para sa (mga) estudyante (ko)

MInamahal kong estudyante,
    Para lang sa kaalaman mo, binabasa ko ang bawat salita at pahina ng mga papel na ipinapasa mo sa akin. Nakakapagod at minsan masakit sa ulo (because its very good to English yourself) pero binabasa ko pa rin ang mga ito. Hindi dahil sa martir ako (haller!), kung 'di dahil sa prinsipyo. Kung ako ang estudyante gugustuhin ko rin na basahin ng guro ko ang mga papel na ipinapasa ko. Siympre naman! Pinaghirapan ko ang mga 'yon tapos hindi niya babasahin. Kaazar naman 'yon, davah?
    Kaso may malaki tayong problema. Nabasa ko na sa Inquirer Sunday Magazine yung article na sinulat mo tungkol sa isang taong may clothing business. Nabasa ko na rin bilang forwarded e-mail yung short story na sinulat mo tungkol sa babaeng pipi. Nabasa ko na rin sa internet yung sinulat mo tungkol sa pambansang bayani nating si Manny Paquiao, este, Jose Rizal pala. Pati ba naman yung kunwa-kunwariang letter of application na exercise natin ay cut-and-paste galing sa Google? Iilang sentences na nga lang yon; at tungkol pa sa sarili mo ang isusulat mo, tapos sa internet mo pa rin kinuha? Pati nga format hindi mo na binago.
    Hay. Okay lang sana kung nag-paraphrase ka o 'di kaya'y gumamit ng quotation marks. Kaso hindi. Inangkin mo ang gawa ng iba at ipinalabas mong gawa mo ito. Ang tawag dito ay plagiarism. At ang pag-pi-plagiarize ay may karampatang parusa. Sa simula pa lang ng semstre sinabi ko na (at nakasulat pa ito sa syllabus natin): CHEATING IN ANY FORM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.
    Kailan nga ba masasabing "cheating" o "intellectual dishonesty" ang ginawa ng isang estudyante?

"In research, the most prevalent act of dishonesty is plagiarism, i.e., copying a work verbatim or misrepresenting it as one’s own. If a student downloads essays from various websites, cuts a paragraph or two from each of them, and comes up with a paper from the patchwork, that is cheating. If the student merely cites his or her sources yet maintains the patchwork without actually writing the paper himself or herself, that is still cheating.

 
Another form of cheating is the deliberate fabrication of data or information to suit one’s conclusions in a formal academic exercise. No doubt, the advent of multimedia and information technology has simply made this old practice more widespread and blatant."

[Source: Panao, A.L. (Jan.-Feb. 2008). Who really loses when a student cheats? The UP Forum 9 (1). Retrieved March 19, 2003 from http://up.edu.ph/upforum.php?i=176&]

    Ayan. Sana ay naliwanagan ka at nawa'y maintindihan mo kung bakit mababa ang marka mo.

                                                                                              Nagmamahal,
                                                                                              Iyong guro

it's very good to English myself ;p

In the aftermath of the Janina San Miguel Bb. Pilipinas controversy we are led to ask ourselves, "why do we try so hard to speak in a language that is not our own?" The answer to this question will need a separate blog entry. Sometimes, it is not "very good to English yourself." But we are in a country where leaders "think" English is the language so we are forced to learn it and speak it even if we can't or don't want to. (roll eyes)

This entry is about the rules that we violate in academic writing. These rules are from Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. I love this book because the authors are sarcastic. Haha. Here are some excerpts:

certainly   Used indiscriminately by some speakers, much as others use very, in an attempt to intensify any and every statement. A mannerism of this kind, bad in speech, is even worse in writing.

enthuse   An annoying verb growing out of the noun enthusiasm. Not recommended.

facility   Why must jails, hospitals, schools suddenly become "facilities"?
ex.    He has been appointed warden of the new facility.
        He has been apponted warden of the new prison.

finalize   A pompous, ambiguous verb. Finalize is not standard; it is special, and it is a peculiarly fuzzy and silly word. Does it mean "terminate," or does it mean "put into final form"? One can't be sure, really, what it means, and one gets the impression that the person using it doesn't know, either, and doesn't want to know.

-ize   Do not coin verbs by adding this tempting suffix. Many good and useful verbs do end in -ize: summarize, temporize, fraternize, harmonize, fertilize. But there is a growing list of abominations: containerize, prioritize, finalize, to name four. Be suspicious of -ize; let your ear and your eye guide you. Never tack -ize onto a noun to create a verb. Usually you will discover that a useful verb already exists. Why say "moisturize" when there is the simple, unpretentious word moisten?

people    A word with many meanings. The people is a political term, not to be confused with the public. From the people comes political support or opposition; from the public comes artistic appreciation or commercial patronage. The word people is best not used with words of number, in place of persons. If of "six people" five went away, how many people would be left? Answer: one people.

personally   Often uneccessary.
ex.   Personally, I thought it was a good book.
       I thought it a good book.

prestigious   Often an adjective of last resort. It's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean you have to use it.

secondly, thirdly, etc.    Unless you are prepared to begin with firstly and defend it (which will be difficult), do not prettify numbers with -ly. Modern usage prefers second, third, and so on.

so   Avoid, in writing, the use of so as an intensifier: "so good"; "so warm"; "so delightful."

the forseeable future    A cliche, and a fuzzy one. How much of the future is forseeable? Ten minutes? Ten years? Any of it? By whom is it forseeable? Seers? Experts? Everybody?

very    Use this word sparingly. Where emphasis is necessary, use words strong in themselves.

-----
Of course I can't help but add "abominations" that I have encountered.

Abomination #1: mature   This word can be used as an adjective or a verb. When using it as an adjective, it is funny to use it in the past tense.
ex.   She is mature. (sentence pattern: S-LV-Cadj)
       She is matured. (sentence pattern: S-LV-V)

Abomination #2: cope up   The verb cope means "to keep up". Saying "cope up" is saying "keep up up".

Abomination #3: taken cared of   This is from Cookie's list of abominations. Why is it that we feel the need to write care in the past tense when take is already a past participle?
-----
Oh well... I still hate the "English-as-medium-of-instruction-policy". It just doesn't make sense to me. Why do we need to teach Math and Science in English when it is more effective to teach them in Filipino? What's with this "globally competitive" mindset? Hmph.

It's very good to English myself because I am Pilipino and this is a prestigious country of English. The very important is that I expressed myselves and people understands me. Ahlavet! ;p

Valentine's Day Stages of Grief

Denial (02.14.08)
I got the text message between classes. I put down my phone, closed my eyes, and put my head in my hands. Then I picked up the phone again. I reread the message hoping it had changed. Nope. Unfortunately, it didn't.

I went through the motions of the rest of the day. When I got home I read the message again and thought to myself, "this can't be happening." I decided to write my thoughts to make some sense out of them. I was never really close to him. I'm not affected. It's sad that it happened but, well... things like that happen...

Anger (02.15.08)
But even I did not buy my own rationalizations. What happened was wrong. It was senseless and unfair. It should never have happened. I was "angry" because some people were careless and irresponsible. And because of that carelessness and irresponsibility people were hurting.

I talked to some of my students about it. I reminded them of the importance of being responsible. I hated the fact that it could have been avoided if only people were responsible enough. I disccussed it with my friends and I kept on harping about who should be responsible for the tragedy.

Bargaining (02.15.08)
I was in no position to bargain. I looked at the kids and my heart grieved. I prayed, "just let the kids be alright. Let them grow up without resentment."

Depression (02.16.08)
It took all of my effort to drag myself out of bed for my 7 o'clock class on a cold Saturday morning. I didn't want to go to school. I just wanted to stay home until the time that I had to leave for UP for the 8pm service.

I arrived at church just as the worship team started singing "Still". I looked around and saw people I haven't seen in ages--those who moved on to their home churches after studying in UP; those who have been so busy with work that they never found the time to visit; those whose lives have been touched one way or another...

Acceptance (02.16.08)
A former UPCYMian: Most of us are from the province. When we came to UP we had no family and this church became our family. PK was not just our pastor, he was like a father to us.

A mother: PK was intrumental in my sons' spiritual journeys--when they received Jesus Christ into their lives PK played a big part.

A Bible study leader: PK's sermons had depth... I found myself asking my wife for a pen so I could write down his insights.

"Let us stop asking ourselves, 'why?' instead let us ask, 'what next?' Those of us whose lives have been touched by PK and Tita Belle, let us make our lives count so that they would not have died in vain."

That night my tears flowed freely. The tears that did not come when I read the text message nor when I prayed for the kids came in a steady stream. I cried not because I was grieving for their deaths. I cried because I saw the legacy they have made. A legacy that will live on for generations.

I cried with holy envy. These were lives offered to Jesus. There is a loss, yes, but there should be no regrets. People were nurtured in the faith. Jesus, I want the same legacy. I want to live for you so passionately that the people around me will know you and will love you and live for you.

Yes, it's going to be okay. Because the kernel has fallen and died and so it has produced many seeds (John 12:24). God, thank you for the privilege of knowing PK and Tita Belle.

*Pastor and wife killed in Valentine road mishap

kasalan at pag-aasawa

i remember the Reynolds wrap commercial wherein a young lady tried to use cheap aluminum foil in her cooking and it was ruined. her older sister then teaches her to use "only Reynolds wrap." at the end of the commercial the young lady used Reynold's wrap and their grandmother said, "pwede ka nang mag-asawa!"

if only it were that simple. your ability to discriminate between cheap aluminum foil from the good ones qualifies you to be someone else's wife. to bear someone else's children. to vow to love someone for the rest of your life...

but then, we know that it isn't that simple. it amuses me how the people around me seem to want me to get married. maybe it's because i have learned how to use Reynolds wrap. BWAHAHAHA! the following are some kasalan at pag-aasawa moments in my life recently.

***

my lola, who lives in Dumaguete, visisted us. we call her "mommy". sometimes i call her mommy-yo (lalung-lalo na pag may pano siyang hirit). and these are love-life-related quoatable quotes from mommy-yo during the one week that she stayed with us:

Setting: kusina, 6-ish AM
[enter tiara na mej antuk-antok pa]
mommy: may boy friend ka na ba?
tiara (na-gising nang di-oras sa tanong ni lola): wala po.
tiara (deep inside): good morning din po pala. how was your flight? kamusta ang weather? let's make small talk muna. why not?
mommy (incredulous): bakit wala kang boyfriend?
tiara (can't help but smile at this point): wala po eh.
mommy (still incredulous): bakit wala? you're beautiful. you're smart.
tiara (deep inside): BWAHAHAHA! i know i'm beautiful. i know i'm smart. kelangan bang may boyfriend na ako dahil lang dun?

**

Setting: same day, 8-ish AM
[tiara naka bihis na, all set to go to school for a two hour class]
tiara: bye, mommy-yo. uwi ako agad. two hours lang class ko eh.
mommy: oh, bakit hindi ka nag powder?
tiara: short lang naman class ko, di na ako nag make-up.
mommy: dapat mag powder ka. ano bang nilalagay mo sa mukha mo?
tiara (deep inside): as you can see, today, wala po.
tiara: moisturizer lang po.
mommy (most probably said in her mind): kaya pala wala kang boyfriend.

**
now mommy is back in Dumaguete and yesterday i got a birthday card from her (11 days early!)

the note on the card says: i hope i can still attend your wedding. wag kang magmamadali. piliin mong mabuti.
tiara (deep inside): BWAHAHAHA! winner ka talaga mommy-yo. sigurado kang hindi ka nagmamadali sa lagay na yan?

**

Ma'am Buenaseda is my co-teacher at FEU-NRMF. i love her because she is so Bisaya. and i miss the doting affection that is characteristic of Bisaya older women. Bisaya older women are like mommies. they always sound galit pero sa totoong buhay emphatic lang sila. most of the time you don't argue with them, you just agree lest tumaas pa lalo ang boses nila. hehe.

Setting: school of nursing office, lunch time
Ma'am Buenaseda: my dear! kain na tayo!
tiara (nag-chicheck ng English exams): sige po, okay na po ako.
Ma'am Buenaseda: hay naku! baka hindi ka na makapag-asawa nyan dahil nag teacher ka!
tiara (deep inside): BWAHAHAHA! it's that pag-aasawa thing again!
Ma'am Buenaseda: dapat wala kang class kapag sabado! dapat lumalabas ka para makapamili ka ng asawa!
tiara (thinking of the saturday classes of sections B, C, and F): guys, looks like you're depriving me of a love life. at least in ma'am buenaseda's mind. haha.

my heart*

Let my heart be so hidden in yours
That it beats when your heart beats

Let my heart be so hidden in yours
That it breaks when your heart breaks

Let my heart be so hidden in yours
That it loves whomever your heart loves

Let my heart be so hidden in yours
That it sees whatever your heart sees

Let my heart be so hidden in yours
That it desires what your heart desires...

Let my heart be wholly and completely yours
That I can no longer call it my own.

*journal entry: 11/27/07

anniversary

today, we celebrated sixty glorious years. i know that we only met in 1995 but i have such a great love for you.

because you are the bride of Christ. we are the bride of Christ.

happy anniversary, Church.

so i take this time to thank the Lord for blessing me with such wonderful people that have been with me as i journeyed in the faith. i praise God for my brothers and sisters in the faith. it is such a joy to grow with you in our love for Jesus and His Church. special thanks to the woman who birthed me in the faith one rainy day in paenan. to the wonderful girl who discipled me and who is now a very good friend. to the beautiful ladies who entrusted me with their spiritual growth as they were starting out in the faith, it is my honor to serve Jesus through discipling you. you are more than just disciples, you are my joy. to my wonderful brothers in the faith, you make me so proud. you paint me a picture of what men should be. to fellow sunday school teachers who tirelessly invest their time to secure the future of the church.

and most importantly, to my King, my Lord, the Lover of my Soul. Jesus. thank you for being so faithful. indeed, your love endures forever. i look upon your church and i can't help but cry. you lifted us up. you look upon us with love. your favor is unimaginable. i cannot begin to comprehend such a great and mighty love. words are not enough to express how great you are.

why do i want you to fill this house with your glory? because i desire your very presence. and like moses, if you are not with the israelites then he would rather not go, if we do not have you then i would rather we cease to exist as a church. Lord, i don't want you for a day. i want you to stay. stay with us.

"anniversary isn't just a day. it's made up of months, weeks, days, seconds, minutes... that make a year. we don't just glorify God for a day." -ptr caloy

Of Schooling and Education

One of the most interesting questions I got asked at the start of this semester was if I was a masungit teacher.

I smiled at the student who asked the question.

To answer “yes” would most probably send the whole class to the registrar’s office for a change in matriculation and sectioning. To answer “no” would be partly lying.

I cannot recall if I was able to answer the question that plagued the student’s heart. But I do remember sharing with the class my educational philosophy.

I am a humanist. I believe that man is capable of improving himself and his environment. And not only is he capable of doing so but it is his responsibility. To refuse to do this, I believe, is to deny one’s humanity. As a teacher I want to see my students go beyond mere existence. I want them to find meaning in their lives. Not just to finish each semester with grades of 3’s and 2.5’s but with greater wisdom and deeper understanding of themselves and of their world. That is one of the great purposes of education.

The tragedy is that there are so many students who go to school but very few get educated.

We can point fingers as to whose fault it is. Some would readily blame the system, others would blame the teacher, and still others would blame the subject. But one thing remains: the student has the power to make something of what is given him.

I am extremely pained when I see students who merely attend classes and miss out on the fruitfulness of the experience. I cringe at the sight of eyes devoid of the passion to learn. I weep at the thought of a whole generation losing sight of such a great destiny because they have become too busy working for grades.

And it is during these times of beholding such indifference and emptiness in my students’ lives that I become masungit. Not because I am masungit but because I feel such a deep anger towards the spirit of apathy that robs this nation of its future.

I teach in defiance to the spirit of indifference. I teach to challenge the spirit who squashes my students’ passion. I teach to wage war against the spirit of mediocrity.

So, yes, I am a masungit  teacher but not really towards my students but to the spirits that prevent them from being all that they can become.