The best teachers...

Image via Edutopia/Pinterest

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Passion-based learning

Inspiring teacher(s)

The great teacher

Passion-based learning

I would like to share with you this beautiful article written by Ainissa Ramirez for Edutopia, entitled Passion-based learning. It is really worth reading!

Image via WeAreTeachers

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What makes you come alive?

Rainbows in the clouds

What teachers make

The holidays season is over

For many, both teachers and students, it's hard to leave the comfort of home and return to the school everyday routine. Moreover, this unpleasant nasty weather invites you to stay the whole day at home, wearing your cosy pajamas, and watch a fantastic film on TV, or read a fascinating book, by the fireplace... But the holidays season is over, and it's time to go back to reality! My advice? 'Let it be!' And let's make this year a truly awesome year!

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Think... before complaining!

Laugh more, stress less

Happy 2014

Sorry! You have failed!

Who has actually failed? As Teachers, one must not forget that we are NOT always right! Admitting one's flaws and mistakes only shows our humanity! So, let's stay humble and not forget that we are no more than ordinary human beings! Human beings that don't own the truth! Human beings that are eager to learn! You cannot TEACH if you've forgotten that you still have a lot to LEARN! Because learning... is for LIFE! So let's learn our lessons well before being so judgemental!... It would also be nice to stop looking down on students! 

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What teachers make

The Great Teacher

Source: Top Teaching Colleges

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Bill Gates talks about Teachers
Rebranding teachers and What teachers make

Inspiring Teacher(s)

Education scientist Sugata Mitra conducted a series of real-life experiments from New Delhi to South Africa to Italy, where he gave kids self-supervised access to the web and watched as they taught themselves how to use it. As he accepts the 2013 TED Prize, he calls for us to take this idea to the next level with a School in the Cloud, where students explore with just a little guidance.

In, TED Ideas worth spreading

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Bill Gates talks about teachers

Rainbows in the clouds

Learning is for life

End of the School Year Lunch

Time for a break in the summer break (see previous post)!

Paperwork is finally over and today teachers and staff had a fantastic lunch at our school to celebrate the end of a very hardworking year and the beginning of the so much awaited HOLIDAYS! Here follows a video sponsored by Animoto which illustrates some of the best and most amusing moments of this afternoon. Unfortunately some of my fellow co-workers won't be around next school year, so it was time to say our good-byes... For those that are staying, see you in September! Do have a fantastic summer, enjoy the free time, hopefully the good weather, and let's hope for a great new school year! Best wishes to you all! 

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I love shooting

I love animotooing

St. Valentine's Day @Animoto

Sarau Olímpico @Pav. Fernanda Ribeiro

My Xmas Animoto

When the going gets tough...

... the tough get going!

Image credits: Positive Inspirational Quotes Facebook Page

Portugal is living a severe economic crisis. Every sector in society is suffering with it! This week teachers are striking against what they believe is causing utter damages in Education. I'm not going to discuss political ideologies in this post, nor expressing my views on the teachers' strike. I just hope that the aftermath of these demonstrations doesn't bring with it bigger damages than the ones already caused by the ones that 'rule' us!

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I teach! What's your super power?

Bill Gates talks about Teachers

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11 rules you will never learn at school

Teacher Appreciation Week

Rainbows in the clouds

Rebranding Teachers

A very special week in the US

Image credits venspired.com

This week, US schools celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6h - 10th).  Many PTAs (Parent-Teaching Associations) and other parent groups will be busy making sure school staff gets recognized often with a special breakfast or lunch, cards, or other tokens of appreciation. Parents and students may participate too with a small gift or note of thanks. Generally speaking, people recall many of their teachers in 'glimpses' of memories. In a child's formative years, it makes sense that these are the people leaving their lasting impression. Venspired, a blog I've recently started following, presents this poster, along with others, to celebrate this week. They're so beautiful, I couldn't resist sharing and wishing that, even though this week is not celebrated in Portugal, we could import this tradition so as to never forget why we have become educators in the first place!

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Teacher Appreciation Week

Give your Teacher an Apple
Rebranding Teachers

Learning is for life

To all my students...

... that are already indulging in two 'dolce fare niente' (the sweetness of doing nothing) weeks! I wish you take a vigorous rest and have loads of fun during this Easter break, so as to return in April boosted with energy! You'll need it! Some of you are having national final exams in June. As, for us, Teachers, we're still with a busy agenda, but, hopefully, in a few days, we will be able to express the feeling stated in the picture below. I'm sure all of you can relate to these words, can't you?

(I came across this picture via Facebook some time ago, so I can't state its credits)

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Laugh more, stress less

Last day of school

Operation Nice

Today's agenda

Sailing the Sea

This week, we are Sailing the Sea, at PineTree School.

'The sea, once it casts its spell, 

holds one in its net of wonders forever.'

Jacques Yves Cousteau

Photo credits: Jon Cornforth / www.cornforthimages.com

The Sea is this year's topic of 'Semana da Leitura' (Reading Week), which started yesterday, February 25th, and will continue with several activities until friday, March 1st. Poems about the Sea will be read throughout the week both in the classrom, at the Portuguese, English and French languagues lessons, and at the school library. A 'Literary Meeting' will take place today, in the afternoon, at the library, with the participation of History Teachers and 10th/11th form students, in which the topic 'Sailing the Sea' in our History will be discussed and appreciated. The Drama Club students will perform a play at the Closing Ceremony on friday, as well as the Dance Club students, who will delight us all with their creative performances.

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Tertúlia Literária @PineTree

Semana da Leitura @PineTree

Um jovem escritor na Semana da Leitura

Teresa Poças na Semana da Leitura

Ainda... a Semana da Leitura

Saint Valentine's @PineTree

GR330 editing powered by Photoscape

Saint Valentine's Calling!

Get ready for St. Valentine's: it's only 13 days ahead! Celebrate this day at our school with your teachers of English and mates! Visit our Facebook page, hit a like, and post your message/image/video in English. Express your love and friendship to your beloved one(s) or to the school community. Have fun and enjoy the love season!

On behalf of 

your English Teachers 

GR 330

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St. Valentine's countdown

It's Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day at Pine Tree

Yo!santa@pole

                      A cartoon by Dave Granlund

To all my students, I wish you enjoy the most of this school break!... As for us, teachers, we still have hard work ahead! Yet, time will come to wish my peers Merry Xmas! See you next week!...

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This month is MINE

Xmas wishlist

Conversation activities

BusyTeacher presents the following as '7 Great Go To Activities for Conversation Class'. These tips might be useful when the time comes for our students' oral assessments. They need to practise, and practise, until they're ready for the moment in which they show how much they master the English speaking skills. And for us, teachers, it's great to have a reminder of how to vary our activities in class!

Click HERE to view the image in full size

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Tips on oral presentations

T@PT is 1 year old

Yep!... It's been a year since I started blogging!... And you've been there all the time, reading, laughing, and thinking over with me!... By following T@PT, you are giving it life! Thank you so much! I hope it has been of worth value for you! It has surely been for me! Have a piece of cake and let's hope for another year of newsreports about the Anglo-saxon world events, ELT & web 2.0 tools suggestions, British & American traditions reminders, inspirational people and thoughts, cartoons and the never to forget homage to the work done at schools both by teachers and students!... Before starting our celebration, may I suggest you a tour around T@PT's timeline, as well as the Index, so that it is easier for you to look up for posts at this website. I'd also suggest you to take a look at T@PT's newest page: The Students' Corner. As the name itself says, it is a place in which students write about whatever topic they feel like, in order to develop their writing skills. Having said this, let the celebration begin: Happy Birthday, Teaching @PineTree!...

Picture via Google Images

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T@PT is one month old

T@PT is two months old

Six months blogging

World Teachers Day

Held annually on 5 October, World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is an important date in the calendar of the entire educational community. Celebrated since 1994 across the globe, it is an opportunity to honour the teaching profession and support teachers in their efforts empowering people to build a better world.

The theme for this year’s World Teachers’ Day is: 'Take a stand for teachers'. This is a clear call to all stakeholders to acknowledge teachers’ crucial role in transforming the lives of learners at all levels of education. Moreover, the Day should be a time to reflect on the difficult economic and social context in which teachers work and find ways of improving their professional status and working conditions and those of all education personnel.

This year’s WTD coincides with the 11th session of the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART). This will be held in Geneva from 8-12 October. Two main Recommendations define international standards for the teaching profession: the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) and the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher Education Teaching Personnel (1997).

Governments worldwide claim to support the values and principles in the Recommendations. However, many do not actually demonstrate respect for the rights enshrined in them, nor do they implement policies that comply with them. So, it is critically important that the CEART monitors the application of the Recommendations, ruling on violations of teachers’ rights.

In Geneva, the Joint Committee will examine reports on the application of the Recommendations and communicate its findings to relevant authorities so that they may take appropriate action. Education International (EI) will use the WTD, the CEART session and other opportunities to highlight the state of the teaching profession and education worldwide and call for urgent corrective and proactive action.

'Teachers play a critical role towards the achievement of the Education for All goals by 2015, nurturing future generations and therefore ensuring the sustainable development of societies,' said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. 'Highly trained, professionally qualified and motivated teachers, working in well-resourced and supportive environments can provide quality education to young people and adults.' 

In, Education International

Image designed by Nathalie Hardy, from CTE-FCE, Canada

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Thank a Teacher Today

Give your Teacher an Apple

Rebranding Teachers

Teacher Appreciation Week

If I weren't a Teacher

Scooping ELT

Credit: Google Images

Now that I've finished scooping the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, (as I mentioned on yesterday's post), my 'new' scoop.it is about English Language Teaching. I started curating this topic on July 6, being my first scoop 'Yes, you can: 8 keys to being a successful ESL teacher.' My purpose is to gather information about ELT, update teaching practise and share resources that might be useful for any English language teacher. From all the articles I have already scooped so far, I would like to recommend 'An open Thank You letter to Teachers', 'Teaching and learning through social networks' and 'Too tired to teach? 7 tips to detox, de-stress and regain your energy', among others. The Grammar series posters by BusyTeacher.org are also quite handy. From now on, this scoop.it will be displayed on the right side bar of T@PT. I hope it is of worth value for you.

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Scoop.it

The exams season is about to begin...

It's not a good season! Definitely NOT! Neither for teachers, nor for students! Every teacher has already been a student, so it's impossible not to remember how we feel amongst the tons of papers one has to study! But as teachers our life hasn't become any easier, you know... Someone has to correct the exams... Have you got any idea how long it takes to correct a single exam? Trust me, it takes much longer than you can possibly imagine!

Having said this, in case you feel like the caption below the picture, don't forget that you are not alone! Studying, dying, correcting & marking exams... It all comes together in the same miserable packet!

Let us yet keep calm and get focused: it's just the "exams season"!... Holidays will be here soon enough... I mean, the end of July is not that far, is it? "Time is psychological", I've heard that before!... Let us keep calm, anyway!... Always keep calm and carry on!... We'll make it through this 'dying' season!...

Found it @9GAG.com

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Cartoons and Funny Videos

Six months blogging...

STATISTICS:
46 followers
137 posts
20 761 total page views

T@PT is a journal, a daily record of occurrences, experiences and observations... 

Here, I write about Teachers, Students, Schoolmates, and my School... I also write about the English language, ELT tips, and web 2.0 tools, the world wide web, and social networks... British & American traditions, world events, celebrations, and curiosities; humanitarian causes, as well as environmental issues; books and reading, motivational quotes, and inspirational people; last but not least, HUMOUR! In order to keep you on track, I have inserted an INDEX BAR at the top of the page so that you can easily find the topics that fit your purpose the best, besides the BLOG ARCHIVE on the righ side bar, and the SEARCH THIS BLOG button.

When I began writing I didn't quite know which direction I was heading to... Six months later I realise it's hard not to write on a daily basis (except for the weekend) as it has been very therapeutical to me!... This has been my inner motivation, along with some fantastic students and schoolmates that make my school day a better day, nonetheless some greyish clouds!... It's been a while since I've felt this motivated!...

I'm very proud that students are part of my followers list. I not only write for or about Teachers, but also for and about Students! Actually, they feel they are part of this project, which explains why they follow, read and comment some of my posts!... In addition to, the right side bar has some links that lead them to useful learning tools, such as monolingual dictionaries and a grammar online! 

The RIGHT SIDE BAR is constantly updated with quotes, cartoons, visual statements and events of the month. It also has two creations of mine: a word cloud powered by TAGUL, which summarizes what T@PT is all about, and a 'Keep Calm and...' poster, powered by Keep Calm-o-matic, that invites everyone to join this site!...

T@PT is in constant change. You should expect novelties at any time!... Make sure you don't miss them!... The latest one is that you can see what I'm following on TWITTER, and eventually join the conversation! Overall, I hope you continue to follow T@PT and consider your time reading this blog enjoyable!... Your comments are more than welcome and very precious to me, as they make me think over whether this blog is a project with a future, or not!... THANK YOU!

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T@PT is one month old

T@PT is two months old