whitney Houston!
What an amazing song, for God's sake!
She is back again with this powerful song. Congrats on your beautiful video. I love it.
Monday, September 14
"Validation", Kurt Kuenne's short film, is a tiny little masterpiece, remarkably simple, turning on the premise: what if parking validations aren't just about getting free parking but also validations of your existence?
In this 16-minute fable, a parking attendant gives his customers more than just free parking, he also gives compliments to everyone by telling them their good features.
You are hooked from the initial sweep when gentle Hugh Newman starts "validating" a "customer": "You've got powerful features, man, anyone ever tell you that? Listen, you look a little down... someday people are going to see you for who you really are. You. are. Great."
So, stop what you are doing and devote the next 16 minutes of your life to this magical short, "Validation". Sure you will smile.
Saturday, September 12
As I promised here is the solution of the puzzle.
In this case we were shown a sketch of the brooch exactly as it appeared after the four rubies had been stolen from it. The reader was asked to show the position from which the stones "may have been taken"; for it is not possible to show precisely how the genes were originally placed, because there are many such ways. But an important point was the statement by Lady Littlewood's brother: "I know the brooch well. It originally contained forty-five stones, and there are now only forty-one. Somebody has stolen four rubies, and then reset as small a number as possible in such a way that there shall always be eight stones in any of the directions you have mentioned".
The diagram shows the arrangement before the robbery. It will be seen that it was only necessary to reset one ruby -the one in the centre. Any solution involving the resetting of more than one stone is not in accordance with the brother's statement, and must therefore be wrong. The original arrangement was, of course, a little unsymmetrical, and for this reason the brooch was described as "rather eccentric".
Sunday, August 30
He was a near - contemporary of Sam Loyd, America's greatest puzzle expert and the two men frequently exchanged puzzles and ideas. Many of Loyd's and Dudeney's published puzzles show strong similarities, demonstrating how close their collaboration sometimes was.The annals of Scotland Yard contain some remarkable cases of jewel robberies, but one of the most perplexing was the theft of lady Littlewood's rubies. There have, of course, been many greater robberies in point of value, but few so artfully conceived. Lady Littlewood, of Rowley Manor, had a beautiful but rather eccentric heirloom in the form of a ruby brooch.
Six months later a brother of Lady Littlewood's, who had returned from his regiment in India, noticed that his sister was wearing the ruby brooch one night at a county ball, and on their return home asked to look at it more closely. He immediately detected the fact that four of the stones were gone.Thursday, July 30
Alesha Dixon widget by 6L & Daxii
Enjoy gorgeous and talented Alesha Dixon's video "The boy does nothing" dancing with professional dancers.
