Posted by Teacher Ria in Featured, Uncategorized | 0 Comments

How Rotating Brownouts can Hamper Education

In the news these past few days is the impending threat of rotating brownouts throughout Luzon. Besides the inconvenience these brownouts will bring, it will definitely have a largely negative impact on businesses, hospitals and even educational institutions. If these brownouts do happen, it’s sure to hit some school hours in some way, unless these hit at night, which then poses a fire risk.

Overall, it’s hard to imagine how the generations and generations before ours managed to live without the conveniences of modern technology, particularly electricity. I can’t imagine a classroom without it!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Teaching Resources, The Library | 0 Comments

News Online, Anytime.

Every once in a while I chance upon an issue of the Wall Street Journal in the school I work for. Being a teacher, I don’t really get into the nitty gritty of business so I don’t really enjoy reading the paper since what it covers are things not that important to me. I prefer to read newspapers that have more lifestyle features and metro news. However, my friends who dabble in stocks and understand the Dow and Forex and those foreign-sounding words to me make it a point to check on what the Wall Street Journal has to say, whether in  print or online. I browsed a little bit about the newspaper and I found out that it has a worldwide circulation of almost a million online subscribers.

I love how most publications like the Wall Street Journal and even local newspapers have gone digital. For one, it’s so much more accessible to me. I also love how, since it is online, my friends and people who know me get to send me links of articles that they think I would be interested in. However, when it comes to magazines, I still prefer a hard copy. I love the smell the glossy pages give out and the feel of it on my hands. I keep telling myself to stop buying issues one at a time and get myself a Magazine Subscription because it comes out much cheaper from the cover price. Whether it be newspapers or magazines, I believe that these are important tools to learning. Be it for fun or for business, these are definitely great resources for anybody.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Keeping an Eye out For Red Flags in Children’s School Performance

Being a teacher for so long, I have gotten used to watching out for red flags that may indicate problems or difficulties my students are having. However, when working in larger class sizes, it’s not as easy, especially when these red flags are the quiet ones that tend to remain unnoticed. The crying, hyperactive behavior and odd, repetitive and distracting actions are easily noticed but other more subtle indicators need to be watched out for.

Here are some things I feel are important to note:

1. Bathroom habits. I have a student who, everytime it is time for writing exercises, needs to go make poo-poo. At first I chalked it up to coincidence, but even when I switched around my routine, he would have to go. This can be an indicator of anxiety or an area of conflict for the child.

2. Aches and pains. Repeated complaints of stomachaches, headaches and the like can be an indicator of anxiety or distress as well. These somatic complaints may be their way of expressing these uneasy feelings.

3. Slow or incomplete work, such as writing, particularly copying from the blackboard. Sometimes I am quick to assume that my students are dilly-dallying or just getting distracted instead of working when it comes to copying time. I’ve heard a myriad of excuses from my hand hurts, I can’t see and so on and so forth. However, it is important to take these statements with a grain of salt. Just recently, a child in my class (who was notorious for working too slowly) was once again last in copying from the board. When I asked why she was taking so long, she said she couldn’t see. I initially thought she was acting up again, but the next day, I transferred her seat and was amazed to see that she finished very quickly. Apparently, she was indeed having eye problems.

4. Selective in verbal interaction. A very prevalent problem I see in my practice nowadays is selective mutism. This is an anxiety disorder in which a child refuses to talk or communicate with others. Typically, this was previously not the case. Selective Mutism can be a manifestation of stress, anxiety or even childhood depression.

These are some important red flags I watch out for. Other things that could be of note include absenteeism, low energy, lack of motivation and refusal of tasks.

As teachers we should try our best to identify these red flags. Of course an issue that may arise would be when would we be reading too much in to nothing. However, in my opinion, it’s better to play it safe and take note of these behaviors as soon as possible.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Teaching Resources | 4 Comments

Win “The Spell Quizzer” Software with ChristianHomeschooler.info

Teaching spelling can be a tedious task, especially since it is not always a fun task. However, with the Spell Quizzer software, struggling to get kids to sit and work on spelling lists can be a thing of the past! Check out the Christian Homeschooler’s review of the software and comment/join to win your own licensed Spell Quizzer software.

Technology has definitely grown leaps and bounds since the time of my childhood! I remember learning how to read and spell using computer games but I did not have access to something like this. While many teachers and parents point out that computers and technology can be detrimental to a child’s learning, I think it is just a matter of assessing the potential of  a product that makes the difference.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Featured, Teaching Resources | 3 Comments

Education UK Makes Dreams for Higher Education Come True

This January, the British Council launched their GO: Know More Do More Live More Campaign, a campaign that opens up exciting opportunities for Filipino students interested in the fields of Technology, Beauty and Fashion, and Business and Entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom. Dubbed Education UK, the project highlights the message that if you want something, GO for it! Here is, as they put it, “Your Future on Track”.

As part of their campaign, the British Council will be offering a series of activities that will allow interested university and post-graduate students to explore course offerings, find out funding options and interact with alumni from prestigious UK universities who will share their first hand experience of getting an education abroad. These events are all offered FREE OF CHARGE! Who knows, by next school year you can be pursuing a degree in F1 Engineering or some other amazing course in one of reputable UK schools such as University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, University of Oxford or University of Leeds

The events are as follows:

• Alumni Counselling Session. Slated for January 29, 2010 at the Makati Shangri-la, the session will showcase alumni from various universities in the UK. Alumni from top schools such as Oxford University and Cambridge University will be there to talk about their schools, their experiences as students and what it is like to live in the UK.  Schools participating in this session are as follows:  University of Birmingham, University of Bradford, University of Cambridge, University College London, University of Edinburgh, Institute of Education, University of London, Kings College London, University of Leeds, London Business School, Loughborough University, London School of Economics, University of Manchester, Middlesex University, University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, University of Wales Bangor, University of York, University of Warwick, University of London- Queen Mary and Westfield College.

• Funding Options Seminar. This seminar will help potential students explore scholarships, financial aid and other funding options available to them. This will be held on February 19, 2010 at the Top Shelf of Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street.

• Education UK Exhibition. In culmination, an exhibit will be held at the ballroom of the EDSA Shangri-La hotel on March 5-6, 2010 where representatives from UK Universities will be on hand to talk to students about course offerings and their universities.

For more information, log on to www.britishcouncil.org.ph.