Saturday, November 28, 2009

Dealing with defeat my way

I went this afternoon to the Education Student Council's Office, only to be told that I placed third in the Essay Writing Competition sponsored by the Learning Resource Center of our school.

Of course, the news rather disappointed me. I'm not the pseudo-humble person who says that joining the contest is in itself enough for him. Truth to tell, I expected to place first, and I guess the five others who joined the contest did.

And what exactly did I do to, at least, cushion this recent blow on my pride?

A. Pretend that I'm doing a greater good. Perhaps the winner needs to beat a person of my stature in order to raise her morale.

B. Recall my past accomplishments, which the winner obviously didn't achieve.

C. Take note of the fact that she wasn't published in any national broadsheet. I was. She wasn't a finalist in the 2009 Philippine Blog Awards. I was.

D. Take note of another fact that when you google her name, the only result that the search engine will yield is her Friendster or Facebook account and nothing else.

The answer is E: all of the above.

(OK, thus is imitated from Jessica Zafra. I just can't help it. I couldn't find a better way to say what I want to say. My apologies.)

Friday, November 27, 2009

Ang maka-highblood nga mga application letters...

...sa mga adunay plano nga mag-teacher.

Pahibalo: Pardon to those who can't, don't understand Bisaya abd swardspeak.

Kagahapon, samtang nag-istambay ko sa Principal's Office, aksidenteng nabasahan nako ang mga daan na application letters sa mga previous applicants. Uban sa mga applicants, kaila ko.

Naay usa na ni-kuha sa akong attention. Basta babae siya. Ug iyang major kay kargado ug sayaw-sayaw. Mao lang to ang akong masulti bahin sa iyang identity.

Wala nako natingala nganong wa siya madawat. Abi ba nako ug gusto siya mutudlo sa tulunghaan na iyang gi-aplayan. Pero nganong sa latter part sa iyang letter, niingon man siya na:
I'm looking forward to be apart this institution. (Emphasis mine).

Good for her---wa siya nag-inusara. Daghan pang mga letter na kon dili char ang pagkasulat, gina sweet-talk ang recepient, nga mao ang Principal. Aduna pay nag-start sa iyang letter na murag ni-apil ug essay writing contest:
Education is performing the lives of children...May I have the opportunity to submit my application letter...

Naa puy meloera kaayo:
May I have the opportunity to apply  for a vacant teaching position in your...well-established institution.

Ug aduna puy murag nagsulat sa iyang autobiography. Gisaysay ba naman iyang mga kaagi sugod nag-graduate siya, pagtrabaho niyag 3 ka bulan sa usa ka telecommuncations company, pagtrabaho niya ug pipila ka bulan sa gawas, giunsa sa ilang grupo pag-meet sa ilang quota...yada yada yada. Kulang na lang isaysay niya kung, uh, never mind.

Ambot na lang. Wa sila kilati! Kung ako ang mag-vet, dili gyod nako dawaton kadtong mga applicants na sa letter pa lang windang na.

Tag-as ra kaayo sila ug appraisal sa ilang mga sarili. Wa may kaso ni. Kana kung tinuod pud ang ilang appraisal. Meaning: congruent ang imong ginapang-tabi sa kung unsa gyoy imong ikabugha. Naa pay niingon didto na:
I believe my knowledge, competencies, and skills can contribute to the development of the students.

Huh? Nakulbaan ko. Are you sure you want to teach students with your ghastly grammar and egregious English?

On one hand, nag-huna2x pud ko: Husto ba nga i-judge ang usa ka teacher base sa iyang application letter. Malay nimo dili lang gyod siya verbally intelligent. Di ba?

On the other hand, basic man gud na skill ang letter writing. Biskang sa elementary ginatudlo na ang pagsulat ug letters: application letter, invitation letter, letter of aplogy, letter A, B, C, D...

Ug dinhi na natapos ang akong kaligut-got sa mga maka-highblood nga mga applications letters sa mga adunay balak mag-teacher.

Disclaimer: I'm not claiming na my grammar is perfect. Pero, modesty aside, I can say na, at least, I can write passable English.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

When do we say, 'This is it'?

Of course when we have already given all there is to it in us, whether we are doing a project, or joining in a singing competition, or washing the plates, or scrubbing the floor.

Take Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is a perfectionist performer, and his being perfectionist can be seen in the rehearsals for his "This Is It" concert, which was made into a movie instead since he could no longer stage the concert---forever. The King is dead. Vive Le Roi!

I haven't seen the movie, so pardon me if I rely on Queena Lee-Chua's accounts of the movie. (See Lessons from MJ 1 and 2)

"In the movie “This Is It,” " Lee-Chua said, "we got a glimpse of Jackson preparing for what was to have been his final tour in July. Though almost two hours, it was still an all too brief glance at what went on behind the scenes.

"We knew Jackson had talent, but the movie was an eye-opener. Talent apparently was not enough. Jackson was at the top of his game because he worked hard, extremely hard."

She said that Jackson say "This is it" only when everything is perfect already.

There is, however, something unsettling when Filipinos (well, not all, but some of us) say, "This is it," which is roughly translated to Filipino as "Tama na 'to." They say it not after giving their damndest best, but after exerting little or no effort at all. And they want to prove to the world Filipinos are world-class?

As my lolo (may he rest in peace) would say, baloney!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

In the library...

[caption id="attachment_1391" align="alignleft" width="618" caption="Reading Tent"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1394" align="alignleft" width="594" caption="High school students of HCDC are playing the "Top 10 of Everything DVD Game.""][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1395" align="alignleft" width="600" caption="The library pays tribute to Manny Pacquiao, the no. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world."][/caption]

It could have been much agreeable had the library also paid tribute to the true pound-for-pound fighter we have right now: Efren Peñaflorida.

"B" is for Busy

What keeps me busy these past weeks---aside from trying to figure out how to stop our neighbor from making so much noise when he's inebriated---is the making of professional readings. These are reviews of articles, publications, studies, books, etc. related to the education in general and teaching profession in particular.

Our practicum supervisor asked us to make ten. To us, it's considered many, considering that it's not the only thing that we have to do. Teachers do so many things that they could be the computers turned flesh.

I cannot say I've enjoyed doing them. I have not, although the upside of it is that I was able to learn new things that I've never known before. It sounds trite. Of course, I should learn new things. Otherwise, what does it profit me if I don't learn something out of my professional readings?

But I'm glad I'm already through with my professional readings. Here's a list:

1.Rewards for students under a microscope
2. More schools, not troops
3. The children won't sit still, and that's O.K.
4. Cool school: United nations of education
5. Maintaining order and discipline in the classroom
6. Sorry I'm late
7. Element's of a learner's preferences
8. Web-age librarian's look beyond books
9. Is too much self-esteem not good for kids?
10. Behavior coaching for teens with special needs

Monday, November 23, 2009

Books shall set us free

This week is the National Book Week. This year's celebration has a theme "Kaaya-ayang Magbasa sa Kalikasang kay Ganda."

All the libraries of the Holy Cross of Davao College---Grade School Lib., High School Lib, Learning Resource Center (College Lib. e-Lib, IMC)---have prepared several activities for this week: essay writing contest, poster making contest, etc.

***



Today, I'll be joining an essay writing contest. The essay, the mechanics said, must be 150-300 words. It should revolve around the theme: "I need. I value. I love my library." An excerpt:

Books shall set us free

Books have many purposes. There are books that entertain. There are books that teach us how to cook and plant. But books as weapons for independence? Probably a far-fetched idea. But once upon a time, in the Philippines, books were not just ornaments that adorned the library. Books, which are carriers of ideas, were once used as weapons for independence.

Congratulations Efren Peñaflorida, teacher, CNN Hero of the Year

"Peñaflorida hasn’t just wondered," Conrado de Quiros said, "he has acted. He has acted to try to recover that lost generation, to try to bring it to find its way. What he has done indicts government more implacably than any ranting against it, exposing its crime for all to see. What he has done may seem trifling, but the greatest things often have the most trifling beginnings. He has taken the road not taken, and it has made all the difference.

"Right now, he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter we have."

***

First-aid solution to education. Peñaflorida recognized the limit of his efforts. His "Kariton Klasroom," he said, "is only a paunang lunas." Soon it will have to say goodbye when the educational system is already all right.

***

Indicting the government. de Quiros is right: What Peñaflorida "has done indicts government more implacably than any ranting against it." People like Peñaflorida couldn't have emerged had the government been doing its job of providing education to all.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What do you get when you read 'The Pelican Brief'?

I'm having sleepless nights these days. It's been two nights already. No, I wasn't crying because I was jilted by a woman. Firstly, I don't cry over a woman. Secondly, I don't have a girlfriend right now, and I don't have a plan of getting one. At least, not now.

It doesn't, however, mean I wasn't sleeping at all. It only means the hours I allot for sleep have been slashed. I normally go to sleep at eight. But lately, I reached until 10 before I dozed off.

And that's all because of John Grisham's "The Pelican Brief," which I bought at Bookshop---where else, there is a dearth of bookstores in Davao City---last Sunday when it finally opened after undergoing a month-long face lift.

I'm a slow reader unlike Truman Capote who said he could read an average of about "five books a week." He said, "the normal-length novel takes me about two hours." How fast! A 400-page novel usually takes me four days to finish, so that's 100 pages a day. Before I read mostly during the day. Seldom do I read in the evening---evenings aren't reserved for reading, in our house they're for watching May Bukas Pa and PBB.

Today, I think I'll be reading more slowly, in the night, as the day will be dedicated to more pressing and stressful matters: preparing lesson plans, making visual aids, reading on the subject that I'll be teaching (I heard I will be assigned to third year (World History) and fourth year classes (Economics), and other things that make a single teacher forever single.

Back to “The Pelican Brief.” As usual, I liked it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought it and read it in the first place. I liked it only because it involves lawyers and a law student, and I dreamed to be a lawyer.

Enough said.

Friday, November 13, 2009

On leave, sort of

I will be blogging less frequently from November until March, as I will be giving more time to doing the requirements in my internship: professional readings, learning insights, lesson plans, visual aids, etc.

Although I don't consider blogging as an extra activity, I figured that I have to be AFK (away from keyboard for the uninitiated) for a particular period of time. And that period of time has just started this November.

If you notice, I have made three posts so far. Four if you count this one. That's because over the past weeks, I have attended seminars, workshops, and orientations that, our Practicum Supervisor argued, could help us in one way or the other become a better pre-service teacher.

Dear Christmas Party Consultant...

Dear Christmas Party Consultant,

This Christmas my friends from abroad will be coming home and will be spending the Christmas in my house. One will be coming from the U.S.A.; the other from Japan; the third from Italy. The last time we had a get-together, I prepared an all-Italian menu. My friends from Japan and U.S.A., however, were infuriated. “You only prepared Italian foods,” they complained. “What about us?” Since I don’t want to repeat the same mistake, can you help me decide what to cook? Should I go Japanese this time? Or American?

—Ester Rez

Dear Ester Rez,

I advised that neither should you prepare an all-Japanese menu nor an all-American menu. If you do, you will surely find yourself in the same quagmire as before. My advice is that you should try, as people do to clothes, to mix and match. You can, for instance, prepare a hamburger filled with sushi and topped with mozzarella cheese. For the beverage, I heard the wasabe Coke-cappuccino float is enjoying the patronage of many people—most notably the top brass from the United Nations whose overarching concern is to promote…unity in diversity. I assure you that if you prepare the food this way, no one among your friends can complain anymore that you have a bias for one or the other.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

One year of writing and blogging—and beyond

(Here's the result of following Forrester's advice. I'm not sure if I pulled it off well, so you be judge.)

It all started with a deceptively simple question, this passion for writing.

“Why do you want to be a teacher?” our professor in Principles of Teaching asked us at the first meeting of the class. We were turn in the essay, she told us, by next meeting. It meant, of course, that we only had one day to write what we think was the reason why we enrolled in Education.

The question got me thinking. Indeed, what is it that compelled me to want to be a teacher? For a while I thought of many reasons. Money? Definitely not. Fame? Only few teachers became famous. Some, who lived an epic life, died unsung. Prestige? Other professions such as medicine and law are far more prestigious than teaching.

After mulling over the question, I was able to fashion out a fairly decent essay. As I was about to read it in front of my classmates, I felt anxious. Would they like it? Would I be able to deliver it without stammering? But my anxieties turned out to be worse than the result. After I read my work, my classmates applauded me. My professor thought it was inspiring. “If Arvin’s essay did not inspire you,” she said, “I don’t know what will.”

However faint that praise was, an idea struck me. If this essay were inspiring, I thought, why not send it to Youngblood, a section in the Philippine Daily Inquirer where young people can send their essays. If the essay’s good enough, it will be published. I’ve been meaning to send to Youngblood, but never did attempt to do so. Or was it because I didn’t have some sensible things to say? But now, bolstered by my professor’s comment, I’ve finally mustered the courage to try to send an essay, hoping that it would inspire others the way it inspired my classmates.

Forrester's advice

I caught up Finding Forrester at TV5 many days ago. I think it's a must-see for a novice writer and even for those who have been writing for so long a time but whose well of creativity has now dried up. For it's replete with lines on how to go about writing, and indeed living. But the one line that has stuck in my mind is that which William Forrester (Sean Connery) told to Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown):
No thinking - that comes later. You must write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing is... to write, not to think!

I don't know how many writers have tried it and came out successful. But since I'm a sucker for writing tips and wouldn't let one pass without trying it, I tried Forrester's advice. I tried to write the first draft with my heart; the second draft with my head.

The result: a 2,000 plus-word essay chronicling my first foray into writing and blogging. Then on the second draft, I cut it down to about 1,600 words.

I will publish it soon. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.