1.- TO BE A
TEACHER
In 1995 a very dear friend with an
unusual artistic talent gave me this incredible gift : a poem she had
writen about the tribulations of a teacher´s life.
She was Rita Jonas and she was
living in Neuquén at the time . A year later to my surprise, I found Rita in
Santiago el Estero attending one of my lectures at ASICANA. She was living there
then. That was five years ago and I haven´t seen her since.( I know she´s no
longer living in Santiago) . Where is she? Could she be back in Neuquén?
Can any of our dear SHARERS help me find her?
I´m looking at the dedication she
wrote " To Omar, with deep appreciation and respect" I would like to use
the same words for my dedication to her and add "To Rita, from a friend who
misses her talent and the music in her heart"
To be a
teacher
To be a teacher, my dear friends,
an English teacher, a high-school
teacher,
to make it worse
is not so simple, I daresay,
so let´s consider one of our
days.
New periods starting probably in
March...
exams that have
finished...
and yet not the plans!
Prepare a new one!
Last year´s is out!
and find new directions, draw some
new charts!
But share your experience, do not
work alone,
´cause your brains_you know that_
will enrich us all!
so...two units? twenty? or maybe
just four...
the present simple and not too much
more???
the stress on grammar...on
function...?notion?
on oral practice? ...and what
approach?
the Audio-Lingual? oh no! it´s
old...
perhaps the Natural, the
Communicative...or maybe both?
Stephen Krashen probably knows...so
let´s cosult him
he knows a lot
but if you are really up to date,
the Task-based will be the best!
and write the plans! how much we
enjoy @#*# !
and when you´ve finished with all
your plans,
classes are here, about to
start!!
You´re a good teacher
and you like your job
but how can you manage when they´re
fourty-four!!!
so my dear pupils
here we go!
enjoy all our classes, I adore you
all!!!
but... wait a minute... that you
don´t know ... it isn´t clear... repeat once more?
I must be patient , everybody knows
that a good teacher can suffer
all
must be creative and
imaginative
have rich resources, and also
initiative
and of course, primarily,
responsibility
So... plan your classes... three
hours or four
with all the activities for
fourty-four
and when they finish ... correct
them all
They must be clear, with stress on
thinking
and at this point you shall be
sinking .
How long it takes you?
It all depends
if you give credit or if you
evaluate
and this must be
clear!
it is not the same
´cause it´s not the product we must
aim at
but at the process. Don´t you know
that?
It´s not so easy as it may sound,
so let me tell you
what it implies
Prepare your classes, be up to
date,
and also teach them to take the
test.
This is important, if not you
fail
to teach them English , History or
French!!
they are only about fourty
and it´s not too much
work
and then classify them
...
the groups might be
eight
Are they impulsive? can´t
concentrate?
assertive? noisy? can´t find the
sense?
maybe dependent? rigid?
can´t
think?
or insecure in any
way?
you! have! to watch! them! and
evaluate!
Their evaluation can also
help!
so ... by this moment, and not
before,
you´re in a condition to do your
job.
How many hours do you say it
takes?
it´s all your problem my dear
friends...
but , let me think : reading,
correcting, teaching how to think
and teaching how to
say,
teaching the noisy and the shy as
well.
Teaching the nouns, the adjectives,
the verbs,
teaching with pictures, with
readings and songs...
preparing exercises, saying
"true" or "false",
matching, interpreting, and also
pronouncing,
and evaluating the whole
process
where are the
difficulties,
remedial work!
(but individually, so that it
works!)
what are their problems... how much
they know...
and writing the concepts for Mary
and John
and more than a hundred whose names
can´t recall
I know you suffer!
I suffer too!
but without suffering nothing
improves
how many hours do you say it
takes?
oh, I forgot the meetings with our
dear headmistress
and the useful seminars on Fridays
at eight!
Because we are teachers, we
shouldn´t forget:
our task is gigantic and it never
ends.
So dear colleagues, please do not
decay,
although it is difficult, we must
go ahead.
Your satisfaction will be your
pay
when in your teaching you do your
best
and all your students make this
world change!!!
And despite this summary of a
teacher´s day
I think it´s enough, let´s call it
a day!
One last quotation comes out of my
head
it is about our families and our
poor friends:
Late in the evenings, our husbands
say:
"come with us, my dear, watch T.V
in bed!"
__I´m sorry darling, it is only
twelve.
in two or three hours I´ll finish
my work__
Your little kid´s homework needs a
little help...
__go and ask your daddy, he can
tell you well__
sometimes on Sundays the phone or
the bell
to invite you, teacher, to have tea
with friends
__oh, I´m sorry, Alice, I have to
correct
more than a
hundred pages for Monday at eight___
and on , and on, and on... does it
ever end?
this is our profession! please! we
need a rest!!
But , if after all this , you can
go and play
a game with your children , sew
dresses and skirts,
be mother and lover... or wife...
or both!
and help all your neighbours, your
parents and friends
go riding, do stretching from seven
to eight,
to look fit and well!!
then ... you´re not a
teacher!
you´re a
supergirl!!
What is my salary?
How much do I earn?
Please, this is a secret... and do
not comment
one hundred and
ninety!!
too much for A DAY!!!
Rita Jonas
__________________________________________________________
2.- IT´S FAAPI TIME AGAIN
Our dear SHARER and
neighbour,Laura Renart, a member of the APIBA,sends us this information about
the FAAPI Conference 2001 wgich APIBA is organizing:
"The "2001 FAAPI Conference will be
held at Universidad Católica Argentina located in Alicia Moreau de Justo 1300,
Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. It will bring together ELT professionals from
Argentina and other countries to discuss, reflect and develop their ideas.The
conference programme offers multiple opportunities for professional contact and
development. Presenters will deliver workshops, talks, panel discussions and
poster sessions for over 1000 participants.
FAAPI aims to link, develop and
support ELT professionals in Argentina and the annual conference is its key
event. The conference provides a unique opportunity for professionals to
present their work. It enables both new and established members to contribute to
a programme that reflects the diversity and variety of the
profession.
The conference also allows members
to enjoy professional networking by exchanging experiences informally and/or
presenting and debating their professional views. Presentations from teachers
working in Latin America are particularly welcome. Given equivalent academic
merit, papers from members of FAAPI Associations will be given preference. Those
wishing to propose panels or special sessions should contact the organizers.
There will be a Resources
Exhibition, showing the latest published materials, videos, computer software
and services, which will be open to all participants for the length of the
conference.
Presenters'
information
Deadline for speakers' proposals is
1st May 2001. Speakers must also register for the full conference. Proposals may be for 40
minute papers, 90 minute workshops and poster presentations.
Pre-registration for the Conference
and Pre-Conference Event
Registration is open to any member
of the public who wishes to attend the conference. We strongly recommend that
delegates register early and take advantage of the early-registration rate. If
you wish to join Asociación de Profesores de Inglés de Buenos Aires (APIBA) in
order to take advantage of this rate, please contact the office and ask for a
membership form. Delegates must register before they can attend any
sessions-admission is strictly by badge. Please remember that late arrival at
the conference reception desk could preclude you from the first session of the
date, as latecomers would not be allowed into sessions.
Entertainment
A social programme will be arranged
for delegates, beginning with a Reception for all registered participants on the
evening of Thursday 20 September. You will be able to attend an evening of
theatre. There will also be a great dinner-party on Friday 21 September.
Please keep an eye on the web site http://www.apiba.org.ar/faapi2001
for further details.
Meals
There will be a number of coffee
stands throughout the exhibition hall where you can have coffee, fizzy drinks,
water, soup, snacks, etc. You can also have meals at reduced prices at Bahía del
Sol restaurant located in the UCA premises. There are other restaurants nearby
which will offer delegates meals with convenient
discounts.
Cancellations
Registration cancellations received
before August 15 2001 will incur a 50% cancellation charge to cover
administration fees. Cancellations after this date will not be
refunded.
APIBA contact
details
For further information please
contact María Elena Iturbe & Silvia Zárate at the Conference Office:
Sarmiento
835 - 1st floor - (1041) Buenos Aires
Office Hours: Tues. and Thurs.
10.30 a.m. / 4.30 p.m.
Tel/Fax: (54) (011)-
4326-3927
E-mail: faapi2001@hotmail.com Please note that that the 2001
FAAPI Conference Office will be closed on Tuesday 11 and Thursday 13 September
2001, in order to finalise conference arrangements.
Pre-Conference Event
(PCE)
The pre-conference event is being
held on Thursday 19 September 2001 specifically for delegates who wish to
concentrate on a particular topic. "
FAAPI Time again ! Time to start
getting ready for the big ELT event of the year in Argentina.
__________________________________________________________
3.- ALL IN A
SCHOOL´S DAY
First weeks at school! Gosh, isn´t it tough to be back to the
grind after the holidays! Some humour, we hope, will help alleviate the
burden. We would especially like to thank our dear SHARER and friend from
Rosario Silvia Grazziani for her contribution to this column.
Fist
School Day
The child comes home from his first day at
school.
His Mother asks, "Well, what did you learn today?"
The kid
replies, "Not enough. They want me to come back tomorrow."
First kiss
An
honest seven-year-old admitted calmly to her parents that Billy Brown had kissed
her after class. "How did that happen?" gasped her mother.
"It wasn't easy,"
admitted the young lady, "but three girls helped me catch him."
Examination Wisdom (1)
One professor at school had a
strict policy that the hourly examinations were done at
the bell and anyone who kept writing on their exam after the bell would
take a zero on the exam.
One guy kept writing on his exam
for a while after the bell and then confidently strode up to turn it
in.
The professor looked at him and
said "don't bother to hand that paper in
"... you get a zero for continuing
after the bell."
The guy looked at him and said,
"Professor, do you know who I am!!"
The professor replied, "No, and I
don't care if your dad is president of the United States ... you get a
zero on this exam."
The guy, with a enraged look on his
face, shouted, "You mean you have no idea who I
am???"
The professor responded, "No, I've
no idea who you think you are."
With that, the guy said "good,"
plunged his exam into the middle of the stack of other students exams, and
did a hasty retreat from the examination
room!!!
Examination Wisdom
(2)
Two students taking a Chemistry class were doing well enough to think
they had solid "A" grades. Confident of their chemistry knowledge, they decided
to visit another college and party with some friends the weekend before the
final. When they returned too late to take the exam, they found their professor
and explained that they had missed the test because of a flat tire. The
professor allowed them to make up the final the next day.
When they arrived, the professor handed each a test, then placed them in
separate rooms to begin. Opening the small booklets, the students found just one
question: Which tire?
Teacher´s
Pet
It is a teacher's last day, and all the students want to show
their appreciation for her by giving her a present. The chocolatier's son brings
her a box of fine gourmet truffles, the florist's daughter brings her a bouquet
of flowers, and the liquor store owners son comes in with a heavy box. The
teacher notices it's leaking on one side, and takes a drop of the liquid and
tastes it. "Champagne?" The boy says no. "Brandy?" Again he says no. Finally,
the teacher says, "I give up, what did you get me?" And the liquor store owner's
son says "A puppy!"
What´s up
there?
A
teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the
matter clearer, he said, "Now, boys, if I stood on my head the blood, as you
know, would run into it, and I should turn red in the face."
"Yes, sir," the
boys said.
"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary
position
the blood doesn't run into my feet?"
A little fellow shouted,
"Cause yer feet ain't empty!"
Kindergarten innocence
For
weeks, a four-year old lad kept telling his Kindergarten teacher about the baby
brother or sister that was expected at his house. One day the mother allowed the
boy to feel the movements of the unborn child. The four-year old was obviously
impressed, but made no comment. Furthermore, he stopped telling his teacher
about the impending event.
The teacher finally sat the boy on her lap and
said, "Tommy, whatever has
become of that baby brother or sister you were
expecting at home?"
Tommy burst into tears and confessed, "I think Mommy ate
it!"
_________________________________________________________
4.- THE WEST GOES WILD
Our dear SHARER
from San Antonio de Padua, Cecilia Ramirez and her staff at CR
Language School and Educational Consultants are organizing an ELT Fair in April.
No doubt the West will go
wilder with this new enterprise by our very active colleague. Here´s her
message:
Hello you
all!
We are sending
you this message to announce that the " call for presentations" and registration is open for the ELT
Fair to take place in San Antonio de Padua on 21st April 2001 ( from 10 am to 6
pm.)
The idea is to
provide workshops and/or lectures as well as commercial presentations for people in the ELT
area.
Main
topics: Games, Methods and Approaches put into practice, Literature,
Theories such as Multiple Intelligences, Activities for entertaining classes,
Relaxation techniques for teachers, the use of the Web, International Exams,
Language, Grammar.
If you are
interested in attending it or/and being a presenter please contact Cecilia A.
Ramirez de Ricci ( Phones: 0220
4859714 or 011 15 4091 3773) or e-mail : cr@infovia.com.ar
Registration is
$ 30 (group
registrations at a special
discount)
Venue:
Sarmiento School - San Antonio de Padua
__________________________________________________________
5.- STAYING ALIVE
Our dear friend
and SHARER Celia Zubiri sends us and all our SHARERS her best wishes for this
school year and announces this new Workshop:
How to stage a
play with children and stay alive
Facilitator :
Celia Zubiri - 1 session - 6
hours -
March 24 -10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to
17:00 hours - Fee
$40
Registration :
4812-5307 / 4814-5455 / 15-4493-3543
An interesting
proposal, no doubt. Thank you, Celia for your kind words.
__________________________________________________________
6.- ORGANIZING PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT AT SCHOOL
"I know that professional
development is essential to improving student learning. But changing
professional development so that we really make a
difference in student learning is a huge & uncertain
endeavor."
"Professional Development: Learning from the Best" is a
toolkit based on experiences of the 20
award-winning schools (in the US). It is designed to help you improve
professional development in your school. . "Professional Development: Learning
From the
Best," is a step-by-step guide to help you implement strong, sustainable professional
development that drives achievement of your student learning
goals.
The toolkit, written by Emily
Hassle (Public Impact), is at http://www.ncrel.org/pd/toolkit.htm
Bonnie
Bracey
Online Internet
Institute
___________________________________________________________
7.- TRISTES
NOTICIAS
El Viernes 16
de Marzo recibimos este doloroso mensaje de nuestra colega
Celia
Sábato del
Instituto de Enseñanza Superior "Joaquín V. Gonzalez" de Buenos
Aires.
"Como dice el
asunto ( de este e-mail) , son tristes noticias: hoy falleció Anita Monner
Sans, que durante muchos años ejerció la docencia y el compromiso en las aulas
del Joaquín. Quienes tuvimos el privilegio de conocerla como sus alumnos o
sus colegas no la olvidaremos. Sus enseñanzas y su ejemplo de vida
permanecen
junto a nosotros y nos siguen ayudando a elegir el camino."
Una sentida pérdida para la gran famila del profesorado argentino de
Inglés. Nuestras más sinceras condolencias.
__________________________________________________________
8.- 22nd
APRIL : EARTH DAY
Our dear
SHARER, Diana Engelbert Moody, linkeduc@cvtci.com.ar
sends us this
message. We thought it would be of interest to teachers at all levels of
instruction.
Wouldn´t it be
great if we could all just contribute in a small way to this celebration
and help create an awareness (inside and outside our classrooms) of the need to
defend the Earth ?
Dear
friends,
This April,
thousands of organizations will take action in their communities to call for global sustainability and hope. Please
join us in making
this Earth Day a turning point in the way human beings treat the Earth, and each other.
We hope to hear
from you soon! If you do not have web access, you can email us your event plans at worldwide@earthday.net , or fax them
to us at +1 206
876 2015. Please make sure you include the following information:
group
name:
contact
name:
event
name:
event
description:
event
time:
event location
(exact address):
number of
people expected to participate:
any media
coverage:
Every Earth Day
action matters, whatever its size, and whatever issue it
relates to. If you do something for the Earth on 22 April, you
are part of a
powerful force for change.
Thank you very
much for being part of the Earth Day Network.
Event
Highlights in Argentina
Here´s
just one example of what will be happening for Earth Day this year
In Argentina, the NGO Red de Voluntariado Juvenil Ambiental (The
Youth Volunteer
Network for the Environment) will launch the book,
"Young Volunteer Environmentalists," which honors up-and-coming
young activists. The
launch is being coordinated through the Youth Environmental Program of the National Secretariat for
Sustainable Development and
Environmental Policy of Argentina.
Contact Martin
Colombo, Tel: 54 114 382 6951, Email: mcolombo@voluntariadoambiental.org,
Earth Day is
all about people banding together to achieve what none of us could achieve on our own. Each of you is important in
this effort. Acting
together, who says we can't change the world?
We look forward
to hearing what you will be doing on Earth Day
2001.
For the
Earth,
Earth Day
Network Worldwide Team
HELP SPREAD THE
EARTH DAY NETWORK... Invite your friends and colleagues to
become involved in Earth Day. They can subscribe to
this list by sending a message to worldwide@earthday.net with
the word
"subscribe" in the subject line.
__________________________________________________________