POEM: A Way to Peace and Harmony

I created this poem as to fulfill one of the activities assigned in our class in Social Dimensions of Education. The task was to compose a song or write a poem about achieving peace and harmony. I opted to write a poem since I am not musically gifted.

A Way to Peace and Harmony

Hearing news of war and famine;
Makes me want to go to heaven.
But since I have my life to live;
I got no choice but to strive and heed.

Many times, I prayed for peace;
And often times, I would want to cease.
But since I wanted to be hopeful;
I always opted to be joyful.

There was a time I thought about harmony;
And then I thought it was all about money.
But since money does not make me happy;
I always find happiness with my family.

How do we really achieve peace and harmony;
When people stopped caring about everybody?
Can it be achieve with hope and prayer;
When godly people are now so rare?

As for me, I think there is a way;
To achieve peace and harmony today.
That is to pray to God and believe;
And live our lives to love and give.

I am not good in writing poems but I tried my best to write one. It is hard when you are tasked to do something that requires talent and creativity.

Reflection on the Importance of Effective Teaching

It’s been two months since I have started going back to school with the intention of becoming a teacher someday. And within that span of time, my definition of a teacher and teaching has drastically changed: from the notion of being the easiest thing to do to being the most challenging and noblest profession of all time. It practically turned my world upside down!

Even though my definition of a teacher and teaching has significantly changed over time, my dream of becoming one has not. I still want to become a teacher, not just an ordinary teacher but an effective one. I want to effectively teach to my future students so that I will become the person that is truly deserving to be called a teacher.

During the course of my lessons, I have been reflecting on all the things I have learned. One of the things that have caused me to think is when I came across the following quote: “Teaching is something that takes place only when learning does.” For me, I agree on it 100% completely but I think that you need to add more precise words on it so that one can correctly define “effective teaching.” With that quote, it seems that teaching was simply defined only as transferring of knowledge. When a student learned what was taught, then that is teaching already. But for effective teaching to transpire, Michael Signal, an eHow Contributor said it best: “Teachers must know what students need to learn, how to best teach it and how to tell if they have learned it.” It has to be strategic and result oriented.

Personally, I believe that effective teaching is not only to cause your students to learn but for them to understand the value of the knowledge they have acquired and being able to think independently with it. Aside from that, the teacher must be able to see the end results of what he has taught them.

So, for learning to actually happen, the teacher must know the importance of effective teaching. He must be aware that teaching effectively is causing the learner to become an independent thinking individual that will become a well-rounded being and be an asset to the society. Thus, effective teaching can truly define a teacher.

Therefore, to become an effective teacher, I must be well aware of the importance of effective teaching. I must know what I need to teach to my students (learning objective), how to best teach my subject matter (teaching approaches, strategies, methods and techniques) and how to tell if they really have learned from it (assessment).

Critique on the K to 12 Curriculum

Last school year 2012 – 2013, the Department of Education rolled out the implementation of the new K to 12 Curriculum in the Philippines. It is now the new basic education curriculum for our country. Based on general knowledge, as to what the general public has understood, the K to 12 program is for the betterment of our children’s future and for some, it is an additional two years of financial obligation for parents. So, what is K to 12 Curriculum? What does it really mean to us, the Filipino people, and our children? Personally, am I in favor of this new basic education program?

The K to 12 Curriculum is the latest basic education program from the Department of Education (DepEd). It is a hybrid of the previous curriculum which emphasizes on making the Filipino graduate ready for employment and/or higher education. The graduate is envisioned to be equipped with the 21st Century Skills such as (a) learning and innovation skills, (b) information, media and technology skills, (c) effective communication skills and (d) life and career skills. They aimed to accomplish this by having a mandatory kindergarten and an additional two years to acquire set of skills that will help them get employment after education or adjust to their chosen field of specialization in college.

Most parents reacted negatively about the K to 12 program of the Department of Education. The additional two years for high school was perceived as another year of financial obligations. They took it as a burden rather than something beneficial. They believed that the government should focus more on providing additional number of textbooks with at least 1 book is to 1 pupil/student ratio, more conducive classrooms, more schools and a lot of efficient teachers rather than having two more years for the students.

Then after several information drives about the K to 12 curriculum and how it will benefit the public, more and more parents are reacting favorably to the new basic education program. Some parents who could not afford college are now confident that their children will be already employable after he graduates. Knowing that their children will acquire world-class quality skills makes it appealing especially to the masses. It sparks hope that their children can land a job after all his schooling.

As for me, I was negative at first too. Being a solo parent to three children, all of them are already under this program (my eldest being the first batch of Grade 7); I was totally unfavorable towards this. Sending three children to school is no joke. Financially, even for now, is already taxing. But then again, I realized that the K to 12 curriculum is indeed very beneficial for the Filipino people. Since most parents could not send their children to college, the hope of employment and acquiring skills shed a light of hope to parents. They will be confident that their children will become self-sufficient and may take jobs for a living or for college expense.

My children and I might encounter several financial struggles along the way but in the end, long term wise, my children will end up as graduates equipped with the 21st century skills and will become at par with other nations. Aside from that, I believe that through the K to 12 program of DepEd, they will be now guided properly to which course they should be getting in college. I don’t want them to end up like me taking a course just because and ended up regretting about it a few years later after graduation. I believe that this program will bring new dimensions to the country’s future work force, a new hope of world-class citizens and therefore, a new hope for the Philippines!