How to avoid getting sick this winter

Many of us say, every year, when we have a cold, "of course with the weather, I must have caught a cold". But at the risk of disappointing you, you don't catch a cold straight away.

When you catch a cold, if a swab is taken from your nose a large amount of rhinovirus will be found. The characteristic virus of the common cold. There are over a hundred different species.

When the virus comes into contact with the cells inside the nose, the so-called nasal cavities, it enters them. Then, our brave cells will work to reproduce it in several thousand copies. They die, releasing these multiple copies, which go on to infect other people. Our nose runs profusely, the mucous membranes are congested: it's the common cold.

All this stops after a few days. When our cells have acquired immunity to this virus, whether or not you have taken medication. As you can see, the common cold is a viral disease, not a cold disease.

If we catch more colds during the winter, it is indirectly linked to the temperature. First of all, the disease is contagious and is transmitted between individuals by air and contact. On a dry surface, the virus can survive for up to seven days. And the more you live indoors, the easier this transmission is.

Indoor heating, the main cause of colds

Paradoxically, it is not outside, in the cold, but inside, in the heat, that we catch a cold.

The second reason is mucus. In winter, we tend to overheat our homes. As a result, the air becomes dry, the mucus evaporates more quickly and our nasal cavities are weakened. The virus can then penetrate the cells more easily.

To avoid catching a cold, there is no need to over-cover yourself outside. Especially if you live in a confined space with an indoor temperature of 25 degrees. Above all, we must avoid overheating our homes and ventilate frequently. The barrier measures are the same as for the coronavirus.

Moreover, the circulation of rhinoviruses is currently very low. We are not giving up and we are increasing our chances of getting through this new epidemic wave and the winter colds.

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World Community Manager Day

The fourth Monday of January is International Community Manager Day, one of the newest and most booming professions in the digital market and, of course, in business.

Community managers or social media professionals are responsible for managing the interaction of a brand with its customers and followers through social networks.

And although it may not seem like it, it is a really difficult task, where you have to be very careful about what you say and how you interact with each member of the community.

History of the profession

The origins of the term 'community manager (online)' date back to 1995 with the advent of web-based role-playing games in the video games industry, involving a multitude of players. The roles have expanded to include a huge variety of responsibilities and skills including public relations, marketing, customer support and social media management. Game community management often includes communications support, open gaming community and IT developer. At its core, community management encompasses a little of each of these, while retaining its fundamental principle of ensuring open and rewarding communication between the developer and the community.

Although the term "online community manager" was not used at the time, the role has existed since online systems began to offer functions and features to support community building. These early efforts, in the form of bulletin board systems, had leaders known as system operators. The early 1990s saw the growth of major online. Key features of these services included communities that went by various names including communities of interest and special interest groups. Their leaders were referred to as "community managers".

What does a community manager do and what are their skills?

When you're a community manager, explaining your job can be frustrating, especially when you're dealing with family members or other relatives who find it difficult to cope with being regularly logged on to popular social networks such as Instagram, Facebook y Twitter, which are often filled with people who are not interested. We are quickly lumped together! To understand and know how to deal with this, you have to dive into the sphere of online community management to discover how important it can be for companies, their brands and certain personalities (artists, sportsmen, entrepreneurs and politicians, to name but a few).

What does a community manager do?

The role of a community manager is to act as a "bridge" between the cause for which he or she works (usually a brand, a company, etc.) and a community, i.e. a group of consumers or a loyal public with common interests. The community manager is the ambassador of the brand or company and must engage with real or potential customers by establishing lasting relationships of trust. It is up to the community manager to accurately measure loyalty to the company, the brand, using social listening tools to monitor feedback and engagement levels.

Why is the community manager not a social media manager?

The job of a community manager cannot be reduced to that of a social media manager. It goes far beyond that. While there is an overlap between their roles, with the community manager and the social media manager interacting with a community on the same social channels or platforms, there are clear differences. While a social media manager focuses on the logistics of content creation and distribution - managing a content calendar, posting to social networks and monitoring analytics - a community manager focuses on setting community guidelines and implementing them.

Moreover, the short-term goal is not the same, even when both professionals are working on the same channels. The community manager makes posts with the aim of getting customers to communicate with each other, a goal measurable by qualitative data such as quality or level of engagement. The social media manager will only make posts to pass on information or engage in conversation with customers. His action is then measured by the number of direct responses.

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International Hug Day - 21 January

A hug does a lot of good! Whether it is given by a child, a parent, a spouse or a friend, a hug soothes and reassures. This observation inspired the creation of a day dedicated to hugs, on 21 January each year. We will tell you the story of this day, which is good for morale and of public utility!

Hug Day

On March 29, 1986, in Caro, Michigan, Reverend Kevin Zaborney created the first Hug Day. He had noticed that his parishioners lacked zest and joy in the period between the beginning of the year and Valentine's Day. The explanation was simple: after spending the festive season with their families, many people were suffering from a return to a much colder and duller everyday life. Of course, the winter weather is an aggravating factor, but it was clearly the lack of human contact that was the cause of this downturn. Rather than letting them wait until Valentine's Day to receive love, it was beneficial to encourage people to unleash their affections towards the end of January.

The "Free Hugs" movement

Alongside Hugs Day, another good reason to put hugs in the spotlight is the "Free Hugs" movement.

The principle is simple: an individual offers, in a public place, a hug for free and manifests it by a small sign on which it is written "Free hugs". This concept was invented in 2004 in Australia by Juan Mann. He was far from his home town and found the big city sad and devoid of human warmth. He had the idea of warming up the atmosphere by holding up a small sign asking for hugs. It was an immediate success and the concept spread all over the world.

Send hugs

In honour of Hug Day, here are 5 ideas for making yourself and others feel good:

1. Hug the people you like instead of just shaking hands or giving a mechanical kiss.
2. Visit and hug an elderly or sick person. Older people sometimes understand a hug better than a long speech, and human contact is therapeutic. This is especially true for people with impaired hearing and vision.
3. To all those you can't hug because they are far away, we suggest you send a hug card.
4. Make your own "free hug" sign! A piece of cardboard, the two words written in marker and a little courage will be enough to follow the Free Hugs movement. Stand in a station concourse, town hall square or public garden and let it happen! What are you risking, apart from meeting new people?
5. If you don't dare to offer a hug to people you like, at least opt for a smile, which is easier to offer and doesn't commit you to anything.

Hugging has many health benefits, both physical and psychological. Among its main contributions are the following:

1. They provide security: Human beings are very fragile by nature, especially when we are babies, so a good dose of hugs helps us to feel secure and confident.
2. Provokes pleasure: Every time we hug someone or we are hugged, our brain secretes two substances: dopamine and serotonin, both of which reduce stress and together provide calm, tranquillity and tranquillity.
3. It covers our affective needs: People who do not show affection suffer from something known in psychology as skin hunger, which is nothing more than the need for human contact.
4. The best cure for shyness: It allows shy people to become more confident, open, spontaneous and self-assured.
5. Lowers blood pressure: People who do not have much physical contact have a much higher heart rate and blood pressure than people who receive frequent hugs.

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International Education Day - 24 January

Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as International Education Day, to celebrate the role of education for peace and development.

Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will fail to achieve gender equality and break the cycle of poverty that leaves millions of children, youth and adults behind.

Today, 258 million children and young people are still out of school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read or do basic maths; less than 40 per cent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary education; and some four million refugee children and young people are not in school. Their right to education is being denied and this is unacceptable.

The right to education is guaranteed by Article 26 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which promotes free compulsory education.

Access to free education for all is an essential condition for the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 4, which calls for "ensuring equal access to quality education for all and promoting lifelong learning opportunities" by 2030.

All over the world, the rights of children and young people to education are infringed:

• 265 million girls and boys cannot go to school.
• 617 million children and young people worldwide have gaps in reading and maths skills.
• Children living in vulnerable or conflict-affected countries are more than twice as likely to be out of school compared to those in stable countries.

Why is Education so important?

In fact, education is the basis for a just, egalitarian and self-sufficient society. Education increases people's productivity and as a consequence, the potential for economic growth. It makes people work at what they like and what they are good at, and it directly influences people's happiness. Because a fulfilled person is a happy person.

That is why education helps eradicate poverty and hunger, contributes to better health, promotes gender equality and can reduce inequality. In short, it makes for better societies.

The Right to Education is a human right.

What is the theme of this year's Education Day?

2022 marks the fourth International Education Day, with the following theme: "Changing course, transforming education". The aim is to reflect on the changes that need to be made to make education universal and of good quality.

The aim is to generate debate about how to strengthen education as a public and common good, how to lead the digital transformation so that technologies reach everyone, how to support teachers and give them the tools they need, how to help and protect the planet and how to make the world a better place.

#educationday

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Martin Luther King day: When is this holiday in the US?

Martin Luther King Day is an American holiday celebrated each year on the third Monday in January, in commemoration of his birthday. Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on 15 January 1929. At a very young age, he experienced the horror of racial segregation and police brutality. Little by little, he understood that there were two worlds in the universe around him: the white world and the black ghetto. He decides to become a pastor, as his father and grandfather did before him. It was in Pennsylvania that he began his "pilgrimage of non-violence". He took philosophy courses where he discovered the great thinkers such as Ghandi, who made a deep impression on him. In 1954, after completing his studies, Martin accepted a position as a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, in the southern United States. 

On Montgomery buses, the front rows are reserved for whites while blacks are tolerated in the back rows. However, if a white person ran out of seats, a black person had to get up and give up his seat. On 1 December 1955, a poor 50-year-old black seamstress, Rosa Parks, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. It was following this arrest that Rev. King organised the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted 382 days. In 1956, the US Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on buses was unconstitutional and should be abolished.

In 1957, black leaders in the Southern states formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), of which King was president, with the mission of achieving racial equality through non-violent methods. That same year, he gave 208 speeches, all of which focused on the defence of civil rights. In 1959, two hundred students met in North Carolina and founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (Snicle). In 1960, Martin Luther King was arrested (for the twelfth time since 1956!). In 1961, the 'Freedom Trips' were organised to demonstrate that despite the laws, segregation still existed in public transport between the American states. Bombs exploded in Alabama and martial law was declared.

On August 28, 1963, King participated in a major march through the streets of Washington, D.C., where he gave his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream. For the first time in its history, the Times magazine named a black man, King, Man of the Year. In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Shortly after his assassination, Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford and US Congressman John Lewis lobbied for a holiday in King's honour. Since 1986, citizens have celebrated King's social action and peaceful struggle every year. On this special day, demonstrations for peace, social justice and social and racial equality are held throughout the United States.

In a famous speech, King expressed his dream of a society in which whites and blacks would be united in justice and peace. Thanks to his peaceful leadership, the rights of blacks have been increasingly respected in the United States, as well as elsewhere in the world. However, the situation still needs to be improved and the peaceful struggle must continue...

Proposed actions

• Adopt non-violent attitudes in your daily life: practice non-violent communication with those close to you (friends, parents, teachers, etc.) and avoid verbal and physical violence. If you are a victim of discrimination or violence, consult the resources available in your community and, as far as possible, denounce these behaviours that are harmful to everyone.
• With your school's multicultural committee, organize a week of activities on the theme of cultural diversity: shows, kiosks, culinary tastings, conferences... celebrate the most beautiful riches that the world's different cultures have to offer!
• Volunteer your time to an organization in your community that fights racial discrimination, whether it is by offering services to newcomers and immigrants or by raising awareness about openness to others.

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Winter Branches - Margaret Widdemer

Recursos Educativos en Inglés - Poems in English - Poems about Winter

Winter Branches by Margaret Widdemer - Poesías en inglés estaciones del año

When winter-time grows weary, I lift my eyes on high
And see the black trees standing, stripped clear against the sky;

They stand there very silent, with the cold flushed sky behind,
The little twigs flare beautiful and restful and kind;

Clear-cut and certain they rise, with summer past,
For all that trees can ever learn they know now, at last;

Slim and black and wonderful, with all unrest gone by,
The stripped tree-boughs comfort me, drawn clear against the sky.

🔆 Read more Poems

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Winter - Dibujos Estaciones del Año en Inglés

Recursos Educativos en inglés - Coloring Pages
Seasons

Láminas para Colorear en Inglés
Estaciones del Año

05. Seasons. Winter

Para Imprimir la lámina, se recomienda, guardarla primero en el PC.

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