Today I went to school not to teach Math but to teach about life.  It was for my students but then I took something from it too...

What kind of teacher am I.  People had wondered too and chimed in their presumptions.  Most of the time I understand where they get such ideas because they describe me as a person.  Am I different as a teacher?  I'd say sometimes I even surprise myself about me.  Yes I am nice, but not all the damn time.  Lately I'm being the bad person a lot even.  I've been and felt so many things as a teacher that up until now I can't define my teaching style.  I get inspiration heavily from my former teachers and past experiences as a student.  In fact, even if rules are different from where I studied and where I teach I tend to bring in past culture to present.  Example:
     No grey area in terms of grades here?  No problem I'll work around that, make my own grade rules, interpret policies on my own understanding, do something extra then get in trouble (not!)

Yes grades. Is what this post is all about.

Come grading time, teachers has the most power and could definitely play God.  I don't believe that the statement "you make your grades, we only encode them" is true to itself.  There is always always teacher factor thrown in there.  After all teaching I think is a profession of compassion too.  When you're students are failing even when they deserve it, you still think of them as your kids, your brother, your friend, your padawan.  And you adjust.  I do a lot of this.  Sometimes I feel I'm giving too much.  Good thing I've failed so many times in the past that I know that the bad, wth-did-i-do feeling passes and on it's heels is a good life lesson to be learned.  So I know that I don't have to pass them.  They have to fail and learn the lessons of failure which I think they need more to course through life rather than those math formulas.

I fail some.  I've failed more than what I wanted, but I have to.  But those in the 72-73-74 zone gets me. (75 is passing)  Even if I gave +10% already and really their actual grades are in the 60s and that definitely deserves failure...but still.  I don't like moments defined as "cutting it too close".  And so I create a grey area.  I give out second or final chances as if I have to.  (This right here is the part where I hear friends saying, "this is so you")  And to my amazement I get surprising reactions from this exercise.  Mostly good but some bad, so bad I am so struck with regret from bad judgement.

They take the second chance yes, but they don't appreciate it.  I push them until they succeed.  I create opportunities for them to be better.  I text them, remind them to study, what to study, how to study.  When they are stuck I make adjustments, let them open their books for 5 minutes, gives clues, discuss stuff that might enlighten them and the sorts.  Yes, I know this is too much.  I do this because I want them to earn that 3% and feel that they can do it.  They don't have to settle in to failure, the finish line to success is a possibility.  I give optimism even if I don't have much of it.  But then...

They don't usually do their part.  Yes they are appreciative but they don't do what is being asked of them.  Some see it as just some 'whatever' they just have to show up to and that they'll pass anyway.  I make it clear though that it is definitely not that.  And then they give up. They wish they had just failed right away rather than going through it.  WHAT? And once a student opted for failure to be able to proceed with registration and be in other classes with friends rather than sacrificing that for a chance to pass and be on term albeit messy schedule.  What kind of decision making is this?!  Regrets... the others I had failed deserved that second chance more than this person. Sad.

And then there were the trouble makers.  Kids confused with having fun and being responsible.  Not regretting the fun they chose but hoping they could have been responsible with their studies too.  Those who knows the repercussions of failure and try to charm their way on you.  This guys you have to push.  Push them hard, challenge them, encourage them and put them to work.  Even if you know they are trying to work their way through it dishonestly, let them do whatever it takes.  At the end of all this torture, they would at one point impress you.  And you think to yourself, I knew there was something in this kid and you give them the nod of approval.  And then they're ecstatic.  And you share that feeling.  Because you are happy for them and happy for yourself because your judgement was right.  These are awesome teachable moments.  The moments where you know they've learned more from life other than the skills.  And these moments they bring with them.  That they can do it, even when they're almost failures they can be winners.  And then they say thank you.  And you know it's not just about the passing grade you'll give but also gratitude for the chance. Great, great feeling.

Then the unappreciative ones.  They'll learn life lessons too.  I wish sometime in their future they get tortured by thought that they could have done better and realize the stupidity of their decisions. 

It's actually bothering me that most of the people (approx. my age) I know are for it while I am adamantly against. Well, actually I need not use the word adamant since on this topic almost everyone is passionate to back up their stand. (Is that good or bad?) Don't get me wrong, I really tried to be as democratic on this as possible. I read and listen to opposing views. I cringe upon hearing senseless reasoning and I am not using morality period to prove a point. Or maybe sometimes I do, ha!

One sick leave day, out of the blue I decided to dedicate it to reading the bill itself. Oh hail, it felt as if I induced a headache voluntarily. It was just so hard for my non-lawyer brain. I bet its just the same with every common Filipino. There was so much jargon and creative language going on those bills, that even getting the gist is nearly impossible. That had been said I will not pretend to know anything on that bill. I'll just work with what I understood and believe in.

Yes, I am against the RH bill. But not on its entirety.

First and foremost it's a buffet of a lot of issues. It's very ambitious in trying to solve a lot of complicated issues. Hence, a lot of debate left and right. I would have wanted discussions of one point at a time. And its definitely because of this that I actually oppose it. There seems to be a lot of manipulation you can do on that bill when it is passed. Add to that the immortal debate on morality. That's what they use as ammunition to the 'againsts'. It saddens me that we make fun of religion and deduce it to funfare and mockery. I try to gauge if indeed we are still a Catholic nation, I'm thinking we're beginning to not be one. One thing is quite evident though, we really are humanitarian. The recent execution of the Filipino convicts is an excellent example. Despite having incriminating evidences of crime, it's still that soft spot of Filipinos that say spare them. Which brings us back to the death penalty, we passed the bill and then we supported it's recall. Just because it was so tragic to see a fellow human die on that deathbed.

Much the same would happen to abortion. It definitely favors reproductive health, but seeing the number of dead babies rising would definitely at one point be disturbing. I totally oppose that just because a woman is not ready (whatever that means) she has the right to terminate a pregnancy. Hey, whatever happened to responsibility? And now I realize scrap everything on abortion and I'm going pro...or not. Wait, I have another case in point. We are a poor country. Our budget deficit is glaring. Looking at that on a micro level, if you are poor and have barely enough for even a basic necessity as food would you prioritize buying condoms? Please put what little budget we have on where it will matter. Please educate. Another thing, it would be very painful to hear on the news someday that corrupt officials in fact purchased overpriced condoms that didn't work. Spare us from those kinds of news. That bill for some reason shouts corruption opportunity to my brain.

That's all I know of the bill. All else fall under health issues, child welfare issues, women empowerment and the sorts which I believe we have departments that could take care of. This is indeed why I still read and educate myself on it. I know too little. But what I know so far I actually don't like. As I have said before, can we just move to something else. Jail the corrupt first and give education a decent budget. I am obviously an education advocate. Haha

My initial dilemma, why are my friends pro? I dare not go into a face to face debate with them. More often than not I voice out my opinion, and I wait for theirs. That I don't get too much: opinions. Stop laughing at those oldies using horrors of hell as ammunition. State your point period. And as hard as it can be, don't argue. Just walk away if it gets too heated.

Be brave to induce headache just so you could say you tried to do your part, read the RH bill's full text here:

http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/reproductive-health-bill-5043/text-of-rh-bill-no-5043/

Just prepare a glass of water, paracetamol, be ready to just sleep the headache off and pray if you think it would help.