Ordinary love - U2

U2 has just won Best Original Song ORDINARY LOVE at the Golden Globes. It's an opportunity to remind us how inspirational the recently late Nelson Mandela was (is). 

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Saint Peter & Nelson Mandela

To finish this series of posts about Nelson Mandela, I now share with you a cartoon I came across at the English Blog. As usual, the cartoon is followed by some useful information, in case you want to use it in class.

Image credits: Chappatte

BACKGROUND

When a soul arrives at the gates of heaven, Saint Peter, the gatekeeper, will look through the Book of Life. If your name is in the Book of Life, you may enter.

THE CARTOON

This cartoon by Chappatte from Le Temps, Geneva shows Saint Peter at the gates of heaven. Attached to the railings behind is a picture of him with a smiling Nelson Mandela, who has signed the picture.

EXPLANATION

Nelson Mandela has died and gone to heaven. We are meant to assume that since Mandela was such a special person, Saint Peter wanted to have a souvenir photograph taken with him, just like members of the public do with celebrities.

NOTES

In art (and cartoons), St Peter is usually depicted as a white-haired, bearded man in a blue robe, often holding a key or keys, which refer to Matthew 16:19. Following on from this, many paintings and literary accounts of Heaven show him stationed at the gate. There are traditionally two keys, one gold and one silver, representing the two conditions necessary for salvation: the silver key represents repentance, which comes from the person concerned; and the gold key represents forgiveness, which comes from God. 

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Forgiveness - a lesson tip

Forgiveness - a lesson tip

When I first saw this cartoon, I immediately thought I could use it in class. Bearing in mind my students' knowledge on Nelson Mandela's life, I would ask them what other words they would write under his footsteps. I know I would be delighted with their answers. The lesson would continue from that point, according to their thoughts and ideas. We could then write their suggestions on the board, and later on padlet, thus creating a memorial, a tribute to Madiba's life.

A cartoon by Rick McKee for The Cagle Post Cartoons

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Lessons from Nelson Mandela

Lessons from Nelson Mandela

Helena Aguilar presents for Edutopia 'Lessons from Nelson Mandela's Life and Legacy'. In THIS article, she highlights his compassion, courage and commitment, and suggests bucking her lesson plans for next week and teach a mini-unit on Mandela. She hopes she'd make the decision to teach what feels like an invaluable lesson on a rare and phenomenal human being, and, I quote, "(...) to honor his life, and memory, to teach our children about courage and commitment and the kind of leadership that transforms. This is far more than a 'teachable moment' for our children: it's also one for us, as educators; it's a moment when we can reflect on our core values and the struggles for justice and equality within our own field of work."

Image credits: venspired.com

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Protest songs

'The world is more malleable than you think 

and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape.' - Bono

'Protest songs have helped shape History proving that when people come together and raise their voices extraordinary things can happen.' This is ONE's latest campaign against extreme poverty - Agit8.

Image credits: ONE.org

The ONE Campaign has joined forces with dozens of musicians from across the globe to launch agit8, an urgent call for action against extreme poverty in the crucial week leading up to the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. An extraordinary line up of artists have added their voices to the campaign by recording brand new versions of great protest songs, because protest leads to progress and bold commitments from world leaders could be life changing. Grammy Award-winning Angelique Kidjo, special adviser to agit8 said: 'The scandal of extreme poverty and the disgrace of needless child deaths really can be ended, but it won't happen without action now. Throughout history, we have seen great progress when people join forces to demand change. If enough people add their voices to the chorus of protest, world leaders will be forced to hear us and act.'

As the co-founder of ONE, Bono added: 'This week we are reminded of the words of the great agitator Nelson Mandela - 'Like slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome. Millions of people are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free. Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.'

Follow this LINK and discover what are the songs that changed the world. In addition to that check out this beautiful performance of 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' by U2, just for the #agit8 protest music project.

Sources: ONE, one agit8, BWW (abridged and adapted)

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The F-word

Racist? Who? Me?

__________________________________________________________________

Ana Isabel and Ana Cristina are 10th form students attending the course of Languages and Humanities. They share the dream of becoming journalists. As they readily accepted the challenge of writing on this blog with me, they are the first students publishing at The Students' Corner. They chose the topic RACISM.

_________________________________________________________________________

Racist? Who? Me?
'I'm not racist!'

This is a statement heard millions of times around the world, but the truth is that only a small percentage of people who say that, actually isn’t a racist. Skin tones, religion, culture, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, and even ideals are reasons for some people to put others aside, to exclude a person ... To consider that there are human beings that are superior to others... This is racism and it is this that we want to fight against. 

'One day, my children will live in a nation where they are not judged by their colour but by their character' - Martin Luther King 

He, like many others, from actors to musicians, politicians and other entities, advocated the excluded, fighting for the truth and yearning for equality among brothers. A question is imposed: Is our society so poor? Is it poor in the sense that we need people, well-known individuals, for us to discuss what we want in a society for the future? What do I want for my future? I want the same as Martin Luther King, a secure and affordable future for me and my future family. I want my children, if I ever have them, to be able to go to school without fear of being assaulted or excluded, simply because their skin tone is different, or they require special monitoring, or even if they have a disability, either psychological or physical... I want them to have a promising future. Is it so hard to have something so simple? 

'Education and teaching are the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.' - Nelson Mandela 

On this sentence we can see that the will to change the world doesn’t have to be a dream, if we use the weapons that Mandela mentions. From my point of view, Nelson Mandela is an example to follow because of his path through life. An example of how race or skin colour does not interfere with success, or performing their duties, or simply to help others. I believe, racism is synonymous of a weak and disgusting mentality, because no one chooses to be born where or under specific conditions. So, people who think they are superior should stop for a second and put themselves in the place of someone born in Africa, or in a gipsy community scattered throughout the world. 

'How do they do this?' 

'Why spend your money on this kind of action?' 

This is the thought that many people share, sometimes even criticizing, saying that they only do it for fame. It’s their opinions, but the truth is without them, without their struggles against this horrible 'disease', racism would be much more pronounced today. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela are very well known for their struggle for an equal society. Many people share this dream, even though it is very difficult to make our voices be heard in this world.

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He had a dream...

photo credit: U.S. Embassy New Delhi via photo pin cc

He said that we could!...

photo credit: nasa hq photo via photo pin cc

And so they did it!...

found picture @American Fiyah

"I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Image credits: www.evian.com

You can read the full text of this widely known speech and watch a video about Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial at ABC News.

Martin Luther King, Jr, Nobel Peace Prize 1964 winner, would have rejoyced at Obama's election in 2008. Barack Obama, the 44th current President of the United States, is the first African American to hold the office. 

Even though 'We were not born with hatred or intolerance!', as someone said, M.L. King's plea hasn't been fully accomplished yet, nonetheless significant changes along the way!

pic via Google Images

Nelson Mandela, a South African politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, is an example of those changes. He was the first black President ever to be elected in a fully representative democratic election in that country. Before being elected President, Mandela was a militant anti-apartheid activist, and the leader and co-founder of Umkhonto we Sizwe.In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life imprisonment for 27 years. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led to the establishment of democracy in 1994. As President, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation, while introducing policies aimed at combating poverty and inequality in South Africa. 

In South Africa, Mandela is often known as Madiba, his Xhosa clan name. Born on July 18 1918, Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades. He will turn 94 next week!... He is the living proof that one can dream with a better world and achieve it!...

Source: Wikipedia (abridged and adapted)

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