[etni] fw: To talk about the war or not?
- From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:55:44 +0200
From: Judi Granit <judiavi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: To talk about the war or not?
Well, obviously it is a very individual thing and I would like to add my
2 cents here. I agree, entirely with Daniel. For MOST of our kids the war
finished more than a week ago, by the time we go back to school it will
be more than 2 weeks. (I'm not talking about those unfortunate few who
lost someone close or whose house was physically damaged.) For most
kids 2 weeks is a long time and they have probably packed in a lot of
school holiday regular stuff in between.
The media was full of nothing else for most of the holidays, they have had
"war talk" coming out of their ears..... I personally believe that Yuli Tamir
had it right when she stressed the importance of getting back to a routine
and a feeling of "normalcy". Like it or not, most kids thrive on routine, and
while making reference to the war in terms of general "stuff that happened
during the holidays" might be a good way to start the year; I really don't
think much will be gained by more than that. Let's get them focussed and
motivated about learning English and move on.....
Their homeroom teachers will open the year on it, they have heard their
parents talk about it, it will be the FIRST thing they discuss with all their
classmates when they get back.......etc etc.
In addition, it seems another way that some teachers will make school into a
polical arena.
By all means use the war to teach new vocabulary, to make literature feel
relevant as those pieces of poetry on anglit.net etc etc.? But just to talk for
"talking's sake" seems pointless and a waste of good English lesson time.
Just my 2 cents!
Judi G.
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