Jacinta's Friends
Related to country: Australia
About this category: Education
A class was recently exploring the essential features of a house. We agreed that clean water, space and a healthy toilet are all essential. Television was another matter. Some students were convinced that TV was a non-negotiable essential for survival. Others said that they could live without it. I was reminded of our spirited discussion last night when I read Road Dahl's famous anti-tv rant:
"The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out."
Dahl makes his point as strongly as the students who see their TV as a basic human right. We haven't resolved it and I'm sure we won't. It's interesting to see that around the world a TV can become a household feature long before clean water. At the same time I become alarmed at the children in Australia who put off adventures and real playing to "lounge about" in front of a screen.
"The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out."
Dahl makes his point as strongly as the students who see their TV as a basic human right. We haven't resolved it and I'm sure we won't. It's interesting to see that around the world a TV can become a household feature long before clean water. At the same time I become alarmed at the children in Australia who put off adventures and real playing to "lounge about" in front of a screen.
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Related to country: Australia
About this category: Education
I have just returned from Perth Primary School where a grade 5-6 class were trying to get their heads around the realities of slum life. We talked about the basic needs of housing - clean water and sanitation, adequate space and durable dwellings. We talked about what a community would look like if one or all of these needs weren't met. We then went outside to draw a life-sized plan of a slum dwelling using chalk on a ashphalt surface.
The students did an incredible job of designing compact homes that would ensure the best chance of survival. With the temperature hovering around zero degrees celcius and with detailed plans on the ground we got just a glimpse of how hard it would be to live well in a slum community. We walked quietly around our plans and contemplated the issues faced by our planet's 1 billion occupants who live in slums.
It was curious to watch the students file back into class at the conclusion of our activity. They dusted the chalk off their uniforms, cleaned their hands and went to sit in a toasty, warm classroom. Immediately, slum-life felt a long way away. By contrast, students who live in slums cannot so simply end the activity, clean up and move to a warm space. This is not a cause for guilt but it is a cause for compassion.
The students did an incredible job of designing compact homes that would ensure the best chance of survival. With the temperature hovering around zero degrees celcius and with detailed plans on the ground we got just a glimpse of how hard it would be to live well in a slum community. We walked quietly around our plans and contemplated the issues faced by our planet's 1 billion occupants who live in slums.
It was curious to watch the students file back into class at the conclusion of our activity. They dusted the chalk off their uniforms, cleaned their hands and went to sit in a toasty, warm classroom. Immediately, slum-life felt a long way away. By contrast, students who live in slums cannot so simply end the activity, clean up and move to a warm space. This is not a cause for guilt but it is a cause for compassion.
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About this category: Education
Me and my friends are raising money for the rspca.
we are going to have a raffle and each ticket will cost $2.00.
The winner of the raffle will win a very good prize.
so thats hat we have done on tig so far
BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we are going to have a raffle and each ticket will cost $2.00.
The winner of the raffle will win a very good prize.
so thats hat we have done on tig so far
BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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My group have been working on animal rights. Our goal was to get money to donate to the RSPCA.
We havn't done anything yet to help but we are going to start a raffle. Each ticket will cost $2.00.
We havn't thought of a prize yet and thats what we are working on at the moment. We are trying to get a donation or something from somewhere like coles.
BYE!!
We havn't done anything yet to help but we are going to start a raffle. Each ticket will cost $2.00.
We havn't thought of a prize yet and thats what we are working on at the moment. We are trying to get a donation or something from somewhere like coles.
BYE!!
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:)tig is cool
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Related to country: Australia
About this category: Health
My sister works at the local public hospital. Last week a woman brought her son in to Accident and Emergency who was suffering from some flu symptoms. She was especially concerned for her son because he had recently eaten a Mexican Pizza!
I really hope she was pulling a prank but I am assured that she was quite sincere. This shows me a couple of things: Firstly, it is common for people to misunderstand issues portrayed in the media. We all hear the 'bits' we want to hear and run with a fistful of half-truths.
Secondly, it is pretty easy to foster panic in a population. The swine flu stories in the news have drawn all sorts of strange and irrational responses. A swine flu pandemic is definitiely cause for concern but people will twist, ignore and exaggerate what ever they hear.
Thirdly, this is another reminder of our globalised world. It is amazing how quickly a flu outbreak in Mexico has changed attitudes and behaviour in far-flung Tasmania.
I really hope she was pulling a prank but I am assured that she was quite sincere. This shows me a couple of things: Firstly, it is common for people to misunderstand issues portrayed in the media. We all hear the 'bits' we want to hear and run with a fistful of half-truths.
Secondly, it is pretty easy to foster panic in a population. The swine flu stories in the news have drawn all sorts of strange and irrational responses. A swine flu pandemic is definitiely cause for concern but people will twist, ignore and exaggerate what ever they hear.
Thirdly, this is another reminder of our globalised world. It is amazing how quickly a flu outbreak in Mexico has changed attitudes and behaviour in far-flung Tasmania.
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i had breakfast
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So well, ii am interested in Animal Rights// Cruelty.
Aree you?
My group and ii are planning on
Walking Dogs to help raise money
and after that we are going to
donate the money we have raised to RSPCA.
What do you think?
Is it a good idea?
Aree you?
My group and ii are planning on
Walking Dogs to help raise money
and after that we are going to
donate the money we have raised to RSPCA.
What do you think?
Is it a good idea?
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whos interested in animal rights????
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Hi Guys
Whos Interested In Animal Rights ?.
Whos Interested In Animal Rights ?.
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Related to country: Australia
About this category: Education
Last week in a local school I watched an amazing simulation game. The teacher was concerned that his class needed a deeper understanding of the ways countries interact. He designated all the class desks as countries and then rearranged the students' seating to represent population differences. Then the fun began.
The teacher unevenly distributed resources and invited responses. It was incredible to see just how quickly 'real world' responses to injustice surfaced. There was negotiation and problem solving. There were threats of violence and skullduggery. Before lunch we had a political assassination, the establishment of the United Nations and a refugee policy.
I was struck by how quickly the students could understand and interact with international issues like trade, migration and government. And it was a hoot.
The teacher unevenly distributed resources and invited responses. It was incredible to see just how quickly 'real world' responses to injustice surfaced. There was negotiation and problem solving. There were threats of violence and skullduggery. Before lunch we had a political assassination, the establishment of the United Nations and a refugee policy.
I was struck by how quickly the students could understand and interact with international issues like trade, migration and government. And it was a hoot.
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Related to country: Australia
About this category: Education
My daugther borrowed 'The Lorax' from the library yesterday and we had a lovely time reading it. The story is a fable about (amongst other things) - greed and consumption and standing up for the environment. At one point the Once-ler, the owner of a profitable factory, says:
"I meant no harm. I most truly did not.
But I had to grow bigger.So bigger I got.
I biggered my factory. I biggered my roads.
I biggered my wagons. I biggered the loads
of the Thneeds I shipped out. I was shipping them forth
to the South! To the East! To the West! To the North!
I went right on biggering... selling more Thneeds.
And I biggered my money, which everyone needs."
His drive to feed a need eventually unbalances and he destroys the very resource he is using. He also causes havoc for other creatures who relied on the Truffula trees. I agree with Dr Seuss that greed can so blur our vision that we destroy the things we all need to survive.
Well after my daughter fell asleep (dreaming of Truffula trees), a good friend of mine turned up. He is a forester who has a meeting today to decide whether to cable log part of a controversial area of forest on our island. My friend has some deep reservations about using that technique in that place and I dearly hope that his wisdom will be louder than noisy 'need' to extract trees.
"I meant no harm. I most truly did not.
But I had to grow bigger.So bigger I got.
I biggered my factory. I biggered my roads.
I biggered my wagons. I biggered the loads
of the Thneeds I shipped out. I was shipping them forth
to the South! To the East! To the West! To the North!
I went right on biggering... selling more Thneeds.
And I biggered my money, which everyone needs."
His drive to feed a need eventually unbalances and he destroys the very resource he is using. He also causes havoc for other creatures who relied on the Truffula trees. I agree with Dr Seuss that greed can so blur our vision that we destroy the things we all need to survive.
Well after my daughter fell asleep (dreaming of Truffula trees), a good friend of mine turned up. He is a forester who has a meeting today to decide whether to cable log part of a controversial area of forest on our island. My friend has some deep reservations about using that technique in that place and I dearly hope that his wisdom will be louder than noisy 'need' to extract trees.
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One day i had a drink :D
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One day i had a drink :D
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One day i had a drink :D
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