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Henri Ward

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About Henri Ward

  • Birthday 07/13/1989

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    henri.ward@gmail.com
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Profile Information

  • Location
    Pibrac, France
  • Interests
    Cycling, reading, writing, debating, arguing, being happy, etc...

Henri Ward's Achievements

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  1. The students and staff at the IST have been rather quiet about this issue over the last few weeks. After the initial shock at the dismissal, it would appear that the storm has settled as it were, and things have returned back to normal. As much as I hate to admit it, this seems to be human nature. Students have realised that they can get on adequately without Mr. Jones-Nerzic. Mr. Tarr is also a very skilled History teacher, and in this way I believe the sentiments are that seeing as they'll get through their exams with respectable marks anyway, there is not point in trying to reinstate Mr. Jones. I personally don't believe the t-shirt demonstration did anything to change the minds or make aware the administration. If anything, they can see now that students aren't bothered to chase up and issue which the t-shirts they were wearing implied they were adamant about. This silence, among students, teachers and parents alike, I feel, sends a message to the management that Mr. Jones and Mrs. Carlyle aren't as important to them as they had been led to believe. And I very much doubt that students would step up again in protest. These are my observations from the IST at the moment, although some may see the situation differently. Among my wishes for the outcome of this situation, I would like to see the veil of secrecy lifted from the administration, with the truth revealing to the public the 'heroes' or 'villains' that they will eventually turn out to be.
  2. I'm particularly interested in this definition. The branch of Philosophy I study at school is Theory of Knowledge (ToK), or epistomology, the nature of knowledge and belief, and can be seen to tie in with the definition given. Is the definition implying that empirical knowledge has no place in the realm of philosophy? It would seem that Plato would agree with this, through his work on metaphysics, the allegory of the cave, and his Theory of Forms. My question is: Do you believe one can study philosophy without ever touching upon empirical methods?
  3. I have been pondering the nature of philosophy, and philosophers. Should the definition of philosophy be the development of applying a meaning to life, truth, knowledge and wisdom? In this case, would any conclusion made be classified as a philosophical thought process? In the study of Philosophy we tend to hear names such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, etc... But are these the only philosophers? In the academic study of the subject, students would seem to use an combination of different philisophical theories to come up with a conclusion of their own, but I'm puzzled as to whether this can be qualified as philosophic itself, or whether it must be something which is original and previously unstated. Are there any viewpoints or solid definitions on this particular topic? I would be interested to hear them.
  4. As a student of the IST, I must say with all honesty that the dismissal of Mr. Jones-Nerzic did not surprise me at it should have. It follows a pattern of other professional educators being dismissed or leaving the school due to the opaqueness of the administration. Mr. Jones-Nerzic is a teacher who speaks his mind in the most honest and respectable of fashion, and who, in this particular case, went up against an authority who he believed to have unduly dismissed another member of staff with what was universally seen as a very minor offence. I myself have been a student of Mr. Jones-Nerzic for the past four and a half years, and not once have I ever doubted his capability as a teacher. When I came into the school in year nine with a borderline interest in History, I became enthralled in this lessons and methods of teaching. His inspiration within the History classroom inspired me do improve, and from a subject that I once viewed as merely mediocre with Mr. Jones's supervision I was soon excelling past all other subjects. His style of teaching is one that not just encourages students to learn the content, but the much wider implications outside of the specified subject, and the most effective way to process that knowledge. His dedication to his students has been unwavering. I have very specific memories of his revision sessions for History IGCSE once a week, giving up his free time after school, and even spent one day during the Holidays preparing us for the upcoming exams, the only teacher in the school to prepare his/her students in this way. The direction that he points his students in for IB History is also commendable. His help to students with coursework such as the Extended Essay and the Internal Assessment has been invaluable to all students. He has given up many a lunch break talking to me about problems I have with these assignments, provided me with useful material, and spends hours on the Student Education Forum communication with his students about issues with their work. Mr. Jones-Nerzic is one of the most pro-active and dedicated teachers at the IST. If he does not continue to work there, numerous History students will not receive his unique teaching style, and will have missed out on a fantastic opportunity to not only learn about the world that has been, but the world they live in today. It was a mistake to dismiss such a great teacher. It would be a far greater mistake, after the huge reaction to the situation, not to reinstate him.
  5. This post might seem rather odd, seeing as this has been a seemingly dead topic for the last year and a half, and also that I am a student member of the Student Education Forum, which seems to have evolved somewhat from the minds of the people involved with this discussion. Unfortunately, the Student's version of this forum seems to be failing. I believe this is due to a lack of interest, the senior members of the forum who have left to go on to other things, and the feeling that the forum's time as an interesting educational source, and a way of understanding other cultures and viewpoints has worn out. It would be a shame to see the forum die due to this deline, or have its sole purpose being a way of students of the International School of Toulouse to communicate with their teachers concerning school work. But I sincerley think that the student can get back on its feet by introducing new students to the idea behind it. It seems that there was a lot of interest in the early months of 2004 to have student representatives from different schools in different countries to participate in different debates. One of the problems I saw with the Student Education Forum is that it seemed to be exclusive to a handful of schools (and a few individual members of miscellanious schools. I think that if we manage to get more representatives of different cultures and backgrounds on to the forum, and add some new, up-to-date debating/discussion topics, then we could give the forum a sense of new life. This is why I have posted this here. I've found that this forum has the widest range of representatives of european schools around, and is directley connected to the Student Education forum. If we could spark of an interest in other schools around Europe, all types of students would benefit culturaly and educationaly from discussions and debates that would take place. If anyone here would be interested in helping to get the Student Education Forum back on its feet again, this would be very much appreciated.
  6. My name is Henri Ward, and I am coming to the end of my first year reading History at the University of York. Having been introduced to the The Education Forum while I was a student at the International School of Toulouse, I am very keen on using the forum to gain an insight to current thought-processes within the historical profession.
  7. There are two books which I have found had a profound effect on me. One of them I read while I was about eleven or twelve, when my mother suggested I opened my horizons and escape from the little world of Star Trek novels. She put a bunch of books down by my bed one night, one of which was John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'. I didn't think much of it at first, but once I had really gotten into it, I found it to be a fascinating book, with surprising consequences, which really got me thinking. And to be honest, I find myself going over in my head what happened, and what would have happened if things had been different. The second book that may have changed my life was 'The Alchemist', a novel by Paul Coelho, which my father introduced to me about two months ago. Another short story, it really made me think about my life, and which directions to go in. Whether I should follow my dreams, as outrageous as they might be, instead of just going to university, finding a job, and settling down, as the main character, the shepherd boy, could have easily done. I'm now finding myself wanting to go on adventures, and have amazing experiences in the world. Whether this is likely to happen, I'm not sure of.
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