ZZZZZLEEPY?

Television and internet consumption have become necessary for human existence and have a powerful influence on the lives of people. How come? A myriad of people use pre-bedtime hours in front of a computer or TV screen on a daily basis. And so what? Well, these are the people who daily report not having slept enough that night. Then, their friends surely give them the same piece of advice daily, “just go and try to sleep a bit more tonight.” And that is precisely what they do. But still, it is not enough.

Using the computer or watching TV during long periods of time before going to bed has proved to have a negative effect on perceived sleep duration. That is, we feel as having slept much less than we really have. We might have our eyes closed but our body and mind are not at rest. Lead researcher Dr. Nakamori Suganuma, of Osaka University, Japan, carried out a research in which he explained, "while many people use electronic media, such as the internet, it should be noted that the longer media use before sleep can trigger self-perceived insufficient sleep”. His findings suggest television viewing and computer exposure at night is fooling our body clock and our sleep wake system is then completely disrupted. Then, we always feel exhausted, even after a ‘good-night sleep.’

The reality is that we do need to relax. Sometimes? Definitely, NOT SOMETIMES. I’d rather say ‘ALWAYS!’ We do need to sleep in order to learn, and we do need to learn something every day. We do need to sleep in order to remember whatever we learn. Neural networks, which help us remember, are only built at night while we sleep. Finally, we do need to sleep in order to make the right decisions. It is a fact that sleeping enhances the functioning of your brain and helps you in taking better decisions. Isn’t it interesting?

I take for granted that if you are visiting this blog and reading my contributions, you must be in front of you desktop computer, or your laptop computer, or your palmtop computer instead. It may be late at night or it may be not. In any case, maybe it’s time you should take the right decision. So, why not turning it off at this very moment? Just ‘read’ to me and do follow my advice: get away from ‘the boxes’ tonight!

Would you kill -and die- for a hamburger?

It seems that meat industry is booming these days and an increasing number of people are consuming vast quantities of animal slaughter products. But are we aware of the drawbacks that being a carnivorous might have? Maybe it is time we should start considering vegetarianism.

Take a look at the cruelty involved in intensive farming. Eating a tasty hamburger a day possibly means killing a hundred cows and having a delicious fried egg for breakfast probably implies thousands of battery hens. Yet, all these practices have not improved food quality, but made it worse. Take the examples of Cow Mad disease or Salmonella; they have spread from animals to humans, universally. So why taking part in all this?

Now consider the effects that an excess of meat can have on our health. Despite claims that some amounts of animal products are necessary for a “healthy lifestyle”, it is a fact that excessive consumption of meat is not beneficial at all. Too much meat means too much saturated fat, too many proteins, and too much sodium in our body, which might result in high blood pressure, diverse heart diseases, and, in the long run, death. Now, would you run the risk?

So are we human beings conscious of what being an animal product consumer means? I’m afraid we are not. The reality is that we sometimes tend to forget that our appetizing meaty meals directly contribute to indiscriminate slaughter of animals. And we all too often tend to ignore that our “healthy” rich-in-meat diet is not so “healthy” as we think. In fact, it can even kill us. Aren’t these more than enough reasons to turn to vegetarianism?

Annoying?

Just try gloogling “the annoying orange” and see what happens. A full list of plenty of sites appears on the screen informing, commenting, showing, criticizing or flattering these peculiarly silly 2-minute videos which are becoming famous worldwide and make anyone, no matter his age, stare at the screen kind of possessed by their images and laugh at the irritating dialogues between an orange sat on a kitchen counter and whatever vegetable, fruit or unlucky edible ‘who’ is around ‘him’. And believe me if you happen to see it, you will end up hating this particularly annoying talkative living orange which comes to be THE STAR and his very repetitive “Hey apple!” in a shrill high-pitched voice.

The first of these shorts was uploaded on October 9, 2009 and it was created by Dane Boedigheimer, most widely known as “Daneboe.” It is believed that when the first episode was uploaded, it became popular so rapidly that Daneboe started making more Annoying Orange episodes. So far, more than 200 million people have watched them on You Tube, including me.
In case you are wondering whether these shorts are profound, or consist of witty remarks, or use the language so cleverly and have such a thought-provoking effect that explains their popularity all around the globe, I must say NO. When I first saw one of them, believe me, I thought to myself “there must be something wrong with us.” The Annoying Orange episodes are exceedingly shallow and obnoxious.

So, definitely, there IS something wrong with us. Apparently, the popularity of these silly shorts is due their awfulness; that is precisely what seems to bring enjoyment to viewers. Sounds rather contradictory, doesn’t it? Some people would just argue these fruits are just great fun for them. I believe they are a source of worry instead. Adults amazed at adolescent-like jokes and young generations only discussing whether this or the other food character should have died or not. People wasting their time and emptying out their minds. No deep thought. No imagination. No critical thinking. So, this is the kind of things that are REALLY annoying: judging from this, we cannot we expect from this society nothing different from stupidity, inactivity, indifference and laziness. ONLY NOW is this an ANNOYING Orange I would say.

Breast-feeding

Did you know August was the breast-feeding month? I know you must be asking yourself “what on Earth is she talking about?” All around the world there are mothers who promote and support breast-feeding. This is, mothers feeding their baby with milk directly from their breasts rather than with artificial milk from a bottle. Because more and more women are now breastfeeding, more and more women are realizing how important this is for them and their new-born babies. However, breast milk is an advantage not only for the mother and child, but for all the society, as well. So, why on Earth breast-feeding?

Happier and healthier mummies. Yes! Breast-feeding makes mothers feel well less crazy, it helps them lose weight; it burns five thousand calories a day. What’s more...No periods! All women know what a relief that means. And it’s free. Mothers who breast-feed their babies have less risks of contracting breast cancer. Finally, It boosts mothers’ self-esteem. After all, what can be more self-rewarding than being able to feed their own babies themselves?

Happier and healthier babies. Children who are breast-fed from early stages in life grow stronger and healthier. Natural milk is beneficial for the brain development, it prevents obese babies, it reduces their chances of catching flu or being allergic or having cavities. It reduces the risks of childhood cancer. Also, breast-fed children reach a higher level of independence in their lives, and what is more important they become secure in that independence. Breast gives babies comfort but also security.

Happier and healthier society. Every time a mother chooses to breast-feed their babies themselves, they are choosing to have healthy children. These children do not suffer from many diseases and thus medicaments are needed occasionally only, which means costs are greatly lowered. And what does it mean? It means breast-feeding could save the countries millions of dollars in health care cost. Also, breast feeding is environmentally friendly. Cans and milk bottles are not used and there is no packing waste. Sounds great! Don’t you think we could all benefit from that?

My horizons. Your horizons.

Some people say that if you are not broadening your horizons, you are narrowing them. So if you're feeling stuck in life or find yourself being narrow-minded, it might be time you adopt a friendly attitude to life.

“The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me,
the Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.”

That was part of one of Maya Angelou’s poems, which she recited at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 and in which ‘that farthest place which you can see, where the sky seems to touch the land or sea’, is reaching us and offering us changes, improvements, opportunities, and possibilities in life.

And now I tell you... feel the sun and wind on your face and let nature show you its wonders. Explore nature, learn from nature, and let yourself have a grandstand view of life. Step outside, sit in your garden, walk in an open field, climb a mountain, or walk on the beach. Literally expand your visual horizon. Develop an enquiring mind but be always critical. Always analyze, evaluate, reflect, and reason.

Travel the world, get to know different people, learn their names, and become interested in their cultures: become tolerant. Be willing to accept their beliefs even though they are different form yours. Walk in another person's shoes and see the world through their eyes. Opening your heart will most definitely broaden your perspective on life. Rediscover gratitude, forgiveness, and generosity.

“Now, bring me that horizon.” Those were Johnny Deep’s words in one of those “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies in which the good guys must cross big expanses of ocean to fight with the bad guys and so find a safe haven for themselves. Then, our own eyes can be up and looking for new and newer possibilities in the distance while we call out, “Now, bring me that horizon!”

And it’s never late to broaden your outlook on life: As Mark Pattison, a 19th century British author and teacher once said, “…the horizon recedes as we advance, and is no nearer at sixty than it was at twenty.” You can always look ‘out there’ and find your individual horizon.

And if this soundS like daydreaming, you only need to think about all those people who have once succeed in broadening their horizons throughout history. These were once ordinary people as we are.

"Firmly United"

I was thinking of important events that unite the world. In the past, the only thing that came to my mind was the world cup. You know... “It’s the world cup!” But then you have stories like this, of tragedy and miracles, and you feel really touched to see that all human beings being so distant and close at the same time.

Some weeks ago 30 miners were rescued after having been trapped for 70 days three hundred metres underground. Every channel and TV programme around the world followed the extraordinary rescue, man by man. And when the last miner exited the depths of the mine, everyone was moved as every miner himself was. Since then, they have become a source of inspiration: they have proved the value of faith, the value of commitment, the value of teamwork.

And this has not been the only case when the entire world felt and showed compassion for others. Many other tragic events have helped develop gestures of goodwill throughout history: massive earthquakes that have struck entire cities, or floods that have left thousands of families homeless, heavy storms, tornadoes... and wars. Did you know that the “League of Nations” was created at the end of the First World War to ensure that war would never break again? Then, we can assure that human beings only react after extreme situations. Why never preventing them?


Before having 33 miners trapped underground, people did not care if they were working in bad conditions or even running the risk of getting trapped. There was no source of inspiration in their faith or their commitment or in their teamwork. And there was no world united, but for the World Cup.

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.