sábado, 7 de março de 2015

No place for racism in this world

          With the advancement of technology and all the progress that man has achieved, it is unbelievable that there is still room for racist acts as we are unfortunately forced to witness in our day to day.
- Students in the class of the 6th year of Medicine, at UNESP (São Paulo State University), held a party to receive the freshmen dressed in costumes similar to the Ku Klux Klan, a well-known American racist organization that advocated white supremacy and attacked black. What for? What on Earth were they thinking?
- Some football players are attacked on the field, during the match, by opposing fans and even by other players, who seem to have forgotten that a fair game is won by the skill of  the players involved and not for stupid and childish acts.
These people would benefit if they could do an internship with the people who appear in this video offering a free lesson on what it means to respect another human being. This nice video was made in Lithuania and it brings hope that maybe one day everyone will be civilized enough to do the same as they did.  
Respect, this is the most effective weapon to combat such ignorance.



Post Question: 
- Have you ever been exposed to any kind of prejudice?
- Do you think that people as the students who were dressed like Ku Klux Klan and the football players or team supports, who has offended other players should be punished? What kind of punishment should they get?

terça-feira, 10 de fevereiro de 2015

Cinema in 2015

    2015 will be a very exciting year for the movie fans. There will be all kinds of films to please everyone, people from all ages.
Last month we could watch The Theory of Everything (A teoria de tudo), that is the incredible story of Jane and Stephen Hawking. A very nice movie that reminded me of Dilza (she’s the Physics teacher in our school and a huge fan of him). My 12-year-old niece wants me to go to the cinema with her to see Insurgent (it is a 2012 science fiction young adult novel by American novelist Veronica Roth and the second book in the Divergent trilogy) and The Hunger Games – part II. As I went with her to see the first ones, I guess it makes sense. My husband has already chosen Furious 7 (not only by the cars but also due to the “retirement” of Brian O'Connor)  and Jurassic World (a new dinosaur park is always very interesting).  My little niece will have a lot of fun with Hotel Transylvania 2 (there is a game in the tablet which was inspired in the first movie that she really enjoys playing) and Minions (who wouldn’t like them?). In October, to get the Halloween mood, Crimson Peak (with a good cast and a haunted house) is a nice choice. My students have already invited me to go to the premiere of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and of course I said "yes". As we did last year, we will talk about the movie after watching it, in a cafe, and that's a very nice, funny and meaningful moment. I myself am very curious to see Mogli (because I’ve always enjoyed this story), Frankenstein (because it will bring another perspective about the story from the point of view of Victor’s friend, Igor), Star Wars (the premiere will be on my birthday), Cake (because it shows how life can take us to the most unimagined places and actions) and Boyhood (my favorite actor is in it). But besides all that, there will be many good movies to enjoy, to think about and to keep on amazing us!


Post Question: 
- How often do you go to the cinema? Do you enjoy watching movies? What is your favorite kind of movie?
- Is there a movie that you are particularly interested in watch it? Which one? Why?

Tip: To see the trailers of these movies and the other options for 2015, just click here.

quinta-feira, 8 de janeiro de 2015

The start of a New Year

Another New Year has started and with it lots of promises, but the most important one is the possibility of change what not pleased us or to keep (and even improve) what make us happy! It's a time to set new goals (or renew some old ones) and indulges this idea of a "fresh start" that is
given to us once more. To celebrate that, I'd like to share a poem (written by David Boyce on 30 December 2006) that could express what I really think about this period. I do hope that this opportunity can bring people together, not only to the celebration, but also to all the days of 2015.

The Start of a New Year

The start of a New Year
Sees the beginning of change
You can start a fresh life
Or just even rearrange

The start of a New Year
To change so much to your life
You can make promises to yourself
Or vows to your husband or wife

The start of a New Year
Can block out things of old
Search forward in the year ahead
For the Pot of Gold

The start of a New Year
Can revitalise your soul
Think what you want out of life
To meet your special goals.



Post Question: 
-  What are your special goals for 2015?

quarta-feira, 24 de dezembro de 2014

Merry Christmas!


          It's Christmas! The most magical and festive time of the year! As this video has showed us, it can be a very stressful time because there are so many things to take care, like choosing and buying presents, writing cards, cooking food, getting together with many people, following some traditions and so on.
But it depends on us to have a really pleasant time and even if we have done it over the past years, we still can find a new perspective that could make us feel that this year is a very special one. Some people are not here among us anymore and new family members are just waiting to be welcomed - and that's the way we see how life is renewed through the years. Being part of it is a blessing and a great privilege.
I do enjoy Christmas and I got very happy to see that a young guy (video) can feel the same. Although all the rush, he could offer us his nice point of view and show us how to go through it keeping our good mood and having fun! Thanks a lot Renan for sharing that. I really couldn't agree more!


MERRY CHRISTMAS for you, your family and everybody who has read the posts in this blog. God bless all of you!



terça-feira, 2 de dezembro de 2014

Boko Haram, Fuvest e o conhecimento!

Dear Students

What else can I say?
Ao ler essa questão da Fuvest, a primeira coisa que me veio a mente foi a nossa foto no pátio e a participação na campanha #Bring Back Our Girls.
Para quem participou da campanha, responder essa questão foi "brincadeira de criança". Detalhe: a questão NÃO é de inglês, mas quem disse que a gente estuda inglês na aula de inglês? Uma língua estrangeira (seja ela qual for) é apenas uma ferramenta para que possamos ter acesso a uma gama maior de informações e principalmente, a uma escala maior de qualidade da informação, pois me permite ir buscar na fonte!
A questão é da prova de geografia, mas cá entre nós...quem separa? Física, química, matemática,
português, história, filosofia, literatura, biologia, inglês, filosofia, espanhol, geografia, artes, sociologia, sempre estiveram "intimamente" conectados. Quem separa o conhecimento não é a natureza, mas o ser humano. E a pessoa / profissional / professor / educador (whoever) que ainda não entendeu isso está a anos luz...lá atrás!

Um abraço a todos!

PS.: Eu nem vou comentar o texto da prova de inglês sobre o cérebro porque esse tema foi tópico da nossa prova no ano passado (com direito a post no blog)...ou seja, em relação a nós, a Fuvest está atrasada um ano...desculpa aí!