DailyJeki

[dailyjeki]

I have such a huge laundry list of things I want to do and I don't really know how I can do all of it.

[dailyjeki]

Our Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is now requiring those renewing their licenses to take up additional units before doing so.

And there's a palpable backlash. I don't completely understand the hate the new law is getting. I mean, it makes sense. It keeps professionals in check, rids the system of incompetent ones, and gives you a wider skill set since courses are more modern. It could get expensive, sure, but you could earn credits from seminars. It also encourages companies to create training seminars for their employees which is something the companies themselves would benefit from. It's a hassle FOR SURE. Many people already don't have time for themselves. But it still makes a lot of sense. It could only improve our professional workforce. In the long run, it has so many benefits for the professionals and the people they want to serve. It has also been common practice in many countries. It makes us globally relevant and competitive. And, goodness: the potential to eliminate incompetencies. Even just that should have sold everyone to the idea.

[dailyjeki]

Teacher ('s) Anxiety

I keep seeing my high school teacher around recently. We’ve held a few seconds of eye contact everytime but I can’t muster up the courage to say hi, thinking he already forgot about me since it was roughly 11 years ago since I was in his advisory class.

I’m a teacher now, too (but far less great or accomplished as he), and I don’t think I’ll ever forget any of my students. Maybe I should say hi next time.

[dailyjeki]

Non-academic Stressors

The father of one of my students told me their family was under a lot of stress lately, the most recent reason being the firing of their help this Saturday. Cutting the story short, they found that she was lighting up a lighter and holding it onto the skin of their 1-year-old daughter.

I don’t know how exactly these minds work - that these people can so intentionally do these things and feign innocence when reprimanded about it.

[dailyjeki]

There are no dumb students.

There are disinterested ones, who can’t seem to get motivated to study or learn.

There are those who speak a different language and would prefer to speak something other than the language used in school.

There are those who study too much and by the time they’re in school, they’re too tired to listen.

There are those who don’t spend time with their parents. Although seemingly unrelated, we’ve had many students who have low grades who also only see their parents during the weekends or very late at night. They cling to our words of affection and they work hard because we are generous with our loving words. They look forward to our hugs. We see them perform exceptionally well during the days they tell us “you know what, teacher? Mommy will fetch me today!”

[dailyjeki]

I asked my students to complete a sentence: I wish my mom and dad knew that ________.

Many of my boys had silly answers, as expected from silly 7-year-old boys. I want a lot of money, I have a crush on some girl, I like robots. And then I get these:

I wish my mom knew that I do hard things in school. 

I wish my mom and dad knew that I try my best.

I wish my mom and dad knew that when I get my quiz scores, I get scared.

I wish my mom and dad knew I am smart.

It’s surprising that they took the statement to heart. I didn't even explain the statement. I simply wrote the statement on the board, I told them they can write anything they wished their parents to knew, and then I gave them the week to write their answers during their free time.

These were answers I didn't expect from my silly students, especially coming from the boys who were doing very well in school. Even if I see them being silly every day, they experience these real problems that, if not addressed and processed, can lead to real adult problems. They can have self-esteem issues. They can feel inadequate or unappreciated. It can be a myriad of other things and it’s hard to read such vulnerability in one short sentence. They’re just children.

I think sometimes, we - both teachers and parents - forget that they're children. Obviously they're little and they're childish and they fight. But we’re so used to their every day littleness that I think we forget that they're little and they have their little stresses that aren’t very little to them.