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Listening Practice

Te servirá tanto si quieres mejorar tu inglés, como si estás preparándote para la oposición a profesores de inglés, bien sea de secundaria o de primaria. Y es válido para cualquier comunidad autónoma que tenga listening practice.

This is how you should proceed:

Watch the video

And as you watch…

Answer the following 50 questions on…

(They lead you from the onset to the end of the video, but I have separated them into four sections. Do not use the subtitles if you really want to practise and develop your Listening Skills)

Introduction: The setting

1. How many kids does she have?
2. What 5 features make her kids special?
3. What can’t the kids see in themselves?
4. What does she see in them?

School days for her

1. What do her parents do?
2. What wasn’t the primary ambition in their home?
3. What was the consequence of this?
4. What was the “educational jackpot” they struck?
5. What did she have to do every day?
6. What did she think when she was 5?

Growing up

1. Mention the three things she started noticing as she got older.
2. What feeling did she have in her belly as she got older?
3. Say the 9 things she thought she wasn’t supposed to have.
4. Why did she think that?
5. What is the question she poses concerning education?
6. How does she describe the education she had, compared to that of other children in her neighbourhood?
7.  She compares herself to Moses. Why?
8. What couldn’t she justify?

The teacher

1. Where does she work now?
2. What is the difference, in terms of access to tools, between her as a schoolgirl and her as a teacher?
3. Why does she feel frustrated and sad?
4. Why is there an achievement gap, according to her?
5. What should it be called?
6. Why shouldn’t it be called achievement gap?
7. What is the “little-known secret” in American history?
8. According to her, how was the public school system built, bought and paid for in the USA?
9. Why did the public school system in America “have it all wrong” from the beginning?
10. Why are schools today more segregated than when they were first desegregated?
11. Why is it awkward in her class when they deal with desegregation? Mention the question children ask
12. How did she build the first library for her class?
13. Were students eager to read then?
14. What ‘s DonnorsChoose?
15. What did she do there?
16. What happened after she did that?
17. How did the children react to this?
18. What question did the kids ask her?
19. What was her answer?
20. Why were the kids “almost” suspicious?
21. What did the girl in Kandice Sumner’s class find “pretty cool”?
22. How have the children’s attitudes to reading changed after the donation?
23. What has the public school system in America never done, according to Ms Sumner?
24. How does she explain test results in poor areas?
25. What happens if you neglect a child long enough?
26. How can you determine the quality of a country’s education system?
27. What should school funding not depend on?
28. What happens to schools?
29. What are the requirements for public education to be truly public?
30. What should public education be called as it is now?
31. What can people attending “rich schools” do to improve the quality of public education in America?
32. What can each one of us do to change things?

Y, ahora, volvemos a las preguntas iniciales

¿Son tus alumnos “tus hijos” ?

Si estás en la enseñanza porque te gusta sé que la respuesta es un rotundo “sí”.

Una respuesta afirmativa implica que seguro que te equivocas a veces, otras no sabes qué hacer con alguno de ellos y, otras, consigues “llegar”.

Pero siempre haces todo lo posible por ayudarles, motivarles, animarles y exigirles responsabilidad.

¿Crees que la escuela pública es para quienes no pueden pagar otra educación mejor?

Ayer hablaba con alguien que pensaba que así es y así será en el futuro. Pero esa persona está en una empresa privada que ayuda a niños con autismo.

Yo no pude dejar de preguntarme,

• ¿que ocurre si no tengo dinero para pagar por esos cursos o esas ayudas, y tengo un hijo autista?
• ¿sólo me queda “ajo y agua”?
• ¿No debería ser una responsabilidad social y, por tanto, de las Administraciones Educativas? Para todos, sin distinción de clase social o situación económica?

Si estás en la educación pública, confío en que la respuesta sea un no rotundo a la pregunta del título. Por tu bien, y por el de tus alumnos. A pesar de lo que en muchas ocasiones hacen las Administraciones Públicas.

Nuestros alumnos son el reflejo de la sociedad en la que viven, en la que vivimos. Y las familias tienen responsabilidad, sin duda. Pero nosotros, como educadores, tenemos también la nuestra y es esencial que la asumamos.

La tercera la planteo de forma abierta, para el debate o la reflexión:

Ahora que se vuelve a hablar de un Gran Pacto Educativo, creo que es una pregunta totalmente pertinente.