The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has announced that 8,045 elementary teachers out of 43, 086 examinees (19%) 26, Accelerated Teacher Education Program (ATEP) graduates out of 146 examinees (18%) and 10, 792 secondary teachers out of out of 38, 339 examinees (28%) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) given by the Board for Professional Teachers on October 4, 2009 in 23 testing centers all over the Philippines.

Want to discover the teachers who passed? Just click the blackboard to know who they are.

Learning beyond the four walls of the classroom

by Dr. Lilian Leynes-Juadiong(Manila Bulletin)

Children cannot develop in an optimum manner unless their physical needs are met. That includes providing them with proper nutrition, clean air and a secure environment. Apart from these needs, the child must be surrounded by adults who are caring and available to help them meet these basic needs. Children also need a learning environment that will encourage them to explore and experience the world, which is the child's source of knowledge aside from the classroom. Every child is naturally inquisitive. When the child is curious, he investigates his own little world. You give him a ball, he squeezes, bounces and smells it. In the process of carefully studying the ball (investigation), he discovers answers to questions about the ball (final product - knowledge). For children, the learning process is more important than the final product.

Cultivating a curious attitude

• Consider the child's developmental level. Give them activites and materials that they can handle, thus avoiding frustration and strengthening their self-esteem.
• Avoid telling the children the best way to do things. Let them discover for themselves. While curiosity enhances the cognitive development of children, we should also consider their socio - emotional development manifested through helping, caring and sharing behaviors. All children have the ability to be affected deeply by other people's emotional state. Adults can teach children the value of helping, caring and sharing.
• Make your environment as nurturing as possible like taking care of pets and plants.
• Foster self-esteem. Children with high self-esteem can be caring for others because they are not pre-occupied with their own perceived inadequacies.
• Assist children in defining their own feelings, positive or negative, towards others. Children can't empathize with the emotions of others until they understand their own.
• Welcome children's help and show how much you appreciate even the smallest effort. They should help because they want to, not because they expect rewards.
• Let children know how much you value helping, caring and sharing and be a good role model to them. The most important role of parents is that of a behavior model. Children tend to mimic what adults do more often than what they say. The ways that you communicate, solve problems, relate to others coupled with an enriched learning environment form a powerful tool for how your children will learn and behave beyond the four walls of the classroom.
  

Teaching with the brain in mind: The Learning Styles approach

by Henry S. Tenedero (Manila Bulletin)

It was always been a dilemma for an educator to analyze the way he teaches his class, "Am I being as effective as I want to be a as a teacher?" Honestly, you don't have to ask yourself if you know the basic questions in a child's learning that is, "How do my students learn as exclusive and unique entities?" Perhaps after reading this article you would actually consider yourself not a teacher but a medium for your students' distinct learning style.

The research on learning styles explains why, in the same family, certain children perform well in school whereas their siblings do not. It demonstrates the differences in style among members of the same class, culture, community, profession, or socioeconomic group, but it also reveals the differences and similarities between groups. It shows how boys' styles differ from girls' and the differences between youngsters who learn to read easily and poorly. However, more important than the documentation of how conventional schooling responds to certain youngsters and inhibits the achievement of others, the research on learning styles provides clear directions for either how to teach individuals through their styles or how to teach them to teach themselves by capitalizing on their personal strengths.

Everybody has strengths, although parent's strengths tend to differ from each other's, from their children, and from their own parents'. Thus, mothers and fathers often learn differently from each other and from their children. However, a common parental practice is to insist that children study and do their homework as those adults did when they were young. That is not likely to be effective for at least some of the siblings because, in the same family, members usually learn in diametrically opposite ways.

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE
The terms analytic/global, left/right, sequential/simultaneous, and inductive deductive have been used interchangeably and tend to parallel each other. Analytics learn more easily when information is presented step-by-step in a cumulative sequential pattern that builds toward a conceptual understanding.

Globals learn more easily when they either understand the concept first and they can concentrate on the details, or when they are introduced to the information with, preferably, a humorous story replete with examples and graphics. However, what is crucial to understanding brain functioning, is that both types reason, but by different strategies. Thus, whether youngsters are analytic or global, left or right, sequential or simultaneous, or inductive or deductive processors they are capable of mastering identical in formation or skills if they are taught through instructional methods or resources that complement their styles. Processing style appears to change; the majority of elementary school children are global. However, the older children get, and the longer they remain in school, the more analytic some become.

DIFFERENT STYLES, DIFFERENT NEEDS
What is fascinating is that analytic and global youngsters appear to have different environmental and physiological needs. Many analytics tend to prefer leaning in a quiet, well-illuminated, formal setting; they often have a strong emotional need to complete the tasks they are working on, and they rarely eat, drink, smoke, chew, or bite on objects while learning.

Conversely, globals appear to work with what teachers describe as distractors; they concentrate better with sound (music or background talking), soft lighting, an informal seating arrangement, and some form of intake. In addition, globals take frequent breaks while studying and often prefer to work on several tasks simultaneously. They begin something, stay with it for a short amount of time, stop, do something else, and eventually return to the original assignment.

Neither set of procedures is either better or worse than the other, they merely are different. Globals often prefer learning with their peers rather than either alone or with their teacher, and also often prefer to structure tasks in their own way; they tend to dislike imposed directives. What is interesting is that, with an IQ of 145 or higher, most gifted children are global. On the other hand most underachievers also are global. The difference between the high IQ and underachieving global students tend to be motivation and perceptual preferences.

It is understandable why the motivation levels of underachievers are lower than those of achievers, but what may separate the two groups is the biological development of their auditory, visual, tactual, and kinesthetic senses. Although we currently do not know how to intervene in their biological development, learning styles have been successful in teaching them through their existing perceptual preferences.

WHAT TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW
No doubt, teachers need to learn how to teach both analytically and globally. There are several easy-to-follow sources for learning how to do that. However, global students often require a different environment from the conventional classroom. They also appear to need more encouragement and short, varied tasks because of their lesser motivation and persistence levels.

Most children learn more easily when lessons are interesting to them, but globals require that new and difficult information be interesting , related to their lives, and permit active involvement. These are requirements for all youngsters; without doubt, they are necessary if globals are to master school requirements.

Back to school for students with ADHD

by EDITHA R. MARTELINO (Manila Bulletin)

In a week’s time, the longer periods of sleep and leisure time will be over. Students will have to go back to the regular grind of transporting from home to school (and back), doing assignments, submitting projects and reports, preparing for exams, etc. This transition can be difficult to all children, most specially to those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD.

But if some students may seem excited with the opening of classes (new school items, classmates and teachers) children with ADHD may feel anxious about it most specially if their experiences in school have been frustrating.

PREPARING THE CHILD

The remaining days before school opens should be the best time for parents to gradually prepare their child for going back to school. The following tips could be helpful:

Adjust bed and wake up times. As early as now, help your child adjust to a new schedule by moving the "sleeping time" and "wake up" times to the "real time" they will be during the school year. Just make sure the new schedule will allow for enough sleep time at night. It is very important for children to get good quality sleep to help them in the learning process and for the child’s health in general.

Organize school supplies. Make your child enjoy and be a part of buying new school supplies and organizing his/her school bag. This will be a good time too to talk with your child about his/her feelings about school. Be a good listener.

Visit the school. Work out a visit in his/her school. This will be a good chance for the child to get acquainted with his new classroom and the school premises before school starts. Try to get an appointment with your child’s new teacher so he/she could meet your child and also show him/her around.

Create a study area. It doesn’t really have to be a big space – just a small desk or a small room would make for a nice study area. Just make sure this space will be your child’s permanently identified place for study. To make it more conducive to learning, prepare all necessary materials like pencils, pencil sharpener, paper, good light, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, ruler, etc so it will be easily accessible to your child when he/she needs it. Also list down the homework rules – what time it will begin, no television during homework time, no clutter on homework desk, etc and post it prominently in the study area.

Identify storage places. Designate special areas where your child could keep his/her school bag, lunch kit, school ID and other school paraphernalia. This will help him/her get into the habit of putting important school items in their designated areas when he/she comes home from school each day. It will also help him/her keep better track of important school items. Assist your child too in fixing his/her school bag each day.

THE TEACHER GETS READY TOO!

Although there are still no local statistics on ADHD, estimates run as high as having at least 3-5 percent of school-aged children’s population. Roughly, these amounts to at least one child in a classroom of 25 to 30 children will have ADHD.

Teachers are on the front line in dealing with and helping children with ADHD. It is therefore important for them to understand that the normal expectations from a "regular" student to sit still, stay in their seats, focus on their lessons, remember what they have been taught, submit school work on time, etc. will be more difficult for children with ADHD to perform.

It should also be emphasized that children with ADHD do not necessarily have "low IQs" , but on the contrary, they are very intelligent and creative. They may have no problem understanding the concepts being taught, but they may be unable to complete their work because of the difficulty they have staying on task. These children may also be emotionally immature and oftentimes, have low self-esteem.

Understandably, teachers, especially those with big class numbers, are often pressed for time and thus, do not have the ability to individually help each child. With both limited time and resources, teachers can truly be at a loss as to what they can do to help the child with ADHD. However, there are some simple and effective ways teachers can utilize to assist children with ADHD in their regular classroom:

Seat the child where distractions are minimized. The teacher can sit the child directly in front of him/her, along the aisle or beside a student who could easily focus and concentrate. Avoid sitting a child with ADHD by the doors, windows, and trashcans to minimize distractions.

Use a signal to help the child stay on task. Create a "special signal" between you and the child with ADHD. Signals could include tapping the child’s shoulder or your desk, just so the child would know that he/she is distracted and should get back on task. On the other hand, the child may also want to create a signal for you to know that they do not understand the lesson and may just be embarrassed to ask a question out loud. Agree on both signals and let the child know you are comfortable with it.

Find ways to praise the child. Look behind each accomplished task and recognize the effort. A tap on the shoulder or a small word as they leave the classroom can mean a great deal to a student with ADHD.

Center constructive criticism between compliments. If there is a need to let the student know about an off-task behavior in class, start with what they have done well first before offering constructive criticism. More importantly, let the student know that you appreciate their effort. This will make the child feel good about him/herself and be more open to listening to your comments in the future.

Find opportunities to allow hyperactive children to use their energy. Give them special tasks − get supplies from the office, distribute papers to the class, clean the board or fix the books on the shelf, etc. − to let them help you and at the same time channel their boundless energy. Giving them opportunities to move around will help them stay still during periods when sitting in their seat is a necessity. If possible, do not make the child finish work or complete tests during recess or lunch breaks. These hyperactive children need these breaks to use up their excess energy.

Find a "homework buddy." One of the major difficulties for students with ADHD is forgetting their homework and which items they need to bring home each day. A "homework buddy" can help the student with ADHD get the homeworks correctly written in his/her assignment notebook and also make sure that he/she brings home all books and papers needed.

STAY POSITIVE!

Another new school year can create anxieties not only to the child with ADHD but also to both parents and teachers. As parents, try your best to keep calm and positive yourself in order for your child to feel positive about school. School should also mean fun. The parents must remind your child to enjoy him/herself too!

Teachers on the other hand can start to think about the items listed above and work on more creative ways to reach out to the students with ADHD. Keep in mind that the child’s successful inclusion in your classroom is not only rewarding and fulfilling for the student but for you too!

Making a difference through learning styles

By Henry S. Tenedero (Manila Bulletin, March 4, 2009)

It has been said before in many different ways, but it all boils down to the same thing and applies equally well to learning:

“Different strokes for different folks.”

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”

The point is that persons are a highly diverse lot. The point is that each person is unique. This uniqueness finds expression in every situation, including the classroom. Uniform, unvarying teaching styles are not only boring to the max; they are also ineffective.

Consider the classroom as a steak restaurant, the teacher a cook, the subject matter as beef, and the students as the diners. Old teaching paradigms would have the teacher-cook say, “This is the kind of steak I choose to serve you guys, and this is the way you are all going to have to take it.”

A new teaching paradigm says it’s a diner’s world there inside the classroom: it is the diner’s tastes that must be met. You want your students to take their steak, better serve it up the way they want it. Sure, it will mean a bit more work for the teacher. But once you see your diners lapping it up and asking for more, you’ll know that it was worth it.

This new teaching paradigm goes by the name of Learning Styles (LS). Over the past 22 years, this model has been field-tested and fine-tuned through research in more than 60 institutions of higher learning in the United States and other countries.

According to the model, there are at least 22 items in the learning preference menu, and these are grouped under five major categories: environmental, physiological, social, emotional, and psychological. It defines learning style as the sum of an individual learner’s preferences in all those categories.

Hey! 22 years of research; 22 items; five categories; 60 educational institutions – that’s a whole lot of cooking! Makes you wonder how we managed to learn anything at all under the old paradigms.
(Henry S. Tenedero is the president of the Center for Learning and Teaching Styles and MINDful IDEAS, an affiliate of the International Learning Styles Network, based at St. John’s University in New York. He is a graduate of the AIM Masters in Development management and of the Harvard Graduate School for Professional Educators. He can be reached at htenedero@yahoo.com.)

The Teacher Factor

by Ina R. Hernando
from Manila Bulletin

Just like many schools, Bridges Foundation Inc. is also being affected by the exodus of teachers. But Bridge’s Grace R. Reyes believes that there will always be good people who will come to teach children with special needs.

Reyes says that one of the major strengths of their school is their teachers. This is why they are very meticulous in hiring. Aside from the educational credentials, they try to discern whether the teacher applicant has the heart, the compassion, commitment, patience and perseverance to deal with special needs children.

Beyond the educational knowledge and basic skills, teachers should also have the creativity to present the lessons in a varied manner and be equipped with basic communication skills to relate with the parents and caregivers. “They should also have the willingness to learn from other co-teachers and the sense of humor to laugh at their challenges and celebrate the ‘Aha’ moments with the children,” Reyes adds.

Furthermore, the teacher should have a positive attitude towards life in general.

“Our job is hard enough so it is important that the teachers we get are more in love with life because they are more inclined to share of themselves, and to be happier in what they do.”

She says that being a SpEd teacher is not just a job title but a vocation. “The teachers who stay and who turn out to be good SpEd teachers are those who have embraced that it’s a vocation.’’

To measure up, Bridges conducts training the whole year. “It’s a constant sharing in school, whether through informal discussions during lunch breaks or scheduled formal seminars. We teach and train based on what we have learned from other specialists we meet all over. Ours is a continuous learning process because there is so much that needs to be improved.”

Bridges also continuously trains teacher aides, parents and child’s caregivers to ensure that they handle children in the manner that will help them most. “We need all the help we could get in developing the capabilities of children under our care. This is also why we encourage the teachers to pursue further studies to hone their teaching skills.”

Gomburza Martyrdom Anniversary February 17, 1872

from Manila Bulletin

"WITHOUT 1872," Dr. Jose P. Rizal wrote his friend Don Mariano Ponce, "there would not be now a Sanciangco, Plaridel, Lopez Jaena... Without 1872, Rizal would now be a Jesuit and, instead of writing the Noli Me Tangere, would have written the opposite."

To highlight further the impact of the Cavite Mutiny and the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora, Dr. Rizal dedicated his novel El Filibusterismo to the memory of the three priests, thus: "The Church, in refusing to degrade you, has placed in doubt the crime imputed to you; the Government, in shrouding your cause with mystery and obscurities, creates belief in some error committed in critical moments; and the whole Philippines, in venerating your memory and calling you martyrs, in no way acknowledges your guilt... May your blood be upon the hands of those who, without sufficient proof, assail your memory."

Many vital details about the martyrdom of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora remain hidden to most Filipinos. Foremost of these details is the extraordinary courage of the three martyrs in combatting theocracy in colonial Philippines. When the friars put up in 1868 the newspaper La Verdad and printed article after article vilifying the natives of the Philippines, Father Burgos put up the newspaper El Eco Filipino. Father Gomez kept the funds for the newspaper, while Father Zamora solicited contributions for its support. El Eco Filipino fought for the rights and honor of the Filipino people.

When Don Carlos Maria de la Torre became the governor-general of the Philippines in 1869, Father Burgos and several liberal Spaniards and Filipinos honored De la Torre with a serenade and dinner at the latter’s official residence in Intramuros. In turn, De la Torre publicly praised Father Burgos, declaring: "Hail! Father Burgos, Pride and Honor of the Philippines." The friars seethed with anger against all these happenings.

Implicated in the January 19-20, 1872, Cavite Mutiny and condemned to die by the garrote, the three priests were confined at Fort Santiago. There were attempts to save them. On the eve of the execution, Srta. Clarita Rubio de Celis recruited 60 men to carry out a suicidal mission – attack all colonial posts in Intramuros and spirit away the three priests. They were blocked by several native priests who feared a general backlash against the native population.

Asked to whom they would like to make a confession, Father Gomez replied: "To any of our most vociferous enemy so that they should know the purity of our conscience." Going up the scaffold, Father Gomez saw Major Boscasa, the prosecutor who condemned them to death, and said: "May God forgive you the way we have forgiven you." A friar replied: "Forgive them, Father Gomez, for they do not know what they did." Father Gomez turned to the friar and said: "Why should we forgive them if they did nothing wrong against us?"

Even colonial historians concluded that the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora was a blunder on the part of colonial government. The Cavite Mutiny of 1872 nourished Filipino nationalism.1872 produced 1896 which, in turn, produced June 12, 1898.

Our observance of the anniversary of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora’s martyrdom will make our youth aware that the freedom they enjoy today was nourished by the blood and sacrifices of their forefathers.

Environmental Education now part of curriculum

from Manila Bulletin

CONSISTENT with the policy of the State to protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology and cognizant of the vital role of the youth and the education sector in nation-building, the Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9512) was enacted on December 12, 2008.

All public and private schools are now required to integrate environmental education in their curricula on all levels, including barangay daycare, pre-school, non-formal technical vocational, professional, indigenous learning, and out-of-school youth courses or programs.

The law, that declared November every year as Environmental Awareness Month, cites environmental concepts, principles, and laws; the state of international and local environmental degradation and its impact on human well-being; the responsibility of all citizens to the environment; and the value of conservation, protection, and rehabilitation of our natural resources and the environment in the context of sustainable development. Previously, it was voluntary on the part of schools to integrate environmental issues, protection, and conservation in their lessons.

With the enactment of Republic Act No. 9512, there is hope that the current and future generations of Filipinos will be more appreciative of our environment and more aware and involved in ensuring that our ecological resources are conserved and safeguarded. The law enjoins the youth to become more responsible and responsive citizens, committed to the conservation and protection of the natural legacy of this planet, not only within the periphery of their schools but also in their communities.

Higher educational institutions, in particular, would do well to encourage their faculty and students, especially those in relevant disciplines, to undertake studies that can provide valuable and viable inputs to policymakers relative to environmental protection and conservation. Republic Act No. 9512, which comes at a time when the world is plagued by the damaging effects of global warming and climate change, will help produce "a new generation of Filipinos" who will be more concerned, protective, and nurturing of our ecosystem.