My Socially Constructed Reality

" The kids aren't little forever" ( Brown 2006). * Brown, B (2006 Sept. 1). HOme is where the school is. Medical Post. 42 (27). p. 34. In the article, Brown talked about his and his wife's experiences in homeschooling their four children.

I earned $124 for not sleeping for two nights. Not bad, right? But I miss sleeping. I haven't slept for two consecutive nights. I finished two ordered papers. Yeah, I call them ordered papers. I'm writing part-time for an online freelance writing company. I started last March and successfully delivered the first ordered paper on March 14. Actually, I already forgot that I signed up for a freelance writing company online. I wasn't serious about it. I just wanted to see what was going to happen. I didn't expect to receive a confirmation that I was accepted as one of their freelance writers. Anyway, I think I am enjoying this kind of part-time job. First, I get paid per page -- in US dollars . The compensation per page depends on the immediacy and complexity of the paper. I had orders which were $ 12 per page. Some offered only $7 per page. There are orders offering only $3 but I don't get them. I think that's too cheap considering that the amount of time I spend ...

I am currently writing a paper on communication in leadership. While reading the materials and modules, I started making reflections and I realized that THERE IS NOTHING MORE TROUBLESOME than having a boss who frequently says, "If you don't like the rules, maluwang ang pinto. Lumabas kayo." He even made it a joke during a general meeting with all the employees and faculty and said: Yung mga gustong umalis ng school na to, bukas ang pinto. Ipahahatid ko pa kayo sa brass band palabas ng gate ng school kung gusto nyo. These words from him only imply that he doesn't value the employees and the faculty. He has no desire to keep the best and the most competitive. It seems like it won't really matter if we leave the school. In short, we're nothing. What kind of leader would say those kinds of words to his employees and faculty? Teachers are professionals and supposedly competitive so how could he insult teachers that way? Sometimes, I think that the saddest ...

I haven't blogged for quite a while but it doesn't mean I ran out of things to blog about. Here are some updates. 1. My sister went to the UK with her husband last April 11. We miss each other but thanks to YM and blogs -- we get to update each other of what's going on. Plus, with the web cam and YM, we get to see her almost every day. She's adjusting to temperature because when she left the Phils., the temp was around 38 C compared with the temp in UK right now which is 2 degrees Celsius. 2. It's summer break. I only have 7 students of Speech and Oral Communication . I'm currently focusing on my researches and on other stuff. This week will be the graduation ceremony of graduating students from the CAS. This, perhaps, would be the last time that I would see Myk and his batchmates. :-( 3. I started writing (part time) for an online company . I had my first paper delivered to the customer on March 14. I got good feedback and bonus (in dollars)...

A Mentor, a Friend, an Icon: The ABMC 4 Response She is the icon of the Mass Communication department, an exceptional Communication instructor, and a motivator. Without her, students at Angeles University Foundation won’t reach their full potentials. She will always be remembered. We, the entire ABMC 4 Batch 2008, feel blessed and grateful for having Ma'am Virgie as our mentor in college. As we are about to spread our wings and gear up for the next level of our lives, we will always call to mind what she has taught us. We don't actually fear what the bigger world has in store for us because we trust that we are equipped with knowledge, skills, and talents which Ma'am Virgie has imparted us over the years. JENNIFER : I thank you mama virgy!!! i'm so speechless.. pero masasabi ko lang i will never forget you!! you change me.... salamat sa mga tinuro mo... wala kang katulad... basta sa lahat ng techers namen kaw ang da best... you will be forever in our hearts.... mwuahhh...

STILL LEARNING SPELLING SEMINAR IN MALIKHAING PAGSULAT WHAT KEEPS ME GOING DESPITE STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE HANDLING A PR CLASS FOR THE FIRST TIME THE LAKE HOUSE OR THE MAIL BOX?

I have just submitted the final grades of my ABMC 4 students. That submission signals the end. The students are graduating on April 24 (exactly ten years after I also finished my Bachelor's degree). Their graduation gives me ambivalent feelings. Of course, I'm so happy for them -- finally they can spread their wings and fly wherever they want their destiny to bring them. However, something inside me tells me that I'm losing a part of me when they leave. This batch of students is, so far, the closest to me. I've been with them in their academic `struggle' in this school. They were my students since they were in their first year. And I think if there is one teacher who knows them a lot, (at least academically) that would be I. The same thing, this batch knows me more than anyone else does in this school. In fact, I'm sure that some of the students in this batch know me more than any of my co-faculty does. What can I say about each of them? MIKE : My first one-on-o...

Watch out for the first documentary in celebration of I-Witness' 9th anniversary. Its title is FROM KOREA WITH LOVE by Sandra Aguinaldo . I just read the teaser through an e-mail and I'll surely watch the docu tonight. It's about Filipino couples in Korea, who, instead of sending chocolates and imported clothes to their relatives here in the Philippines, actually send home BABIES so that their stay in Korea won't be threatened. Their babies are sent through what Sandra reveals as BIYAHERAS. This is interesting...

I'm teaching students how to write professionally-done papers and I'm always telling students not to plagiarize. I believe that students and professionals in the academe should not resort to any form of plagiarism. For many times, I failed a student who submitted plagiarized papers. I told myself, " I have zero tolerance on plagiarism ." After all, I am a JOurnalism graduate. I was trained to write, not to plagiarize. Now, I have a dilemma here. I got an e-mail yesterday congratulating me for being accepted as one of their writers. I actually have forgotten that I applied a couple of months ago... It should be good news! The thing is, the company is an essay store online ! I wanna write. Really. In fact, I already have visited the ORDERS section to check if I could get some orders or some papers to write. I actually found one and the main book or reference the customer is referring to is right on my book shelf (I borrowed it from the library a couple of week...

Be One of the Chosen Few! Be Part of the 1ST I-WITNESS DOCU SEMINAR! For Free!!!! Learn From The Masters! Catch: Jay Taruc Sandra Aguinaldo Kara David and Howie Severino Learn the Basic of Documentary Making:- Researching- Scriptwriting- Shooting- Directing- Editing To join: Submit the following requirements: (1) a resume with picture and (2) an essay of your favorite i-witness episode. You can send it via e-mail: iwit.docufest@ gmail.com or via snail-mail: I-WITNESS 2nd Floor, GMA Network Center, Edsa cor. Timog Ave. Diliman, QC Application Ends March 15, 2008 * A screening and an interview will be given to the Applicants.* Only 80 Participants will be chosen.

BALATKAYO is one of the documentary films produced by my ABMC 4 students (Parallel Vision Productions). It made me really proud to know that this docu was nominated for BEST DOCUMENTARY in the First (biennial) Quisumbing-Escandor Film Festival for Health sponsored by Mu Sigma Phi Medical Fraternity from UP College of Medicine. Being one of the five finalists is already an achievement for us -- knowing that there were 37 entries nationwide. We attended the awarding ceremony and the event was a learning experience for me. I learned to appreciate the effort of fraternities like Mu Sigma Phi. I hope the media would also report on good deeds by fraternities, not just the riots and death that some notorious fraternities had caused. The people should realize that fraternities are great venues for creativity, public service, and cooperative learning. I also couldn't help thinking that hopefully, schools would be more supportive of students who join contests. I wish I could do ...

Charles, my 6-year-old son, is a Prep student from one of the schools in Angeles City. I got his card last week and here are the grades for the three quarters: Reading 92 93 95 Language 93 94 95 Writing 86 89 91 Math 92 93 91 Science 90 93 93 Filipino 90 91 89 Sibika 93 91 96 He is currently in Rank 3 among all Prep students in their school (2 sections) Congrats to Cha!

It was planned. Contestants were invited. Some refused. Many agreed to join. Pre-production. Production. Post-production. I stayed for almost an hour during the program. But I couldn't stay longer because the sounds were not ear-friendly. And so I left when contestant number two started to entertain the audience. I was never in any of these production stages. There's a reason behind. Without an active and supportive adviser, the show went on. The bottomline: why else do organizations need advisers? The answer is at the back of my mind.

"An A ct of R andom K indness at a time." -- GOD in EVAN ALMIGHTY (great movie!) pix fr. www.imdb.com

When I first learned to use the PowerPoint, I was excited and thought that using it would make my class more lively and my teaching more effective. I was right then. It was working to my advantage -- but it didn't stay that way for long. I just woke up one morning and realized that I DON'T NEED THE LCD AND THE POWERPOINT, AFTER ALL. Let me tell you why I changed my mind about using this presentation tool. First, making a PowerPoint presentation consumes a lot of my preparation time . Whenever I make a PowerPoint presentation, I make sure it is presentable -- complete with graphics and animation. One hour or a couple of hours is not enough to design a satisfying presentation using this tool. Second, whenever I use this tool, I notice that some students are just staring at the LCD and no longer looking at me. I don't like this because they tend to simply "wait for the last slide" so they could be dismissed. It's hard to get the students' full attent...

I feel guilty for not being able to update this blog. I've been busy with a lot of insignificant things.

I started using web logs in class in June 2005 in my Electronic Newsroom 2 class. Back then, my ABMC 4 (Batch 2006) students were required to create their own web logs which I visited for checking of articles. The only thing I had in mind then was to have a clutter-free, paperless class . I thought every paper must be turned in online to avoid piling of yellow papers waiting to be checked on my desk . The response of the students to the blogging activity was positive. They seemed to enjoy it because most of them were Internet savvy. This response encouraged me to redesign my blogging strategy in 2006 with another batch of E-newsroom 2 class. I modified the activity by requiring the students to visit and post comments on each of their classmates' blogs. This way, blogging became more interactive.The students were conscious of what they wrote on their blogs knowing that their teacher and classmates were reading and making comments. This made the students became aware of ...