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.)

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.

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!

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