Can the students' rights be stolen?

This entry has to do with bicycles and education, as usual.
At the beginning of the year the teacher of Didactics purposed us to write a blog about education. I thought that it was an interesting idea. I am not sure if I will continue with the blog, but a new project was born under this idea. But, What is it about?
I always liked knowing about other towns, its history, inhabitants, and how and when they were founded. 
So, I decided to buy a bicycle to start this project. The main idea was showing the audience those places through videos, interviewing people and take pictures to the landscapes.
I wanted to go around Entre Ríos' small villages. Is a good idea, isn`t it?
The project has an educational purpose. The motto of this project is "Learning about other places helps us to broaden our horizons".
Up to here everything was good. But yesterday, a person, a thief, stole part of this project. That stolen part was my bicycle. Nobody has seen anything but my house was broken into. Of course I do not want to give up and I will continue with this idea of sharing my experiences.
Does it have something to do with the title? I think so.
Everyone knows that in our country children have rights. One of those rights is the access to education.  We can`t  do this, can we? what if I say that not planning, not offering the correct tools to learn to our students, not being respectful are part of denying their rights? I am not a judge, and this is not the point but sometimes, teachers do not realise that some behaviours inside the classroom can deny the possibilities of learning. So, my bicycle was stolen, a part of the project was stolen. I cannot pedal anymore. At least for a long period of time until I get a new bicycle. Same happens with our students, if we steal their possibilites of learning they will not be able to pedal for a long time til a new teacher can offer that possibility again.
Being a good teacher is not about performing a speech in front of students. Being a good teacher is respect their rights, and not stealing their time. 


References

Retrieved from: http://www.ohchr.org/SP/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx art. 29

Pedaling for their future.

It was a sunday when I decided cycling for a short distance. It is necessary for me to pedal at least a few kilometers per day, because it is like a breath of fresh air that I need to continue with my routine.
During my pedaling I discovered that I can connect with the natural environment. Maybe it sounds like a stock phrase but I do has learnt how to connect with nature.

When I was returning home, I heard a group of teens calling my name. I glanced to everywhere, and then I focused my attention on the place that the sound was coming.
There were a group of ex students. My students. They got close to me to say hello. They started talking to me and telling me about their experiences in high school. They told me that they were attending to different schools, everyone of them attending a different one, but they remained friends.

So, my question was, What about your English? They told me that they were happy because many things that they learnt with me in sixth grade, were now useful for them. Suddenly, my face changed. I began to feel happiness inside my body, a rush of life through my veins, but not because my Ego was being fed, but because they could use what they had learnt.
Things like that do not happen every day. I talked with them almost an hour. Then, I decided to take my bike and go home. I kissed them on their cheeks and cycled away.

When I was pedaling home, I started thinking about this word, "reward". That reward was not money, or an expensive car, even a trip around the world, but something that I really cannot buy with money, a human relationship. Seven students calling my name, seven hugs, seven I miss you "profe". I wanted to cry or laugh, but nothing happend, my heart was just full of happiness while the wind was touching my face.

What Does PEDaL mean?

The initials PEDaL mean: 

PERSEVERANCE, if you want to teach and learn anything you must be perseverant, nothing is easy to get. 

EFFORT, we need to put in effort to reach our goals and this is the base for it.

DEDICATION, all the effort that we put in our task as teachers must be focus on our goals. Without dedication nothing is possible. If you do not study, if you do not spend hours searching and researching, if you do not dedicate your life to this profession just give a step aside.  

LEARNING, this is the process in which teaching becomes learning. If you are a teacher you do not have to think that you know everything,this is the other way around, when you teach, you learn.

In Brief, Perseverance, Effort, Dedication and Learning. That is PEDaL.

So,  If you want to ride this bike and pedal in this long road to education, we will do it together.