I’d like to tell you about my latest teaching experience in an extraordinary school thanks to a friend of mine. So, thank you Ana for letting me experience another way of teaching and caring.

It was different from what I know from the state schools. For a start, I´m amazed at how many more hours the teachers work and the commitment they show towards the students in what are rather challenging circumstances. The ratio of immigrants to locals is very high, more so than any other school I’ve taught in. However, the staff tries to make the most of the situation and stoically accept the conditions.

Apart from this, I’m not surprised that the “concertada” teachers want parity with the state school regarding salaries, even though they know that they’ll always have to work many more hours.

So, thanks Ana for letting me see it, as I used to think that the disparity between the two systems was not such a big deal. Now, I’m not so sure.

Happy new year to everybody!

I've finished my assigments at last! This holiday has been quite good regarding the amount of university work I've managed to get done.

Apparently, facebook is barring pictures of breastfeeding women in case they offend people!
How outrageous is that! The anglosaxon prudishness is even extending itself to new tecgnologies.
In England there are still places where breastfeefing is considered to be unacceptable and you can even be asked to move on or leave an establishment.

Thanks Lourdes for your kind words. Something will come up in the near future.
Meanwhile I'll have to do more waitressing.

Anyway, I've had more time to listen to the radio and It seems that England is becoming a caricature of a nanny state. First, it was the drinking laws to keep the workers sober so they could make bullets the right size for the guns during the war, then it was the antisocial behaviour orders
(ASBOs) to keep the country's working class kids under control. And now they want to enforce a code of conduct telling teachers how to behave...when they're not at work! How intrusive this government has become! They want to regulate everything from your work life to your private life.
Beware because things take about five years to cross the channel!

unemployed again!

My contract finished yesterday and I feel a bit down. However, I can see the positive side
and I'll take the opportunity to enjoy my kids, read, rest and do some Uni work.

I need some ideas for the moviemaker project. I hope to start in the next few days.

Hi everybody!

Although I thought I would never finish the story, I've done it! Great!
Now I'm ready for the next challenge!

The Power of Youtube

Hello all.

I thought I'd share this story with you about the power of youtube.

As I work on the computer, I usually listen to BBC radio and at the moment there's a topic of hot discussion around the topics of celebrity and taste. The background to the story is as follows:

2 controversial comedians who host, among other things, a radio programme phoned the home of a British actor, Andrew Sachs. He's best known for playing a rather slow Spanish waiter in a seaside hotel in one of the best-loved comedy series on British TV.

Anyway, he wasn't in when they called so they left a series of rather abusive messages on his aswerphone. This lead to 2 people phoning the BBC to complain; not a particular serious response.

However, someone thought the clip funny and decided to post it on youtube and in no time at all the BBC had received over 30,000 complaints. Eventually, one of the presenters resigned, one has been suspended and various admisitrative heads are set to role. And all because someone put it on youtube!!!

It makes you think.

If you fancy waching it, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7IHJ66wj9g

Anyway, I really must make a start on that powerpoint assignment.

Bye

Hi everybody!

Yesterday I had to speak to my daughter's teacher because she was worried about the amount of attention my daughter seeks. I had noticed this and had put it down to her being jelous of her brother.

Anyway, the thing I wanted to share is that everything the teacher said was totally negative. But, what'smore, is the fact that the teacher had obviously given no thought as to the effect this would have on me, the parent. It was a real eye-opener as to the importance of the way we interact with everyone, not just the students.

I think that it's important to give positive feedback as well as the negative, as there is always something good. I believe in correcting the negative things, but I think it's mportant to do this alongside highlighting the childs positive points, because they've all got some. Whatever you do, you should definitely avoid giving the parent the impression that you dislike their child. disapprove of behavioural aspects, of course, but not dislike the indivividual.