Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The important things in life

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up the remaining open areas of the jar.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”
“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else, the small stuff.”
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party, or fix the disposal.”
“Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Sunday, July 28, 2013

What happened to me this week

I have been a little bit busy recently because the work I had had before TTP started.
My school signed on sister school agreement with Yong-Ping high school in Taiwan.
Though it was very tough to prepare the whole program,
it was very rewarding experience as I saw the smiles on my students' faces.

All program is over by today, so from tomorrow, I'm going to focus on TTP and work hard!


Week#1 Assignment

Week#1 Assignment:
Write a short blog post (about 1 paragraph) about our Week#1 'acquaintance jigsaw' TLS activity. What did you think as a participant?  How could you adapt the structure of this activity to your teaching context?

I realized that the jigsaw activity is a very good way to make learners participate in class. There is information that must be shared, and this forces students to speak and listen. Especially this acquaintance jigsaw has good points. Through the activity, participants not only speak in English to each other, but also get to know each other. When we try this activity in our classes, I think it is also a good idea to let our students make questions that they want to ask before they start this activities. That questions might be easier for the students and more interesting.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

My first blog

I'm so glad to have my own blog!
I wish this is going to be a good start of my journey to become a CALL master!!