Friday 7 November 2008

"ABOUT A BOY" FORUM - TOPICS


This activity is for my English students who have read "ABOUT A BOY" by Nick Hornby.
Read the following questions and post your ideas and opinions. There are three different forums, so feel free to check them all.
"GROWING UP HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH AGE" DO YOU AGREE?

WHAT MAKES A GOOD PARENT? WHAT ARE THE MAIN PROBLEMS OF PARENTS NOWADAYS?

SINGLE PARENTHOOD IS VERY COMMON THESE DAYS. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT IT?

ARE THERE BULLIES IN YOUR SCHOOL? WHAT CAN WE DO TO PREVENT BULLYING?

WHAT ARE THE MAIN PROBLEMS THAT TEENAGERS FACE NOWADAYS?

IS IT BETTER TO HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS OR JUST A FEW? HOW IMPORTANT ARE RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR LIFE?

15 comments:

Daniel Fernández Muriana said...

I'm agree. I think a person can grow up at any age. It depends on his life, his behave and his personality.
I think a good parents have to support their sons, listen to them and spend time together. The main problems of parents nowadays is teenagers don't spend time with their parents because they want to stay with friends.
I think single parenthood is very common because people don't think marriage is very important as our grandparents thought it.
I don't know if there are bullies in my school. Fortunately, nobody bullies to my friends. We have to stop this problems when we see it.
The main problems are bullying and bad company because there are a lot of teenagers in the world of drugs and alcohol.
I think is better to have a lot of good friends because it helps you to have a godd personality and meet more friends. Friends are very important in my life because I spend the same time with them as my family.

Montse Có said...

I agree with Dani in tha fact of single parenthood is more common because more and more divorces, nowadays is dificult don't have a friend living only with his mother or his father.
I don't know any next case of bullying. But in the last months I've heard a lot the words: Hit he!! Kick he! And I feel it degradant.
I think it's good have lots of friends but you have to look after the true, who are normally few.

Javi said...

I agree with them because now are a lot of divorces and children grew up in a poor conditions like children who usually stay with her father or her mother for a week o during the week stay with her mother and during the weekend with her father, and this situation difficult too much the good development of the childrens.

The main topics of the book are this one and the topic of the bullying.

Núria Martín said...

I agree with them.I think the people grow up according to the facts of their lives.
It doesn't depend on the age, there are persons who are old and not because of it they are more riper. The maturity depends of your decisions, your actions and relations.
I believe that good parents are those that help their children when they need it, they support them and they they tell the truth, and show the life to them as it is.
The single parenthood is increasingly common because there are increasingly divorces or is not thought about the marriage so much like before. In occasions when the parents divorce it makes an emotional unstability in the children. But I believe sometimes the divorce is better because a bad living together also is bad for the relation between parents and children.

bjhbcdnm said...

I'm agree, because it depends of your personality and the people you have around you.
I think there aren't a model of a good parent, because every kid is different, maybe if you get free to do what your son wanna, the kid feels sad because don't have attention, its very relative.
I think the single parenthood can be a difficult way of life, only you and your son and every day thinkin' if your son don't think so much about the divorce and if he or she's well. Life with another person is much easier like only you and a son ( I don't mention about marry, can be a bestfriend living with you and helping you )
I think teenagers have problems in the school, and if you don't have a hard personality, maybe you have problems, because bad people are in every corner...
About friends... well, you can count with one hand your friends, because friends stay with you at the beggining and at the end of your life, for the good and for the bad momments, the real friends are persons who stay with you a lof of years and accepts you on the way you are.


Júlia Fernández

Antonio Garcia Amela said...

i'm agree the facts can be the main reason to grow up.
a good parent is upset about his child's problems and the MAIN problem is the comunication between parents and children.
i think single parenthood is completelly normal.
i don't know if in my school there are bullies but a solution is the dropping out of the student, bullying can be really dangerous.
the main problems of the teens are the drugs and the school.
i think is better to have 10 good friends than 100 friends the relationships in my life are important and i need to trust in my good friends

soraya andrés said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
soraya andrés said...

I agree with people who think grow up has nothing to do with age, but I think it should depend on the age because the adults must be more responsible than childrens.
In my opinion, the parents ought to listen and give advice to their sons for be good parents.
The problem of the parents is that don't have comunication with their sons and they don't spend time together.
I want to give my opinion about bullies. In all the schools there are bullies but the teachers should avoid it because there are other students that can't concentrate because they are suffering bulling.

Silvia said...

I agree with this idea, growing up has nothing to do with age because I think that all the persons can grow up during the whole life, it depends of the personality of the person of his nature.
I think that a good parent have to spend time with his sons, because the most important problem in Spain is that there are a lot of childs that spend all the afternoon and sometimes they have to dinner alone.
About the single parenthood I think that they are similar to the couples, they have to spend time with his sons.
I don't know if there are bulling in my school but I know that it is an horrible situation and a lot of childs are depressed for fault of his classmates.

Idoya Aventín said...

Well, I think that the age is important, but every person is different. There are people who growing up before the rest, no matter their age.
A good parent loves his soon, and he want the best for him. The main problems are that the parents work a lot, and they don’t spend his time with them.
About single parenthood I think that, we and the above the children, must get use to because it’s very common. In the future this situations increase.
I don’t know if in my school there are bullies. I think that we must accept the people as it is.
The teenagers have a lot of problems, in his home, in the school, and some boys need to bully someone to feel good.
In my opinion, I prefer have two or three good friends. In the teenager’s life friends are very important, I think it’s impossible live friendless.

montenegro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
montenegro said...

I’m totally agree with all of them. There’s no age to finish of growing up. There are people who are late in growing, but it is because they have problems, probably. But this fact doesn’t mean the person doesn’t grow, he/she will grow later. Each one grows in his time. Some facts mark day by day his life.
The main problems are sexual relationships or underachievement in studies. A good parent has to stay there, next to you, for all, and when necessary, help you (in your goals, I mean). Single parenthood is an important problem to pay it attention. When a father or mother is missing, there’s something is needed. Children always need a father and a mother for a good emotional growing up.
Probably there are bullies in my school, but unfortunately, we can’t see it. In the end, the solution is only the friends. Sometimes, it’s better to have a few friends (as people say: “There is only a few of them. You can count them on the fingers of one hand”)

Jenni Sànchez said...

I think that is really that some people can grow up an adult but people can grow up throughout his life since he can use their minds good.
Other topic in the book is the bullied. I think that this topic is very prevalent. Also it appears the depressions of people and the "solutions" that they find with their problems, as suicide.
Well, I think that the topic in general is the growing up from the characters to problems.

Ariadna Ortega Belmonte said...

The topic of the book talks about: single parents, suicide, depression, the bullying of classmates, Will relations....

Meritxell Tarres Gonzalez said...

Today there are many single mothers for different reasons, these mothers care for their children perfectly without the need for a father figure with the help of their families.