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Pauline Crawford

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  1. Great reminder for us all to get active again. Unfortunately it is near the end of the year for Australians. I will look at yr 10 students instead of senior ones. I had even forgotten my password because lazy me usually replies to an RSS message. I will be more proactive because I have been relying on others.
  2. What is happening in the World? A prominent Australian politician has spoken out against head scarves. That was followed by a round of comments that showed this was contrary to Australian legislation to discriminate against any groups. Doesn't Royalty wear skirts on official occassions? Do clotes really "maketh the man" or are we able to look past external ornaments to the person?
  3. I haven't accessed this forum for a while and I am gobsmacked at the increased number of members and posts. Well done international team.
  4. What a great idea. I read some monstrosity called "My Mother's House" in yr 10 at school. We had compulsary books and this was from the free choice section. I can't remember it now, but there was something shocking in it. Perhaps there were bodies under the floorboards, but it was the first "wicked" book I ever read. As I was a voracious reader as a child, I suspect that all the books in the Children's Library in Adelaide had been checked for a body count. I must admit to being absorbed in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little house" series. That was my first introduction to another family and to...... snow. Then I read To Kill a Mockingbird by myself at 14. We "studied it" the next year and I hated the dissection, but found more meaning. Catch -22 started me thinking and challenging. But the one that really sticks would be 1984 (which I read well before 1984, and again later.) I see his world around me today. Those shifting borders of detente, and distrust still concern me. Interesting to think that what we read at 15 and 16 has such an impact. I have "converted" a war mongering 16 yo youth over to the pacifist side this year. He was keen to read spy thrillers and I have funnelled Chomsky and anti war propaganda to him. He's now spearheading an Amnesty International chapter at school. The POWER of words.
  5. It would be interesting to read about the values and norms important to this group. Blind obedience? Critical questioning? Evaluation of resources? Discussions from another's point of view. It might be difficult to teach debating, where it is important to be able to take a position contra to your personal beliefs. I am usually a pinkie leftie, but this mrning I am feeling right wing enough to suggest that in order to register as a school, the curriculum must show these aspects. PS Will my signature automatically appear?
  6. Maggie, There is a discussion about Assimilate taking place on the History Forum <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Assimilate discussion is interesting because their website seeems to imply that everyone is really happy with the product. Good to see the forum back on line
  7. As a parent I am constantly besieged by my 11 yo to include chips with lunch. "every" does it. He doesn't want to be the unusual one. But I insist and we "discuss". I am told that if school frowns on fatty food it infringes civil liberties. Probably one weighty thought is that the fat levels are not important to the invincible young. Try telling them about clogged arteries and middle age spred. Even tooth decay will never happen to them.
  8. In South Australia a relief teacher is paid more than a permanent teacher, and is expected to deliver work set and marked by the absent teacher. We all "do reliefs" in our regular role (often one a week, depending on the absence rate at the school). The absent teachr marks work and the relief teacher tries to engage students with meaningful tasks. YEUCH One school I taught at required all teachers to submit a "relief" for every class to be held in case of an emergency. On my first day teaching in Singapore I was presented with a piece of paper with Chinese writing on it that looked suspiciously like a relief slip. I tried to feign innocence but had it thrust back at me. Yes it was an extra lesson. Contracts need to be at least 4 weeks and they are expected to set, mark and deliver with a 25% pay loading.
  9. I read somewhere that this debate has started. Two of my students have recieved emails about the project. But where can I follow the discussion? Please? Pauline
  10. Back before my time, a knowledgable person collection a parcel of information and published this as a "book". Teachers took this to classrooms and students all had to look at the same page and learned together. It certainly made exams easier to set and mark. Next, teachers read widely, photocopied information and took sheets of paper to classrooms. Now, we skim and scan widely, download and ask students to watch a screen at school or work from home. I cannot teach the same material over and over. I change to suit the needs of my class members. (Remember skimming through a variety of sources to find the better way to make information more accessible to young Jimmy?) In some ways we are going backwards because so many of us are constantly reinventing the wheel. It's time to recognise that teachers have skills in changing information to knowledge. How can we find a way to include active teachers into the production process of e-learning materials? I like the AST post as long as individuals do not end up totally out of the classroom. The suggestion that things are different in US schools is interesting. I am not convinced that teachers there have the same autonomy as Australian teachers. I would not dare to do more than one multiple choice quiz in a term and I would never use anything similar in an English classroom without being lynched by students.
  11. HI Grzegorz At this point are you asking for information about sportspeople? Can students nominate a person from their own country but afterwards not vote for someone from their counrty? Is that the idea? If there is a nomination from Australia, would we be considered? Pauline
  12. I am looking forward to the debate structure. I have two students primed and both are aware that the discussion is starting in Europe and that they will probably not be aware of some of the content. But I think it is important that students realise that they are part of a whole world. If students can be aware that not all participants have access to the same information it would be good. After all, we southerners could happily debate the impact that the Asian Bird Flu has had on tourism and employment in the travel industry. Not a topic of great interest above the equator I believe. I think it is as important for us to take part in a discussion of Euro -centric issues as it is for northerners to see our responses. Our yr 12 History students do study the holocaust, but at this point I think that an issue related to current European life would be easier.
  13. This sounds thorough Richard. When do you want the names of students? I think an Australian input will be useful in that Europeans will need to explain many of these concepts. Australia has the geographical size and the cultural diversity, but of course not the population. We don't have the land borders and immigrationis a very contentious issue. eg Where does "Europe" begin? I guess it ends with Ireland. Is Greenland part of "Europe"? (Tasmania is always being left off the map of Australia.) As an outsider to the issue I would also like to consider the local laws. We now have national road speeds. How unified are European laws regarding, say copyright, divorce, capitial punishment, interest rates in banks? I only mention this because I feel the age group will be interested in aspects that will affect the individual. PS what does PM Mean please?
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