Unlocking Potential: A Teacher’s Bold Experiment in Ambition

Posted on Feb 4, 2025 in English

Reading Summary

This book is about a teacher who starts something new in her class. She claims that her students need a challenge in order to be more confident and become ambitious about their lives. So she decided to start a sports competition against the “greycoats” (students from a higher social status and with lots of ambition). During this story, we can see that confidence and ambition are some values that we can learn by being persuasive and enthusiastic.

Vocabulary

  • Team: A group of people who play a sport or a game together against another group.
  • Race: A competition to see who can run, ride, or drive the fastest.
  • Course: The ground where a race is run.
  • Competition: A game or sport that people try to win.
  • Mare: Yegua
  • Recording: Grabación
  • Shed: Cobertizo
  • Knackers: Desoladores
  • Score: Puntuación
  • Slide: Deslizarse
  • Stare: Mirar fijamente
  • Target: Objetivo
  • Gallop: Galope
  • Fool: Tonto
  • Examination: Examen
  • Compete: Competir
  • Believe: Creer
  • Ambition: Ambición
  • Double-decker bus: Bus largo

Writing

Structure of an opinion essay:

  1. Title: Introduction of the topic (general introduction of the topic you are going to write about. No personal opinions here).
  2. “For” paragraph (around 5-10 lines): Give several arguments why you are in favor of the issue, not just name them but explain them a bit. No contradictory ideas.
  3. “Against” paragraph (around 5-10 lines): Give several arguments why you are against the issue, but not just name them but explain them a little.
  4. Conclusion (around 6 lines): Do a summary of what you have said before, no new ideas.

Structure of a formal email:

  • Dear [Recipient’s Name],
  • Introduce yourself.
  • State the reason why you are writing.
  • The corpus of the email.
  • Farewell
  • Your name

Education Vocabulary

School Systems

  • British:
    • 2-5: Nursery/Kindergarten
    • 5-11: Primary School
    • 11-18: Secondary School
    • +18: University
  • American:
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • High School
    • College

General Vocabulary

  • Depend on: En adelante
  • Intend: Intención de
  • A-levels: Selectividad
  • Majors: Cursar
  • Principal: Director (US)
  • Public (UK): Privado
  • Private: Público
  • Headmaster: Director
  • Come up: Aparecer
  • Go out for a stroll: Dar un voltio
  • Anxious: Estresado
  • Actually: Actualmente (false friend – it means “in fact”)
  • Plenty of: Mucho
  • Playground (UK)/Playpen (US): Patio
  • Common room: Sala de estar
  • Pitch: Campo de fútbol
  • Tennis court: Campo de tenis
  • School of thought: Metodología
  • Cut class: Asistir (false friend – it means “to skip class”)
  • Drop out: Abandonar
  • Manage: Lograr
  • Learn by heart: Aprender de memoria
  • Score: Nota
  • Last but not least: Por último, pero no menos importante
  • Behavior: Comportamiento
  • In order to: Con el fin de
  • Facilities: Instalaciones
  • Idioms: Frases hechas
  • To ground: Castigar
  • To be grounded: Estar castigado
  • Punish: Castigar con agresividad
  • Hoodie: Sudadera con capucha
  • Attending: Asistir
  • Manner: Manera
  • Contents: Temario
  • Auditorium: Auditorio
  • Playground: Parque infantil
  • The head teacher’s office: Oficina del director
  • The locker room: Vestuario
  • The school grounds: Suelo de la escuela
  • Report: Informe, Declaración
  • Undergraduate: Los años de la carrera
  • Scholarship: Beca
  • Break: Romper
  • Cheat: Hacer trampa
  • Pass: Pasar
  • Revise: Corregir
  • Divide: Clasificar
  • Course: Curso, clase
  • Learned: Aprendido
  • Missed: Fallar
  • Graduate: Graduado
  • Classmate: Compañero de clase
  • Examiner: Examinador
  • Pupil: Alumno
  • Coach: Profesor, entrenador
  • Rubber: Goma
  • Stapler: Grapadora
  • Staples: Grapas
  • Backpack: Mochila
  • Crayons: Pinturas
  • Set square: Escuadra
  • Notice board: Tablón de anuncios