SLEEPING BEAUTY OF THE WOODS.

READ THE STORY "SLEEPING BEAUTY OF THE WOODS" BY CHARLES PERRAULT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

1- WHY WERE THE QUEEN AND THE KING SAD?
2- COULD THEY FINALLY HAVE A BABY?
3- WHAT WERE THE GIFTS THAT THE FAIRIES GAVE THE PRINCESS?
4- WHY WAS THE OLD FAIRY ANGRY?
5- WHAT COURSE DID SHE DECREE UPON THE PRINCESS?
6- HOW DID THE YOUNG FAIEY HELP THE PRINCESS?

Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen who couldn`t have children. They were very sad about this.

They tried the waters of every country, made vows, they did everything they could but had no result.

“Oh dear I cannot think of anything else to do” said the queen crying.

“We have to keep trying” the king answered.

“I feel very disappointed of myself. I thought we were going to have children and build a family but we are just a simple couple”.

At last one day the queen found that her wishes were fulfilled and after some time she gave birth to a daughter.

“What´s her name?” The nurse asked, “She is a beautiful baby”

“Oh her name… I don´t know. I will think it at home with my husband.”

“I love my daughter! She will have a wonderful future”

They celebrated the christening with a grand ceremony and all the fairies were invited to be godmothers of the little princess. Each of the fairies was asked to bless the princess with a gift.

“We invite all the fairies to the celebration; every fairy must give a gift for the princess in the christening”

When the christening ceremony was over everybody returned to the king´s place where a big banquet was held.

At the moment that all were sitting down an old fairy entered, that fairy was not invited because no one had seen her for more than fifty years and everybody thought she was dead.

“You are very evil. I´m the oldest fairy and you did not invite me to the celebration”

The king gave the order to lay a place for her “Make a place for the old fairy, she´s going to eat with us” but the old fairy believed that she was intentionally slighted and she started to mutter threats between teeth.

One of the young fairies, guessing that some mischievous gift could be bestow upon the little princess, decided to hide behind a tapestry. Her intention was to be the last to speak, to have the possibility to undo any evil which the old fairy might do.

Presently the fairies began to bestow their gifts upon the princess. The youngest ordained that she should be the most beautiful person in the world.

The next that she should have the temper of an angel, the third that she should do everything with wonderful grace, the fourth that she should dance with perfection, the fifth that she should sing like a nightingale and the sixth that she should play every kind of music with the utmost skill.

It was now the turn of the aged fairy, shaking her head she declared that the princess should prick her hand with a spindle and die.

“I am here to give the princess my gift. The princess will be beautiful and a good person but when she turns 16 she will prick her hand with a spindle and she will die”

 A shadow covered the place and everybody´s eyes filled with tears.

But at that moment the young fairy stepped forth from behind the tapestry.

“Don´t worry your majesties” “Your daughter will not die, my power is not enough to undo the old fairy´s decree, the princess will prick her hand with a spindle but she will not die, she will fall into a profound sleep that will last a hundred years. At the end of that time a king´s son will come to wake her up”.

After that terrible decree the king ordered to forbid all persons under pain of death to use a spinning wheel or keep a spindle in the house.

“Landers of this kingdom I inform you that spinning wheels are forbidden. Nobody can use them or have one at home”

After fifteen or sixteen years the princess was running around the castle and found a little room at the top of a tower, where an old woman was spinning. This good woman did not know that it was forbidden to use spinning wheels.

"What are you doing, my good woman?" asked the princess.

"I am spinning, my pretty child” answered the lady.
“Oh, what fun” said the princess “how do you do it? Can I try it?”
At that moment the beautiful princess pricked her hand and fall down in a sleep.
The king remembered the fairy prophecy and he gave orders to place sleeping princess upon a bed made of gold and silver.
“My daughter fell in a course. I want my daughter to sleep in her room peacefully. Nobody must disturb her”

The young fairy heard about the princess’ accident and went to see her to the castle. She decided to touch everyone who was in the castle, except for the king and the queen, with her wand to make them sleep until the princess woke up so that she did not feel alone at that moment.

Then the king and the queen kissed their child and left the castle.

The king forbade everyone to get close to the castle where the princess was sleeping.

After a hundred years a young prince who was hunting in the wood saw in the distance some towers, his servants told him different stories about the castle but a peasant told him “your highness, more than fifty years ago my father told me that in that castle lies the most beautiful princess who would sleep until she receives the kiss of a prince”.
The prince felt curious and decided to take a step towards to the wood. In the distance he saw the castle and he entered. The place was silent and smelled like death. The prince realized that the people around were not dead but they were just asleep. He continued walking to the room where the princess was, and there he saw her, the most beautiful princess he has ever seen.
Trembling in his admiration he went on his knees beside her and kissed her. At that moment the princess woke up.
“Is it you my dear prince?” “You have been long in coming”
The prince declared that he loved her more than he loved himself.
At that moment the whole palace woke up and everyone went back to their activities.
The prince and the princess had supper together and the servants play music remarkably well. A little later when supper was over the chaplain married them in the castle chapel and after the ceremony they retired to rest.
As soon as morning came the prince returned to the city and told his father, the king, that he had been hunting in the forest and that he had spent the night at the house of a man who had offered him help.
His father believed him but his mother was not so easy to cheat, she noticed that he started to go hunting every day and that he always had an excuse to sleep out of his castle. She felt that he had some love affair.
Two years passed since the marriage and during that time they had two children. The first, a daughter, was called “Dawn” and the second, a boy, was called “Day” because he looked even more beautiful than her sister.
The queen told her son that he had to settle down. She wanted the prince to trust her but he did not dare to tell her his secret. Despite the affection that he had for his mother, he was afraid of her because she came of a race of ogres, and the king had only married her for her wealth.
It was whispered that she had ogrish instincts and that when little children were near her she had greatest difficulty to keep herself from pouncing on them.
At the end of two years the king died and the prince found himself on the throne. He then made public the announcement of his marriage and took his wife and sons to the castle.
Some time after that the king declared war on his neighbor, the emperor Cantalabutte. The king entrusted his wife and kids to his mother´s care. He expected to be away at the war for the entire summer.
As soon as the king left the queen mother sent her daughter in law and grandchildren to mansion in the forest. She did this to be able to gratify her horrible longings. A few days later she went there and in the evening she told the chief steward “tomorrow for my dinner I want to eat little Dawn.”
“Oh Madam” exclaimed the steward.
“This is my will” said the Queen in the tones of an ogre.
“You will serve her with piquant sauce” she added.
The poor man took his knife and went to Dawn´s bedroom. She was at that time four years old and when she came running with a smile to him and hug him he burst into tears and left the knife fall from his hands.
He went down to the yard behind the house and slaughtered a young lamb which he served to the Queen for dinner. The servant took little dawn to his wife and hide her in the quarters that they had below the yard.
Eight days later the Queen ordered the servant to prepare little Day for dinner.
“For my supper I will eat little Day”
The steward made no answer, he decides to trick her again. He took little Day with his wife and hid him. To the ogress the steward served a young goat which the Queen found delicious.
So far so good, but there came an evening when this evil Queen told her servant that she wanted to eat her daughter in law.
“I want to eat the queen with the same sauce that you served her children”
The poor steward started to think which animal he could serve this time to trick the ogress but nothing came to his mind. The man decided that if he wanted to save his life he had to kill the queen, and he went upstairs to her apartment. When the queen saw his intentions she said “Do it, please do it, then I will see my children my poor children that I loved so much.” Nobody had told her that the children were hidden and she thought that they were dead.
But the steward was overcome by compassion “No, no Madam” “You will not die but you will see your children again, in my quarters where I have hidden them.” “I will make the queen eat a young hind instead of you; I will trick her once more.”
The man took the princess to his quarters where she met her children.
After that he cooked a hind for the queen who felt very satisfied and planned to tell the king, on his return, that savage wolves had devoured his wife and kids.
One evening the queen mother was walking around the alleys of the mansion and she heard the little Day crying and Dawn talking at the same time. The ogress recognized the voices and discovered that she had been tricked.
The next morning she ordered to fill a big vat with snakes and serpents of every kind in order to put the queen, her children and the steward with his wife in it with their hands tied behind their backs.
The queen´s minions were about to through them into the vat when the king appeared.
The king demanded to know what this horrible spectacle meant. None dared tell him and at that moment the ogress threw herself into the vat and was devoured on the instant by the creatures.
The king was sorry, after all she was his mother, but he found consolation in his beautiful wife and children.

The end.

 

Paolo Freire (1921-1997)

As the starting point of his theory, Freire choses the thesis " that humans are subjects in and with the world". According to him, consciousness is determined by the socio-economic and political context, and also by cultural conditioning through one's upbringing, education and religion. In other words, it is an interchange between economical and cultural structures.

In addition to that, he distinguishes the level of critical consciousness, which involves making connections with the socio-economic contradictions in society. That means looking at reality and recognizing such contradictions as a real fact.

The culture of silence is one of the most important concepts in Freire's theory. He explains that the oppressors overwhelm the oppressed with their values and norms, which effectively silences people. Therefore, in this scenario, critical consciousness must be developed in schools by educators who dare face these long term situations and make learners be aware of their own values and rights.

On the contrary, some thinkers state that Freire's ideas are utopical, and cannot apply to the present state of things. Social classes are strongly set, making the idea of equality almost impossible to occur. Nevertheless, it is our duty as teachers to educate people for freedom and responsibility to change the world towards fair opportunities.

Maria Montessori was the first woman physician in Italy. She worked very hard to achieve her goals. She started teaching children in 1907. Although the conditions were not the best, she found an alternative way to traditional teaching.

While working with her children, she realized that they learned using their senses, so she started to develop games and tools that allowed children to learn subjects like maths and language by using different materials.

Maria Montessori was a great educator and an incredible human being who believed in the human race and never gave up fighting the injustices of life. Having a sad and complicated life, she devoted herself to education.

Maria Montessori is a model to follow. The respect and admiration to other human beings, especially to children, is one of the things that surprised me the most. She is certainly one of those people who made a great impact on me. 

Freire is a brazilian educator who works with illiterates. He relates education to social issues such as racism, sexism and explotation of workers . It is very interesting his struggle: he wants the learners to be critical people who have freedom because they have learnt to liberate themselves from oppression. In order to empower learners, he considers dialogue and communication are essential tools.

When I read about Freire, I realized that what he asserts should be taken into account by teachers because helping learners to develop into independant self-regulated individuals must be a priority. If we help students to express themselves in a critical way, they will be able to modify the unfair society we are living in. That is why the activities that teachers plan must encourage creativity, freedom, criticism and social interaction. I have learnt that we should we aware of this when we work not only with adults, but also with teenagers and children.

John Dewey (1859-1952)

Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform.
He thought that education and democracy are intimately connected. That's why he not only worked to improve education but he also cared about the well-being of the community.
He changed the curriculum center education to a student center education. He thought teachers should help children develop the character, the habits and virtues, that would enable them to achieve self-realization.
He created "The Laboratory School". This was useful as a testing ground for his ideas on education. In this school children learned throught experience and practical work.
What I learned about him is that it is very important to focus on the students and provide them the tools to help them develop as members of society. It is a very difficult task, but as teachers we should try to apply this.

On María Montessori

   There are so many things I have learned from María Montessori... In the first place, she was an extraordinary woman. She was definitely ahead of her time, a true pioneer... She was the first woman physician in Italy! Go figure! She devoted herself to special children, those who were labelled as mentally retarded or handicapped just because they could not adapt to the so called "traditional way of learning"... Having started as a physician, she then turned to psychiatry and finally to education. That encouraged me, because it is never too late to find your own path in life. 

   In the second place, she was also an amazing educator. She never gave up on anyone, concentrating on helping every single child´s development by all means possible. María soon found out that this "impossible cases" only required a different method to acquire knowledge and skills. And she made that happen. She created special material to stimulate kids´ senses in order to facilitate their learning process. Listen to your students, get to know them... Do not give up, there is always a way. You just need to find it. Try to create a friendly and suitable environment for them, and they will react accordingly. They will even surprise you!

   If you ever have a little time to spare, my advise to you is that you learn more about this outstanding pioneer and her fascinating method and remarkable life... You will not regret it!

John Dewey

John Dewey was a pioneer of education. He tried to change the standardized view of education, which was curriculum-centred, and proposed a different view of education, which was student-centred. He created a special school called "The Laboratory School" in where he tested his own ideas of education. In this school, classes consisted of theoretical work and practice, and activities were based on practical experiences. He believed that the aim of education should be the realization of one's full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good. He also believed that democracy and school related to each other. He defined democracy as a way of living. That's why he believed that schools should help students to learn to live and to work cooperatively with others.
I would like to apply his ideas with my students. I believe they are the most important factor in education. I think a good teacher is that one who guides students and shows them the way in order to make them learn by themselves. In addition, they also learn how to learn.


http://www.slideshare.net/joakuncai/john-dewey-9382725

Imagine...

RENE GERÓNIMO FAVALORO

Although he is not usually associated to education, I believe this person is worth writing about. For his pioneer work in Coronary surgery, Rene Favaloro is considered one of the most important Argentinean figures in the field of medicine. Nonetheless, his achievements as a doctor are not the only teachings he has left to our society. This surgeon devoted his life to the provision of free, quality health services in Argentina. He was a man of immense integrity who preferred to share his knowledge with his colleagues in his country than becoming incredibly rich in the United States of America, where he a was very prestigious professional. He promoted the country’s growth by training young doctors in remote regions of Argentina such as Jacinto Arauz, and by fighting to get social equality in health services. I think his kindness had no limits and his example is a great teaching to our society. He left us with more than a bunch of celebrated feats; he taught us that we should work all together to build up a better society by eradicating individualism and irresponsibility.

Read more: Rene Favaloro: 1923-2000: Heart Surgeon Biography - Interest In Medicine Began Early, Returned To Argentina, Clinic Struggled With Financial Difficulty http://biography.jrank.org/pages/3864/Favaloro-Rene-1923-2000-Heart-Surgeon.html#ixzz1L9zByMFw

Who was Francisco Pascasio Moreno?

I decided to write about this educator when my little sister had to look for information about him for a school project. The name had not rung a bell for either of us but when we realised he was known as “Perito” Moreno, we knew he was really important in our history due to the glacier, the town and the National Park in Santa Cruz.
Francisco Moreno was a scientist, an explorer, an educator, a politician and a “perito” (which means expert or specialist) in Argentina. He was born in 1852 in Buenos Aires and he was interested in nature at a very young age. He founded a Natural History Museum in the city, he embarked on different scientific expeditions to the Patagonia and discovered many rivers, lakes and even Mount Fitz Roy. He is well known for the role he played when he defended Argentina against Chile in relation to the boundary disputes between the neighbouring countries.
Francisco was also genuinely interested in children education. He became vice-president of the National Committee of Education in Argentina and one of his main contributions was “La Obra Patria”. It was an institution of social inclusion whose main aim was to provide shelter to poor children to teach them school subjects and also different skills so that they could have a job later on. Moreno pointed out that if the State made the child go to school, then the State itself had to feed and support him when parents were not able to do it. Today, more than a hundred years later, this is something that still needs to be taken into account. Primary school and also now secondary school are compulsory, however, families find it extremely difficult to afford children’s education. Moreno later created another institution, the first Argentinian Boy Scouts Association. He claimed that it was a useful means of stimulating students’ interests in nature and of transmitting values such as honour, loyalty, humbleness and love.
Perito Moreno also considered that Adult education was of great importance. He presented two projects in the National Committee. First, he proposed building “Evening Schools for Adults” to give people the opportunity to learn skills and crafts according to their needs. Later, he suggested the project of “Schools for Cinderella” in which teachers could go from house to house to teach girls and young women who had to stay home to take care of their children or younger siblings. Consequently, what Francisco did was to provide adults with centres of cultural and practical learning to give a possibility to improve their individual growth. Now, this is also absolutely necessary in our society, especially for adults who did not have the chance to study before.
In view of this, we can conclude that this educator paved the way for further developments in education and also paid attention to key issues that still have to be considered these days. “Where schools and work reign, prisons close.” said Moreno.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Moreno
http://www.aquimontserrat.com.ar/genuinos/pmoreno/PeritoMoreno.htm
http://www.fortunecity.es/sopa/cejas/785/rionegromoreno.htm

Mathematics, are you there? English, are you there?

It was not difficult to decide who I wanted to write about. From the very beginning, I knew it wouldn't be an educator from the past, since several volumes must have been written about them, for sure. Consequently, I decided I would write about a contemporary educator, someone who has surprised me because I was not used to seeing him in that role. As a matter of fact, Adrián Paenza (for it is Mr Paenza I am writing about) is well known in the world of sports as a TV reporter, journalist and commentator, who has especialised in football and basketball. He has a vast experience in the media, having worked on the radio, TV and press. However, Mr Paenza is also a brilliant Mathematician, a university professor and the author of the best-selling books "Matemáticas, estás ahí?". Adrián Arnoldo Paenza was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 9th 1949. He was 5 years old when he started 2nd form, and only 14 when he started university (NB: in Argentina, the average age for children in 2nd form is 7, while students start university when they are about 18). He's got a BSc in Mathematics, as well as a PhD in the same field of studies, and he was awarded the Konex Prize on two occasions (the Konex Platinum in 2007 in the field of Science, and the 1997 Konex in the field of sports) apart from being part of the jury for sports in the year 2000. He is also the host of a TV programme called "Alterados por el pi" which has recently been awarded a Martín Fierro Award for cable television. An impressive record for a man whom most people used to associate exclusively with sports. However, what made me choose him as the topic for this essay was not his academic success. Besides being a sharp observer of reality, he has managed to get the attention and arouse the interest of thousands of children and adolescents who now see mathematics in a different light. Quoting Paenza, "Why does Maths pose so many problems for students? The problem lies in us, teachers. We provide answers to questions which the students have never asked. How boring it is to listen to someone who provides the solution for problems we do not have!... A teacher is not just someone who is there to provide answers, but to generate questions." In his opinion, education should be in charge of the best qualified teachers. Furthermore, he acknowledges the use of technology in the classroom, and compares "not being able to use a computer with having to study without books. With a clear view of today's education, Adrián Paenza embodies the teacher of the XXI century: someone capable of succeeding in different fields; somebody who loves teaching and doing research; a person who makes a difference. What he feels for Maths is what I feel for English. They are not that different anyway. It is not a question of providing answers, but of generating in students the need to ask questions. Touché, Mr Paenza.

http://es.wikipedia.or/wiki/AdrianPaenza
http://contexto-educativo.com.ar/2001/6/paenzahtm
http://www.fundacionkonex.com.ar/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t01SBUqmgQ

Manuel Belgrano, the educator

Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820) is often acknowledged as an active member of the Argentinian independence movement, a pragmatic military man, and an insightful politician. Having studied law in Spain, he was renowned as an illustrated economist at the Consulate of Buenos Aires for his reformist ideals, which were largely influenced by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. However, he is not usually remembered for his important initiatives and deep concern for education. Belgrano believed that the true wealth of countries was in their formation, and that the best way to promote industrialisation was through education. In 1799 he created the Nautical School, the Commerce School and the Geometry and Drawing Academy. He created the Commerce School to influence future merchants into working towards the best interests of the nation, and the Nautical and Drawing ones to provide the youth with prestigious and lucrative jobs. Those last ones worked under the same institution, next to the Consulate, so that Belgrano could easily supervise their development. Those schools worked for three years and were closed by the Spanish monarchy.
One of Belgrano's main ideals was popular and free education for all. For example, among the regulations for the Drawing and Nautical schools, he established that special consideration should be given to the 'natives' or indians, and to the orphans, as they were the most dispossessed people in our land. At a time when having a 'good' name was fundamental in the social array, Belgrano thought that a boy who went to an orphanage remained 'marked' for the rest of his life. In order to combat this situation, he proposed a scholarship system for the less favoured.
Belgrano was one of the first promoters of women's education in the River Plate. Inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, he proposed the foundation of schools for girls, which was quite original for a time when women were banished from these activities. Although he did not look for 'intelectual' women, for he aimed at educating them with a practical bent for becoming mothers, he was nevertheless concerned with teaching them to read and write - quite revolutionary for the time!
To conclude, Manuel Belgrano was a clear example of commitment with the common good, particularly in the field of education. To him, education was a fundamental and necessary engine for the progress of a society. Though it is true that some of his views towards the less favoured groups may sound outdated nowadays - such as his views on the poor and women - it is important that we contextualise his thinking. In fact, for his historical context, he was certainly advanced and revolutionary in his initiatives, which indeed met considerable opposition at times. In view of this, we can regard him as the first initiator and promoter of free schooling and education for all. He was, in my view, an early believer in the transforming power of education and its potential for allowing learners to free themselves from social stigmatisation.

The Power of Being an Educator: Ernesto Sabato's view on Education

Ernesto Sabato, one of the most renowned writers in Argentina, has devoted his life to learning. First, he got his PhD in physics and, after working several years as a researcher in Europe, he came back to Argentina to start his writing and teaching career. Either as a student, researcher or teacher, Ernesto Sabato has always been concerned with education. After reading his essay on Education in Latin America, I realised how much he has learnt throughout his life and, most importantly, how much we can learn from this amazing words. One of the most interesting aspects of his writing is the fact that, even though he has always been involved in high education, he is really concerned about elementary education (both primary and secondary). He claims that such education is vital for the lives of our children and adolescents and that it is during those years that students learn the most: to become full human beings. That is why Sabato emphasises the importance of what students are taught during that period. What are we teaching to our students? What is the relevance and usefulness of what they are taught? Two questions that we, as teachers-to-be, need to answer.

Content is the main concern, if not the only one, of most of the school’s syllabi. However, is content everything our students need? Or are there other aspects that need to be tackled? In my humble opinion, I must admit that I do agree with Sabato. Even though content is important, it is by no means the only thing our students need. He calls for an integrative approach to teaching in which students are guided towards self-discovery and integration of what they have learnt into their lives. We should not teach English to our students but give them the learning tools with which they will go on learning after their schooling is over. He says that instead of knowledge students should be given only the essential contents from which they will build their own knowledge. Teaching does not finish when we give our students the information. On the contrary, teaching should start there. Information and content can be taken, nowadays, from many sources, but the ability to think, reason and criticise can only be incorporated if our teachers foster and encourage them. We do not need to teach our students every single thing we know but what we teach should be done passionately and with the intention to form full human beings as the main goal.

We are teachers but, above all, we are educators. We have the possibility and the responsibility to make the best out of the role we have chosen. Teaching only English can be the easiest path but teaching people how to make use of all the potential they have will definitely be more enriching both for us and for our students.

“Not Information But Formation” is our main challenge, if you believe, as Sabato does, that education goes certainly beyond learning.

MARIA MONTESSORI: A LIFE DEVOTED TO EDUCATION

We have all used some kind of materials to work with at kindergarten or primary school but have you ever thought about the importance of the materials we used? Why is it so important to provide materials learners can work and learn with and at the same time enjoy ?
These questions, which we have seen have influenced many classrooms, were explored by the Italian educator Maria Montessori. She certainly left her mark on education, and her method is still used in many schools.
Maria Montessori believed that children learn directly from the environment, and from other children—rather than from the teacher. Children were to be scientifically observed, observations recorded and studied by the teacher. Children learnt from what they were studying individually, but also from the amazing variety of work that was going on around them during the day. When the environment meets all of the needs of children they become, without any manipulation by the adult, physically healthy, mentally and psychologically fulfilled, extremely well-educated. The teacher functions as a designer of the environment, resource person, role model, demonstrator, record-keeper and observer of each child's behaviour and growth, facilitating learning and providing a good working environment and sensorial materials. Furthermore, the Sensorial materials are also designed to indirectly prepare children for work in other curricular areas. For example, many of the Sensorial materials contain ten pieces which prepares children for the decimal system. The left-to-right, top-to-bottom order of most Sensorial presentations prepares the child for directionality in reading and writing.
Despite what many people think, Montessori’s method does not apply only to children, in fact she set useful guidelines for learners different ages. Taking everything into consideration, I believe that it is extremely important to create a have good working environment and to create activities that will help our learners to develop to their full potential and enjoy while they learn.

NAYLA PERALTA

SUGGESTED LINKS
http://www.montessori.edu/maria.html
http://www.michaelolaf.net/
http://www.montessori.org/
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/montessori2.html

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was an Italian educator who devoted her life to the education of children from six to sixteen. Her method mainly consisted in letting children work with specific materials within a rich environment that had been carefully created by the teacher. For instance, children at kindergarten would work with materials that foster the development of autonomy and organizational skills. Then at elementary school, they would work with timelines and charts in order to develop abstract reasoning abilities. Nowadays, Montessori´s ideas can be seen applied at Kindergarten when children are allowed to choose self-correcting materials to play and games that involve the psychosocial and academic functioning. For instance, doing the ironing, cooking, shopping, etc.
As a teacher to be, I would like to try the use of timelines, charts and connective narratives in order to enhance imagination and ability of abstraction in the learners. Last but not least, I would like to be a Montessori teacher in the sense of being a facilitator of learning rather than the source of all information.

http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/geninfo/devcont1.html

Learning through real experiences

John Dewey`s contribution to education was very important. I myself experienced at least one of the activities related to his significant ideas when I was at school. Let me tell you all about it:
When I was 8 years old, we were told to carry out an experiment observing the germination and growing of seeds, keeping a record as regards the way in which seeds germinate showing a chain of changes that resulted into the development of the plant. In accordance with Dewey, this encouraged "learning by doing" through experimenting within a natural process, keeping in mind that, as the American educator himself said, experiences do not happen just because, we relate them with previous ones and this allows us to experiment.

As a teacher to be, I would like to live up to Dewey`s call to encourage students to develop creative and artistic abilities to help them reach their full potential. I think that learning through experimenting is likely to have lasting effects upon students`life.

" To "Learn from experience" is to make a backward and forward connection between what we do to things and what we enjoy or suffer from things in consequence. Under such conditions, doing becomes a trying, an experiment with the world to find out what it is like, the undergoing becomes instruction-discovery of the conection of things"
JOHN DEWEY www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.htm

VICTOR MERCANTE (1870–1934)

This Argentinean educator was born in Buenos Aires in 1870. According to him, Education had to be based on observation and experimentation in order to prepare children for life. He wanted to achieve a practical and utilitarian education that helped students to manage life.
What I found interesting about him is his preoccupation in developing an effective pedagogic method for the whole population. Isn’t it great that someone started being interested in how to teach so many years ago?
He also developed some laws about education which would be the principles used by teachers. The ones that I found more interesting are:
Universality Law: he thought that everyone had the need and the aptitude to learn, in short, that education should be for everyone.
Autonomy Law: he said that the teacher should help students develop autonomous thinking.
Integrity Law: education should try to foster the integrity of the student, not only psychologically speaking but also related to the integrity of the knowledge.
Finally, I would like to point out his interest in universal education, his taking into account the affective life of students and also his contribution to the renewal in pedagogy of the 20s and 30s.

If you want to know more about this educator visit the following page:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:pR0XFUKVYIgJ:www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/ThinkersPdf/mercantes.PDF+victor+mercante&hl=es&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=ar

Joaquín Víctor González

As a brief contribution to this blog, I’ve decided to tell in brief the biography of Joaquín V. González, a teacher that made the difference in our country education. He was a prominent politician, historian, philosopher and educator.
Joaquín Víctor González was born in La Rioja on March 6th, 1863. He was Governor of his province and minister several times; he also founded the University of La Plata and the most prestigious Teachers’ Training College in Buenos Aires, which today bears his name. He was member of the Royal Spanish Academy and the Permanent Court of International Arbitration at La Haya. He died a Senator in Buenos Aires on December 21st, 1923.
In 1887, being one of the most prominent jurists from Argentina, Joaquín V. Gonzalez was appointed member of the Constitutional Reform Commission and was in charge of drafting the constitution for his province. That same year he published his first work of historiography: Revolución de la Independencia Argentina and he also started working in La Prensa de Buenos Aires newspaper and was appointed the first professor in Derechos de Minas at the University and in 1894 he was appointed head of department of Leyes de Mina. In 1896 he became a member of the National Council of Education and academic head of the Arts College at the University of Buenos Aires.
The president Manuel Quintana appointed him new Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in the Pedagogical Seminary, later called Instituto Nacional del Profesorado Secundario in Buenos Aires, which had a large staff of foreign professors. The following year he created the modern University of La Plata, according to the scientific progress of the time. After the death of Quintana, President Figueroa Alcorta gave him the position of head of the University, which was later known as Rector (a position that still remains in today’s Universities). I hope you’ve found this educator’s life as interesting as I’ve found it. To me, he is a great example of a political change that started in the classrooms. And that was, is and will be my motif to try everyday to become the best teacher I can.

Reference

• Biblioteca Pública Digital (educ.ar)
• La “Universidad Nueva” de Joaquín V. González y el proyecto de 1905; Crispiani, Alejandro; editorial Universidad Nacional de La Plata, ISBN/ISSN:950-34-0130-5.
• Wikisource

Dewey

John Dewy's ideas made me think about my own experience as a teacher... What I found interesting was the role of the teacher which was to guide students to give birth to new knowledge. Teachers cannot do it for their students, they only can guide them to do so through motvation. When children do, perform, they experience and learn through this experience.
According to Dewey reality is full of confussing information and it's also complex, that's why teachers should simplify it and make students understand how it works and encourage them to put into practice their skills and capacities to co-operate and contribute within the school as well as members of the society.
At school students should learn about cooking, sewing, chemestry (among other things) since they are thought to acquire knowledge by doing and schools should foster students to enlarge these experiences within the school in order to prepare them to carry them out in the society.
Students are not considered to be blank slates. On the contrary, they are seen as active learners who have the ability to do on their own.
I would like to apply these ideas with my students since in my opinion a good teacher makes their students feel confident about their potential.

Montessori

I am not sure whether I am supposed to write here but I think this is the right place.
If I had to say in what way Montessori has influenced me I would say: as everyday I work with little children I tend to find it easier and safer to do things for them, help them all the time and tell them what to do ( most of the time). After learning about Montessori´s method I have changed ( little by little of course!) this attitude. I try to encourage them to do things by themselves, I try to let them find answers alone and I try to help them be more independent. Of course, in some aspects I still think I HAVE to be there to help them and I still try to be right next to them to guide them. I still impose ( sometimes) what i think is best for them, but I do it in a more flexible way and " helping them to put their coats on" and not " doing it for them" as I used to!

Daniel Filmus, The new "beowulf" in the educational field

I would like to choose an educator that firmly believes in education. It was necessary to me to choose a contemporary one, because educators that belong to the past means just that: they were inmerged in an era that nowadays will be difficult to understand. Technology has proved to be one of the most important reasons by which I decided not to talk about Sarmiento, for instance, but Daniel Filmus, whose career has been identified as brilliant by many of the people who are also educators like him.
While browsing through the pages in the Monitor magazine, I decided to choose an article written by him by which he shows his belief that being an educator means to prepare people to become integrated citizens, where solidarity and wisdom go hand by hand. He also says that being critical is one of the premises that a student should follow in order to be.
Evolution in all human beings bring also pain in our daily life, and Filmus tries to show how a teacher suffers during all the teaching carrer, trying to show the process of learning, trying to share experiences with his or her peers and how to act in different situations that will help to get rid of bad experiences. In his research Filmus claims that every single teacher deals with pain as best as they can. The case of Carlos Fuente Alba was one of the best example of how teachers deals with pain and how they joined when he unfairly died. He also claimed that we will never forget how violence got a victim, in this case an innocent person that wanted to claim for something fair or that they considered as fair.
Finally we certainly do not have to forget that there are many carlos Fuente Alba in every province of our country an that his death would not have been necessary if the goverment had given them at least fifty percent of what they were claiming. It is necessary to get rid of violence not only between teachers but also among our students, trying to establish the DIALOGUE as the only premise in order to fulfill all we need. We are educators, so we need to come to an agreement with all our necesities, priorities and commitments in order to make our daily work free from pain and lived with happyness, or at least we should try it, don't we?
Copywright 2008 by Osvaldo Mammino