THE FILIPINO BIOLOGY TEACHER

After watching last night's episode of MMK18 "Sulo", I was again reminded this morning of a story of what a teacher should do. Sometimes, in our desire to give our family a decent life, we have neglected our promised duty of making a difference in the lives of the students who passed by us. Here is the story: The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?' He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.' To emphasize his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?' Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...) 'Well, I make kids work harder ...

My nephew, Nakki (shown in the picture with his mom), and his classmates in an elementary school in Tayabas were required by their teacher to deliver a 16-sentence speech about any of these topics: pollution and global warming. Here is the piece of Nakki: To my dear teacher; To my friends; To all boys and girls; Good morning! I am now afraid of typhoons. I am now afraid of floods. I am now afraid of landslides. The storms Ondoy and Pepeng taught me this fear. I used to bathe under the rains. I used to make paper boats. I dreamed of a house on a mountain top. But now, I am afraid. The news over the television terrified me all the more. Many have died. Little children like us are suffering. They are hungry. They lost their homes. They have not gone to school anymore. And many are sick and dying. I am afraid because this is not the future I want. This is not the world I love to be. Our President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that we are victims of the global event called Climate Change. H...

AFTER reading just the lead of the news below, ideas came to me of how to make my class an agent of disseminating information on proper hygiene among school children in far flung barangays in our area. I was inspired again of the concept that real learning engenders social change. I saw in my mind pictures of my students explaining dental carries, the causes of these and how to avoid these, using techniques that can be of fun among school children. I also envisioned seeing my students explaining the nematodes in simple language and how to eradicate and prevent such. And even diarrhea. These are interesting reports worth sharing so that biology teachers can design activities that will make learning of these concepts worthwhile and experiential. Here is the news story. PROPER HYGIENE LINKED TO SCHOOL PERFORMANCE By Allison Lopez,Philippine Daily Inquirer October 15, 2009 MANILA, Philippines--Tooth decay, intestinal worms and diarrhea are some of the reasons why more and more children per...

My professor back in the undergraduate school asked me if I could speak before her class about teaching methods and approaches. She is not just a professor, but she was a benefactor. She used to hand me bills when I was still a student-boarder. She was also there when I spiraled down to one of the darkest points of my life. As usual, I was again cramming. Schedules were hectic since last week preparing for the documents needed for the accreditation of our four programs in the institute. Well, you worked hard for a master’s degree only to sort papers, cut tags, photocopy documents and ring bind inch-thick mess. It was funny that what kept us awake till midnight, what drained our physical strength and what made us anxious were all clerical works. Accreditation is indeed, anti-faculty and anti-environment. My lecture was scheduled at 1:00 p.m. yesterday (which happened to be my birthday). But at past one, I was still in the computer trying to polish the presentation. I received a call fro...