Wednesday, September 24
This is just a fond remembrance of little Rainbow Prince, Guille.
(Dedicated to my dearest friends a.c.g.a. and his queen of yesterday, today and tomorrow c.a.s.j.).
Monday, July 7
Rafael Nadal,22, won epic men's final in five sets to win his first Wimbledon title and dethrones five-time champion at this tournament.
The final shot was struck in near darkness on Centre Court with dark clouds gathering overhead all through the match which lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes, the longest men's final in history and maybe the best one of all the times. It had to be interrupted twice because of the rain.
Watched by his parents, and coach and uncle, Tony, 22 year old fell to the floor, congratulated Federer and climbed through the stands to celebrate with his family and supporters. With tears in his eyes as he grabbed a Spanish flag, he walked across the TV commentators' booth heading to the Royal box to shake hands with Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Spain.
After receiving the winner's trophy from the Duke of Kent, Nadal said:" It is impossible to explain what I felt in that moment but I'm very, very happy. "It is a dream to play in this court, my favourite tournament, but to win I never imagined"
Federer, who failed to surpass Bjorn Born by winning a sixth consecutive title said: "I tried everything, got a little late, but look, Rafa is a deserving champion, he just played fantastic. It was the worst opponent on the best court"
And Nadal replied:" He's still number one, he is still the best. He's still five-time champion and I am only one, so for me it is very, very important.
The final before 15,000 spectators was simply breathtaking.
Monday, June 9
Sunday, June 8
Long ago there was a beautiful lively city by the sea in the north of Spain. It was the year 1635 when people still believed the Earth was flat, so you could go to the edge and just jump down free to the infinite.
There lived a rich man who wasn't happy, he was tired of living and he decided he had to commit suicide. But the problem was to consider the best way of doing it.
One gorgeous spring evening, he was walking along the beach at sunset with the sun coming down and disappearing into the sea when he was thinking about the matter over and over again. Then suddenly a great idea struck his head.
Very early next morning he ordered to build a ship and he spent the following months looking for the best musicians. He wanted to take a band of music on board.
And the day came when he set sail. He would sail to the edge of the Earth and he would not stop, he just would go on.
Days passed calmly, quietly and peacefully and the band of music played beautifully. But one day the man revealed the musicians his determination of not stopping when reaching the Earth edge.
They felt sorrowful and unfortunated and started to play the saddest music in the world since all of them were going to die soon.
From that day on the most melancholic music was heard in the whole wide ocean. But, alas! unexpectedly after five weeks at sea they sighted land far away in the horizon.
They got off the ship merrily and firmly determined to have the time of their lives as they were going to die soon. And they really had the greatest time enjoying life to the full.
Next morning in the ship they continued playing sorrowful melodies. But surprisingly after sailing for several days they arrived to a new port and once again they got off the ship and had a pleasant time singing, dancing and drinking in the city.
After that, they visited fifty more ports and they had not still reached the edge of the Earth.
One starry night they sighted the glow of lights in the distance of what it seemed a new city and they headed to it cheerful of being able to stay alive for some more time. As usual they got off the ship and they could not believe what they were seeing. With great amazement they realized they were in the beautiful lively city in the north of Spain they had left some months before.
That was how we discovered the Earth was not flat.
Monday, March 3
No soy Rappel ni tengo una bolita mágica de cristal que me diga lo que va a pasar después del 9M pero lo que sí es seguro es que el futuro está en manos del pueblo quien será en última instancia el que decida.
Desde que empezó la campaña electoral y ya antes hemos oído hasta la saciedad la doble versión de una misma realidad. En todos los aspectos que interesan a la sociedad española siempre hay una doble solución, por supuesto opuesta una de la otra. Donde unos dicen que todo está mal y que lo cambiarán si ganan las elecciones, los otros piensan que no todo está tan mal y que seguirá igual si salen ellos vencedores.
Esto es especialmente claro en Educación.
Según unos se debe suprimir la asignatura de Educación para la Ciudadanía, deberá haber itinerarios en la ESO, la Religión será una asignatura más del currículo y habrá una reválida al terminar el Bachillerato. Para los otros justamente lo contrario.
Ante esta perspectiva los docentes estamos perplejos, ¿se están refiriendo a una misma nación? ¿no deberían preguntarnos algo al ser los más directamente relacionados con la Educación?
Tendríamos mucho que decir, y nadie nos consulta. No nos resignamos a que el futuro sea o más de lo mismo o lo contrario.
Se deberían poner en marcha unas medidas organizativas y pedagógicas para mejorar la Educación Secundaria y el Bachillerato sobre todo en lo referente a la promoción de curso y titulación.
No entiendo cómo se puede promocionar de curso hasta con tres asignaturas evaluadas negativamente y lo mismo titular en Educación Secundaria. En “nuestros tiempos” debíamos aprobar todo, y la calidad de enseñanza y por lo tanto sus resultados eran superiores. Si lo que se pretende es evitar el fracaso escolar a la vista de la sociedad, no se debe disfrazar la realidad, este no es el medio de evitarla, es un engaño. Nuestros estudiantes no están preparados, no son competitivos ni tienen las mismas oportunidades que el resto de estudiantes europeos donde prima el esfuerzo y la capacidad. Y lo que es peor, se hace con el beneplácito de los padres que sólo están interesados en que sus hijos pasen de curso aunque no estén lo suficientemente preparados.
Porque la verdad y más que nos pese España es uno de los países Europeos que menos invierte en Educación, uno de los que soportan más altas tasas de fracaso, uno donde se producen más abandonos tempranos de los estudios así como uno donde se obtienen los peores resultados en las competencias científica, matemática y comprensión lectora (Informe Pisa)
Además se deben también considerar los itinerarios, la ratio, el tratamiento de la diversidad, el potenciar las TIC, apostar por la escuela pública… Y sobre todo el intentar estabilizar la educación a largo plazo sin estar expuesta a los cambios de los diferentes gobiernos, dictando leyes de obligado cumplimiento en todo el Estado.
Pero de nuevo en nuestro panorama actual se intenta buscar justificaciones a esta desastre: unos lo explican con la idea del retraso secular, otros “culpan” a la globalización, según otros se debe a la baja preparación de los padres poseedores de pocos estudios, otros a los cambios permanentes de la educación, otros a la LOGSE, a la poca formación del profesorado… 
Por otra parte los padres conciben a los centros escolares como “guarderías” (un comentario común es “¿molesta mi hijo? No, pues entonces déjelo ahí que está mejor que en la calle”) cuando no como centros de ocio, vienen y te dicen que su hijo se aburre en el centro. ¡Pues que abra el libro! Y te tienes que morder la lengua para no espetar ¡Pues llévelo al circo! No aquí. En la entrada está bien claro el letrero “Instituto de Educación Secundaria” y se supone que se viene a eso, a recibir educación. Sospecho que si llevan a su hijo a un espectáculo cualquiera no pretenderán que estudie allí. Pues eso. Cada lugar para lo que es.
Y ¿cuales serían las soluciones? Otra vez nos encontramos con la consabida dicotomía, que como es obvio se reducen a dos: unos proponen unas soluciones, los otros las contrarias. Así que parece que nos tendremos que resignar a más de lo mismo, o lo contrario. No tenemos muchas esperanzas de una mejora efectiva de la calidad de enseñanza y del reconocimiento social de la Educación y de los docentes a los que se les debería dotar de más autoridad e intentar eliminar la violencia de baja intensidad que tanto mina a los profesores y es la causa de muchas bajas laborales.
Confío en que el nuevo gobierno, sea el que sea, intente arreglar este “desaguisado”, sepa encontrar el equilibrio y el consenso para que educar a los jóvenes no dependa de los vaivenes políticos y que la solución que adopte sea en bien de la Educación al servicio del impresionante desarrollo económico y social que nuestra nación ha alcanzado continuando un ritmo ascendente hasta conseguir y consolidar un reto cada vez más alto.
Wednesday, February 20
La polémica ha vuelto a la sociedad española con el reciente conflicto surgido en el Raval de Barcelona con la detención de unos presuntos terroristas islamistas paquistanies y con la 
sentencia dictada por un juez catalán en favor de que una niña musulmana lleve el "hijab", el pañuelo a la escuela contraviniendo las normas establecidas en el Reglamento de Régimen Interno del colegio ya que considera que el derecho a la educación está por encima del RRI.
Soy muy respetuosa con las sentencias pero en este caso discrepo con el juez. Obviamente la niña tiene derecho a la educación pero el colegio no le está negando este derecho sino la decisión impuesta por sus padres de asistir a clase con la cabeza cubierta, que es muy distinto. Si los padres insisten en esa exigencia, es su problema, les importan más sus tradiciones que la educación de su hija. Ellos deben ser los perseguidos. Que intervengan los Servicios Sociales haciéndose cargo de la niña para que pueda asistir al colegio en igualdad de condiciones con los demás niños
Los centros españoles han erradicado desde hace tiempo todo vestigio religioso de sus aulas (crucifijos, belenes...), se supone que estamos en un estado laico. Los católicos lo aceptamos pero hete aquí que ahora debemos contemplar cómo las niñas musulmanas llevan velo proclamando que es su expresión religiosa y cultural.
Alegando asimismo razones religiosas se están empezando a hacer menús especiales en los colegios para los alumnos musulmanes al no poder ingerir ciertos alimentos. En mi opinión se debe velar por una buena dieta para los niños, todos ellos, musulmanes, judios, católicos... y mejorar el menú lo más posible permitiendo sólo uno especial por razón de salud o por prescripción médica.
Y volviendo a
la cuestión del velo, no creo que sea una enseña religiosa lo que cubre con "chador", "hijab" o "nikab" a las mujeres. Es pura y llanamente machismo. El pañuelo es un símbolo de sumisión, sumisión a la tradición, al hombre. No solamente un rasgo cultural. Es un signo de la desigualdad de la mujer en la sociedad musulmana. Unas mujeres a las que se les enseña a taparse y a hacerles creer que es una seña de identidad, de su fe, de su feminismo. Se les enseña a callar y a hacerles creer que es un rasgo cultural, se les enseña a satisfacer sexualmente al varón y les dicen que es un sacrifio patrio o religioso. Les obligan a contraer matrimonios pactados y deben acatarlo, les amputan, por fin y tienen que callarse.
Cuando nos negamos a admitir a estas niñas cubiertas en los centros de enseñanza, no pretendemos vulnerar unas costumbres o tradiciones, sino que defendemos unas libertades que nos han costado mucho tiempo y esfuerzo el conseguir desembarazarnos completamente del influjo de la religión católica y de nuestras tradiciones. No vamos a retroceder ahora.
Por lo tanto, considero que no hay libertad en el tocado de las niñas en la escuela sino sometimiento y silencio impuesto masculinamente.
Para empezar a ser libre, la mujer debe despejar su cabeza de tanto trapo machista y que su cuerpo no sea un producto para el macho consumista que supone que el cuerpo de la mujer es el responsable de la excitación sexual del hombre, en vez de que el propio hombre sea responsable de sus actos.
Un velo no es lo mismo que llevar una peineta con un clavel rojo para afirmar una cultura o tradición. Es negar el rostro, la identidad, la sexualidad, la libertad de las mujeres. ¿Lo llevan con libertad cuando no son capaces de quitárselo sin sentir culpa, desprecio y vergüenza de sí mismas?
Por supuesto que todo no es tan sencillo, simplemente prohibiendo el pañuelo no se acaba con la falta de libertad de estas mujeres. Sólo erradicando el analfabetismo por medio de la educación conseguirá ir remediando poco a poco la desigualdad que sufren con respecto a los hombres, la represión, la esclavitud.
Y aquí es cuando el sacrificio y el coraje de algunas mujeres educadas de esta sociedad (Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Shirim Abad, Tsalima Nasreen...), alzadas en contra de estas prácticas dan una esperanza para poder desterrar por fin la ley sharia musulmana. Cualquiera que lea el Corán no puede más que horrorizarse por la violencia y crueldad que predica. El hecho de que una mujer del 2008 se rija por unas reglas diseñadas para cohesionar una sociedad analfabeta del siglo VII es una tragedia. Es difícil encontrar mayor desprecio por la vida, por la desigualdad y por el cerebro de las mujeres que el de las sociedades musulmanas.
Por otra parte muchas mujeres musulmanas educadas y viviendo en Occidente reivindican su derecho a llevar el "hijab" como seña de su identidad, su fe, su feminismo, su coquetería, su reivindicación... Perfecto si lo han elegido voluntariamente pero también deben saber adaptarse a las normas y valores imperantes en Occidente. Se quejan de que les es más difícil encontrar trabajo si van cubiertas con el velo o que no les permiten atender al público. Lógico, yo si quiero buscar trabajo en topless tampoco voy a conseguirlo. Hay unas normas implícitas en las empresas o cuando se atiende al público. Deben respetarse y a la salida que se vistan como quieran.
No se trata de arrebatarles su cultura, su tradición, su religión pero siempre bajo el referente de los Derechos Humanos y considerando también los valores occidentales donde residen.
Cada vez que estas mujeres educadas en Occidente se explayan voluntariamente con el "chador" o el "hijab" como expresión pública de su ideología no podemos por menos que pensar en las innumerables otras mujeres menos favorecidas de la sociedad islámica cuyo destino es la ignorancia más absoluta, el abuso sexual y moral a manos de su familia, la mutilación genital, el ser violadas y asesinadas con la bendición de la ley sharia.
Actualmente, no es fácil para las musulmanas respetar al tiempo la ley de Dios, la de los hombres y la de sus hombres. Me consta que muchas luchan por ello. Es una nueva generación. Ojalá lo consigan!
Wednesday, February 13
I have done it again! Three months (three months!) without writing anything!
But I am back with a simple haiku to wish my friends a lovely Saint Valentine's day
A white rose for you
blooming for friendship and love
innocent, pure love.
Wednesday, November 21
Thursday, September 27
Saturday, September 22
Welcome e-DOL colleagues! and thanks a lot for visiting my blog even if it is as part of the last assignment for this interesting on line course we are enrolled in ( a great work of Evelyne and the rest of teachers).
In my opinion, after two years of hard work, this last assignment has been the most attractive and relaxed. I am happy all of us can share our blogs. It doesn't matter if we are too personal sometimes, we already know some data from one another.
Feel free of writing comments on it.
Enjoy being bloggers!
I am sure I will enjoy all your blogs.
Friday, August 24
Yesterday my friend told me that our friendship was the most important and I thought of creating a small poem for him. Well, my particular way of doing it always with a fixed structure:
Monday, August 20
STOLEN GENERATION
(Last April I was reading evidence about the “Stolen Generation” and I got impressed by these testimonies, so I decided to write about it for 26 May, Australian National Sorry Day, but then I did not have the time. That’s why I am here to do it now).
The Stolen Generation refers to the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander children from their families and communities by Australian government and church missions from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1970s. According to the official government report, at least 100,000 children were removed from their parents with terrible consequences such as broken families, shattered physical and mental health, loss of language, culture and connection to traditional land, loss of parenting skills; and the enormous distress of many of its victims today. Although children of full Aboriginal descent were removed, in general the children of “mixed descent” the so called “half-caste” children were the most targeted. The stolen children were raised in institutions or fostered out to white families “for their own good” (according to the policies of the time). The conditions in these institutions were often terrible –food and clothing was often in short supply and punishments were cruel and included physical assaults.In response to efforts made by Indigenous community groups, in 1995 the Federal govern
ment commissioned the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to make a report about the Stolen Generation. It was the first time the Australian government had formally investigated the devastating psychological, social, cultural and economic effects of the forcible removal of Indigenous children.The official report took evidence and recorded testimonies from 535 Indigenous people throughout Australia, which resulted in the Report “Bringing Them Home: The National Enquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their families”. This National Inquiry observed that in many cases gross violations of human rights occurred. Children were in some cases forcibly removed from their mother’s arms while still in hospital. Other evidence indicated that deception and brutality was used to remove children. One account referring to events in 1935 stated that:
“ I was at the post office with my Mum and Auntie (and cousin). They put us in the police ute (vehicle) and said they were taking us to Broome. They put the mums in there as well. But when we’d gone (about ten miles) they stopped, and threw the mothers out of the car. We jumped on our mothers’s backs, crying, trying not to be left behind. But the policemen pulled us off and thew us back in the car. They pushed the mothers away and drove off, while our mothers were chasing the car, running and crying after us. We were screaming in the back of that car. When we got to Broome they put me and my cousin in the Broome lock-up. We were only ten years old. We were in the lock-up for two days waiting for the boat to Perth.”
The effects of the forcible removal of children were devastating and are still being felt today. Evidence shows that the removal from family and community have caused irreparable harm. These children are more likely to have poor health, depression, lack of self-esteem, have lower levels of education, are more likely to be arrested and/or imprisoned and have problems with alcohol and drug abuse. Good parenting skills were not learnt in institutions or foster homes and this has affected the way that children taken from their families relate and interact with their own children.
“Bringing Them Home” report opened the way of recognition of the Stolen Generation by including recommendations for a journey of healing such as the continuing recording of testimonies, the reunion of families and communities and the establishment of regional centres where language and culture could be preserved. It was also recommended that All Australians should be educated about the Stolen Generation.
One of the recommedations of the report was that a National Sorry Day should be declared, a day when all the Australians can express their sorrow for the whole tragic episode, and celebrate the beginning of a new understanding. The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998 and it offered the community the opportunity to be involved in activities which took place across Australia.
The native Hibiscus flower was adopted as a national emblem of the Stolen Generation. Sorry books, where people could record their personal feelings, were presented to representatives of the indigenous communities. Hundreds of thousands of signatures were received, as well as apologies registered electronically.
Sorry Day was an annual event between 1998 and 2004. In 2005 the National Sorry Day was renamed as “National Day of Healing”, focusing on the healing needed throughout Australian Society to achieve reconciliation and “walk together”.
One of the most lyrical and moving expressions of the sorrow and despair of the Stolen Generation has been given by the singer and songwriter Archie Roach. In 1990, Archie recorded the album “Charcoal Lane” with the song “Took the Children Away” which became an anthem for the many Aboriginal people who identify strongly with its story. Archie has also expressed this sadness in another more recent song “My Mother’s Hear
tbeat”.The internationally successful rock group Midnight Oil obtained worldwide media interest during the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics when they performed at the Olympic closing ceremony wearing black T-shirts with the word “SORRY” emblazoned across them.
Sunday, July 1
Congratulations 2nd Bachillerato Students of IES Val do Tea
2 comentarios Publicado por isabelgg en 3:13 AMMy congratulations to the 2nd Bachillerato students of "IES Val do Tea", Ponteareas (Spain) on their successful University Entrance Exams. They all have passed, 100% passes!
We (all the teachers) are very proud of you.
Have a great summer and enjoy your new University Course.
Sunday, April 22
Funeral Blues
W. H. Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
I do not generally like poetry but Funeral Blues by Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973) is one of all my time favourite poems.
It is the most beautiful, meaningful, truthful poem about death to me. The lines "He was my North, my South..." are incredibly touching. When I first read the poem I was deeply moved. I love it. And the thought of calling nature to withdraw, of packing up the moon and dismantling the sun is both romantic and sorrowful.
I do not know the circunstances behind his writing Funeral Blues but it seems to me that he suffered the loss of his (male) lover -he was homosexual- and wrote such a magnificent poem to express his grief, and he really makes you feel his pain and abandon with every verse.
The final line is a summing line, wrapping up the poem: For nothing now can ever come to any good.
This poem was included in the film four weddings and a Funeral, and when I heard the words of this memorable poem spoken exactly at the appropriate time -at a funeral- by the character of Mattew I thought that this beautiful scene made the film worth seeing. The fact of using it in a film does not diminish the quality of the poem.
Saturday, April 14
It's Saturday! Damn, what a long, long week! It has been one of those weeks when everything goes wrong and today I feel scared, vulnerable and completely uncertain. After a relaxing holiday week, I thought I'd be feeling on top of the world, ready for anything. I thought I'd be filled with confidence, brimming with enthusiasm and ready to tackle life's problems head on. But I'm not.
I'm having a horrible week. Worst week ever. Feel sorry for me.
But:
One should always...
Learn from the past
Plan for the future
LIVE AT THE MOMENT.
Promise I'll do it.
I am going to cheer myself up and next week will be a new bright one for me. PROMISE.
