Month: August 2006

Teachers! What do you imagine when I say that word? Most of you probably imagine school teachers, the people who run classes at school and teach different topics such as maths and english. However, I look at teaching slightly differently. I beleve that we are all teachers? You may refuse to believe me, but it’s true! We all do, or say things that help other people around us. We are continuously learning new things, most of it we learn off other people.

What is it that helps us learn? As we learn, we all change in some way. We grow to become more knowledgeable, and even better people in some way. But what helps us learn? Appart from the other people around us, we all have different ways that help us learn new and complicated things. You may find that you learn better if you’re doing something like bouncing a ball, or even eating! Or maybe you find it easier to learn if you’re reading the information. You could learn better by hearing the information being explained, and so on. There are so many things that can affect your learning. This means that there are also things that can make it harder to learn as well. Maybe if there’s a lot of noise going on around you, it can make it harder to learn. What has happened during the day can also affect your learning as well, such as having a fight with a friend.

What’s the difference between us and a school teacher? School teachers have the job of helping other people learn. Many school teachers have a specific topic they teach people about, like maths for example. They train and work towards their goal, and that is their job. Different school teachers have many different qualities and ways of helping people learn. Humour is a very great quality to have, as it keeps the students occupied and engaged while learning. Another great quality for teachers to have is being able to understand the students. If a student doesn’t understand the topic, an understanding teacher would be patient and listen to the student to find out what is difficult. If a teacher just yells at the student because they don’t understand, that would definitely affect the student’s learning, and also reduce trust with the teacher. The teacher should also try and include everyone, and listen to different people’s point of view. Teachers have a way of getting through the information of a topic, as well as listening and talking to the students. I’d say that teachers learn along the way as well.

A successful lesson also relies on the students as well as the teacher. The students job is to listen to the teacher like the teaches does to them. This includes not calling out and being involved in the topic. Many people in my class make it harder for the teacher, and other students to learn by calling out. I find that I get frustrated when I put my hand up to say something, and then someone else just calls. Many people in my class do not listen to the person who is talking, and calls out over the top of them. Listening is a huge part of learning in a classroom. If everyone just called out over the top of everyone else, can you imagine what it would be like? No one would be able to talk to the teacher, the teacher wouldn’t be able to explain the topic… it would just be a disaster!

I find that blogs help me learn. It allows me to express what I want to say without anyone stopping me. I just had a look at my very first post on the movie ‘Fly Away Home’, and when I read it, it didn’t really seem like really thought as much as I do now when I write my posts. By writing more and more, I’ve become a better writer, better at grammar and a deeper thinker. I’m really glad that our english teacher, Mrs Mcleay, introduced us all to blogging because it has really helped me so much, and I really enjoy the fact that other people can read what I have written.

 

Last night, I woke up with a sudden shock as I had just awaken from a horrible dream! My town had suddenly become the centre of war, with bombs falling onto it and people being snatched away by terrorist-like people, similar to the taliban in the Middle East. When the war began, I was with my mum, who ordered me to run free. She said that she wasn’t going to leave without my father, who was not present at the house. Even though I didn’t wan’t to leave her, she didn’t give me much choice, and before I knew it I was running away from my town, leaving my family behind.

After a while I came across a man that was about the same age as my father. He was heading for the town, and when I warned him about the bomb attacks there, he was very grateful. Together, we started a journey to get away from my town. After a while we would hear another bomb drop on the town. I was very frightened and worried, and I knew I should never had left my mum. I could still see that last image of her telling me to run free, and the thought of that being the last picture I ever see of her haunted me. But I was glad that someone was there to talk to and let it all out on. Every few moments, I would begin to cry. “I want to go back to my family,” I told the man, but he insisted that I stayed here with him. He told me that it was too dangerous to go back now and that I should keep going with him. The decision was difficult, but I listened to him and did what he thought was right for me.

We were both following a long dirt road when we heard a large bomb plane coming. “Quick!” he said, pushing me over to a bunch of hedges. “Hide down there! If the people in the plane see you, they will land and take you away because you are a young girl. Only men are allowd to be seen standing around. The women and children are often taken away for the war.” I quickly ducked under the trees as my heart beated fast. I was so scared, not only because my own safety was at risk but because I would probably never see my mum, or my family again! I shut my eyes and huddled under the branches until I got the all clear to come out.

We both continued along the road, not realising that it was circling and leading us back to the town. Up ahead was a large spread of green grass, which looked like the oval in my town. However, the man did not realise this, maybe because he had never seen the town before.

Suddenly, I spotted my mum. She was standing under a shelter with my father opposite her. He had an injured, and before I knew what I was doing, I raced across to her. I was so glad to see her, but she seemed concerned. About 5 seconds later, we all heard an engine sound. It sounded like another plane, and I saw people all the kids run to a nearby hedge. I ran towards a small hedge, but it had lost its leaves and didn’t cover me very well. I lay under the thin twigs that stuck out of it, hoping that I wouldn’t be seen. However, we all got a huge surprise when we found out that the engine sound didn’t belong to a plane, but it was actually a huge army truck coming up behind the kids in the hedge. The truck stopped infront of them, and the kids all screamed and ran. Two army men jumped out of the truck and grabbed some of the kids round the waste. They were throwen into the back of the truck and then the army men were back, heading towards me! I leaped out of the bush and ran towards the stretch of green grass, not looking back to see how close the men were to catching me. I was followed by a few more kids, and some voices yelling, “Run, run!”

This was such a horrible dream! It was so terrifying, and when I woke up I was so relieved that it was just a dream. I was so lucky that I had my family with me, a house to live in and a town that was in peace. However, not everyone is this lucky. My dream, that I experienced last night, is actually true for some people! Many people live in war torn areas, and my dream happens to them every day. I was put in the shoes of someone living like this, and experienced exactly what it’s like to live in a country like this.

Just the other day, during English class, we had a visitor. This visitor was the person that we are going to give the money to that we raised from the cake stall (mentioned on one of my other posts). She works with women who have been traumatised in this way, and helps them relieve the pain of the memories they have been through in their original country. Some of these women are refugees, while others have arrived from these countries, torn to bits by the war and the horrible life-style there. These women are quite different… they have different religions, different beliefs, different ages… but by working with this lady who visited out class, they can all be together and share their tragic stories. All have been though the same type of horrible experiences, and are able to understand each other from experience. It may be hard to get over the terrible things that have happened to them, but by working together, I think this is the key to solving their difficulties.

The lady told us her stories of helping these women. Some were quite amazing and very touching. By working with these women, they reveal clues to what their life was like before coming to Australia. There was once a blanket put together, with different sections on it related to what these women have been through. One woman just stood and stared at one part of the blanket which had a picture of these huge waves, and a little boat in them. She pointed, and cried, “Th…that’s me,” in broken english.

Another thing that this lady did with these women was bringing them to the beach. It was their first time ever that they had been to a beach to play, and some were actually scared of the water. The women were told they they could get in it and play, but because this was all very new to them, they were afraid to do so. The little girls played in the sand and buried themselves in it, which the lady said was really great to watch them get to know the beach. This lady’s job is truely amazing, and she even said that she has learnt more that she ever has during the past 10 years while working with these women.

I think this was the perfect place to donate the money to, and I’m sure it will be used wisely. It was really great hearing and learning about these women, and what great things people will do to help them!