HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY!

RIGHT!

HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY

NEVER LOSE YOUR CAPACITY OF IMAGINATION

HAPPY FRIEND'S DAY!

REMEMBER THESE?

I used some of them and I also worked with them,,,!

READING ON HOLIDAYS

I started reading Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which I have since 1991 approximately and never read...

PID, PAD... BOOM!!!!

I'm really sick and tired of all these strange names: PAD, PID, SERVADDO, LOF, SERCOPE, POFA and I don't know what else... So many forms and numbers, and dates, and photocopies of courses and titles, and scores, and... KABOOM!!! I AM GOING TO GO CRASH BOOM BANG!!!! Why every year the same old story?

THE ROOTS OF THE "MERIDIANO" LANGUAGE

Many years ago, during the December period, one of my students wrote this. I showed it to my headmistress and she said: Isn't it the correct way of writing these words? NOOOOOOOOOOO... But, well, what a good calligraphy he has. Simply speechless... Oh, I will later explain what Meridiano Language consists of...

THANK YOU FOR THE BEATLES, JUAN

 

An enormous artist and person left us today... He struggled till the end, he never gave up and he was still full of dreams and projects. He had a dream - he wanted to find out why God allowed him to keep on living. And I think the answer is - to give us a message, to show us it is possible, to show us we can. He was great, he was unique, he was the reason why many of us (me included) love The Beatles today. He taught us so much about them and their music... We'll miss you, Juan!!! I'm sure John and Gearge will welcome you in Heaven... Send them our regards. Bye...

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

IT'S MORE THAN THIS...

Our colours are more than this... Of course... but who cares? Pay attention to how things are mixed up in our country and we'll have the answer. I personally think Flag's Day should, why am I saying?, MUST be celebrated, YES! CELEBRATED NOT COMMEMORATED, on 27 February since that was the day it was first hoisted. 20 June could be considered as Manuel Belgrano Memorial Day... just like August 17 for San Martin, so in that way... WE WOULD HAVE A NEW NON-WORKING DAY!!!!!! Hahaha... Happy Flag's Day to everyone. And remember, don't wear your rossettes today; it's a memorial day!

THANK YOU, DAD...

Happy day to all father's in the world, especially to mine who is still present in my life at every single moment, in every single thing I do. Thank you, Dad, for having been there always for me, for caring, loving, teaching, trusting, holding, believing and scolding me. Thank you for being patient, for your wisdom, your strength and your support. I will always be pleased and thankful for having had such a great, wonderful, outstanding father just like you. I miss you! Have a happy day wherever you are...

HAPPY BOOK DAY!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiaCFfnW7E&feature=player_detailpage

A little gift for Book Day in our country. Although audiobooks, e-books and talking books are interesting stuff, there's nothing compared to that set of pages with that especial smell and with a cover which make up a BOOK, a traditional BOOK.

JUNE 15 - BOOK DAY (IN ARGENTINA)

     This celebration began in Argentina on June 15, 1908 as "Book Festival" . That day, prizes were awarded a literary competition organized by the National Council of Women. In 1924, Decree No. 1038 of the national government declared the official "Book Festival" . On June 11, 1941, a Ministerial resolution proposed to call the commemoration "Book Day" on the same date, an expression that remains today.

     On the other hand, the World Book Day is a commemoration held at the international level in order to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. At the international level is enacted by UNESCO , which began to enact the first time in 1995 . In several Spanish-speaking countries this day is celebrated as the Day of the language , unlike the International Day of the mother tongue is held on February 21 .

     April 23 was chosen as World Book Day and Copyright Day, because it corresponds to the death of the writer Miguel de Cervantes , William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega on the same date in the year 1616 (although it is not this way actually : Cervantes died on 22 and was buried on 23, while Shakespeare died on April 23 of the Julian calendar , which corresponds to May 3 of the Gregorian calendar ). On this date also William Wordsworth (in 1850 ) and Josep Pla (in 1981 ) died.

RAY BRADBURY

Goodbye, Ray... see you on Mars.

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

HAPPY DAY TO ALL OUR DOGS

LEARNING

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

- Alvin Toffler

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”

- Chinese proverb

“Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

- Gandhi (1869-1948)

“I learned the way a monkey learns - by watching its parents.”

- Prince Charles

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARGENTINA????

Is it our motherland's birthday? Is it the anniversary of the May Revolution? Is it the beginning of our history (and all the previous events do not count)? Or is it the first shout of freedom that led to our independence from Spain? Whatever May 25th 1810 is, we must feel proud of living in this country and, no matter our religious beliefs or our political party, or our province of origin, WE ARE ALL ARGENTOS and we should shout it proudly!!

 

(This video is two years old, from the Bicentennial time, but it represents us)

DON'T YOU MISS THEM?

 

His voice was unbearable when he shouted "Viva el 25 de Mayo de 1810!!" from the TV screen, but we miss him. We miss those full-of-useful-school-stuff magazines that saved us when we had to prepare a poster or a cover for any special task at primary school, among other things our teacher asked. And we learned so much by reading its pages full of poems, comics, lists of vocabulary, words and phrases in (strange) languages, dossiers, etc. Don't know you, but at least I... I miss 'Anteojito'.

ENGLISH VERSION FOR "MAS VIEJO QUE LA ESCARAPELA"?

Today, 18th May, we celebrate the Day of the Argentine Rosette and the May Week officially starts. It is assumed that on this date in 1810, the cockade or rosette was first used by the ladies of Buenos Aires during the events of the May Revolution. Officially, the Argentine Rosette Day was instituted by the National Council of Education in 1935, and its celebration takes place on 18 May. There are many debatable facts about this cockade and its real colours, its relation  with the National flag lately created by Manuel Belgrano, etc. but the real thing is that in our country when things or people are old we are likely to say that they are 'mas viejos que la escarapela'. My question is: is there an equivalent to say this phrase in English? 'Es más viejo que la escarapela' probably makes sense only in Argentina where every (every?) schoolboy knows that on the 25th May 1810 the people of Buenos Aires rallied at the main square in front of the Cabildo  to claim self-government and autonomy from Spain. It is said that two patriots, French and Berutti (chisperos, punteros politicos or piqueteros, maybe?), started to distribute white-and-blue badges, cockades or rosettes? (choose the most apropriate one) among followers to show identification with the cause. Obviously, this saying refers to something very old and the best equivalent for all Spanish-speaking people to understand is 'es más viejo que Colón'. Now, I repeat, is there an equivalent version in English? Surfing the web I found some good tries...

Older than dirt; older than God; older than God's grandpa; such an old chestnut; older than the hills; as old as the National insignia.

GOODBYE TO THE QUEEN OF DISCO

I am convinced there's going to be a huge concert iup there in Heaven since God is calling all the greatest artist to perform in it. We'll miss you, Donna!!

WE'VE HAD ENOUGH

Many people -my friends, my partners, my family, my students, etc- know of my Michael Jackson fanatism and how much I love his music to the point that I always try to introduce at least one topic at school using any of his songs or videos. This year I've been working with 6th formers at school on Earth Day and I have decided to introduce the topic through the watching of Michael Jackson's video "Earth Song". It's a fantastic song about the damage we, humans, are doing not only to our planet but also to ourselves. Children loved it and some proposed to watch some other videos like "Man in the mirror", "They don't care about us" and "Heal the world". These ones deal more with social problems rather than with environmental ones, but anyway we could adapt the topic to what we were doing. This led me to the idea of dealing with the theme of Human Rights, Wars, Racism, among others. So I decided to create a video for an unreleased song called WE'VE HAD ENOUGH and it is my idea to use it in class at the right moment. Although it shows some strong images I hope you enjoy it.

"We've Had Enough"

 

Love was taken from a young life
And no one told her why
Her direction has a dimlight
From one more violent crime

She innocently questioned why
Why her father had to die
She asked the men in blue
How is it that you get to choose
Who will live and who will die
Did God say that you could decide?
You saw he didn't run
And that my daddy had no gun

In the middle of a village
Way in  a distant land
Lies a poor boy with his broken toy
Too young to understand

He's awaken, ground is shakin`
His father grabs his hand
Screaming, crying, his wife's dying
Now he's left to explain

He innocently questioned why
Why his mother had to die
What did these soldiers come here for?
If they're for peace, why is there war?

Did God say that they could decide
Who will live and who will die?
All my mama ever did
Was try to take care of her kids

We're innocently standing by
Watching people lose their lives
It seems as if we have no voice
It's time for us to make a choice

Only God could decide
Who will live and who will die
There's nothing that can't be done
If we raise our voice as one

They've gotta hear it from me
They've gotta hear it from you
They've gotta hear it from us
We can't take it
We've already had enough

They've gotta hear it from me
They've gotta hear it from you
They've gotta hear it from us

We can't take it
We've already had enough

They've gotta hear it from me
They've gotta hear it from you
They've gotta hear it from you baby

We can't take it
We've already had enough

Deep in my soul baby

Deep in your soul and let God decide

Deep in my soul

It's up to me and I'm still alive

They've gotta hear it from us

We can't take it
We've already had enough

It's going down baby
Just let God decide,

What's going on baby
Just let God decide

Deep in my soul baby

We've already had enough

They've gotta hear it from me
They've gotta  hear it from you
They've gotta hear it from us

We can't, we can't
We've already had enough

WITH CHARLIE

One does not have the oportunity of coming across a celebrity such as Charlie Lopez everyday, though that celebrity was made of cardboard paper... haha. Anyway, I didn't want to lose the chance of having a picture with him. Notice my son's face...! "Who on Earth is this man????", he seems to be thinking.

CASTLES BURNING by Magda Dènes

I have just finished reading this moving book which I have had in my bookshelf for so many years and never found the right moment to read. I remember my brother gave it to me. He had bought it at some bookstore in Avenida Corrientes. It tells the story of a Jewish girl who, just like Anne Frank, had to live hidden during war. After being abandonned by her father, she, her mother and her brother had to face famine, violence and fear in a devastated Budapest where being Jewish was no longer safe. After suffering the loss of some members of her family, living in extremely poor conditions and getting false documments, they reach France and, finally, Cuba. It's amazing how the author tells us some painful moments of her childhood with such an extraordinary sense of humor that, according to her words, saved her from insanity. I truly recommended it. It is a vivid chronnicle of those hard, atrocious times humanity suffered. Sadly, Magda was not able to see her memoirs published since she died of a heart attack at age 62 a week before the publication of the book. The title of the book in Spanish is CASTILLOS DE DOLOR, published by EMECE.

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS...

SO TRUE!!

EARTH DAY

Better late than never, in plain creole... haha... We must do something to stop hurting our planet. Now!! It's the only home we have.

WE ARE ALL ANIMALS

We, human beings, are animals but we should feel ashamed of saying it since we've got so much to learn from them. We must stop mistreating our brothers. We must stop killing our brothers. We must love them.



The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011) - YouTube

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011) - YouTube

LONDON

I could finally upload the video we created as a pre task for the project NO PLACE LIKE LONDON!!! Enjoy!

38.ª Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires | 2012 Argentina | Sitio Oficial

38.ª Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires | 2012 Argentina | Sitio Oficial

BOOKS

"A house without books is like a room without windows"

Heinrich Mann

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket"

Chinese Proverb

HAPPY EASTER: WHY EGGS, RABBITS AND HARES??????

Taken from Wikipedia

Rabbits and hares

The hare was a popular motif in medieval church art. In ancient times it was widely believed (as by Pliny, Plutarch, Philostratus and Aelian) that the hare was hermaphrodite.^[5][6][7] The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary, with hares sometimes occurring in illuminated manuscripts and Northern European paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child. It may also have been associated with the Holy Trinity, as in the three hares motif,^[5][8] representing the "One in Three and Three in One" of which the triangle or three interlocking shapes such as rings are common symbols. In England, this motif usually appears in a prominent place in the church, such as the central rib of the chancel roof, or on a central rib of the nave. This suggests that the symbol held significance to the church, and casts doubt on the theory that they may have been masons' or carpenters' signature marks.^[9]
Eggs, like rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of antiquity. Since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth to large litters in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.^{[citation needed]}
Rabbits and hares are both prolific breeders. Female hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first.^[10] This phenomenon is known as superfetation. Lagomorphs mature sexually at an early age and can give birth to several litters a year (hence the saying, "to breed like bunnies"). It is therefore not surprising that rabbits and hares should become fertility symbols, or that their springtime mating antics should enter into Easter folklore.

Eggs

Main articles: Easter egg and Egg decorating

The precise origin of the ancient custom of decorating eggs is not known, although evidently the blooming of many flowers in spring coincides with the use of the fertility symbol of eggs—and eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes. Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red,^[11] the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter.
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.^[12]
The idea of an egg-laying bunny came to the U.S. in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws"^[13]).^[14] "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.^[15] In 1835, Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of the reconstructed continental Germanic goddess *Ostara.^[16]

"TRULY TRUE"

A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them. It is a wrong to his family. Children learn to read by being in the presence of books. The love of knowledge comes with reading and grows upon it. And the love of knowledge, in a young mind, is almost always a warrant against the inferior excitement of passions and vices.

Horace Mann

MORE SCHOOL MEMORIES!!

I still remember the VICTORIA ROAD RAP from Hotline... Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!

Michael Vince and his book worked as a kind of Messiah and a Bible even during my Teaching training college period.

These two books from the Meridian Plus series were my last books at sesondary school. I remember the "Cooking with Carol" reading!!!!!

WORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY

 We all MUST learn from them...

I got someone who I learn from everyday: MY SISTER, DIANA... I'm proud of sharing my life with this marvellous little person. I love you, "Gorda"!!!!!

DIGITAL NATIVES

 

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