Straightforward!

Personally, I think that this tendency is like a virus that almost all younger people have. To be perfectly honest sometimes I forget that I’m studying English pedagogy, and I worried much about my other subjects than English, especially pedagogic ones. In my personal case, the problem that I’m having with this subject is not about demotivation, it belongs to another things, anyway I do not believe that I’m doing a really poor job, maybe with the diary homework, but it does not mean that I’m not worried about improve my English. I’m always trying to speak on classes, share ideas with my classmates, talking with people from other countries by chat or whatever.

Finally, I think that maybe the topics that the book (“straightforward”) has, are so structured for us, with our Chilean culture, that we can not share them successfully. Personally I think that this book was created for people more serious in a way, maybe European people, I am not sure. The thing is I feel this book really distant for me and to our culture, that finally the topics start to get much boring everyday. Maybe that is the reason why we are not learning as much as we should.

Assassin schools...

I've just heard a great Ken Robinson's speech, about how schools kill our creativity. Ken Robinson is extremely concerned about education, and how unfortunately there is still an old educational system, that doesn't makes that people could developt their habilities successfully. How can this happen?

There is a huge problem with, what are some teachers teaching to their students, because in some cases they are only worried in teach what is wrong or what is ok. I completely agree with Ken Robinson in this point, because he explains that schools shouldn't take care about teach what is true or what is false, they must show to the students all the faces that some thing can has, and prepared their students in order to develop their own capacities and skills.

As he said, we can not do something for the system, we have to do something for ourselves, and the schools must stay with the students in that process, and giving them the tools that they need to improve these skills.

Personally, I must say that before I could hear Ken Robinson's speech, I had a similar idea about schools, and in my case that's why I'm studying to become a teacher. English is just an excuse to stay with the kids, and help them to take good choices, to mativate them to take risks or whatever. That's why I'm here.

Alter... what?

Orlan defines herself as a feminist, neo-feminist, post-feminist and alter-feminist woman and artist. She is always making "freak" artistic perfomances, that get shocked the society.
When you face an Orlan piece of art, probably you should think that is such a basic, that it does not derserve more attention, but most of the times, her artworks have an special meaning that you would not recognize with the first look.
This artist is so sure about what she can create, that one she decided to made her own body a piece of art.
Personally I do not like this sort of competitive instinct that all artist have, and Orlan has too, in terms of stay all time traying to make something better than the rest of the artist. In other words, it is great that it could exist people who want to make new things or people who have new ideas, but they have to make them for they own happiness without living worried all time, about what are the others artist making.

Las Tentaciones de San Antonio

My favorite piece of art was painted by Claudio Bravo, and it’s call “Las tentaciones de San Antonio”. I would define this painting as a mix between religion, humor and absurd.

The first time that I saw this artwork was when I was ten, and I got really surprised about the technique that the painter used, because it is such a realistic that probably, as I thought in that moment, you would believe that is a picture, but it is not.
You can admire this painting here in Santiago, more specifically on “Museo de Bellas Artes”. I hope you could go once, it’s very cheaper that museum, especially for us, as students.

Honestly, I had seen this picture many times, but I must say that every time that I can see it; I recognize a new detail that I had not seen it before. It’s like the painting would be changing with the past of the time.
The last time that I saw it, was about two years ago, and frankly, now that I’m remembering it, I’m getting motivated to go soon.

The last thing that I can say about this artwork, is what I conclude about it. Well, the first time that I saw it, I was a teenager and I just liked how the painting was made, but today I can say that this painting makes me feel and remembered me that I’m a free man, I mean, on the painting I see how there are a lot of people who are slaves of their own passions, vices and desires, and how they feel really lost and unhappy when they do not have these ones.