Who said... ? ''A room without books is like a body without a soul'' Marcus Tullius Cicero

Who said... ?

''A room without books is like a body without a soul''

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Reflexions

Leonard J Ravitz Jr. (psyquiatrist - 1948) found out that all humans are in hypnotic states most of the time, even when wide awake. (''The Secret Life of Plants'' - p. 197) -

''Cuando el ignorante logra percatarse que fue excluido de los beneficios de la educacion, recurre a la venganza''. -

''La violencia es la respuesta del inutil atrapado en la vulgaridad''. -

''Cuando el miserable se percata que la sociedad lo ha manipulado para que viva en la mediocridad y la vulgaridad, no tiene otra salida que recurrir a la delicuencia''. -

''El conocimiento es el arma del hombre civilizado''.

Uruguay * French

Uruguay

L’Uruguay, officiellement República Oriental del Uruguay, est un pays d’Amérique du Sud situé au sud du Brésil et à l’est de l’Argentine, dont il est séparé par le fleuve Uruguay qui lui a donné son nom. L'Uruguay a une superficie totale de 176 220 km² pour une population de 3 477 770 habitants.
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La langue nationale est le castillan, fortement influencée par le rioplatense et par le portugais, d'ailleurs à la frontière avec le Brésil, les locaux parlent un Portunhol(ou Portuñol) riverense, mélange de portugais et de castillan.
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L'Uruguay a donné au portugais un statut égal à l'espagnol/castillan dans son système éducatif le long de la frontière nord avec le Brésil[1]. Dans le reste du pays, il est enseigné comme une matière obligatoire à compter de la 6[2].
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Sa capitale est Montevideo, qui est également la plus grande ville du pays avec près de 1 500 000 habitants. Elle est considérée comme la ville d'Amérique Latine où la qualité de vie est la plus élevée, et fait partie des 30 villes les plus sûres du monde.
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L'Uruguay est le pays le plus proche culturellement de l'Argentine, pays frère pour beaucoup d'Uruguayens. Le mode de vie européen y est bien plus développé que dans les autres pays latino-américains.

Evolution * Communication

Homework Inst Milenium SFR

Prof JML, encontré esta adivinanza en la web:
''Lo que con medida puede ser delicioso en exceso te convierte en vicioso''
¿Qué es?... Respuesta: ¡…el internet! (Press here to see image)..
Siga las instrucciones
según se indica. Repase su trabajo diariamente por lo menos durante 10 o 15 minutos y los apuntes de su cuaderno; busque en el diccionario las palabras que no entienda. De ser posible repase con diferentes miembros de su familia, vecinos, compañeros de trabajo, tanto en persona como por teléfono (tarea a distancia).
Lunes
a) Seleccionar un texto en Inglés que abarque 1 página completa.
b) Pegar el texto en una hoja en blanco en Word e imprimirlo.
c) Subrayar 20 palabras que entienda y formar alfabeticamente una columna..
d) Hacer una segunda columna a la derecha con los significados.
e) En una tercer columna escribir una frase breve en inglés.
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Martes
a) Seleccionar un texto en Inglés que abarque 1 página completa.
b) Pegar el texto en una hoja en blanco en Word e imprimirlo.
c) Subrayar 10 oraciones que entienda y forman una columna.
d) Busque en el diccionario las palabras que no entienda.
d) Debajo de este primer grupo traducir todas las oraciones.

Repita y alterne estos ejercicios los siguientes dias de cada semana.
Además, consiga con sus conocidos dos libros de texto de la materia de Inglés. Uno será para donación en su salón con su instructor de inglés (o sea, yo). El otro es para que lo lea diariamente por 15 minutos en su casa al despertar y antes de dormir.
Se sorprenderá de los resultados al ver cómo se desempeña con soltura durante la hora de la clase cada sábado.
Que la pasen muy bien, y recuerden que cada dia de clase hay que entegar su tarea. Es una hoja impresa completa con el tamaño de texto de 8 puntos. Por la parte trasera que está en blanco deberán escribir a mano su trabajo según las indicaciones. Pueden ayudarse entre sí, pero es una hoja por cada alumno, no por grupo.
Bye.
Para buscar más textos visite estos enlaces de nuestra red gratuita de tareas bilingües.
Non-profit Homework Network * Red de tareas no lucrativa
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Today in History Vox * Conversation Club * The Twin Reporter Vox * Biographies

Feral Children * Education

FERAL CHILDREN
The Critical Period Hypothesis

The crticial period hypothesis in essence contends that the ability to learn a language is limited to the years before puberty after which, as a result of neurological changes in the brain (see the impact of neglect on neurological development), the ability is lost.
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She [Genie] was a very communicative person. But, despite trying, she never mastered the rules of grammar, never could use the little pieces — the word endings, for instance. She had a clear semantic ability but could not learn syntax. Rymer, Genie: A Scientific Tragedy.
Feral Children and the Critical Period
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Although the critical period hypothesis was hotly debated for some years, there is now compelling evidence — including the evidence from feral, confined and isolated children — that, unless they are exposed to language in the early years of life, humans lose much of their innate ability to learn a language, and especially its grammatical system. However, read on…
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Modern Feral Children
Even if they've missed out on the critical period for language acquisition (such as Genie), feral children can be taught a few words, and very simple grammatical constructions. However, feral children don't provide the best evidence in support of the critical period hypothesis (which is, any case, now generally accepted), partly because they may have been abandoned because of subnormality (Victor) or suffered emotional and physical trauma (Genie) that would affect their learning capacity.
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Language acquisition after return to civilisation
The ability of feral children to learn language on their return to human society is very varied. For most feral children from history, we don't have enough information to judge exactly how much language, if any, they might have been able to learn, were they taught properly. For some children, the historical records don't even mention whether or not they could talk when they were found, presumably because the assumption is that they clearly wouldn't have been able to.
Some children (see Isabelle) acquire normal language ability, but only if found before the onset of puberty. Her progress was dramatic: in two years she covered the stages of learning that usually take six years. Others, such as Memmie LeBlanc), also learnt to speak normally, but we suppose that they could speak before their period of isolation.
…...the second claim ([that Genie could produce] 'no auxiliary forms') is simply false. Jones, Contradictions and Unanswered Questions in the Genie Case.
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A grammatical puzzle
But the evidence from more recently-discovered children such as Genie is confusing. Although Genie is often quoted as evidence that there is a critical period, in fact, in Genie: A Pyscholingustic Study by Susan Curtiss, we read that Genie did start, and continue, to acquire gramatical ability.
Unfortunately, Genie's language regressed after legal and financial considerations put a stop to the nurturing scientific environment she enjoyed for the first several years after her release. But the original evidence is also thrown into further confusion by later publications about Genie, which suggest she acquired little or no grammatical capabilities: for more on this, you can read Peter Jones's paper Contradictions And Unanswered Questions In The Genie Case online.
A Sensitive Period for Language Acquisition
In A Theory of Neurolinguistic Development, John L Locke provides us with a possible answer to this puzzle. He suggests the term sensitive period rather than critical period: a period which is optimal for "tuning" that part of the brain best suited to the acquisition of grammatical analysis. However, even after this period, the considerable adaptability of the brain means all is not lost: other, less optimal, parts of the brain are pressed into service, and some grammatical abilities can be acquired, albeit slowly.
Further reading online
Read Steven Pinker online on the subject of language acquisition in Language Acquisition, a chapter of An Invitation to Cognitive Science.
Recommended books
There's a chapter in Roger Brown's Words and Things on the subject of language acquisition in isolated children. See also Speech and the Development of Mental Processes in the Child.
In a little over two months after her first vocalisation she [Isabelle] was putting sentences together. Nine months after that she could identify words and sentences on the printed page, could write well, could add to ten and could retell a story after hearing it. Davis, Human Society.

TOPICS * Child prodigy * Africa

El niño africano que construía molinos de viento

William Kamkwamba vivía con sus padres en Masitala, una pequeña aldea a 2 horas en camioneta de la capital de Malawi con 50 chozas de adobe, sin agua corriente ni luz, y todas sumidas en la mas absoluta pobreza.

Hasta que el chico de 14 años, que había abandonado la escuela por falta de pago, decidió hacer de su ingenio su porvenir y erigió con sus propias manos y basura reciclada un pequeño molino de viento que cambiaría su aldea para siempre. Esta es la historia de un fascinante proyecto y sus mediáticas consecuencias.

A pesar de no estar escolarizado, William no carecía de ingenio y ganas de aprender en un sistema escolar, desde que tenía uso de razón, por el instinto de supervivencia. Abandonó la escuela pero devoraba las revistas y los viejos y carcomidos libros que alguna ONG depositaba en en club social de la aldea. A sus manos llegó un ejemplar de una publicación educativa de ciencia que explicaba como convertir el viento en electricidad. Manos a la obra. Era septiembre de 2002.

PARA VER ARTICULO COMPLETO PRESIONE ESTE LINK

O COPIE Y PEGUE EL DE ABAJO,

http://kurioso.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/el-nino-africano-que-construyo-su-molino-de-viento/

Si te ha interesado esta entrada, no deberías perderte:
-El niño que ha robado la sed a medio millón de africanos.
-Bricolaje con ADN. Un hombre secuencia en su casa parte del genoma de su hija para diagnosticarla
-El hombre que talló por amor 6000 escalones.

I miss Carl Sagan * Scientist * Child prodigy

10 Facts about Carl Sagan


I miss Carl Sagan

Sagan's enthusiasm for science and his knack for translating difficult scientific concepts into simple explanations that many can understand, made him a popular figure. He was an ambassador for science, if you will, as he had inspired many people to study science (yours truly included).
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Today would've been his 75th birthday, so in honor of the great astronomer, scientist and author, Neatorama presents 10 Neat Facts About Carl Sagan:

http://www.neatorama.com/2009/11/09/10-neat-facts-about-carl-sagan/
READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE * PRESS THIS LINK OR COPY AND PASTE THE ONE ABOVE

TOPICS * Good Citizens

Good Citizens
Dec 2, 2009
PRESS HERE TO GO TO THE ORIGINAL SITE
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I have a very interesting class called CIVIC EDUCATION. It's all about Citizenship Education wherein as future teachers, we need not only teach about history but also, how our students become GOOD CITIZENS of our country.
http://babaylansamaynila.vox.com/library/post/good-citizens.html

We must imbibe in them to be active in the affairs of society by being aware on various political and social issues (guilty!). Also, simply following rules like properly crossing the streets or not littering must be observed. One of the best things that I have learned from this subject so far is that a country, for it to have good citizens, must have people who are able to THINK CRITICALLY.

A citizen must know how to weigh the issues that are concerning his country and he can only do that if he has the capacity to think CRITICALLY. One example of this is, a citizen will NOT vote someone just because he's popular or an actor, he will vote someone because of that candidate's platforms. However, to have GOOD CITIZENS who can THINK CRITICALLY, a country must have an EDUCATED PEOPLE. I'm a firm believer that being educated plays a HUGE factor for the development of a human being which in turn affect immensely his cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities. Education does not only allow a person to read and write, it also give him the opportunity to THINK. Thus, education paves way for a person to be able to think critically, which in turn make him a good citizen.
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BUT
Having a PhD does not automatically make a person a critical thinker.
I know people, people who have multiple degrees who are crap when it comes to being good citizens. There are many public officials in the Philippines who are degree holders yet all they do is steal from the people. Those who have access to education sometimes are the ultimate embodiment of corruption and violence. Instead of contributing positively to the country like improving the educational system or making health services free for all, some just waste their talent and intellect to doing negative things!
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I just want to say that I'm a firm believer of hope and I know that there MANY Filipinos out there who are good citizens. They know how to follow the law and they also know how to vote wisely. Election is just around the corner and it would be a day in which critical thinking would be very much welcome...
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Am I a GOOD CITIZEN? I honestly still have a LONG way to be one!

Uruguay * Press freedom * Human Rights

Uruguay * Press freedom * Human Rights
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(Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay, pronounced , is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.3 million people,[7] of whom 1.1 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European descent.[8]
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Uruguay's only land border is with Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to the north. To the west lies the Uruguay River, to the southwest lies the estuary of Río de la Plata, with Argentina only a short commute across the banks of either of these bodies of water, while to the southeast lies the South Atlantic Ocean. Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America, being larger than only Suriname.
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Colonia del Sacramento, one of Uruguay's oldest European settlements, was founded by the Portuguese in 1680. Montevideo was founded by the Spanish in the early 18th century as a military stronghold. Uruguay won its independence in 1825–1828 following a three-way struggle among Spain, Argentina and Brazil. It is a constitutional democracy, where the president fulfills the roles of both head of state and head of government.
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The economy is largely based on agriculture (making up 10% of GDP and the most substantial export) and the state sector. According to Transparency International, Uruguay is rated as the least corrupt country in Latin America (along with Chile),[9] with its political and labor conditions being among the freest on the continent.[7]
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Uruguay is one of the most economically developed countries in South America, with a high GDP per capita and the 47th highest quality of life in the world.

TOPICS * Humor in spanish

Frases para pensar…
¿Qué cuentan las ovejas para poder dormir?
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¿Por qué para apagar Windows hay que ir al botón de Inicio?
¿Por qué le llaman a nuestro planeta ‘tierra’ siendo este tres cuartas partes de agua?
¿Qué cuentan las ovejas para poder dormir? RESPUESTA: Lobos!
¿Hasta dónde se lavan la cara los calvos?
¿Por qué las ovejas no encogen cuando llueve y los jerseis de lana sí encogen?¿Por qué el zumo de limón está hecho con sabor artificial y el lavavajillas está hecho con limones naturales?
¿Por qué el pan de molde lo hacen cuadrado cuadrado, si el choped, el salami, la mortadela, el chorizo… son redondos?
¿En qué se parecen los hombres a los delfines?
En que se cree que tienen inteligencia pero aún no está demostrado.
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¿Cuál es el colmo de?
¿Cual es el colmo de un jorobado? * Estudiar derecho

Encendiendo el ordenador
Mamá, mamá.. mi hermana encendió el ordenador.
Bueno pepito, dejala jugar un rato…
Bueno, si el fuego llega a tu habitación, yo ya te avisé.

¡El como de los colmos!
¿Cual es el colmo de los colmos?
Que un mudo le diga a un sordo: Ese ciego esta viendo al cojo correr!!!