Spell-O-Matic Blocks

MEET Mrs Letty Maglacion – a Grade 1-Lily teacher in Bugo Central School. She has been a teacher for 28 long years. Her seniority has made her a leader in Grade 1 level for six years. At present, she is a Teacher 3 (Read: She earns quite a lot).

But it is not about the money (as Jessie J would say it in her Price Tag song) that she endures teaching little kids (Read: KIDS) but it is her passion and dedication in educating children. And this ardor has led her to what she calls Spell-O-Matic Blocks.

Curious, I asked if this is her original ‘invention.’ She proudly said yes. She baptized this IM as such, spelling out the name of the punctuation mark that squeezes in O in the middle as dash. I protested (long pause) in my mind as I remembered PDI Stylebook (Read: A journalist’s Bible) mention that hyphen, joins; dash separates. The word is a portmanteau of Spelling and Automatic.

Now let us go back to where we were before I totally go off tangent.

These blocks are made of discarded boxes. She formed a block in which each side of the slab is a letter of the English alphabet. Just in case you have forgotten, there are 26 letters of the English alphabet. The letters are mounted against a colorful backdrop.

She made a hundred of these Spell-O-Matic Blocks. There are 40 students in her class and five tables in her well-lit room. She assigns 20 blocks per table. She uses this IM in her English subject, particularly in her lesson on Building Words. I call it Spelling. She agreed.

She starts with simple words. She starts with words having a Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) structure, like the words rat and cat. Then, she moves the difficulty a notch higher to Consonant-Vowel-Vowel-Consonant (CVVC) structure, like the words meat and beat.

The students form the word/s using the blocks. They manipulate these attractive blocks.

She does drill of building words by family, meaning, for words with the CVC structure, she changes the first letter first then later the last letter – say from Cat to Rat to Bat, and so on; for the words with CVVC structure, on the other hand, she changes the first or/and the final letter – say from BeaT to MeaT or FarT to MarK, and so on.

She would make the building of words as a contest by table. And then, after the group contest she would assess them individually.

“Because of this IM, my students have become fast-readers,” she said. Furthermore, students are taught proper pronunciation of the word after they have ‘built’ the word.

I have seen it myself that the students were not bored. They are so engaged with the use of the blocks.

“It is as if they are playing, which they actually are, and yet at the same time they learn how to spell the words,” she said with a grin.

She has the same IM for Mathematics only that she calls it Place Value Blocks. On each side of the bock are numbers with labels on top to represent place values (Hundreds, Tens, and Ones).

She uses this IM in her lesson on Writing Numbers.

After English and Math, I remembered Science. She said that there is no Science subject in Grade 1 in a sense that Science, as a subject, is integrated in English. For example, students learn the parts of the flower in our English subject.

The perks of this IM? This could perhaps pass Tourism’s campaign: It is more fun in the Philippines. She said that her students have fun while learning. And for her, that is important.

This is an assignment submitted for Education 27 Principles in Teaching.

Learning ceases not

IT IS humbling to learn things that, as a practicing teacher, I thought I have known already.

I thought I knew Curriculum. But hey, Curriculum is not just about the Lesson Plan. In fact, it can be everything including the learned curriculum which refers to what the students actually learn and what is measured and even the hidden curriculum or the unintended one. These types of curriculum were such an eye opener for me.

Not only did I only realize things that matter to me but I was also inspired to pursue my plan of having my own school in the future. With the discussion on the different points of view and the historical foundations of curriculum, I have envisioned of a school that where the “seconds,” from the traditionalists point of view, are tantamount to the “firsts.” I have imagined a school where everyone is treated equally because each is different from one another.

It may sound cliché but it is true. As a practicing teacher, I have a first-hand experience of the uniqueness of each of my students in my classroom. And it is a challenge for me to cater to each of them. And as I accommodate these differences, I have appreciated the beauty of multiple intelligences.

This project in itself is a helpful and meaningful learning experience for me. This is a stepping stone for the pursuit of my dream. I am proud that this is not just a “recycled” idea but this is one that is thought of and not just lifted from the archives. This is something that is meaningful for its inspiration is base on the difference in race and belief between me and my partner.

I am different. My partner is different from me. Inside the classroom is a celebration of diversity. And what I like about this fact is the opportunity to learn from each other. I like to be in my Professional Education classes for it is an abode of ideas. There is a robust exchange of ideas, none barred, that my mind is sharpened. And I like it that way.

And the healthy argument and debate is moderated by our able and credible teacher, who inspires me and everyone in the classroom to learn more; to achieve what she has achieved and to even outgrow her.

In the end, life is all about learning. Learning ceases not. As what I have said during my first day in my Curriculum Development class, I remember: I am a teacher who is a student.

This is a Reflection Paper submitted for Education 26 Curriculum Development.

Of being a teacher

I was a church kid.

And being one means attending Sunday School where I have learned that father Abraham has seven children; that with Christ in my vessel I can smile at the storm; and that my Jesus is alive forevermore.

Other than action songs, Bible stories are also at the hub in Sunday School at church, which was just right in our backyard. And Sunday School teachers have made these stories about Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, Joseph the Dreamer, among others, more plausible.

Looking back, the years I spent in Sunday School, along with a group of friends which we collectively call as The Gatekeepers, formed the foundation of what I know now as my passion. Teaching.

But before I have succumbed to this passion to which I believe I am wired of, I was lost in translation for a significant amount of time. I was a wallpaper – ubiquitous. I was Jack of all trades, my Muslim friend commented about me. Ouch. Although it helps that you know how to do a variety of things but to box a punch bag is better than to box the air.

Four years ago, opportunity came. It knocked. And I opened the door without hesitation.

But it feels like it was just yesterday that I started teaching. I remember my first day in the classroom. I was introduced by a senior faculty to a small group of college kids who were bigger than skinny-me. It was awkward. I asked them the last lesson they had before the teacher I replaced left because all I know is that one, it was a basic journalism class and two, I was there to teach. They answered. I was anxious. It was my first.

But everyone would always have their firsts. It takes a lot of courage to take the first step. Ask yourself. You were once a baby. After, one improves. One becomes better and consciously decides to become even better. I did that. I enrolled for additional units in Education.

In my classroom, there used to be an emphasis on declarative knowledge, but now I am even more conscious of the fact that synthesis and evaluation is way better a gauge of understanding and learning. I have shared this recently when one student had his oral examination and apparently he was simply mouthing exact words from his photocopied material.

In your own words, please, I asked him. But I was guilty. While he was struggling to own his answer, I was asking myself: How many of my students in the past were like him? How did I not teach them how to learn?

Personal gain aside, I have consciously thought of enrolling in further studies so as not to stunt the growth of my students and my future students as well.

I do not know exactly how many years or semesters or months more do I have to spend in the university as a teacher. I have thought of grabbing an opportunity in Indonesia to teach English in an international school. What better way to teach Uncle Sam’s tongue than using action songs and stories, not necessarily from the Bible. I am excited. I’d prolly make a teacher out of these kids.

This is a reflection paper submitted for Education 27 Principles of Teaching base on the 2009 Indian comedy film 3 Idiots.

Better than blisters

IT was already beyond the normal number of days one is expected to have it and the blisters were still on my body. Thank God they did not develop on my face lest I do not have the face, perhaps, to show in the Freshmen Orientation at the University of the Philippines.

Hello college life.

Towards the end of the orientation, a commotion started to brew outside the venue then eventually when the orientation hit its last note, the chant outside the hall even became louder. The freshies were welcomed by the sentiments of the aktibista, for which UP is known of, regarding the budget cut on Education made by the Arroyo administration while more funds were given to Military and Defense.

But unlike his predecessor, P-Noy has allotted a bigger chunk of the gross domestic product (GDP) to the Department of Education (DepEd), 2.2 per cent that is. This should be especially now, and especially that the state is a prime educational stakeholder, that part of the incumbent’s Educational Reform Program is K+12 system.

The said system, in a nutshell, includes the universal kindergarten, six years of elementary, four years of Junior High School, and an additional of two years for Senior High School hence the name K+12.

In the interest of the parents of the students, apparently, the new system means that they would be spending more also, with the addition of two more years in high school, than what they used to. I believe this is a main concern amongst parents.

But if you think about it, the intended benefits of the program far outweighed the costs. In a summit held in a college in Manila, Education Undersecretary for Finance Francis Valera said that the earning potential of the graduate would increase with the additional years of schooling. The income of a person who graduated from a six-year course is P35, 280 as compared to P19, 876 for a four-year high course only graduate. The difference is a lot.

For other stakeholders, especially private groups, businessmen, and non-government organizations (NGOs), the K+12 curricula means more profit that can be plowed back (and prestige of course) as supporting and investing means more publicity and media mileage.

The restructure of the basic education system also means a most-likely increase in productivity for their company or organization because the K+12 system aims to better prepare the students emotionally and intellectually. So they would have more competitive would-be employees whose market is not just restricted to the local but as well as overseas. With the K+12, Filipinos can now be more competitive than with the old system as they meet and conform to the standards in the international market.

We see that with the K+12, stakeholders have to shell out more but in the end these costs are offset by the quality of the produce.

To prepare for this ‘major, major’ change in the education sector, materials are now being prepared for the different learning areas, as well as learning resources like teachers’ guides, activity packages, and student modules. More facilities as well are expected to be procured and built.

So noble the aims of this change in the Philippine educational system but what good will it do if one, the attitude of the students towards learning remain yet to be desired. We hear students complaining about the extra two years in high school.

But for me, I’d rather whine about having chicken pox for the second time around than going to high school two more years.

This is an assignment for Education 26 Curriculum Development.