[ Bad Manners ]

It is hard to choose just one example of bad manners. People having lunch in the subway, excesive public demonstrations of affection, shouting on the cellphone, just for naming some, are the best example that there are plenty of bad examples being difficult just to choose one.

As I have to choose one, I have to say that what really annoys me is loud people. It is very upseting when you are in the subway, and even when you are listening to music on you Mp3 player (or Mp4, or Ipod, whatever) you can hear them being really loud, and almost shouting on your ears, there is absolutely no respect for the others. To make my point clear, the subway was just ONE example, ONE context in which peoples is rude and loud. This can happen everywhere, being the most annoying places the subway, at an elevator (getting someone on his/her cellphone shouting "I can't hear you, I am on the elevator"), in the classroom and all the places where you have breakfast/lunch/dinner.

The solution might be to learn to moderate our volume in public areas. It all comes down to respect, because we never know if the people around us are having a headache, or if their are studying for an important exam, or if they want to eat something peacefuly. Respect is the basis for a calmed, some sort of quiet enviroment. Most of the cities (specially Santiago) has high rates of acoustic contamination, let's not make it higher.

[ Bullying ] In Japan... what about the rest of the world?

Bullying in classrooms has not became more often. It has been an issue since school started long time ago. The thing is that now it has more space on the news and the every day newspapers. As I could read on BBC (1), in Japan two kids gave up hope and took their own lifes to escape from the constant abuse they were being targeted every day. But this happens every day, in every school all over the world. In our country (Chile) we had the case of some kids that also commited suicide due to bullying, last year.

Bullying is something that affects not only children, but also their families, their friends and their teachers (that, someday will be us). And that makes it a very important issue to all of us, because we (and I mean everybody, not just future teachers but everyone) to become "change agents", to start teaching children to live in community, and to respect everyone, no matter how they look like, their race or where they come from.

Respect is the basis to create a better enviroment in our classrooms, and all of us (teachers, parents, friends, people in general) must work to show the world that with respects, we can stop this abuse and save the lives of those who are being abused.

(1) Hogg, Chris. "School bullying in Japan". BBC News. Online. 15 November 2006, Tokyo.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2006/11/061115_bullying.shtml

[ The Beggining of the Journey ]

Who am I? I kind of hate to answer this question, due to the fact that this creates a certain pattern or ideal of "who I am", that the reader (I mean, you) will have according to my personality. If by some reason, with time, I do not fit with what I have written, this is introduction about myself, will be a little bit hypocritical and will became simple words.

But... who am I? I am a little kid trapped in a young-adult body, that comes from the heart of the country, a little city were wheat grows and poets are born. I'm also a very laid back person, who goes through the day one step at a the time, with no rush at all.

Now, this is a new step on my goal to become a teacher, and English teacher, so I can pass the passion that if feel for English on to younger students, so they use it for they own benefit, as a tool in their professional life but more important to get their minds open, in a world constantly changing and sinking into globalization.