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Teacher Finds Her Joy

Today I was reminded of little joys I get from my profession. I will admit that lately I’ve been feeling all frustrated and stuck in a rut (professionally, at least) and I have really been thinking about perhaps shifting gears and taking on a job that will allow me to bring home a bigger paycheck. But then I gave it some thought and I realized that where else can I get a job that will allow me to have the schedule I have now and the freedom to take on different types of tasks and roles?

Then out of the blue, one of my students texted me and told me that her heart was so full today and that she was very happy. Although it wasn’t me that did that for her, I realized, that feeling that she has, that’s what I feel when I see my kids graduate and become their own people. I love how our conversations evolve from theoretical concepts to more lived experiences. I find joy in being a part of all of that. I also love it when they feel comfortable to talk to me about issues such as how to handle their relationships, whether or not weight loss pills are advisable and what to do about certain things that they go through. While I do maintain a comfortable distance from them, I realized that I find joy in letting them be part of my life as well

And so for now, at least, I think I still belong in the classroom. Correction: I KNOW this is where I belong.

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Dear Students…

Dearest Students,

Well, well, well….here we go again with my little letters, yes? Sigh. You know, I truly, truly love teaching, but sometimes you guys make me feel stretched to my limits. Please remember that I am still human and I still get angry and frustrated from time to time, okay? I try not to ask for much, and I try to be as patient and understanding as possible so please try, at the very least, to at least come to class when you’re supposed to.

Ktnxbai.

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Still The Same

Today I met up with my college friends and I couldn’t help but smile at how much we are still the same when we get together. Perhaps a wee bit mellow, and though our styles more sophisticated (yes, even the guys…more formal compared to the urban clothes they used to wear) deep down inside we’re still the simple teenagers that met many, many years ago.

It was in the university that we first met, and it’s interesting to note that back then, I had sworn to be the first to shift out of our course to go into Psychology because I had no intentions of teaching, but, well…things changed and I found myself in the teaching profession haha. I guess it really is where I was supposed to be, huh? And today, I still found that same old Teacher Ria who I got to know in college. We even got to laughing about I still am the non-confrontational and compliant me that they got to know back then (yes, my friends are very headstrong and determined). It was a fun night

And yes, after 12 years, we are still the same and  for that I am grateful

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Things I’ll Never Understand: Road Edition

Today as I was driving home I was inspired (errr…I don’t know if inspired is the best term, but, heck, I’ll go with it haha!) to list down some things I’ll never understand. Where did this come from, you may ask. Well…lately I’ve been saying that to myself. While I often try to understand and make sense of what’s going on around me, try as I may, there are some that remain unexplainable. Mind you…I’m not talking about astrophysics here, but common every day occurrences. Let me put it in context….

Today as I was driving home, I once again got caught in traffic. Why? Because of people who keep insisting on making a salubong or counterflowing in our very very tiny roads.

Secondly…I’ll never understand why traffic enforcers think ignoring the stop light and manually directing traffic is more efficient.

Third, I can’t understand for the life of me why so many road diggings have to be done at the same time….and over and over again. I swear you have to know all the side streets just to avoid such bottlenecks. Sad thing is, even with one of those nuvi 465t gps systems, you’d probably be caught in traffic because of, you guessed it, more road repairs. I’d think that if they’d do road diggings on one side of the major thoroughfares they’d keep the back streets free first, right? But no….

Lastly, I’ll never, never understand why drivers thing weaving from one lane to another (when it’s traffic, more specifically) can get them to their destination faster. Then again, one car ahead is still one car ahead right?

Yes, this is my way of dealing with road frustration…better than road rage, right? Haha. Gnyty folks.

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What’s in A Name?

Yesterday over lunch, I was chatting via text messages with a dear friend of mine and we had a somewhat interesting and funny exchange about names because there was a birthday party going on in the resto I was in and the celebrant had, well, a kinda funny name. So I told my friend about it and she goes, I have a cousin with that name (toink…foot in mouth!) haha. Then again , it was indeed a sorta funny sounding name then I go, if for some crazy reason I decide to name my kids funny in the future, please toink me. Then again, when the time came I’d like to name my kids Nicholas or Chloe. Those sound nice, right? Haha.

Seriously though, as a preschool teacher I’ve heard all sorts of weird, strange and downright “what-the-heck-were-your-parents-thinking” names. Yes, granted they’re not my kids and that it’s one’s prerogative to name their kids, but sometimes I want to tell parents to be more mindful about their choices. I mean, how would you feel if you were named after a pair of womens boots for example? Or a strange sounding concept? More importantly, what if your first and last names kinda had a double meaning to it? I remember reading not too long ago about how a woman’s nickname translated to the woman’s reproductive organ in a foreign language.

So what’s in a name, after all? Well, studies suggest that it can contribute to one’s personality. On a more pragmatic reason I say be careful what you name your kids is that this can become an avenue for teasing in the future, right? But yeah, as many would say, it’s just a name. If I were a mom, though, I’d think twice

Random thoughts from this teacher who has had too many a weird name to contend with

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Tips on Choosing A College Course – Part 2

In one of my last posts, I shared about how I simply fell into my college course. Lucky for me, I did not just earn a college degree from that, but it was actually the right one for me. Over the past few days it struck me that even my graduate school program was such a random choice as well…it wasn’t something I had planned from the beginning nor had wanted to do, but, well, it happened. And I am forever grateful.

Like I said, though, when it comes to choosing a college choice, it should not be a random decision. Maybe you can get lucky like I did, but planning ahead and making logical choices wouldn’t hurt, right? So how does one go about choosing what’s best anyway? Like Conan O’Brien said in a recent speech he gave in the Dartmouth commencement exercises, your life goals change over time, so maybe what you want to do at the start of your college career may not be what you want at the end. Some, however, are very clear on their decisions and I guess that makes the whole choosing a college course dilemma less of a dilemma for them.

I guess the most important thing to choosing a college course would include thinking about the various opportunities that go hand in hand with the degree you aim to obtain. For example, if you’re unsure whether you want to go into business, education or medicine in the beginning of your college career, maybe choosing a course such as Humanities or Psychology can be an option, rather than Biology, as there are more diverse avenues in the first two courses rather than the latter.

Other things one can do prior to choosing a course can include attending university open houses or joining campus tours. Not too long ago, for example, I saw a tarpaulin ad in an aviation school near the clinic I work in inviting interested students to attend an open house. If I’m not mistaken, he tours being offered also allowed them to see various equipment, machinery, flight gear and scopes/radars first hand. This allows one to try out, so to speak, the course to see if they actually like it.

Lastly, one can try to talk to people who have graduated from the course they are considering and to get insights from those who went through it already. That can help them gain perspective and assess the direction in which they can go.

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Happy Dad’s Day!

To all the daddies out there, Happy Dad’s Day!

As for me, I am thankful for the dads in my life, no matter where on this world (or out of it for that matter! teehee) they are.

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Tips on Choosing Your College Course

Last night a friend of mine and I were chatting about her son trying to pick a course for college as submission of applications for UP is closely approaching. It got me to thinking about how I picked my own course in college….

I had been hell bent on taking psychology, but since it was a quota course, I was advised to pick a non-quota as my second choice. What I did was browse through the list and pick the once course that sounded nice…even if I had no idea what it was. Lucky for me it turned out to be the best choice for me because it could have ended up like a train wreck or like one of those Texas Semi Accidents in the freeway that would have been…well…disastrous.

Anyway, for those trying to choose their courses now, I strongly suggest not following my lead. Harhar. Do think about the following when trying to decide what’s best for you.

1. What do you want to do after you graduate?
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
3. What kind of activities do you like doing?
4. What is your preferred learning style?
5. What do you find interesting in terms of work and employment?

Those are but a few questions to get you started. Other things you can look at would be your personality, social skills and of course, what kind of grades do you have. While grades (in my personal opinion) is not necessarily a great measure of what you can or cannot do, it is still something to consider.

Will come up with more tips and ideas as soon as I can! Good luck.

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Benefits of Becoming A Teacher

Earning one of many online teaching degrees is a respectable and intelligent way to become a teacher, and the caliber of instruction is the same as that of attending traditional classroom settings. There are several benefits to becoming a teacher.

Prestige and Respect

In their communities, teachers are looked up to as highly influential and educated professionals. They’re given much the same respect as physicians, attorneys and bankers. People realize the enormous impact that a teacher has in molding the lives of his many students, no matter what grade level he teaches. It’s this intangible feeling or pride and professionalism in his work that a teacher derives much of his satisfaction.

Excellent Benefits

Teachers receive some of the most impressive array of working benefits as compared to any other profession. They receive major medical coverage, full dental and vision coverage for their families, and superb retirement benefits such as a 401k. They also receive paid vacations, paid sick days and at some educational institutions even paid holidays. These benefits greatly help them with their living expenses. Some teachers even receive annual bonuses depending on what level they’re teaching at.

Tenure Potential

At the collegiate and university levels, the most successful academicians will be considered for tenure. This basically means that they will be able to keep their jobs for as long as they want to. This provides them with a strong sense of career and financial security. These tenure track professors can have much less pressure and strain on themselves due to the knowledge of knowing that their jobs will be permanently reserved for them. This gives them an added incentive to become the best teachers they can be by helping their students out as much as they can.

Emotional Rewards

Teaching students new subjects is very psychologically satisfying to teachers. It’s one of the greatest intangible benefits of the profession. Watching their pupils expand their minds and absorb new amounts of knowledge each day, week and month allows teachers to feel good about themselves that they’re doing a huge, positive service in the eyes of their students. They also know they’re greatly satisfying the parents of their students by doing the best job they can at making them smarter individuals. No amount of money can replace these emotional rewards that teachers derive from their profession.

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

Rainy Days and School Days are Oh So NOT Fun!

Today marked the first school suspension due to rains. Well, at least in the elementary and high school levels. In college, as to be expected, classes went on as usual. I’m glad, though, that it didn’t rain too hard and that the streets weren’t too flooded, although there was some build up of water on the ground. Sure it was not enough to stall cars and stuff, but when you have to park in the street or in those  steel garages like in the malls that get so very slippery when wet, it’s such a hassle.

For me, I really, really hate rainy days when there are classes because one, I hate being cold and wet (errr….and as many know I so hate the rain to begin with!). Also, when it’s rainy, the kids often come in late. It’s so frustrating. Lastly, on rainy days, it’s just so hard to motivate everyone to work. Sigh.

Anyway, on the way home I was listening to an AM station on the radio where the show’s hosts were discussing the idea of moving the opening of classes to August instead of June. As can be expected, it was a conversation that went round and round teeeheeehee. It did get me to thinking however about what the best solution for rainy days and school days should be.I couldn’t think of one though…haha. I just wish that there was a better mechanism for the cancellation of classes in the college level when it’s rainy because at present, even when it’s super rainy and floody, there’s still classes unless it is declared as Signal Number 3. But by the time that happens, students and teachers are usually in school already. What to do…what to do….

and just like that radio conversation, this blog post is going around in circles. haha. Seriously though…any suggestions?

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