Recognition day message

A blessed morning to each and every one of you.

I am deeply honored standing here in front you and welcoming you as the school director.  In as much as you are thankful that your kids are receiving these awards, I, as the school director am more thankful that you have given me this great privilege to be a part of your children’s pursuit to excellence.

It is indeed a rewarding day to see the fruits of your children’s labors.  Today, we shall see how proud they are of what they have achieved and how happy they are knowing that you, their parents will be jubilant of their awards.

Kids… Today you will honor your parents for your JOB WELL DONE.  But I remind you, not just to honor them with medals, but to honor them more with your righteousness, never yielding to temptation of giving up or defeat, but always looking ahead, that success is just around the corner.  Bear in mind that success is not just achieved by intellect, but by great faith in God, for without HIM, we are nothing.

I hope that you, in as much as the academic knowledge you gain in school or your after school programs, develop a deeper love to our Lord, and acknowledge Him always in everything and when I say everything, I mean the success and even in failures. For what good is a child who earns all the awards, recognition and honors, yet loses his relationship with God, family and friends?  Always remember that every success is a reward, but not every reward is a success.  It is ok to fail once in a while, because in failure, you gain wisdom, you gain resilience.  So if today, you fail, try again another time.

Parents… These kids worked hard to please you and as one of kids of grade 2 told me “I want to see the look in my parent’s eyes when I show them my medals teacher Khaye”

I would like you all to know as well that your children work hard because they know you also work hard for them.  Surprised?  Don’t be dear parents.  I have talked to your children as much as a director can and have spent time with them as much as I can afford and you will be surprised how much love they have for you that they don’t want to see you sad or disappointed because of their “lack of achievements”.  You will be surprised how excited they get to be with you so they can show you their winnings.

Now I am not going to speak to you today as the head of this school, but as a fellow parent given equal blessing by God to nurture wonderful kids. As a parent, I am proud to see how these children have become.  Seeing them every day learning things from the simplest to the most complex gives you so much joy. Can you imagine how happy and proud I am being just their school director, because I can feel how much joyful you are as the parents of these wonderful children.

Some of you may have different orientation of success and achievement; but for me, my orientation of success is simple:  When I see a child confidently speak to a person in authority, that is success, that is an achievement; when I see a child with no to little English ability, try to speak in English, even in wrong grammar, that is success, it is a great achievement; when I see a behaviorally challenged child learn to control his emotion or even to say thank you and I’m sorry, that is success, that is an achievement;  and when I see a child excitedly comes to school and wants to stay in school, that is success, it is an achievement.  Every child is successful; it just depends on the person categorizing success.  Even the children who are not here with us today are equally successful; because they have finished this year and they endured until the end.  It is a great success, it is a great achievement.

Let’s guide our kids to take one step at a time, one learning moment at a time. Let us not rush them to reach the kind of success that we have in mind, but the success that they have in mind.  After all, they are the children, they are the future.  Let us allow them to experience failure, it is a good way to teach them patience, determination and redemption.  Let us allow them to enjoy their journey as children and us as their parents, taking full consideration of the time we spend with them.  Let us allow them to grow in faith, patterned to faith that Jesus Himself taught us, the kind of faith that move mountains, the kind of faith that transforms the world.

Look around you dear parents, these are you in the future.  How do you see them?  Whoever we want them to be lies in our collaborative effort, not just you, but also us teachers as their role models, so let us not give up on them, day and night let us pray for them, reward them every now and them but rebuke them if need be, let us be the kind of parent that God wants us to be and surely, we will have the kind of kids we want our children to be.

Proverbs 22:6English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go;
    even when he is old he will not depart from it.

I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day,
And as my fingers pressed it still,
It moved and yielded at my will.

I came again when days were past;
The bit of clay was hard at last,
The form I gave it still it bore,
But I could change that form no more.

I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day,
And molded with my power and art
A young child’s soft and yielding heart.

I came again when days were gone;
It was a man I looked upon;
That early impress still he wore,
And I could change it never more.

(Author Unknown)

Finally, I boast that a Spurgeon student never gives up because  Spurgeon school will not give up on you either.  SSFI Community, let us rejoice for today, we did not only finish the race, but we finished the race strong.  Thank you and may the blessing and wisdom of the Lord, Jesus, be upon us all.

<script async custom-element="amp-auto-ads"

        src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-auto-ads-0.1.js">

</script>

Don't hate "The Teacher"

Life teaches us a lot of things. From the simplest to the most complex. At some point, we face tribulation when we become complacent in whatever situation we are in that we forget how to improve ourselves or check the status of our own performance.

Then the TEACHER comes a long with a test so heavy that we are shaken from the inside and out. The teacher may come in a form of a friend, a colleague, a family member, a parent or a student. The initial reaction of an immature person, is to be angry and at the most, hate the ONE who brings the lesson; but a mature person whose spirit is rooted in Jesus, will thank God for the test and will begin to reflect on what must be done in order to pass the test.

Sometimes we are blinded by anger over "the teacher" whenever our convenience or comfort zone is questioned, but should we really? Must we react immediately before reflecting what is our cooperation in why we are being TAUGHT a lesson?

I found this amazing statement from Fritz Cherry on how we should look  at trials in life.  It says "Think of trials as training."  God has to train His troops. Have you ever heard of any staff sergeant who got to where he was without going through tough situations? God has to prepare His children for the future. 

Don't try to explain everything that is going on in your life, because you just.  Most times, you simply have to trust God, that His test is for the best and for your improvement.

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." (James 1:12-15, ESV)

<script async custom-element="amp-auto-ads"

        src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-auto-ads-0.1.js">

</script>

Developing our speaking skills.

Nowadays, people are so engrossed with what the digital world offers that their whole being is occupied with viewing videos, reading emails, checking friends' posts, playing their favorite games/apps. Their minds are so busy multitasking by using their eyes, hands and mouth at the same time that they forget what a quality talk means.

Because of these advancements in technologies and development of different apps that allows us to be entertained by ourselves that we forget how to enhance our speaking skills. Because we are not 100% focused to the person in front of us, we miss their important message or reminder, we miss the love that they speak, the pain that they share, the joy they extend, or we forget what word to use for a particular situation. We live fast that we forget how to select the words that we will utter to the people we talk to.

Sometimes, we are given a voice to speak for others, but it doesn't mean that everything that we will speak is beneficial, sometimes how we speak things hurt others, demoralize them or emasculate them. We have forgotten the etiquette of speaking because we are focused on passing on information. We forget that there are proper ways of saying things.

So before we end up in a no talk type of society, let us put down our gadgets, turn off our screens and let us start to really talk with our mouths and not with our hands. We'll find it more relaxing, less annoying/intimidating and we build more understanding and better relationship.

Proverbs 25:11 (ESV) “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”

<script async custom-element="amp-auto-ads"

        src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-auto-ads-0.1.js">

</script>

The Only One who can heal

There are many kinds of pain, suffering, illness or even challenges. 

Some people turn to doctors to find a cure for their illness. They hop from one doctor to another, seeking one opinion to the next to satisfy their health issues.  Some people, during new year, turn to astrologist to find 'direction" for their future. They buy all sorts of charms from bracelets to house ornaments just to have " a prosperous year ".  Some people turn to vices to find temporary joy to their aches. They try all sorts of drugs from the simple to the complex, yet still find themselves lonely after the effect subsides.  The youth nowadays turn to advises from personalities in the radio stations to find answers to relationship issues yet fall into brokenness from one relationship to another.

Nowadays, people are concerned with mending their "brokenness". We may be broken by the death of our love ones, by the failure of our relationships, by the disappointments we have in our lives. But no matter how broken we think we are, no person, or thing in this world who can fix us as if we were never broken; only God can.  Turn to God and find yourself be transformed from glory to glory.  Open the Bible and be enlightened to find your every questions answered, your every burden unloaded, your every pain healed.

There are many sorts of broken hearts, and Christ is good at healing them all. —Charles Spurgeon

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - (Revelation 21:4)

<script async custom-element="amp-auto-ads"

        src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0/amp-auto-ads-0.1.js">

</script>

How to tell the truth to a child

Parents nowadays are so concerned on how to tell their kids something without their kids feeling hurt. We beat around the bush before we tell our kids what they did wrong. At school, teachers try not to say "you're answer is wrong" to a child because some say, that will humiliate them and might lowers their self esteem.

But how do we really tell our kids the truth that they were wrong, or this is how they are supposed to do things, or they just simply have to stand up and move their bodies and work.

We don't need to sugar coat the truth to our kids. We just have to tell them what they need to hear. Yes, it can hurt them, it may scare them, it can even break them. But as long as we stay with them as they deal with the truth, they will not fall apart. They will gain wisdom as they try to handle things.

Life can be hard, frustrating, depressing, confusing. It can also be fun, rewarding, encouraging and sweet. They can't experience the latter if they won't experience the first.

They need to learn, not to be pampered. If we want them to be tough and decisive people, we need to show them things as they are.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

I, teacher: I, robot!

I was a public school teacher for nearly nine years before I moved out of the system. Yes! I moved out of the public school system while many of the teachers strive their best to enter the system.

You might be wondering why I moved out, when they say the public schools have the BEST benefits and the most secure employment of all. But I know some of the teachers who are in the service right now would relate to me.

First. because I feel that as I eat my health away, doing so many things for the school I serve, yet even a tap on the back or a soft comment of “good job” from my school principal is scarce. All the credit are theirs for every small or big accomplishment we teachers give the school but not even a simple “thank you guys for doing a great job”. I know some really good principals who are very appreciative of their teachers’ hard works, but most public school principals exert no effort to make their teachers feel “your hard works are not in vain.”

Teachers need appreciation, not in tangible ways but more so in words that really dig deep into their hearts.

Second, because my creativity as a teacher is slowly being killed by the amount of unnecessary paper works needed to be submitted. Mind you, I don’t complain about the paper works; being a teacher, I am used to late night research for topics to be discussed in the morning, over time checking of papers to be given to some equally excited and scared students waiting to see their results and endless lesson plans writing.

What made me give up my public school employment are the paper works that I don’t need to do. Sounds intriguing? Boy yeah! I have to make endless reports about what I accomplished or not accomplished per month. I have to spend my time making reports when I should be spending it with a student with parental concerns. I have to spend long hours taking pictures of me working on a project as a proof that I am really working on it; writing narrative reports about it, listing down what I need for my instruction (yet none is given), analyzing exams results of my students just to end up being blamed for their low test outputs.

It will be an endless list. But of all the paper works that we teachers have submitted, none of them really mattered as to how the department run the system. The paper works give birth to more paper works. That leaves us with little time to prepare the lesson we have written. That leaves us with little time to spend with our love ones. That leaves us with not being able to be physically and emotionally involved with our students well being.

Third, because of the still rampant ancient system in promotion. Teachers make the report, the heads get promoted. Teachers accomplish the project, the heads get the thumbs up. And before the teachers can experience promotion, we have to muscle every seminars, post graduate diploma, coordinatorship and many other extra work that makes us feel like robots, working on autopilot mode: wake up early, school, skip meals (even call of nature), sleep late; repeat. Then with all these hard works just to get a promotion, you’ll just realise someone gets promoted because they are on elbow to elbow relationship with the system’s officers. Goodness!

The system is so concerned at how the students can perform better at the expense of teachers, but they never, as in NEVER did they think of how to help the teachers unleash their full potential. Seminars? Yes, they help, but applying of the lessons/strategies gained from the seminars is a different story. Instructional aides are not available, books and other reference materials are no where to be found. CD materials needed for the lessons take ages before they can reach the palms of the teachers just to realise they can’t play the CD because there is no CD reader and a speaker available at school. Changing curricula without readily available materials for teachers to follow expecting the teachers all ready know what to do.

So you can just imagine how much researching we have to do just to teach a newly changed curriculum without full knowledge of it. They say a blind can’t lead a blind. Now tell me who is the blind, leading the blind? Is it only the “blind” teacher, leading a “blind” student? Or is it the blind education officers leading the teachers with eyes fully opened in total darkness?

Lastly, teachers are not treated as professionals here in the Philippines. To the public, teachers are employees who are not experts; who are weak minded; who didn’t reach their dream jobs; escape goats, shock absorbers and robots. Many parents disrespect teachers in front of their children, leaving us being disrespected by their children too. Parents no longer consider us a partners to child rearing but rather a nanny, or a person to be blamed when their kids get low scores. The education system sees us as robots with no need of rest, social life and spiritual growth; they can think of is to appease the feelings of teachers being blamed for poor academic ratings of Filipino students compared to some other students in the world, by increasing their salaries like a baby given a candy to stop crying.

We are teachers, we are not robots, we are here to teach and be a parent to the children, but we need help. Our eyes are open, but the problem is, there is nothing you can see in complete darkness. Light our ways, support us, feel us. Teach with us, then you’ll see how dark the roads we take every day just for our students to at least see a little bit of light for their future.

Reclaiming the Dignity of Philippine Educators

The time has come when educators are no longer treated as the parents' partners to teach the children learn simple life skills, good manners, straight principles and respect to every God's creations. 

 

Where could this come from? 

 

Probably, when "powerful people" (the wealthy and the officials) took their kids to a school and their child complained that he was asked to clean up his lunch pack. Learning this, they storm towards the school and shouted at the teacher, telling her "we do not even ask him to eat by himself, at home, we feed him ourselves" or "we tell him to study hard to earn lots of money that he can PAY people to do things for him." 

 

Or probably when an abusive child of a wealthy family/or official was asked to stand to face the wall after beating his classmates/teasing his classmates, went home and complained to his parents that he felt defeated. 

 

Or maybe even before they sent their kids to school and know how mischievous, abusive and bully their kids are made a way to prevent their kids from being punished by twisting the law and made this "child protection policy" so that no teacher or school worker can reprimand them for misbehaving. 

 

It can also be when the media sensationalised teachers giving "corporal punishment" to a student, judging the "erring" educator without even rooting the reasons behind the action taken. 

 

Yes, you may say that you did not send your kids to school to clean up their

 tables, mop the floors, clean the toilets, cook their own food or wash their own clothes, face the wall or stand under the sun, but you sent your kids to partner with the school to teach your kids every possible skills, right manners, theories and laws they can learn that can help them survive in this world even when they no longer have the authority or the money to support them. 

 

Yes, you have money. Loads of money, but until when? Yes, you are in authority. Very high profile in the the community, but until when? Yes, you are alive, providing for your kids, but until when? That is when we, the educators come in to help you to educate your kids learn simple life skills. We take them out of their comfort zones that they may see what it is to live simply. 

 

We take them out of your protective shields that they may know how it is to live in difficult situations, we take them out of your authority that they may learn how to live humbly. When we take them out of your range, we never meant to overpower you, disregard what you have thought to your kids, or subject and expose them to harsh environment. When we take them away with us on a camp or a long trip, we simply want them know how to live by themselves out of their comfort zones, we want them to realize how blessed they are to have a family like you, we simply want them to feel how it is to live in the world as simple as how others live their lives, and lastly, we just want them to apply the theories that we teach them inside the classroom in their real lives. 

 

Sadly, educators now are treated as yayas, househelpers or slaves. We are now being treated as people whom they can shout at when their kids complain about long homework. We are now being finger pointed when their kids failed on their tests. We are now being subject to ridicule when heard of grammatical errors in our speeches or lessons. 

 

Yes, some of us are not as intellectually bright at some of our students' parents. We are not perfect, we err. But don't you too? 

 

We may not be as smart, as rich, as powerful or as famous as you are, but we are willing to spend long hours at night preparing lessons in the morning. We are willing to offer our shoulders to your kids when you are not around to comfort them. We are willing to listen to your kids' very long happy, sad, funny, bitter, scary stories when you are too busy to listen to them. We are willing to give advise to your kids about love, friendships, parental neglect, sibling rivalry and many other things, when you don't have time for them. 

 

We are educators. We teach with all our hearts, with all our strength and with all our souls. We love your kids as much as you do. We are educators. We are not robots. We have feelings too. We are educators. We are also human beings worthy of respect. We also need to be heard and be given chance to explain and not be judged easily. We are educators. We also have our rights! 

 

It is now time to reclaim the respect that we once have. When the educators were highly regarded in the community because then people knew how hard it is to teach and be a second parent to a diverse class. It is now time to reclaim our rights to give discipline to misbehaving kids without being terrorised by angry parents complaining to DepEd even without hearing our reasons for doing so. It is now time to reclaim our dignity as educators, partners for learning and not slaves of the learned.