Chronicler Regional Presscon 2007

Regional Presscon

Our campus joined this year’s regional tertiary press conference held at Angel Hills, Tagaytay City on December 9-11. Although I didn’t qualify for the Luzonwide (I didn’t even make it to the top ten lists!), our paper garnered four citations in page lay out design, news page, feature and literary sections.

Rommel, our artist and Kathrina, our Editor in chief, news writer and editorial writer in Filipino, will be part of the representatives of region 4A in the Luzonwide tertiary press conference to be held in February next year at Tugegarao, Cagayan.

What can I say but, what a dismal performance from the oldest writer of the group. Waaahhhhhh!!!!

The Lord had need of me

As the transcontinental train zipped past the scenery, an elderly bishop was telling a young parson fresh out of divinity school the story of his eventful life. He then turned to the young cleric and asked him to tell the story of his vocation.

“Oh, that’s very simply told,” he smugly replied. “All I can say is that the Lord had need of me.”

“That’s a remarkable coincidence, young man,” observed the bishop. “So far as I can remember, only once in the gospel did the Lord ever say that He had need of anything. In Luke 19:34 on the occasion of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, He said he had need of an ass.”

So true...of course it apllies to rear ends in the church too

City Blues

It’s been a long time since I have been out of our small town. That’s because I hate traveling to the city. The smog is oppressing, the sight depressing and the noise is deafening. So, when I was asked to deliver something to the city, I was not surprised to find out that there’s another supermall being built. On board the jeepney, as I was looking at the scaffoldings and the workmen busy with their work, I remembered what a friend said to me, “One of the requirements for a municipality to be upgraded to a city is a supermall.”

It has been observed by many that it is ironic that as the standard of living in the Philippines deteriorates, the more supermalls are being built. As the buying power of the ordinary Filipinos drop, the more stalls are being erected.

As I was observing the construction, I can only shake my head because it seems to me that supermalls are really churches promoting the religion of materialism.

Maybe it’s because I am poor, and that looking at goods, gadgets being sold in the stores arouses that primal…hmmm…what do I call this? This primal desire or drive to have, to show off, and this depressed me because I know it is wrong especially if I don’t have the money and most especially if the money I am spending (Oh how wish that this is the case) did not come from my own labor. How easy to spend money that is not yours.

Maybe it’s the gloom of Christmas…How I wish I am a child again.

My Classmates cheerleading to Vivaldi

Actualy they are dancing to the laest dance craze but I hate that kind of music. Maybe it's becuase I'm old, so I put in Vivaldi's concerto in C major.

Korean child guitar play of Al Hambra

I have been trying to practice my fingers into doing "tremolo" playing but I find it so difficult. IT could take me months before I can play this piece. But look at the little girl, her fingers are so small. I used to complain that my fingers are too short for playing the guitar but watching this little girl is really inspiring and amazing.

Sir!

I was walking home in my barong carrying a bag that looks like a lawyer’s bag when one of my former drinking buddies called me attorney and pastor and a funeral homes agent, in succession, for fun. (Actually the bag belongs to my adopted little brother. He used to work as a med-rep and now that he’s jobless, I’m using the bag because it’s convenient for carrying books and those immortal manila paper visual aids.)

 I was not offended. In fact I stopped by and asked him and his buddies if they wanted to be prayed over by me. (I am already raising my right hand.) He laughed and they laughed but the friendship is still there although I am now a teacher and they are still bums.

One of the mothers shouted and told them, “Hey don’t you know he’s now a teacher. He’s now a “sir” a “maestro.” Respect him.” So now, some of my neighbors call me “sir.”

I don’t know, but whenever I am called “sir,” I feel like a knight in a shining barong!

(My computer was attacked by virus and I can't open some of the applications and files. I have a lot in there doodles, bible materials, thoughts, articles etc. and now I have no choice but to reformat the PC hard discs!)

Time management

I have been teaching elementary pupils for three weeks now, and now I am having problem with time management. I am used to doing things by impulse. If I want to write on my blog, I just sit down and type on the computer. If I want to practice guitar, I just pick up my guitar and play. I have no sense of time or schedule; I don’t budget my time.

But now I need to discipline myself with regards to time management. I am getting busier. On regular days I teach grade school pupils at our church school, on Saturdays I teach music in the church and on Sundays I teach the men’s department of the Sunday school. Add to that preaching! (I don’t have regular pulpit but there are Sundays when I am I am called on to preach.)

My gulay! Although my practice teaching takes about four hours but it is so draining that when I get home all I wanted to do is to sleep. Half of my energy is wasted trying to keep order in the class especially for the grade one pupils.

But I am not complaining. I am still enjoying it. Come to think of it, I have to enjoy it because I will be doing this for the rest of my life!

Ooopss

Ooops!

I got used to writing directly, not thinking much about grammar and mechanics and usage and all that English things that when I got to teaching grammar at grade school, I brought this carelessness along. (To tell the truth, I have difficulty with grammar.) I gave my pupils some homework and I didn’t notice the subject verb agreement. And during the PTF meeting, one parent showed the head teacher the error in the home work. The head teacher kindly reminded of the error. I was a little disappointed with myself because if it was not for that one parent, who knows many errors I could have committed. Anyway, I have to be careful now.

Children are so meticulous. I was writing on the board and I didn’t put hooks on my “g’s” after a while, they all shouted, “Sir, is that a “9”, or is that a “q.” They are driving me nuts!

Teaching

I am now doing my student teaching. I am teaching six subjects, language and reading for grades 1, 2 and 3 pupils at our church school. I have been preparing for this for a long time. One of my mental preparations is to imagine all the worst case scenarios that I can think of that can happen in the class room like pupils stabbing each other in the eyes with a pencil, or a pupil poopooing during class, or a student having seizure attacks, or a grade 1 student carrying a submachine gun spraying the class with water etc.

Another preparation that I do is a mental mantra on how to keep my composure and my patience in times of war. I am reading a book about Buddhism and all that stuff about nirvana and the annihilation of the senses and the overcoming of the self and all that eastern stuffs about being numbed, and I am developing this mantra that I keep repeating to myself over and over again so that I can separate myself from myself and not be overcome by fire (or passion):

Hmmmmmmm-a-hmmmmmm don’t kill your pupils,

Hmmmmmmm-a-hmmmmm don’t hit them with a steel pipe,

Hmmmmmm-a-hmmmmmm don’t kill your pupils

But I was a little disappointed, to tell truth, that all these preparations were unnecessary. Most of my pupils are good natured children with good sense of humor. Some are hyperactive and some are cool. Most are intelligent and some are just late bloomers. They are not that difficult to handle, really. All it takes is a lot of patience and a lot of …hmmmm…preaching (teachers are preachers!).

If there’s one thing I forgot to prepare for, it is my body. Teachers talk a lot and I strained my vocal chords (or whatever organ it is teachers used for teaching, preaching, threatening and pleading) that before my second day was over it already felt like I swallowed a kilo of shoe tacks.

On the third day, I can’t recognize myself speaking; I sound like Fred Panopio with a cough doing the yodel in front of my class.

“Yodelehiiiii-hhooooo-hooooo

“Yodelehiiiii-hhooooo-ubo-ubo-ubo…..

Anyway, I’m beginning to enjoy it, to tell the truth.

I am still adjusting to my new hmmm…what do I call this? I am still adjusting to my new identity and to my new schedules and to my new job so my blogs will be neglected for a while. I am still trying to “settle down.”

Micro Teaching

This is the moment of truth. Today I will doing a demo teching. The result of the demo teaching will determine if I am fit to go out of the campus for my student teaching. I have my lessons with me complete with the Filipino traditional teaching aids, the immortal manila papers.

It's a good thing I am a male and I am already married becuase statistically speaking a lot (maybe even majority) female teachers who go into teaching single end up being single for the rest of their lives or else they marry tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers or bums.

A lot of stereotyping about techers but their heroes!