Different tastes, different lifestyles

It’s part of people’s liberties to choose how to lead life. As a result, some are constantly in search of new horizons, while others happily keep the status quo. Indeed, the world of difference there is in people’s lifestyles is the absolute proof that one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Let’s focus on the ‘dynamic’ approach to life. This kind of lifestyle is typically chosen by those who avidly seek for new life experiences. These people really enjoy having to adapt themselves to new life situations. Looking for new jobs, being in contact with new people, moving from one city to another and the like get their adrenalin flowing. And this is, apparently, what “change lovers” enjoy the most. In fact, the idea of leading an uneventful life becomes a real threat looming over their heads.

There is also the ‘static’ approach to life. This lifestyle is the one picked by people who greatly fear changes. It’s part of their nature to rule out the slightest possibility of having their lives altered in any way. Do you know anyone who hasn’t taken up a golden opportunity for not wanting to leave home and move abroad? Well, that person falls within this group. But mind you: playing safe may have its drawbacks. People can miss the chance of getting ahead and achieving more ambitious goals in life.

Personally, I believe that the combination of the two different lifestyles would make a good choice for me. ‘Being on the move’ throughout my entire life doesn’t suit me at all. I would feel the need to settle down so as to enjoy personal life achievements. However, leading a monotonous life is neither my cup of tea. Life can become much more enriching if we’re ready to take risks and to adapt to slight changes.

All in all, it’s up to you to decide which lifestyle to adopt. If you haven’t yet made up your mind, it’s not late then to remind you that both styles have benefits to offer. So, not sticking to one of them all throughout your life can prove quite fruitful.

Face to face vs. ‘screen to sreen’ communication

The growing trend of using the computer as the main means of communication is putting face to face contact under threat. While it is true that the computer has improved communication to a great extent, it is also a fact that the indiscriminate use of this technological device as a means of communication can have some negative effects.

To begin with, the fact that nowadays people can contact each other while lying onto bed, wearing their pyjamas is making social meeting less and less frequent. To my mind, this is absolutely unacceptable. Communicating with our friends and relatives through the screen will never be as powerful as face-to-face contact, no matter the many technological devices to come. Face to face contact has the power of communicating not only words, but feelings, emotions, sensations. If we replace personal interaction with screen-to-screen communication to a full extent, we will lose the capacity of perceiving others’ feelings in the long-run, which will turn us into impersonal and cold beings.

Another risk of abandoning social meeting altogether is that people will end up meeting new people only via the Internet. At first sight you may think there’s nothing dangerous about it, but on second thoughts you will surely agree it’s a highly risky behaviour. Users of the internet have no guarantee whether the person behind the screen is good-natured or a murder. The potential danger is even more credible if you consider the number of teens that have been kidnapped after having met with the person they ‘got to know’ chatting.

However, despite these potential hazards of communicating exclusively via the internet, there are still people who believe, and even hope, computers can replace face-to-face contact to a full extent. Yet, to my mind they should reflect on the adverse effects that abandoning personal contact could bring about.

To sum up, I believe we should become aware of the importance of face-to-face communication among humans. Although communication via the internet is an invaluable source we can take advantage of, I do think regular social meetings should be kept and prioritized.

2010 knows child labour

It is common knowledge that childhood should be a fantastic time of play and discovery. It is a time to be free and full of wonder. However, a considerable number of children are deprived of having a happy childhood as a result of child labour. Despite living in the era of great technological advances and astonishing discoveries in every field, we can still find children working endless hours, doing any kind of job you care to name.

There are some organizations which have already started to take measures to fight child labour. What these groups propose is that we, consumers, join a boycott campaign on goods whose production involves the work of children.

To my mind, it should be the government who take actions to tackle this serious and worrying issue. But, it appears that governors are not willing to wipe out child labour. They seem to turn a blind eye over the matter and wash their hands of it. What is more, although a series of laws has been passed in order to ban child labour, they are not respected in most of the cases and there is nobody to punish those who go against the law.

Given the government’s attitude towards the issue, it sounds logical then that any of us who agrees that forcing children to work is inadmissible and unethical should contribute to put an end to child labour. And boycotting trade products, which have been made using children workforce, strikes me as a good start.

In addition, I firmly believe that for this boycotting campaign to be effective it would be vital to inform people about the current situation of child labour. So, the first step would be to inform consumers about which the companies that employ children are. In this way, consumers would be able to spot the trades in supermarket shelves.

To conclude, child labour is a common practice involving more and more children every day. Since the government does not show signs of willingness to tackle the problem, it is high time we make every effort to solve this burning issue.

Mum or dad-who is the best?

Mum or dad: who is the best?

Traditionally, it was believed that women could become better parents than men. However, taking into account the drastic changes of women’s role in society, are they still better parents than men? Or is that that equality between the sexes has also been achieved in parenting?

Without doubt, women’s role is society has undergone radical changes. Nowadays, for example, most women no longer stay at home looking after the children; they also work long hours as men do. In fact, in some families traditional roles have been changed: women are the breadwinners while men stay in the house taking care of the children.
This means that after a long working day women return home with little energy to prepare dinner for the children, telling them stories until they drop off, changing nappies and the like. So, 21st century families resort to a new way of organizing household chores. It is no longer women who have to do everything that concerns children’s care; this duty is carried out by both mothers and fathers to the same degree.

It comes as no surprise then to see fathers waiting for their children at the school gates, helping their offspring to do the homework or bathing them. These present situations seem to show that men have adjusted themselves to their new parental role very well. To my mind, these new roles of mothers and fathers are really beneficial to the children, since they can now forge stronger bonds with their fathers, too. In the past, children used to have a closer and warmer relationship with their mothers rather than with their fathers. Today, both fathers and mothers are present figures in the families. The proof of this is that, when in trouble, children shout “help mum!”, or “help dad!” alike.

In conclusion, it seems that the equality between men and women achieved in the world of work, politics and society has also extended to their roles in the family. Today’s women are not able to be full-time mothers, which means that men have a more significant role at parenting than they used to have in the past.

Loads of work pending at your desk. Endless hours of college subjects which cannot be dropped. Timetables crammed with exams and deadlines. There’s no doubt today’s students lead a hectic life. And of course, this characteristic doesn’t go unnoticed. The result is high levels of stress. This suffering has become so common among students that it is has come to be taken as an unimportant and irrelevant condition. However, if you are one of those who suffer from sleep disturbances, muscle tension, headache, gastrointestinal disturbances, and fatigue, then it’s time you acknowledged you are suffering stress and started fighting it.

Those who are ready to beat high levels of stress visit their doctors’ consulting rooms asking the same question: how can I relieve stress? Gloss magazines and TV programmes are keen on spreading advice on how to manage stress, and there is a huge amount of information flying about. As a result, most people end up feeling at a lost with so many ways to combat stress available.

In this article, I’ll focus on six golden steps which, I can assure, will help you win this battle. In the first place, devote a few minutes a day to sitting quietly with closed eyes. This technique should be accompanied by meditation and deep breathing practice. Both actions will help you calm down and start releasing tension. Secondly, exercise regularly, which will allow your body to enhance the production of endorphins. These brain chemicals are known for lifting people’s mood. After the first weeks of training, you will feel a world of difference in your spirit. Furthermore, try not to bottle up inside. It’s a good solution to share your problems with any person you trust and feel comfortable with.

The three resting steps are related to sleep hours, nutrition and personal attitude. Getting enough rest is crucial to keep stress at bay. If you are finding difficulties to sleep, then try reading something soothing or listening to soft pleasant music. As for nutrition, it’s important to eat a healthy and balanced diet and to avoid frozen meals. Finally, having a positive attitude towards your life will undoubtedly accelerate the process of fighting high stress levels. It’s a proper strategy to look on the bright side of things. Whenever your life presents you with any challenge, try not to think of what may wrong. Instead, feel confident that you will do as much as you can to meet your goals.

All in all, if you are determined to combat stress, a combination of these techniques will bring about successful results. Life is so much enjoyable once you become ‘stress-free’. Therefore, each of the steps outlines before is worth trying.

You’re kucky you have passed your exam. You’re lucky you have such a job. You’re lucky you can go on holiday. You’re lucky you have a car and a house of your own. All too often people attribute life’s fortunes to goood luck, and its misfortunes are simply reduced to a question of bad luck. But, how much of succees is good luck? And how much of failure is the consequence of bad luck? These are interestung questions, which at first glance may seem to have no answer.

However, at a closer look at ‘lucky’ people’s lives, one can realize there are always hard work, perseverance and convincement behind each successful event. This means that if you want yoursef to become a succesful person, you can’t depend on good luck at all. First, you need to set goals in your life. And success will only come when these goals are achieved. In pursuit of that, there are many paths to follow, which are not precisely related to good luck. At a first stage, you will need to find the correct ways to boost your self-confidence. You need to believe in yourself, in your capabilities and strenghts. Then, you will need to make all-out efforts to obtain what you desire. You can see there’s no room for luck up to here. This is so because it is after working arduously hard, facing up obstacles and challenges that, once a desirable goal has been achieved, one gets the feeling of satisfaction for being successful in life.

However, luck in itself, either good or bad can have a role to play in the pursuit of pesonal and professional dreams. Good luck can accelerate the process people go thorugh to reach success, in the same way as bad luck can intervene within this process by making things complex, slower and sometimes demotivated. But, without doubt, in the battle between luck and hard work together with perseverance and convincement, fluke has no chances of notching up victory.

All in all, I believe that luck won’t determine how succesful a person is. This implies that it’s vital to equip chidlren and teens with the concept that if they are willing to achieve objectives in life, they need to be ready to devote huge efforts, energy, and adopt a positive attitude towards themselves.

Indigo children

Have you ever heard of Indigo children? I have heard about it on several occasions but I had no idea of what this term means. So, I decided to look for information about these Indigo children and I’d like to share what I’ve found with you. Hope you find it interesting!

‘Indigo children’ is the label given to the boys and girls who are supposed to have special abilities and traits. These unique powers will allow them to accomplish their mission: to break with old social structures and put an end to unhappiness in the world. These three lines are enough to open the door to heated controversy. On the one hand, some will feel delighted at the mere possibility of having such beings on Earth. With the all too often tragedies that affect the world and the miseries that humans are ready to show, feeling a kind of relief at the possible existence of such powerful beings is only natural and logical. On the other hand, several of you may be splitting your sides at the idea of indigo children. Admittedly, at first glance it seems a bit weird and crazy. However, it’s still interesting to go deeply into the subject.

The concept has gained popularity throughout the 1990 when several books have been published about these special beings. In these sources, Indigo children are depicted as supreme beings that are extraordinarily intelligent and have the capacities of seeing beyond light and hearing any kind of sound including blood flow. They are also very intuitive people and they are able to exercise telepathy. Some ‘indigos’ may even have the power of healing others.

The name Indigo makes reference to the children’s aura colour. The indigo aura colour ‘relates to the third eye, visual and pituitary gland and to intuitive, sensitive, deep feeling’. Their aura results in the possession of unseen qualities.

It’s not clear whether scientific studies have confirmed the existence of these children. Some sources claim that there is no scientific proof to account for indigo children, while others explain that science has proved that indigo children are the result of some kind of alteration in their ADN. Anyway, I believe it’s up to you whether you believe in it or not. What’s your view on the topic? Do you think indigo children are here among us? Or do you disbelieve this theory?

A student and a worker- is it compatible?

A student and a worker- is it compatible?
A student
Nowadays, seeing teens queuing up to find a job is no longer unusual. For some this phenomenon can have great effects on teens’ development, but for others adolescence isn’t the right moment to get involved in the world of work. But what are the cons and pros of combining work and study? It would be wise to have a closer look at the issue before coming down on one side of the fence or the other.

Let’s consider the positive side of having a job while studying. Working is a highly enriching experience for any individual, regardless of their age. First, it is a golden opportunity to grow and mature. It’s the moment when people start learning how to cope with responsibilities. This gain is particularly important for adolescents, given that today’s teens naturally tend to look down on responsibilities and obligations. And, coming to terms with them is essential for life.

Moreover, entering the world of work can open the door to getting to know different people. It’s common knowledge that teens start up friendships with people of their age and that they generally deprive themselves of profiting from relationships with older, more experienced people. Thus, being in contact with adult work mates becomes a valuable source of expertise and life experiences. Finally, working can allow youth to gain more independence from their parents. Earning a salary allows teens to enjoy a greater freedom of action.

However, all that glitters is not gold. When students start off working and studying at the same time, time management becomes a real issue. Limiting your study time-usually crammed with deadlines, assignments and exams – to a much tighter daily schedule can be very difficult. And let alone enjoying leisure time, which often shrinks to no more than a couple of weekly hours. But take heart! If you are already caught by the many benefits working can offer, you should know that the majority of teen workers manage to organize their time.

To my mind, the young who are willing to start working should go ahead. The great benefits of working make it an experience worth trying. I firmly believe it’s a question of getting used to a new routine and learning to juggle studying pressures with work responsibilities. In the pursuit of that, efficient time management becomes the key.

Pecha Kucha

As you already know, my presentation was about significant events. The very words significant events may bring to your minds different thoughts. Some unique life experience, a break point in history, or any other event, that for some personal reason you consider it significant. When I read significant events in the list of possible topics, what came to my mind were such holidays as father’s day, mother’s day, friendship’s day and St Valentine’s Day. As I said before, this has to do with personal experiences. What has led me to consider these events significant are mainly three reasons:
• First, Despite the fact that the holidays have been commercialized to a great extent, the motives that push different people in history to set this special dates were based on love, affection and respect. And however much the ways of celebration have changed, the basic ideas behind the occasions remain the same: to acknowledge these people’s contribution in our lives, to express love for them and pay them a tribute.
• Secondly, our hectic lives often leave us with almost no time to gather with our family and our friends. It’s like we always have other priorities and we keep on putting off meeting our beloved ones. But, special occasions as mother’s day turn everything round. The people we are honoring that day become top priority and we are ready to leave aside anything to be together with them.
• And last, what actually makes these occasions SIGNIFICANT is the significant roles mothers, fathers, friends and partners play in our lives. Is It necessary for me to say that Mother’s love is the first unbroken bond we will ever know. That she will never be able to bear when we are suffering; she will prefer to stand in our place and take the pain instead? That father’s are the real super heroes who are ready to do anything to bring a smile to our face? That friends are part of us? That they are a shoulder to cry on and they are the ones who have the right recipe to share joy so that it becomes a double joy and to share sorrows so that it becomes a half sorrow? That partners provide us with a different kind of love which has proved to have the power of cheering us up when we feel everything is gloom and doom; that they are the ones with whom we share dreams and with whom we plan to spend a life together?

All of them occupy a place in our heart. They are worthy of adoration and thanks for all the demonstrations of love they have had since the very first minute we start walking together along this mysterious way that life is.

Going back to the celebrations themselves, of course they didn’t emerge out of the blue. When I was planning the presentation I thought that there must be interesting stories behind each of them. And I feel tempted to know everything about it.

If you want to go through the origins of each of the holidays again, here they go:

The first of these holidays that we celebrate is St Valentine’s Day. As we all know, every year, the fourteenth day of February millions all around the world present their beloved ones with cards, chocolates, flower or any other gift to celebrate love and affection between intimate companions.
The reason behind this holiday is a cleric named Valentine. As the legend goes, in those days, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men. He considered that it made men weak. So, St Valentine started holding secret marriage ceremonies. Of course, it was only a matter of time before Claudius II came to know about st valentine’s secret and gave the order of execution of the bishop. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14th. Thus, this date became the day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint.

The second holiday we celebrate is father’s day. The first observance of father’s day dates back to 1900. Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton organized this special day to celebrate the lives of hundreds of fathers who had been lost in the Mononghan Mining disaster. Other sources believe Sonora Smart of Dodd was the one who came up with the idea of celebrating father’s day. Sonora wanted a celebration to honor fathers like hers who had to raise his family alone. When the first celebration was held, young Christians went to church wearing roses: red roses to honour living fathers and black ones to honour deceased ones. Sonora travelled through Washington carrying gifts to shut-in ill fathers. It took many years to make the holiday official. In our country it was first celebrated on august 24th 1958 to honor Jose de san martin.

One of the most enthusiastically expected holidays is friendship’s day. This tradition began in 1935 when the US congress decided to dedicate a day in the honor of friends. It is believed that the decision was moved by the devastating effects of the WWI. With time several other countries followed suit in adopting this tradition.
In Argentina friendship’s day was encouraged by Enrique Febbraro who, after Apollo XII’S landing on the moon, saw that the whole world became united. Therefore, he launched a campaign to officially declare July 20th friendship's day.
In October we have a special day to honor mothers. This special date can be traced back to ancient Greece celebrations in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. During the 1600 the early Christians in England celebrated a day to honor Mary. By a religious order the holiday was later expanded in its scope to include all mothers and it was named the Mothering Sunday. Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mothers and other family members.
In later times mothering Sunday lapsed in Europe and it was afterwards revived through the influence of American women.

Hope you enjoy my presentation! I'd like to say that yours were great!

The above painting is entitled ‘an experiment on a bird in the air pump’. It was done by Joseph Wright of Derby during the Enlightment Age. Nowadays, it can be seen at London’s National Gallery.

I chose this painting because I think it perfectly illustrates the central role science has always played throughout the years. Thus, the scientist appears at the centre and the rest is paying attention to him as a sign of admiration. It also shows the controversy that scientific research tends to stir up. In this particular case, there’s a clear controversial issue: vivisection.
All too often we hear passionate defenders of animals’ rights against particular scientific practice on the grounds that living creatures are undergoing extreme suffering. But, it seems this unethical practice is not going to restrain science’s abuse of vivisection.
I have a strong opinion about this issue which I’d like to share with you all. Without doubt, scientific research focused on animals has brought great benefits to the field of medicine. A good example of this fact is the enormous number of vaccines that scientists have been able to discover. If the studies that have given rise to the several vaccines hadn’t undergone rigorous tests on animals, we wouldn’t have had the chance to prevent illnesses such as hepatitis or meningitis. To my mind, the use of animals in scientific research is acceptable and justified if it can contribute to discovering the cures of life-threatening illnesses or if it can provide insights into obscure diseases.
The trouble is that vivisection is being abused. Just consider the number of cosmetic companies that invest millions of dollars on scientific research to test the quality of new products. I firmly believe that the use of animals in such circumstances is absolutely irrational. Indeed, it’s just not fair to cause animals’ suffering so that we can look a bit more beautiful.
To sum up, I do think that the use of animals for scientific research is agreeable if it’s the way to open the door to medical advances. But, this practice should be regulated so that the suffering of animals for unjustified reasons is avoided altogether.

The role of music in L2

Should we bring music to the classroom?

I’ve been reading some teachers’ comments on the role of music in second language learning. It seems there are two different trains of thought. While some international teachers believe that dealing with songs is a waste of time, others argue that is a wonderful opportunity to enhance learning.

After reading so much theory concerning this aspect throughout my years at TTC, I take the view that songs are a very useful means to foster language acquisition. In the first place, songs can be used to develop listening skills and pronounciation. To focus on the former, it’s important to devise effective activities, and to work on the latter it’s important to raise students’ awareness about the different sounds. Secondly, dealing with songs is a great opportunity for learners to grasp new vocabulary items. I believe that learning vocabulary items in context is what makes dealing with songs such an enriching learning experience. Moreover, songs can be taken as the pathway to teach some grammar points in a meaningful context.

I’d like to reflect now on some other advantages of introducing songs to the classroom which are not so commonly looked at. ‘Songs are encoding of cultural values and ideology’. Therefore, it’d be wise to take advantage of this fact in order to bring a bit of culture to the lessons. When choosing which song to deal with it’d be better if we selected the one that allows us to exploit more cultural aspects. Teaching culture is sometimes reduced to ‘a culture corner’ in textbooks. I’ve always felt sorry about that. Thus, I think any opportunity to expand cultural knowledge should not be missed.

And last but not least, it’s common knowledge that songs can increase learners’ motivation levels. All age groups share an interest in music. In the case of children, this learning experience can be made even more enthusiastic if learners accompany the lyrics with gestures and mimics. When working with adolescents, I think it’s better if we deal with a song that has some message to spread. Generally, teens enjoy putting messages in songs across.

To sum up, I hope you find my reflection on the role of songs useful and entertaining. As a final comment, I’d like to add that when selecting a song we should put ourselves in the learners’ shoes, so that our choices match learners’ interests.

HoW To BeCoMe A SuCcEsSfUl TeAcHeR

Hi girls! This time I’d like to reflect on which the qualities to become a successful teacher are. Here go some keys to achieve this goal:

1. Sense of humour: Sense of humour can help learners see that the learning environment can also be a source of enjoyment. It can help relieve tense classroom situations, and last, it will allow you to persevere in this stressful career. In fact, any task can become more manageable and bearable if we add a touch of humour.
2. A positive attitude: Just tell me one aspect in life which does not benefit from a positive attitude. You can’t find anyone. So, what has led you to think that the teaching profession would be the exception? Far from real! We will be thrown many curve balls all along our career and having a positive attitude would be the best way to face them.
3. Fairness: I bet you all have had an unfair teacher. It’s so frustrating! So, let’s take special care no to be labelled unfair.
4. Consistency: being a consistent teacher means letting learners know what to expect from you each day. This goes hand in hand with setting rules clearly so that learners can adjust themselves to the learning environment successfully.
5. Flexibility: I guess that in today’s world flexibility has become a must in all professions. Make sure we don’t leave the flexible attitude halfway.
6. Patience: is it necessary for me to expand on this point? Any of us who has had any kind of teaching experience knows it by heart.
7. Common sense: yes, common sense. It’s simple but vital. Please don’t ever let it go! It should be kept as a treasure. I have witnessed as a student that loosing your common sense can turn into a tragedy!
8. Don’t take things for granted: this is THE comment made below workshops’ plans, that’s why it may sound a bit of a clichéd. But it’s gospel.

Well, these are just a few keys to take into account and remember every time we’re in front of a classroom. But, surely, there are many more keys to learn as soon as we start to build our careers. And that’s another key: be open to learn. There won’t come a day when we’ll have learnt everything. Every day is a new chance of learning. I believe this is just wonderful and we should take advantage of that!

Homosexuality

Since we’ve been reading about homosexuality, I’d like to give you my opinion over the matter.

With the passing of the recent law, I’ve taken homosexuality seriously for the first time. It was a matter that I completely ignore back then probably because I haven’t met any gay person. But, since our society has taken such step to allow homosexual weddings, I think it’s time we all reflected on the issue.
Personally, I believe any human being, despite of their sexual condition, should be allowed to enjoy the same rights. By saying “I believe” I actually mean that I know it. Whenever I come across two gay people kissing each other in the streets, I feel something which is not precisely wholehearted acceptance. To tell you the truth, I don’t consider myself a discriminatory person, but there must be something of discrimination inside all of us. It’s sort of incoherent, isn’t it?
To my mind, it has become a trend to pretend we are an open-minded society which does not hold prejudices of any kind. However, it seems we need to mature as society a whole lot to accept deep differences among us.
There is another issue related to homosexuality which I’d like to comment on: adoption. This issue appears as the most controversial one. Throughout the last months, I’ve heard a lot of people favouring gay weddings but arguing against adoption by gay couples. In this case, I believe lack of acceptance is not a question of not being open-minded. I’d say it’s just the fear of not knowing the real effect on children after being raised up by same-sex parents. In my opinion, this fear is logical and it should be respected and understood in the same way gay activists wish to be for their sexual condition.
All in all, I believe our society is not ready to face the new law. But we’ll need to find the way to come to grips with today’s reality in the short term so that we can all live in social harmony.

My Experience as a cartoonist

Well, my experience as a cartoonist writer for a couple of hours makes me realize about several things about this job, which, otherwise, I would have never reflected upon. In fact, cartoons are too far away from my life. I’m not keen on reading cartoons, let alone writing them. So, for sure it was a completely new experience.
Anyway, as I said before, I’ve become aware of certain things about this activity and I would like to share them with you:
1) Not only essayist writers or article writers need to be innately gifted, as we all perfectly know, but also cartoonist writer. I’d say it is at least relieving to learn that.
2) There’s something cartoonist and teachers share. I’m talking about creativity. Teachers do need to be creative in doing their job as well as writers. They have to prepare activities, invent new games, resort to different types of classroom management and the like. At the beginning of our careers, I guess this task will be much easier in the sense that we’ll be able to resort to methodologist books which are full of ideas. But, if we are planning to stay in the profession for more than 10 years, then it’ll be necessary for us to exploit our creativity. Let’s be ready for that!
3) Apart form creativity, cartoonist writers need to be wit in order to achieve humour, reflection and so on.
4) Writing cartoons is definitely not my cup of tea!
5) The last thing I’d like to say is that I really appreciate that the web page is easy to handle. It saves nerves!

I’m eager to know what you felt as cartoonist writer. Is someone thinking of abandoning TTC?

My cartoon

21st century women.

T.V: an evil influence on people's behaviour?

In what ways can watching violent programmes on t.v affect people’s behaviour?



T.V: an evil influence on people’s behaviour?

It cannot be denied that the T.V is one of the most popular forms of entertainment. As such, it has far-reaching effects on our lives, especially on our patterns of behaviour. Therefore, more and more people are criticizing the inclusion of violence in TV programmes, denouncing that it makes people become violent and aggressive.

Over the last decades, cartoons and soaps have been showing great violence levels. And surely, the audience’s behaviour hasn’t remained unaffected by this trend. To begin with, we should be aware of the difference between the effect violent media can cause on children and on adults. Children can suffer from more marked and powerful effects than adults due to maturational reasons. Take cartoon heroes. Almost always, these characters get what they want through violence. Since children tend to imitate others’ actions, they will likely resort to the same means in order to achieve their own goals. And this is just logical. They will apply what they have learned from this special teacher: the T.V

What’s more, children cannot tell the difference between the real and the unreal yet. Thus, they tend to believe that violence and aggressiveness are just normal since they belong to the ‘real’ world the TV creates. It goes without saying that violence on the screen can lead a child to be aggressive in their real life.

As for adults, being exposed to too much violence on T.V can turn them into cold-hearted beings. Psychologists claim that once a person gets used to violent actions, he loses the capacity of being moved by violent scenes. Although this impact appears to be less strong than in the case of children, we should reflect on the risks of being that stony.

To sum up, violence on TV programmes can have serious consequences for people. To my mind, we cannot sit back and let the situation become worse. We should tackle the problem before it’s too late. We cannot let children grow into violent adults and adults lose their capacity of being touched by such disgusting thing that violence is.

Rich countries are called out

Rich countries are called out.

It’s common knowledge that the World is split up into two poles: the rich countries and the poor ones. These days, the gap between the two groups is becoming wider and wider. This current situation has led some to believe it’s high time the rich countries did something to help the developing ones.

We would be denying if we said that the rich countries do nothing in aid of those who live in poor countries. The so recurrent natural disasters, especially affecting poor countries, seem to move people all around the globe. It is in these extreme situations that the whole world shows signs of generosity towards those in need by raising money, supplying food, clothes and medicines.

However, people living in developing countries suffered from famine, diseases and other grave social issues day after day. Helping them only in extreme circumstances is not enough. To my way of thinking, the rich countries should do something to help improve the living conditions in those countries caught in the poverty trap. Most of us tend to believe that the only possible aid is money. It goes without saying that if the rich countries donate money, it will be broadly welcomed. But, there are other ways in which developing countries can be assisted. For example, opening the trade barriers so that poor countries can sell their goods could be a valuable help. Probably, this measure will require some subsides to be removed, so that imported goods from poorer countries can compete fairly. Another way of helping could be by forgiving debts. Many poor countries have huge debts and they find serious difficulties in facing such mounting burden of debts.

All in all, poor countries will only be able to move ahead, if the whole world becomes together and takes action to provide the poor ones with real help. I firmly believe that generosity and charity can be found in any part of the world and rich countries are not the exception. I’m hopeful that the wealth nations are going to go some way towards improving the quality of life in developing countries.

Hunting physical fitness

‘Hunting’ physical fitness.


Nowadays, physical fitness has become a burning issue. Either because they want to look attractive or because full health has become their obsession, most people are worried about how to keep physically fit. Indeed, there are loads of options to get to this goal. Anyway, to say which one is the best depends on each person, since one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Before choosing the way to enhance physical fitness, there’s a key point to take into account: free time. If you are one of those who have enough spare time, then your best choice might be practising a sport regularly. In the case you aren’t a sporty type, you can buy an exercise bike, join a gym or take up dancing classes. And, if you have a hectic schedule, take heart. You should make the most of your daily activities. For example, whether you live or work in a building, avoid lifts and use the stairs. Why not walk to work or carry the heavy shopping bags? Mind you, no matter the option you pick, getting successful results will depend on your not giving up after the first week.

Also, keeping fit goes hand in hand with adopting some healthy habits.
Following a healthy and balanced diet will not only help you keep in shape but also lower cholesterol levels. What’s more, your immune system will be strengthened. As well as this, not smoking will help you be in better condition to work out.

To sum up, there are no secrets to attain peak fitness. Neither is there one possible way to meet this objective. Just hung up your trainers and choose the kind of activity that best suits your taste and lifestyle. Complement this by having a nourishing meal and putting out your cigarette. After all, ‘the first wealth is health’.

Women at work

Women at work: men vs. Women?


The introduction of women into the world of work –at the beginning a male-dominated world- wasn’t an overnight success. It has been one of the clearest examples of women’s strength and courage to fight for their rights. Looking back at their long, bitter battle, can we say their fight is over?

If you have the chance of visiting a company, you won’t be surprised to learn that the manager director is a woman. Also, be ready to hear the most backhanded compliments that male work-mates will keep on saying to her. These ironic remarks are the very hints that tell you about men’s real contempt for women’s inclusion in the company. And this is true in almost every field. Men tend to consider women as incapable of cool reasoning and highly dependent on intuition for taking decisions. Yet, women have proved to be just the opposite in any job you care to name.

Despite the prejudices that women still have to suffer, their brave fight has not been in vain. In the first place, women have managed to get great job opportunities. Just consider the number of women, all around the world, who have become well-known manager directors, politicians, lawyers and even heads of states. Moreover, unequal rates of pay are a thing of the past. They also have paid holidays and career mobility, just to mention the most remarkable achievements.

To sum up, it’s clear that women have won the battle and men seem to have no ther option but to accept it. Women’s performances have proved to be as good as those of men and, in some cases, even superior.

Ads: Has it come the time to put an end?

Ads: Has it come the time to put an end?

You turn on the tv and for sure they are there. You are working on the computer and without doubt they will pop up. Even if you are travelling, they will be there in front of you. Advertisements have invaded our lives. And this is not new. But, is this modern invasion a blessing or a curse? Should we put a stop to the advertising era?

We would be lying if we denied the great advantages that advertising has brought to the business world and to the public in general. For one thing, since the introduction of advertisements, companies have found the way to make their products well-known. As a result, their overall sales have skyrocketed coupled with their profits. In addition, people have also gain benefits. Customers have found an easier way to learn about new goods available in the market.

However, as in any facet of life, each advantage has a disadvantage. As the use of ads has become so popular, they now have the power to brainwash people. This means that those who have little money are ready to get the latest products whether they really need them or not, whether they can afford them or not. On these grounds, strong critics of the use of ads claim that advertisements should be banned altogether as a way of protecting people against losing the capacity of deciding by themselves.

In my opinion, to ban advertising is rather an extreme measure. Indeed, I think it could do more harm than good. However, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that today’s ads mislead people into buying stuff they don’t need or cannot afford. Therefore, it would be a wise decision to regulate the use of ads. For example, companies should be fined for making any false claims in the advertising of their products or for leading people to misinterpretations.

To sum up, advertising is a mixed blessing. We should take advantage of the major benefits it offers, but, at the same time, we should be aware of the possible damages it can cause to the public. To my mind, it’s time authorities took measures to regulate misleading ads so as to prevent the negative effects they can bring about on the public.

It's high time we all laughed more and more!

It’s high time we all laughed more and more!

What’s the feeling you get after wild laughter? I usually feel like relieved. And this is just logical. Laughter is the human gift for coping and survival. To put it simply, it can help us feel better.
Any time you burst into laughter you are unaware of the many benefits this seemingly simple act is bringing to you. Among other things, it is a natural stress reliever. It also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. What’s more, since it involves aerobic activity, it provides a workout for the diaphragm and increases the body’s ability to use oxygen. And last but not least, it is completely free! All in all, laughter can fill you with a sense of well-being.

Unfortunately, more than once we feel we have no reasons for laughing. But, it is precisely during difficult circumstances when we need to laugh more. Let’s just let ourselves enjoy this special feeling we get whenever we laugh. Indeed, the best memories I have are those in which something made me split my sides laughing or laugh so hard that I doubled over, fell of my chair, spit out food or wet my trousers. It feels so good! I’d say it’s one of the most pleasant things in life. Yes, definitely!

So, what are we waiting to take a daily healthy dose of laughter? Go ahead! Laughter is good medicine! You will be bound to feel better.

Technology and language.


That technology has brought drastic changes to our daily lives is nothing new and language is not an exception. With the introduction of so many technological devices, several words have come to life. I’d like to comment on some interesting new words or phrases that have appeared during the technological era we live in.

As we all know, text messages have come to be one of the main means of communication used today. Especially among teenagers, they rank as the preferred option for communication. As a result, new words have emerged and they have become all too common in everyday speech. For example, when the predictive texting selects the wrong word or letter, or if you choose the wrong person to text don’t dare to say “sorry, I made a mistake”. It is a slip of the thumb. And mind you, a slip of the thumb can land you in real trouble!

Another example of changes in languages brought by technology is Bluckburied. Probably, you have already guessed where this word comes from. Yes, you are right. It’s an offspring of blackberries. Blackberries were thought to make work easier but in practice it has moved work from the office to anywhere you go and at any time. So, if you are one those who live at the mercy of this device you’ll soon feel blackburied!
That is to say, exhausted, overloaded with work since you are trying to be on top of all messages and emails you receive 24 hours a day.

For sure, there are far more examples of “technological words” and I believe there will be many more. The phenomenon has a great future ahead of it.

History takes a holiday.

History takes a holiday.

Tired of clichéd holidays? I have the solution!
Have you ever heard about Landmark trust? I have recently learnt about it and I fell in love with it!
Landmark trust was founded in 1965 by Sir John Smith and Lady Smith. It is a building preservation charity which rescues historic buildings from decay and makes them into holiday places. So, nowadays it is possible to spend your next holiday in a gothic temple, medieval castle or splendid tower. You can rent a building for a week or for a couple of days and experience an extraordinary holiday!

Trust me, the places are absolutely unbelievable! They are 200 in all throughout Britain and Italy (there are 4 in The USA). As a charity, Landmark Trust spends the letting income from holidays in the maintenance of the places and the rescue of further ones. All of them preserve their original architectural style and facade.

It just amazed me how other countries value cultural and historic things. Their peoples make efforts to keep history so alive and they enrich culture constantly. They really care about such things. Take for example Landmark Trust’s slogan: “we must ensure our past has a future”. Interesting, isn’t it?

World cup 2010

There is nobody who can claim that his life has not been affected in any way in the last days. For sure, you had to change a timetable, postpone an important appointment or leave things for later. The reason behind this is the world cup. But why is it that this sport event “paralyzes” daily life? Why is there such fervour among people? Anyway, the truth is that for the following month our lives will be different.

Let’s have a look at how a typical day in our lives can be modified. If you are keen on watching or reading the news on a regular basis, be ready to find sport news, sport news and sport news. The excessive media coverage of the competition comes second to none. And this leaves us with the strange feeling that we are living in an ideal world with no corruption, no poverty, no crimes, no misery. Next, schools allow students to be absent so as not to miss the matches, banks close earlier, shops close too, the streets become desserts for the period of two hours and people gather together in bars or at home no matter the time or day.

What’s more, the world cup has traditionally been almost the only excuse that brings the nation together. The feeling of patriotism becomes stronger than ever and the whole country seems to stop pulling in opposite directions. Amazingly, a football tournament has the power to leave aside prejudices and hostilities among the population. But, as experience has taught, after we wake up from this wonderful dream, we return to our hectic lives characterized by impatience, worries and disunion.

To sum up, the world cup has deep, temporary effects on people’s lives. In my opinion, most of them are positive. However, it is a pity that the union we are able to create during this month is abandoned after it and we return to normality and all of its implications.










Sources:

The Asian culture

It’s not much but I’d like to share what I’ve found...


The Asian family has a strong bond and this provides for growth an opportunity within the family, and also when they reach adulthood.
The Asian family has certain expectations for their children and the children know what is expected of them. Many families expect the children to use the capacity they have for learning to achieve high marks in school. They will reward the child for a perfect four point average in school. They provide after school activities that compliment the parent's beliefs.
The Asian family has a deep sense of family and respect the many generations that very often live in the same area. The result is a well rounded child with a strong identity and bright future.

Presentations

Let’s start with presentations. Those who have never tried giving one will find it hard to believe that there’s writing about it. At first glance, presentations seem just simple, but once you get to learn about it, you realise there is more to that than meets the eye. There are many point to take into account if we wish to succeed when giving a presentation. And don’t think they are too far away form real life, especially in our case. I see presentations very much connected to the teaching profession.
I hope you find interesting these pieces of information
Successful Presentation Skills
Regardless of what or where you have to present, follow this easy six-step process and create a presentation that wows:
•
Decide what you want to achieve
•
Decide what form your presentation should take
•
Prepare a script
•
Design and prepare your visual aids and handouts
•
Rehearse
•
Do it!

If you stick to these basic guidelines and put in the necessary time and effort, you’ll learn how to deliver successful, informative and enjoyable presentations.

Confidence matters…
Lots of people begin their presentations badly due to feelings of being ‘on the spot’. Find some friendly faces and maintain eye contact throughout the presentation – this will help to boost your overall confidence.
Another tremendous confidence builder is preparation. Prepare as fully as possible, with a tightly edited script, sufficient visual aids and plenty of rehearsal time. This will give you a sense of being in control.
.
Knowing your audience…
To stage a good presentation, it is vital that you know your audience and their basic characteristics:
Who will be attending?
How well informed are they?
What do they expect from you and your presentation?


To sum it up…
When preparing your presentation, make sure you:
•
Know your audience
•
Keep your presentation simple
•
Keep to the point
•
Have confidence in yourself and your message

Source: www.microsoft.com/.../presentation.mspx
Other 10 Tips for Successfully Presenting Content
1. Presenter is well researched 2. Presenter shows strong understanding of material 3. Presenter thoroughly covers topic 4. Presenter discusses references in bibliography throughout presentation to show that information is substantiated 5. Presenter ensures that information is free of errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation 6. Presenter ensures that information is clearly and logically organized and is easy to follow 7. Presenter does not exclude any important information but does exclude extraneous information 8. If a group project, each participant has a fair share in presenting the material 9. Presenter discusses images and graphics in the presentation 10. Presenter uses parallel speaking structure throughout the presentation
Source: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/presenttips.html

Vocabulary

'Sleep tight' is a very well-used phrase in many parts of the English-speaking world. It's common at bedtime in the form of the rhyme "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite". Adorable!
Namby-pamby: childish and weakly sentimental.
It’s amazing to learn how words are thought up. Listen to this story!
In 1714, the English poet and playwright, Ambrose Philips became tutor to George I's grandchildren and he started writing poems in praise of the children. These were written in rather affected and insipid nursery language, of the 'goody-goody' sort. Later on, his contemporaries Henry Carey, John Gay, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift combined the nursery reduplication in Philips' work with his first name and came up with a nickname for him - Namby-Pamby. The term began to be used to describe a style of ineffectual writing soon afterwards. Eventually, the direct insult to Philips became a new form of general underestimation and 'namby-pamby' entered the language to refer to anything weak or ineffectual.

Language

Hello girls! In this section I'd like to post any interesting stuff I find in connection with language. The aim of this is to enrich our language level. Of course, this is only just a step, there are many other things we should do if we want to achieve that aim.