Hello Summer
today's officially my last day of teaching summer school.YAY!kids don't know but teachers are more ecstatic than them to leave the school. i hav 27 days left before the new schoolyear starts:-(
today went well. i taught in the morning;it was tougher than usual bec. their minds were elsewhere;excitement and restlessness clouding their concentration. they're sensing their impending freedom. we had a fire drill, then another torturous hour of lessons and finally had our class party. I brought juice and some students brought food. i had a check-off list of things to do so i was multi-tasking. pouring juice, writing report cards, stowing unused supplies, putting down displays,readying my stuff for evacuation, passing out student work. before lunch i caved in and had a basketball game with them, something i've been promising for a while but always can't find the time to do.
overall, i'm very pleased with my class. most of them performed better in their posttests.they hav made friends among themselves plus we all learned how to bowl bec. i took them bowling for a walking field trip.

at the end of the day, what surprised me were these small but thoughtful expressions of gratitude: a vase of roses from the 1:1 aide of my visually impaired student, one hug, a thank you note from another and one heartfelt goodbye from a usually grumpy kid. those moments make all the hard work worth it. since teaching in a public school (my 4th year now), I've learned not to expect any token or grand gestures of appreciation from my students & their parents which make these simple gestures all the more meaningful because of their rarity. but come to think of it, i was also that kind of a student who cannot wait to leave when school ends(karma). so i kind of regret not really thanking my teachers for their herculean efforts to educate me. oh well, kids will be kids.
When I left the school and got home , I was so relieved to be freed from work and also satisfied
with
the work I've done. I'm free! This is the first summer that I won't be going home to the Philippines and now this whole free time privilege looms large before me. Do I still know how to relax and hav fun? Its weird that now I'm stressing on needing to squeeze every bit of fun I can get from the remaining days of my break. What to do? First thing is I slept like a baby. My brother Ronnie has said that I am one of the most hardworking people he knows, but when I get lazy, I can also do super-lazy. which is true. i can be an expert on time suckage. the tv can be very hypnotic. i'm discovering all these cool shows but then a whole day has passed & i did nothing. so here's to hoping that i find a balance between resting/fun AND getting personal matters done. like i have to prepare for this RICA test, another requirement for renewing my credential and i hav been postponing my application for transfer to this university, again for my credential. but the immediate plan is to spend time with my friends in San Jose then head to LA in August to meet my cousin and some close friends. We might go see the theme parks(hard to resist those ) and visit San Diego.
i think its vital for someone who lives away from family to be self-sufficient and know how to entertain herself. That's one thing I've learned from all those long, lazy summers growing up and having to be creative in fighting boredom.
Summer. Bring it on!
today's officially my last day of teaching summer school.YAY!kids don't know but teachers are more ecstatic than them to leave the school. i hav 27 days left before the new schoolyear starts:-(
today went well. i taught in the morning;it was tougher than usual bec. their minds were elsewhere;excitement and restlessness clouding their concentration. they're sensing their impending freedom. we had a fire drill, then another torturous hour of lessons and finally had our class party. I brought juice and some students brought food. i had a check-off list of things to do so i was multi-tasking. pouring juice, writing report cards, stowing unused supplies, putting down displays,readying my stuff for evacuation, passing out student work. before lunch i caved in and had a basketball game with them, something i've been promising for a while but always can't find the time to do.
overall, i'm very pleased with my class. most of them performed better in their posttests.they hav made friends among themselves plus we all learned how to bowl bec. i took them bowling for a walking field trip.




at the end of the day, what surprised me were these small but thoughtful expressions of gratitude: a vase of roses from the 1:1 aide of my visually impaired student, one hug, a thank you note from another and one heartfelt goodbye from a usually grumpy kid. those moments make all the hard work worth it. since teaching in a public school (my 4th year now), I've learned not to expect any token or grand gestures of appreciation from my students & their parents which make these simple gestures all the more meaningful because of their rarity. but come to think of it, i was also that kind of a student who cannot wait to leave when school ends(karma). so i kind of regret not really thanking my teachers for their herculean efforts to educate me. oh well, kids will be kids.
When I left the school and got home , I was so relieved to be freed from work and also satisfied



i think its vital for someone who lives away from family to be self-sufficient and know how to entertain herself. That's one thing I've learned from all those long, lazy summers growing up and having to be creative in fighting boredom.
Summer. Bring it on!