On Teaching

Just thinking about June and the upcoming months is enough to make even the most lionhearted person quiver in fear... and I'm definitely no Aslan.

It seems I shall be teaching in all levels. Yup... preschool (aka CASA, since I work in a Montessori school), gradeschool (I'll be handling the Music classes of Grades 1-3), high school (my bosses say I'm handling English classes, I'm not sure which particular levels as of the moment), and college (I'll be teaching part time in CMu as well)!

I'll know my final teaching load this coming week. Thank goodness that I'll be under the guidence of the CASA Directress, so the workload for kindergarten isn't that bad since she'll be doing the bulk of the lesson planning. But I've heard talk around the work place that I'll be asked to handle 2 clubs... they're forming a Choir and need a conductor (and since I'm the only music graduate, I'm the most suited to take on the job *gulp*)... and they want me to take on a sports-related club as well. So it's either arnis or taekwondo. *double gulp*

Talk about getting out of your comfort zone. :) I pray that I'll be given the strength and wisdom to discharge all my teaching duties well.

~ ~ ~ WHY TEACH? ~ ~ ~

"Yes, there are places when a man no longer feels the need of conquest but of purification and innocence, where he longs for simplicity and peace. In that innocent peace man seeks for a renewal of his life, for a kind of resurrection from the burdens of the world.

Yes, there must be in man great aspirations that are far removed from those of ordinary life. They represent a divine voice that nothing can still, calling men together to stand about the child...

... Countless experiences have brought to light a truth that is of great importance for education and society. It is clear that if men had a nature different from the one we know, they would have a different form of social organization. But if such a normalization of adult society is to be brought about, it must be done through education. A social change of this type cannot come from the ideas or energies of individual reformers but from a slow and steady emergence of a new world in the midst of the old, the gradual appearance of the world of the child of the adoloscent... The energy that can help mankind is that which lies within the child..

... Within the child lies the fate of the future."

--- from Maria Montessori's "The Secret of Childhood"

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My uncle gave the best grad gift ever... two tickets to Lea Salonga's show, My Life Onstage!!!

Tata and I saw it last night, and were blown away by Ms. Salonga's stellar performance. 'Twas our first time to see her live, and what a treat it was! She was marvelous, incredible... I could list all the superlatives and still it wouldn't be enough to fully convey how awesome it was to hear favorites like Sun and Moon, I'd Give My Life For You, Kailan, A Whole New World, Reflection and the highlight of the show (for me) as well as the subject of a previous post, Two Words performed L-I-V-E.

*sighs in remembered bliss*

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Talking about performing... I'm very lucky that my day job allows me to accept harangs aka gigs (though I'm not sure if this will still be the case, come June). Last week I sang at a dinner in the Executive House, and just this Thursday we had a show in Baclaran (read all about it in my twinnie's blog).

I had an epiphany that night. You see, half of the 20 songs we did were Filipino kundimans and folk songs like Sarung Banggui, Nasaan Ka Irog, Matud Nila, Pakiusap, Madaling Araw, Bituing Marikit, etc. And it was so overwhelming, how a lot of the audience members were septa/octogenarians, and how they shed tears and were deeply moved when they heard these pieces performed.

And I realized it doesn't really matter that not very many people listen to the kind of music we perform, if these few truly appreciate it. And if we want to expand our audience, we have to start from the grassroots level... with the kind of music education our people are getting.

Also, I realized more fully the importance of music graduates in the preservation of our heritage. When our grandfathers/grandmothers pass on, who will be left to study and perform the wealth of beautiful Filipino music of past generations?

It is a sweet burden to bear.

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I have to prepare for two lectures I'm giving this week... one on Dalcroze and one on Kodaly. I'll be sharing what I learned in the summer workshops I took to my fellow teachers. Wish me luck!!!