Mis niños son los mejores. Un ejercicio de Listening Practice
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
- How many kids does she have?
- What 5 features make her kids special?
- What can’t the kids see in themselves?
- What does she see in them?
School days for her
- What do her parents do?
- What wasn’t the primary ambition in their home?
- What was the consequence of this?
- What was the “educational jackpot” they struck?
- What did she have to do every day?
- What did she think when she was 5?
Growing up
- Mention the three things she started noticing as she got older.
- What feeling did she have in her belly as she got older?
- Say the 9 things she thought she wasn’t supposed to have.
- Why did she think that?
- What is the question she poses concerning education?
- How does she describe the education she had, compared to that of other children in her neighbourhood?
- She compares herself to Moses. Why?
- What couldn’t she justify?
The teacher
- Where does she work now?
- What is the difference, in terms of access to tools, between her as a schoolgirl and her as a teacher?
- Why does she feel frustrated and sad?
- Why is there an achievement gap, according to her?
- What should it be called?
- Why shouldn’t it be called achievement gap?
- What is the “little-known secret” in American history?
- According to her, how was the public school system built, bought and paid for in the USA?
- Why did the public school system in America “have it all wrong” from the beginning?
- Why are schools today more segregated than when they were first desegregated?
- Why is it awkward in her class when they deal with desegregation? Mention the question children ask
- How did she build the first library for her class?
- Were students eager to read then?
- What ‘s DonnorsChoose?
- What did she do there?
- What happened after she did that?
- How did the children react to this?
- What question did the kids ask her?
- What was her answer?
- Why were the kids “almost” suspicious?
- What did the girl in Kandice Sumner’s class find “pretty cool”?
- How have the children’s attitudes to reading changed after the donation?
- What has the public school system in America never done, according to Ms Sumner?
- How does she explain test results in poor areas?
- What happens if you neglect a child long enough?
- How can you determine the quality of a country’s education system?
- What should school funding not depend on?
- What happens to schools?
- What are the requirements for public education to be truly public?
- What should public education be called as it is now?
- What can people attending “rich schools” do to improve the quality of public education in America?
- 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.
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