Class readings

Attached to this entry, under Comments, are the articles by Freire and Tyler that we will read for the Tuesday and Friday discussion sections for the week of May 5 to 9. (In case you don´t want to wait for 2 hours at that crazy delicatessan of a fotocopiadora that we have.) Please quickly read these over for next class, looking for the main ideas in each.

Please also feel free to look up other educational approaches such as those of Montessori, Waldorf, Dewey, Illich, Socrates and others.

Most importantly, though, be ready to talk about your own personal definition of education. What does education mean to you? Where do you want your education to bring you? There is no wrong answer. Be ready to discuss your opinion! Also feel free to post here under the Comments link, as always.

And now a Moment of Zen for our great classroom-transformers. Yes, I watched this show when I was four years old. That´s why I´m so weird now.

Keep warm and see you soon,
Charly

To Kill a Mockingbird...

Hi All,

I wanted to share some websites that have useful information about To Kill a Mockingbird.  

First we have on on the historical background of the novel.  It parallels historical events to events in the story.  It has some graphic organizers, including one that parallels Harper Lee's life to that of her protagonist, and a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in the U.S. At the bottom there are some discussion questions that will definitely fun to talk about at a party! 

This page is from the Internet Movie Data Base.  Whether or not you've seen the movie, this page could be useful.  It has some still shots from the film, and a message board of reviews.

This page is from the National Public Radio website.  It's a short, short article that touches the controversy surrounding To Kill a Mockingbird nowadays:  In Chicago in 2001, the public library promoted the book by adding it to the list for it's book club while the public school district removed it from its syllabi for racist language.

This is another article from a news source in Pasadena (a suburb of Los Angeles... and home to my Gramma!) which discusses the controversy further.  This article is a series of letters between a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and the principal of a public school.  

After reading so much of the N-word, why not indulge in a little modern-day satire courtesy of Dave Chappelle?  

:) Kristal

After exam week

I´m sure you all did better on your exams than this guy.

Here´s the deal: Kristal and I are switching classes this coming week. I heard there may or may not be a paro this Tuesday, depending on negotiations this weekend. If there is a paro we will follow the plan: optional English discussion, meeting outside of the normal room and then going to the Cafe de las Artes.

And now a Moment of Zen.

Information about Fulbright

Some of you have asked about Fulbright, the scholarship that has helped Kristal and I be here in Argentina. Fulbright is an international educational grant program that operates in over 144 countries.

In addition to bringing North American students to Argentina, it also has scholarships for Argentine students (and students from many other countries) to come to the United States to do research. If you are interested in being one of Argentina´s next Fulbright Scholars, contact the Argentine Fulbright Commission, located in Buenos Aires.

As always, if you would like any more information, or advice on completing the application, just contact one of us.

Argentina's on fire!!!!!

Hi,

I just wanted to tell the students who didn't come to the optional class on Friday (04/18) that class was cancelled due to the smoke.  I hope you all stay indoors and avoid the smoke.  Good luck on your tests!!!!!

Also, thanks to those of you who came to movie night!  Hope to see you at the next one in 2 weeks!!!!

Best, Kristal

Plans for the Paro

Hi all,

Like Charly, I'll be having any classes that are on "paro" days at El Cafe de los Artes.  These classes will be optional, and will be conversation classes.  You won't need to bring your texts. We'll just hang out and talk about the world.  

Also, come to Movie Night!!!  We have some delicacies from the US that we want to share with you!   Mmmmmmmmm  :)

Damn the Man,

Kristal

A few announcements, from Charly

First: movie night is still on for tonight at 10 pm. We will meet at Calle 58, N° 819, entre 11 y 12, Depto 6A.
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Second: Charly´s Paro Plan

After talking with two of my discussion sections today, I have decided that in the case there is a teacher work stoppage (paro de docentes), as there was today, we will not have class and we will not take attendance. Instead, any students who are interested can meet outside of our normal classroom, and from there we will walk over to the Cafe de Artes (or whatever it´s called- you know, that big cafe a block away from the Facultad that used to be a gallery) and we will have an optional English discussion in place of our normal class.

If and when Kristal and I find out about another paro, we will do our best to let you know when it is so that you can plan ahead a little.

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Third: Class materials. Some of you have requested that I post some of the worksheets from class on our website. Well, here they are (look under ´comments´ for the education quotations).

Here you can find the Ignorance is bliss article we discussed relating to Flowers for Algernon.
...It turns out that they made a Paulo Freire school in Arizona, in the U.S.

Feel free to click on ´comments´ and leave your own!

Until next time,
C.

How to post and search sites

Hello everyone! Charly and Kristal here. We'd like to show you a site called YouTube, which is great for searching for video clips. Check out this fun example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFVoLz88hiU. We put it especially for you translators.

Another site that´s great for looking up information is Wikipedia, a public encyclopedia. It's written by users, and anyone can add information. It's also a good resource for literary analysis and information about texts and authors.

Facebook is a social networking site that was created by North American university students. In the site you can create groups, add applications, search for people with the same interests as you, and add people to your list of friends. To go to our class's group on Facebook, click here.

Have fun! Try posting links here if you'd like to share with everyone.

And now, a Moment of Zen for your exam week.

Don't let the man get you down,
Kristal and Charly

Movie Night!!!!! ;)

Hey all!!!!  

If you're not busy this Thursday night, come to our first Movie Night!!!

We're going to run a movie night every Thursday (except for during test week and other school holidays because you should be studying!!!!).

This week we're going to kick it off with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Come by Charly's place for a movie, snacks from the U.S., and a good time! Feel free to BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer... or whatever else you'd like to drink) and we hope to see you then!!!!

Best, Kristal

Movie Night

This Thursday, come to our first Movie Night:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(2004) Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet.

10 pm @ Charly´s apartment
Calle 58, N° 819, Dept. 6A

Please RSVP if you´re coming and bring some movie food if you´d like.

Movie reviews: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GiLxkDK8sI

Welcome!

Welcome to our English blog!

Here we will post announcements for class and fun links to websites for your enjoyment!

If there is something you want to share with the class, please feel free to write a comment.

Your ayudantes,
Kristal and Charly