Skip to main content

Two Years Since

How time goes by so fast?


It soars like an eagle spreading its wings mightily in the wide blue sky.

It springs up like a flower in the wild.


It escapes the imagination unnoticed, like a rebel unmindful of the consequences, so much like the shadow hiding impassively behind.


Still vividly playing in my memory, the days when I first came to SEAMEO RECSAM as a course participant. Those days render the turning point of my life. The experience opens a whole new opportunities for me and gives me a different perspective on my teaching.


Life has never been the same way since then. I have been to my best and worst days. I have been subjected to the most ridiculed. I have been considered good-for-nothing. Even the people I deemed my friends, those I believed would understand me, had been distant. How frustrating has it been upon knowing that the people closest to you had bitter words against you? Oh, I might have been wrong perhaps. Maybe, just maybe, they have not regarded me as a friend.

But when a door closes, another window opens. As these gloomy events unfold, ironically, I received my first award as an outstanding teacher. Huh, somebody might have raised some eyebrows! Let them. Just the same, life has never been a box of chocolates for me. You give them a piece and yet you will never satisfy them with what they get.


Lilia and Eddie were with me then. We were the three lucky Filipinos chosen to represent the country in the batch. Lilia is from Cebu and Ed is from Zamboanga. Call this a nationwide search.


In the math group, there were 8 of us: Achita from Thailand, Khamla from Laos, Mekar from Cambodia, Phuong from Vietnam, Soelwin from Myanmar, Zust from Indonesia and Meslina from Brunei. Dr. Cheah was the course supervisor with Dr. Ida as one of the facilitators.


The days we spent in RECSAM were days of self-discovery. To discover ourselves is to define meaning in what we do as teachers. To reflect on how we can make ourselves better that in turn we can produce better students. The impact we leave our students is the standard to which these young minds measure up life.


As I look back, I could not help but see myself then. Great things have come to pass. Some leave scars. Some were inspiring. Yet no matter, what had happened, things will always look up for the better.


Now I am back in RECSAM not as a participant but one of its professional staff. I share with the other teachers what I have been given.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Course Starts

Today the course of which I am the superviosr started. I had 15 participants. There was no one from Myanmar, 4 paying participants from Thailand and one from Kenya. This afternoon, I gave them the briefing and it turned out to be wonderful. Though there were those who could not communicate well with English, it should not deter them in fully participating in every session. When I was one of the particpants back in 2004, I felt the difficulty of having them as co-participants. It is as if asking them why were they here in the first place. Now that I am the supervisor, I see it in different perspectives. Language is important but should not be a barrier to communication. I told them if they could not say it, then write down. If they could not put it on papers, then make use of sign language. If still it is not possible, then use facial expressions. The thingi would like to get across at is that we have to find ways and means to express ourselves. In our first session this afternoo, I enc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jasmin

When you were born I was in the 6th grade. I vividly remember that day. I went to class gladly telling my friends that you already came after a long wait. Perhaps being the eldest child, I had that rare opportunity to be a silent witness to all of you, my siblings, coming to the world. I was in Manila when you were growing up. Dad and Mom sent me to the city to further my studies. I stayed there til I finished my graduate work. Though I went back in between breaks and during holidays, I still felt that I never really saw you blossomed into a young lady. I felt that I missed something. When I decided to teach and stay, then I realized that you were not a child anymore. I have my own world and you have yours. I did not understand that. All I knew then was that you should fit into my world, that we belong to the same world. I was wrong. And that was my greatest mistake. I tried to make amends of the things I took for granted. You were one of those. I never truly bothered to ask you how yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

How

It was already late. Sleep never wanted to disturb me from thinking. It never wanted to liberate me from the pain I was going through. I kept on thinking, thinking til I was numb. I could only feel the throbbing pain that's left after. I would have wanted to free myself from this misery. That early dose of sleep would be quite a relief. But I could not find any of that. My body was begging for some well deserved rest after a long day. Yet the day was made longer by my petty foolishness. This has been difficult for me. I know there was nothing to expect. I did not expect for your message, your email, your sms, your visit, any of that. I did not expect you to greet me on our special day. I did not expect you to show up. I did not expect you... And I expected myself to be this lonely. There was nothing I could do but to allow the tears washed the stain on my cheeks. It went down to even wash the dust that covered my neck. Til it refrained from further flowing down...the tears stopped ...
Post a Comment
Read more