Goodness teaches us to see the positive and be positive. - 31/05/2010
Introduction
Goodness is something nobody runs away from; something everybody looks for, saying they experience it. According to its true definition, a very few people would not considered themselves kind, because everybody tends to goodness by its own human nature. But tending to goodness does ... |
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Overprotecting our children: thanks mom and dad, but let me be myself. - 15/05/2010
Introduction
In the United States, they are called “Helicopter Parents”; in Canada, they are know as “Snow Removal Parents”; in the Nordic countries people refer to them as “Curling Parents”… These are all ways to talk about those parents who, at all cost, want to save their children from facing... |
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Patience is a reflection of how much we worry about others. - 27/04/2010
Introduction
Patience is a reflection of how much we worry about others.
To educate we must overcome outside and inside obstacles. To overcome obstacles we need to be calm and patient. Patience does not mean indifference, insensibility or heart coldness. A patient man is the one who gets invo... |
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Educating in justice is much more than just teaching to follow some rules. - 31/03/2010
Introduction
Justice is one of the most important moral values human beings have. In the basement of it is the consideration of the human dignity as the most precious thing there is. Therefore if this is damaged, justice is the only argument to repair the damage. Justice is fundamental in our so... |
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By listening, we always end up winning. - 15/03/2010
Introduction
We will never get as much from a person as when we make the effort of listening to him. Listening seems very easy, but it is not, mainly because we dedicate very little time to it. When we listen carefully, all our being is disposed to serve our neighbor: recognizing we learn from h... |
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Forgive and you will help others and yourself. - 28/02/2010
Introduction
Forgiving is the greatest demonstration of love to others and, at the same time, is a way of living a life that only provides satisfaction and happiness. An individual that truly forgives suffers and cries, but fights to heal the injury. And this injury comes when we give up trying ... |
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The true freedom relays in fulfilling the obligations we have set. - 15/02/2010
Introduction
Freedom is the greatest thing we have as human beings. It is a gift that means our actions and life will have a value, which will depend on what we understand as freedom. The definition is clear, but it always depends in how we live it. The individual’s freedom will grow when he get... |
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Self-esteem is essential for our personal and social development. - 31/01/2010
Introduction
It is very hard to keep and educational balance. This can be seen with the difficulties we face in the approach we give to the many situations we experience. These difficulties are based many times in the lack of knowledge we have of our students or children. The knowledge, essenti... |
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Perseverance is our guarantee for the great goals. - 15/01/2010
Introduction
Our will is a quality that all human beings have and is solid, but influenced by many different aspects. These aspects shape it and we can count amongst them: our character, the habits we have acquired, maturity… Perseverance is one of the key aspects that shape our will.
In the... |
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Sanctioning: a way to help and to learn. - 23/12/2009
Introduction
The educational task is not easy neither for the parents or the teachers. Time, dedication and effort are the keys for a good education. One of the hardest parts though comes when we have to sanction. We can’t forget to set limits for our students or children, but we have to do it g... |
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Showing gratitude: the fundament to unity. - 30/11/2009
Introduction
Human beings live as members of a society. Nobody agrees that being lonely is the ideal life. But it is true that many times we live like the rest of the world would not exist. We just do not care about their worries, their joy, their sorrows, their successes or their failures. This... |
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Tolerance: much more than education and respect. - 14/11/2009
Introduction
In today’s society, it seems the word tolerance has become something where all the values and their opposing actions fit together. To seem tolerant, we can reduce the level of well understood authority, of making an effort, of demanding what we should, of defending our own points of... |
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Sobriety's freedom. - 30/10/2009
Introduction
“Sobriety maintains the person’s faculties and assures peace in the families”.
Alessandro Manzoni.
Society claims again a series of values that looked “overcome” with the new times arrival. Sacrifice, effort, will, good understood authority… are demanded as the base for our st... |
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The victory of frustration. - 15/10/2009
Introduction
Does frustration have an educational sense? As parents or educators, it is very hard to see our child or student fail. Failure, frustration or anger as a result of a goal that has not been achieved should only be a mere footnote. But it is not because of the excessive importance us,... |
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What to do: give or receive? Other people have the right of our service. - 16/09/2009
Introduction
Men and women have a natural tendency for perfection, although many times this is presented to us as something Utopian, as a result of our imagination. Reaching it might be hard, it might require an effort to resign to some things, but that does not mean we should stop that nat... |
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Forming the conscience: forming straight people. - 24/07/2009
Introduction
“For your right hand to ignore what your left hand is doing, you should hide if from your conscience”.
Simone Weil.
It is not easy to choose amongst several things, because the conscience does not work independently from the truth, but the truth does work independently from ... |
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Summer, a time to collaborate. - 30/06/2009
Introduction
“The art of resting is a big part of the art of working”.
United Status writer John Ernst Steinbeck (1902-1968), winner of the Literature Nobel Prize.
Summer vacations have arrived and it is time to change our attitudes. The habits we have gained during the school year (consis... |
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Someone cannot be too advisable. - 15/06/2009
Introduction
It is very hard to say “no” to a student or a child! But limits in education should not be seen as an imposition or possible future frustrations. They should not be perceived either as cutting freedom to them, because they are the guidelines for the children to choose in the right w... |
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Building the future: education on accountability. - 31/05/2009
Introduction
Responsibility and freedom are two sides of the same coin. In some environments, people only talk about freedom, rights, privacy, but they never talk about responsibility, obligations, obedience, accountability... A false freedom is the one that only reports to itself. An accounta... |
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Immaturity and a lackadaisical attitude... how to detect a lack of maturity. - 14/05/2009
Introduction
Make our students avoid all the hard situations they will face in life means to deprive them from a way of formation which will help them in setting up their own personality. The hard world in which we live, full of competitiveness, where many people only looks at the image, urges u... |
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Happiness could be also taught. - 25/04/2009
Introduction
Happiness must be educated. Happiness comes as a consequence from how we live our life and from the way we act. What is the key to that living and acting? The key is the good. When we live according to the good and we act in a good way is when we are truly happy and joyful. In the o... |
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Ten convictions for a teacher's practice. - 02/04/2009
Introduction
Being a teacher is one of the most passionate challenges, because nobody has a bigger privilege in helping to form the future generations of our society. This is the key in formation and development: every activity is directed to the students as human beings. The person’s interest i... |
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Allow the student to suffer the consequences of his mistakes so he can learn from them. - 13/05/2009
Introduction
Many times we complain about our students or about our children doing what they want, thinking they are not accountable and are being immature. This might by true in many cases, but it is also true that we, as teachers, have a lot to do with making the education procedures slower t... |
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Playing to win or teaching how to compete. - 28/02/2009
Introduction
“Be happy about life, because life gives you the opportunity to love, work play and to look at the stars.” Henry Van Dyke.
One of the biggest debates in children’s sports is how to keep the game fun in an environment of competition. Competitiveness is necessary to improve our... |
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The defiant pupil: daily discipline problems. - 15/02/2009
Introduction
“Half of our life is luck and the other half is discipline; and the last half is the most important of both because, without discipline, we wouldn’t know where to begin with luck” Carl Zuckmayer.
Frequently, teachers find discipline problems in their classrooms, but many times... |
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Keys to talk to our adolescent sons or daughters. - 31/01/2009
Introduction
"To establish a dialogue, first ask; then… listen". Antonio Machado. If there is a crystal clear truth is that parents and educators have much to say to their children or their disciples. If we add a fulfilled need to prepare for educating to the experience got throughout the y... |
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The effort culture: a key to succeed in the development of our children. - 13/01/2009
Introduction
“The secret of my happiness does not relay in making an effort to get pleasure. It relays in getting the pleasure of making an effort”, André Gide.
Learning without making an effort is an illusion. Never more than now society asks for demanding, authority and values at the same... |
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Learning from failure and not being afraid of taking risks. - 23/12/2008
Introduction
“Success comes from learning, going from failure to failure without following into desperation by it”. Winston Churchill.
Failure is normal. Nobody could say that he has not failed or that he has failed only a few times. The person who says this is does not know exactly what res... |
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Conflict can also be positive (if we know how to manage it). - 30/11/2007
Introduction
“Confidence is a better asset in a conversation than inventiveness”. François de la Rochefoucauld.
For the next 15 days we propose you to think deeper about conflict. This situation is going to happen to us. The coexistence of a group of people generates the risk of conflict. Bu... |
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Character and self improvement (and II). - 12/11/08
Learning to use our individual resources.
Two ways of facing things.
The attraction of virtue and of doing good deeds.
The risk of being slow.
The power of education.
Learning to use our individual resources.
To explain the reason behind their faults, some people te... |
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Character and self improvement (I). - 20/10/2008
• The window for a change. • A change of perspective.
The window for a change .
The kid was 14 years old and we could easily say that he was a total disaster. He had a very bad character and he was incredibly apathetic about everything. He barely paid attention in the classroom, and a... |
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The role of the family in sporting education for children - 01/10/2008
1. Encouraging their children’s participation in sports. Parents can favourably influence the likelihood of this participation by informing their offspring of the different opportunities to practise sport in their free time (at school as an after-class activity, joining clubs, in local municipal fac... |
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As being tidy - 06/06/2008
Introduction
Order
“Order is the opposite of disorder or chaos. It is an organized and coordinated method of developing something or making something work. Generally speaking order could be defined as the organization of parts to make something accurate and functional. It also includes a co... |
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How and when to teach responsibility - 21/12/2007
Responsibility
Instilling the value of responsibility in children is one of the greatest gifts a parent or educator can give them. This virtue will give them the capacity to look after themselves and be responsible adults in their future lives. However, a lot of parents will ask themselves: “W... |
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How to be a good leader - 09/12/2007
Leadership
“Leadership is a radically personal phenomenon which has a universal and expansive vocation. Each man and each woman, genuine and unique, has to lead their life, manage their career and take ownership of their ideas and thoughts. In a word, they have to ‘mark’ their trajectory.” (1)
... |
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What isn’t given away is lost - 23/10/2007
Introduction
Generosity
“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity” said Lev Nikoláyevich Tolstoy (1828-1910, Russian novelist). Happiness, as he indicated, resides in forgetting oneself and putting the needs of others before one’s own.
Generosity is a virtue which leads us to give... |
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Tell me how you punish your children and I’ll tell you who you are - 16/10/2007
Article based on one written in consultation with the family counsellor Maite Mijancos and published in the magazine “Hacer Familia” Nº 116, October 2003.
The experts say that from seven years old onwards until adolescence, parents can expect a few peaceful years…the best time to sow the crop. T... |
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Educating from consistency - 01/09/207
I wish my parents, and you, could put yourself at my level (the person writing these serious yet confident words was Daniel, a seventeen-year-old student, resolute and reflective at the beginning of the first tutorial session of the course).
I don’t like the fact that adults always talk with such... |
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Thinking about win-win - 26/07/2007
Introduction:
Charity
Sometimes, we believe that for things to go well for us, we have to harm others (win-lose, a selfish attitude) and for others to be OK we have to harm ourselves (lose-win, victim-like attitude). We have to be adaptable and discover that on many occasions we can take de... |
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Why did I say white when I meant black? - 17/07/2007
Introduction
Courage
Paulo Freire refers to dialogue as: “saying the genuine word, which is work, praxis, changing the world, saying it is not the privilege of a few men but the right of all men…saying the word with reference to the world that has to be changed means a meeting of men for th... |
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Do your players ‘sweat blood’? - 30/06/2007
Introduction:
Sacrifice
Ask yourself with what degree of commitment do your players involve themselves in the common good of the team. In other words, do they sacrifice themselves for the team?
Leaving aside the rather drastic circumstances in which the word ‘sacrifice’ might mean the of... |
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I understand: I suffered the same as you - 05/06/2007
Introduction:
Understanding
Quotations :
- He who does not understand a look will neither understand a long explanation . (Arab Proverb.) - Man is always willing to reject what he does not understand . (Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662. French scientist, philosopher and writer.) - We scorn ... |
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Be yourself! - 30/03/2007
Introduction:
Assertiveness
Communicating is much more than just speaking. We are always communicating, even in silence. One way of interpersonal communication is assertiveness, which allows us to safeguard our own opinions and rights without hurting the feelings of others, or being attack... |
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Don’t let me down! - 09/03/2007
Introduction:
Friendship
Friendship is one of the most important emotional factors in our society. If we are sure that food is absolutely essential for the good-functioning of our bodies, then we should reach the conclusion that for our bodies to work well, our state of mind plays a very sp... |
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Is it so hard to say “I’m sorry?” - 15/02/2007
Introduction:
Forgiveness
“Gaining revenge for an offence is putting yourself at the level of your enemies; forgiving them for it is making yourself superior to them”. François de la Rochefoucauld
Asking forgiveness means accepting you have made a mistake, that you have done something ... |
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The three keys to sporting success: work, work and work - 03/02/2007
Introduction:
The work ethic
Everyone following an objective knows that depending on the effort you put into it, the chances of success are greater or lesser. That is not rocket science. We find the real issue in the attitude of the person and in their capacity for the secret of sporting su... |
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WHAT HAPPENS IF RESULTS DON’T ARRIVE? - 18/01/2007
Introduction:
Patience
“Patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet”. Jean Jacques Rousseau
In any kind of vaguely regulated physical activity, results are seen as an objective to be achieved.
In team sports (basketball, football, handball, etc) the trainer’s efficiency and effecti... |
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How to get them to pay attention to you – for once and all! - 09/11/2006
Introduction:
FRIENDSHIP, AUTHORITY AND OBEDIENCE
The friendship between parents and their children can easily be reconciled with the authority education requires.
A dynamic of great trust and freedom is required even at the risk of having the wool pulled over your eyes occasionally. ... |
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I have a player who doesn’t perform to standard in competitions - 20/09/2006
Introduction
On occasions, we come across a player who doesn’t come up to expectations in competition without really knowing why this occurs. This complicates the objectives of the group, the trainer and above all, the player in question. To solve this problem we have to get to the bottom of the... |
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Trust - 31/08/2006
“If you’re injured, you’re injured”
There was a famous player from a top club who hadn’t accompanied the team to an important game, alleging he had a serious injury. Given the attitude of the press and public, with rumours about this being a ‘made-up’ injury, the player felt obliged to go and s... |
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I have a demotivated player on the team! - 14/06/2006
By Richard Fuentes
At one time or another all we trainers have had a demotivated student. This demotivation may have a variety of origins or causes. In some cases, they are passing circumstances to which not too much importance needs to be given. In others, the causes may be deeper and we need t... |
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I have a player who ignores me! - 30/06/2006
As a trainer, who hasn’t found themselves in this situation at one time or another? NO-ONE
It is pretty depressing to find yourself in a situation where you face a totally passive attitude on a player’s part, especially if that person ignores you as a trainer, with all that implies both for the p... |
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I have a player who behaves badly! - 15/05/2006
By Jordi Roldán:
Those of us who dedicate ourselves to education in any field, be they high schools, colleges, universities or sports centres, are aware of the difficulties with behaviour and attitude which arise among certain young people nowadays.
Some children, especially when they are app... |
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I have an aggressive sportsperson! - 04/04/2006
By Daniel García
Nowadays aggressive behaviour is becoming more and more common in everyday life and there are even occasions when it is regarded as completely normal. When we talk of aggressive behaviour we are not only talking about street-fighting or beatings-up but other kinds of widespread ... |
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I have an obese sportsperson! - 04/04/2006
By Bienve Gómez
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for this boy to do sport: he finds it hard to move, has difficulties breathing, gets tired straight away, I can see his limbs are suffering and he easily gets demotivated. What’s more, his team mates sometimes make fun of him. If I leave him on t... |
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I have problems with my players’ parents. - 20/02/2006
By Ignasi Taló
For many trainers, the relationship with team members’ parents is a delicate subject. The trainer-player-parent(s) interaction is crucial to the development and improvement of the sportsperson and as such should be examined carefully.
Problems arise from two extremes. Some pare... |
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