Been sick a bit... I think I am finally getting old hahahah

- Well.. My nemesis has reappeared. We finally meet. And you are...
- The name is Stone. K. Stone.
- Mmmm, I see. Well Mr. Stone, the pain you have brought into my life is.. how to say... unpleasant?



Damn,. Pain is a hell of a drag.

I'll be back as soon as I get better. In the meantime, please enjoy this beautiful picture.

Stay tuned....

The struggle is real... Key & Peele - Substitute Teacher

The science teacher frustration (Or how to not get the punchline...)

Sometimes, as a teacher, you think some things like...

"Hahaha, look at this picture, this is funny stuff... those kids will laugh and learn at the same time..."
"Mmm, this image is quite interesting. I KNOW they will think about this for years to come..."
"Oh look at that science cartoon over there, It really makes you think. I wonder if my students will get the punchline"

This is just an example, but ...

get it? GET IT??
.
.
.
.
.
PLEASE TELL ME YOU GET IT....
.
.
..
It is because... It's a cell wall... a cell.. wall...

You use transport proteins to leave the cell...

Aaaand that is the greatest science teacher's frustration example ever made. Do you get it yet? I still think this comic (not mine, by the way, found on Reddit...) is hilarious, intelligent, clever... it has all those ingredients to be a science classical joke, and still, when I Included it as an extra credit question in one of my grade 11 exams, only two students got it. (right, Paola Silva? right Andrés Rozo?).
Sure, it frustrates you. You expect, as a teacher, to be able to produce funny, relaxed classes, yet only a small fraction of your learners get the jokes. But then again... those two or three kids that get the punchlines, the two or three that laugh about those science puns, are the ones you know are going to be the scientists of tomorrow. Not everybody is a scientist, right? this world needs lawyers, economists, singers, architects... right? RIGHT???

Comments please? do you share my frustration? hahahaha

Just some physics hehehe

Teaching teenagers vs teaching youngsters...

Hi again.

I´ve been thinking about this for a while now, because I used to teach only high school students, and  I used to think that was the only way to be happy... then, I got 6th and 5th grade students and I thought I would die next day.

The first weeks were really bumpy. I just could not get used to their voice pitch hahaha... it is that "special" tone that drives you nuts... And the yapping. The never ending, continuous, even unconscious yapping... all the time. And there's their size. Believe it or not, our brains get used to a set of "normal" features we associate with what we believe is standard. One of those things is the size. When you deal with high school students, they are usually your same size, and nowadays even taller and bigger. So the first thing you realize when you teach younger students is not the fact they speak all the time... it is not the fact that they really pay attention to everything you say and do at all times; it is not that they are ABSOLUTELY literal and they do not have a sense of sarcasm or figurative speech. It is their tiny little, small size. You feel like a giant. And I am not a particularly tall guy (5'8 in a good day)... but after 10 years of working with people that are taller than you...  well, you really feel the difference.  They really are small.

Oh, and about how literal they can be, let me give you an example:  In a teenagers group, expressions like "gimme 2 minutes while I get this working..." while you try to set up your video feed are interpreted in a way any adult would do so (Ok, this is going to take some time, so no biggie. just lay back and relax while he gets that ready). In a 5th grade group, you really need to think what you say. If you say "gimme two minutes..." It is TWO minutes. They really think two minutes means 2 minutes, 120 seconds... and some of them will count. Some may even set their stopwatches! When a teen asks you about some topic, you just tell them to look for it on their books. If you don't tell a youngster in which part of the book, or in which chapter... well... that won't go.

But after about a year, I don't know what to believe anymore... now I think about going back to teenagers and... I am not really sure, hahaha... Teenagers can be really obnoxious. They don't care.. Kids think you are their hero. You touch a football and you are Messi. They see you driving around town and you think they will just jump from their parents car just to yell, top of their lungs "HEEEEYYYY TEACHEEER!!!"... teens will turn up their heads down and their music up just to avoid visual contact.

So... what do you think? better teaching little ones? better with teens? adults is what rocks your world?

just let me know about it on the comments section.

music break... WOT?? Paul Anka - Smells Like Teen Spirit (High Sound Quality)

LOVE IT? HATE IT? MEH? tell me on the coments...

tres lecciones en docencia... por experiencia.

Lección 1. Si al estudiante le gusta, le interesa y se apropia... usted, amigo docente, relájese y disfrute.

La historia detrás de la foto: Esta fue nuestra presentación en Colombia 2015... en el encuentro nacional de colegios en el Nueva Inglaterra, en 2008. Desde una perspectiva docente,  fue muuuy interesante ver como mis estudiantes se desenvolvían solos en un ambiente multi educativo... y les fue super bien. Recuerdo también lo orgulloso que me sentí al verlos tan juiciosos haciendo exactamente lo que tenían que hacer sin ningún tipo de control ni policía. Eso realmente es lo que le paga a un profesor todo su desvelo. Y hablando de desvelos...
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Lección 2. Si hace esto por las gracias o por el ego, se va a llevar una sorpresa enorme.

La historia detrás de la foto;.. Si en el diccionario existiera una imagen para la palabra desvelo, estarían estos separadores del infierno jajajaja... recuerdo que los terminé imprimiendo una noche antes del encuentro de colegios, hice como 200 y no me quedo ni uno a mi. Pero quedaron lindos jejejejeje. Ah, y nadie dio las gracias y el mismo día encontré muchísimos botados por ahí, después del esfuerzo tan grande que hice diseñándolos, imprimiéndolos, cortándolos a mano, etc... jajajaja... ¿segunda lección en docencia? no esperes nunca las gracias o te llevaras una desagradable sorpresa. Hazlo y ya. Esa es una de las cosas mas fuertes cuando uno esta empezando en esta profesión. Así que si estas pensando en seguir este camino, deja tu ego en la puerta. Hazlo por que es el deber ser y ya. Ese es tu pago, esa es tu sonrisa al final del día.

Lección 3. Hasta de las peores experiencias surgen oportunidades de aprendizaje.

La historia detrás de la foto: Ese, amigos es mi némesis. Un enorme y dolorosisimo cálculo renal. Y créanme cuando les digo que duele. Mucho. MUCHO. En una escala de 1 a 10, donde 1 es una suave brisa matutina y 10 es una tortura del infierno, este dolor fácilmente llega a un 23. Y aún así, es una oportunidad de educar en contextos reales a los estudiantes. ¿Como? después de ocho días incapacitado y de muchísimo dolor, recuperé este amiguito (de 7 mm) y lo mostré a mis alumnos durante una clase de morfofisiología para IGCSE. Y no, no era el tema el sistema urinario. No importó, porque ellos lo recuerdan hasta el día de hoy.
Un alumno que no asocia las lecciones teóricas a vivencias, raramente logra consolidar sus conocimientos. Y luego los olvida. Todo ese esfuerzo de años de lecturas, tareas, desvelos, desaparece por falta de asociación. Pero si usted, amigo docente, logra que sus alumnos entiendan que los procesos biológicos (en este caso, pero aplíquese en todo) no son solo un conjunto de palabras y formulas, sino de resultados tangibles, reales - en este caso DEMASIADO reales-, por mi experiencia le puedo asegurar que no importan los años y sus alumnos recordaran esa clase, Y  ese es el objetivo de la educación significativa: dejar una huella.

Ah, ¿y si el tema de hoy no corresponde a lo que quiere enseñarles? ¡Igual hágalo!. Las experiencias en nuestras vidas no escogen cuando pasan. Solo pasan y ya... Después se lidiará con el programa ;)

memories again...

Me acordé del premio Santillana... quedamos de 3ros weeee

Con fotos como esta... 

Esta foto me parece espectacular.