Life of a Kat

While it is clear that I will be ending my teaching 2-year stint with an unclear whereto just yet, I keep getting the same question of  Why? Why stop teaching?  Teaching will always be my passion. No doubt. The years I had spent with kids and co-teachers made me love teaching more. How I entered the academe may have been a lot easier compared to others however, leaving it appeared to be far more difficult. I am not turning my back to this advocacy. It is education that changed my life! I am where I am right now, I know what I know right now because I learned from my teachers in school. They may not have taught me everything but they let me acquire the skills to learn other things.  When my mentor told me that in making decisions, just ask one question, "What is the most important thing to you?"  That is a very easy question to answer for me. My family. My family is the most important thing for me. It is also my passion to share my blessings to them. To gi...

3:32 PM Dear Kat, How are you? Oopps, I shouldn't have asked that question. I know you are not really feeling well. I can sense that your heart has been heavy for quite sometime now. Noticeably heavier this time though. I know. I know. Everything's gonna change again. Two years ago, you had seen yourself as a teacher, now, the two years is about to end and for whatever reason, you don't see yourself in the classroom anymore. Not on a daily basis, right? That's what you meant? But you still love teaching. You thought going back to your previous life would be that easy, but the two years that had gone so fast had just brought a few challenges and now, you have doubts in your heart if you will ever get that right job for you. That one, stable and reliable job that would enable you to help and give to your family and other people. That job that would make you build that house with your sibs where your parents can live. That job that would enable you to afford plane ...

As SY 2014-2015 opens tomorrow, my redemption also begins. Last year had been a challenging one and going through it had meant I survived! In a teacher's life, the first few years of teaching is usually the hardest part. As SY 2014-2015 opens tomorrow, my days will be all about my new kids. Though I don't have an advisory class this year, I had promised my partner teacher that I will help her with her class. I am adopting her class. As SY 2014-2015 opens tomorrow, my 2-year stint will slowly come to a close. If I want to stay as a public school teacher is something I am taking into consideration. However, I am not closing my doors to bolder opportunities. As SY 2014-2015 opens tomorrow, I promise to find love. Love for my kids and of course, the other kind of love too! That one which makes one's heart skip a beat. Being a Resource Volunteer last summer made me realize a lot of things. Made me more aware of my teaching style and also taught me how to give constructiv...

Working as a resource volunteer gave me a glimpse of how our programming and training team works. It was not easy. Taking care of 48 human beings, thinking of ways to equip them with as much as they can to get you ready for school. But take note that not everything can be learned in this training. Experience will still be the best teacher and everything is a matter of perspective. We are all here because we chose to be advocates of equality and quality education for every Filipino child. Seeing some of you teach for the past 7 days makes me miss being in the classroom. I hope you learned from my feedbacks because I did learn from my observations of each of you-- as a novice teacher and as a person. There is nothing to prove but love. Love for teaching, for children and hope for this nation. Each of us wants to save every child. But that's just not possible. What we can do is to teach to learn from one another because we can't be with them forever. That's why, we are...

Summer vacation is almost over and the preparation for the incoming school year is just around the corner. I haven’t really taken time to introspect on what had happened to me and how I had evolved after my first year of teaching. Deciding to be a teacher was not a difficult task. I graduated with such degree, got a professional license for it too. All I lack back then was the courage to take on the challenges of teaching. More than the financial necessity which I had found to be a very good excuse until today, it was really the courage to that I had lacked that’s why it took me a little while to start living one of my dreams- to be a teacher. This organization had been a very wonderful avenue to start with my journey. I would like to express my warmest gratitude for the opportunity to be part of the pioneer batch for this amazing movement for education for all here in the country. How shall I describe my first year of teaching? Harry Wong said that teaching has four stage...

Today is Thursday. Monday was Nganga Monday. Tsk. Tuesday was Laundry (Colored) Tuesday. Wednesday was Laundry (Whites) Wednesday. (I had to do it that way because we have limited space and hangers) Come Thursday, I need to do something to make it a Productive Thursday. Earlier today, I had decided to renew my PRC license. Initially, I was thinking of doing it the Business Center of the nearest SM Mall, however since I had doubts about the status of how helpful they would be able to accommodate my concern, another thing was that I couldn’t find the affidavit of loss, I decided to just process the renewal at the PRC Main Office in Morayta. I read a few blogs about PRC Renewal Process and they said that if you lost your Professional Identification Card (PIC) and it’s still current, the bearer needs to provide an affidavit of loss. However, if it is expired and loss, no need to provide one. Or as long as you know your Registration Number, no need to provide an affidavit ...

10:02 PM Thursday pala ngayon. Wala kong pang #tbt. Di pa talaga ko tapos sa mga dapat kong gawin pero naisip kong itigil na muna kasi ang sakit lang sa utak at sa puso.  Bukod sa anti-bullying policy-making collaborative work na ginagawa ngayon, kino-consolidate ko yung data about the kiddielets' Post Test Oral/Silent level of reading skills both in English and Filipino. Pwede na pala tong throwback kasi nung ginawa ko yung Pre-Test nung June, merong 2 boys and 2 girls na total non-reader, 3 girls at 3 boys na independent readers, the rest nahahati sa frustrated at instructional readers. Out of 51 kids. Sa pagkakaintindi ko noon sa paliwanag samin, dahil nung binigay tong gawain na to, basta lang daw pabasahin ang mga kiddielets at i-fill out ang form na inabot, merong babasahin, isa sa Filipino, isa sa English. May 7 tanong kada set, 3 dun ay literal o nasa babasahin ang sagot, 4 naman ay comprehension question o mga sariling pagpapakahulugan sa mga bagay tungkol sa binas...

On February 14, 2013, I got the phone call. It was the second year of celebrating Valentine's Day this way by choice. Work ends at 6 am and I hurriedly popped two  pills that will take effect once I am home. I made no plans with anyone except my bed and work later that day. The commute going home was smooth and easy. After eating breakfast and cuddling my favorite cat, I went to bed. My phone is usually on Silent Mode. But that day, deep in my heart, I had wished to receive at least one phone call, so I had put it on General Profile Mode and put it on top of the computer table. Around 8 in the morning, with dark blankets spread on the window, the fan in full blast and me hugging my favorite dog stuff toy, I fell in deep slumber. At 10 am, I was awaken by the ringing of my phone just right outside my room. But when I held it, it's already a missed call. It was from a familiar number so I texted and asked why but since the med is still in effect, I still feel sleepy and c...

Friday. 1.24.2014, Free Period. Start Time: 7:20 For now, you are planting seeds. The first year years of teaching is a roller coaster ride and I can tell that you are on the lowest part of that ride, but as we always tell the others, it gets better. These are the words Dr. Martin, of the Loyola Marymount University Dean of School of Education, who spoke to us last Sunday afternoon. Teaching for more than 25 years now. I still don’t know if I can stay that long in this profession. How would I describe the past few weeks? Or just this week? Just like the others, my heart had reached it breaking point and I am on the verge of giving up. But, please tell me how can I give up on something and someone I love so much? I never thought that loving teaching would also mean loving the kids I teach. It came as a package deal. Much as I wanted to blame the parents as to why their kids are like that, I know it’s not right. They are sending their kids to school that means they are...

WARNING: These are solely my thoughts and do not reflect that of others nor that of the organization I work with. It is said that learning is influenced by two factors: Nature and Nurture. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis said that all human beings were born a tabula rasa or a blank slate. And that one's personality traits are influenced by family dynamics. Nurture pertains to the environment they are exposed to particularly in their formative years of development. One of the best mode of learning is modelling and parents should be very conscious on how they deal with their children and how they act around them. Learning by example or mimicking is one of the best and most effective way of learning. The home as the primary institution where learning occurs. Before the kids meet teachers they are with parents first. It is parents' responsibility to ensure that the kids they bear and born will be assets to society. Irresponsible parenthood is a mortal sin. I wish there ...

1.19.2014 Sunday evening. MRT, homebound. B: So, what do you wanna do after this two year fellowship? Me (without even thinking): I just wanna find a job that would make me rich! B: You see, this experience is really an eye-opener! Being poor sucks! Hmm.... I don't wanna linger on her last statement. I'll discuss that some other time. Me: A teacher can only do so much. Aside from us, there are other factors affecting this entire system. Kids happened to be the victims. Parental education should really be a priority, should include population education and family planning. Voters' education too. We need government officials who will really support education. B: That is so smart! What you said are all true! Me (in my head, wanting to scream at her face): I know, and being poor doesn't suck if you must know! But no, I just kept silent. Seventy days or lesser, SY 2013-2014 is about to close. My first year of teaching is about to commence. First half of my...

11.13.2013 Today, the school  administrators were to collect and deliver their donations for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. We had talked about this, they agreed that they will save a few pesos from their baon and buy it with  either a can of sardines which costs 17php or a pack of noodles which costs 9php. Applying multiplication lesson on this, we were able to integrate multiplication and money matters. However, only a few were able to bring goodies for donations. Let me give you a little background about my kids. We are in a public school. One of the most populated public school in the country, third grade, with most kids are frustrated readers, a few are still non-readers. As to how they got promoted to grade three without the necessary skills, I used to ask myself but then I just stopped. Lingering on this won’t make them instant readers with comprehension. Going back, I noticed that one of their classmates has been holding a bunch of 1-peso coins and a 20-peso pap...

Warning: This is a vent-out post.                 All negativity inside. Read at your own risk. I just got home from school. I go to school at exactly 5:30 AM, today I arrived home and it’s already 6:04 PM. Yesterday, I came home at around 7:30 PM. What’s happening to me? I feel so tired. I feel so alone. I feel so tired, even sleep and longer sleep won’t seem to ease the tiredness in me. I miss home. I truly miss the meaning of home. I miss my mama’s home-cooked meals, the chats over breakfast and dinner with my siblings. The endless asaran and the endless sermons from papa. It’s as if I am living in a faraway country that I can’t seem to be with them. I mean, enough time to be with them. I maybe with them on Sundays, but it had never been enough. I never thought that I will reach this point of weariness. That I would feel so drained and all I wanted is to cry and feel someone’s hug. This is one o...

Thirty minutes had passed  and we are still not yet through with Reading Drill #1.  She was perspiring non-stop. Cher: Pagod ka na? Gusto mo bukas naman? JM:(shakes her head) Ok lang po ako.   Wipes her face, goes back to uttering the sounds of every letter in the CVC word. Every time she reads a word, she would look up to me, her eyes seeking affirmation then I would say, "Yes, very good." She goes back to reading, perspiring, wiping her face, pushing herself to read. The only way for me to survive this phase is step into their shoes, feel their struggles and learn with them side by side. When I discovered that most of my kids are non and frustrated readers, honestly, I felt weak. I felt helpless. How can I teach these concepts if they can't read?! How can I meet the expectations of the organization? How can I prove that I am a teacher? Then I realized, most of the things I know and have learned weren't fed to me by my teachers, I got it from my love of re...

Akala ko late lang ulit mag-aannounce si mayor ng #walangpasok nung ika-23 ng Agosto. Mali ako, paggising ko ng alas-kwatro ng umaga, nabungaran ko ang text message ng Head Teacher, “May pasok na po tayo ngayon. See you all.” Sinukluban yata ko ng katamaran at naghangad pa ko ng mas mahabang bakasyon. Larga. Di ko dinala ang mga school gadgets ko. Di ko kasi inisip na papasok nga ang mga bata. Pagdating ko sa school, walo sa kanila ang pumasok! Aba, gusto talagang magkaron ng Certificate of Perfect Attendance for August 2013. Tignan natin kung sino sa kanila ang hindi aabsent sa mga nalalabing araw ng buwan. What to do. What to do… Naalala ko yung binigay na book ni Sir Jonathan , buti na lang hindi ko pa nagagamit. Balak ko kasing gamitin yun sa kanilang writing activity para sa 2 nd grading period pero mas angkop na panahon ang araw na iyon para dun. Tulad ng orihinal na plano ni Sir Jo, babasahin ng guro ang bugtong at iguguhit ng bata ang sagot. Nakabuo sila n...

The rain hasn't stopped since Saturday. My prayer for a good weather last Saturday did not come true. It's ok though. I had a great day anyway. It's felt good to catch up with my co-fellows in the office. Sharing our experience and stories with our kids—funny ones, heartbreaking and most of all, those that give us spark every now and then. Those stories that convince us that we really are doing something good. It felt good to celebrate a part of my birthday with these amazing people who had set aside far more promising job offers and decided to teach for two years. A few of us most likely will stay in service and stay in public schools as teachers, others as policy makers and others will move to other jobs. We had always been asking one another as to what are our plans after this two year fellowship. My veteran co-teachers keep advising me to stay and apply for an item in the DepEd. Since I am a LET passer, getting an item in a school anywhere I choose will not be ha...

The skies had been dark like a storm is coming. It had been raining the whole night long and when I woke up that day, I had fears that Sir Jonathan can’t come to school anymore due to the heavy downpour. I opted not to ask for I may just get the dreaded response. I prepared for school. Ate breakfast, brought my laptop since I thought I may just have to stop by a coffee shop after school and finish the item analysis I am doing. It was very difficult to get a ride. I wish I can afford to buy a car and save myself and my stuff from getting wet and so that I can bring more things to school for experiments and so that I can to all the places I wanna go to and I don’t have to worry about over-packing stuff and I have thought about all of these just because its raining heavily and I have no school bus anymore L When I arrived, the school seem deserted. No kids nor parents were at the gate. The guard told me that the principal decided to suspend the class lest the heavy rains cou...

To explain further the importance of the SONA to the students, last Friday, I asked them to write a letter to President Pnoy. Some were lost about what to say, others were very excited to ask for something, while others really didn’t care. The letters were collected, sealed in a brown envelope, forwarded to someone who works close to the president  and hopefully will be read by Pnoy. As I study their letters, their handwritings, I know that I had a lot of work to do with them. From basic literacy, phonics, handwriting, following instructions and comprehension. A lot of work to do, so little time. I had asked a lot of veteran teachers, and my co-fellows regarding their best practices, but I feel like I am still not giving these kids enough remediation for them to be able to keep up and pass grade three. I didn’t put any caption on the pictures, coz I want to preserve each as it is, not make my story out of them but let the pictures shar...

I know you have been a little sad lately, been depressed and had been wishing for all other things. You are on that point again of shutting yourself to the world. You are starting to live the life of a robot again. Wake up, eat, read, go to work and go home, be in front of your computer, keep up with how other people are living their lives that you are on the verge of forgetting to live yours. All I know, I know that you are disappointed-- with yourself for most part. I have been telling you that you should not be hard on yourself. Don’t push yourself too hard coz we both know that you really cannot work or think under pressure. Things are not turning out as you have framed them in your mind and events are arising beyond your expectation, because you had forgotten that we cannot predict the future. Remind yourself that everything is a choice. Everything is a matter of perspective—of how you view these things that had been coming your way. You are in the survival mode be...

Nang minsang maubusan ng Enrichment Activity ang klase ko sa kanilang Math subject, minabuti ni Teacher Ja pagawin sila ng seatwork at pinag-drawing sila tungkol sa kanilang paboritong teacher. At eto nga ang resulta at mga nalimbag ko galing sa aking advisory class.  Kahit hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ganito ang mga paglalarawan nila sakin, walang paglagyan ang kagalakan sa puso ko dahil minsan sa buhay nila naging peborit nila ako :D Talikogenic si Mam! Bat may ethpada?! At my putho?  Kelangan may lapel talaga, ubos ang boses ni Mam kapag wala.  Ayan, nabibitin pa din pala ang pantalon sakin.... lol Nasan ang maskels ko sa totoong buhay?! Waaaaa Walang top si Mam, at putol din ang kamay. Guma-gown-gown din pag may time.... lol Yung sipit sa board, bagay pala sa buhok ni Mam. Lol Walang tatalo sa hairstyle ni Mam dito! Ramdam kong ginagaya nya ang style ni Mam magdrawing... May heels talaga a...