The winner takes it all! The loser´s standing small....

I have come up with two great ways of dealing with my anger (that pops up now and again), one way is to go to my Sunday kick boxing class to kick and hit it out of the system, the other way is to write to get my anger out of my system! Being in bed since Thursday with the swine flu, option one was not really an option, so here we go:

Recently the media (news, papers, web pages, magazines etc) have been packed with the latest on the "Mueller case", you know, the skating coach that (finally) got fired. It is no well hidden secret that he was quite a character even before he was hired, and that he had a history of being "the coach from hell". Not just in his ways of coaching, but also in his way of speaking to people and his way of treating them as human beings (if he thought some of them deserved to be called human beings, that is).

After many "unfortunate" incidents, he was sacked and then all hell broke loose. Angry people from all over Norway harassed the girl, who actually paid too big a price for going to the skating association with this anyway, in all sorts of horrible ways, saying she was just a mediocre skater and would be nothing anyway, and why should she "rob" the Norwegian nation for all the gold medals this fabulous coach could bring us?

Reading this, it reminded me of my stay with my family in Tampa, Florida, when I asked dad´s cousin´s wife (who was thank the Lord only married into my family!) if she really meant that the US was better off winning no Olympic medals than having a black runner, Carl Lewis, win them. She almost shouted out a "yes"! I could not believe what I heard - the US in the 1990s and people still lived in the slavery years when blacks and whites were both separate and not at all equal! That was racial discrimination, the one(s) made by Mueller - sexual.

My question is (or rather my questions are, as I cannot seem to stop at one): are we living in a society where only the winners matter and the losers must stand small, and I mean literally small, with no self-confidence and no self-respect, yes, with nothing but "you deserve this for being such a bad sport not coping with a few sexual comments here and there!" I wonder if coaches and other authorities around the world know how much power they have and how easily they can use that power to break people rather than to make them better? Think about kings and presidents, bosses and teachers. Are we really aware of the huge responsibility that lies on our shoulders and that you, the people, the workers and the students are at the mercy of us and the decisions we make, the words we use and the ways we react?

This Sunday I had a discussion going on with one of my students in the E-class about what some teachers can allow themselves to do. I could not believe what she told me! I must say that most of the teachers I know are fair, respectful and do listen to their students, but unfortunately not all are. I guess that goes for people in all occupations, but a recent study shows that teachers generally are too afraid to speak up about their students rights in fear of being treated badly amongst their colleagues.

Anyway, this was not really supposed to be a blog entry about teachers, but about people in power and how they deal with this power. Another topic I tried to shed some light on was whether people of different races or different sex deserve to be treated like crap just because they are mediocre and not winners!

Well, luckily, the winner did not take it all all this time. In fact he lost, and it was about time he did, if you ask me!

Go you people who dare say your opinion!

DECEMBER QUIZ

Where is this picture taken?

Remember, both city AND location is necessary:0)

"OH MY GOD!" (No offence)

Foto: Astri Marie Remme

Tonight, at 7 pm, I checked in at "Hotel Hvarnes". I must admit that I was not sure what to expect, but as soon as I "entered" the lobby, I knew that this was a "show for me" (Susanne and Eline will know what I am talking about!) It started off with a fierce song and a catchy melody. And I promise you, these girls (and boys) can sing!

The guests were many. Petter Solberg with his selfmade English always makes me laugh, but no one, NO ONE is like the one and only Jan Thomas! Eline´s interpretation of him was "spot on", and I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants! JT has always been my favorite. Now and again I take my laptop with me to the couch to watch an episode or two of Fanthomas. (My husband rolls his eyes and thinks I am mad, but there are so many fascinating things about this (wo)man!) I also loved the Facebook visitors, the wedding guests (especially the priest!), the bubble babes and the bet.

All the songs were great, but "Back to the 90s" certainly took me back to the 90s and the 80s (Aqua´s original lyrics).

To sum it up, this was a show packed with a lot of humor, energy (where do you get all that energy from, Susanne?), catchy music, meaningful lyrics and "spot on" numbers. If I was to critique "Hotel Hvarnes" for a magazine or a newspaper I would certainly give it a 7 on a scale from 1 to 6.

Way to go girls! I am already looking forward to visit "Hotel Hvarnes" next year!

PS! If you have seen a show, a film or a play lately that you think was so exciting that it is worth sharing with me and the other students in class, feel free to write me a blog comment, a report, a review or just a personal text on it!

We don´t need no education! Or do we?

Last week I spent three days on a seminar in Røros with well educated IT-people. One of the lectures we had when we arrived (9 hrs late!) included watching the You Tube video "A vision of students today" by Michael Wesch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o). This video brought up a lot of questions and reflections.

If I used Google Docs in my teaching, would that improve my teaching?
How much would a reduction in class size improve my teaching?
Do as few as 18% of Norwegian college teachers know their students´ names?
How important is a personal relationship between a student and her teacher?
Is very little of what we try to teach our students relevant for their lives?
Do I use IT too much or too little in my teaching? (Less formal writing, more informal?)
Are students today living lives that are too stressful?
What will the future look like?
Will the world ever be a peaceful world?

I suggest you watch the video yourself and see if you can come up with some good answers......

The King of pop

www.pimpmyspace.org/graphics/view/82446/

I usually do not get angry very often, but today, as I was watching "This is it", I felt a sudden need to let the film reviewer in out local paper know (IN BIG LETTERS) that she has totally missed the point! I mean, how MJ looks and dresses is not an issue at all, in my opinion. The fact that he is the greatest pop icon the world has ever known however, is!

I was blown away by his kindness towards his co-workers and his perfectionism and dedication to his music, his show and most of all - his fans. I simply loved all his props and his back drop for "Earth song". All the imagery, the symbols and the contrasts in this movie. The girl, a symbol of mankind, in harmony with nature until the machines begin to destroy our planet. How she manages to find strength to go save the only plant left - our one last chance, as MJ says. The movie ends with the image of this tiny girl grabbing the plant and then looking up at the monster machine as MJ sings "What about us?" Yes, what about us? Where and when will this destruction of our planet end? "This is it", MJ says. "We have four years before it is to late. "This is it" - the chance to save our planet is here and now. This is it - MJ´s final tour. The expression has more than one meaning.

Watching this film made me wish that his concerts would have taken place this summer. All the work, the energy and the powerful messages of MJ deserved to be heard. I do not ever think an artist has contributed with so many hits and all of them with such an important message, too!

Tomorrow morning I will spend some time watching my concert DVD of MJ remembering one of the greatest artists in our time. And what better way to end my stream of thoughts with MJ´s own words? I just can´t stop loving you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nm_h9dLtJM

If you have been to this movie and want to write a film review on it, feel free! The criteria on how to write a film review can be found on NDLA - English (http://ndla.no/en/node/10649/menu360)! Hand it in as an attachment to a message on ITS :0)

"Bridge over troubled water"

The one thing that has occupied my mind since I read the newspaper this morning is the article on one of my students, Mehdi Hassani. Even though I read about his hazardous and dangerous flight from his homeland, the loss of his parents and his fear for his younger brother´s life, I still cannot really and truly understand this. Because I have not lived it. However, just thinking about it makes me want to cry. Being 18 and living in a foreign country with no relatives close by must be unbelievably though - to though for me and other priviliged Norwegians to understand. He is probably one of the bravest young people I know. In fact, he is the bravest.

I just cannot understand why it is so difficult to get his brother to Norway! I mean, a rich country like Norway with all its contacts and resources. This is really beyond my understanding, and it makes me angry. Seriously angry! That´s why would like to challenge some of you to write either a personal text based on this article (diary entry or others) or an essay about the cruelties of war.

Another question comes to my mind, too. Are Norwegian teenagers spoiled and do not appreciate the important things in life, like growing up in a peaceful country and being around their relatives all the time? What do you think? Feel free to write an essay based on this question, too, or any other text you are inspired to write after having read the article about Mehdi in the paper or the thougths in my blog :0)

NOVEMBER QUIZ

traveldk.com

WHERE IS THIS?
Send your answer to
ceciliee@vfk.no
or to me as a message
on ITS Learning!

:0)

"Man in the mirror"

"I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . ."

So how can I make a change, and what kind of change am thinking about? I mean, I would LOVE to make a huge change for a lot of people. Maybe help needy and poor kids in a foreign country or even here in little Norway, where quite a few kids are living troubled lives. Or perhaps do some charity work at an old folks home or a house for disabled people. It is really easy to be overwhelmed with guilt for not contributing enough to make this world a better place.

I discussed these thoughts with a colleague once, and after a while he said: "Being a teacher also gives us a chance to make a difference, you know!" There and then I realized that my contribution, small but hopefully not unnoticeable, was to try and make a difference for my students. My motto was going to be "catch them being good". They should feel self confident, important, valuable, brave, caring and know that they too were making a difference. "Yes, I can", I thought. Or better "Yes, we can!" For what is a teacher without her students? Nothing.

One of many ways to reach out to my students is this blog. Here I will write about reflections on our topics in class, things I think about, things that are important to my students and more. So without further ado:

"I´m starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The
World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself,
And Then Make A Change"

My change is here. My change is now. "Yes, we can!"