Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies, Lesson Plans | 0 Comments

Dangers over the counter

I am a self-confessed over-the-counter junkie. I am the type of person who would pop a pill at the first sign of a cold or to treat even small aches and pains. However, now that I am getting older, I can’t help but think about what this does to my body. While the relief is almost instantaneous, it can have long term consequences that may affect my future. This is why it scares me that so many over-the-counter medications are being abused nowadays. From oral antibiotics to analgesics, even weight loss pills and supposed natural/herbal supplements, these pills are being passed around like it’s candy. It doesn’t help that many of the celebrities around have made taking these pills cool and interesting.

I think one way we teachers can help address this problem is by including topics like prescription drug use and abuse in our health classes. Although I may not be able to do this for my preschoolers, I sure can address this in my college classroom. A good venue, for example, is in my abnormal psychology classes where I talk about eating disorders and addictions. I don’t have a set lesson plan in mind yet, but I think it would be a good addition to the lesson. Any suggestions?

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Let’s Talk about the Birds and the Bees…and everything in between

One of the biggest controversies surrounding this coming school year is the inclusion of sex education in the school curriculum. When I listen to the news reports, especially when they just feature sound bytes about the issue, I can’t help but feel that people may not be looking at the entire issue clearly.

I think people automatically associate the act with the words sex education. I also get the feel that people assume that just because it is being talked about, it is automatically encouraged. I would disagree.  Talking about the birds and the bees can a good way for adolescents to become more aware and educated, thus helping them make informed choices. I think it is essential, especially given our highly technological world now where information is really just a mouse click away. Rather than inadvertently discovering the fallacies of these online, the facts are much better, IMHO. Also, by being matter-of-fact about issues like what genitals are called and how the reproductive system works can help clarify issues, thus lessen the urge for experimentation, especially since making it “matter-of-fact” makes it less mysterious.

I also think talking about “acceptable” and “unacceptable” touches (which is partly talking about s-e-x) can also be.

When it comes to preschoolers, I tend to agree that sex ed can be a touchy issue. I’m quite grateful, to some extent, that questions like “where do I come from” don’t often come up with my kids but I have had this happen a few times in the past. Personally (and hypothetically, should I say, especially since I am not a mommy  yet ) I would like to think that I would be okay with talking about the fact that babies come from mommies and daddies, and not dropped down a chimney by Santa or the stork. How it gets there, well…I guess I don’t know how to explain that!  I do think though that using clinical or scientific names for body parts rather than sugar coating it to sound

There are a host of children’s books, however, that do talk about how babies are made, and I suggest that parents check it out should they feel their kids are curious about it.  I’ve heard that books like Mummy Laid an Egg and Where Willie Went  are interesting and entertaining ways to discuss the subject. Some parents feel these books were a little too much though, and in some libraries or schools, I think they’re banned, but for home use, it may be a good resource. That depends, of course, on your level of comfort with the subject. I was able to find a slideshow of Where Willie Went online so if you wanna check it out, just Google it

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Arts and Crafts, Classroom Escapades, Lesson Plans, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

What’s Inside My Body?

Today was a super fun day with the Seniors of Playschool! Thanks to a friend of mine who suggested making one of those cut-out standees, I was able to make learning about the body a more enjoyable and meaningful experience for my preschoolers.

Because my students are Seniors, and especially since most of them were from my class last school year as Juniors, we have progressed from naming the visible parts of our body to the internal parts.We also talked about what it does for the body. For example, we talked about what happens to food when it goes to the tummy and how our body gets rid of excess waste. As a follow up, we will be reading Taro Gami’s book “Everybody Poops”.

So today I tried my best to make a replica of a human body. Pardon me if the dimensions and locations are not 100% accurate, but I used one of the school books to guide me

After creating the model, we took photos with our standee

Posted by Teacher Ria in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The Culprit!

Not so long ago, I was shopping in a local mall and I was flabbergasted when I walked out of a store and the alarm went off! Talk about embarrassing!!! I quickly looked up to her with a look of shock that must have been so funny that she just smiled warmly and pointed to the package I was holding. It was a bag of new books from the neighboring bookstore. She asked to borrow it and passed the bag through the alarm sensors and lo and behold, it rang again. Apparently, a common culprit for false alarms are those tags for barcode scanners in books, particularly the imported  hardbound ones that have those inserted alarm tags.Talk about relief!

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies | 2 Comments

For the Lefties! Lapid refiles bill for left-handed Filipinos

A few days ago, I came across a post in Facebook laughing about a bill filed by the re-elected senator, Lito Lapid. The bill aimed to protect the welfare of left-handed Filipinos. Senate Bill No. 31, entitled the “Comprehensive Handedness Act of 2010″ may seem like a trivial bill for most people, hence the sense of ridicule it brought about. The response of some is that it is a useless bill filed by someone who knows nothing about politics. Granted Lito Lapid, more known as an actor rather than his political prowess, may not be in the same league with most of his contemporaries, but his resolution is not as laughable as what people make it out to be.

Being a Lefty myself, I have found myself put on the spot for my handedness.

When I was in college, I was once accused of cheating during an examination because I had to sit sideways because of the way the school armchair was designed. Back then, most chairs were those small wooded chairs with an extended area for the desk on the right hand side. For lefties like me, it was impossible to write without sitting sideways. Even during my college entrance exam I was reprimanded by a proctor for sitting the way I did, to which I retorted, “Give me a left-handed desk and I will sit-up straight”.

See…to those who think this bill is stupid, as a lefty who has had to deal with making adjustments because of my handedness, let me tell you it’s not.