Posted 09-09-2009

I have no idea of what to post in this special day (in the sense that the numbers are unique), so I will just put Frederic Prenji’s article here. The title is

HOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON IN 7 DAYS

There are many things that you can do to become a better person. You can work hard, exercise, and eat well for example. All of these things are great, no question about it. However, in my opinion, becoming a better person starts with being selfless. Doing good deeds for other people without expecting to gain from it is one of the most rewarding experiences that one can feel in a lifetime. Becoming a truly better person begins with giving outwardly. I’ve come up with this challenge:

7 days to becoming a better person.

Each day you do something selfless, that will not even take more than a few moments of your time, and experience first hand what it feels like to transform into a genuinely great person. Here’s the challenge:

Day 1 – Tell someone you love them
So many people out there never take the precious time to express how they feel to the ones that are truly important in their life. Expressing your love shouldn’t be seen as taboo or a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of confidence, and an expression of what you really feel. There is nothing more amazing than to know that someone loves you. On this first day of the challenge, choose someone in your life to make them feel that special feeling. It’s very simple, just sit them down and say something along those lines: “You know I don’t say this often enough but I do appreciate our bond and everything that you do for me. So I just wanted to tell you that I love you…I wanted you to know that.” In two minutes, you have made someone’s day….forget day, you’ve made their month! So pick a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a friend….anyone that you truly care about and say the magic word. You may get a little nervous just before, but once you say it, I guarantee you that you will feel amazing. Yes, becoming a better person is not a chore….it actually feels great!

Day 2 – Open your ears and listen
Everyone has their share of issues that they deal with on a daily basis. We all at some point need to be heard. We need to get things out and just blow some steam. Unfortunately, the art of listening is fading away. It’s becoming more and more of a struggle for people to find a good pair of ears to vent off to. So on day 2 of your quest to becoming a better person, you simply have to be there for someone close to you. That’s all you have to do. Listen to them. Let me tell you, I do this all the time with my friends. I make myself available for them and I just listen. You wouldn’t believe how it makes them happy to have someone listen to them. No opinions, no judgment. Listen unconditionally. You may not have realized the power of listening yet, but this exercise will prove it to you. It can make a tremendous difference in someone’s life, and it’s one of the best gifts you can give anyone.

Day 3 – Apologize
We all have made certain mistakes. We’ve all done things we regret. Unfortunately, the majority of the time, we never take the opportunity to make things better, perhaps out of pride or ego. So we carry this along with us. Sure, with time, its impact may fade a little, but there is a much more powerful method to deal with such situations. On day 3, it’s time for you to swallow your pride and apologize. Look into your past. Is there a particular person that you have lost touch with or haven’t spoken to in a while? Regardless of what happened, this is not the time to decide who was right and who was wrong. This is about healing a wound. Apologizing is not an admission that you were wrong. On the other hand, it is proof that you are confident enough to say it. This act will not only make the other party feel much better, it will inspire them. So by being the “bigger person” and apologizing, you create nothing but positive energy all around. This is as rewarding for you as it is for that other person.

Day 4 – Give away a valuable
Nowadays, the only time people give each other anything somewhat meaningful is on birthdays and holidays. What about the other 360-something days of the year? Simply giving contains so much power in and of itself. This is why on day 3, you will choose something meaningful that you will give to someone that you know will like it and/or benefit from it. It must be something in your home, that you already own. Perhaps a painting, or a book. Something that you hold dear and that will bring happiness and value to the person you choose to give it to. You see, sharing your wealth is one of the best ways to prove how much you care and necessary to becoming a good person. These types of gifts are so much more powerful than anything given on birthdays or holidays, because it shows that you gave it because you wanted to, not because you had it. This brings a whole new meaning to that gift and will make the person appreciate it even more!

Day 5 – Volunteer your time
The first few days, you have given back to the people close to you, but now, it is time to take this further than the comfort of your own surroundings! Giving back to your community and your society is just as important, and an integral part of making everything as a whole, a much better existence for all involved. On day 5, it is time for you to give some of your time away. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can volunteer your time helping out at your children’s school, or at a local community center for example. It doesn’t have to be a full day or many hours. Volunteer the time that you can. What I mean is that instead of watching tv or surfing the web for example, take some of that time and do something that will help contribute to the development of your community. Ask around, could be something at work or related to a particular activity that you do. Nobody refuses a helping hand and everyone benefits out of it

Day 6 – Help out a stranger
So many people out there could use the help of some good people. After all, we are all humans and we should stick up for one another. I’ve always been amazed by stories of complete strangers risking their life to help a fellow human being. If we can just help anyone with a fraction of such a commitment, then we’ve all made a difference. On day 6, it’s time to do a kind gesture for a total stranger. Could be helping an elderly person with their bags, or helping a kid cross the street, there are so many tiny gestures that we can do in our daily life to help others it’s incredible. When you see a car break down on the side of the road, most people drive by, thinking that help is on the way or that someone else will stop. How about you become the person that stops? How about you become the person whose gesture makes a total stranger’s day? This is your opportunity to showcase how a good-hearted person reacts in such situations for the greater good of all involved.

Day 7 – Donate
The world is a big place, but in the end, we are a tiny community in the vastness of the Universe. All we have is each other. Although they may not live nearby, there are so many people around the world that need the assistance of good natured people. On this final day, it is time to take your good deeds global! There are tons of really good charities and organizations across the globe that make it their goal to help out those that are in need. Pick any organization about any particular cause that you may hold dear to your heart, and provide them with a donation. The internet makes it really easy now to find such organizations, so this final step is super simple and quick to complete. Donate whatever you can. The amount is not important. What is important is that even though your gesture was simple and quick, the difference it will make will resonate with far greater significance in the grand scheme of things.

So there you have it! 7 days and a better you comes out of it. As a matter of fact, if you have noticed, in becoming a better person, you have affected the lives of so many different people in such positive ways. With such small gestures each day, you have made a difference in your life as well as in other people’s, and that is what becoming a better person is all about. You may find that after these 7 days, you have now developed a habit and that you will continue each and every day to give back. If you have created a “momentum” of doing good deeds and that it will keep on going, then I have done my work. This can indeed become life changing! So you have the challenge and I would love to hear what you all have done and how it’s impacted your life and those around you

 

Hope you enjoy reading it…^_^

TV: No Way!

By the end of this month, we will celebrate our 3rd anniversary of not having any TV set at home. Yes, I gave up owning TV in 2005, the time when we moved from Balikpapan to Jakarta . I subscribed to cable TV when I was in Balikpapan, and I can tell you that was terrible since my family was addicted to it. In the following paragraph, I will tell you some negative effects of television, especially to our children (it’s a modification of my paragraph-writing assignment).

Bad behavior, poor health, and wasted time are problems that result from children watching too much television. The first problem on behavior is mostly triggered by children’s excessive watching on violent programs on tv. When children quietly and passively watch program such as crime news or killing scenes on tv drama very often, it can desentize them to violence and even instigate them to aggressive behavior. It is quite common now to see outbursts between brothers and sisters, as they frequently see quarrels and fights too on the screen. The second problem on health can be derived from reduced sleep time or constant sitting. Most tv lovers, including children, are absorbed in late television viewing, which only make their brain keep on awake and eventually cause poor concentration and sleepiness the next day. If this happens very often, how many brain cells children have destroyed within a week, a month, or a year? Also, children have no idea that sitting for hours in front of the boob tube, always wanting the next series of Naruto or exploding cars on serials action, is nothing compared to playing football or flying kites with friends, which are much healthier physical activities to do. Indeed, lack of exercising is one of children’s problem; they keep on piling up fat but never do the fat-burning: move, come out, and play. Now the last problem on time management: thousands of children hours are wasted on useless stories of “sinetron” and a few loud explosion. They should have spending this time on school work, studying, or productive play. In other words, children should make up the lost of time by reading, writing, exercising, playing monopoly with sisters and brothers, and other positive activities that can strengthen their brain or the family bond. Time is so precious that wasting it means throwing something very valuable in life. Seeing those negative effects, I think it’s better to cut the cord, throw the set in the street, and let children live without it. My decision to quit TV works well to improve their cognitive, behavior, and physical activities. Dare to try?

Activities in Teaching Speaking

Speaking is an important part of the learning and teaching process of English as a second language . Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued because English teachers continually teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues. Nowadays, however, the goal of teaching is shifted to improve students’ communication skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in certain circumstances. There are several activities to teach second language learners how to speak communicatively.
The first activity is discussion, which aims at drawing a conclusion, sharing ideas about something, or finding solution on a problem. In this activity, a teacher must set the purpose of discussion in the beginning, so that students will discuss relevant points according to the purpose. In addition, they will not spend their time chatting with each other about irrelevant and unnecessary things.
The second way of setting students to speak is role play and simulation. In role play activities, students pretend they are in various contexts and have a variety of social roles. The teacher then gives information to the learners such as who they are and what they think or feel. For example, the teacher can tell the student, “Andy, you go to an accountant and tell him what happened to your business last month.” Simulations, on the other hand, are more elaborations of role play, because students can bring items to class to create a realistic environment. For instance, if a student acting as a doctor, he brings a stethoscope to examine his patients, and so on. Role play and simulation have advantages. For one, it is entertaining as well as motivating students. The second advantage is increasing the self-confidence of hesitant students, because they have a different role and do not have to speak for themselves, which means they do not need to feel ashamed of making mistakes.
The third activity is brainstorming, which necessitates students to produce ideas on a given topic in a limited time. Brainstorming is very effective to encourage students to speak up their thoughts and feelings quickly and freely. The good characteristic of this activity is that students are not criticized for their ideas, so students will be open to share new things collaboratively.
The fourth and the most favorite, in my opinion, is storytelling. Students can briefly summarize a tale or story heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell to their classmates. This activity encourages students to have creative thinking, because they must organize the story in the format of beginning, development, and ending. In addition, students must be able to describe characters and the setting of the story very clearly. By this activity, the teacher can both explore students’ speaking and entertain the class.
The last activity is reporting, which integrates students reading or listening skill with speaking ability. Before coming to class, students are asked to read newspaper or magazines, or to listen to news on radio or television. Later in class, they report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news. Students can also express their opinion about the news, or tell whether they have experienced anything related to the news worth telling to class. This activity fosters the creativity of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.
In summary, teaching speaking can use a variety of communicative activities, ranging from discussion, role play and simulation, brainstorming, storytelling, and reporting. By using those communicative methods, students will have more opportunity to communicate with each other based on real-life situations, or to engage in active tasks to promote their confidence, creativity, and speaking ability in the ways that are meaningful and fun for them.

Reference:
Kahyi, Hayriye