HOMEWORK

LOS ESTUDIANTES DE LAS ESCUELAS TAL VEZ ESTÁN DEMASIADOS CARGADOS CON LOS DEBERES.

Nowadays it is heard a discussion in the media about whether children have to do homework at home. It is a topic with many pros and cons. Besides, it is not only an issue for kids but it is also for parents.

On the one hand it is important for children to check what they have done in class during the day and prepare for the next one. Also, boys and girls should try to hit skills like effort and sacrifice because they are being educated for entering in the adulthood life. Therefore they must know what working hard means.

In addition, if they didn’t do their homework, they would waste time watching silly TV series or surfing through stupid topics in the computer.

On the other hand, children are too tired after a hard day in school. They can be there from nine to five even though most schools only have morning schedules form eight a.m. to three p.m. However a morning schedule is not any advantage because kids are too tired when they arrive home.

Parents don’t know what to with their sons and daughters when they have arrived home, because most parents are working until seven p.m. so they have to hire a person to take care children.

In my opinion homework is necessary, nevertheless the time dedicated for it should be only half an hour at home. The rest of the time kids should be able to watch TV or help cooking dinner with their parents to be fresh and rested for the following school day.

WINSTON CHURCHILL, THE FATE OF A LEADERSHIP

WINSTON CHURCHILL, EL DESTINO DE UN LÍDER.

On 10 May, 1940 Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Great Britain. He was 65 years old. Maybe too old. However History seems to say that Great Britain had been waiting for a PM like him.  His appointment took place at the same time the German forces were crushing and pounding Holland, Belgium and France. On 14 June the same year the German forces indaded Paris. It was the defeat of France, the Great Britain's main ally.

In spite of being a well-known politician, Churchill was away from major political responsibilities. He made a big mistake in the First World War, Gallipoli and he had paid for it. However, he had the opportunity to become what they expected of him in those trouble times.

When he arrived to be the Prime Minister he spoke frankly and honestly. He was a master of speaking. He made speeches which have become History like “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”. Another famous one was “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. “

He gave confidence and hope to British people who were sunk and afraid because the German army was in Calais waiting for landing in England. Nevertheless, he was always smiling with his cigar and with his famous V sign. We can watch videos of smiling to people and people smiling back. When your Prime Minister is smiling you, you will smile too. When your Prime Minister has confidence you also have confidence.

To speak about Churchill without mentioning some of his quotes is pointless. My favourite one is when a Lady Astor, a Member Parliament told him.

- “If I Were Your Wife I’d Put Poison in Your Tea!”, and he answered

-  “If I Were Your Husband I’d Drink It”

      

    The war ended and Churchill was the winner, but he lost the elections in 1945. Clement Atlee, the deputy minister with the coalition government, won. However Churchill wrote History, the story of a man who a great nation was expecting to win a war.

          All in all, we have to be expected to do our best when fate can call us.

           

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BE HAPPY ?

Perhaps the answer of this question is the Pyramid of Maslow.

Maslow drew a pyramid, as you know, which we can see the different steps we need to feel good.

The base of this figure is human being needs to be alive like food, health, to be warm. It is our animal behavior.

The other different steps are going grow up to reach to the top which is the self confidence and the feeling we belong a society which we love and it loves us. All in all to be happy with ourselves.

In my opinion to achieve the first step is easy in our environment. There are not people starved. However, we can find families who are not enough warmed because they don’t have money to pay heating. Although nobody dies to be cold at home, I hope.

After getting the first step everybody tries to reach the other ones. To get or don’t it depends of the character and behavior of oneself. For instance, a positive and optimistic buddy will be more appreciate than a negative and pessimistic one.

On the one hand we can find low salaries families being happy, on the other hand we can see boys with a lot of material goods cannot get a really life of satisfaction. A good and well paid job in the city can be a source of frustration for a lot of people who prefer a life in a village or even a farm.

Therefore to be happy is not what we can. It is what we are. Maybe, we should change to be happy because happiness is inside us.

IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO HAVE OBJECTIVES IN YOUR LIFE ?

It is quite difficult to answer this question for different reasons.

One of them is it depends the mentality everyone have. On the one hand there are people who don’t mind where their live is going ahead. On the other hand, we can find people who are worried about every step they walk. They are living with the philosophy of “go to the flow”. It is a kind of living without worries. They think it is not useful to think in future in every moment. Maybe they are much happier than the other profiles.

         Another reason is every time and situation need an objective. There are crucial moments in life you have to make a very important decision, like when you have to choose your university studies, change from the job you are working in a company or a change of profession. You can turn the corner for ever. However, it is necessary to have a general purpose in life to be ready to make right decisions just in time.

          My opinion is we have to live with objectives. We should not do every year same things. We should improve our different skills in life like our profession, and our studies. I am convinced we have to know more subjects than before, as in quantity as in quality. Besides, study and working is a good sport for brain health. It allows us feel alive, useful and prepared for future challenges.

Also we should manage our future. If we don’t do it, we will not be able to meet in future situations and we will not be able to manage them.

All in all, it is really necessary to have objectives in our lives but in a concrete situation or time, as long as we have a clear overall goal.

LA BALLESTA

Tengo 50 años, soy profesor y esta semana me cuesta ir a clase.

Después de los recortes de sueldo, la precariedad laboral, el paro, el desasosiego de estar con niños con trastornos mentales, diagnosticados y con la posibilidad de brotes psicóticos en cualquier momento, el hecho de la ballesta ha sido demoledor.

Y aún más decepcionante ha sido leer en la prensa la muerte de un profesor sustituto en segundo plano.

Coger el arma no ha sido cuestión de un instante.

Y siento enorme tristeza y profunda indignidad porque parece que los monitores, maestros y profesores, entre otros educadores, tenemos deberes sin derechos, mientras que los alumnos sólo tienen derechos. Me pregunto cuál es la raíz de este hecho. Quizás la respuesta está en las familias de nuestra sociedad actual.

Generalizando, me da la impresión de que padres y madres se creen más las mentiras de sus hijos que las verdades de los docentes que intentan hacer su tarea lo mejor que pueden. Las familias pueden cuestionar todo lo que hacen a sus hijos desde un entrenador de baloncesto hasta un profesional de la sanidad. Los niños lo ven y lo viven y son consecuentes.

Estando así las cosas, los niños, desde que se levantan hasta que se acuestan, hacen lo que les da la gana.

Las instituciones deben reeducar el papel de los padres y madres en el respeto por la educación. Si el trabajo no está hecho en casa, en la escuela nos lo ponen difícil, muy difícil. Los profesores no somos héroes pero tal vez algunos sí.

“CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS”

“Changing education paradigms” video talks about the requirement to change the focus of the current education system. It combines high speed drawings with the speech of Sir Ken Robinson. It is very difficult to summarize the explained subject in few sentences because it is a so dense talking. Therefore, I am going to point out the most relevant to me.

Mr. Robinson begins by explaining that one of the pillars which used to hold and still holds our education system is the economy. Children, and people in general, were told to study to get a good job. The higher level education you had, the better job you got. The economic turmoil we are just living shows that this statement has been altered. We have to change our mind about it.

Another important aspect that Robinson points out is the rise of the ADHD prescription. Kids are going to school medicated. On one hand they are living in a society full of visual stimulus as ever in the History.  On the other hand they are required to listen to monotonous explanations sitting in their classrooms. It is a contradiction.

I totally agree with Sir Ken Robinson. The bases, procedures and purposes of Education have to change, especially in university studies. Coping notes from boards and attending endless lectures has no meaning. Students should attempt to work and to reason for understanding the world they will manage. For example, I refuse that my students to memorize texts, or parts of them. Nobody needs to learn by heart all the capitals of the Africa countries when everybody has an Internet connection mobile so searching the capital of Mali does not take more than one minute. Moreover, working in group in the classroom is fine. However, what about when they start talking about the television series they watched last night?

GESTIONANDO PERSONAS.

Es bien sabido que la maquinaria está reemplazando a las personas para a aumentar la productividad. Sólo unas pocas áreas de nuestra economía usa mano de obra intensiva, como la enseñanza, la venta directa y atención en el hogar, entre otros.

En estos casos, la gestión de los recursos humanos, desinteresada, es de suma importancia. Es el fundamento básico de la empresa.

MANAGING PEOPLE.

It is well known that machinery is replacing people to increase productivity. Just a few areas of our economic structure use of labor intensive, such as teaching, direct sales and home care among others.

In these cases the human resource management must be selfless and it is an unquestionably paramount. It is the basic foundation of the company.

  

As you well know my current professional activity is to manage a home care business. This means to do any function that takes place in a home such as cleaning or caring for the elderly people. Cleaning activity is possible to extend it to buildings and business offices.

Besides offering these kinds of services, I have to offer confidence to families. Families must trust the person who is taking care of his home or of his relatives. Sometimes workers can have home keys or they can get any worthy family thing like jewels or few quantities of money. Therefore the qualities of the human factor, and his management, are very important.

Professionals working for it would have to be considerate and outgoing to care grandparents because they should stay a lot of time together. As I have said before truthful is basic to work inside of a home. Modest and humble are important qualities for serving people. Well-balanced and practical are needed to take daily decisions when you are taking care old people. Easy-going and determined are other qualities for this kind of job.

This is the reason because there are courses to train these professionals and later, do practices in different elderly centres.

Although a home care home professional has these characteristics, we can find it is possible to work with the hassles of misunderstanding on the part of clients and their families. In this case, work colleagues and managers should give them emotional support to go on with his hard job to balance the situation they find in some homes. 

Estudiar o no estudiar,

Aquesta es la qüestió ?

To study or not to study,

Is this the question ?

A molt poca gent li agrada estudiar. Nens i adolescents no ho suporten.

Jo estic convençut que s’ha d’estudiar, entenent per estudi adquirir uns coneixements , unes tasques i uns hàbits que ens permetin saber més i tenir més habilitats professionals que abans.

Malauradament, aquests moments viscuts, la societat no em dóna arguments per defensar els meus pensaments.

No se com dir-li a un jove que passi les tardes estudiant, en comptes de jugar amb l’ordinador mentre veu la tele, quan hi han persones amb domini de quatre idiomes, un doctorat, graus i postgraus i no saben, o no poden, guanyar-se la vida amb els seus coneixements.

Em falten arguments quan a Catalunya tenim com a principal activitat econòmica mediàtica la hosteleria, amb cuiners que han arribat a un prestigi internacional de quotes insospitades, amb uns estudis inicials inexistents. Això sí, a força de treballar sense desmai. Per no parlar dels models d’èxit que veuen per la televisió.

El únic argument que tinc avui en dia és el coneixement. Els hi dic als meus alumnes que no han de estudiar només per aconseguir un títol, si no per saber. Per saber si un comercial financer t’està dient la veritat, per saber a on és Malmö, per saber parlar amb un vocabulari propi i adient a la conversa .

I si no, nen, adolescent o jove, si no vols saber tot  això, algun dia, quan hagi passat aquesta maleïda crisi, et sentires idiota en una conversa amb el teu cap, o amb el metge, i a més a més, quan vagis a demanar una hipoteca, t’enganyaran.

AVIS EMBARGATS.

Ens ho estan traient tot, i si ens oposem, ells tenen la força.

GRANDPAS GARNISHED.

We are taking away everything, and if we object, they have the strength.

Davant de casa, al centre de El Prat de Llobregat, vam veure molta gent al voltant d’unes taules.

Sent el centre del poble, moltes taules es posen a aquella cruïlla, però aquestes eren diferents. Eren austeres. I, a més a més, hi havia molta gent. Molta més del que espot dir normal.

Evidentment ens vam apropar. Els membres del Casal d’Avis de la Caixa del Penedès estaven recollint signatures perquè no els tanquessin el Casal.

¡ Tancar el Casal d’Avis de la Caixa del Penedès !

¿ Tancar el casal d’Avis de la Caixa del Penedès ?

Semblava, i sembla impossible. Com allò que es diu que hi era de tota la vida. Jo hi sóc a El Prat des de fa uns vint – i – cinc anys i sempre ho havia tingut present. Era un bon lloc pels avis. Allà ballaven, tenien xerrades sobre temes del seu interès, tallers varis com treballas manuals, excursions i sobre tot ball. Cada cap de setmana hi tenien i s’ho passaven la mar de bé.

I els treuen.

Els avis tenien la condició de tenir una llibreta oberta amb l’entitat a on abonaven cada mes la pensió. I així els seus rebut domiciliats i altres pagaments. I moltes famílies recolzaven als avis obrint també llibretes. I comunitat de veïns, autònoms, etc. Així doncs el Casal estava més que finançat.

Mai m’ho hagués imaginat. És com les notícies que sentia, que llegia de l’Argentina dels anys 2.000.

I el inqualificable Ricard Pagés, i els seus amics, amb milions d’euros per poder viure la seva jubilació…  

http://elpais.com/tag/ricard_pages/a/

Tota això em deprimeix molt. Però molt.

¿PARA QUE PUEDE SERVIR ESTE BLOG? (II)

¿Para qué puede servir un blog?

WHY WOULD THIS BLOG CAN SERVE? (II)

Why would this blog can serve?

Las redes sociales nos han permitido comunicarnos con el Mundo de una manera exponencial. Lo que antes podían ser lectores locales o nacionales, el papel vinculado un territorio, actualmente la Red abarca todo el mundo mundial. Tal vez la única limitación es el idioma.

Nos damos a conocer como individuos y podemos dar a conocer nuestro negocio, nuestra actividad económica para, por qué no, captar clientes.

Pero, me planteo un uso, una utilidad no generalizada. Y no sé el porque. Podríamos dar a conocer determinados hechos, determinadas personas, físicas y jurídicas, instituciones como prevención en su manera de actuar.

Me explico.

A través de los correos electrónicos, sobre todo, hace años, circulaban características bastante negativas de productos de alimentación, entre otros. O el famoso boicot al cava catalán. Mal proceder si no hay una prueba veraz. Pero si una determinada persona, empresa o institución ha realizado un maltrato, un abuso, un mal proceder, un trato nada honesto, creo que estaría bien comentarlo. Explicar que fulanito no cumple con lo acordado, o que menganito no paga lo que debe. Estaría bien siempre y cuando la causa fuese cierta, no difamatoria. Ofreceríamos una información preventiva.

Los diarios comentan determinadas situaciones similares, pero a lo grande. El grupo Nueva Rumasa nunca pagará a los acreedores de sus pagarés, las preferentes son una farsa financiera, las causas del concurso de acreedores de Pesacanova no es agua clara, estas y otras noticias se han publicado en los medios con clara alusión a una conducta financiera nada honesta. Pero no hablan de una empresa de “consultoría” formada por sólo dos socios que utiliza “consultores kleenex”, de usar y tirar. O de una tienda de informática que te borra todo el disco duro después de dejarles tu computadora para sólo eliminar un virus. Estaría bien que este tipo de hechos, con nombres y apellidos, estuviera en la Red para informar, a quien lo quiera hacer, antes de iniciar una relación mercantil con determinados personajes.

Mi ejemplo. Un compañero me ofreció realizar un curso sobre el “Modelo ABC” en una conocida, conocidísima empresa española de lácteos en su sede central, en Madrid. Era a través de una consultoría de Barcelona. Gestionando el curso con dicha consultoría ya olía que no me pagarían, pero me arriesgué. Al final, pasados tres meses, me pagaron la mitad y después de tener que oír muchas mentiras.  

¿Se puede decir el nombre de la consultoría y del mentiroso que no quiere pagar?

¿Hemos de permitir que otro “consultor” le haga otro trabajo de gratis?

¿PARA QUE PUEDE SERVIR ESTE BLOG?

¿Para qué puede servir un blog?

WHY WOULD A BLOG CAN SERVE?

Why would this blog can serve?

En el mundo mundial, según Wikipedia, coexisten unos 120 millones de blogs, y somos 7.000 millones de habitantes. Un blog por cada 6 habitantes, contando bebés y abuelos. No está mal. Además, se calcula que cada día aparecen unos 120.000 blogs en la red. ¿Por qué tanto blog?

Para contestar a esta pregunta parto de la base, o hipótesis, que un blog, generalmente, es una actividad individual. Hay de colectivos como http://www.elblogsalmon.com/, pero me da la impresión que éstos son la excepción.

Así, partiendo de la base de la individualidad, un blog es una expresión totalmente personal, de cara al Mundo. Que el Mundo sepa de mí.

Siempre me ha gustado escribir. En la revista del colegio, de la Facultad, en publicaciones locales, algún libro…

Hace un tiempo, las diferentes publicaciones a las cuales yo optaba por publicar asiduamente me comentaron la imposibilidad de publicar mis artículos de opinión. La crisis económica del 2.008 provocó una caída drástica de suscripciones y entonces tenían que editar menos papel y primar la publicidad. Además, por esa fechas me metí, por necesidad y curiosidad, como docente y como emprendedor en las redes sociales y en las siempre nuevas Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación. Mi primer objetivo fue construir mi página web pero encontrándolo harto difícil, me quedé en el blog.

Consulté y consulto diferentes blogs. Así he visto que todos tenemos necesidad de explicar nuestras vidas, enseñarlas. Opinar. A mi me encanta opinar públicamente.

Entonces podemos encontrar que los blogs se escriben por ser,

-         Divulgativos, donde generalmente hay un negocio una actividad encubierta. http://tuasesornet.blogspot.com.es/

-         Enseñar la vida. Fotos o relatos de lo vivido.

-         Textos de escritores no editados, no publicados por las editoriales.

-         Instituciones. http://alcaldedeconil.blogspot.com.es/

-         Una afición a compartir. http://decartonytrapo.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/para-las-recetas-de-judith.html

-         Y alguno más que se me puede escapar.

Pero yo tengo una idea para encontrarle más utilidad a la existencia de los blogs, pero no si es legal.

Os la cuento en la siguiente entrada.

UN BUEN EJEMPLO DE GESTIÓN.

Una escuela es un lugar económico complejo para ser gestionado. Hay un montón de gente de allí, maestros, profesores, niños y personal de administración y servicios. Además, las familias tienen un papel importante allí también. La gestión de todos y todo es bastante complicada.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MANAGEMENT.

         A school is a complex business to be managed. There are a lot of people there, teachers, children, maintenance and administrative workers. In addition, families have an important role in there too. To manage everybody and everything is quite difficult.

 http://siervascj.org/?page_id=24

          The manager of any school can often fall under in stress. In our centre, we were lucky because we were managed by her. The most remarkable of her was her optimistic attitude.

 At half past eight of every day, when we began our working day, she was saying good morning with a smile in her face. Perhaps situations were bad, but she fought to have a smile.

She was, humble, dedicated, thoughtful and empathetic. She takes care of teachers, children and families. She was predisposed to listen to everyone, and to help them.

The most private schools of our country, as which I am working, have a financially hard situation. Although she suffered it, she didn't tell us anything about it. Despite these kinds of problems, she used to pay for anything we needed.

Nowadays she is the general managers of all schools of her Religious Order. Her management attitude has had her reward. However, I'm convinced, she prefers to live quietly as a prayer noon.

In conclusion a nice simile is the best tool to manage a business.