Looking Forward to Number Four!

I've always loved the number four, though I don't really know why. My class number has always been a multiple of four... usually its square (sixteen). My nickname's got four letters. Growing up, my favorite books had four amazing sisters (Little Women and The Little House On A Prairie series).

The fact that it's my fourth year of teaching that's coming up... well, I'm excited! :) I'm no longer a greenhorn, and this is the first school year that I'll be re-teaching subjects that I've previously taught. Which means I have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and will hopefully teach these subjects better than in the previous years.

The new challenge for me this year is the dreaded six-letter word, the Word That Must Not Be Named... T.H.E.S.I.S.

It's extra challenging for me because this is the first time I'll be writing one... you see, my Music undergrad.didn't require thesis-writing. I "only" had to sing in four recitals in consecutive semesters (the last one being an opera, whew!).

I'm hoping and praying that, if my thesis topic gets approved, I can pursue this subject that merges my loves: Teaching Preschoolers, Kodály, and Music!

I'm also looking forward to seeing more of my beloved brother, who'll be joining us this year as a practicum teacher. Yay!

This video captures the excitement I feel whenever I'm about to start a new school year! :)

Must sleep early tonight... for tomorrow until March, I'll be waking up at 4:30 every morning!

On William Henry Scott and U.P.

One of the pleasures of Summer is having an hour or so of free time each day to read non-work-related books. :) Most of the books I read in a year are hastily consumed by my eyes during this golden period of lazy breakfasts and shorter work hours.

I've heard of William Henry Scott through my dad and former professors in UP, but never had the opportunity to read him until now.

My golly! I'm in love!!

He's a White Filipino, and I love him for loving the Philippines as much as much as every UP graduate and every Filipino ought to.

A Yale and Columbia University alum as well as being a lay missionary, his literary output is staggeringly broad as it encompasses scholarly works, sermons and strongly-worded articles speaking against the corruption of Martial Law, advocating unity among the Filipino youth and begging them to take action. But always, he writes with a distinctive voice that perfectly blends simplicity and profundity.

In one of his many articles, he writes:

"The State University (Aside: where he taught for several years, alongside the likes of Teodoro Agoncillo) ... is supported by the sweat of the Filipino people's labor and therefore exists only to serve them, and so it aims to produce public-spirited, civic-minded men and women conscious of the responsibility which their privileged status entails and willing to dedicate their skills to the service of their fellow men rather than to the advancement of their own careers and the prosperity of their own fortunes..." (emphases mine)

Several months back, a viral video went around featuring Winnie Monsod's last lecture, where she exhorted her students to help our country by staying in it. Since then, the video has inspired backlash, with a lot of expats rising to defend themselves (defensive much?) and lambasting Prof. Monsod for being narrow-minded, backward, illogical, etc. (Click here and here for anti-Winnie reads.)

I think we would do well to remember W.H. Scott's perspective. He saw nation-building as a godly act, and, like former UP President Salvador Lopez, understood that "not only our individual redemption but also the redemption of our country lies in the hollow of our hands."

The way I see it, it's a lot like Faith. Christians today (in the Philippines, at least) don't have the same appreciation for their faith because they are no longer being persecuted. They don't have to celebrate mass underground, hiding from fascists who seek to exterminate them for breaking the law. In the same way, many Filipinos today don't appreciate the freedom that our forefathers died for, since we breathed in the air of liberty from birth.

Freedom was just the initial step towards becoming a great nation, but if all of us leave the country, claiming that self-actualization is not a sin, who's going to stay in the Motherland to do the hard, dirty work? For as long as Filipinos love greener stateside pastures more than the dirty patch of land we call "ours," we cannot call ourselves "great."

I'm not saying that staying in the country is the right choice. I'm saying it's the HARDER choice. (It's a different case with UP graduates, however. For us, most especially, I really believe that staying in the country, working for its betterment, is the ONLY thing to do.)

It's harder to stay here, because it's unpopular, and migrating is so "now." Next, we have to live with all the corruption, traffic, heat, low wages, etc. We have to put up with a LOT, actually, just living our day-to-day lives. But it will not last forever.

William Henry Scott BELIEVED in our country, and loved it so much he chose to stay in it, despite all the terrors of Martial Law. Why can't we true-blooded Pinoys do the same?

Yes, I'm a fanatic. Yes, I've been brought up to believe that Filipinos SHOULD stay in the country, to serve it during the best years of my life and not to avail of its resources in order to leave it at the first opportunity. And yes, I realize that logic has little to do with this argument. It all boils down to FEELINGS. It all boils down to one question: How much do you love your country?

I've heard the arguments. I've talked to people on either side of the fence. But in the end, I've made my choice. I pray that I can hold on to it for the rest of my life.

Pasensiya na, I'm a UP grad. :)

Of Books and of Baguio

Recently, I had the most wonderful three-day weekend in Baguio with my bosom buddies from Ex Libris Philippines. We took the Victory Liner Deluxe bus (highly recommended! Only five hours travel time and no stop overs, with an in-house loo!) and arrived on a cold Friday morning. An unexpected blessing: early check-in was allowed at our lovely hotel, so we had more time to stroll around the Summer Capital!

Of course, we made it a point to visit as many bookshops as we could in the city proper, so we paid homage to CID, Jet, National and Book Sale. But Mt. Cloud Book Shop was in a class all by itself!

I arrived in Baguio with two bags, and departed with five. Three of those bags were full of books, some purchased for as low as P10.00 - P20.00!! \

Aside from eating, sleeping, and book shopping, we also played Guesstures, read aloud from Arnel Salgado's "Kidnapped by the Gods" (and learned new ways to use words like anon, foliage, firmament in everyday language!), and screamed ourselves hoarse during three hours of playing Left for Dead and Counterstrike in an internet cafe. Haha, we forgot to be our mature, professional selves and became high school teenagers all over again!

I felt a bit like Rizal, who spent most of his money on books when travelling abroad ... then again, I had ample funds left over to ensure that I took a shower and ate three lovely meals a day. :p Who needs mountains of souvenirs when you've got tons of memories, snapshots, and dozens of books?

Sa uulitin!!

On Being Catholic

Image taken from here

Lately, the Catholic Church's been all over the news (and not in a very favorable light, either) thanks to a priest kicking out RH Bill supporters from a mass and some prelates making nigh-near seditious comments about our President.

It's gotten to a point that RH Bill supporters are being exhorted to bring handy gadgets to record priest's Lenten sermons... that fellow Catholics are seriously contemplating leaving the Church... and within the Church, the divide continues to grow between so-called "genuine Catholics" (by virtue of their "correct" stance re: the controversial bill) and other Catholics with "malformed consciences" who do not share their opinion.

I am Catholic.

I am pro-RH Bill.

All this media hullabaloo has become very personal to me, to say the least.

I'm sure there are thousands of others out there, like me.

This is why I'm glad I "stumbled" upon this gem of a reminder in the blogosphere, and I hope others will find it enlightening as well.

"To me, the Church is kind of like having an alcoholic mother: majestic one minute; engaging in some cringingly non-Christ-like behavior the next. But no matter what, she’s your Mother. No matter what, you love your mother. And the way you love her is you notice when she goes wrong, you grieve for her, you mourn for her, and then you silently resolve to help her do a little better. You don’t pretend not to see her faults and get all self-righteous and militaristic if someone attacks her—but you also don’t kick her when she’s down..."

Heather King, Shirt of Flame

(Source: Happy Catholic)

For the past several months, Filipino Catholics have been praying the Oratio Imperata for the Protection of Human Life towards the end of each mass. I know of some RH Bill supporters who refused to pray it, yet I find no conflict between my personal stance and this very-diplomatically worded prayer. I believe it's for ALL Filipinos, for both RH Bill supporters and detractors.

This Lent, let's pray for our country and our people. With one voice, let's put aside our differences, and come together... disregarding religious denominations and political stances, and pray that the Resurrected Christ guide us to a brighter tomorrow.

Summertime

"Summertime... and the livin' is easy..."

~George Gershwin, from Porgy and Bess

While most people would equate summertime as beach/party/snooze-all-day time, for my family and I, it's a different story. The past school year has gone, but there's a lot that needs to be done to prepare for the new one! So it's work as usual, only that it is less hectic than normal and I can look forward to leaving paperwork at the office instead of lugging it home. :)

For me, summertime means a leisurely breakfast in the morning, as opposed to the usual gulp-down-my-coffee-and-pray-the-water's-not-too-hot kind which I subject myself to from June to March. A summer breakfast would be something like this:

Then teaching duties in the morning, followed by handling a stream of inquiries in the afternoon, planning seminars, additional teaching duties... and who knows? Perhaps there's time for a half hour jog around the village before dinner time! And perhaps, a lunch or dinner date with friends during the weekend! No smoke-filled bars, of course... after all, I AM a teacher now.

~ ~ ~

Summer is all about bright cheery colors adding new zest to life! Here are a few of my summer blog favorites:

Matchbook Magazine, an online magazine for the classy lady who loves all things smart and beautiful! I could just EAT the layouts, they're that scrumptious!

Number two is Oh Joy! ,the delightful blog of graphic designer Joy Cho (assisted from time to time by various colleagues and her husband as well... isn't that sweet?). Reading this blog gives us a glimpse into the famous cozy, laid-back California lifestyle!

My next link is the personal blog of yet another graphic designer who calls herself Mrs. Lilien. Poets everywhere will be delighted with this page, a rolicking rampage of rhyming cadences! Illustrating the blog owner's philosophy in life through the "Seven Persuasions" instead of the Seven Deadly Sins, she exhorts us with one-liners like "The Persuasion of Making the Mundane Magnificent!"

And of course, nothing beats watching Nigella Lawson videos on YouTube! I especially love the dessert ones. I adore her passion for life which translates to her passion for good food, and how she insists on having nothing less than full-fat milk! The more chocolate, the better! A woman after my own stomach.

~ ~ ~

Lest you think I'm a totally decadent creature obsessed with leisure and all things frilly, I do have a few intellectual pursuits as well this summer. :)

Apart from the usual lesson planning for the year ahead, I'm also in the Thesis Writing stage of my graduate studies! Yay! I should have a clear idea of my thesis topic before June starts, so that no time will be wasted once I register for the necessary units. Will be doing quite a lot of serious academic reading... oooh... and a lot of academic writing. Better brush up on my academic jargon and Latin phrases over the next two months as well.

On the un-academic reading side, I'll be reading the James Clavell Asian Saga novels (Taipan, Gai-Jin, Shogun, etc.) since my twinnie bought them and hasn't stopped raving about how unputdownable they are. Yeeees... the Asian Civilization teacher within will out!

I also hope to be able to blog more frequently this summer... say, once or twice a week, just to get the writing juices flowing. Am badly out of practice, as my awkward, halting prose shows!

Here's to a fun-filled yet productive summer for everyone!

Summertime

"Summertime... and the livin' is easy..."

~George Gershwin, from Porgy and Bess

While most people would equate summertime as beach/party/snooze-all-day time, for my family and I, it's a different story. The past school year has gone, but there's a lot that needs to be done to prepare for the new one! So it's work as usual, only that it is less hectic than normal and I can look forward to leaving paperwork at the office. :)

For me, summertime means a leisurely breakfast in the morning, as opposed to the usual gulp-down-my-coffee-and-pray-the-water's-not-too-hot kind which I subject myself to from June to March. A summer breakfast would be something like this:

Then teaching duties in the morning, followed by handling a stream of inquiries in the afternoon, planning seminars, additional teaching duties... and who knows? Perhaps there's time for a half hour jog around the village before dinner time! And perhaps, a lunch or dinner date with friends during the weekend! No smoke-filled bars, of course... after all, I AM a teacher now.

~ ~ ~

Summer is all about bright cheery colors adding new zest to life! Here are a few of my summer blog favorites:

Matchbook Magazine, an online magazine for the classy lady who loves all things smart and beautiful! I could just EAT the layouts, they're that scrumptious!

Number two is Oh Joy! ,the delightful blog of graphic designer Joy Cho (assisted from time to time by various colleagues and her husband as well... isn't that sweet?). Reading this blog gives us a glimpse into the famous cozy, laid-back California lifestyle!

My next link is the personal blog of yet another graphic designer who calls herself Mrs. Lilien. Poets everywhere will be delighted with this page, a rolicking rampage of rhyming cadences! Illustrating the blog owner's philosophy in life through the "Seven Persuasions" instead of the Seven Deadly Sins, she exhorts us with one-liners like "The Persuasion of Making the Mundane Magnificent!"

~ ~ ~

Lest you think I'm a totally decadent creature obsessed with leisure and all things frilly, I assure you, I do have intellectual pursuits as well this summer. :)

Living Life with Harmony

This past school year, I was the adviser to a darling group of children between the ages of 2 and 7. My first preschool advisory class, Casa Harmony, will forever have a special place in my heart! I really feel like I was the mother (albeit only for three hours a day) to fourteen adorable youngsters, and I shall miss them terribly this summer.

Handling preschoolers is a totally different experience! Some people look down on preschool teachers... I'm ashamed to say that even other fellow educators treat preschool teachers condescendingly. I once had a classmate in grad school scoff, "You're a preschool teacher? Wow! What do you guys teach them? ABC's?" *with matching superior sneer*

Yes, I teach them ABC's. I teach the basics. I teach them how to read and write, and how to count beyond their fingers and toes. I teach them to treat the people around them with respect. I teach them to wash their hands before they eat, how to button their shirts, how to greet everybody that comes in with a cheery "Good morning!" at 7:15 a.m.

I teach them to solve their differences peacefully, not by using their fists, but by talking and sharing their thoughts and feelings.

I teach them how to sing the National Anthem, how to say the Panatang Makabayan and how to raise their right hands properly. I teach them to treat the Flag Ceremony as a holy ritual, for in it we follow the footsteps of the heroes gone before us in swearing to love our country and work tirelessly for its betterment.

I teach them respect for other faiths as we pray together as a class... Muslims side by side with Iglesia ni Cristo, Born Again and Catholic students. I teach them to love everyone around them because everyone is a friend. I teach them how to eat with a spoon and fork like a prince or a princess, and how to clean up after their mess because we all must pitch in to take care of our environment.

And every day I teach them Music. We sing when we start the class, and we sing upon going home. I teach them that there's no problem you can't solve with a smile on your face and a song on your lips, matching the harmony in your heart.

And no, in the preschool classroom, we don't care how much your outfit costs, or how much money you make, or who your father is and what Ivy League school you came from.

In the preschool classroom, we love everyone by virtue of our common humanity. Which is as it should be.

There's nothing quite like teaching preschool students. Try it! It's good for the soul. :)