Where I end and you begin

Half Nelson

An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.

After I saw this interesting film, what I thouhgt was: Where does the human being end and where does the teacher begin? How much of ourselves can we show to our students when we are supposed to be a role model?

Should we subscribe to an ethic contract as teachers had to do in Argentina in 1923?
This contract said that teachers couldn't get married, for example. Or they couldn't go to any ice-cream shop in town.
You can read the full contract here:http://lomasnuevoolomasviejo-besuzzo.blogspot.com.ar/2008/10/contrato-docente-1923.html

We all know how to behave inside the classroom, both teachers and students know the rules. But what happens when we are outside the classroom, and we run into our students in the street? 

Netiquette

  In an online environment it is not possible for others to read your body language, tone of voice, or facial expressions. Therefore, a special set of rules has emerged for online communications, called Netiquette. Here are some basic Netiquette rules:  

·         Never give your user ID or password to another person.

·        Do not plagiarize.

·         A good way of entering a discussion board or
 chat is to briefly introduce yourself.

·    Always title your messages. Be sure the subject line reflects the topic of discussion.

·         Always check your spelling before posting. It 
will be the first impression you may make on someone, so it is important that your message
 be free of spelling errors.

·         Do not use ALL CAPS. It gives the impression that
you are shouting.

·         Cite all quotes, references and sources and respect copyright and license agreements.

·         Check replies to your question and answer 
to them if necessary.

·      Never mail or post anything you wouldn’t
 say to your reader’s face. Adhere to the 
same standards of behaviour online that
 you follow in real life.

·  Use emoticons to show how you 
feel. Misunderstandings can easily occur.   

Jeremy

Pearl Jam's song "Jeremy" is based on the true story of a 15-year-old boy named Jeremy Wade Delle from Richardson, Texas who shot himself in front of his English classmates on the morning of January 8, 1991. Delle was described by schoolmates as "real quiet" and known for "acting sad".  After coming in to class late that morning, he was told to get an admittance slip from the school office. He left the classroom, and returned with a 357Magnum revolver. He walked to the front of the classroom, announced "Miss, I got what I really went for", put the barrel of the firearm in his mouth, and pulled the trigger before his teacher or classmates could react. Lisa Moore, a schoolmate, knew Jeremy from the in-school suspension program: "He and I would pass notes back and forth and he would talk about life and stuff," she said. "He signed all of his notes, 'Write back.' But on Monday he wrote, 'Later days.' I didn't know what to make of it. But I never thought this would happen."

The song talks about the lack of attention from his parents and the relationship with his peers who bullied him. This situation may have led him to commit suicide.

A very clear explanation about the song is below this video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb8PdS-V--g

You can find more information about the song on Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_(song)

Information on bullying and how to deal with it is available here. Look for the post published on Sept 18th entitled BULLYING, ACOSO, VIOLENCIA. 

http://www.region11.edu.ar/

You can read the lyrics here:

JEREMY by Pearl Jam 1991

Songwriters: AMENT, JEFFREY ALLEN / VEDDER, EDDIE JEROME

At home

Drawing pictures

Of mountain tops

With him on top

Lemon yellow sun

Arms raised in a V

Dead lay in pools of maroon below

Daddy didn't give attention

To the fact that mommy didn't care

King Jeremy the wicked

Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today

Jeremy spoke in class today

Clearly I remember

Pickin' on the boy

Seemed a harmless little fuck

But we unleashed a lion

Gnashed his teeth

And bit the recess lady's breast

How could I forget

He hit me with a surprise left

My jaw left hurting

Dropped wide open

Just like the day

Like the day I heard

Daddy didn't give affection

And the boy was something that mommy wouldn't wear

King Jeremy the wicked

Ruled his world

Jeremy spoke in class today

Jeremy spoke in class today

Try to forget this...

Try to erase this...

From the blackboard.

Subtle Ways to Say “No” to Kids

We don’t like being told NO, do we?  So, imagine how kids would react if they are always denied what they want. Schools are supposed to attend the students’ needs, but not their free will. The boundaries between what students can do and what they cannot do is somewhat blurred when teachers do not set the limits properly. Eventually, it’s really hard for a kid to change from the permanent yes to a severe no.  The gap is easily seen when they are promoted to another level, and they themselves notice the difference in attitude. How can we solve this problem, which is a tendency in some schools? How should we say no in a “kind way”?

First of all, it is important to set limits as teachers. Yet, we should also be included in those rules, otherwise, the students will never trust us. Whatever limit is set, it is there to be obeyed by everyone.

When asking for silence, for instance, it is not recommended to hush students, since it sounds rather offensive. Use instead something visual: a nice piece of cardboard and a message on it will do. “Silence Please” or “No talking” are the most effective ones. You just have to put the cardboard up with a stick and everytime you do so, students will react very fast. Every now and then, allow students to gain control of that cardboard, so that we apply the notion of equality mentioned above. Give it to them when they are delivering an oral lesson. They will feel respected.

Another elegant way to say no to kids is by negotiating products and results. Suppose they have just come from the break and ask to go to the toilet. Now, have you teachers noticed that they need to move around? They may not necessarily have an urge to go to the toilet, so instead of saying yes and allowing a student to wander about the hall, ask him to erase the board, or ask who has finished the task or even become your helper for some minutes, so that he is carried away with other activities. Then, you will tell whether that student really needs to go out.

Finally, we have the reward. It may sound rather behaviouristic, but we got to admit that it has its pros. Chocolates, candies or even seals after completing the activities can really cheer our students up. After a long and hard day, it is always nice to say "yes" to the kids somehow or another. 

Popplets

You can use Popplet to make interactive mind maps. We have created one about Jonathan Swift as an example:

 

To create a popplet you can enter http://popplet.com/. First you have to sign up, then you can start by adding popples. In each of them you can add text, images, links to other sites or YouTube videos.

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

We are Florencia, Jesica and Sebastián from Argentina. Our aim is to present some ideas to help teachers of English by sharing our experiences and different resources available on the net. We also hope to exchange outcomes and novelties in order to enrich each other's knowledge.