News

The quest to conquer the other North Pole

A British team is planning to sett of a trip to conquer the center of the Arctic Ocean where there is a Pole that hasn’t been walked on yet. Artic Pole is the point that it’s further from any speck of land. This trip means more than 1000Km trough an unforgiving place in the most remote location. 

Next year’s expedition will be the third attempt of Jim McNeill’s. The other two times he can’t complete his plans due to a heavy storm the first time and because of an infection he gets at the second time.

The story said that was in 1950 when the Pole was reheard for the first time by a Soviet Expedition. This Expedition builds a hut there and they also put a bust of Lenin. When in 2007 the station was revisited the bust was the only thing visible in the snow. 

A lot of explorers have thought that they have been in the Artic Pole: first the Australian polar explorer Hubert Wilkins in 1927 and then the British Wally Herbert after 5900Km by feet over the Arctic Ocean in the 60s, but was McNeill who first thinks that the coordinates were wrong and effectivity they were.  A Scientific group, using their satellites, could prove that the real “Northern Pole of Inaccessibility” was 214Km away from the old point. 

In 2013 were announced the new coordinates so it means that, at the moment, nobody has arrived at the “real Pole” yet. 

The Pole can be reached by trekking across the ice that covers the ocean. The temperature in this part of the world can be -50C in winter and from October to March is completely dark. But even so McNeill has planned his third trip. It will take theme about 80 days and they will measuring the ice to help to compile information about who is the ice breaking up. 

The climate change is changing the Pole quickly. In few years, the Inaccessible point could be reached easily because of the boats could sail more Km inside the ice. This fact makes the expedition harder and dangerous. McNeill and his team will be starting the journey this winter and they hope to can be cross the ice before it starts to melt. 

Well, it seems an amazing expedition through the Pole and I really look up to theme but if they offered me to go very likely I would say no. Of course going to the Pole may be an amazing thing but these kinds of expeditions are one of the hardest! 

I find amusing and surprising the fact that, at the moment, nobody has arrived at the Pole yet! On the one hand, we have all those who follow some bad coordinates. The amusing fact is that they think they were in a good place. I also think that the Russians who carry with the bust of Lenin to the Pole were so much convinced about what they were doing… and there remains it!

But when you read that there still are a place in the world where humans have never been before…is astonish. Nowadays we are exploring new planets or new galaxies that they are billions light years from here and there still places in our own world where we have never been before. And now I’m not referring only to this part of the Pole but, for example, to the deep ocean. 

But finally it seems that we could cross off one more place on our list of places to conquer.

Luna27

The return of humans to the Moon

European and Russian space agencies are preparing a new space mission to come back to the mood. They want to explore the Moon’s south pole and search water and raw materials to make fuel there and, if is possible, settle down permanently. The mission is called Luna27 and is set to carry out in five years.

According to Prof Igor Mitrofanov, of the Space Research Institute in Moscow, the 21st century will be the permanent outpost of human civilization. Mitrofanov says that all the countries have to work together, not as the 60s and 70s when the first world powers competed for the “special race”.

In this way, one of the first intentions of the new head of the European Space Agency was to create an international group of work to build the mission.

The initial mission will be robotic. Luna27 will land in the darkness part of the Moon which is one of the coldest parts of the solar system. There can be icy water or chemical substance that the sun hit has not damage. Scientific think the South pole of the Moon is a completely different environment with an extreme cold and, for this reason, you could find water-ice and the chemistry which is in the surface.

Scientifics from the mission also think that the fact of building a permanent human presence in the Moon surfaces will have a lot of benefits: for astronomical observations, the use of minerals and other resources from the Moon or as a starting point for the future flight to Mars.

Nowadays there are already partners who are developing a new type of landing system able to decide for itself which area is safe of not for the landing. Europe is also proving the drill which should go down and collect all kind of materials and substances. And a miniaturized laboratory will be provided for the searching of the key ingredients with which oxygen, fuel and water could be made.

This sentence summarizes the importance of this mission for the scientifics and the humanity: "This whole series of missions feels like the beginning of the return to the Moon, but it is also starting something new in terms of overall exploration of the Solar System,"

#LikeAGirl

Do we limit girls and tell them what they should or shouldn’t be? Do we box them into expected roles? The answer to these two questions should be: of course NO!

But I’m sorry because we know that the real answer is Yes, we do. Some days ago I was watching a documental about Advertising Awards. It was about the best advertisement during the year and they were all very witty and funny (publicity can be ok sometimes). Well, the fact is hat during the documental I see one of those advertisements that make you think about. It was made by Always a kind of organisation which defends women. This is the idea of Always: We want all girls to live life to its fullest potential and we’re right here to back all of you. I think this is a great organization which fights against “the delay” there are now a day in all societies. Is true that in some countries this fight have had results but we still have much more work to improve many things and there are countries where these fights only have begun. 

Anyway, the advertisement answers the first two questions. In there we can see how different people, of different ages and races, make a casting. First people are asked about the social limits that girls have in our society. Then the casting director tells them to do different activities but they have to do “like a girl”. For example, the director tells them to run like a girl. 

The results are shocking: 72% of the girls feel society limits again them! And what is more, the words “Like a girl” should have a negative meaning whatever you use it. 

When Always realize of the results is when they decided to start a social experiment called #LikeAGirl to increase the confidence changing the meaning “Like a girl” from an insult to a compliment. The campaign is encouraging all girls to break social limitations. 

I think it is one of those campaign that are worth and everybody should know about it. It is another step to approach to equality. The thing is this one are trying to change the things from the start, I mean, trying to change think in all girls that are who should fight in a future against all the “restrictions” the society puts on them by the simple fact that they are girls. 

E-mail

Hi, Sonia! 

I’m Berta Mateos, yes, which look like Andrea, but we are twins so it’s fair. I know (because it is typical) that you probably are going to confuse us and you are going to change our names, but no problem, other teachers also do it and they don’t have us in the same class, or what’s worse, they only have one of us in their class. 

This is the first time we coincide in the same class, so now, I will proceed to introduce a little myself: I live in Sant Pere Pescador. This will be my sixth year in Castelló d’Empúries high school and I’m coursing scientific batxillerat. I play football in a female team and we really do it great, now we are playing in the top league of Catalonia. I also like read and I really enjoy cinema! 

Well, one time the presentations are done and now we know each one better (I mean, you know me better), I will try to answer our principal question which is the interest of this e-mail: “What’s my dream?”

I think this is a very open question and I considered it difficult to answer. It is supposed that each teenager should have a dream because he’s young and he still should have expectative and some hope in the world, but I prefer don’t say I have a dream because I also want to fulfill it. So we can call them “plans”, between cometes because they don't exactly plan like go to the cinema, with an hour and a location in the time and space. “Plans” don’t have a special moment to be done and it is what I like it: for example they are less stressing than homework. But it doesn’t mean that you mustn’t work hard to get them, just the opposite, you must follow them, work always for them and find the time they need to they can become real. 

It is important because your “plans” build the kind of person you are: your mentality in front of all, your decisions with your priorities, the kind of person you are… because, you know, where there is a will, there is a way, and if you want something you are going to act according to achieve it. 

With this little clarification I would like to change the question, can I? My new suggestion is: “What do you want to do?”. Yes, I think it is more appropriate to the last “definition”. 

Ok, back to what got us here, there are a lot of things I like to do. For example, I really want to travel the world and my idea is do it. One of the things I really like more is discovering. Yes, discover. Discover new things, places, experiences, people, knowledge… whatever. 

I think if I have to choose one “plan” for my life, it would be “know how much I can”. 

The fact of try to achieve this plan involves, at the same time, to have to achieve “little plans” that lead me to achieve the principal one. For example: go to one concert of Vetusta Morla, see the enormous glacial and the highest volcanoes, meet some of my favorite actress, actors or writers, look at the polar lights or visit both the north pole and the longest dessert… and step by step this drives me to conquer my plan.

Another of my favorite “plans” is to write a book. This is something I really like to do because I enjoy to write and I also enjoy read so it sounds very good. 

Of course, I work to conquer my “plan(s)” and I also know that it just the beginning. So let’s go!

Bye teacher, see you in the next class!!:)

My joke

Last class we spend a little time telling jokes. This is what I said! (Please laught!)

The key to succes? GRIT

Angela Lee Duckworth tells us what the real key to success is. How has she discovered it?

She leaves his “successful” job as a consulting to become a math teacher in New York public schools. It was when she realizes that the IQ isn’t what marks the difference between his “best students” and those who struggled. Then is when she decided to become a sociologist and she started to study people, adults and children. Lee Duckworth and his team were able to predict with a surprising precision what children will be able to success in a spelling competition, what children will have more probabilities to graduate independently of his means, what employer could success in an important company or what teacher will be teaching at the end of the course in the schools from he worst neighbourhoods in the city.

All those different kind of success have something in common, and it is not the ability to learn faster or the ability to do it easily. This only works in school to difference better students from others who don’t have this facility. It means, that the fact of succeeding is not necessary related with our “brain capacity” how we usual think. In education the only thing we can calculate the best is the IQ of our children, but what happens when the success, in the school and in the life, depend on other things? And of course, it does. The real predictor of success doesn't relate with the IQ, the good look or the health, but with the grit. 

Grit is in our life and for that is also in our schools and can determinate which children is going to give up. For Lee Duckworth grit is having resistance, having cling to our future day in day out and work very hard to do this future real. We don’t know how the grit can be developed or how grit can be found and keep. The only thing we know is that talent isn't gritted. 

Everyone would have the key to success and everyone would like there was a potion with which achieve success. Many would be ok if only exist a pill with which they could improve their marks, pull more or earn more money.  What I mean is that everybody wants to success in their life but want it with the least effort. 

I think Lee Duckworth was very wise when she think that the real key to success is not the IQ, and she could see it quickly in their students. A lot of times, in the school, for example, we related that someone have good marks because he is very clever. A lot of times I have listening someone who excuse himself saying “oh, is not my foul, my head is not to avail” or something similar happened when they said that someone have better marks because of “he has more facilities and is easier”. I’m not going to refuse that is true the fact that someone could have more facilities to learn something than others. But what I don’t like is people who saying that are “despising” the amount of effort that there is behind someone who has better results than him.

Who excuse himself saying he doesn’t have “that facility” what is really saying is he doesn’t have the persistence and he doesn’t put the effort needed, or what Lee Duckworth call the grit. 

But grit is not only necessary in the school, grit is necessary for the whole of our lives: in the sports, in our job, in our relations… all need time to be done and what we considered more important for us is where we have to spend more time and effort with it. 

I know I’m only 17 and I don’t have enough experiences to give lessons, but if I have noticed something in all that time is that when you effort in something and you work hard for something is when it really works and when you really have the better results. I think that this idea is what Lee Duckworth called the theory about the growing mentality which says that the capacity of learning isn't fixed, it change according to the effort. Something similar happens with the rest of things; the result of something is closely related with the effort you made to get it. 

In conclusion, the key to success is something that all of us have in our hands and use it means that we are willing to accept both our failures and triumphs and consider their as a consequence because of the effort we have made and not as excuse to restrict our obligations or possibilities.