Posted by Teacher Ria in College, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Learning from Outside the Classroom

If there is one thing I wish I had the chance to do when I was younger, it was to have had the opportunity to become an exchange student…in Paris preferably. My eldest cousin was able to join a foreign exchange program at one point during his high school education and he was able to spend a year in a school in the United States and it was not just a fun opportunity, it really opened up a lot of doors for him. Obviously I never got to do it, but if I could, I really would have Although I would have wanted to do an exchange program to be immersed in a different culture in a school setting, other foreign exchange programs can either focus on touring/cultural exposure or on community service.

If I were a parent of a teenager, I would definitely encourage my son or daughter to try join one of those summer volunteer programs offered by various institutions and organizations. Some church groups, for example, even do teen summer community service activities which allows participants to truly engage in volunteer work. Not only do these programs allow let a teen volunteer abroad, this also allows the participant to explore his or her leadership abilities, as well as maximize their potentials.

Exchange programs, whether local or abroad, are definitely something worth investing in. Whether it is academic based, sports oriented or for socio-civic causes, the learning a teenager gets from this is truly priceless. This is really what learning is actually all about, in my opinion. It’s going beyond theory, it’s not just practice, but it’s actually living and breathing through what it is you try to learn, all done outside the four walls of a classroom.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades | 0 Comments

Teachers Goals this Trimester

This coming school year is bound to be a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. I can feel it already. But like any roller coaster ride (being someone who loves these kinds of rides, that is) there is that feeling of excitement and anticipation, and a bit of dread, in the pit of my stomach. At the end of the day, however, I know that this ride is going to be a good one. Like the roller coaster, there are more exciting parts, some that you kinda fear (like the sudden dips and in my case, the hanging upside down), and the feeling of comfort and accomplishment at the end of the ride.

This year I am facing a new challenge. One that I never thought I would. This would entail me doing the one thing I’ve always hated the most: research. While I have always hated it, deep down inside I know that I have the ability to do it and to think along the scholarly, intellectual lines that I keep running away from. Sure I don’t expect it to be fun, but in the end, I suppose I can say it was a great ride. I’m lucky too that going on this ride seems to not be sooo very difficult because of the support and encouragement I am receiving from people around me. I don’t even have to get a loan or to  check city payday advances or what not…after all, tuition can be so expensive, right?

And so because of that, I have to make some changes in the way I handle my time and my classes in order to really get things done.

So this term I aim to:

• give more relevant examinations that measure and assess learning without necessarily resorting to too many essays.
• avoid putting off checking papers and grading them so they don’t pile up
• work on more efficient time management
• stop cramming!!!
• oh…and on another note, I really wish I can really work on getting to memorize my students names quicker!!!

Keep your fingers crossed for me, ayt?

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades | 0 Comments

Random Snappies: Teacher Goes Back To School

Because I have given up my preschool job, I have had so much time to do nothing. Literally. Well, yeah, I was supposed to do a lot of work over the month and or so that classes in college had let out, but I think I really needed the break and so it was good that I was able to take a long enough hiatus from the daily grind.

Now, however, its back to school. And I realized….I SOOO MISS THE DAY TO DAY OF PRESCHOOL!! Haha…during the summer we usually decorate our classrooms and stuff, and I didn’t get that done this year so when I was asked to help decorate the psychology departments bulletin board, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. I tried my best to keep it “grown-up” and scholarly but…I guess there’s no way to get rid of the bright and shiny preschool teacher in me. My partner in crime in this task also happened to be a former preschool teacher so I guess we can’t do anything about the bright sunshiney preschooley vibe we went with. MWAHAHA. To be fair, it does add a little life to the seriousness of the room Lookit…it’s sooo cute

It isn’t done yet, but it’s still cute! Will post the updated version next week when I finish it. GAAAWD I MISS PRESCHOOL.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, College, Life Lessons, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Goodbye Academic Year 2010-2011 and THANK YOU

The time has come once again for me to bid farewell to another group of students and classes that I have grown to know and love.  It’s funny but this school year has, by far, been the most life changing one for me in so many ways and in so many facets of my life.

On a professional level, I have finally found a good balance between distance and closeness to my students, and I have the kids to thank for that. They have allowed me to see a side of me that I have tried hard not to get to know. As I posted on my “Teacher Ria” facebook page, these past few months have made me realize that there’s so much to teacher ria then i have allowed myself to know and that there is a whole wider world out there for me to learn from, if only i let it happen On a personal level, because I have embraced that openness and allowing-ness, I have become a much better person, I’d like to think.

As I end the term, I am exceptionally grateful for the students in both my developmental and clinical psychology classes for allowing me to learn from them as I tried to teach them more than just psychology, but about life in general.

To my Devpsyc students, thank you for the sweetest note ever I am glad you got to enjoy our “child-like” activities from time to time. Thank you too for always having such a lively discussion with me.  It still makes me laugh when I remember how our classroom discussions would often go all sorts of directions because you guys were always so open to giving your ideas, opinions and all. You also made me think a lot. It has definitely been one of the most enjoyable developmental psychology classes EVER.

From your essays, I take with me very important lessons. Yes, I know I give too many essays and just yesterday, two of you were teasing me about how I loooooove reading essays and my answer to you was: reading essays? toink. no. learning from my kids, yes

This term I had so many great essays to read, and while there were those that made me want to pull my hair out, there were some that simply took my breath away and made me say, wow.  These are but a few very important life lessons I will take with me from what I’ve learned from you. And if I helped you learn this, then I am blessed.

• “this realization has taught me to live in the present and not worry about the mistakes I’ve done in the past because there’s no use stressing over something that cannot be undone. Instead, I should learn from [these] mistakes and make sure not to repeat it; and not to over think the future because it will eventually come, there’s no use planning every single detail of tomorrow when many uncontrollable things can always get in the way”
• “[Life] is like playing Tetris where you have to find out how to win every level to be able to go on to the next; every one of them a different challenge”
• “I learned that throughout our life span, we develop because it is our nature to develop…to adapt to our surroundings and to try to survive the world. [As we pass through different stages] we arrive at the pit-stops of our lives. [Conflicts that exist] may possibly shake or weaken us, [but] we must learn to surpass them in order to…move on to the next stage”
• “They say that the most valuable lessons are not learned in school. Well, I beg to differ. The things you learn in school are just as valuable as the outside”
• “[Life can be difficult] but I always put in mind that there are no challenges that are meant not to be surpassed because that is the way it is [and that] is what life is all about: learning to breathe and take a step forward”
• “All in all an equally significant ideology I have grasped from this term in developmental psychology is the acceptance that change is the only permanent thing we have. No matter how much you want certain things to be preserved and remain the same, we must not struggle to hold on to them when the right time has come. All these things we must shed are part of growing up and are a part of life. Overstaying the welcome of things will hurt no one but the one who persists on keeping it and at times the object itself. This is how the world works whether we like it or not. But this does not mean we don’t have a hand in how these changes are made; in fact, I believe the most important changes are based on our decisions. I t is how we react to such things that truly define, shape and develop who we are”
  

And yes, this made reading all your essays oh-so-worth it. There were so many other brilliantly written ones but I will stop with these

And to my dear CLINPSY students…THANK YOU. I tried to teach you the skills and characteristics needed by a therapist/clinician, and though many of you said in our final class that you realized it isn’t for you, I would beg to disagree. In your own little ways, you all (okay, most of you haha), have the potential to be good therapists. Believe me when I say you guys have given me soooo much healing and insight after an exceedingly difficult second term. Being with you guys allowed me to, once more,  love what I do and for that, I will always be grateful.

To be honest, I’ve always made it a point not to have classes on my birthday (which this term’s last day of class ended with!), but for some reason, I just wanted to be with you guys on that day. And yes, it made my day extra special

I will miss you guys oh so very, very much

Here’s to a new school year ahead!

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Posted by Teacher Ria in College, Reflections | 0 Comments

Higher Learning

As I was making my final exam for the developmental psychology class I am teaching this trimester, I was suddenly reminded of the movie Higher Learning. It’s been quite a long time since that film was released, but it dawned on me that the movie was still relevant to many of the concepts I was teaching.

The story revolved around three college freshmen who realized that going to school was more than just a quest to getting their college degrees, rather, it is really a stop in one’s life journey. The learned that the important lessons in life were not just taken from within the four walls of the classroom but that it really went beyond that.

In my class, we did talk about the changing dynamics of education, especially in the past few years. As an educator, I  have seen an influx of very, very young students in masters programs in various universities. In fact, some of my old students ask me to fill up endorsement forms and letters of recommendation for graduate school immediately after they graduate. This lead us to questioning how these decisions influence later life choices and developmental needs and goals. Suffice it to say, these class discussions have really given me a new perspective on the way my students think and how different things are from the time of the movie I mentioned earlier. While there may be differences, however, I think the core components of this life stage still remain: this is the period where adolescents and young adults really search for their identity and step on a path that leads them to their future.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Arts and Crafts, Classroom Escapades, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Creating Keepsakes and Cherishing Memories

It’s been almost a week since I hung up the Teacher Ria hat that I wore for almost twelve years. It was so bittersweet to close the door on a career that I had (and continue to, in fact) loved very much. For all intents and purposes, being a preschool teacher was really what allowed me to feel most free, deeply loved and full of joy. To this day I question if it was the right decision, but I believe deep down inside that despite the fear and uncertainty, there is a whole new world of learning, living and loving for me to explore.

It was so timely, I should say, that I was invited to Hallmark/All About Scrapbooking Scrap and Tell Blogger event last Sunday at the Filstar head office in Pasig. It was the perfect ending to my preschool teaching life.

To be honest, I tried to get out of going to the event because I was feeling very nostalgic and sentimental (sige na nga, sad na rin) about having had to say goodbye to being Teacher Ria and I just wanted to spend the day in my room moping and grieving this loss (yes, I think it’s still important to honor that, right?). However, my friend Jeman convinced me —errr coerced should I say! haha — me to come and so I did. Armed with several photos of my days as Teacher Ria, I headed off to the event.

Before the event, the days hosts gave us a brief introduction to what scrapbooking is, and explained the different techniques and procedures involved in the craft. They also showed us all the equipment available for the art of scrapbooking, and although this was nothing new to me, I couldn’t help but still be amazed at how much I still didn’t know about it!

After the demonstration and discussion, we were given our own kits to create our own keepsakes

photo taken by Jeman

Like I said, I thought I already knew how to scrapbook well enough, especially since this is something we often do in the preschool. I learned, however, that I can do so much more, such as how to create more nostalgic effects by rubbing sand paper on the colored sheets of paper to make it look old and frayed. An interesting bit of trivia I learned from the event was when you tear paper towards you, it gives you that “torn” texture to the page that is left behind but if you tear it away from you, it comes out more smooth and does not leave marks on it. Never knew that before!!! Haha.

Suffice it to say the event shoo-d away my sadness about leaving my job and left me with a happier sense of reminiscing the twelve years I spent with so many children, all of whom taught me the essentials in life. I think this says it all:

to love with no questions, to laugh with no fear, to try witout worries...all these i learned in kindergarten

Scrapbooking with Hallmark’s All about Scrapbooking line sure makes the craft so much easier. When I was first doing this for my students portfolios in the past, I had to cut out shapes individually, color them one by one and I wouldn’t have very nice materials for it. Now, it’s so much easier! The kits range from about Php 150-200 and the albums about Php 225. The stickers and accessories range from about Php 25-100, depending on the style, size and material. In my opinion,that’s quite affordable!

Although it may not be appropriate for very young children, kids of about age 7 and up can enjoy scrapbooking with mommies and daddies any time. This will be a fun way for them to create their own memories, not just with the photos they see but also with the journey they take while making these scrapbooks.

For me, that Sunday afternoon was well worth it, even though I got lost trying to find the venue! It made me cherish my time as Teacher Ria a little bit more and it gave me that sweet goodbye as I walk away from the preschool into the bigger world out there, knowing that anytime, I can take out that Scrap and Tell project I made and recall those days with fondness.

My Scrap and Tell Project as posted in the All About Scrapbooking Facebook Page

nicey, right? drop by All About Scrapbooking’s Facebook Page and Like my project!!!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, College | 0 Comments

Oh My Gawd She’s Human!

Last Thursday I had a great laugh courtesy of my crazy Clinpsy students.

Lemme put it in context: a few weeks ago in class, I was dressed in this bright red dress and one of my students randomly made a comment about her red pair of Keds that were too big for her and asked if I would be interested in buying it from her. One of her classmates suddenly quipped: Miss, you know pa ba what Keds are?? TOIIINK!!!!

Anyway, her point was that she had never seen me wearing anything but stilettos (or wedges at the very least) and so it seemed implausible for me to actually ever wear flats.

Well, in some ways it’s true because since around July of last year I had stopped wearing flats. If ever I did, it would be flip flops but for the most part, it was always heels. So when my friend told me to wear flats or rubber shoes when we went to the 16th Hot Air Balloon Fest a few weeks ago, I had to dig out my old Crocs. While we were in Clark, I decided to stop and take a photo of my feet since it had been way too long since I had last worn flats. While I was doing so, my friend snapped a shot of me too:

And so when she posted this on Facebook, I had to show my kooky students that indeed, I do wear flats too. Haha. Of course I had to invade some other walls to do that because I absolutely refuse to add students to my own account haha….too much drama I swear.

Anyway,  after I did, I kinda regretted it a bit, because I realized I would never live it down, but well, it’s too late now.

And so when I went to class last Thursday I was greeted by that statement:

Oh my gaaaawd she’s human after all. Haha.

Funny, funny things that happen in class I tell ya.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Lesson Plans, Preschool, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

The Senior’s Seed Experiment

Earlier this month we were discussing plants in our class. In order to supplement the discussion, I decided to have the kids do an experiment. I had them bring several different kinds of seeds and then we went on to do our scientific inquiry.

Here’s what we did:

We started out with an inquiry (a.k.a. creating a hypothesis) in which the children were asked what they think will happen to the seeds if put in a pot with soil and given water and sunshine. To do this I had them chart it on a Manila paper. In this part I had them draw the pots and seeds (although our pots didn’t look like real pots, they were just like dark circles in the middle of the paper with little dots for seeds haha).

Then we did some observations on the seed, the soil and all other materials we used. I asked them to take note of the similarities and differences of the seeds, such as size, color and shape. Some of them even smelled the seeds (which almost gave me a heart attack because they’re so tiny, right???) and one even attempted to taste it. Thank God I saw it on time haha.

After this, we listed the procedures of the experiment (such as put soil in the pot, drop the seeds, etc.) and then actually carried out the procedure.

Of course after carrying out the experiment, we got ready to record our observations and what happens in the experiment

So…after two weeks, the kids found out that:

Teacher shouldn’t plan activities right before we go on a break. Haha. Yes…I had forgotten that the whole week of Feb. 14-18 was not a regular school week because of Paranaque Day, our school field trip, and parent-teacher conferences. Haha.

Seriously though, they did get a chance to see the plants grow

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Preschool, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Field Trip Destination: Paradizoo Theme Farm

A few days ago our school took a field trip to Paradizoo in Tagaytay City.

The kids had so much fun in the vast open spaces of the farm. Bad teacher wasn’t paying attention to the tour guide so I cannot, for the life of me, remember how many hectares the farm is haha, but it took us about 45 minutes to tour the different areas in the venue. From the animal farm to the plants and vegetables, a butterfly sanctuary and a bee center, the different stops we took allowed the kids to see nature at its best.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, College | 0 Comments

Today’s OH MY GOSH IM OLD Moment.

In class today we were playing one of those games where you throw out a question and the students answer whatever comes to mind.

Yes, I joined in and got toinked.

Question: If you were transported to cartoonland and can take on the personality of a cartoon character, who would it be.

My answer: Rainbow Brite.

Students: Rainbow who?

Ouch.

Ktnxbai.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Preschool, Teacher's Corner, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

The Playschool Fire Safety Day

A couple of months ago, during our discussion about health and safety, we lucky enough to get our local fire department send over some firemen to share with the kids some fire safety measures and procedures. The kids loved the fact that they got to ride in the fire truck, “shoot” the fire hose, and some even got to put on the fireman’s uniform, complete with those giant boots or overshoes. Sadly, though, it was a rainy day when the firemen came to visit so they didn’t get to fully enjoy their ride on the truck.

It was quite easy enough to get our local barangay to send the firemen over to the school. We just made some simple requests and it was quickly granted. Part of the Fire Safety Program included teaching the kids about “stop, drop and roll”  as well interactive exercises about what to do during an emergency.

I strongly recommend that all preschools devote a day to this. After all, we do all sorts of fire drills and the like in elementary and high school, right? Preschoolers need to know this just as much!

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, College | 0 Comments

Random Moments of Flattery

Warning: this is an All About Miss Ria post Haha.

Among the things I like about teaching in the undergrad are random moments of flattery from my students, whether they are aware of it or not. It always makes me feel good about my choice of profession, even though it is often times quite difficult.

Things I have loved hearing (or overhearing for that matter) include:

• Oh, Miss, your cologne smells so nice (as I walk by )
• How cool is this assignment? weee….
• How cute naman your outfit Miss!
• Miss, that whole metaphor thing…amazing (oooh…they actually listen!)
• On the elevators
  • Student 1: Who’s the prof for that subject?
  • Student 2: I don’t know who to pick nga e, Tirazona or (names of other prof)
  • Student 1: Oh, go pick Tirazona, she’s so fun!
• While standing by the window waiting for the projector to light up, I was facing out, back turned to the students and then one goes.. “Wow Miss Ria, you’re getting payat na (thin already!) WOOT! Yes, flattered much.

Things I feel uncomfortable hearing or reading however, include

• Negative comments about fellow colleagues
• Questions/comments about alcohol and partying. Yes, I may do these things but it’s not for class consumption
• In the same manner, topics like what are the best diet pills or weight loss techniques. Much as I may be working at my own weight loss, I feel I shouldn’t be advising or talking about these to my students because they may just go and do it (eeep….)
• Hearing them bully or tease other students
• Complaints about education being useless
• Asking what the “prize” is if they submit tasks early

Overall, however, while I may have listed more things I don’t like than those I like, one thing I know for sure is I SO LOVE TEACHING MY COLLEGE KIDS

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Lesson Plans, Preschool, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

Stop, Look and Listen!

A few weeks ago, we were discussing transportation in our classes. The kids had a blast pretending to be traffic enforcers and learning all about stop lights. We made them little cardboard signs that we used to signal the drivers and they had so much fun doing that!

Other things we did (or can do for that matter) in discussing this topic includes:

• For the older kids, we made a stop light as an indicator of their “warnings” in class. Beside each color (red, yellow, green) is a little pocket where I put in their names if they are misbehaving in class.
• Cut and pasting art activity where the kids get to make their own stoplights
• In the juniors they did a “read” and color activity
• Car wash day!
• Invite resource speakers like a police officer or a roadside assistance club worker who can show them how to set up an early hazard device and talk about how to be safe on the road

Any other ideas?

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Preschool, Teacher's Corner | 4 Comments

Term End Thank You’s!!!

It’s hard to believe how quickly the term has gone…it seems like only yesterday when I wrote my thank you post for the first trimester but here I am again, sitting and reflecting about what I am thankful for this term.

Admittedly, given the fact that this isn’t a very good day for me, and that this term has been, um…extremely challenging to say the least. After such a heart-warming and fulfilling term, this one came as a sudden surprise, but more in the personal level rather than professional, mainly because of the fact that my schedule was not so great this term mainly because it meant I wouldn’t get to see my friends in the department too often. Plus of course the fact that there were some people and things missing as well in the department (ktnxbai ). On the professional side, however, this term started quite well I still am trying to find the silver lining to the term.

So here goes….

Thank you that the LCD projectors now have virtual remotes (even though I still don’t like where it’s set up because it is sooo hard to manipulate. plus let’s not forget the lighting in some of my classrooms is not all that great so it’s either I’m plunged in darkness or stuck in brightness because all the lights are connected to one switch only).

Thank you that it wasn’t too rainy and stormy throughout the term so I didn’t have to worry too much about the weather.

Thank you that my “Miss Ria’s Exams bring Natural Disasters” curse broke!!! Haha. Yes….my exams have happened at the same time as earthquakes, sudden rainstorms and freak floods.

Thank you to my thesis mentees for, well, finding a way to make research interesting. Then again, when we talk about shopping, how can you go wrong, right?

Thank you for that little corner in the Andrew Library which made my Wednesdays bearable because otherwise, it would have been very, very lonely to make the trek back to the department in between classes.

Thank you to the random people who kept me sane and grounded throughout the term by sharing their bits of advice, positivity and love whether in person, online or through text.

Thank you to my Persef2 classes, the Bio majors and the errr….what was that again? Management? Marketing??? (haha) for making classes fun all the time.

Thank you to my Persef1 classes for….um….well….challenging me beyond belief. Yes, I ranted a lot about you guys, wrote several blog posts because of you, but I would like to hold on to the notion that no matter what, things happen for a reason.

but most of all THANK YOU to my Clinpsy students who made teaching a joy for me this term, even though I think I did talk a weeeeee bit too much about myself this term hahaha. Remember: what we talked about stays inside those four walls, okay?? haha. Oh, but of course you MUST take what you learned about Clinical Psych outside of our classroom. But seriously, THANK YOU for a wonderful term. I learned so much through you, with you and because of you

Miss Ria

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Lesson Plans, Preschool, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

Where Would You Wanna Go?

I want to ride the airplane! I will go to....

While discussing the theme transportation, I overheard my students talking about where they would like to go if they could ride an airplane. Since they were so caught up in their conversation, I decided to have them make an activity out of it. I asked our other teacher to prepare some paper airplanes (errr….I seem to suck at paper folding haha) then I had the kids design their planes and we did a show and tell activity.

It was fun to hear their opinions and ideas about what it would be like to ride in a plane, and I was able to have some of the kids who have been on planes talk about their experiences. They described how it feels to have their tummies feel all funny during turbulence, how the clouds look when it’s right outside their windows, and one even so perfectly imitated the sound of one of the toilet flushing in those cramped bathrooms in airplanes.

Before they ended their turns, I asked them where they would like to go if they were on an airplane. As expected, the typical answer I got was “Hong Kong Disneyland” but here were some cute responses:

• I will go to the province to visit my lola
• I want to go to Japan because it’s snow (errr…that’s how she said it!)
• We will ride the airplane and live in Canada in May (their family is relocating there soon)
• I wanna ride the airplane and go to Africa because I wanna go on a safari and see the elephants and the zebras and the dinosaurs. Then Basti can come with me.
• I will go to Daddy in Qatar (awwwww nice, right????)

but my biggest laugh came from this:

• I wanna ride the airplane so I can go to SM with Mommy and Daddy. (ay kalayo man ng SM!!!!)

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Preschool, Reflections | 0 Comments

Growing Up Too Fast

In as much as I love seeing the little girls in my class all dolled up and prettified, sometimes it freaks me out when I see:

• heeled sandals for a three year old
• dresses that resemble lingerie (complete with the straps and lace and strings….)
• nail polish on those little fingers and toes
• lipstick for everyday (actually, I don’t even like it for the programs, if I had my way)

sigh. Think Toddlers and Tiaras…or similar beauty pageants.

I do think they’re cute and all, but sometimes, I wish parents realize that they kinda make their kids grow up too quickly. I remember when I was a child, we’d wear braids and have sandals that strapped in a more functional way! I’ve had so many almost-accidents in class because my kids wear all these sandals that are made to look like mommy’s! Errr….may women I know struggle with such kinds of shoes, what more children, right?

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