Two weeks and it already feels like...

Already two weeks old into 2013 and it already feels like the middle of the year, as if the Christmas break never happened at all. 

After the third quarter examinations on Thursday and Friday, things will suddenly shift into higher gear for the grade six department. The teachers will be very busy preparing the pupils for the grade six National Achievement Test or NAT which is the barometer of performance of schools. Unlike before, there were the Regional Achievement Test (RAT, a big rodent) and the Division Achievement Test (or the DAT, as in Dat Big Joke!) were grade six teachers and pupils used to prepare for this three test as a supposedly mock test for the NAT. The tests were also ways for the regional and the division office to rank the performance of their underlings.  When it comes to rankings...let's just say that rankings and the thought of ranking make people rankable for the looney bin.

Thanks to the Ph.Ds and Ed.Ds of the department for stopping these superfluous tests because they did not achieve anything, and most of the times the test items were recycled or copy pasted letter for letter including typos from the previous years'. I mean...with pupils preparing for three major evaluation and assessments a year, and administrators trying to outrank each other in performance at each level, the pupils were trained (not educated) towards achieving good test results which means more rote memorization and mock tests and mock tests and reviews and reviews and mock tests blah, blah, blah...no sane mind would learn anything from it. Sure their head would be filled with facts and figures but then, once regurgitated, nothing is digested.

Aside form the NAT, we will also be busy preparing for the field day ( which I hope will not push through) and the graduation.

I know, I know this post is too negative, but you know how it is, if I do not take these things out in writing, chances are, I'l be taking them out on people and that means being one mean son of a female dog :-)

First day of the year, RH Bill, Crhistmas Raffles, Blah, blah, blah

After the two weeks Christmas vacation, I reported to the school to find, as usual, a fraction of the pupils present. This has been the pattern, according to the veteran teachers, whenever the first school day of the new year is in the middle of the week. The attendance picks up on the first Monday after the Christmas vacation.

Well, for us teachers, we can’t do anything about it but to use the unofficial suspension of classes for doing administrative works like making test materials for the end of the third quarter grading period or, for those who have advisories, updating their records etc.

I was thinking of writing my reflections about the 2012 but I couldn’t recall anything spectacular that happened to me. I did not even win a set of dining plate on our Christmas party raffle, which kind of made me realize that I was not really a lucky person. One of my co-grade-six teacher’s names has been consistently called for four years, this she told me while we were setting up the LCD Projector for the recognition of the retirees. There she sat patiently smiling as if expecting her name would be pulled out of the box. After a few minutes, there she was climbing the stage claiming her prize and when she came down she passed by me and told me that she would be going out of the gym since her name was already called. I was envious but happy for her. I told her, “That’s your reward for being a good girl.” Anyway, went home tired but I really enjoyed the presentations and, of course, the food.

 I did not even win a tumbler in the raffles.

Maybe the highlight of the year was when I started doing bonsai. I had talks with Mr. Bernardo, our school’s veteran agriculture teacher, about bonsai and my interest was kindled about the art. I then researched about it. One my friends, who have one Fukien tea tree bonsai, lent me his bonsai book. I started looking for materials and I started my own little collection of bonsais.

Enough about the damned bonsais.

Hmmm…hmmmmm…

We have a new boss. Our former principal was kicked up, promoted to district supervisor three months before her retirement which according to DepEd policy, she will never enjoy the retirement benefits of the supervisor since she didn’t meet the three year period requirement.

From a lady principal to a gentleman principal and the transition is still going on (the painting of the office) and I expect that there will be movement in the teaching assignments by the beginning of the new school year. But as usual, as the veteran teachers always tell us, “Don’t worry, principals come and go every three years but we will be working together as co-teachers till the day we retire.”

Ohhhh…I almost forgot the destruction of the school garden. To make way for the new kindergarten (damned the Germans for inventing this) classroom, the Department tore down our beautiful school garden, and in the place of greeneries and flowers, there sprouted a concrete monstrosity. I have always lamented this because human population and its projected growth is one of the constant factor in decision making and the government people should have considered allotting large tracts of lands for basic education schools to met population growth.   In the near future, I imagine schools would be like high rise condominiums without any arable lots for planting or for agriculture and how in the heck can we teach our pupils about the importance of the conservation of our environment and the balance between nature and development if all they see is concrete and steel.

Goodbye garden.

RH Bill. I saw the debates about RH bill and how Sen Tito Sotto fought every provisions and letters of the bill. I saw how he kept inserting the term abortifacent (something he sottoed, I think) to every nook and cranny of the letter of the bill. I mean was that necessary? I mean I’m no lawyer but it was clear from the start that the bill was not about abortion. Well, anyway, the bill was passed and was signed by the president and is now a law. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church will not give in without a fight. I do believe that there are priests and nuns and popes and cardinals who agrees with RH bill but they couldn't express it because they were bound by the Church dogma. Well, what the heck. Happy New Year.