Discussion 1

Examine the picture of the school principal, Ms Trunchbull. Compare what you are being taught about being a caring, responsible, critically reflective and accountable teacher who should support learning in diverse educational contexts to the aggressive displays by Ms Trunchbull. 

Ms Trunchbull is far from being a caring, critically reflective and accountable teacher who should support and nurture learning in diverse educational contexts. When we reflect from her background we discover that she abused Ms Honey from her childhood until adulthood. This symbolises that Ms Trunchbull is an aggressive person who hates little girls the most. As Ms Trunchbull was a headmistress she was supposed to lead by example. If you work with children you have to love, care and support them in school and also in the community as learning does not end in school it continues at home. In addition, it shows that Ms Trunchbull had no mutual relationship with the wormwoods family as in the novel there is no event where she visited the family and see how they are living as Matilda was her learner in her school. Ms Trunchbull does not have respect for learners and her staff as she treats them rough and shows no respect at all. She punishes the children as in her school

there was a place where those children who play foul where locked up in as like in jail. She abuses the children emotionally and physically by accusing them for things they have not done and pulls them with their hair. 

The unmentioned might of a woman

·        From whose point of view is the article written?

·        From a woman appreciating other women.

·        From a man who appreciates women.

·        What values and attitudes are reflected in the article about gender relationships?

·        Men are active participants while women are silent working who never complain.

·        Women are better than men.

·        Women are not celebrated enough.

·        Women involvements are not recognised.

·        Men controls women deciding for them what they should and shouldn’t wear.

·        Men are ignored.

·        Do you agree or disagree with the writer’s portrayal of men in the article? Why?

·        No, I highly disagree.

·        Men are not ignorance.

·        It is a man’s duty to decide what his wife wears in order to see that his wife dress properly and respectful like a married person.

·        Men are not only physically strong but also hard workers like women.

·        Do you find the writer’s style of writing effective? Why?

·        Very effective.

·        The article is in a poetic form.

·        Topic is clearly indicated on top of the article.

·        Linking words have been used.        

Weblogs as an emerging genre in higher education

What according to the author is the value of weblogs in higher education?

      Web blogs provide a platform for individual voices.

      Web blogs allow students to write their personal reflection about a particular event.

      Students acquire more information on web blogs of others.

      Web blogs serves as an alerts about an event or danger.

      Web blogs can stimulate student interest in larger notions of the social construction of information as well as presentation of self and make plagiarism less attractive.

      Web blogs can be used to explore the development of genre.

      Web blogs assist educators in conveying insights about identity and hypertext.

      Web blogs format help to organize the reader`s online experience, which can be of special assistant to students struggling with new material.

      Web blogs provide educators with an assortment of new strategies for using hyperlinks in the context of presentation of self.

      Web blogs provides specific content areas for students (Art, science and politics).

What has been your experience with blogs as a student?

      When I post something on my blog no one comment.

      Sometimes I forgot my blog password.

      I learnt from other people’s blogs.

      Blogs helps me as a foundation phase teacher in training to be technologically wise.

      Fewer people have blogs accounts when compared to Facebook accounts.

        Blogs kept me busy reading other peoples blogs most of the time.

      People respect your opinion when you post your views on your blog about something.

How can the effective use of blogs be improved in order to make them a meaningful learning tool for students?

      Blog posts should be original.

      A blog should offer a window into the author’s identity and community affiliations.

      A blog should take advantage of the medium to offer a sense of immediacy and intimacy.

      There should be an authentic purpose for maintaining the blog.

      Blogs should allow students to give voice to their passions.

      Students must post on their blogs every week even every day like in Facebook or twitter.

      Blogs invite feedback and collaborative work.

      Notifications of a new block in preferred subject matter.

      Create a discourse between student and teacher in an educational forum as well as connect the student with peers, mentors, and subject experts through a digital global network.

      Students should avoid plagiarism.

      Every student must have a blog account.