Plagiarism

Plagiarism is an absolutely relevant topic for us. This presentation was well organized and interesting. I learnt how identify plagiarism even though when students most of the time find other ways to cheat. We as teachers have to be aware of plagiarism not only because it is very common, but also because it is illegal. We must teach our students the real problem of taking somebody’s words to create awareness, and thus prevent them somehow to fall into something like that.

Finally, I have to congratulate Denisse because she did a very good micro teaching. However, she must plan according to the time because the information was the most part of the time, but the practice stage was a little bit poor. I would like to put in practice more because the tips and information were very useful and complete. Moreover, Denisse’s English is very clear, and accurate. Congratulations!

Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the topics that I disagree with because it goes against with my own believes. However, I agree with its relevance in today’s world. Everyday there are more religions, and ideologies that we as teachers cannot be far from what is happening. Therefore, I congratulate Renato for pointing this topic out. He explained not only the basis of Buddhism, but also the allegedly advantages for those who follow it. The presentation was covered properly; personally, I liked the practice stage when we had to read a text and guess about the meaning of the story in our daily life. This was helpful to develop speaking, reading, and also writing skills because students have to read, discuss, and write about the important aspects found in the text.

These topics are useful to get the students’ attention; therefore the contents can be taught using a catching topic. Therefore, students are more willing to work because the topic is relevant to them. Finally, even though we as teachers could disagree with some topics, we have to do anything based on students, not based on us. Moreover, Renato did a very good presentation; he only needs to be aware of time and plan according to it.

A Beautiful Mind

This movie is closely related with education and the possibility that all people have in order to change their future. The movie is based on a real story; it is a mathematic that started his life as a student and ended as a teacher. Moreover, this teacher had schizophrenia, but that was not an obstacle to continue with living and developing himself. Furthermore, his family, especially his wife supported him in everything, in every process and crisis that he had to face.

The previous facts support the importance of the students and families’ attitude towards education because in this case both, the teacher and his wife, were willing to do anything that could be necessary not only to go through the illness, but also to improve their quality of life. Therefore, we as teachers should consider this point to encourage our students to go for more, and to show them that it is absolutely possible and real for them to do it. As a result, teachers cannot just leave their students to live as birds, in other words, to leave them to live not thinking about their future, their interests, and their abilities because we have to lead and promote the curiosity, creativity, perseverance, among others.

Radio-Drama

Radio drama is one of the most interesting tools to teach English. In my personal opinion, these kinds of activities let students not only practice speaking and pronunciation, but also reading and listening. Moreover, the fact that students participate actively during the lessons promotes the idea of using radio drama nowadays inside of our classrooms. Students are more demanding; they have most of the time access to the information. Therefore, we as teachers should demonstrate with our lessons the importance of being taught by someone who knows deeply the subject matter, and have the effective elements to transmit that knowledge to other people.

Finally, I have to congratulate Pia because her topic was absolutely relevant and interesting for all of us. Furthermore, she performed a micro teaching, every stage was clearly covered, and the practice was very effective and entertaining. However, she seemed to be extremely nervous, which sometimes affected her pronunciation. From my personal point of view, in order to communicate the message properly she must control her stress better. That is the little detail she need to improve, but it is normal and completely comprehensive; congratulations Pia.

Freedom Writers

This movie is absolutely one of the movies that teachers should considerer watching it to learn. It is based on a real story, and it is a very good tool for us to understand deeply not only the important role that teachers have, but also how they impact on their students’ lives. In the movie the teacher had to face different difficult situations, but none of them stopped her from achieving her objective of getting students involved with learning. I learnt that if teachers have the real vocation to teach believing in students’ change and improvement, they will have to go against the routine, and to avoid getting stuck only on the contents. Students are fed up of learning from the theory; they need to learn from their experience, their background, their real and daily life, and that was what the teacher from the movie did. She realized that she had to find a way to get them involved starting from their mind; for instance, I remember how the teacher used one of the situations to give them a social education when the class was laughing at one of the student due to a cartoon of him. She could penalize the student who did the drawing, but she used it to teach them comparing the situation with the history, the Holocaust, and with their daily life, the gangs’ battles.

Finally, this movie is absolutely touchable because the teacher succeeded even though their students’ social problems, their colleagues and school administrators, and her husband. She was persevering, focusing firstly on knowing students’ needs, interests, and problems. It meant a lot to me because it encourage me to keep believing that people can change their starts not only if they really want to, but also if there is somebody to lead them properly.

Guardian: Provider, Protector, Supervisor, or Inspector?

According to the Keirsey Temperament Sorter Report, my personality fits with the characteristics of guardians. It refers that I can be sociable and outgoing, but I am responsible and serious when I have to work. I completely agree with this point, but I disagree with the next idea of enjoying working in teams, whether I am leading it or following a credible leader. The truth is that I do not like working with other people very much because it is risky; in fact, I would rather work only with one person because it is easier to come to agreements and to advance to the objectives.

Finally, I can assure that I felt identified with the test on certain areas; therefore, it was useful to decide which type of guardian I am. In my opinion I fit with the mixture between supervisor and protector because both are related with the way that I behave; I am like a supervisor observing and checking everything, and at the same time I am a protector looking always for the fulfillments of human beings’ rights.

Presentations

The presentations covered in the first semester were:

Marlene and Franco

The topic of their presentation was “How Teachers Inspire?” They did a very organized and concise presentation, but they did not carry out with the micro lesson required because their presentation was a lecture. They spoke most of the time explaining all the ideas, not letting the audience to guess or to discover the contents. However, I learnt very well that teachers are not only the instructors, but also the educators.

Javiera, Pamela, and Pia

The topic of their presentation was “Teacher’s Styles in the Classroom” They covered the topic very well because they explained not only the characteristics of the different teachers’ styles. Consequently, I learnt a lot from this presentation because it was useful for me to identify the characteristics of the mixed of styles that I have, and how they are going to influence in my career.

Loreto, Fernanda, and Renato

The topic of their presentation was “Positive Psychology: A Secret for Happiness” They did a very complete presentation because they not only prepare the power point, but also showed an interesting video according to the topic. However, this visual aid turned against them a little bit because there was some information in Spanish. They should be more careful in future presentations because this situation cannot happen again, but apart from this detail, I learnt very much about this new subject, and it was useful to understand better the real importance of focusing your concern on the life’s processes, not on the results.

Juan Manuel and Nicolás

The topic of their presentation was “The New 5 Minds for the 21^st Century” This presentation was very interesting because they explained these types of minds and their characteristics. Moreover, they were very well prepared; both of them knew the topic explaining it very well, but Nicolas overused his notes. I know him very well, and I know how nerves he gets when he has to perform presentations; therefore, I can assure that this was the reason why he tended to look at his notes instead of looking at the power point. However, in my opinion they did a very good research on the topic, and it was useful for me to identify which mind or minds fitted with me.

Roxana, María Paz, and Renato

The topic of their presentation was “Teacher’s Personality; Which Type Are you?” This presentation was very interesting because they covered not only the theoretical aspects, but also the practical ones. I have to congratulate Renato because I can notice a very good improvement in their vocabulary and pronunciation. According to the topic, it was useful for me to learn the different types of personalities and how each of them affects on our students. This was a very relevant topic, and I liked very much because we could share our experience with the material they prepared.

Francisco and I

Our topic was “The Young Teacher and Teenagers; Vertical or Horizontal Relations” In my personal opinion, I enjoyed the presentation very much because the topic was very interesting and useful for the audience. Apart from the theoretical aspect, the activity that we prepared was absolutely appropriated because all the situations were so practical that the audience could share their experience and opinion. I also want to thank my fiancé, Francisco, to be so intelligent, charming, creative, and a million of characteristics that makes him to be my perfect lover, friend, and partner.

Leandro, Fabian, and Alvaro

Their topic was “The Characteristics of Effective Teachers” This presentation was very concise because the group covered the topic organizing aspects related with students’ needs, class’ atmosphere, and lesson plan. The activity was appropriated and effective; it was useful not only to evaluate our understanding on the topic already explained, but also to share our experience and background. This presentation was very useful for me, and they did a very good presentation despite of the difficulties that they had to face. Therefore, I congratulate them for the very good use of the English Laboratory, and their concise presentation.