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.

Magis

THE interaction we had with the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) sheltered in the covered court of the university had me thinking of the task remaining. There is still a humungous scale of work that needs to be done to help these IDPs.

House. They badly need a house. Not a tent. I can attest to how pathetic it is not to have a house because I once lost our house to fire nine years ago.

And how many IDPs need houses? Thousands. It makes me wonder how many days do they still have to endure living in tents. It makes me wonder how many days does it take to finish a single house. It makes me count the days it take to house ALL of the IDPs.

But more than the physical structure of the house, these people need a home. Home may never be the same again for these people because they might have lost a member or two of their family but at least they have people whom they can pour out their emotions to.

After our short intervention with eight of the IDPs, one came up to us and with a genuine smile and tone of her voice she said Salamat. That was so sweet to our ears. From my end, I do not know exactly what we have done knowing that it was too short a time to prepare but the response was a gauge of our efficiency.

The intervention was simple. We had it focused on living with each other in harmony. But it achieved its purpose. After the Trust Fall challenge, they started processing the activity. They talked. We listened. We learned.

Sendong may be gone but it left everyone valuable lessons.

I remember. After my Curriculum Development class, I hurriedly went out and headed to the covered court for the final rehearsal of the Broadway presentation for the university-wide Christmas party slated on Dec 17 2011. I was pumped. At home, I had my black satin long pants, vest, white long sleeves, black shoes, and to top it all, my fedora hat ala Bruno Mars ready.

New York, New York. It seems that I have raped the play button for that song in my brain. I just could not get over of Frank Sinatra’s song that celebrates the city that never sleeps.

But that party has to be canceled and so are most of the Christmas parties I know. It would not be right that we will be partying while there were many on that night who were disturbed from their sleep, who were carried away by the deluge Sendong brought forth and some were found and some were not even up until now.

These are the days, I reflected, when we think less of ourselves and more of others.

This is a reflection paper submitted for Education 010 Community Immersion and Participation.