Happy 100th to the Church of Christ (1914-2014)!

Praise be unto God.  Praise be unto God.  Praise be unto God...  My friends are always surprised when they learn I am a member of the Church of Christ.  Some would say, "Hindi bagay!" (You don't seem so!) or "Bakit parang di kita nakikitang sumasamba?" (How come I don't see you attend Church?) or "Talaga?  Sumasamba ka pala?" (Really?  You worship?) to which I would simply say, "Hindi ko kailangang ipakita." (I don't need to show it).

To avoid confrontation about religion, I have always been mum about my beliefs.  I have decided to keep that part of me to show respect to others since I know that with my assertive (and sometimes aggressive) personality combined with my contentious tongue, once the topic of religious beliefs are brought to surface, there will be no stopping me to discussing the Biblical bases of our doctrines which some of the people I have mingled with question in arrogance or in simple inquiry.  I do not wish to talk about our doctrines in this blog.  As a matter of fact, I leave Biblical interpretation to our ministers.  While I know and understand really well (bragging aside) some of the complicated doctrines of our Church versus the doctrines of others, my simple reply to people who question me is an invitation to listen to our gawain (activities) or attend our pagsamba (worship service).  

I have also kept my post about my faith to a minimal because I know that I will not be able to keep quiet if my religious posts attract detractors (I will ensure by the way that the rules of logic would crush them to pieces and man, don't try me, I know how to do it well).  Also, a part of me tells me that some of my dispositions may not be actions worthy or deserving to be associated with my beloved Church.

But this is the Centennial year of our Church and so I will make an exception.  

Let me tell the whole world that my heart overwhelms with joy and love to my life, and to my Church; that for almost a week now, I have been crying because I feel His Holy Spirit each time I close my eyes and pray; that as I type these words, I'm teary-eyed because I feel protected, I feel loved, I feel forgiven and brothers and sisters around the world unite with this feeling; that as I sit silently in my apartment, I stalk other brothers' and sisters' social media accounts because it pleases me to know that in this silence, I am one with them; that in this silence, I hear firecrackers even if I am in QC (as if the wind is carrying the sound for me to hear); that when I prayed just a while ago I cried as I exalted (and still exalt) His Holy Name; that I look back and realise how the Church has grown from a nipa hut to the Philippine Arena; that I have always been inspired that this Church has always been one of the firsts to be there for the victims of Yolanda, or Haiyan and we extend our help to whomever needs one; that this Church, the Church of Christ, no matter how others have tried to destroy and put down, still stands higher than all its Churches, higher than all of us.

A previous student messaged me on FB, "... do you believe religion is still relevant today?"

Quickly I babbled (some parts omitted and rephrased), "Yes.  Of course, Imagine a world without religion.  No one would help us develop spirituality.  Religion, no matter what it is, encourages belief in God, the Supreme Being.  Without this, encouragement, the world would be filled with godless humanity.  Should we allow that to happen?...  Without religion, fear of sinning would be lesser.  Without religion, people would be less connected to whomever their Supreme Being is and that would result to chaos.  There's a reason why the State protects the right to religion.  It is because religion contributes to social welfare and wellbeing of mankind.

So for those who feel they don't need a religion, maybe you need this one.  You are invited.  Just listen then decide.

And if you are a detractor wanting to comment negatively to this article, go ahead.  Bring it on.  Our Church and its members are still marching forward to ciudad de victoria (city of victory). (Image grabbed from Eagle News PH.)

Is your Misleading Institute really implementing K-12?

Some misleading institutes claim they are K-12 ready only so they can increase their marketability.  Don't be fooled by these monetary institutes.  They will mislead you for money since they put profit above student learning.

Cheers!

Where's the Money in these Institutes?

If you are a student, a teacher, or a parent, do your part by sharing or liking this.
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Truth is the best defense.

If it is so thought I say things to attack or to attribute ill repute to some people or this money-making institute, then let it be known that I courageously say to you who wear this perfectly ill fitted shoes to detail where the tuition fees and miscellaneous fees of your students go. It is but a standard practice for schools to detail if not enumerate the fees students pay (athletic fee, energy fee, id card fee, internet fee, newsletter fee, medical/ dental fee, org fee, registration fee, etc...). And if this monetary institute has existed for more than 10 years but has done nothing to at least shed light on these issues, then I dare say something is not right with the way its finances are managed. It's simple mathematics; we multiply each fee to the number of students to identify how much is allotted for each aspect; it may not be an absolute fee or expense but it's an estimate to give the shareholders (students, teachers, and most especially parents who work day and night to send their students to an institute that is supposed to take care of the welfare of their children) so that there's transparency in the system. These fees are included in the miscellaneous fees. The tuition fees, however, are computed on a per unit basis and must detail how much the students are paying daily (e.g. 1 unit - P100, then if students have 8 subjects, 800 daily for the tuition fee. It's much much higher in other institutes).

Why should students, teachers, and parents know this?

Students are ENTITLED (enough with the baloney sense of gratitude versus sense of entitlement; Sense of gratitude should exist in times when you get something for free. If you pay for services, then by all means, assert that you are entitled to your money's worth) to get what they pay for. It's basic. I won't buy a fake Vuitton or a fake Hermes bag for say P50,000 in the same manner that I will not pay P200,000 to a school who cannot even instil library skills to its students because of its apparent lack of better facilities. (I feel sorry for those victims who are now left with no choice but to stay since it's too late for many of them to transfer schools and they also treasure friendship they have with students and teachers around them even at the core of their guts, they so want to just be out of this money-making institute.) Students ought to benefit from the organisational fee they pay. So if each student pays P1000 and there are 20 students as a member of a certain mentorship club (or sometimes Pods) then the students are entitled to PHP20,000 (P1000 x 20 students). The adviser then, in collaboration with each student member, prepares a budget proposal so that they can make good use of the money they are entitled to. Library fees should also be utilised - If each student pays PHP1000 for the library fee and there are say 500 students then somehow the students must benefit from PHP500,000 worth of library facilities. If not, at least half of it - new books, new technology, etc... This should be existing NOW because students pay for it for the school year they are enrolled and not for its future services (it sickens me to know that some students are paying for the campus development fee for PHP5000 each yet they won't even see the light of this so-called development. Where does the money really go?). This computation applies to all the fees for the maximum benefit of the students.

Teachers should also know that for the raise in tuition fee, they are entitled to 70% of the increase. So if the tuition fee is greater than PHP15000 from last school year, then we compute by amount of increase multiplied to the number of students - PHP15000 times 500 students = 7.5 MILLION. Say we have 100 teachers in an institution, then each teacher must approximately have a 75,000 increase yearly or a little over P6000 monthly. It doesn't take a genius. The big question is where do teacher benefits go and who really benefits from this? Just a question.

Lastly, parents must interfere with these issues. it's not just because you pay for your child's tuition fee but because you want to know your money's worth and where your money goes. If you are a parent and you are a part of a parent organisation in an educational institution, then you make it a point to know because you want to make sure your child gets every bit of the cent you paid their education for.

I am mad. Yes, I am. I am passionate about teaching because it's my vocation and it is such a frustration that these money-making institutes are after profit more than student learning that they brag of. My bone hurts to see students (including my previous students) taken advantage by these pretend educators. As an educator, these are the very elements we should protect our students from - entrepreneurs who see education as a lucrative money making machine. Schools are not mainly for profit, it is mainly built for student learning and anyone who prioritises personal (or family) gain over student learning have no right to establish a school; have no right to even be entrusted our kids to; have no right to be called as an educator; have no right to be called a teacher. They should be called business tycoons, commercialists, capitalists, and the right hand of the devil because love of money is the root of all evil.

No. I will not stop educating others by writing and by speaking even if it kills me so long as my expression becomes an eye-opener for the many. I am a teacher and if it means I should use the little light I have as a candle, then let it burn me, let it melt me until my light drowns in my own wax of temporary being.

And if you are so bothered by this writing, you who pretend to put student learning as your main objective, then by all means, tell the real truth and not your version of truth you want others to see. Truth is the best defense and if you have it and I am wrong - I will not hesitate to concede.

And by the way, schools should be transparent to who their members of the board are. If until know, you can't even disclose the names of the people who are in your Board of Trustees or Director, then my question is why? Has nepotism really run deep in this money-making institute?

Students, teachers, and parents, dare to ask, dare to know. Cheers! 

What a shame.

What a shame for an educational institution.

To the parents, and students, beware of the many rotten private educational institutions.  Open your eyes, parents, teachers, and students.  Sharpen your mind.  Intervene.  Ask questions to find out if integrity resides in the institution you wish to enroll in.

Having taken part in the discussion of teachers from the different sectors, I have learned that many private schools abuse their teachers.  These private schools burden their teachers with the weaving of the K-12 curriculum – task that shouldn’t be burdened on the teacher.  Don’t believe that this is so done in the spirit of the collaboration.  It may be collaboration but this is undeniably an abuse of the teachers.  (I have high respect for the efforts of these teachers who contribute to these institutions even if those at the top of the pyramid are the only ones who get to amass wealth and benefits.)

Aside from an institution should prepare its curriculum even before it admits its students, an institution should have the curriculum ready even before the school opens.

On a personal comment, and as a reminder to all the parents, and teachers, and students, let us inquire about the kind of curriculum that these private institutions offer to avoid being victimized by the ones who pretend to be educators and to prevent wasting large sums of money that only the oppressive school owners usually benefit from.

Also, based on my personal experience, there are also some schools claiming and advertising that they are K-12 schools and that their curriculum constitutes the K-12 ladder, but in reality, their curriculum does not even follow the standards set by their governing agencies.  What a shame, really.  I’m just glad to know that there are teachers who devote their time to making sure they deliver quality instruction for the sake of the kids.  Fortunately for these institutions, these goodhearted teachers somehow patch up the loopholes of the system.

Above all, as a teacher, I am concerned about these students who are the primary victims of this rotten system.  Instead of genuinely benefiting from the quality education their parents paid for in big money, they are being left out by the students from public schools who are sparingly charged a single cent.  The parents better have saved the big amount of money they used to enroll for these private schools and send their kids to public schools.

This is a call to raise awareness.  Let’s not make these things happen.  Ask questions.  Intervene if it affects your right.

What a shame for some educational institutions.  I pray for the parents, teachers, and students, to somehow act on this to make a real difference.

(The Filipino version is below.)

Nakakahiya - paaralan pa man din.

Ang daming bulok na pribadong pampaaralan. Mag-ingat kayo mga magulang, at mga guro, at higit sa lahat, talasan ninyo, mga kabataan, ang pag-iisip ninyo. Matutong makialam, at magtanong upang malaman ninyo kung buo ang integridad ng institusyong papasukan ninyo.

Sa pakikipabalitaktakan ko sa mga kapwa ko guro sa iba't ibang sektor, napag-alaman ko na marami pala talagang pribadong paaralan ang mapang-abuso sa mga guro. Ang mga pribadong paaralan na ito ay ipinapapasan ang pagtatahi ng kurikulum sa mga guro - pagtatahi na hindi naman dapat sa mga guro iniaasa. Ang nakakatakot dito ay baka maniwala ang mga tao na guro nga dapat ang gumagawa nito dahil sila ang nagtuturo at sabihin ng mag nang-aabuso na ito ay kolaborasyon. Para sa lahat, ito'y hindi lamang kolaborasyon; ito ay pang-aabuso sa kakayahan ng guro. (Saludo ako sa hirap ng mga guro para sa mga institusyon ito na ang mga nasa itaas lamang nito ang yumayaman.)

Liban sa ang kurikulum ay dapat na handa bago pa man tumanggap ng estudyante ang mga paaralan, ito ay dapat na handa bago pa man din magbukas ang isang paaralan.

Bilang pampersonal na komento, at bilang pagpapalaganap na rin ng impormasyon sa mga magulang at mag-aaral, matuto sana tayong magsuri sa uri ng kurikulum na bumubuo sa isang pribadong paaralan upang hindi tayo mabiktima ng mga nagmamarunong sa larangan ng Edukasyon at magsayang ng malaking pera sa ating ibinabayad sa mga mapang-abusong nagmamay-ari at administrador ng ilang paaralan.

Base sa karanasang pampersonal, may ibang paaralan na nagsasabing sila ay K-12 schools ngunit hindi naman. Nakakahiya ang pagpapanggap nilang ito. Nakakahiya talaga. Mabuti na lang tunay na mga guro ang mga nagtuturo dito kaya kahit papaano ay napagtatakpan ang pagkukulang ng administrasyon. Ngunit nakakaawa ang mga guro - masyado silang inaabuso.

Higit sa lahat bilang isang guro, naaawa ako sa mga kabataang estudyante na pangunahing biktima ng kabulukang ito. Sa halip na sila ay totoong nakikinabang sa de kalidad na edukasyon, sila ay napag-iiwanan ng pampublikong pampaaralan na walang bayad. Sana pala ay isinubi na lamang ng mga magulang ang kanilang malaking perang pambayad sa pribadong pampaaralan at pinag-aral ang kanilang mga anak sa pampublikong pampaaralan.

Isang panawagan. Huwag nating hayaang mangyari ito. Matutong magtanong, at makialam.

Nakakahiya, paaralan pa man din. Ano na lang ang matutunan ng mga bata sa mga bulok na paaralang ito?  Panalangin ko na sana ang mga paaralan, magulang, guro, at mga estudyante ay gumawa ng hakbang para matigil ito at para sa tunay na positibong pagbabago.

Happy Labor Day

Know your rights as a worker.  You are entitled to them.  Anyone who doesn't respect your right should be educated not just for your sake but also for theirs.  

If only our workers know and understand the law, if only our workers know how to assert themselves and fight for their basic rights the law protects, and the elite few in our society who run business know that our workers know, the likelihood of their taking advantage of our common Juan who toil day and night, I believe, will somehow decrease.

You have the right to speak; don't let others take that away from you for fear of being branded as a whiner or a complainer or a negative person.  If you feel in your heart as your senses tell you that the reality around you is oppressive and that your rights are trampled, do you close your eyes along with it or do you choose to question?  I hope that you question instead.  You question to the point that it creates controversy that other people who hear your question also think.  This is not to create disturbance.  This is to genuinely empower people with their own thoughts that they may think freely - freely that it opens up their senses to reality whether such oppression or trampling of rights really does exist.  As Emerson puts it, "To believe in your heart what is true for yourself is true to everyone, that is genius."  You, the worker, are your own genius because you also know that without your labor, no institution would prosper nor even survive.  You are the real power.

In an institution where most people are afraid to speak up to the ones in power, evil is more likely to prevail.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely even the ones who possess it.  Unfortunately, the possessor does not see it this way, the possessor sees the ones who speak as a threat to their status quo and to preserve it some of them will suppress your thoughts and make you believe in what Orwell understood to be the solidity of the wind.  Some of them will use their charms and their rhetorics and the workers' best defense from this is the pruning of their mind that they may distinguish rock from air.

As I have oftenly rephrased and quoted, "The only necessary thing for evil to prevail is for a few good men to say nothing."  And to the oligarchs, and capitalists who serve only their interest in profit, listen to Shore, "The only necessary thing for evil to succeed is to treat everything as business."  People are not businesses.  They are a part of your business, an inseparable part in fact.  Remember there's more likelihood for a business to survive without the few ones on top rather than without the many ones below.  Remove the top of the pyramid and the bottom part survives.  Remove the bricks below and the top of the pyramid crumbles.

So, fellow workers, know the law, understand it and use it.  Speak your minds and assert yourselves.  Empower yourselves.

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To all the hard workers, most especially to my co-teachers, happy Labor Day.  We choose this profession not so we can profit monetarily but so our future kids can profit from the promise of a brighter future; because we teach the next generation not to be victims of commercialism, not to be victims of profiteering, not to be victims of preachers who cling to flowery words to hide their intentions, and not to be victims of themselves by becoming the profiteers who take advantage of others.

Let's teach our students to open their eyes that they may see what Socrates put above all of us - Truth.  Let's teach our students to speak up their minds no matter how their ideas may seem eccentric or unusual, that we may guide them to see what is real, that we may strengthen their senses to perceive reality.  After all, God is God of truth, not of lies.

The Hashtag Generation

(The speech below is as should be delivered in MIIS HS Baccalaureate 2014.  It was cut short during the actual delivery because of an unexpected turn of event.  Comments are most welcome.)

#SOCIAL MEDIA #TEENS #SELFIE #YOLO

#QUOTES

by June Canicosa Hebrew

            “I would like you guys to know that I love you and I will miss you in case you don’t know yet but a part of me would like to believe that you already know that.  Most of you have always told me,  “ I love you, Sir”, or “I missed you, Sir” and I will surely miss the sound of your sweet greetings as I walk through the hallways.  But then again if we feel we want to express how much we love and miss each other, our gadgets are just right inside our pockets and all we’ve got to do is just to press on those keypads our messages to each other and voila - we are connected.  To add, whenever we want to know how each other is doing, all we’ve got to do is to entertain ourselves with the “hashtag selfie”, or “hashtag YOLO”, or “hashtag coolteenquotes” of those whom we miss.

            Technology has brought us so far; in fact, I don’t see many students enthusiastic to go to the library anymore since a lot of information are now googleable.  Wherever we go, mobile phone companies have also found a way to bring social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many more right there on our very fingertips.  Along with this trend, a lot of advertisers become more competitive as they take advantage of making not just their products but also their ideas present wherever you go; the future ahead of advertising is “social media marketing”.  They will make sure you see them, you buy them, and ultimately, you buy the new definition of life as how these advertisers want you to be.  Truth of the matter is, all of us are their target.

As much as we rejoice our connectedness because of technology, it also drives us apart.  It drives us apart not just from each other but also from the everlasting principles technology just by itself would not understand.  It is scary.  It scares me as a teacher – that the influence of the advertising media makes you, teens define your lives as mere hash tags. 

Most girls are now a generation of “hash tag selfies” and it makes me wonder, “Is it really necessary for this generation to check through their camera phone how they look every moment of the day? Is it really necessary for these kids to make different kinds of facial expressions with their lips pouting, eyes bulging, mouth opened? –

You name it, I have never seen a face gets distorted so many times in a few seconds for the sake of vanity or “likes” received in the social media.  Researches also found how many teenagers feel bad when after their hash tag selfies they don’t get too many “likes” in their social media accounts.  What scares me more is right after the typhoon Yolanda and pictures of victims spread the Internet, many teens couldn’t care less and their hash tag selfies seem to be, for them, worth more than the pictures of the victims. 

Another scary thing is that the posted images of the devastated province and its homeless victims get “TOO MANY” likes and I was wondering, “What was there to like?”  The meaning of “like” seem to be changing as well.

And then, there’s “hash tag YOLO”.  Teenagers rejoice doing stupid things and then they would be proud of them because well, “You Only Live Once”; “YOLO, dude!” 

I have read over the Internet, “My brother was kicked out of his hotel because of peeing from the balcony of his hotel room; hash tag Can’t Stop Laughing, and hash tag YOLO.” 

And then there’s another one, “Exchanging seats while driving “hash tag YOLO”. 

What do you think happened after they exchanged seats?  Luckily, they survived but it is not unfathomable that teenagers because of the influence of too much social media craze would take a picture of the ZERO’s in their exam and hide it under the guise of “hash tag YOLO” with the effect of devaluing the essence of education.  In one of the high schools in the United States, whenever they see “hash tag YOLO” the faculty and staff become alert to see what’s going down or what pranks students would pull.  Does these hash tags not scare you, students?  Parents?  Teachers?

Lastly there are those “hash tag cool teen quotes” that students use as an excuse to be lazy – hash tag education does not define success.

“Sir, why do we have to go to school?  Even Bill Gates, or Mark Zuckerberg didn’t finish college but they are wealthier than most of us!  They are successful!” 

To which I replied, “If you have the IQ or even the parcel of knowledge and technical skills of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg before they created Windows, or Facebook, come back to me and then ask again that question.”

Hash tag – “It’s the journey not the destination.”

“Sir, I really did my best here.  Can I get a passing grade for effort?”

Hash tag – “Character is more important than knowledge” or “EQ is more important than IQ”.

“Sir, don’t worry, even if I don’t know the answer to that, I have a good heart.”

With the vast amount of information available within your reach, you tell me you don’t know the answer to my simple questions. 

Perhaps you are busier selfie-ing, YOLO-ing, or tweeting your angst against the whole wide world.

Einstein’s version actually sounds like, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

But then again, even Einstein was knowledgeable himself.  I can only deduce that when Einstein said this phrase, he knew he was knowledgeable and that his knowledge would be useless if he didn’t use his imagination.  Therefore, he was not eliminating knowledge in the equation.  When he said that quotation, there was presupposition of the existence of knowledge before imagination could even make sense. 

Character is more important than knowledge you guys would tell me to defend your failing quizzes or tests, but let me ask you, “Would you even know the essence of character without having checked the dictionary or without having read stories discussing the concept of character? - Or having listened to lectures or team building, retreats, and other venues for you to learn of such?

Character and EQ are important; but your foundation, which is knowledge, and your ability to think are equally important.

Do not just fall into quotes thrown into your face by the popular psychology promoted in social media.  These quotes are designed to make you feel temporarily good.  But soonest as the quote doesn’t feel appropriate for the situation anymore, you will look for another quote to make yourself feel better.

With all those said, what happens if the power goes out and the last battery dies?  How will you survive when you can’t “hash tag selfie” anymore? Or “hash tag YOLO”?  Will it make your life less meaningful that you can’t see how many likes you get or how your other classmates do stupid “YOLO” stuff?  And how are you to make yourself feel better when no quotes over the Internet seem to appeal to your emotions anymore?

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.  The world will have a generation of idiots.”  Albert Einstein allegedly said that.

Students seldom think these days.  If they forget the spelling, there’s spellcheck; grammar, grammar check; phone number, cellphone.  It seemed as if there are ready answers for everything that now a mere use of their faculty seems to them as an insurmountable effort – to spell words properly, or to even construct correct sentences, or even memorize emergency numbers.

Have Einstein’s fears been realized?

Actually it’s not Einstein’s fear since no one has actually proven the quote came from him.  I believed it was from him.  But after some research, I found out it achieved its viral status with its dubious ascription riding in Einstein’s popularity. 

I probably am becoming an idiot, too.  And it’s scary. 

Our dear MI students, I would be lying to you if I say that we have prepared you enough for what’s out there.  However in my attempt to make you feel better about yourself, I could not say you are prepared.  Truth of the matter is no one in this room is prepared.  Each day we wake up, we are unsure of what’s to come.  As a matter of fact when your parents gave birth to you, they were scared as hell but excited greatly well; when it was your first day to school, the teacher who received you was also scared as hell.  When it was your teachers’ first day to teach, they were also anxious, they didn’t know what to expect.  They prepared themselves, yet at the end of the day they tell themselves, “I could have been better prepared.

We are never fully prepared.  We make ourselves believe we are ready because believing in such does not threaten our self-esteem.

Allow me to reiterate differently the M-I Way.

So what then if you are not ready – that’s when you choose to selfie or to love others; that’s when you choose to YOLO or to learn when your friends make you choose between your schoolwork and gimmicks; that’s when you choose to believe cool teen quotes or actually lead by being a person others want to follow.

Ultimately, yes, we are never fully prepared for whatever the future shall throw on our way but we can always choose to do what is right when no one is looking.  Do this and you have passed the ultimate test of all and you will be on your way to AWESOMENESS.

Thank you for listening.