Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Another Research Questionnaire...





What is this?

I was giving Camille, a grade six pupil, the look. “Sir, the grade chairman asked me to give this to you. This is from the office." Camille said. "From the office" was the magic word here. I didn’t know if the effect that “the look” I was giving Camille seemed humorous to her  because she just smiled and walked away. I smiled at her, too. 

I am allergic to communications from “the office” especially documents that look like they come from the higher offices. Who are not, I supposed. I’m allergic to them because there are times they arrive to the concerned teacher very, very late. There are some instances where teachers receive memos asking them to attend seminars the very day the seminar is supposed to be held. Anyway, things happen. Not anybody’s fault, I guess.

I looked at the documents and I was not surprised to find out that it was one of those things again: questionnaire for the paper of a Ph.D. candidate. The fifth or the fourth I have answered since I came here. I took it and put it on my desk. (This is called the 3T's : tanggap, tupi, tago or in English: receive, fold, and  keep.)

After a few minutes, another pupil approached me asking for the accomplished questionnaire. I told her, “Wait, I’ll read them first.” I put the questionnaire on my desk and left it there to be perused after the classes. This was a Ph. D. research so even though the questionnaire was in Filipino, the language was wordy and wordy, maybe, to give the illusion of academic acceptability of some sort. I mean, dissertations are purely for academic consumption or mold and mushroom culture or paper recycling purposes. Who'll read them anyways...I have the theory that even the professors do not even read the whole thing.

After a few minutes, another pupil came and asked me, again, to submit the accomplished questionnaire because the office needed it, now! Of course, I had the urge to shout at the pupil (not her fault really, she's just the messenger) that this was a research questionnaire that needed my careful reading before accomplishing. But, I was beginning to get irritated so I sat down, got my pen, randomly checked the boxes and then submitted the "accomplished" questionnaire. There goes the Ph.D dissertation. I supposed no busy teacher would carefully read and think about and then accomplish questionnaires like these. Just check them boxes and be done with the thing.  

This made me think about the quality of these educational researches. Well, anyway...just thinking out loud.




Monday, January 30, 2012

Monday, Monday





I sometimes wonder why most people hate Mondays. Monday is an ordinary day; it has 24 hours, just like  the other days of the week. It has a sunrise and sunset too. Now, what is it about Monday that makes us hate this day.

Maybe we hate Mondays because it precedes Sunday. Sunday, for most of us, is a rest day, worship day. It is the day that we forget about work and spend our time to worship in our churches and to spend time with our family, friends and pets. We try to make up, in that twelve waking hours, the moments we have spent away from our loved ones, spending quality time with them. And Monday is just unlucky because it is the day that follows Sunday, an anti climactic day, sort of.

Me, I don’t hate Mondays; I just don’t like it. Why? The school does flag ceremonies on Monday and Fridays. I am the flag ceremony man in the school. So, I have to wake up earlier than usual; I have to prepare the sound system and make sure that the flag ceremony starts on time. I am the first to arrive at the school gym and I am also the last to leave because I have to keep the amplifiers, the equalizers and other sound system stuff back into the store room. I also had to make sure that exhaust fans are off; the gates are closed and the door to the storeroom locked and secured. Am not really complaining, just telling my story here.

When I was still a student, I hated Mondays because this was the day I usually found out that I had not done my assignments and projects—promises to do homework on Sundays was an impossibility. I had to write paragraphs, answer questions, and read stuffs while my first period teachers was busy writing something on the board. So, I was thinking and doing so many things at the same time: dodging the teacher, writing, thinking, copying from classmates etc. Monday was a really stressful day during my student’s day. Now as a teacher, whenever I do my discussions, I walk around the classroom and observe whether things are still the same; they are. I smile and sometimes laugh whenever I catch pupils who are doing their homework during my class hours because I was once in their shoes too. Of course, I reprimand them but most of the times I just smile, that is, if i'm in a good mood. Otherwise...they'll get hell from me.

Hmmm...being a teacher is not really that different from being a student, come to think of it. I still have to do lesson plans which most teachers do not do on Mondays and not on Sundays. So, this time, instead of dodging teachers,  I am dodging the principal and master teachers.Hmmm...

Really, I have nothing to talk about here. I am just making use of my break to write something on this blog, a habit, sort of. Anyway, here's a good song about Monday from the Mamas and the Papas Lyrics below, do sing along because these guys sure knew their harmony.





Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be
Oh Monday Monday, how yould cou leave and not take me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee
That Monday evening you would still be here with me.

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time

Monday Monday, ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

Mess of pottage and few pieces of Gold



A few pieces of gold!? 

A few days back I saw on TV Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. giving the opening statement for the prosecutors of CJ Corona. He was (i.e. for me) an eloquent speaker, careful of his enunciation, had good timing with his pauses and stresses; his mien projected authority and genuine disgust for the man he was prosecuting. Unfortunately, he got one very important fact--that every Chrsitian and Catholic Filipino and human beings knew--wrong: the price recieved by Judas Escariot for the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's the last part of the speech that was filled with literary and historical spices made more interesting because of a biblical error.

“In closing, the message of the House, as the representatives of the people, is the same as that given by Oliver Cromwell when he dismissed England’s Long Parliament on April 20 of 1653. Before God and country, we say: “It is high time for us to put an end to you sitting in that place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice, you are an enemy to good government, as you have sold your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas Escariot betrayed your God for a few pieces of gold. Depart I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!”

Judas Escariot must be stirring in his grave (or in hell). My dear Congressman, even if you have quoted Cromwell verbatim you should have known better. As has been pointed out by Bishops and Sunday school pupils, our Lord was betrayed by Judas Escariot for thirty pieces of silver and not a few pieces of gold. Now, for an ordinary mortal like me, this lapse is permissible but for a congressman who was invoking the Holy name of God to exorcise the evil of graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust out of the accused Chief Justice, you should have checked the Holy Book first because your exorcism may not be accepted by the heavenly authorities for technicalities!

He sure hell knew a lot about English History but he knew not his Bible. Tsk, tsk, tsk, not good.

I think it’s time congress replace Tupas as the lead man of the prosecution team. Admit it, the guy is not good for the job. He is being minced by the defense team as well as by the senator judges especially Sen Santiago. If not for Drillon...hmmmm.

Anyway, the Chief Justice has a lot of explaining to do about his wealth. If  the explanations are simple enough and could be understood by common folks like me, he has nothing to worry about. But if the explanations on how he acquire these properties are too long, too legalistic, too technical, and too confusing, chances are, he acquired his wealth the way corrupt men do: by magic.


Thursday, January 26, 2012

SSR--Teaching Reading by Reading



My co-teacher, the adviser of the last section of grade six,  had a demo class on CLE-English class this morning. To prepare for the demo teaching, she collected many reading materials for children as part of her classroom exhibit. She had arranged the books at the reading corner of her classroom.

When I entered her classroom, I saw all of the pupils busy reading the  children's book. Some of them were sitting, some were lying on the floor, some were in nooks and corners engrossed, lips were moving, some reading silently, others I could hear the whispers, some were pointing on the words and pictures with their fingers. Mind you, these are the last section of grade six where many have exhibited reading problems. I was looking at them and I thought...my gulay, precious moments, everyone was engrossed with reading...why bother them by teaching? I was reminded of an article I read about a strategy in teaching reading called USSR (Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading which was later shortened to SSR). So, I sat down, took out my paperback and read with them. I didn't know if the principal or other master teachers knew about SSR, but definitely some may not understand the set-up. But...to see these pupils engrossed with reading was priceless.

 Here is an article about SSR from Education World:

"Sustained Silent Reading" Helps Develop Independent Readers (and Writers)


Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) -- or DEAR (Drop Everything And Read), as some people call it -- can be one more tool for developing lifelong readers.
Some people call it Sustained Silent Reading, or SSR for short. Others call it recreational reading or independent reading. Some have clever acronyms for it, such as DIRT (daily independent reading time) or DEAR (drop everything and read). Whatever it's called, many teachers set aside a block of time each day -- usually anywhere from ten to thirty minutes, depending on the grade level and the ability of the students -- for quiet reading.

Sustained silent reading can serve many purposes:
  • Most school reading is assigned reading. SSR offers students an opportunity to read material of their own choice.
  • During SSR time, many students learn that they can use their word attack skills to figure out new words -- on their own!
  • SSR can build students' confidence in their abilities to work through reading trouble spots.
  • Many studies of whole-class groups and of select groups of unmotivated readers show that SSR can result in students wanting to reading more.
  • The amount of time that students spend reading independently outside of school often increases as a result of SSR, parents report. Often children ask for books to read at home.
  • SSR can be one more element in a reading program aimed at demonstrating the joy that reading can bring and developing lifelong readers and learners.
"Research has shown that reading ability is positively correlated with the extent to which students read recreationally," according to the "Reading and Writing Habits of Students" section of The Condition of Education 1997, published by the National Center for Education Statistics. "Educators are increasingly encouraging their students to read and write on their own"
That report points to some optimistic statistics that support the need to develop students' independent reading skills, including:
In 1994, 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students who reported reading for fun at least once a week had higher average reading proficiency scores than students who reported never or hardly ever reading for fun.
Even Jim Trelease, nationally-recognized expert in the area of reading aloud to children and author of The New Read-Aloud Handbook, devotes a full chapter to Sustained Silent Reading, read-aloud's natural partner.

SSR TAKES MANY FORMS

In some schools, individual teachers include sustained silent reading as part of their programs. In other schools, SSR has been adopted schoolwide. In many schools a special time is set aside each day when every student (and every teacher and staff person, including the principal and the custodian!) is expected to "drop everything" and read silently. Indeed, the main thrust behind most SSR programs is to demonstrate to students that pleasure-reading is something to be valued by all.

In some classrooms, students select from a predetermined reading list. Or they select from a bin of books color-coded to indicate reading level. But most teachers give students the freedom to choose a book that they think they'll enjoy. Often teachers encourage students to select books that aren't too difficult. Many teachers train students in the "five-finger test" as a method of determining readability.
In the five-finger test, students are asked to select a page from the book to read to themselves. They hold up all five fingers on one hand as they begin to read. Each time the student encounters a word that is hard to read, her or she puts down one finger. If all five fingers are in the down position before a student finishes reading the page, the book is probably too difficult. The student probably should put the book back on the shelf and look for one that won't be so hard.

ENHANCING SUSTAINED SILENT READING

For some teachers, SSR is "private reading" time for students. Students can read anything and they don't have to report on what they've read.

Many other teachers provide follow-up activities for sustained silent reading time. Some teachers have students keep logs of their silent reading. Others bring together the class once a week to talk about what they've been reading. (These discussions can motivate other students; others might choose their next book based on the recommendation of one of their peers.)

Some teachers divide their classes into small groups, so students can share their thoughts about the books they're reading. Sometimes teachers provide a question that will serve as the focus of the group discussion. The discussion question might support the curriculum, focusing attention on the climax, or the author's point of view, or some other element of literature that the teacher has introduced in class.

In some classes, teachers invite students to work in pairs during SSR time. A pair of "reading friends" might select a book to read together and talk about. Kids can even take turns reading pages (but then it's not sustained silent reading anymore!). As the students read, they talk about their expectations, their surprises, the things they like and dislike. "Reading friends sometimes look back through a book together, retelling poignant, funny, or important parts," said Lucy Calkins in an article in Instructor magazine. They read with their friends in mind, marking places to share, she adds.

Some teachers combine SSR with dialogue journals. Students share things in their journals about the books they're reading. (Some teachers call this SSW -- sustained silent writing.) Or the teacher might sometimes provide a question for everybody to respond to in their journals. Then the teacher responds to each student's journal entry. Teacher responses often include another question that will prompt deeper understanding of the material.

Some people think dialogue journals and SSR are a bad mix. SSR should be independent reading uncluttered by follow-up, they say. But supporters say that dialogue journals can help students see the value of writing as a form of back-and-forth communication. Journals provide good handwriting practice too; since teachers will be reading and responding to journal entries, students know they must write legibly! And SSR and journals together show students that reading and writing are part of everyday life, supporters add.

THE TEACHER AS MODEL READER

Whatever the case, whether SSR is a private time activity or a discussion or writing motivator, most experts agree that one thing is essential to its success. It is crucial that teachers participate in the process as role models.

SSR time is not a time for teachers to correct papers or plan the next day's lessons. Teachers should be right there on the floor (or in another comfortable spot) -- modeling a lifelong love of reading. If students are expected to fill out a reading log after reading, teachers should do the same. If a weekly "share time" is part of the SSR routine, the teacher can serve as a model by talking about the book he or she is reading. Teachers can model the thought processes that accompany reading by talking about how the main character changes through the course of the book, about the author's use of language, and about surprises and disappointments they encounter as they read.

As much as students need to learn to be good independent readers, they also need to learn how to respond to books and how to share their feelings about books with others. Modeling prepares students to carry on good book conversations. It enables students to carry on good independent book talks when they come together in pairs or small groups for that purpose.

If the teacher models, the students will follow!

For some teachers, SSR is a time to model good writing habits too.
If teachers ask students to write about their SSR activities in a dialogue journal, those journals can provide an opportunity to model writing skills. (Few teachers correct journals; most use journals as private, uncorrected communication. They use the journals as an opportunity to learn more about their students and as an informal measure of growth.) In dialogue journals, teachers can model by spelling words correctly in their responses to students that the students had misspelled in their entries. Teachers might even ask a question that requires a response that will include the misspelled word -- a tricky way to see if modeling really works! Modeling can also be used to point out students' errors of usage and capitalization and grammar.

If the teacher models, the students will follow!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

DepEd junks RAT(how appropriate the acronym was), DAT: Its abbbooouuttt TTIIMMMEEE!!!!



What do you see? What do you see? What do you see?


I saw on the news yesterday that DepEd is junking the RAT (Regional Achievement Test) and the DAT (Division Achievement Test) retaining only the NAT (National Achievement Test) as the gauge of pupils’ performance. I wonder why it took this long for the department higher echelons to junk these useless and redundant tests. The logic behind the DAT and the REAT is that it is meant to be preparatory and a simulation of the NAT. The tests are also used by the regional and the division offices to gauge the performance of their divisons, districts and  schools. I say craaappppp! From first hand knowledge and folklore, these tests are badly prepared recycled mimeographed paper with contents cut and pasted from last year’s and the years after ad infinitum…the word validity and reliability definitely took on a whole meaning with these hmmm... tests.

Anyway…

 I began teaching in the public school last year during the second quarter  grading period, and I was concerned when I learned that we, the teachers,  had to accelerate our lessons so that we could prepare for the RAT, DAT and the NAT that will be given in the last quarter of the school year. This meant that lessons that should be taught during the fourth quarter would be crammed with the third quarter lessons. Now, I am not a Ph. D. or an Ed. D. or a D.D. (not Doctor of Divinity but Doctor of Documents); I am just a lowly elementary school teacher with enough common sense to know that cramming two  grading periods (two quarters) of lessons into one grading period  ( one quarter) is like cramming two kilos of rice into a one kilo container. Something is bound to happen like spilling and wasting or wasting and spilling. Now, my humble inquiry which required adumbration is how in the world this system could help learning ?

I wonder Wonder Woman! Anyway...

 My experiences with crappy tests and examinations made me arrive at these conclusions:

          1.       Cramming is not learning. (Obvious) When an examiner crams, he/she memorizes by rote. Once the tests are over, all the data crammed in a head, like a person who has diarrhea and constipation and loose bowel movement all rolled into one, all these data are regurgitated down the mental toilet bowl to be disposed of like amoebic feces. The experience leaving the learners exhausted but relieved and with the wrong concept of education: get high score on tests! Cram, cram, cram, cram! I n the name of the Lord of the Rings,  tests are just words disconnected with reality and life; they measure not the whole.  

           2.       Persuading (pressuring) pupils to get high scores on tests is harmful to the pupils. Why? Education is not all about tests! Education is not all about getting high scores on tests! Education is not about getting tests on high scores! Education is about acquiring knowledge (or wisdom) by an individual after studying particular subject matters or experiencing life lessons that provide an understanding of something.1   Sadly, because of ranking (an evil, evil concept in Philippine education) schools are more focused on doing well with ranking than with educating. Cram, cram, cram, cram…

          3.       Teachers get the wrong idea. When teachers are told to focus their efforts to preparing their pupils to do well in achievement tests, they don’t teach; they review. What is the problem with this? Well, instead of focusing on concepts, internalizing lessons, promoting creativity etc. what happens is that pupils were made to recall names, dates, figures, process, definitions, situations etc. over and over again by taking review tests over and over again until the children develop psychological pre-examination stress syndrome.

The idea is to learn!


Anyway, DepEd Secretary Luistro is correct with junking these superfluous performance tests. Less is better.


__________________
1. Look up the definition on the net, forgot the link...too lazy to check browsing history.




Thursday, January 19, 2012

Impeachment blah,blah, blah...


The legal expert versus the illegal expert :-)



I was entertained (though I admit that I understood only a small fraction of his gobbledygook) by the performance of Corona’s lead defense counsel former justice Serafin Cuevas on last night’s impeachment trial against the Chief Justice. I was impressed by his knowledge of the technicalities and the intricacies of the law (not really surprising because he is a former justice), but what really got my attention was how he stymied the prosecution by pointing out glaring (i.e. to lawyers) errors in the manner of questioning of the prosecution’s witness Atty. Vidal that lead to Senate President/Judge Juan Ponce Enrile commenting that the prosecution cannot impeach their own witness. If it were not for the interpolations of other senators especially Senator Drillon, the prosecution would have totally lost the whole day in favor of the defense i.e. from the spectators perspective.

Maybe that is why the Romans preferred assassinations than impeachment: less talk and inexpensive.

I do not know law or legalities or any of that stuff; common sense is what I, like most common folks, rely on. Common sense dictates that decisions made by a collegial body of 14 justices cannot be attributed or  credited solely and held against solely to the chief justice unless the chief justice has some magical vulcan-mind-meld-hypnotical-mesmerical- power over the rest of his colleagues to vote favoring GMA. The justices have their own reasons--noble or ignoble--to favor GMA, and it is difficult to imagine the CJ to sway all the justices; the fact that there are dissenters who favored Pinoy--for noble or ignoble reasons-- shows that there was deliberations and discussions about the decisions. I think this article of impeachment is an insult to the rest of the justices.

Why not, in the name of consistency and fairness, impeach the rest of the justices who voted for decisions favoring GMA? I mean, they all voted favorably.

I am not saying CJ Corona should not be impeached. What I’m saying is that this article in the impeachment complaint seems to be hmmm…somehow…wrong. Illuminate me please...



Tuesday, January 17, 2012

No, no's for the public school teachers




Last time, I posted the privileges of public school teachers, this time I am posting the other side of the coin: the prohibitive activities of public school teachers. Again this is from the book School Administration and Supervision by Gregorio c. 1961 p.369 ff.

This is an old book and there may have been corrections and revisions made.

1.      Keep out of Politics

Public school teachers and school officials are forbidden to engage in politics. They may vote, but they may not use their official authority or influence to coerce political action of any other persons, or show any pernicious political partisanship, or become active in making membership in a political party known that they become in the eyes of the public identified or connected with the fortunes of the party. They must also refrain from commenting on the political situation in the country.

2.      Restriction on Business Activities

Public school teachers and school officials are prohibited to engage in any private business, vocation, or profession, or be connected with any commercial undertaking, without written permission from the Director of Public Schools and the Secretary of Education. [Employees of the Department] should not act as agents for, or be financially interested in any commercial venture, the business of which is to furnish books, school stationery, magazines, periodicals, athletic goods or other materials for school purposes.

This does not apply to an author’s royalty, provided the employee has obtained permission to engage in writing for money.

3.      Smoking Prohibited

All department employees are prohibited to smoke in classrooms, corridors and on school grounds during school hours.

4.      Payment of Debts

Public school teachers and other school officials who willfully fail to pay their just debt are subject to disciplinary actions. They are expected to arrange satisfactorily their private financial affairs with their creditors. The school and the school officials shall not be made collection agencies for commercial firms.

5.      Relation of sexes

To avoid suspicion, teachers and school official should never be alone in a classroom with a pupil of opposite sex. A high reputationof our teaching force should be maintained. It is imperative that parents should not have any doubt that the morals of their children are fully safeguarded in the classroom and on the school grounds. Teachers or school official should never take advantage of his position to court to pupil or student.

6.      Making gifts to official superiors

It is improper from an officer or an employee to make donation or present any gift of substantial value to an official to whom he is subordinate. It is likewise improper for any official to accept any donation or gifts as aforesaid offered or presented to him by any person or persons in the Government service subordinate to himself.

7.      Inflicting corporal punishment

Corporal punishment is not allowed in any classrooms. It is unlawful for any classroom teachers or school officials to inflict or cause to inflict physical pain or injuries to any pupil or student, nor should he make deduction in their scholastic ratings for acts that are not clearly not manifestations of poor scholarship.

8.      Tutorial Services

The Code of Ethics for Public School Teachers and Officials states that no teacher or school official should accept directly or indirectly for tutorial services to any of his pupils or students remuneration other than the compensation authorized for his services as teacher or school official. In other words, receiving double compensation is prohibited.



Monday, January 16, 2012

Musings about the test




The school was done conducting the reading inventory last week, and I hope we will achieve better results compared to last year’s. This week, we will be conducting the third quarter examinations. Time flies so fast and a few weeks from now, the school year will be over. Anyway…

The thing about tests is that they are also indicators of the teachers’ performance. So, when the results are announced and comparisons made, the subject area and the grade level that performed poorly are put in a…hmmm…rather uncomfortable situation. There are a lot of hecklings and alibis and promises to do better….

 Last year, when  the rankings from the grade level performance to the school’s performance versus the other schools from the district, we did quite poorly.

Anyway, the year is ending and I hope I do better this year than last year’s, if not…hmmm…I may end up sweeping the schoolyard.


Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bourne Legacy and other films shot in the Philippines

Rachel Weisz on the set of The Bourne Legacy in Manila.
The shooting of the fourth installment of Ludlum's Bourne series The Bourne Legacy started yesterday. Many Filipinos are excited about the film; it's not everyday that a big budgeted major Hollywood production is shot here in the Philippines. Aside from the prestige, the shooting of the movie would create job opportunities for the community where the film is being shot and also generate revenues for the involved local government units and government agencies.   Another benefit of Hollywood movies being shot in the country is that it would promote the Philippines as a tourist destination, sort of a product placement.


The story of Boracay, I think, is the best example of what a movie could to do in promoting a tourist spot in the country. Boracay then was an unknown beautiful island where the 1970 Hollywood WWII movie Too Late the Hero, starring Michael Caine, was shot. Since then, foreigners took notice of the island especially the powder white sand beaches and soon after that Boracay became a favorite destination for foreign tourist especially for the budget conscious backpackers. And because of this popularity among the foreigners, many local investors saw the potential of the island to become a world class tourist destination and the rest, as they say, is history.


I am a bit at a lost about the tourism hype of the  Ludlum movie because it is being shot in the areas of Marikina City Market, San Andres Market, Navotas Fishport, Ramon Magsaysay Blvd.Ayala Avenue, Nagtahan, Pasay Taft, Intramuros and Jones Bridge. I don't want to douse cold water into the enthusiasm about the potential exposure the movie could generate for tourism because many (if not most) of these places are not your typical tourist destinations . That is, unless the expected tourist market we have in mind  are urban survivalists interested in simulating post-nuclear war survival scenarios or journalists who are interested in doing documentaries about Metro Manila's nefarious taxi drivers (not all of them of course).Or, I could be wrong, maybe there are tourists interested in third-world- urban tourism, sort of.

Anyway,  the movie is not yet finished, and there maybe beautiful places that would be included in the movie like Palawan, Boracay, Bohol etc. Or,  they would pan the camera so as to avoid the eyesores, etc.so its too early to tell. I maybe wrong of course!

I expect that the DVD of the movie would be available from your trusted DVD Bootleg vendor way before the shooting is over. Also one of the benefits....early, early, pre- screening.


Anyway I am curious about  Hollywood films were shot here in the Philippines. Here are some of them: (Wikipedia)

1. Missing in Action (1984) : Chuck Norris, Directed by Joseph Zito




2. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) : Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, Directed by Peter Weir



3. Platoon (1986): Tom Berringer, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen, Directed by Oliver Stone



4. Thirteen days (2000): Kevin Costner, Directed by Roger Donaldson



 4. Apocalypse Now (1979): Marlon Brando, Directed by Francis Ford Coppola


5. Enter the Ninja (1981): Franco Nero, Sho Kosugi, Directed by Menahem Golan





Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Reading Inventory and some observations of the obvious


Photo not mine.

This is the third day of the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PIRI) posttest that we have been conducting in the school. I am assigned to administer the test to the last section of grade five; the last section contains the not-so-bright and the specially-difficult pupils. This is the idea behind class sectioning, homogeneity: the brightest and the neatest pupils go to the first section while the dirtiest and the not-so-smart pupils go to the last section. There's this systematic gradation (or de-gradation) of the pupils...Well, anyway, nothing I can do about this scheme of things. 

While administering the test, I made some mental notes, sort of an unofficial  observation of the obvious, and here are some of them.  This is the English Reading Test.

Pupils who read very fast have poor comprehension.

They want to impress the examiner by putting their feet on the pedal and reading very fast. There are times that I have to stop and remind them that the test is not a speed reading test and that this is a comprehension test.  

One of the reasons why this is so is because parents (even teachers) put emphasis on reading fast, or fast reading. I have seen parents brag about how fast their child read, and some even go to the extent of making their child read aloud in front of uncles, aunties, cousins, neighbors and even strangers. 


I think almost everyone went through this  hmmmm...quite embarrassing moment in their lives. Whenever parents get together, it is inevitable that they brag about how well their child do in school. Even I passed though this ordeal when I was in Grade 1.  

Many parents (and maybe even some teachers) think that fluency in reading is proportional or directly related to how fast a child read. That is, the faster the child read, the more fluent he/she becomes in reading. There maybe some truth into it, but not entirely because there are children who read slow yet have better comprehension and there are  children who read fast but have poor comprehension; come to think of it, children that read fast have poor comprehension. 

Well, anyway, what I think is better for parents and even teachers especially from the pre-school and primary level children are to focus on reading comprehension. Of course this is laborious because this means more interaction, throwing questions and having more discussions and more effort on the part of the parents and the teacher.  

Maybe this is why many children and even adults think  that reading is nothing more than a public performance or a necessity rather than it could a personal pursuit.

Some pupils read very slow but have very good comprehension.

This surprised me because I have always though that slow readers have poor comprehension. Of course, I am not saying this as a general rule, but there are enough exemptions to make me re-think my assumptions about slow readers. 

Generally speaking, most non-readers are over aged pupils.

This is obvious because most of them stopped schooling for sometime because they were embarrassed by their reading problem. 


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Reason is out of order




The Feast of the Black Nazarene ended this morning. As I was watching the news, what I saw  amazed and puzzled me. I could not understand how this black image of Jesus Christ could evoke such devotion and fanaticism to the common and even to some educated and sophisticated Filipinos.

I was discussing this phenomenon to a co-teacher, and I told him how ironic it was that a religion that produced great philosophers, logicians and systematic theologians that started the scholastic age and changed paradigms in education and changed western civilization would exhibit among its adherents such disturbing exhibition of blind fanaticism. I mean, the Catholic Church was the seat of philosophy and the temple of scholasticism for many centuries. Of course, this was history and had no bearing to the phenomenon at all but one can't help but wonder.

One question that kept popping in my head was, "are these people even aware of the official teachings of the Catholic Church?"


The adherents seemed to be unaware of the dangers of mass hysteria. Put a very large number of people together in a confined space, add the humidity, stress, anger, etc and all it takes is just a little spark, a shout, a commotion, and what you have is a stampede. In fact there was instance of a mobbing when an alleged snatcher was caught. If the police were not there to keep the peace, that alleged snatcher would have been torn to pieces. I saw the anger on the mob's face and they were shouting, "ipako sa krus!" I mean, what in the world was that all about! Of course, I am not saying that because of this incident, the feast had lost it religious significance, but what would a non-catholic say? And what would the True Catholics say?


I was imagining if it was the true Jesus Christ being paraded there...hmmmm. Imagine what he would say and do.

Many were injured and it’s worrying how some parents compromised the safety of their children by bringing them along into the procession. There was a boy who fell from the center island headfirst and was injured. It’s good that there were many Red Cross volunteers to help, but still, how could a parent do such thing?

One priest said it very well when he differentiated devotion from blind fanaticism and  that a true devotee could come to the church any regular day to touch and pray to the image. I mean...I'm no expert on Catholic Theology but compare our Catholicism with that of the Anglo Saxon (or the whites) and the difference is very evident; they are mor rational and theological compared to ours which is filled with animistic and folk mysticism and very little of the intellectual discipline and understanding of Catholic theology.

What was disturbing about this phenomenon was that most of the astrologers, witches, faith healers who were selling their services and their potions and amulets around the church claim that their powers came from the Black Nazarene. Here the marriage of the belief in the powers of the Black Nazarene with animistic belief of astrologers and faith healers was fused into one syncretic faith, a unique Filipino folk Catholicism that the common Filipino  accepts without question and seemed to be unopposed by the orthodox teachings of the Catholic Church.

I mean...

This is hard to explain and it is impossible to reason to anyone about this. Reason seemed to be out of order that day. 

The trash and garbage left by the devotees and the fanatics, I think, said it all.



Monday, January 09, 2012

Reading Test and some stuffs about dyslexia





Today and the following days, the pupils will be subjected to battery of tests. Today we will be administering the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PIRI) to the pupils and next week will be the periodical tests.

PIRI is divided into two parts, the oral reading and the silent reading both for English and Filipino. The teachers administer the test (about a 100 word selection) individually, timing the reading rate and then asking comprehension questions to the pupils. The comprehension questions are then checked for correct responses, then the results are evaluated and, based on the results, the pupils are then classified into independent readers, frustrated readers, and the non-readers.

 After the tests, the reports are then consolidated first at grade levels and then at the school level.

The process looks easy, but considering that each class numbers more than 50, the task is quite arduous especially if there are slow and non-readers among the testee.

Encountering slow and non-readers at the intermediate level especially in grade six is quite frustrating considering that they have had four years of primary education to learn the fundamentals of reading. It is also easy to blame the primary level teachers for not doing their job, but that is quite unfair because there are factors that are beyond the teachers’ control.

Although most teachers are still of the opinion that reading problems are basically intelligence or cognitive problems, i.e. it is equated with children having low IQ. But that is not generally the case, there are pupils who are quite smart but have problems with  reading. Many teachers are still unaware of dyslexia.

Here's a site from a dyslexic http://dyslexiamylife.org/

To some dyslexic, words appear as jumble of letters.



Dyslexia is not necessarily an IQ problem, it is a perception problem.  The reason why a child has difficulty reading is that his/her visual or auditory perception is deficient. Some of the symptoms are:

  • Letter or word reversals when writing.
  • Difficulty repeating what is said to them.
  • Poor handwriting or printing ability.
  • Poor drawing ability.
  • Reversing letters or words when spelling words that are presented orally.
  • Difficulty comprehending written or spoken directions.
  • Difficulty with right – left directionality.
  • Difficulty understanding or remembering what is said to them.
  • Difficulty understanding or remembering what they have just read.
  • Difficulty putting their thoughts on paper.

What causes dyslexia?

  • Ineffective reading instruction
  • Auditory perception difficulties
  • Visual perception difficulties
  • Language processing difficulties.

Some suggested remediation are:
Remediation:

  • Simplify tasks so only one new discrimination is made at a time.
  • Make each simple discrimination automatic before the next one is introduced.
  • Overteach ‘b”, then overteach ‘d”, before presenting both together.
  • Each discrimination that causes repeated errors should be worked with by itself until the problem is overcome.
  • Trace, then write, the confused letter or word and pronounce it as written.
  • Use short frequent practice periods. Lengthen the time between practice sessions as the material is retained.
  • If the child is confused about his own left/right, use a ring, watch, ribbon or band on his writing arm. Color cue side of desk or paper or word as a starting place.
  • Gradually increase the difficulty of material to discriminate. If errors are made, go back to simpler practice.
  • Suggestions for Improving Laterality:
  • Trace hands on paper. Label “right,” “left.”
  • Play “Simon Says” – “Touch right foot; raise left hand,” etc.
  • Child follows the directions in drawing lines up, down, right to left, etc. and in touching parts of body.
  • Child connects dots on blackboard to make a completed pattern; repeats process on paper.
  • Child shows hands in sequence pattern: left, right, left, right, etc. Use marching as a variation.
  • Child names objects on right and on left. He moves to different parts of the room and repeats.
  • Arrange story pictures in sequence, left to right.
  • Use lined paper for writing.
  • Use weighted wristband to designate right or left hand.
  • Tracing activities, left to right. Mark left with small “x.” Use color tracing to repeat.
  • When beginning writing the lessons, teach the child to begin as close to left edge of sheet as possible (then can move only toward the right).
  • In reading, use markers, “windows,” and other left-to-right directional aids.

For more info about dyslexia and other reading problems:

Sunday, January 08, 2012

Looking Back


Hey! You'll stumble and fall...


There is nothing wrong about looking back. In fact there is a Filipino proverb that goes like this: “He who does not look back will not be able to reach to his/her destination” or something to that effect. Of course, this proverb is not literally talking about looking back or even introspection. The proverb, really, is about gratitude.  I think this is a much better rendering of the proverb: “He who does not know to whom he is indebted to will not be able to reach his/her destination” 

Looking back reminds of our failures, inadequacies, heartaches...
One of the reasons why it’s not good to look back is because we will be, again, reminded of our failures, heartaches, pains, sorrows, disappointments etc. The fact that we are now in the New Year should give us the psychological Rubicon, a point from which we could commit ourselves to begin with a new slate, that is,   to move forward. 

But if we think we have had a wonderful 2011, I have to warn us not to look back that much at the last year. Why? The problem is that we may become proud of our achievements and think that we did so well that we may become complacent. The proverbial story of the tortoise and the hare may well illustrate my point. The  hare raced and got so far ahead of the tortoise that when he looked back and saw the turtles slow progress, the hare smiled; it laid back and fell asleep thinking that his gain was enough to see him through the race. But, lo, behold the lowly tortoise finished ahead of the hare. The tortoise did not outrun the hare, for the turtle would not be able to do that; the turtle out-persevere the hare. It’s not about speed, its all about perseverance!

It's not about speed, it's all about perseverance!

Another peril of looking back is that looking back can lead to going back. The story of the Israelites wandering in the desert is a good illustration of this. Every time Israelites encounter difficulty, they always look back to their captivity in Egypt. They kept on complaining how much better it was in Egypt because, at least, even if they were contemptuous slaves of the Egyptians, they were fed; they have shelter, they were safe. Lot’s wife is also a god illustration. Remember when God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, God told Lot and his household to walk away and not look back. But Lot’s wife could not resist, she looked back and was transformed into a pillar of salt.


Looking back may lead to going back!

The only reason why we should look back is to learn from our mistakes, and, that should be only a glancing look.

So, always look forward and focus on what's ahead…


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