THIRTEENTH TASK

• Knowledge

1. Can you tell why the basic ecological unit for survival is important?

2. Define the meaning of there is an ecology of bad ideas, just as there is an ecology of weeds?

3. Describe what happened if there is over-use and extraction of fossil fuel?

4. According to the book “Dominion”. How many pigs, cows, calves, turkeys and chickens are slaughtered in America?

5. Can you describe the relation of critical pedagogy and environmental education?

• Comprehension

1. According to the text, what does the author refer when he tells about fundamental ethical principles?

2. Discuss the importance of ecology in terms of educational practices.
3. Describe the role of capitalism in courting death and moving away from the love of life.
4. Interpret and explain the following statement: “There is no ecology of symbiosis in the dominant system today”.
5. Explain the role of education and ecology to stop the current environmental devastation.

• Application

1. How do you interpret transnational technocapitalism?

2. As future in service teacher: How can you apply ecopedagogy theory in your classes?

3. What examples can you give to talk about the indiscriminate exploitation of fossil fuels in Colombia?

4. How teachers can help students to be able to demonstrate to the world, but principally in their homes, that an immediate plan of action is required to safeguard not only the animal species but also human species?

5. What new practices different to the ones mentioned in the text, you could implement as a citizen to contribute in the search for a solution to the environmental catastrophe?

• Analysis

1. Mention the two largest human activities that have caused a significant environmental impact in the last thirty years?

2. In general, due to the boom of fast food in recent years, it is estimated that the number of animals slaughtered has increased. Taking into account this, compare between the number of animals slaughtered ten years ago and animals slaughtered today in your city.

3. In Colombia, how does the government and the Ministry of Education inspect that environmental education policies are applied in schools?

4. How is the environmental catastrophe related to the risk of “human security”?

5. What are some of the most important theories and practices that conform the

Ecopedagogy?

• Synthesis

1.  How to design a useful environmental education program for our society?

2.  Could you combine literacy and environment?
3. What propose Edgar Gonzales G with education for sustainable development?
4. Can you plan a possible solution in order to avoid the Western liberal ideology?
5. How to combine ecojustice and ecoliteracy?

• Evaluation

1. According to the text, 20% of people living in advanced capitalist nations control 80% of the world export markets, meanwhile 20% of people from poorest nations only control 1% of it. What can you judge about it? What connection does it have with the current global ecological devastation?

2. Explain the relationship between neo-colonialist conditions and globalization. What comparison can you make between the past slavery time and the current neo-colonialist conditions? Is there any difference?
3. Judge our education system answering the following question: Does our system promote an outdoor education that engages with social, cultural and environmental themes to stop this ecological devastation? What can we do to change it?
4. Over the last half-century, the modern environmental movement has helped to foster widespread social and cultural transformation. Judge its contribution here in Colombia as a citizen and a teacher, and explain in general what it has done to develop environmental conservation.
5. Environmental education has become isolated as it is rarely integrated across the curriculum. Revise and think about our English program, and explain if environmental education is being implemented, and how we can see it done in its curriculum.

SEVENTH TASK

At the end of "Critical Theory and Educational Practice", Giroux states that "The point is that critical theory needs to be reformulated to provide the opportunity to both critique and elaborate its insights beyond the constraints and historical conditions under which they were firts generated" (p. 50). 

 How do you think Frankfurt School thoughts can be applied to today in our own culture?

As a teacher, I think Frankfurt school thoughts can be applied but there is no way to achieve its ideals thoroughly in our society. I totally agree that education is a tool to wake people up about the social and the economy order that makes people slaves in order to make money from them, which is called, capitalism.

As teachers, we should provide an education that makes people critical of this overwhelming society that takes their freedom and time. Schools shouldn’t be a place to train people for workforce, as capitalism yearns for, and different from that, education should develop students into critical thinkers in order to break chains that dominate us socially, economically, and politically, and to deliver humanity from a capitalist logic.

It’s horrible to know some institutions like school, family, culture, church and media work for capitalism as they promote its principles, and somehow they manipulate us to do what capitalism wants. That is why, a critical education speech is important to be promoted by teachers, as it makes people conscious about this hazard, and as a result, we could get human emancipation, which would mean, social and cultural change.

Eassy -  First Draft

What methods are being used to teach English here in Neiva in public and private schools?

Teaching English in a public school here in Neiva is totally different from teaching in a private school. The latter has many advantages as it provides teachers with materials and clear methodologies to work with, whereas, teachers in public school have nothing but inaccurate books given by the government that do not apply to students’ needs and abilities, and that is why, the education department here in Colombia should stop using those books for teaching English.

Firstly, most English teachers here in Neiva do not have freedom of choice as they must follow books given by the government, which is mandatory, books that are thoroughly wrong in terms of topics’ organization and students’ abilities, as they are too advance or too easy for secondary students.

Secondly, it is to say that here in Neiva in public schools, teaching English has become a matter of grammar as these books are not based on a communicative approach, which means, they do not promote communicative skills. Consequently, students go through a difficult time trying to understand grammatical issues without sense and out of context. In other words, teachers have forgotten the real purpose of learning a language, which is communication, goal that is not being targeted in public schools at all.

In a nutshell, I think Universidad Surcolombiana not only should reinforce its English program in terms of academic preparedness, thus its graduate students could change this education system, but also the Education Department should stop using and designing books that are not accurate to the real education context here in Colombia, as they do not apply to students’ abilities and academic background.

SIXTH TAKS

What methods are being used to teach English here in Neiva in public and private schools?

As a student teacher doing my practicum in public schools here in Neiva, I could notice teachers did not have a clear methodology to teach English, as they worked with books given by the government, which were not accurate in terms of topics and students’ age and critical thinking, therefore it can be said that here in Neiva, English is being taught without following clear methods.

Firstly, English is being taught without having a clear organization of topics taking into account students’ skills, needs and knowledge. The books given by the government tackle topics that may be too advance or too easy for most secondary students, doing our job more difficult as students have poor academic English background.

Secondly, many argue that here in Neiva teaching English has become a matter of grammar as teachers just follow what government books say, and most of them do not promote communicative skills, and as a result, students go through a difficult time trying to understand grammatical issues without context and sense. In other words, teachers have forgotten the real purpose of learning a language, which is communication, goal that is not being targeted in public schools at all.

In conclusion, I think Universidad Surcolombiana should reinforce its English program in terms of academic preparedness, so that its graduate students could change these educational situations taking place here in Neiva in public schools. Moreover, the Education Department should stop using and designing books that are not accurate to the real education context here in Colombia, as they do not apply to students’ needs and academic background.

FIFTH TASK

Watch the talk offered by Michael Sandel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvDpYHyBlgc&t=735s) and answer :

1. How does Michael Sandel support the thesis that "over the past three decades we have drifted from having a market economy to becoming a market society?" According to what he says in the lecture, our society has become a market society because everything is up to sale and social values are not relevant anymore. Market has corrupted and bribed society making it lose basic values like the sense of community.
2. What sorts of arguments are offered for and against the assumed proposal of paying young children two dollars for every book they read? For: Some people say that strategy works and make children get into reading.
   Against: Many people think it is not a good strategy to encourage or get children reading because it would teach the wrong lesson. Children would start reading or getting good grades because they love money and not because they feel passionate about it. That strategy would corrupt children’s mind and behaviour. 
3. Now, what is your standpoint about cash incentives at school or at home to encourage students to read more books? I think they are totally wrong when they offer children money for reading. They should use other strategies to encourage people read, for instance, scholarships, trips, clothes, because once money stops you will notice if children read for passion or just for money. It would be sad that children read just for money. 
4. When Michael Sandel contends that "this tendency of markets and cash incentives of crowding out nonmarket goods, higher goods, can be seen in may spheres of social life, what sort of "higher goods" do you think he is refering to? I think he refers to social practices and moral values you cannot buy with money. The passion for learning, and the sense of community would be crowded out if children were offered money for reading and having gratitude.
5. What kind of nonmaterial goods do you think have been crowded out by market transactions in Colombia? I think here in Colombia many nonmaterial goods have been crowded out. One clear example is participating in elections. People here in Colombia are paid or offered money to vote for anybody when we have the elections.
6. What should be the role of money and markets in our Colombian society? I think money should be used to improve people’s life providing good education and health security. Investing money in education to have less people poor and inequality. In our society, we should use money to keep a democracy where people from different backgrounds can meet and share their experiences regardless their social or economy status. 

REFLECTION FIVE:

Consider what you could do to manage these barriers in the next few months.
In these months, I will be more attentive in improving my search methods and strategies to further develop my critical thinking, I will be more attentive on the details and I will be more focus and concrete.

REFLECTION FOUR:

Do you recognise anything of yourself in Bodner's description of students? What effect would the approach the suggests have on your learning and understanding?

1. During these years of experience as a teacher in primary and preschool, I have found, that sometimes it is necessary to design strategies.  Those can be put into practice but not  always the results are optimistic.

To obtain better results we must make a critical analysis of the target population, their background,  context, behaviour in which they develop and what expectations they have about learning.

2. Being clear,  that we know and what we believe is important to be able to argue and question about our profession practices or life in general. Currently, an integral professionals must be assertive and comprehensive as a  profesional as a person.