Emma Watson's UN HeforShe

Emma Watson's UN speech.   HeforShe.  

Important points

If you still think of Emma Watson as Harry Potter’s cute, clever pal Hermione Granger, then you’ve got to read this. Now a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in addition to being an A-list actress, Emma is spearheading a new international campaign that aims to tackle gender equality around the world. Called HeForShe, this U.N.-sponsored initiative focuses on getting men involved in the fight for equal rights for women. To launch the campaign, Emma took the floor at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Saturday with guns blazing, explaining why feminism isn’t a dirty word, how men are also disadvantaged by a patriarchal society, and why both sexes have to step up to the plate to help advance women’s rights worldwide. Check out some of the most emotional points from her provocative speech, which earned raves from the U.N. audience:

1. The gender-equality movement is not anti-men: "I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for U.N. Women six months ago, and the more I've spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop."

2. Many people misunderstand what feminism really is: "For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago."

3. Expectations about how women should behave are made clear from a young age: "When I was eight, I was confused about being called 'bossy' because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents. But the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media. When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of their beloved sports teams because they didn't want to appear 'muscle-y.' When at 18, my males friends were unable to express their feelings; I decided that I was a feminist.”

4. Men absolutely must get involved: "I want men to take up this mantle so their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice—but also so their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human, too, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves."

5. Everyone benefits from a more equal world: "Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. … Gender equality is your issue, too. … I've seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help, for fear it would make them less of a men—or less of a man. I've seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don't have the benefits of equality, either."

6. Men suffer from gender stereotypes, too: "We don't want to talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are. When they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence. If men don't have to be aggressive, women won't be compelled to be submissive. If men don't need to control, women won't have to be controlled."

7. It's not enough to expect others to effect change: “We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is that we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen, and to ask yourself, 'If not me, who? If not now, when?' Thank you very, very much."

Video Emma's speech

Music as our identity

-->

I have been singing with our school choir and living the musical atmosphere of our school, which happens to be pretty vigorous, for the last 18 years or so.

That was when music teacher Miguel Rodríguez came in search of a school where many boys and girls played with music bands.  And he found the school and the musicians.  Our school receives students from surrounding villages whose musical tradition is long and rich.  Most of them have junior bands in which children have the chance to start playing a musical instrument and practice it.  

In our school music rooms and in the assembly hall, you can hear music every weekday all year round.  Whether it is flute sound, choir, piano or a jazz band.

The idea underlying this bustling endeavour is expressed in the front page of our blog (http://coroxunqueira1.blogspot.com.es/) “music as our identity”, where we say that “music can be a subject whose only aim is to fulfil a school curriculum, or become a teaching and leisure activity which goes further than the subject and involves the whole institute community, beyond the actual students and teachers who learn and teach it.  In our school, we chose the second approach, and here is the result:  we play and sing, and get hundreds of students involved in the project.  We started an orchestra and a choir which have been growing and improving.  We started with Christmas concerts in the school, then we performed in neighbouring ones, in the town theatre, in the auditorium, …. We recorded a band cd, and another one with the band and choir.

Future projects? Continue getting our students to play and sing music and, of course, have fun doing it and feel motivated when they see –or better listen to- what they have achieved”.

Some years later, a young music teacher came to the school, Luisa Sánchez, who started a small choir.  That small project started growing and improving quality.  There were some singing courses where students, and a few teachers who have been enthusiastically taking part in the choir activities, were able to improve our vocal technique and performance.  In 2010 the music department prepared a band and choir cd, recorded live in the auditorium, with the participation of 104 students- about 20% of the school total. 

We also organised a couple of exchanges with Ies Galileo, from Valladolid and Ies María Guerrero, from Madrid, which turned out to be two extraordinary experiences for the students.  Rehearsing with other groups, working and singing with them was an amazing and inspiring experience which improved the quality of the group, together with a generation of highly talented musicians, some of whom are now following their music training at professional colleges; and we are still lucky to have them back in some of our performances.  Last year we released our third cd- a double one: choir and band-.  

Our most recent experience took place a month ago in Ourense: Ourencanto, a course organised for schools and conducted by the most talented choir director I know, especially for children, Josu Elberdin (https://www.youtube.com/user/josuelberdin) .  350 children singing and dancing  together on stage, after two days of rehearsal.  A wonderful visual and musical display (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRmWe2VaMOE&app=desktop )

Our aim?  Following the same path.  That is, trying to improve and enjoy this wonderful hobby, which has also become a powerful educational tool, as it involves compromise, cooperation, discipline, respect and many other qualities and values which are basic to form fine citizens.

Arturo Neira.

Michelle Obama's final speech

I have been listening to some of Michelle and Barak Obama's goodbye speeches and I must confess that I am really impressed by her humanity, by the way she speaks about people and hope.  I think some parts of her speech in which she thanks all the people who have collaborated with her to improve education shows the character of a woman fully committed to the promotion of young people: she encourages them to have hope, work hard, knowing that they are important for the country if they are willing to make the effort to get a good education and become an important part of the country where they belong and that they can have an important role in the management of the country.  But you'd better listen to her, she explains everything much better:

Michelle Obama Farewel Speech

Translations

Cualquiera que cometa un delito debería ser procesado.

 Algunos creen, incluido yo, que servir a una comunidad es una forma más efectiva de evitar la reincidencia (reoffending) que

 una pena financiera. Así que ¿cuáles son los beneficios de hacer servicios a la comunidad/comunitario.
Primero, a los delincuentes se les pide que pasen parte de su tiempo haciendo trabajo voluntario. Pagar una multa es relativamente fácil cuando lo comparamos con semanas o incluso meses de trabajo que un infractor tiene que dedicar a la sociedad local gratis.
Además, el servicio a la comunidad es a veces al única manera de ganar conciencia de los peligros que surgen de los delitos. Por ejemplo, si una persona ha sido pillada a exceso de velocidad, un servicio adecuado sería convertirse en hombre señal (piruleta) en un cruce escolar.
Finalmente, pasar tiempo y ayudar a tu vecindario puede afectar positivamente a los malhechores. Ellos empiezan a observar/ se hacen conscientes de su comportamiento y finalmente llegan a la conclusión de que pueden ayudar a mejorar la sociedad.
En conclusión; el castigo creativo en forma de trabajo comunitario es una forma más eficiente de disminuir la reincidencia. No sólo la sociedad se beneficia de ello, sino también el infractor que aprende la lección.

Projects 2nd Bacharelato 1st Term

Here a powerpoint with the best presentations of 2º A, B and E during the first term.  I would like to display a video with the real oral presentation, but it is still not possible.  I hope to achieve it next time.  When?  good question.  It means technical resources and willingness of students to appear in it.  In fact, it is a matter of time to get used to coping with public speeches.

 PowerPoint

Exalumna en Japón

Silvia Sancho, former student at our school and with a Fine Arts degree, is doing an interesting project in Japan which involves transmitting Galician legends to Japanese people through Manga.

Link to Silvia's Youtube channel

2nd bach. Students should have this clear.

This is a writing which includes many of the grammar items that drive you crazy.  

We started the course revising all the grammar you have been learning and practising since you started studying English some 12 years ago, which is quite a long time.  From how to express what you are like or what you have, to what you do everyday or you are doing at the moment. Also what you did or have done or been doing, as well, which belongs to ESO contents. 

Furthermore, when we   want to express something we want to or will do in the future, we agreed that we would say 'I'm going to share my sandwich with you', when you have thought of doing it before; however, we say 'we are sharing our sandwich', when you have arranged or planned to do that – there is no big difference between both tenses in this case.  On the other hand, if we decide to do something just while we are speaking to someone, we use will: 'It's hot in here', says the teacher, and the polite student offers: “I'll open the window''.  When we are speaking about something we think will happen in the future, we use will as well: 'When I'm 25, I will be living in my own house'.

We must also use the present simple with future meaning, when we are speaking about timetables: 'Lessons start at 9 on Monday' or 'the London train leaves at 7'45'.

  We also revised how to express both something that we will be doing at a certain time in the future and that someone will have done by a certain time in the future, that is, before that time: 'By the end of May we will have finished the course' means that we will do it before the end, not precisely on the 31^st.  Then we are looking forward to going on holiday, because we can't stand studying any more, although we are aware of the fact that we will have to study for ten more days or so until we have finished selectividad. 

English verbs are pretty simple. After explaining the present and future, let's go on with the past:

In spite of the fact that all past events obviously happen in the past, we have to take into account the relationship of the different events among them:  On the one hand, if an event is related to the present, we call it present perfect; therefore, you must say:  'I have studied at this school for nearly six years', or even more if you have failed and repeated a course; whereas a student who is not at school any longer, will say: 'I studied here for 6 years', because he finished last year, or one year ago, and hasn't been at this school for several months or years.  And when we are speaking about the past, we can either speak about what we were doing at a certain moment: 'I was reading a book at 9 yesterday', or what you did at a certain moment: 'I saw a film yesterday afternoon'.  What's more, you can combine both tenses when a short action interrupted a long one: 'Peter was having a shower when his girlfriend went into the bathroom', and neither of them must have been surprised, as they used to live together, until they fell apart and split up not long ago. 

Morover, when there are two past actions and one is previous to the other, we use the past perfect- the past of the past.  ‘Despite the fact that he had promised to do it, when Mary arrived home, her husband hadn't made dinner yet', so Mary must have been quite annoyed, as she might have been very hungry. 

We also studied the modals, some months ago, and you should have learned that if you must or have to do something, it is your obligation; and when you can or are able to play the piano, you know how to do it.  You must or have to go to school on schooldays, but you needn’t or don’t have to bring your English tasks on the days you do not have English lessons.  However, you might/may need an umbrella if it is cloudy when you leave home, because it may/might rain.  And you should study every day if you do not want to be overstressed when the exams come, and if the results are not good you will tell yourself: ‘I should have started revising earlier, and my results would have been better’.  Although you may not agree with the grade the teacher has given you because you think you can’t have done so badly in the exam, as you had revised quite well for it.  But, in spite of revising quite a lot, you could have had a bad day due to exhaustion by accumulation of tests. 

Sometimes you would like to be allowed to use the dictionary in English tests, because you do not remember some important words.

The passive showed us that in English, when we do not have a subject, we usually say that the house was built a century ago, and I was given a new mobile for my birthday is much more used than a new mobile was given to me.  I have been taught Latin this year, not they taught me Latin.  And also that, when you do not do something yourself, you have it done by someone: You can paint the house yourself or have it painted by the painters.

It is two months for the end of the course, and it is time to settle the knowledge you have acquired for a long time, you should be revising all the works you have done until now, realise what your mistakes are and try not to repeat them, apart from revising the items you are aware you do not manage well enough. 

The final thing will be to get the right technique to do tests: find the main ideas, express them clearly- careful with word order- practise transformations, even though they are basically grammar, and organise ideas and express them in a simple and clear way in the composition.  And do things in a thoughtful way, texts cannot be memorised, they have to be understood, summarised, commented, etc.. it is a practical question, so any practise will do, be it reading, listening to 6 minute English to get ideas, or writing compositions.

After so many English courses, it can’t be so difficult.