Teacher In Me

 

What it means to be a teacher?

Teaching is a very strenuous profession. It is not a job where you will just discuss the lecture and go away, rather, it demands a lot from you - time, effort, optimistic and flexible mind, deep understanding - everything. It entails interaction between the teacher and the students in a way that the teacher should have the prowess to arouse the interest of his/her students in education. As a teacher and a facilitator, one must feed an extra learning support to his/her students which has a big impact to them to be positive in schooling - that will also result to a positive and successful education.

Honestly talking, I don't mean sacrificing my sleep just to make lesson plans and visual aids and becoming a teacher has never been on my wish list - it was my mother who wanted it. It's not that I hate teaching, I just can't imagine myself being a teacher. When I was in High School, I have list of courses I want to take - BS Accountancy, BS Psychology, BS Criminology - but never have crossed in my mind the BEEd or BSEd. But here I am, ended up being an Education student.

When I finish the first semester of year one, I thought of shifting a course but still ended up enrolling myself in the College of Education for the second semester. Year one had finished and I thought again of shifting to AB Filipino or AB English for a reason that I failed my major and my peers from other colleges were all shifting to the said courses, but still I ended up staying in the College of Education. lol

Year two had finished and year three is coming and I have came to a sudden realization that I want to teach. I found myself sharing what I have learned to others younger than me and I have never been overwhelmed in my whole life when someone would say "'Te patudlo ko sa akong assignment sa Math bi. Gusto nako ni matun-an" Since then, I knew, I knew that I want to be a teacher and I want to make a difference and create a better world for my future students. Since then, I knew that teachers are not only teachers - they are those who unveil the hidden potentials of their students. Teachers are not only teachers - they are those who fit themselves to their students' shoes in order for them to fully understand them. Teachers are not called teachers by only discussing the lecture alone - it's beyond that, it's deeper than that - it's teaching with a heart.

I may not be graduating next academic year and may sound bragging but I can say that I am now ready to teach 21st century learners. I am now ready to create an informative as well as fun learning environment for the students. I am now ready to teach my future students to the best of my knowledge. I am now ready to become a teacher.

Video Editing

OUTPUT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK7W68OqbiY&feature=youtu.be

Video editing is the process of editing segments of motion video production footage, images, special effects, and sound recording in the post-production process.

Our instructor instructed us to group ourselves and let us choose any topics in Mathematics then later told us to create a short video presentation covering the topic we have chosen. Attached here is the link of our video presentation uploaded in YouTube.

This video talks about the six (6) Trigonometric Ratios: Sine (sin), cosine (cos), tangent (tan), cosecant (csc), secant (sec), and cotangent (cot). For students to easily retain or remember these trigonometric ratios, our group made a jingle using the six terms.

Editing a video is quite an effort. It is not just piecing together your video clips. It also takes trial and error as you shift the specific placement of each clip. Moving things by one or two seconds or cutting too quickly into the next scene is hard, and adding music to the video is a challenge!

The used of video presentation in delivering a lesson is one of the most effective strategies in teaching. Many have commented that audio visual aids give teachers the chance to stimulate each child’s learning process with a combination of pictures and sounds. It allows learners to absorb and retain information more easily.

Radio Broadcasting

OUTPUT:

https://soundcloud.com/cedric-samplidan-cartil/bomba-radio

Radio broadcasting is transmission by radio waves  intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both. Alternatives to terrestrial radio broadcasting include cable radio, local wire television networks, satellite radio, and internet radio via streaming media on the Internet. The signal types can be either analog audio or digital audio.

Attached here is the link of the radio broadcasting we have made with my group mates. Our first day of recording was like solving a math problem, erase it, then solve again because you got it all wrong. Just like in recording, one cough or even your own breathing can ruin the recording and you need to go delete it and start again. It's quite arduous because you have to put all the emotions in your line so that the listener would understand and feel what you are are trying to deliver.

Radio Broadcasting helps students or even teachers create better ways of learning. For example, instead of delivering a lecture in traditional way, the teacher can record it and make it available to students through internet. This will possibly helps students to retain their memories about the lesson, specifically to those audio learners.

My Office Workshops

MY OUTPUT:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NYPsYdP6J4iyctEphQsjYHaXE5gcVC0YvjbKVeEfFWY/edit?usp=sharing

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program, created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin at a software company named Forethought, Inc. It was released on April 20, 1987, initially for Macintosh computers only. Microsoft PowerPoint is one of many programs run by the company Microsoft that offers users many ways to display information from simple presentations to complex multimedia presentations.

Slide presentation software like PowerPoint provides the ability to enhance your presentations with different types of media - including images, sounds, animations, and many more. It plays a pivotal role in learning specifically to those visual learners. It helps them to easily remember what was being taught to them. PowerPoint is such a great kick to teach students and teachers how to use visual aids in a more creative way.

MY OUTPUT:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TeHnTiWfr1UC8isV422tqlXkWiAZaTq1/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dIjpyHeLyxVtYzcsjrIaTGq9l3KihsRh/view?usp=sharing

Microsoft Publisher is an entry-level desktop publishing application from Microsoft, differing from Microsoft Word in that the emphasis is placed on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing. In Microsoft Office 2007, while most of Microsoft Office apps adopted ribbons in their user interface, Publisher retained its toolbars and did not adopt ribbons until the next version, Microsoft Office 2010.

Microsoft Publisher can be used in variety of publications - this goes for brochures, postcards, newsletters, flyers, posters, and etc. You can choose and modify your publications to achieve commercial success using the Publisher's tools. This software helps you to create your marketing materials professionally - it is not expensive nor complicated to use.

MY OUTPUT:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1j7Qdti2DhauZKnyCrqIyKd7IWTVyhko6YXCL-3va2ag/edit?usp=sharing

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications. It has been a very widely applied spreadsheet for these platforms, especially since version 5 in 1993, and it has replaced Lotus 1-2-3 as the industry standard for spreadsheets. 

Creating tables, charts, and graphs, building virtual timeline, solving grade, and even preparing lesson plans are the very expertise of Microsoft Excel - it saves your time and efforts.

Freedom Means No Fear: A Reflection

The movie entitled "Freedom Writers", for me, was completely a heart-warming film, and in addition, I admired how this true-based story really touched my heart to pursue my course right now. I was moved by the determination and endless love of protagonist for her students. She cleared the gaps and built genuine relationship towards each other. She taught her students not only academic things but also the core values in life that could possibly inspired them to become a better person.

QUESTIONS:

1. Describe Mrs. Gruwell as a teacher. How did she handle her class? What are her qualities that made her a teacher of yesteryear? 21^st century teacher?

The movie clearly describes that Mrs. Gruwell is one of kind teacher who wanted to prove the impossible. A teacher who has that I-will-never-give-up-on-them-because-I-believe-that-I-can-change-them kind of attitude. Indeed, she is so selfless to the point that she has given up her private time in order to help her students find the personal value in their education, their voices, and pursue their dreams.

The class of Mrs. Gruwell is tough and racially divided. Of course, any teacher will find it hard to handle that kind of class. With that, Mrs. Gruwell creates a bridge for everyone to demolish prejudice and discrimination. She relates the education in the classroom to real world – connecting learning to life experiences.

It is observed in the movie that in the first days of Mrs. Gruwell as a teacher, she teaches only within the four-wall classroom – writes on the board, gives students the instruction – this made her a teacher of yesteryear. But eventually, Mrs. Gruwell abandons this kind of curriculum and she introduces new strategies to her students. She became more flexible in her ways. She develops meaningful professional relationships with her students to gain their trust. She gives her students a voice of their own.

2. Describe the composition of Mrs. Gruwell’s class. How is racism manifested in the movie?

Mrs. Gruwell’s class is compose of students with different nationalities and personalities and who are labeled as “people who weren’t expected to change” – there are gang-infested students, other students experienced abuse, while some came from broken homes.

There is a part in the movie where one could clearly conclude that racism is present in Mrs. Gruwell’s class. It is when Tito draws a shrewd picture of a black man with big lips which is passed around the class and eventually gets to Jamal and he gets offended by it. This scene only shows that there is a gap of discrimination between blacks and whites.

3. Describe the principal and Mrs. Gruwell’s coordinator. How would you relate their characters and views in real life?

For me, the principal is a concern man who thinks about the condition of his subordinate. On the other hand, Margaret Campbell, Mrs. Gruwell’s coordinator, strongly disagrees about Mrs. Gruwell’s teaching tactics. She thinks that the students in Room 203 are cannot be trusted.

4. What are the strategies and activities she used to her class? How did it help in making her class successful?

One of the activities that Mrs. Gruwell used in her class is the Line Game, where Mrs. Gruwell would state a question and the students should step on the line if they had been through this. This activity made her students come to a sudden realization that despite all their differences, they still have so much in common. Another activity she used is called “Toast for Change”. The goal of this activity is to validate her students’ past experiences, while offering them an opportunity to change the direction of their lives. It is a symbolic way to make her students realize that whatever they may have done before stepping into their classroom does not matter. The “Toast for Change” means a fresh start to rebuild their dreams.

Mrs. Gruwell also buys new books for them – books that could make her students relate. She provides them a notebook – a kind of journal where they should write on it every day about their feelings, their dreams, their experiences, and anything. Mrs. Gruwell always assures her students that there is someone who still believes that they could make a change.

These strategies and activities that Mrs. Gruwell incorporated in her class made a big improvement. Mrs. Gruwell made her classroom much more comfortable and better than before. She made learning meaningful and relevant to her students by appreciating their diversity and finding ways to connect their backgrounds.

5. Is there a use of technology in the class? Elaborate.

The use of technology is present in the movie. It is when Mrs. Gruwell gives the last task for her students by typing what was written in their journal. She compiled her students’ stories and printed it out. Its goal is to give everyone a place where they could express themselves safely and accept one another regardless of their social group.

6. If you’ll be assigned with a class or students in conflict, how will you handle it?

I'll handle that class with strict observation. Students should know discipline and show respect not just to teachers but also to their classmates. To do that, I must show them strict implementations of rules and violations will be imposed if they break the regulations.

7. What are your insights or learning after watching the movie?

After watching the movie, I came to look back at my past experiences which until now still haunt me. Like in the movie, I consider myself as one of these freedom writers who use writing to express themselves. Indeed, this movie creates a big impact in my life. I came to a sudden realization that whatever my past is, I should leave them behind, and that I am the one responsible with my life – it’s either I’ll live it to the fullest or I’ll live it to the foolest.

8. What is the symbolism of Room 203? And how did it help the students?

For me, Room 203 symbolizes a “room for improvement” and a “Home”. It is a place where these ‘unteachable’ students found their hope because of Mrs. Gruwell.

Click Away!

"I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph." - Leon Levinstein

The aforementioned quote reminds me of the days I took some photographs because our instructor required us to do so. Walking under the piercingly hot sun with my phone was one of the most exhausting yet exciting things I have ever experience. I felt like a professional photographer with every angle I click.

Below are six (6) common photography compositions.

#1 LEADING LINES
Leading lines are one of the most effective and under-utilized composition tools available to photographers. You can use them to draw the viewer's attention to specific part of the frame, whether it's a person, or a vanishing point in the background of the frame.

"There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs,"

"The future is ahead of us."












#2 RULE OF THIRDS
The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section.

"Talk less, more water."

"Slowing down is sometimes the best way to speed up."











#3 CONTRAST
Contrast is the scale of difference between black and white in your images. Without contrast you wouldn't have an image because there wouldn't be any differentiation between light and dark - everything would be black, white, or a single shade of grey somewhere in between.

"Be not afraid of growing slowly."

"A white flower grows in the quietness. Let your tongue become that flower."











#4 NATURAL FRAME
A natural frame is created when you place a secondary object such as a tree or a door in a scene of a photograph so that it frames your main subject. Composing a photo with a natural frame is a great way to direct the viewer's eye to your subject and add depth and dimension to the photo.

"Every hole is your business."

"The environment is everything that isn't me - it is calm."









#5 BIRD'S EYE VIEW
A bird's eye view is an elevated view of an object from the above, with the perspective as though the observer were a bird, often used in making blueprints, floor plans, and maps.

"One flag, one land. One heart, one nation evermore."

"The cloud is just the beginning of limit."











#6 WORM'S EYE VIEW
A worm's eye view is a view of an object from below, as though the observer were a worm - it is the opposite of bird's eye view.

"Sometimes you need to look at life upside down."

















"As water collected in a tank gets pure by filtration, so accumulated wealth is preserved by being employed in charity."

How Well Do You Know Me?

30 January 1999 | Saturday
It was past ten o'clock in the morning when my mother, Dalia A. Taborada, brought me into existence and later named Angela Taborada. I am not using my father's surname for a reason that my father, Anecito S. Camposano, and my mother aren't married.

I was 2 years old when my father abandoned us. Now, now, I'm fine not carrying my father's surname. I mean, who would love to use that after he ran away with a woman younger than my mother?

I was 3 years old when my mother would left us (me and my older brother, Angelo Taborada, that was four years old back then) to our neighbor's care so that she could work. My father tried to support us financially but it was my mother and her pride that didn't want to accept anything from him. That's how she despised him.

I was 6 years old when I was enrolled in Saavedra Saway Central Elementary School for my primary education. I was supposed to be taking kindergarten but the teacher wanted me to proceed to first grade. Maybe she thought that my age is not suitable for kindergarten. Well, whatever reason she had, I'm thankful. Who wouldn't be? A teacher just saved my six-year-old self from spending time sitting in a classroom while listening to some babies arguing if who owns the prettiest pencil case.

I was 7 years old when my mother brought a maybe-thirty-five-year-old-man in our house. She said that that man would be living with us for the rest of our life span. Whoa! It's not that I don't allow my mother to believe in love again but the idea of having an instant father is absurd. However, hats off to him because he did portray the role of a father in any way a father should be. 

A year later, my mother then gave birth to my stepbrother which is our junior, and after another year, my stepsister was born. Whoa! My stepfather really got the balls!

I was 9 years old and was in fourth grade when I learned how to cut classes. My adviser always got sick, so a substitute teacher would handle us, and I really don't like the substitute teacher for a reason I do not know. So as soon as I knew that our adviser wasn't around, I would immediately get my feet out of the school while the school guard isn't closing the gate yet ( I knew that the school gate must be close after the conduct of flag ceremony), and I would go home telling my mother that we have no class that day. What a little liar!

I, as a socially awkward person, have not made anyone whom I can consider as friend in my next years in elementary. I didn't even know how to start a nice conversation. Every time I'm in the classroom, I feel like I'm in a party and my classmates are busy dancing in the floor while I am in one corner convincing myself that I am not a wallflower.

I remember in my fifth grade, my group mates asked me about my ideas and I just shook my head as if to say "No, I don't have ideas". I want to speak but my first impulse was telling me desperately to just swallow my tongue. Maybe they thought of me as a complete idiot that time.

As mush as I want to share all my experiences in my primary years, most of it has been blurred in my mind (or I've been trying to erase most of it). It wasn't as exciting and funny as the others though.

I was 11 years old when I graduated in elementary as second honorable mention. No, I'm not proud of it. No, I don't care about my medal. How could I care and be proud of it when in the first place my mother doesn't care and is not proud of it? There was a silence there.

I entered High School at Labangal National High School. Time has changed for the better. A wallflower before has bloomed now. I became a social person. I joined our campus newspaper, "Ang Parola", as a Sports Writer and once became a Copy Reader in Filipino. I joined slogan making every Buwan ng Wika and would always get the first place. I even run as SSG Secretary when I was in third year.

Everyone says that High School is the best and most unforgettable four years of your life, and I wouldn't disagree with that. I learned how to make friends with my classmates and with other students of different year. I learned how to have fun during my vacant time instead of spending it sitting in a rut. I learned more about myself and the things I'm capable of. And I was 15 years old when I graduated in High School - confused and unable to decide what course I should take in college.

I passed the System Admission and Scholarship Examination (SASE) and made a choice to study at Mindanao State University - General Santos City. My first and second choice courses are BS Accountancy and BSEd Mathematics (because my mother wanted me to be a teacher), respectively. And since my SASE score didn't meet the cut off score of BS Accountancy (which is 100, and I only got 90+), I decided to take BSEd Mathematics.

I am 19 years old now and am currently in 3rd year college. When I was in High School, I often thought what it would like to be in college. I even wished to be in college already. I thought it was cool and all, but I was wrong. Being in college is not as easy as one plus one minus one. It is mentally, physically, and financially depressing. Being in college means getting up in bed at 5 o'clock in the morning because you have a 7:30 A.M. class to catch up. Being in college means finishing one requirement and realizing that you still have five more requirements to cram. Being in college means surviving.

I am 19 years old now and currently living in Purok San Roque, Barangay Labangal, General Santos City with my family.

I am 19 years old now and still a true believer of the quote "Your life is your story". While the quote is a little old, its meaning holds true, and I must ask you - what does yours tell?