AI & Education

 

To Impress

Hair extensions. Check.
False lashes. Check.
Lipstick. Check.
Fake nails. Check.
Heavy perfume. Check.

Impressed! My child’s teacher surely would.
With my fine clothing, shoes, bag, tattoos.
And she’d probably say,
“You have a lovely mother!”

So there we sat as I stared
At the teacher’s plain face.
Wearing hardly any make-up,
Clothes from the thrift shop.

What she said didn’t register:
Daily conversations, home reading,
Extra math practice. Journal writing.
Not to worry about school supplies,
She’d find ways to provide.

So there we sat as I stared,
Feeling bad about bringing allergens.
Her eyes tearing up. Red nose sneezing.
But my fancy phone was buzzing.
MLJ13082026ParentTeacherConferences

A NEW HOLE IN THE WALL

Teacher had a gut feeling that morning
What it was, of course, there was no telling
Until her second grader
To the bathroom went
And thought it’d be best
To challenge another
Whose legs were shorter.

By chance, Teacher opened the door
To find her wide-eyed speeding boy
Slipping, hitting his head on the wall
Making a hole fit for a golf ball.

I swear she could’ve fainted
As the bloody head was raised
So to the Office they both sped
As she prayed for God’s Grace.

Soon her great speedy boy
Will be back to school
Sporting staples or stitches
He’d probably hide like hickies.

Now Teacher thinks it’d be a bore
If she would patch the new hole
And terminate tales of follies
Such as reckless hall races.
MLJ06022026OnCompetitiveBoys

Sabrina Carpenter for Second Graders?

T: Do you know what Jesus' father did for a living?

S1: He was a scientist?

S2: He was a driver!

T: Let me give you a hint. It starts with the letter C.

S3: I know. He was a carpenter.

S4: Like Sabrina Carpenter?

S5: Your crush?

Zzz...

A total of ten hours in two nights.
marks for eight subjects
progress report comments
for each of twenty-two students
sixteen as English learners
six with special needs
one severe
tomorrow again
seriously?
deadline in two days

Zzz...

MLJ06122025ReadyToZzz

What TEACHING really is

 

12. Supporting students with special needs

13. Dealing with warring/divorced/separated parents

14. Caring for children who haven't slept because they were online all night

15. Supporting parents who are learning English or can't read or write in any language

16. Dealing with parents who think that education is not their business

Maraming salamat!

Maraming salamat! Thank you very much for your well wishes. I wish you all good health, and lots of love and happiness.

I wish there was a lesson on the cost of aging, especially the cost of health care. Lol. No wonder people are in search of the elixir of youth. Anyway, just sharing that I treated myself to some Spanish bread which I hadn't had in ages. It was not like the mouthwatering kind in this picture though as it was probably "bread of the lesser baker" and a product of shinkflation.

God bless you all for your thoughtfulness. My apologies if I can't read all messages/posts. As you know, public schoolteachers are working 60+ hours a week. Even in their sleep, they're thinking about how to help little Johnny or Susie with the 3Rs or behavior modification. God bless you all for your patience with square moi and for being a friend all these years.

Never Enough

"Never Enough" is my theme song. Why? Because each day is never enough – never enough time, never enough practice, never enough learning… Today’s wish is we’ll accomplish more tomorrow. Maybe there’ll be less disruption from needy students.

Never enough students either! No cap on class size! I get new students every now and then, until the end of every school year. Glad to have all these precious children of God under my wing, but my feathers have shriveled. I'm not sure how much further they can last. MLJ02112025NearingRetirement

Support Alberta Teachers

 STOP THE EXCUSES

More practice with watercolor pencils

 

SUPPORT PUBLIC EDUCATION

 FELLOW ALBERTANS:

Phone your local trustee to let them know that student-teacher ratios are a key tool to address the class size and complexity issues that teachers have been struggling with for years.

Overheard

Two merchandisers in a store:

A: Nagpadala ka na? (Have you sent [money] home?)

B: Ano pa nga ba? Parati na lang kulang! (Do we have a choice? And it’s always not enough!)

A: Oo nga. Hingi pa ng hingi! (So true! And they keep on asking for more.)

B: Akala mo pinupulot lang ang pera. ‘Di man lang mangumusta. Buhay ka pa ba? (They think that we’re just picking up cash off the ground. They don’t even inquire how we’re doing. Are we still alive?)

Title for this story: Never Enough

Theme song for this story: Never Enough

Reminiscence: A co-teacher from South America exclaims: “Perang padala, makakarating!” (The money that you send will be delivered!) each time he saw a Filipino teacher. It was something he learned from a Philippine-based remittance centre in town. Worldwide, millions of migrant workers send money home. These are the unsung heroes of globalization. MLJ/14102025LamentationOfHardworkingPeopleSendingMoneyHome

Every cent has a story: About people who endure isolation, discrimination, homesickness... and work multiple jobs to send money home. And the recipients? That's another story...

World Teachers' Day 2025

 "Inherently unfair": Concerns raised over private school spending

Bring It On!

  

We made it to the finish line in June. 

We're ready for the next race, but we need everyone's support. 

There's nothing like a newly-polished floor. 

The Seven Sacred Teachings: love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility, and truth. 

WWW

Early 90s: Dial-up internet, noisy modems, purring like cats racing to make a connection in an ever-increasing traffic like Manila’s. Learning the protocols on email and chat programs, and browsing the World Wide Web by carefully typing in website addresses or URLs. Any mistake in capitalization or punctuation would result in painful retyping. Until there was cut, copy and paste. Until there was hypertext and you just had to click on the link. Now with AI, the internet knows what you’re thinking, what you need or want, what you desire… and feeds you with it. Buy now, it says. Would you click, consume and digest, or exercise judgment and free will as a rational animal? (Let’s leave this for another blog.)

At Far Eastern University – East Asia Institute of Computer Information Technology (FEU-EACIT), our students were asked to simulate an IT seminar-workshop for the public. They were to do research and try new word/data processors and programs for anti-virus, educational games, animation, auto computing, and design for their respective oral presentations. Albeit with fear and/or excitement, these future IT professionals took on the challenge, hating/loving their teacher in the process, and came out the other side beaming with pride in their accomplishments and stronger friendship. Now they’ve come far and away the best in their chosen fields, and nothing makes a teacher retire with the happiest of hearts. Even without the internet! MLJ/09082025/FUE-EACITSimulation1990s

Dancing with a Christmas tree?

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree 

Whenever my class hears a dance song, everybody starts dancing – a movement break they deserve after sitting at their desk for sometime. When our office secretary brought to the staff room a dancing Christmas tree (as she’s decluttering her parents’ house) for any taker, I thought that it would be great for my happy and lively class. True enough. When my children saw it, their eyes lit up and their mouths opened wide first in awe and then in delight. I told them that I’d pick the best kids to press the button and see what the tree would do. The first time the tree played its song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and danced, everybody jumped out of their seats and started dancing along while laughing at the sight of the dancing tree. One child exclaimed, “That was very satisfying!” The following periods, other children were rewarded with the privilege of pressing the button and the song never failed to raise dopamine and serotonin and brought back enthusiasm for every new lesson. Come rock along! MLJ/20/11/2024

A Meandering Career - RIP Donald Sutherland

I thought I had a “meandering” career, too, but after 37 years of moving back and forth from ESL for children and adults, Comm. Arts, Special Education, Montessori Education, to public elementary school teaching, I have nothing but gratitude for the places I’ve been, friends I’ve made, and lives I’ve been privileged to witness change for the better – local, immigrant, or refugee. I’ve been truly blessed to have the best teachers from day 1 at Gotamco Elementary School to my last days at the University of Sto. Tomas, revising my thesis using a portable typewriter, under the advisership of the late Dr. Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta. It has been a life well-lived, whether there was little or enough, whether it’s my final curtain or 20 years more, as AI estimated based on my current lifestyle. It doesn’t really matter now, does it? MLJ/20062024

Almost there...

I got gummy worms as a class treat/prize as we're doing decomposers this time of year. Just the mere sight of them turns everyone into angels. Not that they're all little devils, but the one emotionally-immature, crying/screaming boy practiced a lot of control and refrained from fighting during soccer games at recess. (Oh, yes. A handful one can feel like having ten more boys in class.) They got to keep the ball all week, got treats, and Friday free-choice time. All's well that ends well. Some also took home the live butterflies for weekend release when it gets warmer... Hang in there, Teachers! Peace! MLJ/25052024/AlmostSummerBreak

Warm Sun, Cool Moon

Nobody prints photos anymore? Thanks to those who donate photo paper to thrift stores. They have been very useful in my Art class. MLJ/24/02/2024  

A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska by Jane Jacobs

The story of schoolteacher Hannah Breece, great-aunt of Jacobs, through her memoir that immerses you in the Alaska of the early 20^th century with its vivid language and spectacular imagery that will make you wish you were an explorer in this newly-acquired American land of Russians, natives, and mixed races.  MLJ/03/07/2023/TwelveHoursOnPAL