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November 16, 2010 Declared a National Holiday

Earlier today, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Proclamation No. 60 declaring November 16, 2010 as an official national holiday in observance of Eid’l-Adha of the Islam Feast of Sacrifice. While many may still miss the “let’s-move-the-holiday-to-Monday” habit the former administration had implemented, I personally think that observing holidays on it’s actual days is a good thing…after all, that’s why we honor the date right? But of course…I won’t deny I kinda wish the long weekends

While it may not be a long weekend for most, I’m sure a lot were still glad to have a sudden and unexpected reprieve from the long work week…especially nowadays when traffic is so darned bad!

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

Back In My Time…

In class these past few days, I used the line “back when I….” so many times over I had to literally laugh out loud. Every time I would say it, I would literally chuckle and tell my students that when I hear myself say that, I suddenly feel so very old.  And yes, each time I say that, my students get a good laugh out of it!!! In all honesty, sometimes I forget that things have changed so much from “my time”. I still remember that our “big” issues back then were about whether or not to pluck our eyebrows or what acne products would work best for our skin type and whether or not our hair should be teased or straightened or what not. Today, the issues and concerns are so very different that it’s somewhat overwhelming. I have students as young as 16 or 17 coming to me about feelings that I never felt till I was much older! On one hand, it scares me to bits, on the other, I feel like it’s a good thing. What I’ve realized however, that whether it is back in my time or in my student’s time today, one thing still remains true: that no matter how hard we try, there are just so many things we can’t understand. Hehe. At the end of the day what I am reminded of, and what I tell them all the time, is that it doesn’t really matter why or how things happen, but what counts is what we do with these things that happen.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in College, Reflections, Teacher's Corner | 1 Comment

Dear Students, Part 2.

Hello there Dears,

Yes, it is me again, your teacher.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen this side of me…the side that gets soooo overwhelmed and upset with the fact that no matter how hard I try, I can’t not let your behavior get to me. And like last time, I find myself so frustrated with things that happened in class and I thought it best to let you know how I feel about it.

So here it goes: like in my last letter to you, I’d like to remind you that while I may be one of the most lenient and “child”- centered teachers you will ever meet, please don’t forget that I am human too….and that I can only take so much pushing before I tip over and lose the smile I try to keep while we’re together. Please remember that I ask very little of you, especially since I am one of those teachers who firmly believes that it is not the facts and figures that you remember in my class that matters, but that you actually liked what you learned and how you got to learn this in my class. I like letting you have fun because for me, this is what really makes learning more meaningful and life changing. As I often tell you in class, aanhin mo naman lahat ng theories kung hindi mo rin gagamitin, diba? Also, please remember that more than just doing well in my activities and exams, what really counts for me is to see you become better people and this is not measured simply by scores in tests, but by your character, behavior and attitude. I feel at times that no matter how hard I try to help you find it, the lost art of respect, gratitude and proper etiquette is an impossibility…..but I am trying very hard not to believe that, because what kind of a world would we have if that becomes a fact, right?

So yes, today I got my buttons pushed by you guys and yes, I tried hard to remain calm and focused on the bigger picture. What I ask from you now, however, is that you not make it too hard for me to keep on wanting to do what I do in class because believe me, in as much as I looooove it to bits, there are days when I have to think about it.

Oh, do know while today may not have been such a wonderful day for me, do know that I have had so much fun and felt so much joy while teaching you guys. If you could only see my Facebook wall after class, more often than not I sing (well, you know what I mean!) praises of you all the time because many, many times, I take away more than I would have expected from class. The little jokes we exchange, the pseudo-intellectual conversations we carry on, and yes, the heartfelt discussions we have really make my day. And yes…that’s what keeps me going. That’s what makes me stay true to being not just a teacher, but a teacher here in the Philippines despite the fact that my contemporaries have found greener pastures elsewhere.

Till next time, but hopefully in better circumstances,

Miss Ria

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

Treasure Hunting

In the past three weeks, I’ve been attempting to restore some order to my once organized room (um…well, people around me may disagree with that, but I’d like to think that despite my mess, I live in a room full of organized chaos, harhar!) because it simply has become overrun with too much clutter. I decided that before I completely leave the preschool, I might as well give them all the stuff that I have collected over the years that can be of better use there. I found a lot of hidden treasures in my cleaning up, I must say. This included old beads and paints, to scratch papers and even all the press kits and freebies from events  as well as other tradeshow giveaways including all those pharma bags, pens and stuff from conventions that I’ve attended. Talk about lots of stuff! I’m trying to figure out, however, how best to dispose of all the CD press kits I have collected over the years. I remember once, we used this as Christmas tree decorations, so maybe we can do something like that again this year hehe. I’m not really done sorting stuff yet, but so far, I’ve got three boxes full of  “trash” which hopefully soon will become treasures for the little kids I teach

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Arts and Crafts, Classroom Escapades, Lesson Plans, Outside the Classroom, Preschool, Teacher's Corner, Tips and Tricks, Toys and Playthings | 0 Comments

The Alphabet Project

...taking reading out of just books...l

Contrary to what would be assumed, given that I am a teacher who teaches preschoolers after all, learning to read did not come easy for me. For those who have been reading my blog for quite some time now, you probably are familiar with the fact that I was diagnosed with a mild form of dyslexia as a child.  Yes, early on, I couldn’t read. Lucky for me, I had a teacher who noticed the red flags very, very early on and thus I was able to receive interventions very early on.

Back then, I couldn’t learn my letters very well, much less put them together to form words. As I understand (this is based on stories told to me by my mom and people around me, because I don’t really remember first hand anymore what it was like in the beginning), I would write my letters in mirror image and I couldn’t identify them properly. As I grew up, I loved reading but in hindsight, I realize I never was really good at it. I tended to skip words and make them up as I’d go along. It helped, however, that I had a good grasp of the English language and I enjoyed playing word games that allowed me to make up the right words as I went along.

Speaking of word games, this was really how I learned to read. In many ways, I would have to say I was really lucky that my mom is not a very traditional mom, so she really went out of her way to find ways to make learning more interesting and fun for someone like me. One way she taught me the alphabet was through the use of shells and corals in the beaches we often would frequent when I was a child. It helped a lot, I would like to say, because looking for these letters allowed me to work on my perceptual reasoning skills and helped me be able to see how letters really look like. To this day, whenever I am in a beach, I go and collect these shells to spell out stuff, just like these:

So today, I was inspired to start a new project. I want to take my alphabet project outside of just the beach and be able to find letters all around me and take photos of them. Here are a few examples:

Let’s see what I can find! Do feel free to take photos and send them to me via my Facebook Page so I can add them up

To keep tabs on the project, please check out my Alphabet Project Flickr Set

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

Seeing the Bigger Picture

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

One of the storybooks I like reading to my undergraduate students is the Scholastic Book The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. I often use this when discussing the topic cultural sensitivity in my Personal Effectiveness classes. The students love the fact that I read them a kids book in class (although I’d like to think this is an older kids’ type of book ) and I love how the story reminds them to look at the bigger picture when coming up with decisions or making assessments.

I end the discussion by telling them that we are often guided by “traditional fairy tales” we’ve heard in the past, thus we do things mindlessly and draw conclusions that may not be valid or apt for a given situation. Also, I remind them that one reason we always feel so inadequate in our social environments is because of the fact that we allow these stereotypes and assumptions dictate who we are and how we should behave in our world. As such, we fail to see the bigger picture. Perhaps this is why even adolescents now go get plastic surgery and take all sorts of diet supplements and even inject themselves or take pills that have human growth hormones just so they become thinner, taller, whiter, and so on and so forth.What matters most at the end of the day, I like to tell them, is that we like who we are on the inside

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Preschool, Reflections | 0 Comments

But You’re Too Small to Be the Daddy!

It’s been a while since I’ve seen my children play bahay-bahayan (play house) in class. In fact, I don’t recall them doing so last school year at all, when I was handling the Juniors Class. This year, however, I started seeing them play pretend during rest time. I’d hear conversations between them about how mommy will read brother a bedtime story and that daddy needs to finish his documents in the computer, etc. etc. It’s been interesting to see their play dynamics.

Last week, however, I was surprised when one of the kids suddenly blurted out “but you can’t be the daddy, you’re too small” to one of the smaller boys in class. True, he is smaller than many other kids but I wasn’t expecting that. The little girl who said that went on to say, “so if you want to be daddy, you have to drink medicine so you get taller na”. Um…err…medicine? I blame this on the commercials on television that keep promoting whatever vitamins with hgh and whatever growth factor supplements. After my initial amazement at the whole discussion, I talked to the kids about how physical looks (size, weight, etc.) should never be an indicator of what one can or cannot do.

In the end, the little boy was daddy for the day

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

This Much I Know…

In the past few weeks, my decision to leave the preschool has become more and more of a certainty and no longer just a probability. In fact, it has become so real to me already I can actually talk about it. A few months back it was all hypothetical blog talk, but I never really said it out loud. Lately, though, I can say it with ease, and while there’s still that little tug in my heart, there’s no more gripping pain that leaves me breathless. Because I have come to terms with my decision, I have begun to allow myself to truly enjoy and embrace every moment that is happening in my class.

When I last made this decision to leave, I did it over the summer, so there was really no closure for me. At that time I left because of a hurt in my heart that I couldn’t deal with, so I thought I should take the time out to find myself and discover what it was I was all about. That hurt initially started with a slight discontent with people around me. Nothing serious, just a bruised ego. And the best way I knew how to deal with it back then was to run from it. After all, why stay in a place that hurt, right?

So I left and in the two years that followed, I discovered a whole lot of things about myself in all ways possible. I got to know myself as a student, an artist, a writer, a teacher….as a person. And at the end of that two year hiatus I came to this realization:

“I think being a preschool teacher allows the child in me to exist. By giving her space and permission to exist, she doesn’t have to fight so much to be valued. She won’t have to feel neglected and try so hard to be noticed and affirmed. It gives me the chance to have my little girl, the fun-loving creative part of me, be with the grown-up-me in a space where no one is better than the other. “

So with that I returned to the comfort and familiarity of the preschool classroom, back in my old home where I can be my artsy, casual self without worrying about what people think and feel about me. However, as the days go by, I am really finding that I don’t fit there anymore. Maybe it’s the age thing….I feel that while I still love my job to bits, the enthusiasm and energy is no longer catching up!

It’s funny, though, that as soon as I made my decision and I started letting my little “chickens” , as I like to call them as we run around in the playground (oh, believe me, the whole playground thing…it sure beats even the best of the best fat burners around! Allowing myself to do that sure has helped my weight loss along nicely!) into my heart again. And because I’m at peace with my decision, I can now run with careless abandon and laugh from the bottom of my heart. My decision to put away my crayons and hang up my apron is no longer tinged with tears, but with knowing full well I did my job well.  Yes, this is the right time to close this chapter in my Teacher’s Book.

This time, I feel it’s right.

This much I know, however.

I will miss it.

I will never be the same because of it.

I will never stop being Teacher Ria at heart, even if I am outside the classroom.

And yes….I am a much better person because of it.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies, Teacher's Corner | 1 Comment

It’s Thank You Day!

I almost forgot…

Today is Thank You Day. It’s hard to believe that it’s been a whole year since this site hosted Toblerone‘s Spread The Sweetness of Gratitude contest in honor of Thank You Day. Today, I am thankful for being reminded that I have the chance to do just that everyday, no matter how bad a day I may be having

And so while today wasn’t a perfect day for me, I am making a choice to take the time  say thank you nonetheless, for the big and little things that have come my way For today, this includes the virtual hugs shared by my online friends, and for the real hugs my little kids in class gave me today. This includes, too, heart-warming comments posted on my blogs i am woman, hear me rawr! and Fat Girl No More. Lastly, I am still thankful for simple reminders that come my way that tell me despite whatever troubles and stresses come my way, cliché as it may be, that this too shall pass and that yes, while I seem to have misplaced my happy vibe a wee bit since yesterday, I am finding my way back to it, so for that, I am grateful

What are you thankful for today? Do drop by the Toblerone Pilipinas Facebook Fan Page and Click on the Notes section to share your story of gratitude and join in on their Thank You Day Promo!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Featured, Reflections, Teacher's Corner | 2 Comments

I Teach Because They Taught Me Well

Happy World Teachers Day!

Every now and then, I still find myself questioning why and how I happened to fall into teaching. I still haven’t figured out the answer to that, but every time I find myself questioning just that, I am reminded that whatever the reason may be, I am just so lucky to have been given the opportunity to be among the ranks of those who are called ‘teacher’, and while I may be (and perhaps always will be) an Accidental Teacher, I am grateful that I am able to heed the call to do what it is I do.

Today I’d like to take pause and honor all the teachers that have paved the way for my own path, because in my heart of hearts, I know I wouldn’t be here if not for what I’ve gained through them.

Perhaps the teacher I owe most of who I am today is Teacher Chona. It was she who recognized early warning signs of dyslexia in me and went through great lengths to help me overcome that looming learning disability. While it may come to hinder me every now and then, I believe that her support and insights as early as then made learning, and yes, even excelling, a possibility for me.

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

Little Changes, Big Impact

In the last few months, I have been working on making little changes in my behavior that I would like to believe will make a big impact on my profession as a teacher. For a long time (perhaps because I have gotten so used to the daily grind of teaching), I take some things for granted and become too lax in planning ahead, mainly because I am able to rely on my past preparations and experiences anyway. However, I realized that I can do so much better if I just made little changes along the way. What changes might this be, one may wonder. Well, for one, I have made it a point to be more careful about the way I manage my time. I try to make it a point to be in class a few minutes before I’m supposed to so that I don’t have to feel rushed and all sweaty when I come in because I have enough time to do that beforehand. Secondly, I consciously make an effort to check attendance and recognize those who exert extra effort to get to know me (and allow me to get to know them better) by their names. Because I often have almost 120 students a trimester at the minimum, I find it almost impossible to memorize names, but now I am really trying. I think it makes an impact on the students as well. Lastly, I am working hard at no longer cramming and being lax about my students’ grades. I still have to work on a better document management system though, mainly because I tend to get too lazy to segregate my students’ work per class every meeting. I tend to just put them together in one pile, which often ends up with all of them getting mixed together. I think by being more cautious about this, grading will be easier. Also, this will definitely allow me to manage my time (whatever little time I have for this task!) better. These little steps will definitely make a big impact down the line. What about you, any other suggestions? Feel free to drop me a line

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

On Growing as an Educator

Every once in a while I think I have been teaching for far too long. At times, I have to admit it gets very tiring and monotonous, especially when it comes to the routine of class (particularly in the preschool level!). However, I think everyday I still gain something new in my growth as an educator. For a little bit, when I get stuck in a rut, it was a little hard to appreciate my own growth potential. But whenever that happens, something always, always happens to remind me of why I teach.

Today the message came via an email of a former student who was asking for some help. In her letter, she talked about how much she enjoyed my class and how it has influenced her over the years. It was heartwarming, to say the least. One thing she pointed out was how much she appreciated my teaching style (which often times, admittedly, is very preschooley). She went on to say that through this she enjoyed and appreciated the class, and it made learning very fun and easy. Granted that some students may say that when they’re asking a favor of you, but I’d like to believe in my heart of hearts that maybe I did make an impact in her life. What makes me say this? She is enrolling in a masters program abroad in early childhood.

For me, I’d like to think that growing as an educator is not limited to my own personal growth and improvement. It goes beyond getting all those letters behind your name and having countless publications in journals. Growing as an educator also means being able to spark an interest in your students that allows them to explore endless possibilities that are open for them. Today, I felt that, and while I may question where I stand in my profession every now and then, I know I did well

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Yet Another Episode of Kids Say the Darndest Things

Today in class I could only shake my head and laugh at the latest barrage of comments my kids gave about me and my co-teacher. I know that I shouldn’t take it personally, but….they said they don’t need me anymore!!! WAAAAH!!!

Here’s why:

Kid 1: Teacher Ria, we don’t need you na because Teacher Joy is here anyway.

Kid 2: Yeah, Teacher. Teacher Joy is better because she doesn’t make us work (ouch!)

Kid 1: Yeah, Teacher, and she gives us happy face all the time. When it’s you when we’re likot no happy face.

UM…..HELLO?!?!

And yes…it doesn’t help when your co-teachers use you as a scare tactic all the time!!!! GAAAH!!!!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Reflections | 0 Comments

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times

Since I have “officially” tendered my resignation for next school year at the preschool I work in, I have been reflecting on how teaching has really impacted my life. It dawned on me that in this profession that I have found myself in, I also found the best of times and the worst of times.  These are events and experiences that I will surely remember throughout my life. What might this be? Well, here’s a brief list of the good and bad times I will always recall with fondness, yes, even those that were challenging:

• My first preschool program
• Dealing with separation anxiety tantrums with my kids
• Cara
• Challenging conversations with kids’ parents
• Having to suggest assessments for children with learning problems
• Crying when my very first batch of college students didn’t do too well on the first exam I gave as a lecturer
• Mark Suntay and his batch for making my first term of teaching very, very memorable
• Fr. George from Ghana who ended up in my GenPsyc class as a prerequisite for his MA. (as well as his “fatherly” lecture about me being too nice in class!)
• The time my NTROPSY class kinda got caught in the mix of a broken television set, yes, one of those that were attached to the tv stands by the hallway
• Failing students

These are but a few of the memories I will always hold dear. Although it is just the preschool teaching that I am giving up, I must say, a little part of me is always, always going to be sad about leaving that.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Arts and Crafts, Classroom Escapades, Preschool, Teacher's Corner, Teaching Resources, Toys and Playthings | 0 Comments

Patterns, Patterns and More Patterns

Lately my kids have discovered beads. We’ve had wooden beads as one of the manipulative materials in the math area ever since the start of the school year, but for the most part, they have ignored it. One day, however, I brought out a set of barrel beads, the kind you get in those wholesale jewelry, trinket or accessory store and they discovered a liking for stringing beads. I love how it spontaneously has evolved into a learning experience, because even though I did not purposely use these materials to spark an interest in understanding patterns, that’s what it did! Now when they string their beads, they discuss and compare the patterns they make out of it. I swear, it’s the cutest thing!

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The Big O’s Legacy

A few months ago, the legendary Oprah Winfrey announced the end of a 25-season run of her syndicated talk  show in 2011. This came as a shock to those who have grown to love her and what her show represents. For me, Oprah has been an amazing teacher. While I do not always agree with what she has to say, she has taght me many of the essentials in life through The Oprah Show.  From little tips on how to do things to life saving techniques, I have really learned so much from the show, her guests and herself. She is the epitome of selflessness and genuineness, in my opinion. She speaks her mind but does not do so to offend others. This is something I admire in her.  Like her, I, too, am an emotional eater. Because of her candidness about her own experiences, I am reminded of looking into the emotions behind my eating.

If there is one lesson I hold most dear, however, it’s that she reminds me daily to love myself and to not let others define who I am.

The other day, I caught a rerun of the episode where she announced her retirement and I love how she said that she felt it in her bones that this was the right choice to make. She put it so perfectly when she said  “I love it enough to know when it is time to say goodbye” . It dawned on me that maybe this is why I keep questioning where I am in my preschool teaching profession and whether or not I am indeed ready to hang up my teacher’s hat again. I realized, just like Oprah, no matter what job that may be (be it your teaching profession, a medical career, or even those construction jobs or call center positions), when the time is right to say goodbye, you will just know. For now, I will listen and see what the answer for me really is.

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