2020 started off pretty great, actually. I attended a JALT conference in Hokkaido in early February. Around this time, though, news of the virus was picking up steam and, as I was watching local and national news outlets in Hokkaido, I did get the impression that the “Corona” virus may be very different from previous virus scares in Japan.
Category: January 2021–2020 Vision
A Beautiful Gift from Corona
March 2020 started in India. Life was on its wheels, keeping us on the daily challenges and beautiful night dreams. And what? NEWS started flashing on the television saying “Corona Virus has attacked the world and it is spreading across the globe, taking life away.
Rise like a Phoenix from the Ashes of Scattered Dreams…
2020 started with beautiful dreams: a promotion at work, buying a house, a vacation to some new country, a secret wish of finding a soul mate, and then, Corona happened. It felt like God was determined that I face all my worst fears—Fear Factor 2020—and may the strongest person win.
Adapting Positive Psychology in ELT to On-line Teaching
One big change for me is that I’ve started using Positive Psychology on-line. Last July, the Think Tank did a special issue on Positive Psychology, particularly on using the “Science of Happiness” in language teaching. In that issue, we led with a video of Seligman explaining his model, PERMA.
A Very 2020 2020
I read a book this week!
I know, that doesn’t sound very exciting, but trust me, I’m dancing at my desk with this news! You see, I’ve been having a very “2020 2020,” as a friend so aptly put it, and dealing with my ongoing depressive episode has at many times felt like just the tip of the iceberg of craziness that this year has thrown at me (and all of us, really). Depressive episodes can last anywhere from 2 weeks to most of 2020, in my case. All my grand plans for 2020 have been postponed to… 2021, maybe?
Techno-savvy or a Passionate Language Teacher?
It was mid-March when we were busy with the 2020 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Annual Examination for grades X and XII, used to determine grades and college paths. Suddenly a brake was applied to the usual educational scenario due to the lockdown announced in our country, India. We were unable to meet our students and worried about their studies at the same time.
Keeping it Going
In their book The Psychology of Work and Organizations, Woods and West (2010) remark that organizations and the individuals that comprise them are in some ways like a single organism with an immune system ready to fight change. However, COVID’s arrival created an unprecedented need for educational innovation, instantly breaking through our defenses and forcing us to rapidly adapt to a new teaching environment.
Notice the Change
Lockdown in our small house in Melbourne this year meant: no travel, no office, no commute. For the first time, I was restricted to our small house and our small garden, but I learnt that this might also be an opportunity.
Locked down and curfewed-in, during the July and August winter, I gently sawed away the stray branches from the maples and the Ornamental Cherry Blossom tree in my garden so spring could bring leaves and flowers.
Building Sustainability Through Online Learning
Chito wants the United States of America to be run by a President who feels a sense of crisis about the environment, and who tries to solve environmental problems. Seto routinely criticizes more progressive political agendas as being socialist. “Which one, Chito or Seto, do you want to talk to?” asks a Japanese second-year high school student. “I think I’d like to talk to Chito because I’m also interested in environmental problems.”
Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the Fittest By: Maruska Nizzi Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin This meme was sent to me in April. Living in Bergamo, Italy, a daily