International Women's Day in Namaste Indian Group Magazine

 

I'm proud honoured to have had my article published by Namaste Indian Group. This time, the issue was devoted to honour women and I consider all women need (or better, must) have a say about the unfair situations many women undergo. If we make their problems visible, they are likely to get fixed by powerful people who care. If this is not possible, at least we will be doing our share to change the world. Let's go on doing little things in each one's context because they are the ones which bring about bigger changes.

You can access the whole magazine at https://heyzine.com/flip-book/a997d1ba44.html?fbclid=IwAR2Li1pL7fhdKW8uDDNYKSpMUcxTS3SjqIsiLpR3VBW8EqW4xIIWM8cgqtE

Hope you enjoy reading it.

Mother Language International Day

 

Every year, International Language Day is celebrated on February 21 to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity, and to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of languages to the development of individual, societies and cultures.

The head of UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), emphasized that the post-2015 development agenda must focus on advancing quality education for all and that includes promoting the preservation of language.

New Article Published by Namaste India Magazine

 Namaste India Magazine

I'm really honoured to have had my article published in this international magazine. 

Here I share the pages in which my article appears, but you can access the whole magazine using the link above.

Hope you enjoy it.

Experience Sharing National Foundation

 Proud and honoured to have been interviewed to share my experience as an educationist with the President of this novel institution.

Why should we make this explicit?

I prepared this post for ADIafrica, but I considered it worth publishing here.

Hope you enjoy reading it.

Why do we need to make this message explicit? This is a question I often ask myself.

Maybe for a long time women have been stereotyped as housewives and that deprived them of the possibility of dreaming high.

The task for Education for Sustainability Development is to help all women to have access to the same possibilities men have always had.

Rising awareness of how important it is for women to achieve self-realization is paramount. Women, as well as men, are the first educators at home. Both of them need to feel satisfied with their achievements so that they can help their children to have a view of what they can achieve as well in the future.

Remember that we learn what we live, not what we are told.

 

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FRIENDSHIP

 

July 30th has been designated as the International Day of Friendship by the United Nations. The aim of this decision was to promote the generation of bonds at an international level.

There are many forms of relationships in the world, but friendship could be considered the most significant and enriching one. If we could connect healthily with people in the globe, it is possible that we could generate more harmony in the world.

It is always positive to connect with people who share your interests. We can exchange experiences and become better individuals.

Globalization gives us the opportunity to establish online connections and, eventually, to travel to distant countries. We can present CV for consideration and open new working or studying possibilities.

 It’s just a question of getting ready and take the plunge.

JUNETEENTH

 

June 19 commemorates the end of slavery the USA. Now celebrated as Juneteenth – a blend of the words “June” and “nineteenth”  - this day is also known as Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Black Independence Day – it marks the emancipation of enslaved African-Americans in the United States. This celebration honours the contribution African-americans have made to the USA.

Even though President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it was not until General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to demand that enslaved people there be set free that Black people could celebrate their freedom and exercise their rights all over the USA. This event took place two years later, on June, 19, 1865. This celebration is said to be the oldest Black American holiday.

Education is key for dismantling systemic racism. We should work towards an equitable social system in which people are not disregarded or discriminated due to race, religion or gender identity.

Happy International Women's Day

We can now celebrate International Women’s Day thanks to brave women who, back in 1908, decided to stand against oppression and inequality.

In 1909, the first Women’s Day was observed in USA and in 1910, working women met at the International conference in Copenhagen. From that moment onwards, the fight for women’s right to be respected has increased all over the world.

Three colours represent this day. They originated in 1908 from the Women’s Social and Political Union in the UK.

Purple represents justice and dignity; green symbolizes hope; and white stands for purity.

The fight for women’s rights and the celebration of achievements should be present all over the world. Luckily, more cultures respect women’s rights each day.

In this 2021 full of challenges, I want to celebrate the courage and commitment  shown by many women in every corner of the world fighting side by side with men to overcome the difficulties posed by the pandemic.      

        

And I want to be thankful for the legacy received from our ancestors who began their fight a long time ago and started the sparkle of our determination.

  

       

Non-Violence Day

Mahatma Gandhi taught the world how to lead a revolution of peace.

In 2007, the United Nation General Assembly established the day of Gandhi’s birthday as the International Day of Non-Violence. This resolution aimed to spread the message of non-violence through education and public awareness.

Gandhi was born in India on October 2^nd, 1869. His philosophy is associated with the human rights principles by the UN in its universal declaration. Gandhi taught the philosophy of Ahimsa for dealing with injustice and disharmony using non-violence as a tool for the peaceful resolution of differences.

Bet You Didn't Know: Halloween | History

It is interesting to know about the history of this celebration. And, more important, to understand the real meaning it has today for people all over the world.
I think it might be great to use this clarifying video to speak about how the concept of Halloween developed in the different countries where the language we teach is spoken.
Learning language implies becoming aware of cultural matters.
Hope you enjoy the video.

These tasks were prepared based on the video
Hope you enjoy them.
The keys are also attached to this entry.

Bet you didn't know about Halloween.pdf

Bet you didn't know about Halloween. Key.pdf

Old photos from the British Hall in Santa Fe

Having been at the ceremony of the celebration of AACI Santa Fe's 75th anniversary, made me go to old albums in search of good memories.
I want to share two photos of the celebration of King George VI's coronation at the British Hall. They were taken on May 12th, 1937.

In this photo, we can see Miryam Smiles. Henry Smiles,…. Brown, ….., Horacio Callet bois, Jorge Douglas Maldonado (my father), Nellie Norman, Bobby Browning, Luis Macagno, Lily Reddi, Gwen Browning, Joyce Garland at the table. Standing, second on the left, we can see my late aunt Delia Burgin.

The same day, this photo was taken and we can see, 

Standing: Mrs. López, Mrs. Gelpi, Olga López, Jorge Douglas Maldonado (my father), Mrs. Reddi, …. Brown, Henry Smiles.

Sitting: ….., Geraldine Irigoyen, Pixie Irigoyen, Lili Reddi, Miryam Smiles, Joyce Garland, Bobby Browning.

AACI Santa Fe's 75th Anniversary

Last Thursday, 24^th May 2018, AACI Santa Fe celebrated its 75th  Anniversary. Being at the ceremony and seeing so many old known dear faces in the Power Point presentation boosted loving memories in me. I had plenty of flashbacks and was able to see my father, Jorge Douglas Maldonado, as a teacher in the early years of “La Cultural”. Of Scottish ancestry, he was bilingual and he had graduated as a teacher from Escuela Normal “Gral. San Martín”. That was an excellent mix to make him a very good teacher of English.

Moving some years later, I could recreate the picture of my mother, Dalie Arnau de Maldonado, knitting in the front hall at “Cultural” while she waited for my lessons to finish. I had the pleasure of enjoying some of Miss Ruth Browning’s lessons. Being the headmistress, she used to substitute absent teachers and was gifted enough to keep us motivated to learn just trying to understand the stories she told us. Another great teacher I remember is Miss Caroline Carruthers. She was so sweet and nice while teaching that we used to make great efforts to please her with our writings. But she was also strict. She would never answer our questions if we didn’t make them in English.

Much later, my three daughters attended lessons at AACI.

I cannot speak of AACI without mentioning my friend María Isabel Recamán, an unforgettable headmistress. And I must also admit that I'm proud to see many of my former students, now colleagues, developing their professional careers in the classroom which saw me learn English at various stages.

I cannot deny it, AACI has been part of my life and that is why I’m happy to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

My congratulations to Nora Poloni and the whole staff for the great organization. And a special mention to the master of ceremonies, Marina Suarez Gianello, whose guidance was impeccable all throughout the event.

Did you Know?

Serbian language, Cyrillic script is in official use in Serbia. It has 30 letters and a single letter for each sound, which makes it a unique script in the world.

(Remember that, even though we have phoneme grapheme correnpondence in Spanish, we use two letters to represent a sound, eg: CHocolate [tʃokolate] llave [ʎaβe])

Let's Celebrate the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity

We can make a better world working together.
Each one of us can contribute to improve our context.

St Francis of Assisi

Now that we have to face hatred and violence in the world, letting people know this prayer can be enlightening.

Happy Translator's Day!

Translators can be really useful mediators for positive understanding. They need to interpret not only the words but also the intention of the sender so as to reach the receiver with the exact message.What a huge resposibility!

Happy students day

I wouldn't have been able to enjoy my lovely teaching profession if I hadn't had such wonderful students who showed me it was worth trying.

Thanks to all the students that were ( and go on being) part of my life.

Happy Teachers' Day! Thanks for dreaming of the impossible to make it possible!

If you think you can really work for change and improvement,
If you wake up every day decided to achieve your aim...

¡Felíz día, mi bandera querida!

2017 dia del padre

Felíz Día del Padre a quienes tienen el placer de serlo, ya sea biológico, del corazón o por elección. A quienes amen y se dejen amar como papás.