Keeping Up With The Times

I've been very busy the past few months and just last week, I realized, sobrang advanced na talaga ng mga bata at ng mga eskwelahan dito!

Ang daming bagay na akong nakikita dito at naikukumpara ko ito sa sistema sa Pinas. Malaki nga ang pagkakaiba.

Habang tumatagal, mas nakikita ko at naiitindihan ko kung bakit ganito ang sistema dito. Oo nga naman, may mga bagay na komplikado ituro, pero kung gagawin mo pang mas komplikado ang paraan ng pagtuturo mo, mahihirapan talaga ang mga bata.

Natuto ako. Tulad na lamang ng konsepto ng Area sa Math. Sa Pinas, hirap na hirap ang mga bata. Pero dito, as early as Kindy, nasisimulan na nila itong ituro ng hindi nalalaman ng mga bata na "Area" na pala ang pinag-aaralan nila! Galing!

Dito, hindi kailangang nakatayo ang mga guro habang nagtuturo. Very informal nga. Para sa akin, nababawasan ang pagiging takot ng mga bata sa guro nila na relaxed, malumanay ang boses, na parang nagkwekwento lang habang tinuturuan sila.

Isa sa mga napansin ko rin ay ang paggamit ng teknolohiya sa loob ng classroom. Sa loob ng classroon may mga iPad, Mac sa bawat bata, smartboards at iba pa. Nanood kami ng Youtube sa loob ng klase, we hve on-line apps and programme that the kids log on to, sa madaling sabi, ginagamit namin ang teknolohiya dito as a means to teach the kids. Sa tingin ko effective, kasi sumasabay na ang mga eskkwelahan dito sa kung ano ang klaseng mga estudyante meron sila. ngayon ay mga touch screen generation na. Ano naman ang papel ng mga guro? Parang facilitator of learning kami.

Naisip ko sa Pilipinas, sobrang late na ng mga bata dun. Oo may ipad,  mac at smartphones din siguro sila, pero ito ay para sa personal use naman, chalk at blackboard pa rin (manila paper sa state schools siguro at OHP projectors sa mas may mga kayang eskwelahan) malamang ang nakakarami. Naisip ko nga ang AGS. Ang mga klase ba doon ay gumagamit na ng smartboard or OHP projector pa rin? Do they use these gadgets to help them teach? Kung talk and chalk pa rin ang sistema sa Pinas, nakakalungkot, pero magpagiiwanan na talaga sila.

Sana maisip nila na sumabay na sa development ng technology and use it to their advantage, and not see it as a threa.

Looking Forward

I am an excited mum :D

Next year, my little big Kuya will already be going to the big school! Yes, there is no stopping them from growing up!

Anyways, as of this writing we have two choices.

One: Barnier Public School.  I got the application form yesterday and submitted it today.

According to the school secretary, he is already accepted, officially enrolled, since we are within the area of the school. Yipee!

Hubby and I are considering this school as our top choice.  Barnier Public School  is a Technology school. It is only a few blocks away from our place. It's beside the present pre-school of Liam. It is the same school where his Kuya Lance and Ate Anika go to. In other words, it will be very convenient.

We think that technology is really here for good. It is the thing of the present and the future. There is no way we can stop technology from being a part of our daily lives. So I guess, it will benefit him to be familiar and to learn thru technology.

I am more at peace knowing that he has older cousins attending the same school.

What about his RE classes? They have Scripture classes every Tuesday :D

Now, option 2: Quakers Hill Public School.

Kuya Lance will be taking the placement test for Opportunity classes for Year 5. If he passes, he will transfer to Quakers Hill Public School. We are not in the local area so I think we will be in the waiting list.

Why are we considering this school? We also plan to have Liam try out in the Opportunity classes when he reaches Year 5. But we are considering the social implications if he starts in Barnier and transfer him later on in Quakers Hill Public School (if he gets accepted in the OC Programme). By that time, I'm pretty sure he has already established his friends in Barnier. Hubby and I are thinking, if accepted, we will push thru with Liam's enrollment in QHPS as well. Might as well let him start in QHPS than transfer him later in Year 5. That way we have addressed the social implications of him establishing a new set of friends and adjusting to the school all over.

I am still not familiar with QHPS. It is not a technology school but from the feedback and the school ranking, it is performing really well. It will not be very convenient for though because it is still a ten-minute drive from our place. And I have to study the other details like OOSH or Day Care Centres available near the school.

The school-choosing thing is the serious part. Now for the fun part!


Now, what am I looking forward to? Why all the excitement?

As you very well now, I am a primary school teacher here. Working on a casual basis, I was given the chance to handle different year levels, from Kindy to Year 6, in different schools. Just last week, I handled a Kindy class. And I just can't help but ask myself and imagine what kind of student Liam will be.

Will he be like me? I am no nerd and I don't consider myself bright. I am just diligent and hardworking. I plan and organize things ahead of time. I follow the teacher and I do not like breaking the rules. No fun, huh? hehehehe Hindi ako kalat at makupad, medyo OA nga lang sa aga mag-prepare at mag-aral lalo na pag may exams. I am one chatterbox. I panic when I miss deadlines! Ehem, I am an academic achiever from elementary up until college (okay, even in my Masters :p)

Will he be like his Papa? He is not a nerd as well, but he is naturally intelligent. He is the type na hindi mag-aaral kahit ang dami-dami ng dapat aralin. He will just start studying the day before the exams and still manage to get good grades. He is Mr. Cool, not worrying even if he misses a deadline. He has problems in planning and organizing stuff. Medyo kalat, sorry Papa :D He is the silent achiever.

Will he be like some of the students that I have met over the year? Madaldal pero nakakagawa at may natatapos. Mr. Tulala or Mr. Dead-ma?, "Mr. I Can't Do This!" (I hope not!)? Tahimik, makupad at walang natatapos? Makupad? Kalat? Kalimotero? Maayos at mabilis?

Exciting, huh? :D

I promised myself that I will not be a stage mum, but it doesn't mean that I will not get involved in my son's studies.

Like in my previous post, I will still continue to give him his fare share of stress (ooops) when it comes to studying. I plan to establish his study habits as early as now so we will not be having any troubles when he gets older. I will continue to give him supplementary exercises so he is always one step ahead. (So he will not have a hard time adjusting when he gets to Secondary School where all students start to get stressed because of HSC!)

But secondary school will be a totally different story.

One step at a time.

I still have to wait though for the official letter from the school in the post (probably next term) informing us of his acceptance and the next steps that we need to do.

I can see that Liam is excited as well. He just doesn't know that I am more excited!

Can't wait :D

Nature and Nurture

My husband and I were having one of our usual conversations when suddenly my son did an amusing thing which made us both laugh. I remember telling Alvin to look at what his son has been doing and he just told me "that's what you've prayed for right?" And true enough it was what we prayed for when Liam was still inside my tummy. We always prayed for gifts for our then unborn son, name it, we've prayed for it. Any parent would only want the best for his kids right? Intelligence, wisdom, good physical abilities, and a good heart. And after 18 months of being parents to him we're slowly seeing these gifts with him. We are thankful but we are also challenged. You see, being an Education graduate allowed me to cross paths with this "Nature and Nurture" thing with kids. I realized that having the gifts are not enough. Nurturing the gifts is as important as well. As a parent, you should by all means try in your best capacity to nurture these gifts. That is what Alvin and I will be working on. Seeing how Liam has developed over the last 18 months made us realize that God granted what we have asked of Him. The harder part is how we can nurture these gifts so Liam can grow up to be one person who has maximized all his potentials for the greater glory of his Creator. He is just 18 months and it's a long way for us.We just hope that by the time Liam is old enough to decide for himself, we have done our share of correctly nurturing all his God-given gifts. As for now, we are enjoying every bit of opportunity God has given us to marvel on this little creation He has made and has entrusted to us.

The Chosen Few

I miss teaching. To start with,  never did I imagine myself teaching even if I came from a family of teachers. Oh yes, I passed through that stage of play pretend, even using the doors of the house, to the dismay of my mom,  to be my blackboard. I had a friend who finished Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from UST, I thought she'd pursue Medicine. But I was surprised when I found out that she accepted a job in one of the good schools in Manila. Why teach? But I really admired her for that big decision. I didn't realize that a few years after that I would be on the same boat. I started with a medical course in college only to find myself shifting to another course which was closer to my heart. I thought teaching was only about talking to your students about the lessons for the day, making and checking quizzes, doing projects, etc. But I was proven wrong when I started teaching. I thought teaching was just another profession, but I soon realized that teaching is not for everyone. I was lucky enough to experience teaching in a school where they make you realize that teaching is not an ordinary profession. In fact, it's not a profession at all! It is a vocation. There is more to teaching. More is expected of you "when you are called to be one." It is not simply telling a story, writing tests, checking homeworks, or singing songs. It's controlling your temper when the whole class goes crazy, giving hope to a student who feels like a loser, it's giving time to sit and listen to the stories and heartaches of your students. It's like being a mom or a dad, an older brother or sister, even a playmate. Day in and day out you share yourself to your students. Each day poses new challenges and new adventures for both you and your students. It's not a one way street though.  In teaching, you get to discover more and more about yourself. I am at present "on leave" and this made me appreciate this vocation more. In this sharing, I would like to salute all the people who made an effort to respond to this vocation. It is not easy to stay in this profession knowing that it is not financially rewarding. But there is more to money. The respect, the admiration, the love of your students, and the success of your students are just some of the many priceless rewards you get from teaching. I am now not surprised why people like my friend accept and embrace what teaching has to offer. After all, she is one of the chosen few.