Death: What Does It Bring?

 

Is death the end?  Or, is it the beginning?  This has been a long standing question.  Every time I read about somebody’s death, I always ask, “Is this the end?”

 

            I envy people who are dead.  They are done with life’s problems.  They can take a rest, never waking up to another day of life’s challenges.  Princess Diana, John Denver, and other famous people do not have to go through the harshness and imperfection of this world we call home.

 

            The Philippines’ very own Francis Magalona’s death should be a celebration.  It is the beginning of his immortality.  He will never grow old now.  Death at the age of 44 brought him everlasting existence among us.  He has been given lots of titles, all befitting a “king.” the king of Philippine rap music.

 

My daily fear is not death itself, it is the fact that I do not know what will happen.  Will this day bring new glory? Or, will it bring another day of suffering and misery? 

 

I fear that I did not do my best to do my duties and responsibilities.  At the end of the day, when I am about to sleep, I reminisce.  Was the day fruitful? Was it enough to carry people I am responsible for?  What will tomorrow bring?  Death?  What does death bring?           Peace?

 

Peace be with you King Francis!!!

UN Observer

This is a repost of my August 5, 2006 blog from edublogs.com

HE DIED WITH A PURPOSE

 

Body of Du Zhaoyu brought in Beijing
(Xinhua/China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-02 12:16

The body of Chinese UN observer Lt. Colonel Du Zhaoyu, who was killed last week during an Israeli air raid on Lebanon, was brought home on Wednesday morning.

Du's coffin, covered with the Chinese and UN flags, was carried from the plane by eight Chinese soldiers.

A Lieutenant Colonel in the PLA, 34-year-old Du was sent to Lebanon last December as a UN observer.

He is also the eighth Chinese military staff to die in UN peacekeeping mission since 1988, when China joined the UN Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations and started to participate in missions.

 

            I envy Du Zhaoyu!  Not only because he became a National Hero and he died serving the world, but because he is now resting.  What else could anyone ask for in this world of eternal bickering?  A world so imperfect!  A world full of wars.  Where people fight over the simplest of things, from a husband and wife spat to arguments about dogs, to nations trying to outdo each other by firing missiles.  

Shanghai Shock

This is a repost of my July 13, 2006 blog. The old site, edublogs.com has been removed.

July 12, 2006

Dear editor,

            This short article is a first of a series on ideas I want to contribute to your paper.  I am planning to write a book on my “adventures” in Shanghai.  I hope you find my moot points appealing enough to deserve publication.

Thank you

 Joel Velasco Padua     

English Teacher

English Native Language Program

Philippine International English Institute

Gubei Area, Shanghai

 

 

Shanghai Shock

 

Arriving in Shanghai by Train, the first thing that struck me was how dirty the surrounding was.  Dirt was everywhere.  I could see plastic cups, plastic bottles, and plastic bags.  Name the garbage and it is there.  I thought then that Shanghai is not a well developed city after all.  Shanghai in my mind is a very prosperous city.  Supposedly, one should see only beautiful sceneries and tall buildings.

            Coming out of the train station, the first thing I saw was an American Fast Food Restaurant.  Mc Donald’s! So! The Americans have indeed invaded Shanghai!  In my little home island, we still depict the old China, when it did not yet open its doors to the west, commercialism and the open market.

            I am not a world traveler, but when I left the Philippines, I always thought that I should be wary of other people.  Difference in culture, surely will not help me go around Shanghai.  I was proven wrong.  Leaving Shenzhen by train, a middle aged Chinese woman had a couch opposite mine.  She was very amiable.  Maybe it was sheer luck but she offered her son’s van to bring me to my destination at Wuxing Road.  Before that, I really did not have any idea on how to navigate the big city of Shanghai.  Once again it shows that not everything in this world is not as bad as it looks.

BIG Brother (Pinoy)

By Jie LaoShi

When I accepted this job, I knew that it would entail the responsibility of acting as a Big Brother. Big Brother to teachers and students alike. I am not big! I am small in stature. But, I am tall in wisdom, wide in vision and narrow in purpose. I guess these would be enough to compensate for my deficiency in physique and act as a Brother.

Acting as a Brother, I normally offer my “shoulder”. A shoulder to cry on, as the song says. When I am approached by colleagues and students about problems, my usual advice is based from a song, “Let it Be” by the Beatles. Part of the song goes:

When I find myself in times of trouble; Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom; Let it be
And in my hours of darkness; She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom; Let it be

And when the broken hearted people, living in the world agree
There will be an answer; Let it be

And when the night is cloudy; there is still a light that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow; Let it be


Problems have a way of solving themselves. Just do what you should do, and then wait, “Let it Be”. This has been my guide through the years. Whenever I encounter problems, I get my guitar and sing the song. It is a timeless advice. Ever since John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned the song in the 1960s, it has comforted lots of people, I am sure.

Problems are a part of life. It is a reality. They keep us on our toes. Without problems, life will have no colour, no excitement, nothing to think about. Life will be boring. Everybody needs an excitement. Look at a problem as a stimulus. It should spark enthusiasm in living. The challenge to endure and defy the odd is a very good prospect. So, like the hit reality TV series “Big Brother”, we do everything to survive and stay within the confines of the “house”.

The Distinguished Gentleman (from Shanghai?)

By Jie LaoShi

The Longman Dictionary defines “Gentleman” as a man who is always polite, has good manners, and treats other people well. This means, for ladies in particular, a “knight in a shining armour”. One who will sacrifice everything, be it simple or complex, just to “save a lady in distress”. One who minds and understands the feeling of other people around. One who respects other people's emotions. In other words, making sure that nobody is hurt physically and emotionally.

As students of an all-boys high school maintained by Belgian Priests in the Philippines, it was taught and inculcated in us to act gentlemanly. Always stay on the danger side when walking with a lady, always let ladies first, saying the magic words (please, thank you, etc.), assist old folks and ladies when climbing up, let ladies (and old folks) sit down, etc. One stereotypical image of a gentleman is a caricature where a man placed his handkerchief on a puddle so that a woman could pass thru. Maybe by the time I finish enumerating the GMRCs (Good Manners and Right Conduct), you would be snoring on your seat.

It seems that this ideal behaviour got lost along the way while a city of 20 million people was growing. Or, did it ever exist in a Chinese way of life? We are not very sure if it got lost or it was never there in the first place. The fact is clear though, it is not being practiced by the 20 million people living in a bustling metropolis. You say, “We should not generalize”. “I am a gentleman. I always offer my seat to a lady or an old folk”. Good for you! I do to! In a bus, if I am lucky enough to be seated, I always make it a point to let ladies, and old folks for that matter, take my seat. But why does it feel like there are very few of us who do this? Every time I commute, I observe “Distinguished Gentlemen from Shanghai” who do not let old folks, ladies, and little girls take their seat. They just stare... and adding insult to injury, look at the person “in distress” from head to foot. What a nerve! Okay! Let's just pretend you are tired, can you have the conscience to sit while looking at an old woman standing directly in front of you? I can't take it! Neither could you, right? But this “Distinguished Gentleman from Shanghai” did!

I am not out to castigate these “Distinguished Gentlemen from Shanghai”. I do not have the right to point out what should be and what shouldn't be. I am a foreigner in their land. I do not know their culture very well. Maybe it is normal for them to behave like so. Perhaps I am over reacting to what I see daily, twice a day, seven days a week, four weeks a month, and wait… I've been here for a year. That means I’ve seen it … you do the math.

SETTING GOALS

By Jie LaoShi

When I came to China, my goal was to make Php 2,000,000.00 (roughly CNY 300,000.00) in just a year. What a goal! It is exactly a year now and sad to say, that goal is still as it is… a goal. I haven’t even made one sixteenth of that amount. Good grief!!!

Actually, when I left my little paradise in the mountains, I was full of hope. I was very positive that I could reach my target. It would be hard work but I can do it. As it turned out, things got ugly. Work hard I did, but the cash did not appear even thru a mirage. I will not delve through my “sob story” though.

When I encounter a “wall”, I go around it. My two million is on the other side of the wall, I have to go around. In going around, I have to set other goals. I found this out the hard way. To achieve the big goal, divide it into chunks. What do I mean? Go around, make the goal smaller, easier to achieve. Eventually, when these smaller goals are completed and added together, they will add up into the bigger goal. Got what I mean?

What do I lose in making my goals smaller? “TIME”. It would be longer! But, what the heck! (Excuse me!) At least I could achieve my goal.

So what now? Well, my goal is still a goal. It still keeps me going. It still makes me strive. It still makes me work hard. It still fuels me. Come a time, maybe I won’t have the energy anymore. Maybe I would be too old and still maybe… just maybe… I will still be dreaming of that Php 2,000,000.00. But what the heck! (Excuse me again!) I set my goal, and work for it!

"I read their article yesterday" (sic)

By Jie LaoShi

Some teachers in China claim that there is a “perceived need to hire 18 year old high school graduates from Cameroon and Nigeria in Africa, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Russia, Romania, Holland, etc. etc. etc. who have no teacher training, no teaching experience, and no college education, let alone any knowledge of second language acquisition theory.”

I totally disagree with them. First of all, a language school would not hire incompetent teachers for their school. I am not saying that the above mentioned are incompetent, but it would be the school who will determine these. I am pretty sure that a school would not let its credibility down by hiring an inappropriate employee. Secondly, there are no 18 year old high school graduates from Cameroon and Nigeria in Africa, Philippines, Pakistan, India, Russia, Romania, Holland, etc. etc. etc. who have no teacher training, no teaching experience, and no college education, let alone any knowledge of second language acquisition theory that teach in China. If they could prove that there is one, I would jump from the window of my 18th floor office. OOPPPSSSS!!!

There really is a difference between Language Acquisition and Language Learning. As the names imply, the first one is acquired and the second one is learned. Let me share an example, the sentence: “I read their article yesterday.” People who ACQUIRED the English Language know that the pronunciation of read should be “red” because it happened yesterday. That is without any knowledge of the rules in Grammar whatsoever. On the other hand, people who LEARNED the language know that the pronunciation is really “red” because it is in a past tense. They know the rule! EASY! (As my students would say: Easy! Easy! Lemon Squeezee!)

My point here is, that particular group of teachers (a combination of Doctors in Languages) should not generalize their conclusions regarding the standards of an English Language Teacher. Yes! They are doctors! But do I need them to teach my eight-year old students how to say, “I read their article yesterday”? Hmmmm…

JOB INTERVIEW

By Jie LaoShi

I wrote this guide when I was given the task to interview prospective teachers.
I am adding it on this blog to guide interviewees on what they might expect in a job interview.

2006-11-09

Interview guidelines (Oral Interview)
The Interviewer starts the activity by saying:
“This interview should be a “two-way” learning activity.
You learn from me, and I learn from you.”

1. Background
- What made you decide to become a teacher?
- Do you like it? What are the “ups” and “downs” of teaching?
- How long have you been teaching?
- Were there changes in your former students?
- How are they different now?

2. Knowledge in English
- Which is correct?
“The team is worried” or “The team are worried”
“Westlife is a well-known band” or “Westlife are a well-known band”

Rephrase sentences in order to avoid the singular/plural decision.
Proper nouns in plural form take a plural verb in both AmE and BrE.
Use of the singular verb is not wrong in BrE provided it is consistent on the same document.

Situation
a) If you are given a “zero” English student, where/how will you start? How about a student with Intermediate proficiency?
b) How would you handle a child out-of-control? One with a temper tantrum. What should be your course of action? How will you discipline?
c) What if the child shows no interest in what you are teaching? What is your course of action? What should you do?


n.b.
Our school, the ENL Program-Shanghai is in need of English Language Teachers from the Philippines. In case you are interested, please e-mail: enlprogramshanghai@yahoo.com
Subject: English Language Teacher Applicant

Requirements:
1. Two years relevant experience
2. TEFL Certificate or Graduate of any Education Course
3. Very good Oral and Written English
4. Must be in Shanghai at the time of application

Freight Train

By Jie LaoShi

I revised this song to convey a message:

Freight train, freight train going so fast

Freight train, freight train going so fast

Please don't tell what train I'm on

So they won't know where I'm gone

Freight train, freight train, going round the bend

Freight train, freight train, gone again

One of these days, turn that train around

Going back to my home town

One more place I'd like to be

One more place I'd love to see

To watch those Green Ridge Mountain Trails

While I ride old Dangwa Lanes

When I die please bury me deep

Down at the end of Buyagan Street

So I can hear old Dangwa Line

As she goes rolling by

Freight train, freight train going so fast

Freight train, freight train going so fast

Please don't tell what Grave I'm on

So they won't know that I'm gone

ACHIEVING ENGLISH FLUENCY

My mother wanted me to use English. The full impact of my mother's action was only realized when I came to China. My mom had this knack on insisting that I talk in English, read English books, watch English movies, and write English journals. Once, I told her that my friends and I went to watch a movie. “What kind of movie?” she asked. It was an action movie about the exploits of a Philippine hero. “Was it in English?” she asked again. I said, “No”. She then said, “You didn't learn anything” and turned around continuing her chore. She was always happy when my action involves English. When I asked her to buy a book about the “Hardy Boys”, she willingly did. Even if during those times, it was very expensive.

The environment I grew up in used English. In my hometown, when you speak in English you are tagged as a social climber. My peers insisted on using the vernacular to avoid that label. Realizing that this is one of the reasons why students do not use English and knowing that it will be the Lingua Franca of the modern world, my school made it compulsory. In our classroom, anyone caught or heard talking in any Philippine dialect will be asked to pay a fine.

Most Filipinos grew up bi-lingual. They use English in government transactions, business transactions, school transactions, etc. Anything that is official, it is in English. In the streets and in most homes, they lapse into their vernacular.

The point is, in order to achieve fluency in a particular language; one must be exposed to it daily. Use it! Talk with it and think with it. Practice! As one advertisement says: “Just do it”.

n.b.
The following link is a page where a group of students learning the English language discussed “How to Achieve Fluency in English”. They have good suggestions and it is very good for them to be practicing. Please excuse their errors and focus on the idea.
http://www.englishbaby.com/forum/AskEnglish/thread/14082

FYI: TEACHERS

Useful excerpts from the blog site of Isagani R. Cruz (Former Philippine Undersecretary of Education).

Here are some interesting questions asked by the teachers, with my comments.

Q: Sir, comment on this: The best English teachers should be placed in the primary years rather than in the intermediate years, so as to establish a strong sense of language. A: Absolutely, and not only because of language but because of teaching skills. The better the teacher, the younger the students should be. Similarly, in universities, the top professors should teach first-year students or repeaters. The moment I became the highest-ranked professor at De La Salle University, I volunteered to teach the basketball players.Q: What is more important, fluency or comprehension?

A: I would rather have someone who understands what is going on, rather than one who talks without understanding.

Q: In reading a literary piece, which usually takes place first – understanding before appreciation or appreciation before understanding?

A: Unlike other arts, literature needs to be understood before it can be appreciated. For other arts, such as music or painting, you may be able to appreciate or enjoy a piece without necessarily understanding it.

Q: What if a student can read but he cannot comprehend? Can I consider him as a non-reader?

A: I can read a hundred languages, as long as they are in the Roman alphabet, but I cannot understand them. I mean that I can pronounce the words, because I can read the letters, but I obviously cannot understand whatever it is that I am pronouncing. Here is an example, which anyone can read – chabdemfloking – but no one can comprehend (because I just made up the word out of the letters of the alphabet from A to O, except for J). Reading without comprehension is like wearing a suit or a gown and going to bed: what’s the point of dressing up?

Q: Is it okay for a teacher to talk in Korlish [code-switching between Korean and English] in order to be understood by students?

A: No. Students can always understand straight Korean (or Chinese or Japanese or Tagalog or whatever) or straight English even if they can speak only in Korlish. There is no excuse whatsoever for teachers speaking Korlish in the classroom, because teachers are role models of language use. The key to being understood as an English speaker is to use the proper register (or type) of English. If you use only the most common 1,000 words of English, you can be understood even by grade school students.

NB: Some words were changed for appropriateness. Apologies to the author.

Q: What if we do our very best and still my students absorb nothing?

A: You, not the students, have a problem. You think that teaching means giving something to students that they can absorb. You should start thinking of teaching as learning from students. Then you and your students can start communicating. You might want to read up on the wrong method of teaching known as “the banking theory of education.” Bad teachers think that they should deposit something in students’ heads that can later be withdrawn during exams. Good teachers merely point the way to the bank.



January 14, 2007

Dear Teachers,

I hope these will provide new insights into the way we process language and help us with our teaching professions. Dream on!

Jie LaoShi

What Makes a Good Teacher?

By Jie Lao Shi


I have always wondered: What really makes a good teacher.

Should he be well educated? Does he really need to have finished a College Degree? A Master’s Degree? Or even a Doctoral Degree? Should he be the one who has attained the highest education? Do I need a Doctor’s Degree in Physics to teach Phonics to a six year old kid? Is a High School Diploma good enough to teach High School juveniles?
To be a good teacher, one should be able to impart knowledge. In order for me to teach Algebra, I should have read, finished and understood Algebra. Being able to prepare a Lesson is one key in effective teaching. To cram and teach impromptu is not an option for a good teacher. The purpose of teaching is to be able to convey what one has learned to one who has not learned yet. This purpose should be the nucleus of teaching. As long as one attained this purpose, the making of a good teacher succeeds.

So, what makes a good teacher?

Is it the most complete set of highly technical gadgets such as a computer, an overhead projector and laser pointer? Can these modern tools create a good teacher? Does a PowerPoint Presentation make a good teacher? Do these modern equipments matter in a teacher-student relationship? Will these create the impression that, indeed, one is an effective teacher?
Good teachers should be able to adapt to change to meet student needs. Teachers must be creative users of technology in order to convey the knowledge they have to transfer. A computer is a very useful tool to hammer a message. Mass media is a powerful instrument that should be used to stimulate the student’s brain. This medium enhances the imagination of a learner thus attaining the purpose of learning for a student and the making a good teacher.

What then is a good teacher?

Is it the commitment to transfer knowledge to students by having the patience of a martyr? Is it the joy of being able to convey knowledge and accept the sacrifices that go with it? Does it mean a teacher should care for a student’s welfare to make a good teacher? Is it being a role model to a student? Is it the expectations of success for all students?
To transfer knowledge is not an easy task. It will need dedication, patience and utmost endurance. Dedication which is enough to push through with the task of attaining the objective. A commitment that is unwavering thru highs and lows. An adherence to teaching that certain sacrifices have to be done to attain the goal of educating another human being. A teacher is not out to “teach” a dog, which could be trained to go through certain motions. A teacher is out to evolve a human brain and make it think, ponder and weigh course of actions. To care for another person entails a lot. To be role modelling costs even more. These will tend to undermine the nature of being human. A misconception of teachers being infallible will be placed to the ultimate test. A slightest mistake will greatly affect the result. The end result is always important to a good teacher. It is the culmination of the making of a good teacher.

This brings us back to the question: What makes a good teacher?

I have consumed several minutes of your time trying to answer this long lasting question. Yet, we are nowhere near the answer. An essay is not enough to answer the question of “What makes a good teacher?” A book or several volumes of books will even be inadequate to answer such question. Basing from the ideas that I have presented though, there is one common denominator for all of the plaguing questions and vague answers: transfer knowledge. To be particular, it is the effective transfer of knowledge that makes a good teacher. Combining the educational attainment, technological gadgetry, and internal attitude of a teacher leads to one point: Successful Conveyance of Information is what makes a good teacher.

FRUSTRATIONS

By Jie LaoShi

During the last ten months of this teaching career, I have had lots of annoyances. I encountered unpredictable students from different ages. An eight-year old kid who does not want to write properly, a twelve-year old who stares blankly and does not put any effort in studying, a sixteen-year old who insists to follow his own syllabus, and a 26 year old who drains a teacher’s brain. I had to deal with them one by one and add to that, I had to do them all in one day. Wow! Imagine the stress.

The most frustrating part of this teaching career though is the fact that I have been trying to find a school that would provide me with further training while I am doing my job. If you teach, you crave for more knowledge, knowledge in what to teach and how to teach it. Surfing for a school doesn’t help. They require “native” speakers. Mind you, I can hurdle that! I have native competency and could even boast to be better. My English is fluent enough to hold a candle against a “native” speaker. What gets me is the fact that some schools here in Shanghai want a “Caucasian”. A white guy! Worse, they want a guy who is holding an American, British, etc. passport. I sometimes wonder if they really are being racial.

Well, that’s life! A bit of advice for my co-dark skinned Teachers, let this frustration be a challenge for us to step further. As one of my favourite bloggers, an American hiding in an Asian skin, said, “BLING IT ON”.

I never imagined that I would end up teaching. I always thought that teaching is a noble profession. Being noble, means… well, it does not pay good. As my elementary school teacher, Mr. Salvador Noble, said, “You want to be rich? Do not become a teacher like me. It is a NOBLE profession”. As one could notice, his statement had several meanings. What struck me most though is teaching being “noble” and it does not pay well. So, why do I teach now? As I go on with this blog, I hope I could answer that bugging question too.