Project Zero

September 22nd, 08

This day Daniela, Katerine and Nadia talked about Project Zero, a project at Harvard studying Multiple Inteligences. It was founded in 1967 to study and improve education in and through the arts. This project says that arts should be studied as a serious cognitive activity to motivate the new communities of reflective independent learners to improve their critical and creative skills.

The girls said that there were not much information about this project because it is limited. We can realized now that this is true. If you look for it on the internet you won't find much information about it. The creators from harvard wanted that way.

The debate was about having a project zero here in Chile or not. At the end we realized that to accomplish this we would need more money to spend in education and right now education is facing other problems such as the LOCE. This wouldn't be a good time to start spending in this kind of project, even though is a good idea.

I think the debate was very well controlled by the girls, as well as the presentation itself. Very interesting topic we didn't know about.

Pre-Universitarios in Chile

September 9th, 08

Even though i missed this class, i know what the debate was about. This day Claudio, Marlene and Paula presented the topic of Pre-Universitarios in Chile and the question for the debate was whether we agree with the use of Pre-universitary courses or not.

The class was divided into "for" and "against" as usual and a lot of people said that they were very helpful with the PSU, which allows you to get into the Universities. Some other people said that we don't actually need this kind of Pre-universitarios because we have all the studies we need at school. We just don't study enough.


I think this is a very interesting topic and in my personaly opinion i don't think they help very much, because it is all in your own effort. You could save some money if you study on your own, you just need some routine or some guidance, that's all.

My presentation about if anyone could be a teacher.

September 2nd, 08

This day, Fernanda, Felipe and I presented our debate. First, we talked about two different realities where teachers are highly rewarded in terms of prestige and income; Finland and South Korea. Then, we talked about the reality in Chile, where we only have "Red de Maestros de maestros" to support teachers' training program. We (teachers) don't have enough resources for education and we don't get a high wage. In Chile there are some teachers that don't neccessarily required a degree in pedagogy to teach, they only required some knowledge in the specific area such as maths. Is a shame but in Chile anyone could teach, but to be a teacher you need passion and devotion for teaching, otherwise you would be teaching for obligation and you won't teach well.

Anyway, our presentation turned out to work well. My classmates participate in the debate and we did all right. There were some mistakes in the power point but i don't care really; those are just silly mistakes we didn't notice at time.

My result of The Test

Keirsey Temperament Sorter Test

This is a very interesting test which helps you to discover the personality type you are. There are 70 questions you have to answer honestly and after that you will get the description of your personality.

My personality type is Artesan.

Artisans have exceptionally keen senses, and love working with their hands. They seem right at home with tools, instruments, and vehicles of all kinds, and their actions are usually aimed at getting them where they want to go, and as quickly as possible.

This devil-may-care attitude also gives the Artisans a winning way with people, and they are often irresistibly charming with family, friends, and co-workers.

Artisans want to be where the action is; they seek out adventure and show a constant hunger for pleasure and stimulation. They believe that variety is the spice of life, and that doing things that aren't fun or exciting is a waste of time. Artisans are impulsive, adaptable, competitive, and believe the next throw of the dice will be the lucky one. They can also be generous to a fault, always ready to share with their friends from the bounty of life. Above all, Artisans need to be free to do what they wish, when they wish. They resist being tied or bound or confined or obligated; they would rather not wait, or save, or store, or live for tomorrow. In the Artisan view, today must be enjoyed, for tomorrow may never come.

I must say that at the beginning i didn't agree with my result but once i read the whole description i realized that there were some similarities with my personality. I am impulsive and I do live each day like there were no tomorrow. I live the Carpe Diem. I am also very competitive but generous as well.

I think this is a very interesting test to discover even more about yourself. Sometimes you just don't realize of some characteristics you have until somebody tells you about it.

Peace!

http://www.keirsey.com/sorter/register.aspx

Cuban Education

August 19th, 2008

This class Katherinne, Pedro and Fabian presented their topic and debate about Cuban Education.

Some important facts:

- Cuba maintains the highest rate of literacy in Latin America.
- If they graduate from the preparatory college school, they can attend college for free if they choose.
- The record of Cuban education is outstanding: universal school enrollment and attendance; nearly universal adult literacy.

And they have:

- Great attention to teachers (extensive pre- and in-service training, high status and morale, incentives, transparent system of accountability, strategies for developing a culture of professionalism, rewards for innovation)
- Low-cost instructional materials of high quality

After the presentation with valuable information, they presented the question for the debate which was:

Is it possible to apply this kind of educational system in our country, considering the differences between both cuban and chilean society?

The class was separated into 'for' group and 'against' group. We discussed the possibilities of having a cuban educational system in Chile but the main conclusions were that we are not ready for it because of money and resources for education that our government gives (very low) and the lack of importance in teachers and educational employees in general regarding wages mostly.

They made a great job i think. The topic was very interesting and we all had something to say.

British Educational System. 'Public Schools'

August 12th, 2008

This class Evelyn, María Teresa and Rodrigo presented their debate about Public schools in Britain. They started explaining the vocabulary that we were going to see and then they started their presentation.

A public school in Britain is usually a prestigious and historic school, which charges fees (amount of money), doesn't not arbitrarily restrict admissions, and is financed by bodies (groups of people) other than the state, commonly as a private charitable trust. (organization or group that has control over money used to help)

It is traditionally a single-sex boarding school for children between 11 or 13 and 18.

Schools where instruction is provided free of charge are called 'state schools'.

The debate question was whether we preferred public schools or state schools in Chile. Our arguments were very valid 'against' and 'for' and this group made a good job controlling the debate, besides giving valuable information about this topic.

Learning to learn

That same class that we talked about issues on education we also were assigned to do a little research about "Learning to learn".

Learning is a very personal matter. There isn't one study/learning skill or strategy that works for every person in every situation. Therefore, learning to learn strategies are about learning what you know, learning what you don't know, and learning what to do about it.

Your path for most effective learning:

1- Know Yourself
2- Manage Your Time and Life
3- Improve Your Concentration
4- Know What Study Means & How To Do It
5- Develop A Thinker's Vocabulary
6- Become An Active Reader
7- Become An Active Writer
8- Build Listening & Note taking Skills
9- Know How To Study For & Take Exams
10- Master Every Course

The idea is to develop better learning strategies that work for you. You decide how to study and when to study. These are just recommendations for a better learning.

Issues on Education

August 5th, 2008

This class, Mr Litman talked us about some important issues related to the education of Chile these days. One of them was the jar of water thrown to the minister of education by a student; María Música is her name. Related to this, we talked about the values that parents should give to their children from their childhood. It is important to be polite and have some respect for the older people and the ones in authority. Obviously, Maria Música didn't respect any of this. The Parental responsability is very important in case like this.

We also talked about the school violence these days and the problems that are relating teachers. One of these problems is the one related with violence against teachers. Is not a new situation but it appears in newspapers' headlines once in a while.

Mr Litman also talked us about the Internalizer and the Externalizer. The Internalizer is the one that is affected by his/her inside factors and the Externalizer the one that is affected by the outside factors.