“Ang Kabataan sa Harap ng Pag-usbong ng Teknolohiya

at Demoralisasyon sa Mundo”

Kasabay ng di mapigil na modernisasyon ng mundo ay ang lumalawak na kaisipan at pananaw ng mga tao, lalong-lalo na ng mga kabataan, sa mga bagay-bagay. Mula sa pagiging simple ay natututo ang bawat isa na maging radikal. Kung dati ay kuntento tayo sa pagiging tayo ngayon ay natututo tayong maging mapaghanap. Kung dati ay ayos na tayo sa pasobre sobre ngayon ay parang di tayo mabubuhay kapag wala tayong “cellphone”. Kung dati ayos na ang radyo ngayon ay halos mamatay ang isang kabataan mabilan lang ng sarili niyang “i-pod”. Sa totoo lang, ang mga bagay na ito ay hindi maiiwasan at hindi natin maikakaila na mayroon itong mga dalang kabutihan. May mga ibang kabataang ginagamit ang pagbabago ng panahon upang maging mabuti at maunlad ang kanilang sarili, ngunit sa totoo lang, sa patuloy na pag-usbong ng teknolohiya hindi natin maikakaila na may mga iba na imbes na nagbabago ay patuloy na nasasadlak sa kasamaan at demoralisasyon. Ang tanong na naiiwan ay, “ano ba ang kabataan ngayon sa mundo ng teknolohiya?”

Bilang isang batang guro, nakakalungkot isipin na may ilang mga kabataang tila nakalimot na. Ang iba ni hindi na magawang makinig sa kanilang mga magulang dahil masyadong abala sa ka-text. May mga iba, di na yata alam ang salitang “po” at “opo.”

Kung minsan kahit na ang mga maliliit at mga simpleng bagay ay tila nakalimutan na ng ilan. Nakakalungkot isipin na dahil sa pagbabago ng panahon ay naapektuhan na nito ang mura at sariwang kaisipan ng ating kabataan. Masakit mang aminin ngunit ang kabataan ngayon ay papunta sa tinatawag na demoralisasyon. Nasisira ang kanilang mga murang pananaw dahil sa di maawat na impluwensya ng teknolohiya at modernisasyon. Kung minsan nga, ang bata nakakalimot narin magsabi ng “good morning teacher”, “goodbye teacher”, “thank you Ma’am.” Ang paglimot ng kabataan sa mga simpleng bagay na ito ay dala na rin ng kanilang mas lumalawak na mga kaalaman sa mga bagay bagay ngunit mas kumikitid na pananaw sa kung ano ang tama at sa kung ano ang mali. Kung minsan nga, naitatanong ko sa aking sarili, “saan ba ako nagkamali sa mga batang ito?” “ano pa ba ang dapat kong gawin para maintindihan nila ang halaga ng buhay?” Pilit ko mang halukayin sa aking isip ay di ko talaga mahagilap ang sagot, at sa huli ay babagsak ako sa katotohanang, “iba na talaga ang mundo ngayon.”

        Alam ko sa aking sarili na hindi ko maiiwasan ang pagbabago. Ika nga ng isang tanyag na pilosopo, “Ang lahat ay nagbabago. Walang permanente sa mundong ito kundi ang pagbabago mismo.” Ngunit naniniwala parin ako na bawat tao ay kayang magdesisyon para sa kanyang sarili. Hindi man maiiwasan ang pagbabago ng panahon naniniwala parin ako na ang kabataan ay may kakayahang maging magiting sa pagsasabuhay ng kanyang pagiging tao. Harapin man ng ilang pagbabago, ang kabataan ay may angking galing sa pagpapakabuti at pagsasaayos ng kanyang buhay. Dapat lang maintindihan ng isang kabataan ang tunay na kahulugan ng katalinihan at kagitingan---na ang katalinuhan ay di lamang napupulot sa pagkakaroon ng matataas na grado sa eskwela ngunit higit sa lahat ay sa kung paano niya isabuhay at isagawa ang kanyang mga natutunan sa loob ng klase. Ang kagitingan ay nakikita sa matapang na pagdedesisyon upang maging mabuti at mahusay. Maganda ang bawat pagbabago ngunit huwag sana nating kakalimutan na ang lahat ng bagay ay may kaakibat na kapalit. Kaya ang tanong, “Para saan ang pagbabago mo?, Tungo sa mabuti? O tungo sa patuloy na pagkasadlak sa kasamaan o imoralidad?”

---Teacher Jun---

“A Part of a Greater Reality”

(A Reflection Essay about being a Teacher)

To be honest, when I was still a kid, I never dreamed of becoming a teacher someday. Rather, it was my ultimate dream to become a soldier. I want to fly planes and to do some acrobatic movements in the air using high caliber and high flying fighting aircrafts. However, it was God who directed my way in this reality of being a teacher---a person who does the talking, lecturing, scolding and many other –ING things inside a classroom.

In the beginning, I was very afraid. I did not know what to do. I did not even know how to start. It was all question marks and self-doubts because I don’t even have the right degree to become a certified teacher. As time passes by, I learned the basics: lesson planning, tallying of grades, managing classrooms, working ethics and others. I thought it was all about those things, BUT I WAS WRONG. As I go on, I’m starting to realize the true essence of being a teacher. Firstly, I realized that being a teacher is going beyond the realm of the basics. Personally, I found out that being a teacher is not only about lesson planning, discussing, lecturing and others, moreover, it is a kind of vocation, a calling. It is a calling to be a part of a greater reality in the lives of your students. I realized that being a teacher is also about inspiring others to become better people someday. Being a teacher is not only about teaching but most especially it is also about learning. As part of this growth, I should say that I am really learning by my experiences and my students’ experiences. Being a teacher is also being transformed to be a better agent of renewal. I must admit that my students taught me to become more patient, to be more understandable, and to be more of a critical thinker. My students taught me how to have a heart. Secondly, I realized that being a teacher is learning to be with the joys and sufferings of your students. To be a teacher is being with your students through pains and happiness, through thick and thin, and through ups and downs of their lives. As a teacher, I learned a very important lesson---never abandon your students. I realized the meaning of the word love---that love is learning to accept the realities within one’s life, especially with the lives of your students. Lastly, as a neophyte teacher I learned how to be strong. There are moments in which my strengths are being tested. From honest to goodness, classroom management 101 says, “never cry in-front of your students.” However, I must admit that I am one of those teachers who already broke this lesson. Indeed, I just realized that crying is not merely showing that you are weak. Sometimes, it is just a proof enough that you are capable of accepting the realities of your vocation as a teacher. Being strong doesn’t mean being terror; but being strong entails your capability to touch the lives and hearts of your students for them to be greater persons someday.

In the end, I should say that being a teacher is not that easy. But, it is really a worth fulfilling mission. I think God is really good because He knows how to direct His creatures. Just like a shepherd to His flock, God showed me a greater way of not only expressing myself but most especially influencing and inspiring others. I may not be a perfect teacher, but I can say that I AM HAPPY and FULFILLED BEING A TEACHER. I am happy being a part of a greater reality in the lives of my every student.

---Teacher Jun---

The Art of Letting Go: A Reflective Paper about Love in the Light of St. Augustine’s Philosophy on the Role of Love

According to St. Augustine, “We inevitably love. To love is to go beyond ourselves and to fasten our affection upon an object of love.”  Obviously, love seems to be the greatest thing that may happen to a person. Everything seems to be a magic if we are in-love. Bitter days turn out to be the sweetest ones because of that person who gives us so much happiness and fulfillment. In other words, because of that person who somehow or truly fulfills the emptiness of our hearts and gives a sense of color to our vague existence, we learn how to smile even through the toughest moments of our lives. “It is our incompleteness that prompts us to love” (Stumpf, 2005). However, there are times in which our love is being tested. There are things that require so much understanding and so much sacrifice in order to have a better concept of what love is. At the end, the question that remains is that, “how much sacrifice can we take for the sake of that person whom we love so much?”

As the adviser of the fourth year class, I always witness my students being troubled with their emotions towards their romantic relationships. I must admit that at this stage, it is a normal feeling. In as such, by their experiences on love, I learned the value of letting go. It is indeed a reality that letting go of someone we love is one of the most painful things to do. However, I learned that letting go of someone we love does not mean having less love, rather, it is having a more and a deeper love for her. St. Augustine expressed his words on love by saying, “love is not selfish.” Firstly, letting go means having a greater love that we want that person to be happy and to live her life the way she want it to be. I believe that if we will hold on to that person who does not feel the same feeling for us, it is not love then, it is a kind of selfishness, an attitude anchored on self-gratification and self-interest. Selfishness is not love. We must learn to let go of someone if we really love her, for love is not a one-way feeling. It must always be a two-way process, meaning, the feeling must be mutual.  Secondly, I learned that letting go is giving yourself a chance. Definitely, there is this great tendency of forgetting ourselves for the sake of that person whom we love so much. Sometimes, even if we are being hurt, we still feel the great love to that person who gave us so much pain. Sometimes, I must believe that love is truly unfair. But, letting go of her is letting ourselves to breath from that miserable feeling of being hurt, of being taken for granted, of being unloved. Letting go of her is loving ourselves so that if time comes, we can still give love to its right object. “We cannot give love if and then we did not experience love at all” (Moga, 2005). It is a way of letting ourselves and giving it a chance to be happy. Lastly, I realized that letting go is experiencing true love. To be honest, there was also a time when I experienced being broken into pieces because of a certain lady whom I really love so much. I was very hurt and the process of moving on was never that easy. There were sleepless nights and countless tears fell from my eyes. I remember myself not eating for how many meals because of too much loneliness and too much depression. There were many times I tried to ask her to be back but the rest were history of more hurtful scenarios. But, one day I woke up telling to myself, “if you really love her, then let her be.” I know that this will never be easy but if I will not do this then I will be her greatest persecutor because admit it or not, she wanted to be free from my feelings for her. In the mere sense, she does not love me. From these experiences, I learned that I know how to love truly for I know how to let go. Loving someone is not possessing her. Most of the times, true love can be seen by the much sacrifice you can make for her to be happy even if it cause so much troubles in your heart. Experiencing true love is letting go of her for a much greater purpose for her sake. It is all about accepting the realities that this special feeling may offer.

In the end, I may say that love has always its right time. Two hearts that situated in a wrong time and wrong circumstance today may be blessed with a chance in the future. Love surpasses time and circumstance. For now, letting go is the best remedy for us to know and to realize better the true meaning of love. Love does not persecutes, it cares. Love does not eternally possessive, it seeks to understand the value of freedom as a greater sense of love. As we always say, “true love waits.” Not now, maybe some other time when things are in their right circumstances.                                                              

A Great Vision from the Past

“A Great Vision from the Past”

“Viva La España!” If you are a person who is living during the Spanish regime in the Philippines, you might frequently hear this tag line being said by the Spaniards and also being forced to inculcate in the minds and hearts of every Filipino people. Despite of the demoralizing and abusive oppression by the Spanish, we could not deny the positive attributes that they left to us. For example, “the oldest universities, colleges, and vocational schools and the first modern public education system in Asia were all created during the Spanish colonial period, and by the time Spain was replaced by the United States as the colonial power, Filipinos were among the most educated subjects in all of Asia.” (www.wikepedia.com). During the 19th century Spain invested heavily in education and infrastructure. For this, I am having this imagination if how is it to live during the Spanish occupation. What could possibly I do to contribute in the development of the future lives of my fellow Filipino people? How could I possibly show my love to my country despite of the fact that I am a prisoner in my own homeland?

If I will be given the chance to live during the Spanish colonization here in the Philippines, I will still choose to be a Filipino and I will not and will never deny that. I am thinking if I can be a daughter of the same parents which I have today and I imagine that we belong to the upper Filipino class in which I was able to finish my study in Education course. Being a daughter of a well-known family clan during the Spanish era, I am also known to my fellow Filipino people. As an educated person, I will secretly (secretly because during the Spanish ruling schools are only formalized by the Spanish Friars and non-formal education are not allowed to be conducted) teach the poor and the oppressed on how to read and write. I will teach them their alphabets that they might use as their weapon in defending not only themselves but most especially their country. Besides of these, as the Spanish oppression is really morally destructive, I will also teach these people to have a broader perspective for themselves and also a greater love for their own country. I will teach them to pray just like the Spaniards taught us but unlike them, I will impart to them not to use religion in abusing and stepping others. As I belong to a wealthy family, I will use my means to somehow help them in attaining equality and love which they did not experience from the Spaniards. In the end, if the cost of these things is a firing squad in “Bagumbayan” just like the fate of Rizal, I will not hesitate to be shot for I’d rather die fighting for the freedom of my people rather than live in cruelty and hypocrisy.

Those things which I imagined may be simple but I believe that in my own simple and limited way, I can show my love to my own country and contribute to the development of the future lives of my fellow Filipino citizen. These visions may not materialized in the same time as I live today. However, as a future teacher I will still do such things to help these poor children attain a greater vision for themselves so that someday they will not be prisoners again in their own country.  I may be very idealistic in thinking but realistic in doing for a saying goes, “a man without a vision is just like a stone without an ambition” and I am not a stone. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

"Hating Kapatid"

“Hating Kapatid”

(A Reflection Paper on the PUNP’s Pamaskong Handog Event)

            I am a big fan of GMA Channel 7, one of the country’s leading station networks. This year, as part of their Christmas Station ID, they created different short films which literally show and describe the different Filipino ways in celebrating Christmas. These films also show the realities on how most of our poor fellowmen spent their Christmas despite of the scarcity in their daily lives. I remember

one of the short films entitled “Hating Kapatid” wherein two poor brothers share one pair of shoes and a uniform as they alternately go to school. As Christmas arrived they were not able to provide something for their Noche Buena until an old woman generously invited them to her house. This old lady also helped these two brothers in their everyday survival in going to school. This simple film reminded me of what we had done last December 20 when we had our Pamaskong Handog event initiated by the administration of Panpacific University North Philippines and the City Council of Urdaneta. That event made me realized the true meaning and essence of Christmas.

Christmas is all about sharing what you have in life…

            Christmas is all about Jesus, the Word made Flesh, who was

born to be our Savior and Redeemer. “God the Father gave his only son to redeem us from our sins” (John 3:16). By the mere act of God giving His only-begotten Son for us, I believe that we are also being challenged to share what we have to our fellowmen who are less fortunate in their lives. Thus, it is not a matter of your social standing whether you are a poor or rich, professional or not, educated or out of school, the point of Christmas is your heart that is willing to give and to share and I think that I accomplished something before this year ends. I learned how to share not only the things that I have but also my time and talents to my fellow Urdanetanians. I am very happy that in my own simple way of participating the “Pamaskong Handog” event I showed to myself that there is a goodness in me. I realized that I can make a difference among others who only think of themselves.

 Christmas is a time to give up yourself…

            Honestly, there are many times in my life in which I am being dominated by my pride and self-centered attitude. Many times that I only think of myself and not minding others. However, after the event, I realized that there are also times in my life in which I should raise the white flag and surrender myself to God, meaning, I should be humble enough to accept that I am nothing without God. I realized that giving up myself is doing the right thing most especially for my fellowmen who are indeed need of support. I realized that I should also start thinking and having a more concern feeling to others because the essence of Christmas is to have my heart back to the One who gave it all to me---God.

Christmas is a Period of Conversion… 

            Every moment is a given time by God to always do my best in improving or making myself better. Indeed, this Christmas season, I believe that God is touching my heart to change for the better. Life is short, and I should make every second of my life a meaningful one. In doing so, I believe that I should think and do what is right and good. Secondly, I realized that I should be humble enough to recognize and accept my pitfalls and shortcomings in life. By doing such thing, I believe that my greatness as a human person can be determined. As the Renaissance philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, once said, “Man’s greatness can be merely identified by his acceptance that he is miserable.”

            In the end, I believe that the Pamaskong Handog program was a great avenue in which I did not only contribute to others but most especially it was also a time of great realizations for me. As such, these realizations nor learnings can never be found by simply reading my books but it is indeed a God-given grace unto me by Jesus Christ Himself. I realized how lucky I am because I have the things and support that make my life at ease in contrast to those people or youngsters like me who cannot even afford to afford their everyday needs. “Gloria in Excelsis Deo! (Glory to God in the Highest!)”

I am the Luckiest Guy on Earth

 “I am the Luckiest Guy on Earth”

I am the luckiest guy on earth because you accepted me of who I am.

Though I am not perfect, still you are always there with a big hand.

Many times I wanted to give up in this life full of torment

But you always comfort me with your words of encouragement.

    

Problems, conflicts and misunderstandings arise everyday.

Many times you tried to end this relationship which is in astray.

But still here we are, crossing the year of our love.

I am the luckiest guy on earth because of what we have.

I am the luckiest guy on earth because even though distance mediate

Still you are very honest and faithful to your one true date.

I am the luckiest guy on earth because you tell me unworthy words

That indeed makes me stronger and determined everytime I heard.

Though I am jobless and outsource for the moment, still you are there,

Still believing in me, still loving me, and still with care.

You don’t abandon me eventhough for others I’m nothing.

For you I’m so loved and that makes me feel something.

I am the luckiest guy on earth for I have a pretty lady by my side.

Though I disturb you many times, still your heart in me resides.

I am the luckiest guy on earth because I have you to boast.

Wonderful in many ways, a beautiful angel in the coast.

I am the luckiest guy on earth because you are there

Always ready to care and full of love to share.

With this kind of love I thank God for having me birth.

Indeed, I am the luckiest guy on earth.

"Thank You"

…Thank You…

By; Jun-Jun

Meeting you is such a blessing from God.

Honestly, I was really nervous but I felt glad.

All of my hesitations really went wrong

‘cause I found you amazing with personality so strong.

Meeting you is one of a kind experience

Never will I forget it ‘til the end of my existence.

Now as you go back home, I just want to say “Thank You.”

Thank you for meeting a wonderful person like you.

Thank you for the chance of expressing my thoughts and ideas.

Thank you for sharing me your time as it went so fast.

Thank you for our healthy religious discussions

In which we share God through our diff’nt faith expressions.

Thank you for accepting and respecting me.

Thank you for that kind of love you showed upon me.

You are indeed an example of incomparable kindness

That is definitely rooted from our Creator’s greatness.

As you go home, keep my prayers for your family and you.

I know that God will never abandon and will never forget you.

Your humble heart will always be an example for me

Not only today but until the end of eternity.

In the end, I just want you to know that we will all wait.

We will wait for your come back even it takes a long date.

Again, thank you for the love that you have brought

especially for the lessons that you have taught.

Date; September 28, 2011            Urdaneta City, Pangasinan