This is the end...

It's over.

Oficially over.

Now we just have to wait.

Reading Project - Presentation II

The last presentations have been really nice and interesting. Like the others, some caught attention, some... not really.

I must highlight the ones that interested me more because I have this thing that, when I get confused by some reason, I don't understand what is being said and even if I listen and listen, something is lost. And, being completely honest, some just didn't caught my attention by the way they were exposed. However, that is another question.

So, highliting. Until now (since I believe there is one missing and I skiped one, if I'm not mistaken) and excluding the ones I already mentioned: Sara's presentation about The Doors of Perception, Bernard0's about The Heart of Darkness, the War and Peace presentation by Joana and today's Alice in Wonderland, by Tiago.

Very briefly:

Firstly, I had already said that I was curious about Sara's presentation and book and now I'm even more curiose.

These are the kind of books I enjoy, the ones that make me think about something deeper and more than the actual story.

In these presentations, thet feature was by some means highlighted. Or, at least, these were the ones that by the story caught me more and, by coincidence, had this feature.

That's why I enjoyed Bernardo's presentation too.

Well, I must confess that Apocalypse Now is one of my favourite movies and knowing there was a book which inspired it it was a impossible for me not to be interested. Bernardo showed as how both relate, although I just think the plot was too much explored. I know it is a very rich story, but details can be spared. At least for me; I like to know a summary of the plot, so I can discover the rest by myself. Nevertheless, he could show us how rich that book is and compell us to read it.

In the same line appeared War and Peace and Alice in Wonderland.

Both are classics, real classics, that are known by everyone and worshiped arround the world. They showed us why.

War and Peace needs no more words, but my idea of Alice... was a story for children, like the one Disney shows us. Now, I see that there might me much more than that, and it pleases me. I am a fan of Alice... and never saw how much it had to say. Now I am starting to see with other eyes...

About the presentations, both were good and showed us the book and all it is about.

So, summing up: good presentations, good book, bad for my books-to-read list!

Texts and exams

It came and went, that horrible thing that every teacher just don't want to skip, not even once! And, in some cases, are the only evaluation we have! How fair is that, our mark depending on that day, that hour, that moment, and a whole term's work flying through the window.

I believe I already said I am not a true supporter of written tests; at least as a major factor while "grading" (does that verb exists? If it doesn't, I've just created a new one).

The thing is, it kind of feels good to look at the up right corner of the sheet and see a good mark! It seems that all the time spent studying for it, even doing it, paid of!

Just like the exams. Ours are aproaching, nearer and nearer everyday.

Truth is, exams are necessary, country wide! That is the only time when students are in an equal situation, but does that mean that we can not have bad moments?

Everything seems to be too relative, too uncertain, but even our future seems relative and uncertain and we are fighting for a future!

I was surprised to hear that some teachers are supposed to be in a room during the exam, all by themselves, staring at yesterday, in case of a student having a doubt. Then they have to call to the ministry, se what they say, and then take the student's doubt. There can not be even a book in the room to spend the time, not even a magazine! Only because the Ministry isso afraid that the teacher could give some sort of help to the students who, by the way, are also closed in a room wih two freaking teachers! How could we be helped? And - this one rocks - if a teacher has a child in that school, he's not allowed to be even near the facilities!

Get a grip! So many fears... for what? What are the odds of a teacher sending a message to a student with the answers to question 1.3, and the student be able o read it?

I have a theory: the ones that write the exams are completely isolated from the society during all year, after all this.

Have you ever noticed that the exams arrive at school in those bullet proof vehicles? Full of policemen and guns and anti-theft bombs? Well, the last one is a little bit overreaction, but you got the idea.

Are they afraid of their own corruption?