THE FILIPINO BIOLOGY TEACHER

When I first read her story in the book “In Love with Science” which she herself edited, I got interested with her. There is a feeling of awe and amazement as to how she reconciled mathematics and psychology. I didn’t know exactly where and when did the name become familiar but for sure it was about a certain article, half sure whether it was on-line or in the dailies. But I bumped on her name a couple of times already in science news/columns in the internet, which she authored. Her name was also mentioned in a valedictory address of a girl I dreamed to meet: the extraordinary gifted blind Filipina, Roselle Ambubuyog.

Human anatomy class. A student who reported about the reproductive system made mention that among males the passageway both for urine and semen are the same. And that when the pe*is is supplied with blood, a flap of tissue partly closes the bladder which explains why it is impossible for males to urinate while having an e*ection. A student raised a query.

Here's one way of transferring knowledge learned in Meiosis. Students create a dance out of the concept. It was fun. I know my students won't forget this.

Teachers are NOT all knowing anyway. But a teacher who promotes an atmosphere of trust and open-mindedness invites students to engage in an inquiry-based classroom. He also learns along the way, identifies his own misconception and works together with the students in rediscovering knowledge through heuristics. Such happened to me during the semester 1 this school year. As a generalist, I discovered that students developed a kind of confidence to take charge of their own learning when the teacher seemed to or appeared to know less of a certain relevant question that surfaced during a class discussion. And there is also one incident when I learned a lesson from a student which I would not probably forget throughout life in doing a laboratory activity.

A view from the plane was telling me that the islands down there were different from the rest. At about 15,000 feet, while the plane was descending and readying for landing, my eyes feasted on the natural beauties below: verdant mountains, crystalline waters and white beaches. So this is Palawan. As soon as the plane encountered the runway, I was so excited to discover the charm of this island which claimed itself to be the country's last frontier. Perchance, my expectations were just so high that when I checked out of the airport, I saw nothing but a familiar sight, a view similar to my place and while I was convincing myself that there's much more to see, the sights and sounds hitherto did not appeal at all to me. Ordinary. For a mountainer like me, there was nothing special with a city inside a forest. While the cleanliness of the city was the talk of the country and the world, my eyes caught sideviews which failed my expectations. Perhaps, I just expected so much. To borrow...

PCARRD now includes forestry and natural resources, as add-on fields in the council aside from agriculture. I was able to attend a training about research designs at the picturesque PCARRD home at the foot of Mt. Makiling in Los Baños, Laguna. There, I learned the reason why many of our researches do not make it in refereed journals. I was also introduced into SAS and STATISTICA as data analysis tools. I am very comfortable using SPSS, however.

Nakakatuwang isipin na ngayong araw na ito nabuksan ang aking isipan sa kahalagahan ng kasarinlan at pagkakakilanlan. Sa paaralan, kalimitang napapahalagahan lamang ang wikang Filipino tuwing buwan ng Agosto, ang selebrasyon na kumikilala sa wikang pambansa bilang tagapag-ugnay sa diwa at puso ng mga Pilipino saan man sa bansa. Ngunit nakalulungkot isipin na tila bagang kahit mga guro sa Filipino ay hirap na hirap gamitin ang wikang kanilang tinuturo. Ang mga nakatala sa ibaba ay ilan lamang sa mga nakatawag pansin ng aking mata at pandinig kaninang umaga sa isang palatuntunang pinamunuan ng mga taga departamento ng wika. Halos matawa rin ako sa diwang paano kaya kung ang 'Biology' ay ituro na rin sa wikang Filipino. Magiging katawa-tawa rin kaya?

It was a Friday morning when I came to my human anatomy class bringing with me stuffs I studied the previous night. I was so excited to share with my students some of the worksheets I researched for Human ABO blood groups. I asked them to fill up first the table about the reactions that would happen (whether there would be clumping or none) if the ABO types will be applied with anti-A and anti-B sera. Of course, I excitedly discussed first the following: Antigen – a protein that is found on the surface of the red blood cell. Antibody – an anti-body that is produced by the protein. In no case shall the antigen and the anti-body be the same, otherwise, clumping will happen.

One time in my class several years ago, a student asked me why do mushrooms flourish after lightning. All I could mutter was, mushroom absrobed the nitrogen in the air because there is no way it can be directly absorbed but through that process. (lols). Here's one that gives a better explanation:

Dan Ruzzel, my student, chased after me one afternoon and excitedly told me that he had one big question: "Sir, do red blood cells divide?" Again as a generalist, I looked at him and replied: "What do you think?" Dan: "I think they do, because all cells undergo mitosis." Me: "Do they have nucleus?" Dan: "Of course, all cells have nucleus otherwise they are not cells." Me: "Prokaryotic cells do not have nucleus, remember?" Dan: "So what do you think, sir?" Me: "I think they do not divide. I am not sure. Kindly research for that." This is indeed one of the dillemas of generalist science teachers. When specifics are asked, we are caught on a 'heuristic' and probe on the probable answers by roaming around through inquiry approach. Only to find out at the end that we are still limited. By the way, I made some researches and here's what I got: From wiki answers: Red blood cells actually don't go t...

Another student asked me why is it that the flow of energized electron proceeds from PSII to PSI in the light dependent reaction of photosynthesis. I threw the question back to them and some answers were unfounded. Like for example, someone said it's because two factors are affected by light in PS II, the water and the chlorophyll whereas in PS I, it was just the chlorophyll. Being a generalist again, I said well, that was a very relevant question, let's see what literatures tell us about that. Here's what I've got: "It was just that photosystem I was discovered before Photosystem II." The details are as follows: For oxygenic photosynthesis, both photosystems I and II are required. Oxygenic photosynthesis can be performed by plants and cyanobacteria which are believed to be the progenitors of the photosystem-containing chloroplasts of eukaryotes. Photosynthetic bacteria which cannot produce oxygen have a single photosystem called BRC, bacterial reaction center...

"Do plants also undergo cellular respiration?" This was the question posed by one of my students after I discussed metabolism. Being a science generalist, I could not go into the specifics and outrightly answered the question. Instead, I said, "Probably. That was a very interesting question! Because most books I read seldom touched cellular respiration in plants. Probably yes, but let us try to substantiate this claim next meeting." Here's what I got. Cellular respiration is not the process of breathing, as the name suggests. Instead it is the process in which an organism obtains its energy. All living organisms perform cellular respiration, whether they are plants or animals. Facts Cells use the process of cellular respiration to release stored energy in food molecules, such as glucose. The process is the same for both plant and animal organisms. Raw Materials The raw materials for cellular respiration are glucose, oxygen and water. Plants produce their own glu...