Teens

Three weeks ago I finished my practice period with adolescents after one month and a half of hard work. Fortunately, I had an extraordinary group of 18 students aged between 14 and 16 who were eager to participate and enthusiastic about learning a new language. Some people say teenagers are hard to motivate and impossible to deal with. Let me tell you that is not my opinion.

Of course there must be some troublesome teens out there waiting the enemy to come in the battle field only to declare war: they are completely aware of the fact they have the tools to hurt anybody’s feelings deeply and threaten to boycott anybody’s lesson, no matter how carefully prepared it seems to be.

Most of teenagers go through periods of extreme discomfort, anger and rebellion, and that is by nature. So why not perceiving their behaviour as a sign of health and maturation? We all know that the transition from childhood to adulthood must be rocky, so helping our teen students in their process might mean dealing with a handful of unexpected ambivalent attitudes at times. Whether you like it or not.

However, working with these guys should not be ALWAYS a pain in the backside. Teaching teenagers with their fresh and unadulterated perspectives can be great fun and a self-rewarding experience as well. Adolescents have boundless creative energy, they are talented and they are passionate about the things they like. Maybe, we only need to bring their realities into THEIR classrooms, help them think critically and push ahead with this adventurous experience of “educating the beast”. And always give them the best you can, because teenagers are the most perceptive of all and they feel pleased and grateful for our efforts.

And continue learning from them. It’s a wonderful truth that of all relationships between teacher and student is truly symbiotic. On a daily basis, you learn as much from your students as you try to impart to them, and this is why, without a doubt, we continue to teach.

TECHNOLOGY- THE TIMELINE?

When we describe technological advancements we tend to refer to modern systems, methods, techniques and tools which permit scientific discoveries to take place. Then, we tend to believe that at the very core of these developments is the “discoverer”: manipulating, trying out, controlling, measuring, adapting, experimenting, combining all these systems, methods, techniques and tools to, out of the blue, come up with something “new.”

But let me tell you that such ‘discovering’ is non-existent. Nothing in this material world could be developed without its previous counterpart: an idea. Some time before, some enquiring mind with plenty of innovative ideas for the time had already been paving the way for every technological advance.

Take the case of the telephone. Although its history goes back to the year 1665 when a man called Robert Hooke experimented sound transmission through a distended wire, and tin cans and paper cups became the most transcendent means of communication of the time, we only remember Alexander Graham Bell when talking about the history of the telephone. Then, nobody actually remembers the other guy when talking about the mobile phone.

Modern societies are used to rapid changes so they quickly forget what seemed to be a novelty yesterday. Then, newer trends replace anything in any field and we throw old goods, names, and ideas as well, away.

Technological advancements are much more than current inventions: they are the future, the present, and the past. They are the result of history, the result of necessities that have existed throughout different generations, and the result of people who once worked hard to satisfy that ‘particular need.’