Arnel Francis

          So now, you are a Ph.D. You begin to see the light that the rise in the academic ranks has offered you. Optimistic now, you feel the change. You are deemed wiser by others and have also felt it to be true. Though you may not know it, new stern hurdles may beset the road of your one-way journey. You still flounder both mentally and emotionally and realize becoming a full-fledged Ph.D. is not easy after all.            Life after getting that degree is comparable to that of a runner. That is, paces are more tracked, longer and exacting. Spectators would seem to be seeking for more. They need the equivalent of the price they earlier paid. These spectators whom you thought were your cohorts, your mentors and adherents in the field can be the very people who would rob you off the prize. Taken by surprise, they jump on you and push you aside, thinking that you are now, an able-competi...

The ‘Spirit’ Behind 231 A cting indefatigable is what we see, it’s true B ehaving as if everyday starts life anew C onstructing strategies and D igesting lessons after we chew E xplaining why George Bush is head over heels in love with you F iguring out that there is more G rab your materials now let us explore H overing us up to I magine things that there is life in reading J uggling words in our minds we made poems in writing K nitting sequences and realizing that we can chart L etting you notice that this is all from the heart M aking us plain browsers to real readers N umbering our learnings with our fingers for O pening possibilities we owe P assing the course… hoping not a "NO" Q uestioning and R ebuking S ends chills in the 231’s T elling us that there really is a big chance of U nnerving the topics by V isualizing what’s into stories and W eeding out details for priced glories. So wha...

MAN, in the course of his LIFE, learns. Learning is actualized and proven that there is such occurrence when something in him CHANGES – his attitudes and outlook of things around him. I have assessed myself this past few years and have approximated all the VALUES I have learned in time – the value of PATIENCE and SELFLESSNESS. When I started teaching at a university, my expectations toward my students were big. I sometimes lose my temper in the middle of the class and assert my being the Master of the room. Later on, I realized that I couldn’t put my way of thinking with that of my students. I slowly embraced the idea of individuality- that each has his own capabilities, his LIMITATIONS. Now, I can laugh with my students, play on to their incompetent response to questions at times and making their FAILURES as nothing to be worried about. I realized that I need to be of a good example to them by showing them and not by telling them what they ought to DO and what they need...

" Time, time... just when we're starting to think that we have it, a fraction has been gone " - A.F.V. Morales "What day is May 5?...how 'bout May 13?". My unending recall of deadlines and activities gave me the urge to refer to a calendar. Being in the middle of a jeepney ride, I resorted to a pocket calendar which I remember I had from a shop in SM. To my dismay, the calendar was of no use. It was 2008, still crisp from being kept long on a wallet section... Funny, I said to myself, it seems like I had this last January 2010. It was an instance again that I really felt TIME passing so quickly... Have I taken for granted the nonchalant onset of it? I wondered. What have I done all these years? I esteemed teaching very late. It was only six years ago. I juggled my MA classes, earned Summer units in Education ...

THE REAL ESSENCE OF LEARNING On the last meeting in our Philosophy of Man class, my first day of pondering began. I never thought that at the very last hour the ultimate LEARNING would come. It was so strong that it still remained resounding in my heart up to now. My usual idea of "just-read-and-you'll-never-fail-the-course" attitude paved the way for me to rummage on books at the Ateneo library. The question of "Why Philosophy?" was more of a question to be answered rather than a topic to be discussed. "Why do I need to take this course when I had it in College before?", was a reluctance I have to abide. Days passed and our supposed "journey" has to conclude. Since I swam over the vast ocean of PHILOSOPHY and "learned" about great philosophers, their precise philosophies, I presumed it was adequate enough to close the books. Our teacher then asked, "Who am I?" Everyone was quiet. After that, she associated this q...

I am now a confirmed LECTURER!...an arduous task built on what we call DETERMINATION. The evening my doctoral professor, Dr. Riceli Mendoza offered me the job through an internet chat, the urge to ask her..”WHY me?” was kept at the back of my mind. It was four weeks away and the idea of me becoming a RESOURCE PERSON for a two-day seminar was a scary joke… I have never made a seminar in my entire life and it is not only a seminar but a “Seminar-Workshop”… Giving it a thought, I said why not? I immediately rummaged resources from the internet, skimmed on what was available on my booklists and “designed” on what was to be the SCENARIO..Suddenly, flashes of ‘what if’s ‘ adorned my idealistic fancy and imagined myself with the ambition. I need to make it. The problem of creating activities seconded my worries on how I could SUFFICE my heterogeneous attendees. I was told that teachers and English-major students would be my participants and “jury”. The idea of both teachers and stud...

“Very Good!”...or if not satisfyingly correct, “Partly, you have an idea there. It’s good you tried”. These are supposed to be the best possible response a teacher could use in getting through steering students’ interest without frustrating them and getting their toes up every time they’re asked. But what really is MOTIVATION? Does it entail being ‘affective’ upon the accomplishment of tasks or the entire instructions? Or shall we put the blame on our lack of putting a dash of morale boosters on our comments? Motivation has been defined, conceptualized and given attention to by many educational psychologists and practiced by numerous educators trying to solve myths and misgivings in its employment inside and outside the classroom. Factors ranging from anxiety to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs were given equal attention. As a common person, specifically, a single parent, I do a lot of things everyday-from preparing breakfast early in the morning to making sure that my kids “can” go to...