Attacking Tardiness
Por Jesús - Colegio Sanderson, Ideas, Proyectos - Marzo 2, 2011
This week I asked the principal office permission to hand out some articles about teaching students to arrive on time, or even early, to appointments we have to attend to. Without hesitation the principal agreed and asked me to immediately invite my coworkers to apply some strategies found on such articles.
Unpunctuality among students is not one of my direct responsibilities, but I deeply thought I had to do something to decrease this unfortunate situation of some alumni. Fortunately, it is not a grave problem and the great majority of the students arrive on time. Unfortunately, the students who do have this problem tend to repeat it several times a week. Besides, today March 2nd the winter schedule is over and everybody has to come to school something before 8 a.m. Therefore, something had to be done; this week.
I had been searching for these type of articles since last December as well as translating them, and although one always has a vision of what is right, they were very enlightening and made me understand the principles and consequences of being late. I do hope some teachers may find them as good as I did.
Here you have the links to the articles used in the compendium (in English) :
- Forefront Families
- The Best Solutions fo the Latest Students
- How to Teach Punctuality to Children
- Lesson Plan on the Importance of Punctuality
- Punctuality Tips and Strategies
Below you can read what was delivered to the teachers. (In Spanish)
Lo Más de 2010
Por Jesús - Cervantes, Colegio Sanderson, General, Ideas - Febrero 15, 2011
Lo sé, este post tiene un mes y medio de retraso; pero como dice el dicho: mejor tarde que nunca. No lo pude hacer antes por todas las razones que ustedes puedan pensar, pero yo me quedo con el síndrome del escritor bloqueado.
Hace un año escribí una entrada parecida a esta la cual acabo de leer para inspirarme un poco, pensar sobre aquellas categorías pero ahora del 2010, si era necesario escribir una nueva o quitar otra. Deben de tener en mente que estas categorías y la entrada en general no necesariamente tienen que ver con mi ámbito profesional, sino también envuelve situaciones familiares o personal que hayan hecho un cambio en mi ser, pensar, sentir o idear.
De igual manera debes de tener en mente que estas categorías abarcan desde enero hasta diciembre del 2010 y que por lo tanto hay dos ciclos escolares en final de 2009 -2010 y el inicio del 2010 – 2011; ambos con alumnos diferentes y muy posiblemente con grados igualmente diferentes.
Sin más preámbulo, aquí están los momentos “más”:
1. Momento más feliz: cuando decidí que era tiempo de cerrar una puerta y una ventana se abrió. Me sentí feliz porque me di cuenta que era lo que yo quería, anhelaba y necesitaba en ese momento; simple y llanamente la vida que llevaba en ese entonces me hacía infeliz y se tenía que terminar de tajo. Desde que me inculcaron en un curso que en una vida profesional atraviesas por tres pasos, siempre he tratado de aplicarlos. El paso uno es conocer tu empresa y que ella te conozca a ti. El siguiente paso es que en tu área puedas ver si estás en acuerdo con las normas, reglas o puntos de vista; si estás en desacuerdo, ver si lo puedes cambiar o innovar. Y el último paso es entender si aquello es para ti, si lo aceptas como está o si lo puedes cambiar; o entender que es mejor irte. Yo decidí: Gracias, pero no gracias.
2. Momento más triste: aquellas personas que deje detrás, aquellas que me apoyaron incondicionalmente, me divertían, me hacían la vida más fácil día con día, se preocupaban por mí y lo más importante, me querían. Gracias por todo.
3. Momento de mayor satisfacción: ver todo lo que se hizo dentro del salón y de los grupos de secundaria. Debo admitir que hubo momentos muy difíciles (los adolescentes son algo especial) pero al final entendimos que aprendimos de ambas partes y se lo reconocimos. Fue la primera vez que aplique el blog como herramienta de publicación de trabajos, y fue la primera vez que mis alumnos se enorgullecieron por lo que sabían hacer con el inglés.
4. Momento de mayor orgullo: Los dos reconocimientos que mis alumnos de secundaria me dieron; me reconocían lo bueno y lo malo, pero por ello mismo, son los reconocimientos que más aprecio. Es cierto, dentro de la escuela es una actividad obligatoria pero no es obligatorio dárselos a todos los maestros, ni es obligatorio que te lo enmarquen.
5. Momento de mayor sorpresa: En agosto regresé a una gran escuela con grandes alumnos, la sorpresa fue ver que con aquellos no se había perdido la amistad, el cariño y familiaridad que ya habíamos construido durante dos años de clases juntos. Ellos me conocían muy bien, yo los conocía mejor, ¿cómo nos llevamos?, de maravilla.
Actulización en Proceso
Por Jesús - Uncategorized - Septiembre 21, 2010
Pues ha empezado un nuevo ciclo escolar, el del bicentenario: 2010-2011. Y es tiempo de actualizar el blog, ya hay nuevas páginas, nueva escuela, nuevos alumnos y ¡NUEVA forma de trabajo!
También ya actualice la sección “Acerca de Mi”, escribí las nuevas experiencias que se adquirieron en un año y modifiqué uno que otro detalle.
Ahora, ¿Sobre que escribiré?
Massive History Reaching People
Por Jesús - Bicentennial - Agosto 28, 2010
Yesterday night, I among a lot others was able to be completely amazed by a great history show, the “200 Years of Being Proudly Mexicans“. The show was first presented a few months ago in Mexico City by the President Felipe Calderon (his Twitter account) and it is part of the celebrations which are taking place this year for the bicentennial.
It was quite fantastic to watch rivers of people flowing out after the first presentation ended and another river, even bigger, flowing in. Another impressive river was made out of cars as traffic was an unwanted guest. Nevertheless, You could see how families were rushing in and how grandparents, parents, teenagers and small children were all having excitement faces when passing by the check point. Once inside, everyone were respectfully and calmly trying to hold the best spot to watch and hear the biggest screen ever built for a public park; meanwhile classic Mexican songs were being played: mariachis, rancheras, huapangos and indigenous. One high tone sounded when the clock started the countdown and ten minutes seemed 200 years.
Another high tone for the second call… five minutes more.
Finally, the show started and people got quiet. Music and lights were dancing together as people sighed and clapped. 35 minutes of being proudly Mexican ended with one of the greatest songs ever composed for a country “Mexico Lindo y Querido” (Beautiful and Beloved Mexico) … and people began to sing and men started to make the mariachis singer’s yell. I’m sure that in this moment people had never felt so proud of being Mexican, and so had I. Century after century people could see how this amazing country was and is still being built.
Because an image is more than ten thousand words, here you can watch the complete show.
100 Years of History
Por Jesús - Bicentennial, Family - Agosto 22, 2010
Here, in Mexico, the bicentennial celebration of Independence is taking place in every town, big or small. Unfortunately, there have been difficult times in our country lately and some people are not as excited as one Mexican should be. Nevertheless, this post is to express how excited I am.
The title of the post is not a typo; one hundred and six years ago when Mexico was about to celebrate the first century of Independence the dictator Don Porfirio Díaz gave the order to every governor of every state to build a monument in each capital which would commemorate the first 100 years of liberty.
In Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo, the city and state I live, the governor recovered a previous project of building a tower in the “Plaza de las Diligencias” or “Diligences’ Square”. It had that name because it was there where stagecoaches used to depart or arrive from or to Mexico City, the trip used to last 12 hours!
The construction cost was 300 000 gold pesos and it was funded with mining companies donations and government money. The tower was built with quarry blocks put on top of each other, they were brought from a nearby town called Tezoantla. Finally, the tower is crowned with a copper dome melted in Fundidora de Fierro y Acero in Monterrey, Mexico.
Below the dome there is the chime for the four clocks; the chime was brought from Austria and was made in the same factory of which The Big Ben’s chime was done, that’s why both machinery is equal. Under each clock there is one feminine statue representing an important event in Mexico’s history until that year: 1810 the Independence, 1857 the Constitution, 1859 the Reform Laws and 1910 the one hundred years of independence. Because of this, each marble statue is different.
The clock tower was inaugurated in September 15th, 1910 at 23:00 the bells rang the national anthem.
Today the tower has become the biggest symbol of the capital and its state and it is called Reloj Momumental or Monumental Clock Tower. The bells ring every 15 minutes and the national anthem can be heard at 6:00 and 18:00 every day. The square has also changed its name and now it is called Plaza Independencia, Independence Square.
I wanted to write a post about the monument because of the great celebration Mexico is doing, and the great birthday party the local municipality is preparing for the city’s symbol; one of which my family is taking part. The party started two years ago with a remodeling and now it continues with a documentary of those families who have lived in the city for more than 100 years and who want to share their history.
In the videos below pictures of the Clock Tower can be seen and the national anthem can be heard. Both videos were made after the remodeling. And the photographs were taken by me during the my mom’s filming part.
Would Your Students Honor You?
This month’s posts in the Publishing Corner have been of the greatest kind, students had to write a small text expressing why any of their teachers should be honored and the thoughts they have of them have been just wonderful.
This is one of those times when you know that all those small pieces have come together to form something huge; students have realized of the great effort teachers have to make every day to educate a little bit. And what makes their posts even more meaningful is that their posts do not mention a lot about the classes’ contents, but rather about the values and principles teachers are trying harder to exemplify. We are living tough times here in Mexico, and that students acknowledge values gives hope.
From here I would like to thank each of them: Thank you very much!
¿Y ahora qué?
Por Jesús - Henry Wallon Institute, Ideas, Proyectos - Febrero 9, 2010
Ante la situación de “ya cuento con un blog, pero no sé qué escribir” tal vez es necesario un poco de inspiración. Mira afuera de tu ventana, escribe sobre tu niñez, expresa tus ideas y creencias… ¡mira dentro de ti!
Ah, pero qué fácil es escribir todo eso; aún asi es muy difícil decidir qué es lo que quieres compartir y sobre todo entender el por qué.
Piensa que ya tienes el primer… bueno, el segundo gran paso en tu vida de blogger: ¡sabes sobre qué vas a escribir! Tienes un blog profesional y por lo tanto compartirás tus momentos como maestro dentro de un aula, o fuera de ella. ¿cómo ves? -para los que no supieron cuál era el primer paso: crear un blog.
Si tú escribes sobre tu vida profesional cuenta con que sabrás entender el entorno en el que te encuentras, y reflexionarás sobre tus prospectos y metas. Lo único que hace falta es que quieras hacerlo.
Te dejo con una pequeña presentación en la que espero puedas ver de una manera general qué puedes hacer en tu blog profesional
Espero que mis compañeros de formula puedan crecer profesionalmente; un saludo para: Alejandra, Iside, Alicia, Elizabeth, Rosario, Cookies&Cream, Karla, Jackie, Ceci, Paco, Janett, Angelica, Genoveva, Norma, Ada, Delia, Susana, Lorena y Rosalinda. Y un abrazo especial a alguien quien parece ha hecho un gran esfuerzo por hacer de su blog un medio de comunicación con los padres. Muchas Felicidades aMary.
El concepto de Red Personal de Aprendizaje fue tomado de Break Down the Walls, Build Up a Community.
How to Start Using Them
I wanted a good reason to try this magnificent presention tool Prezi, and so I tried to explain what could be a great way to start using ICT’s at school. Please, if you have another way feel free to share it.
Here it is:
Best/Worst Teacher Ever
Por Jesús - General, Ideas, Methodology - Febrero 1, 2010
Have you ever wondered what makes you the best or worst teacher ever?
I know this is a stupid question for teachers, as we are used to question our work every day in every class; but, what makes the difference? how is it possible that the same teacher is the best during one school year and the worst the next year?
Teachers must know that in order to answer those questions they have to take into account all the variables possible, which most of the times are endless lists of what could go right or wrong. During their time in university teacher trainees should have discussed endless debates of those lists and no one could have reached a final resolution, has anyone?
I’m the Best Teacher Ever! 
Have you ever felt the excitement of having fantastic-to-work-with sponge students?
I know, this is also an stupid question for teachers, as every class is full with students eager to learn -at least that has been my case- but what I want you to think about and feel is when you’re doing what you’re supposed, and magically all around your class works out perfectly; the students are learning, the parents are grateful, the school praises and the teacher is not working.
I’m the Worst Teacher Ever! 
Have you ever felt the necessity of turning everything around, upside down, over and any other preposition you may think of?
Yes, it is indeed another stupid question for teachers, as we work in the educational context; teachers want to change every single thing they may think should work better in a different way. Nevertheless, teachers cannot change all; even though they know what is affecting their environment and they know how to solve it, teachers most of the times have to cope with huge pink elephants which are impossible to move. The students are not learning, the parents complain, the school pushes and the teacher works.
Viewpoint
The endless list I mentioned before is naworred to four main aspects: students, parents, school and the teacher. However, the term “school” will be changed to “syllabus” because that is truly the issue. And again, this is MY very personal point of view based on MY very personal experience.
Syllabus
Have you ever felt happy or unhappy with your class contents?
Eureka! That’s not a stupid question; well, I have felt both and both have gave me sorrow and pain, but also gratification and something to write about. 
This has been the biggest issue when it comes to perform an excellent job in my teaching years. It appears that when there is a main objective at the top and better yet, there is a method to achieve it: all the variables come together thriving. If a teacher studied to be a teacher, (s)he knows what (s)he is doing in front of the classroom and acknowledges the problems which are arising within the class, therefore the teacher must propose a solution. If the syllabus accepts the solution it is almost certain that the people involved will be satisfied.
If it is considered that the teacher knows how to teach, then it is supposed that (s)he uses the correct techniques and activities to teach what the syllabus asks to teachers and students. Here it is where the problem shows up, under the statement that the teacher will do all possible to achieve the objectives of the syllabus, there should be no problem in any way. But, what if there isn’t any general objective and the syllabus is not intended for the particular social and cultural background of the class? Of course all sorts of problems will show up throughout the school year, and because students are not able to complete such syllabus, frustrations will grow on the people involved: teachers, parents and worst, students.
As people in Mexico say: “hay de dos moles” -you’ve got two flavors- whether the teacher follows the syllabus or (him)herself; ok… maybe more than only two.
Students, Parents and Teachers
If there is a general objective, a well established syllabus which is intended for the level, culture and society of the class, besides a trained teacher who likes what (s)he does; I do not think there should be any problem.
Have you ever experienced something like this? -not another stupid question.
Enthusiasm? Shock? Excitement? None?
Yesterday afternoon, I found out that Sue Waters had published a post where she mentioned our class blog, “Publishing Corner“. It surprised me a lot as it is the first time any of the blogs I have a participation is mentioned anywhere! – nevertheless the blog is 4 months. The major audience “The Edublogger” receives every day has helped us already by increasing the blog’s international visitors.
That afternoon I e-mailed my students so they could see by themselves what a big step they have taken, as they have reached real audiences which also was the main purpose of starting a class blog.
This morning when I was with them in class, we talked about it and I explained how important “The Edublogger” is in the Education on-line community, how this small mention in a list had given us the opportunity to get closer to the rest of the world and that it IS actually true what they say in the “Think Before You Post” security videos; if you are on-line, anyone may see you anywhere.
I could see that for these 11 and 12 year-olds it was like an eye-opening experience, to see light for the first time. Now, they are aware of what monumental responsability it is to be on-line: Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, Hi5 and this time around, blogging.
Without knowing, Sue has helped me a lot when this Friday I present to my students the new approach we’ll be working through the semester for blogging: awards!
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