My reflection as a German language teacher

 My name is Kanwal Rukh. I work full-time as a German language teacher in Roots Ivy International, Riverview campus, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Having joined the IB school, I have seen my teaching practices evolve from being dull and rigid to being interesting, flexible and more student-centered than teacher-centered. 

I can apply the concepts learned in this workshop to my teaching practices by using such tools, aids and activities that help me develop and polish the IB-attributes in my learners, especially in my core subject. I will try to bring international-mindedness in them through my language teaching with the help of student-centered teaching aids.

This workshop is focusing on learners being the agents of change. This agency is being supported through the development of IB-learner profile, which aims at enabling the learner become a caring, knowledgeable, open-minded, confident and internationally-minded citizen, who is open to change and new concepts. 

I am developing international-mindedness in my students through my language lessons including German movies, German poems and stories. Games are an integral part of my lessons. I encourage my students to participate in global challenges in a way that I encourage them to make friends belonging to the new culture, holding discussions with them, bringing up problems existing between cultures, and finally coming to solutions. For example, sometimes students come to me and tell me how they met a new friend from Germany while playing the online game and how they were able to communicate with them, introduce themselves, and likewise. Activities like this increases international-mindedness. 

Professional Make Up Tips

Today, I am going to talk about some professional makeup tips. I have been collecting some awesome makeup since some years, and I am dying to try it out on somebody. And I cannot help my urge to share my researched tips and tricks for excellent makeup, party time.

1) Wash your face, and apply a moisturizer.
2) Apply a primer. I have got Makeup Academy Primer. The benefit of using primer is that it acts as a barrier between the makeup and your skin, so the makeup that you apply does not get absorbed in the skin and stays longer. Also, you get a more finished look. Primers are not easily available, so you will have to search a bit for them.
3) Apply eye primer. I have one which is called Urban Decay Primer Potion, which is the top one of all available in the world. It also keeps the makeup longer and gives a more finished look to it.
4) Now, start with your eyes. First, apply eyebrow pencil to highlight the shape of your brow. Next, choose the eye shadows that go with your dress. With the lighter one, make a base. Apply the darker ones on the outer corner of the lids. Try blending two or three colors to give a more professional look. Apply highlighter (which can be a light shade eye shadow) under the brows. Apply mascara, kajol, and false eyelashes (optional).
5)Apply bronzer, which is some shades darker than the skin tone. Apply it under the cheekbone where you will apply the blusher. Apply some on the temples, and the sides of the nose.
6) Now, apply the blusher. Keep trying cream and powder blush-ons. Make a pouch of your mouth, and apply the blusher to the apples of the cheeks going backward toward the ears. Blend it somewhat with the bronzer so that you do not get harsh lines.
7) Apply highlighter, which should be shiny, under the eyes over the blusher, and the front line of the nose.
8) Apply lipstick. First apply the liner and then fill it with the color that goes with your dress.
9) Style your hair and your are all set to knock people down with a feather.

Time Out

Sometimes, it becomes necessary for a mom to take time out for recreation. I dropped kids at school today, and decided not to do any work online, and get down to catch up with missed episodes of some favorite dramas, with a cup of hot tea. How time passes when you have decided to have fun! Maybe God does not want me to waste time.

Still, I feel it important to give myself breaks from the hectic routine. People think a work-at-home mom is as relaxed as a normal house wife, but the truth is that a work-at-home mom is busier than a working lady, as a working woman comes home leaving all office work behind, and relaxes; whereas, a work-at-home mom is all the time thinking about how to settle down her routine, which minute to save and from where, when to get kids to sleep to complete the work, and so on. I keep awake till late at nights to complete my work, and the days are even busier. But in the end, it's worth it.

Still, a day off is crucial to get back to senses. Next time I plan to catch up with my missed episodes of television shows, I am going to take out batteries from my wall clocks :D

Why Airplane Accidents Occur

Most often, it is the human error. The pilot may be overconfident due to his vast experience in flying, which may make him neglectful in the air. He may think he has enough fuel to reach the destination, when actually the plane is running out of fuel. Sometimes, the pilot may have to do forced landing due to fuel shortage, which is extremely dangerous at times.

Second, structural flaws in the plane are also one reason why planes crash. There may be extra load on the plane which results in its malfunctioning. McCormik and Papadakis (2003) assert that, "Any aircraft flying can be torn apart by pulling back hard on the wheel at an excessive speed and thereby producing loads exceeding the ultimate values for which it was designed. A pilot may fly through severe turbulence, like a thunder storm, thereby causing high loads" (p.4).

Bird strikes are another cause of plane crashes. They not only obstruct the view, but also get stuck in the engine of the plane, thus making the pilot decide for forced landing. U.S. Airways Flight # 1549 made a forced landing in 2009 in New York's Hudson River, because it was struck by migrating geese. Moreover, certain weather conditions are also harmful for flights. Strong wind, downdraught, rains, thunderstorms, and lightening, all can cause major plane crashes, like the one happened recently in Pakistan with the Bhoja Airlines.

Reference:

McCormick, B.W. & Papadakis, M.P. (2003). Aircraft Accident Reconstruction and Litigation. USA: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company. 

School Bullying

Bullying at school is an old yet serious issue, and parents need to be very informed about their children, in order to prevent them from being bullied. I read this news today: “Insults and threats followed 15-year-old Phoebe Prince almost from her first day at South Hadley High School, targeting the Irish immigrant in the halls, library and in vicious cell phone text messages” (Reitz, 2010), and was compelled to think about how can I save my child from being abused in school premises. I remember myself being slapped by a girl from the same grade, and the thing continued for a week. And, I was so timid that I would not even tell my mom about it. 

Bullying is defined as that continuous, unwanted behaviour (like shouting, mimicking, calling names, threatening, written abuse, forcing to do nasty things, and much more), having patterns of unreasonable and illogical criticism and disapproval, compelling the victim to get isolated, humiliated and singled out in crowd. There may be a myriad of facets of bullying. Bullying may be physical, emotional, cyber, oral, or written. Racism and sexual harassment also come under the umbrella of bullying. 

The point is how to prevent our kids from being bullied. In schools, teachers should promote such healthy relationships between students, that no student feels hatred for another student. Teachers should keep an eye on bad boys. Parents should be informed about their children's daily activities, especially their physical condition when they come back from schools. Parents should communicate with their children to develop confidence in them. These little things can save our precious little ones from being abused by their peers. 

Reitz, S. (2010, March 29). 9 charged with bullying Mass. teen who killed self. Associated Press.   Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100329/ap_on_re_us/us_school_bullying

How to Handle Fussy Kids

It is not always very easy for a mum to handle a fussy child. It is, in fact, one of the greatest challenges of motherhood. My younger one, the 3-year-old, fusses over what to wear every day. She has her  own choices, which may be so peculiar that she may choose one specific dress for 7 days a week. She will probe deeper into the laundry basket to take out her favorite piece of clothing, with me yelling at her not to wear that specific dresse that day. She is my mother or I hers, a difficult question. So, I let her what she wants.

My 3 year old princess

Her greatest fuss is over eating. She would stuff her mouth with the food, never intending to chew it or swallow. She can stay for hours keeping the food bite in her mouth. And that is the point I feel like giving her the lesson of her life LOL.

How to handle fussy kids is not easy. They will beat you with their stubbornness, and you will end up having a severe headache. So, my advice is letting them want what they want to have, while keeping your nerves and control over her choices at the same time. You have to be an authoritative parent to do so. You should be able to reason with her, and tell her the goodness or badness of choices she is making, and then leave the decision on her. This is how she will learn to take decisions, make choices, and respect you, and more importantly, herself.

UPS for Dummies

In today's world of technology, it is good for people to be familiar with the handy equipment that can save them lots of energy, time, and distress because of loss of electricity supply. UPS is one such useful device. An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is used to protect electronics in case of power surges and blackouts so that the attached devices get an unremitting supply of power. A smart UPS is simple and cost-effective. A bigger battery size adds to its smartness as it allows greater backup time by keeping on supplying conditioned power stored in its batteries for longer periods. So, a smart UPS is one which has an extended battery life or battery capacity and draws less power or percentage load when it is on charging. A single phase UPS is always smarter than a three phase UPS as it is lower in price and higher in efficiency comparatively. In a smart UPS, the AC output is closer to the sinusoidal output which is an issue most important in case of on-line UPS’s which continuously have to supply waveforms to the computer systems. If internet has been connected on the UPS, then a smart UPS is able to communicate with its monitoring software through the network connection. A smart UPS is capable of efficiently protecting the connected devices from electricity fluctuations, electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI) which is also called dirty power. It saves amount that is spent on hardware by offering better results with simpler equipment. It is easier in installation by a lay man. It also saves on-going costs by demanding fewer repairs. In short, a smart UPS has less downtime, large battery life, simple equipment, and more output with enhanced productivity.