Last weekend my tween struggled with the assignment of memorizing a long declamation piece that was in Filipino. The entire class was expected to memorize the piece because they will each be asked to deliver it in class, for the teacher to see who gets to represent the class in an intersection declamation contest.

As I tried to ease my son's stress by helping him with technique, I remembered how, as grade 6 students a long time ago, my classmates and I were each asked to sing in class as our teacher searched for the best contestant in an inter-level singing contest.  While I did not have any qualms singing or speaking in public, I distinctly remember the discomfort of seeing others struggle with the task. I pondered just how practical and productive these auditions are.

No matter how the students try their darnedest, and even if half the class memorizes the poem and a third delivers it superbly, only ONE gets the honor of competing on behalf of the class.  What then is the point of subjecting the entire class, 40 or so of them, to the struggle? Some, like my son, have trouble with Filipino. Some have terrible stage fright and do not like public speaking, much more singing. These students will each squirm uncomfortably on their seats as their turn draws near, subject themselves to at least a minute of sheer terror and/or embarrassment struggling with the declamation (or in our case, the singing), and then afterwards will just be cast as rejects of the imposed audition. 

The experience then makes them believe even more that they are poor public speakers or are terrible in Filipino.  They feel incompetent when in fact they could just be very good in other things (Mathematics, Science, drawing, writing).  In effect, instead of developing and honing and thereby, uplifting, the exercise does the opposite for a significant part of the class.

Lamentably, the audition does not even provide meaningful literary exposure.  The piece that was assigned is by an unknown author, is of sketchy, amateurish composition, and unremarkable argument.  I could not imagine how the teacher can sit through 20 or so repetitions of the piece (as she searches for the best declaimer), without falling asleep or losing interest in what is going on.  After all the effort they put in, the students could well be performing to a wall.  Tsk, tsk, tsk. 
Overall then, for me, the entire exercise is a total waste of time and effort. Isn't there a better way?

Perhaps the audition could have served a better purpose had it been offered as additional work, where only those really interested can volunteer to participate, who would be tasked to memorize and rehearse the piece, who will perform in class, and then get extra credit for their effort.   This way, parents are saved from stress, the disinterested/disinclined  students are saved from fright or embarrassment, their energies are saved for better-fitted pursuits, and the teacher saves time looking for her champion.  There. All happy.

Friends advised time and again for me to get a tutor for my kids. "Maawa ka sa sarili mo," they say. They're concerned about how little rest I'm getting, considering I'm now 5 months heavy, work full time, take care of the house then sit down with my kids for homeworks and reviews after dinner.

But to be honest, apart from the problem of having little time and sometimes, too little energy, tutoring my kids is never tiresome. I wouldn't pass it up, it's one of the rare chances I get to sit down and see their academic progress firsthand, and address any learning problems they have.

Being teacher-mom is very educational. Just last week, I got a refresher on Philippine revolutions. To demonstrate the value of Kumon, I learned to do away with calculators, practicing to do my maths mentally. And for Gambel, I had to read through the life stories of five saints.

Being teacher-mom can be trying at times too, but without its share of laughs.

Gambel has difficulty with Filipino. While we speak Filipino at home, our conversations are limited to everyday, common words. At school they are required to converse in English. Then as he is surrounded with the Internet and cable TV, his limited Filipino vocabulary isn't helped.

One time, we were studying Pandiwa (Filipino verbs), and I was drilling him on the past, present and future tenses. It has been a long day for both of us, and had it not been for a quiz in the morning, we would have gone to bed already. After 5 or so verbs, Gambel was yawning. I kept on.

Me: Gambel, o gamitin mo yung pandiwa na Inom, ha.
Gambel : Opo.
M: Kanina, ang juice ay --?
G: ININOM. (Eyeblink, eyeblink, eyeblink.)
M: Very good. O, ngayon, ang juice ay---?
G: INIINOM. (Yawn.)
M: Mamaya, ang juice ay---?
G: Ubos na!

Oo nga naman! :) That was my cue -- time to let the kid rest!

Dear Tchr. V,

Last night I helped my son review for his test in PE, and noted his struggle with computing for Body Mass Index (BMI). The difficulty lay not in the formula per se, but in the actual computation, because it involved decimal numbers which they have not yet covered in class. He also told me that they're not allowed to use calculators for the computation.

Please enlighten me:

1) Why are they not allowed to use calculators in PE? Why, is the stress on the ability to compute, rather than on the understanding of physical fitness concepts? If it is equally important that they know how to compute long hand even in PE, is it not unfair to expect the children to do something they have not yet been taught to do?

2) I noted that while the BMI and the BMI formula were in his notes, there was NO discussion of what BMI means or how it relates to physical fitness. More importantly, there was no discussion on how one can improve his BMI, or achieve better physical fitness. Is there any particular reason for this?

My son also showed me drill sheets he accomplished in Arts, on Calligraphy, which the teacher asked him to redo because they were not up to standard. I learned however that they were not shown how to use the calligraphy pen, or how to execute the calligraphy strokes using the pen. When he was told to redo his drill sheets, he was not told where he went wrong or what he was supposed to improve.

I am sorry, but I am confused -- is it not that the role of the teacher is to impart knowledge and understanding, by explanation, demonstration, and then encouraging exploration and curiosity? Is it not that the teacher is supposed to encourage improvement in the child by giving meaningful feedback? All these were absent in the two areas I raised here (PE and Arts). Am I wrong, or has education changed?

I had wanted to discuss this in person but the reality of work and other responsibilities prevent me from coming to see you. Nevertheless I hope you could please 1) remedy the situation and 2) send me a reply. Thank you and God bless.

--o00--

Dear Mom,

Sayang di (na naman) pumasok ang apo mo sa DL. Nung 1st quarter all his grades were 88 and above, pero di umabot sa 90 ang average. Ngayon bukod sa di umabot sa 90, meron din siyang grade na 85, sa Science. I said sayang not because I will die kung di siya ma-honor -- you know I know better than that. Nanghihinayang ako kasi naramdaman ko yung drive nung bata, pero eto nga, na-frustrate.

Yung Science/Science teacher ang ipinunta ko na naman sa school nila few weeks back, kasi nagbigay daw ng quiz, tapos halos lahat sila mababa ang score. Yung iba, bagsak. Nagalit pa daw yung teacher sa kanila, saying talo pa sila ng second section (I don't know how true). When I told the principal about it, she committed a re-test.

Tapos nung kinuha ko nga yung card last Sunday, I learned na lahat ng bata, including those in the Top 10, bumaba ang grades. I asked the adviser kung saan ang tingin nilang problema -- di pa daw nila alam, they will analyze pa daw. Pero siguro daw ito lang yung time na ang mga utak ng mga bata, naglaro. I nearly laughed out loud at the idea. What a flimsy excuse! That's a given -- children will always like playing over studying! Ang gusto kong itanong, so now that you think that's what happened, what do you intend to do about it? Hindi ko tinanong kasi magmumukha akong intrimitida. Actually, tingin ko may ganoon na nga akong image, lalo lang maco-confirm...

Once I went to the school to pay tuition. That was a rare event, kasi usually pinapakisabay ko na lang sa friend ko 'yung bayad. So nagulat ako nung pagkalapit ko dun sa Cashier's Window, nai-type na nung clerk yung last name ko sa computer at nailabas na niya yung record ng apo mo. She knows me! Weird.

So pagbalik ko sa sasakyan, kinuwento ko yun sa asawa ko. Sabi ko ang galing naman nung memory nung clerk, kasi last time na nakita niya ako was last June pa. Sabi sa akin, hindi daw, meron na daw naka-paskil na picture ko sa offices nung school, may warning: "Beware of this woman. Mataray. Mabangis. Mahilig sumulat sa school." Nakalagay daw ang pangalan ko sa ilalim nung picture, kaya daw alam na nung clerk yung last name ko. Eh?

One of my friends confirmed this -- well, hindi naman yung may picture nga ako or something. She's a teacher too (in another school) and meron na silang "roster" ng mga dreaded parents. Kapag may dumating from among those dreaded parents, news travel fast at nalalaman nila. So malamang nga daw ganun ang sa akin. Nge!

So whatever happened to "the school and the parents must work hand in hand to give children the best education possible"? How can I expect them to give my son a good education kung sila mismo ayaw matuto from feedback and criticism? Aaarrrggh.

Ngayon kasi, hindi na ministerial ang education, but income-generation. Negosyo. Maraming teachers naging teachers for the job, not because they want to teach, much less, love to teach. The whole sector is a problem -- DepEd developed a curriculum that's supposed to mold students into citizens who can help the Philippines go global; pero hindi naman ready ang infrastructure -- kulang ang classrooms, kulang or di competent ang teachers, ang textbooks kung pano-pano lang. (In fact some of them read like mere compilations.)

Then, maraming teachers, as I said, incidental. This is not to generalize, but some teachers end up as teachers kasi they took up Educ kasi yun na lang ang course na naiwang available sa kanila. (Sige, go ahead, ask why.) Yung iba namang magagaling, nag-Educ so they can teach abroad, stepping stone lang yung dito. In general, overwhelming o disinteresting na nga yung subject, di pa ginagawan na maibaba sa level ng students or make it interesting. I find myself re-teaching, correcting (!) yung mga mali o incomplete na turo, or supplementing kasi nga superficial ang treatment.

All these considered, totoo nga, intrimitida nga ako. Hay. :P

--Len

I went to my son's school this morning to hand-deliver my letter to the principal. The problem with letters is that they have no voice; readers don't read them the way the writer intones them. So I decided to hand-in the letter with a voice over. Hahaha.

So I started the meeting with "Ma'am, my letter is a little emotional because it was written in frustration, but all I want to say is..." and went on to discuss what I wanted and needed as calmly as I can. I walked out of the office a good 30 minutes later with the assurance that they would discuss my findings with CAL. (I really liked it when I read out the technical thingamajigs I lifted from the book and her mouth dropped open. Hahaha.) I also had a short chat with the computer subject teacher, who assured me that he would issue a supplementary, more specific list of pointers to review to help parents focus on important items to review. Small battle, small win. Good enough.

=============

Then I went to the Kumon Center to pay our tuition dues and had a small chat with the center director. I told her about last night's misadventure and the morning's foray into the principal's office. I told her I'm a little bothered by the notoriety I'm getting.

"Oh, but it's good you're doing that. What you did helps not only your son but the other students whose parents are not as involved or as available as you are," she said. "The school should appreciate that."

"It's my husband," I said. "He's a little uncomfortable about my being outspoken and gung-ho. You know, I actually stayed up until 1 am writing and rewriting my letter because I wanted it not to sound reproachful but nice; then this morning when I let him he read it, he goes, 'Di kaya kayo lang ang may problemang ganyan? Tawagan mo kaya si Malou? (Don't you think yours is an isolated case? Why not check if Malou's having the same problems?)'

So while I was pretty sure about my assessment, I went and called Malou, who more than validated my sentiments. She was pretty pissed off and frustrated with the book, too. So lucky me, I had enough reason to go and bring the matter to their attention."

"Your husband must be saying, 'Ano ba itong napangasawa ko (pala-away yata),"

"Ten years of marriage and here's what I've become. Hahaha. He's probably wondering into what I'd mutate to in the coming years. Hahaha!"

Then I told her the side-story of our little trip at NBS last Saturday. I was picking out a book, but the title I wanted was plastic wrapped. I poised to cut the sides of the wrapping open with my fingernails.

"Don't open that!" my husband said.

"And why not?"

"Baka pagalitan ka nila."

"Pag pinagalitan nila ako, aawayin ko sila! How do I know what's inside? How do I know if I like it enough to buy it?"

He didn't answer, but pointed instead to the other titles in the stack. "Yung iba bukas na. Yan hindi talaga."

"Kaya nga kailangan kong buksan eh. Funny naman, it's like buying a blouse I'm not allowed to try on..."

But I sensed his discomfort and so I knew it was time to give in.

"O, sige na nga, hindi na muna." And I put the book back, unwrapped.

If I did tear the wrappings open and got into an argument for what I did my husband would have died of embarrassment.

"Saka ko na titignan ito 'pag ako na lang mag-isa. Para kahit makipag-away ako, di ka mapapahiya kasi wala ka dito!"

(Was it something that I ate? Hahahaha.)

Now it's Jam's turn to show off. :) It isn't always that he agrees to be part of a school production, so this is really big deal for me. :) I took the morning off and postponed my usual Monday Tour of the Banks just so I can be at stage left taking footage. :) Come watch the video.

I shed a few tears of joy today, after being mightily proud of my boy, Gabriel, who was a trouper in a song number he performed with his classmates.

They performed the same number last Friday for the school program on Nutrition Month, but as always, since he's the biggest boy in class, Gabriel was put in the back row and I didn't get a clear video shot.

Thankfully, this morning they had a repeat at the JCRBCF worship service.* Watch the video and read the rest of the story in StageMother.