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...

" 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 ...

“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...

“Why didn’t you wake me up early?” is a regular rouser for your nerves- much stronger than the instant black coffee you sip at 6 in the morning. That awkward grumble comes from the croak of your 14-year old son as he rushes downstairs only to pause for 15 minutes more or so before munching on his oatmeal breakfast. Before he is seated, his 11-year old brother Miguel has already docked on the four-seater round table. Always the first bird- half-pecking, half-dozing still as the two both dally blowing and stirring their choco-oatmeals to get tepid. A typical start of your weekday, you continually remind them, “Hey! Keep moving, its already 6:30…then 6:45…” Woo! Papa, you’re lying, its still 6:20”, your loquacious and lately seemingly boorish youngest would always rebut. Sean gets ready for the bathroom –he’s the first on the list and always the longest to use it, while his brother would sneak back into one of the empty rooms to sleep again. Bang! You hear Sean pound on the door...