Types of ‘Pinoy’ Teachers

     1. The All Knowing

      This type believes he knows everything yet is pregnant with syntax errors. He is power hungry and fantasizes to lead a herd of sheep. He is also a politician. He hops from one agency to another to befriend people and use them for career advancement. Since he has built a clout, he always gets the best pie. Cunning and dangerous because he claims he is good, he projects an aura that he is the busiest molecule on campus. In short, he is called the ‘full hot air balloon’.

      2. The Laid-back

      This type believes his job is only confined in the four corners of the classroom. He gets burned when he stays in school beyond her official time. He is the mediocre teacher who thinks that change is a burden instead of a challenge. He collects notebooks and stacks them in the faculty room without even checking its content. Oftentimes he talks of small things and feels that teaching is more of a job than an engagement. There are times he comes to school in ‘maong’ pants, net woven blouse, and tight fitting jeans and wears brunette hair. He thinks school is a huge fashion arena and that ‘beauty’ is synonymous to intellect. 

      3. The Business Tycoon

      This type has commodities sold to students. He comes to school not to do his duty but to make monkey business. He gets angry when the merchandise doesn’t get sold and at times gives additional grade to his “parukyano”. Students call him the “rolling store”. Another type of business he does is dealing and befriending parents and later on borrowing money from them. Worse, he also makes his students his milking cow by asking a penny whenever he is in dire need. Oftentimes, he also requires projects that are not related to his subject or asks presents like cake and other stuff when his birthday comes. He uses his charm to deceive. He has motives to do so because he wants to protect his “empire”.

       4.  The Drill Sergeant

      This type does his job pretty well. However, at times he feels downtrodden by complexities of the profession. Nevertheless, he teaches beyond what is to be given to his clients. He taps and maximizes students to their fullest potential. He always manifests the authority in him to continue the spirit of keeping the flame burning. He is not a coward because he speaks his mind. On the other hand, he happens to be the most misunderstood molecule in the hive. He believes that discipline is the core of learning. Being a nonconformist, he loves experimentation coupled with in depth observation and evaluation that would carry him to a life long journey to real learning. Peers and students either love him or hate him.

       5. The Baloney Fly

This type is a symbolic message of temptation from the path of righteousness. Extremely assuming, he believes that he is the caretaker of the colony. Being a shenanigan, he has huge skeletons in his closet and carries deadly viruses that could manipulate a few and later on inflict harm. Having a multi personality and being a great story weaver, he creates his own deceptive world where he can be his master and slave at the same time. Why baloney? Because at times he can be a leech that sucks blood, a chameleon that easily changes hues, and then goes back to being a fly again that lives mainly on cow’s manure. 

Live, Laugh, and Reflect!

Run to MIBF because there is no such thing as too many books!

You bibliophile... yes it's you!. I'm calling you. You don't really need any motivating to go to this journey with pages, right?

But just in case you're oscillating, here's my advice:

This week, skip the pistachio gellato at Foccacia A.Venue and use that money to buy a book. Or two. Or more! Go, splurge on books. You'll find huge discounts and an ocean of book choices at MIBF.

So that week after next, when you have money again to hang out, you can be reading a nice-looking trade paperback that will not just make you smarter, but also make you look smarter while you're eating your creamy and melts in the mouth Italian ice cream.

Of Paranoia, Acceptance, and Forgiveness

The birthplace of an idea is in the mind. The difficulty one faces when he thinks he is the 'subject' truly makes him meticulous in his words, objectively verifies pieces of evidence because of guilt, and weaves stories to make coherent picture of altered reality. According to psychiatrists, a paranoid tries to gain sympathy. His energy is focused on gathering data to protect himself and to 'revenge' exactly by weaving statements against his imagined persecutors. At the end of the day, he wants to believe that he is the aggrieved party although his alleged persecutors are not aware of the suspicion. Thus, paranoia becomes a disease.

Projection protects the paranoid from his anxiety. He then absolves himself from responsibility and instead tries to blame his alleged persecutors of his own doing. A paranoid seems to create another persona, an alter ego. That is why he can readily switch from one persona to the other. 

One thing good about human conflicts in literature is the word CATHARSIS. Catharsis is purgation or purification. It is the cleansing of one’s soul. Aristotle in his Poetics discusses how drama can affect the individual. When someone feels that he is on the ‘verge of criticism’, he gets affected. On the other hand, he should try to reflect and perhaps look at the sky and then realize that something must be wrong. Once he creates a vivid image of acceptance with both hands, he would feel refreshed, clean, and safe. That is what you call character, with a rational mind.

It is unfortunate that rarely one gets to accept and change for the better. He always wants to blame people around. It is unbelievable that someone who has paranoia can manipulate souls and worse can even deceive other souls with regard to their thoughts. At times he can be too presumptuous.

Then there is grandiosity that protects himself from the feeling of being helpless and powerless to stop his life from being monitored. Thus, he develops an inner core of grandiosity. He does not want people especially his persecutors that he is financially and emotionally burden. He needs to be showy... a fake... a put on.

In this world of deception and lies, an individual needs to weigh whether deception can be benign or self-inflicted. A person’s feeling that he is ‘tortured’ is an act of madness. In certain cases, truth might be told in such a manner that it appears to be false. There are quite a few people who are good at telling lies. They have mastered the art of lying. However, the most unforgiving lie is lying to oneself. This is denying or rationalizing away the relevance or significance of one’s worth. In this manner, an individual has attachments to beliefs, which in some cases may be irrational.

"We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentment and mortality." This moving and inspiring quote is from Gilbert's phenomenal book 'Eat Pray Love'. Indeed, a human being thinks he is miserable because he does not stop doing miserable things. I want to believe that there are people who think that being a mortal justifies his unpleasant acts. Moreover Gilbert talks about balance. Like other souls, there are those that are burdened with the Buddhists called the 'monkey mind'- the thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch their head, spit and then howl! This human mind swings through time, touching on dozens of ideas in a minute, unharness and worse undisciplined. On the contrary, I would like to believe that to lose balance sometimes is part of living a balanced life. What a paradox of life!

To conclude, in this very shallow world of hypocrisy, one has to admit that life is what we make it. At the end of the day, a human being is held liable to all the stupendous ' wicked acts' he has done not only to himself but also to his brethren. Acceptance is never easy especially when there is denial. 

Worse, the wicked acts are REPEATEDLY DONE! Forgiving oneself is another thing.

P.M.Agaton :) Sept. 10, 2011@5:45PM

Eat, Pray, Love, and Reflect

After reading the book 'Eat,Pray, Love' and watching the movie version, I have decided to cite the huge beautiful quotes of Ms. Gilbert and then try to relate these wonderful and amazing sayings to my own life. I have to make a confession. I saw a little of me in the author's views about bliss, loneliness, solitude, love, faith, forgiveness,balance, and finally transformation. Her being tough immersed into my whole being because although she was a broken soul for some time, it did not hinder her to explore what's beyond her consciousness, existence, and spirituality.

"From the center of my life, there came a great fountain."

My life is something ordinary though I must say it has its big blows. Part of these blows became the me that I am now. I never imagined though that simple as my life may be, the fountain of happiness and that sense of completeness would emerge. In my youth, I was alone and a loner, but I was happy.I was ready not to get married. I eloped with my books and my paper. My poems were my constant companion. The great fountain came when I realized I could give love...when I became a wife and a mother. I live a simple life yet the fountain of happiness which to me is my source of strength shall always pour unceasingly. I have never been this happy. I fervently believe, it's always family. Family is what makes me smile. My family...my great fountain.

"You were given life; it's your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."

Beauty is something that is not seen by the naked eye. The concept of beauty is something relative. There is always beauty even in 'ugly' things because God did not create ugly things. It's our physical eye that sees what is displeasing to us. The real embo

diment of beauty is in nature. Can someone see the beauty in those dried yellow leaves that have fallen to the ground? People won't give a damn because they become cluttered and meaningless. But to a poet, it's a beautiful way to enjoy the cycle and color of life. I have many dried leaves in my life, but I have seen even the slightest marvelous beauty it has taught me. The leaves can be a teacher. At the heart of all sweetness is the conviction that there is always positivity found. In my 47 years, I have been sailing roughly, but with conviction. With the climate change that has affected the environment and our humanity, mine is still a pilgrimage that is sometimes unassuming yet goes to a direction I know I won't regret. I just have to know where the wind blows and goes. I know the velocity of the wind would carry me home.

"If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind".

"You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions."

The mind is extremely powerful. It can create and destroy. I can boldly say that I have full control of my life. I'm tough and whenever there are inevitable changes that occur, I manage pretty well. Twenty two years ago, I was in my lowest spirit, yet I never dared confide to anyone. I was in high spirit though my spirit was in the dark. Yes, paradox indeed. Have you been caught in the middle of life and death? I was there alone. I wanted to cry but there were no tears. All I knew was I had to be out of that 'mess'. I was in the nick of time. My mind was preoccupied with so many what ifs and could haves. I was walking with my feet above me. One day, I got out of that 'slavery'. Yes, I was a slave to my emotions and thoughts. Finally, I woke up one night, a free woman. That particular moment, I knew my God was with me. He protected me and since then on, I learned my lesson the hard way. I did forgive myself. Have you ever tried forgiving yourself? I did. Forgiving oneself is sweet. My life has never been alive. I was dead and was born again.

Eat, Pray, Love and Reflect

After reading the book 'Eat,Pray, Love' and watching the movie, I have decided to cite the huge beautiful quotes and then try to relate these wonderful and amazing sayings into my own life. I have to make a confession. I saw a little of me in the author's views about life. Her being tough immersed into my whole being because although she was a broken soul, it did not hinder her to explore what's beyond her consciousness, existence and happiness.

***"From the center of my life ,there came a great fountain."

My life is something ordinary though I must say it has its big blows. Part of these blows became the me that I am now. I never imagined though that simple as my life may be, the fountain of happiness and that sense of completeness would emerge. In my youth, I was alone and a loner, but I was happy.I was ready not to get married. I was married with my books and my paper. My poems were my constant companion. The great fountain came when I realized I could give love...when I became a wife and a mother. I live a simple life yet the fountain of happiness which to me is my source of strength shall always pour unceasingly. I have never been this happy. I fervently believe, it's always family. Family is what makes me smile. My family...my great fountain.

***"You were given life; it's your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."

Beauty is something that is not seen by the naked eye. The concept of beauty is something relative. There is always beauty even in 'ugly' things because God did not create ugly things. It's our physical eye that sees what is displeasing to us. The real embodiment of beauty is in nature. Can someone see the beauty in those dried yellow leaves that have fallen on the ground? People won't give a damn because they become a clutter, meaningless, and ugly. But to a poet, it's a beautiful way to enjoy the cycle and color of life. I have many dried leaves in my life, but I have seen even the slightest marvelous beauty it has taught me. The leaves can be a teacher. At the heart of all sweetness is the conviction that there is always positivity found.

*** "If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind".

*** "You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions."

Connectivity in; Solitude lost

When I came home last night from work, my younger son Phil hurriedly told me, "Mom, Kuya Jam is not anymore connected!" I looked at him with surprise and asked "What do you mean by not anymore connected?" He said, "Kuya deleted his Facebook account." I did not show any reaction at first, but I thought something must have happened.

I must say my two boys did not grow up having PSPs, MP3s, and other gadgets. Yes, once they were little, they would always brag me about these stuff, but with a heavy heart I would always turn them down. Well I explained to them the disadvantages of having these 'manipulators' in their life. But the irony of it all, their friends and cousins had all of these, yet when they played games, they always had the highest scores. I got smart kids after all!

When kids his age were busy playing PSP and listening to MP3 my older son Jam was busy reading his classics and later on with a very discriminating taste, jumped to science fiction. Not only that, he was also hooked on playing NBA on the computer. I was extremely strict when it comes to games downloaded on the computer. They only had NBA games.

Time travels so fast. Now that they're both young men, 18 and 15 respectively, only the older one has cellphone. The younger one, Phil doesn't have an inkling to connect. However his passion is music. So when he told me he wanted a guitar, we hurriedly bought one.

After taking dinner, I waited for Jam to tell me the real score about his facebook account. "Mom, I disconnected myself from the world of dreams, hypocrisy and lies." I was stunned. For a moment, I was speechless. He added, "People have become insincere and dumb."

I told Jam, "All the world's a stage and each must a play a part." We are digitally connected and many of us feel fascinated about this. Because of the radical changes in communications technology, our lives take place, more than ever, in what we call the "front stage." In other words, we are constantly performing and we find there's less and less time to retreat to the back stage," to take a break and be OURSELVES."

"And I give my hats off to you son, for taking a break. I know it's not easy, but you did without second thought."

The most intimate of our relationships, in which we used to take refuge and confinement, can be viewed by people we hardly know but who are part of this ever expanding social network. We are trapped in a box wherein we can no longer talk in whispers, or tell a joke that will not be a potential scandal. In short, our solitudes have become public. We lost the time to reflect because we are in a baseball field where every one is into a race.

Letter writing is a bullet train.One can chat even miles apart. However, I truly miss the art of letter writing. I remember going to a bookstore that was always on sale to buy colorful stationeries. The time spent composing words and going to the Post Office will forever be a memory. Nowadays, we have ecards...amazing!

Social media recast social relations. The rise of virtual identities have become complicated. You are your own avatar ready to rule the world of illusion. Relationships come and go. You want to deactivate and you're not connected. We have lost that thing called human touch. What we have is simply virtual connection. Moreover, people can create as many accounts to serve as their alter ego. This is also their way of manipulating lies on social networking sites. Poor people... they are into this pragmatic world of deception and dishonesty. "Honesty is such a lonely word...everyone is so untrue" as the popular song goes. I have to believe that honesty nowadays is a luxury.

Indeed, I am now having second thoughts of taking a break, what about you?

MY BEAUTIFUL ‘BUNDOK’ CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS

No words can describe how beautiful it is to see former classmates and friends way back elementary days. It’s been three decades and who would ever think that we would still be seeing each other.

As I looked back, I can’t help but recall the vivid memories of the 70s. As I look around, I realize that we have more in common today than we had back at Makati Elementary called Bundok. We are all eligible for Medicare and soon we all get senior discounts wherever we go. We cannot escape reality, and it’s good.I used to be very interested in a few illustrated KOMIKS, LIWAYWAY family magazine, Aliwan, Holiday Classics, Lagim Komiks and Barbara Cartland and Mills and Boon paperbacks. I remember listening to radio program "Gabi ng Lagim" and then the next day would narrate in details to classmates what the story was. Well my friends forget about it.

Today we are living in the era of Pentium IV, fast food, arthritis, global warming, cloning and mood stabilizers; at last we are coming into the SCI if era of Brave New World or 2009 better late than never.In an anthology of short stories, the best reunions are in dreams or with ghosts. If I believed that, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see my dear classmates and friends. So I ask myself, why bother? I can’t even find the most rewarding answer to this.Do you remember when...

We dressed up to go to school and girls wore skirts- not jeans,· We bought toys and other stuff at Aling Elo’s store,· We ate nutri bun and sundot kulangot (coco jam in bamboo shoots) during recess. We ran around the huge grass laden campus and would stay at the upper place where the statue of Jose Rizal stood just to play taguan or chinese garter. Lo!We had ten cents to fifty cents as baon.

Time flies. Life is what happens to us while we are busy planning other things. Turn around twice and all of a sudden you realize that there are aching knees and joints. We can plan for tomorrow, but we cannot guarantee that tomorrow will be there for us to enjoy. Let us seize, snatch a bit of time for us to rekindle the wonderful memories we shared. Let us live in the moment, treasure it, savor it, wrap yourself and those you love within it and hold on tight.I just celebrated my 17th year anniversary and it’s awesome. My friendship with you is also my marriage. Most of the things that have happened to me in the past forty seven years were not planned well thought out. Events occurred in rapid sequence, with lots of compromise and adjustments.....still, I know it all worked out for the best.

I wish all of us, time travelers, good health and financial security, without which happiness becomes a struggle. I feel proud to be your classmate and friend. Let us all go home and ponder. What was true at the beginning remains true. This is timeless and priceless. The serenity of the moment that only our eyes can see and feel brings total madness. Then we keep it in our heart until we permanently close our eyes.