1541. Yielding the fruit



Nothing done or made by us teachers is lost: reprimanding, implementing an activity, watching a movie with our students… 

All yields its fruit, now or within years. 

For more basis, if you do something to please and love God too, the fruit is sure, though apparently you notice nothing. Moreover you are gaining Heaven, and helping others gain it. / Photo from: asia east 2004 www lib utexas edu

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2864. On Shakespeare. Bringing Him to the Classroom

Image
  We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of grand William Shakespeare, as you all know. I’ve just read an article about his obscure life but brilliant work. I say “obscure” referring to the fact that we have close to no knowledge about his life – I don’t intend to say he was obscure (or dark). It seems he wished to slip through the history of his time… I’ve made the resolution of reading his dramas one more time – I’ve read some, and we had a whole academic year dedicated to him and his theatre (or “theater”, as you like) at our college degree of philology of the English language and literature, and now I would read one drama at least. He’s awesome, and worth to read, or what’s more: he’s a must-read, for some of his dramas. And adaptations can be brought to the classroom, for our kids, and with so many human values and interests to be worked out! – I count on your discernment as a teacher, for a very few plays require some moral education. Moral ...
Read more

3206. How to Be Great at Exams

Image
  We second or foreign language teachers should test our students’ communicative competence. I would advise you to test speaking along lessons, while the other three language skills (listening, reading and writing) can be assessed and tested at regular written tests. However we should test these three latter skills also along the school year lessons and not only at written tests. What I propose is a continuous testing and assessing, and not only confined to written tests at each “evaluation” or term – I also would propose five (or four) “evaluations” plus the final testing. Only three “evaluations” seem little to me. The communicative competence should be tested more often. As well remember that our students should not find the test activities unexpected: those activities should have been worked out along the lessons too. I could carry on by writing about all this testing thing, but what can we do to minimize our students’ anxiety at final tests and at regular tests? ...
Read more

2483. They Are the People We Have to Teach

Image
According to Spanish José María Contreras educating a person is teaching him to love.  A person is capable first of getting to know and love God. As well he or she is capable of loving the others, by seeking and wishing the best for them, beginning with the people that are closer to him or her.  And an essential good for the others is fulfilling their job labor, day after day.
Read more

3687. The Teacher Is Essential in Class

  I teach English to adults, as you know. And I would like to consider each lesson as a study session with my dear students. It’s an occasion for us to learn English. To learn new words, phrases, some syntax. Plus an occasion to have nice discussions about the topics from the textbook and from life itself.  If I consider that lesson as a study session, I will not get a bit nervous for acting in public, because on the other hand I like studying and learning English.  Even more, in that way I can have sort of a contemplative attitude in class, and that will positively influence on my students and my students’ learning and acquiring that target language. It will.  Something essential – you know – is planning that lesson, and there will be activities we carry out on the spot, and others that they, the students, will carry out on their own, working silently, and thus learning and acquiring English in some likely peaceful and quiet atmosphere: this latter is also essential...
Read more

3164. Dreaming Nice of Our Lessons!

Image
  Thinking about our lessons, in a peaceful and tranquil way may be pretty sensible. Something I carry out sometimes is strolling along a park or the countryside, and while I’m doing so I think of my students with ample lenses, trying to think what else they can do at their learning and acquiring English as a foreign language. Also I think of the lesson plans themselves. For example lately I’ve thought of insisting on learning strategies in the classroom, having my students ponder about those techniques, and why we do such and such activities in the lessons. As well I think of how much they can give from themselves and which the goals should be, as I said, with more ample lenses. It’s kind of dreaming high about what they can give. I said I do this sometimes: actually walking along someplace I do it rarely (but a few times anyway), and what I do more regularly is thinking and meditating about my students and our classes, short it may be though. I do so because I can t...
Read more