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

No Students Allowed

Working with adolescents still surprise me, even if I have been working with them for the longest time. That’s one major reason why I don’t like adding them up on my social networking sites, although I do know that some of them do read my blogs. I’m afraid that something I say will be taken out of context and then before I know it, I get caught in something that was not meant to happen. For example, I do talk about a lot of personal things I like to do outside of my teaching life. I am, after all, still human, right? But it bothers me when they see pictures of me in compromising positions (errr…I just mean in a party where drinks are served, in the beach wearing a swimsuit etc.) and so I try to avoid allowing them access to that.

Also, I don’t want them to say that they learned something from me inadvertently. For example, what if I say something about an herbal supplement or a diet drink that I tried…then they do it too…and they say I was able to learn more about slimquick here (or whatever, you know what I mean!!!) and pastes the URL of my status message or Tweet to their own walls and whatnot. Dangerous grounds. Haha.

And so while I know there are ways around social media, I make it a point to try to keep my world as student free as possible, albeit I know impossible. I do, however, APPRECIATE IT SOOOOO VERY MUCH when my students drop by my blog and leave me comments or questions Twitter they’re welcome to, but Facebook and Plurk, for now, I will stand firm and say, no students allowed please

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Looking Back…

I was sorting through some old photos earlier, some of which were taken about three years ago when I first returned to Playschool after my brief hiatus and couldn’t help but be appalled, shocked and amazed at my size back then. Haha. I was teaching the Toddler’s class and I was HUGE! Maybe that’s why I had one little kid who was terrified of me haha.

Looking back I realized how hard it was to be a fun teacher back then. Sure I did get to play and be silly with my kids but, um, it was so much harder. Nowadays, even if I still am overweight, it is easier to run around and bend over and jump through hoops with the kids (errr..some days though I wish I had some belly fat burners because my abs (or should I say flabs) get in the way of squeezing through the jungle gym and the slide!!!).

It also got me to thinking about physical attributes and how this really affects social interactions. Deep, huh? Seriously though, it made me realize that the way one looks really does affect how others perceive and engage with them. The fear, for example, of that little girl of me was probably unfounded, but because she was so tiny and I so huge, it can be intimidating, right?

So, while I KNOW size doesn’t really matter much and it doesn’t make you a better (or worse) person, being more fit, especially as a preschool teacher, is helpful because it can have the capacity to dictate how you can move and interact with the kids. Let’s not forget, after all, when we work with kids, we sit in teeny tiny chairs and work with smaller stuff right???

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Random Snappies, Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Today’s Random Snappy: Bye-bye

In most of my blogs, I have a “series”  category. They’re kinda like memes, but these are not formal one’s in the sense that I’m the only one who does it, unlike memes where you follow each other and comment on each others posts. Well, I realized I don’t have one here and so I will start one today.

This is one of my favorite shots from one of our Halloween programs….today it kinda captures exactly how I am feeling….14 days to go Teacher Ria…14.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Lesson Plans, Teacher's Corner, Teaching Resources | 2 Comments

Tutorial and Review Resources

This morning I came across a post by a fellow blogger, Cookie,  where she was sharing a discovery she had made online: in her words, worksheet heaven. I quickly checked it out and by golly, it is indeed a treasure trove full of resources for mommies, those in early childhood education and teachers alike. It’s nice that these resources exist because teaching, both from a teacher and a parents standpoint, can get overwhelming at times. There are so many things more that have to be done so sometimes, setting aside time to make worksheets and reviewers have to be put on hold. This support system can truly make that part of the job much, much easier.

those in early childhood education

Posted by Teacher Ria in Uncategorized | 0 Comments

Contest Alert! What’s Your Weight Loss/Fitness Goal This Year

Just sharing:

I have a contest up at my other blog, Fat Girl No More in celebration of my first year anniversary. Contest ends tomorrow, so you still have a couple of hours to think of your answer to the simple question: what is your weight loss/fitness goal this year?

Paypal cash prizes are up for grabs

I decided to do that contest because having the blog up really helped me work on my weight loss over the past year. Granted that I still have a long ways to go, I have transitioned from yoyo dieting, searching for the best fat burners, and cheating my way through weight loss. Now it really has become a lifestyle thing, although admittedly, there are times when I still lose track of things and kinda just give in to cravings, hehe. Nonetheless, one thing that works very well for me is having the social support system through the process which makes me push harder at keeping it up. I hope joining this contest will do the same for you

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies, Reflections | 0 Comments

Media’s Mixed Messages to Teens

In my practice, both as a teacher and a clinician, I have worked with one too many girls who have struggled with weight and eating disorders. Sometimes it can be a challenge for me, especially since I myself struggle with weight, but I guess that’s really part of the process, right?

What frustrates me about working with these issues and concerns is how difficult it is to maintain or reinforce what we are working with, especially given the mixed signals students (and all people in general I guess) get from various signals from all over. Although I will talk about media in this post, I recognize that they’re not the only culprit in this whole game. I want to make that clear after all

How does media influence an adolescents body image to begin with? Well, let’s face it: through television, magazines and the like, there really is a glorification of what is ” supposed”  to be beautiful. Although, yes, there are shows and the like that DO EMPHASIZE that there is more to a person than size, it is still very much overshadowed by many other signals being given to them. As such, they go on all sorts of diets and take all these diet pills that promise weight loss in just x number of days. Add to this the reinforcements of advertisements and so on and so forth. Sigh. It’s a vicious cycle I tell ya.

So, what’s the solution? I honestly don’t know. Granted that the need to fit in and to look a certain way is part of the developmental process, I think there should be clear-cut and more significant steps that need to be undertaken to make long-term change happen. As such, I applaud the efforts of shows like America’s Next Top Model (yes, even if it is a model search I appreciate how Tyra would always say beauty comes in all shapes, colors and sizes…although in that show we still can see a lot of the stereotypes, right?) and Glee as they try to make changes happen.

What else can we do? Drop me a line here and lets see where we can go

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

Even Teachers Looooove WIFI!!!

Um…just a disclaimer: when it comes to teaching, I don’t talk or write this way, but on my Facebook, I can be crazy goofy right? Haha….

Anyway, last Thursday when I got to school, I saw a super duper pleasant surprise when I switched on my lappy: a full WIFI signal. At first I couldn’t believe it (well, mainly because for the longest time I was hoping our department would get a wifi signal, after all, almost the entire campus is wifi enabled hehe). To be fair, we did have out local area network or LAN things working, but sometimes, I’d run out of an outlet. Sometimes too I’d end up with one of those cables that kinda would be wonky, so I’d be downloading something (errr…okay fine, I’d be Facebooking haha) between classes and I’d suddenly get disconnected. At least now, I don’t have to keep calling the ITC guys for a network cable tester or a replacement network cable for that matter! Woot. I’m soooo happy.

That should be good right??? After all, happy teachers make for happy teaching mwihihihi.

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Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, College | 0 Comments

Oh My Gawd She’s Human!

Last Thursday I had a great laugh courtesy of my crazy Clinpsy students.

Lemme put it in context: a few weeks ago in class, I was dressed in this bright red dress and one of my students randomly made a comment about her red pair of Keds that were too big for her and asked if I would be interested in buying it from her. One of her classmates suddenly quipped: Miss, you know pa ba what Keds are?? TOIIINK!!!!

Anyway, her point was that she had never seen me wearing anything but stilettos (or wedges at the very least) and so it seemed implausible for me to actually ever wear flats.

Well, in some ways it’s true because since around July of last year I had stopped wearing flats. If ever I did, it would be flip flops but for the most part, it was always heels. So when my friend told me to wear flats or rubber shoes when we went to the 16th Hot Air Balloon Fest a few weeks ago, I had to dig out my old Crocs. While we were in Clark, I decided to stop and take a photo of my feet since it had been way too long since I had last worn flats. While I was doing so, my friend snapped a shot of me too:

And so when she posted this on Facebook, I had to show my kooky students that indeed, I do wear flats too. Haha. Of course I had to invade some other walls to do that because I absolutely refuse to add students to my own account haha….too much drama I swear.

Anyway,  after I did, I kinda regretted it a bit, because I realized I would never live it down, but well, it’s too late now.

And so when I went to class last Thursday I was greeted by that statement:

Oh my gaaaawd she’s human after all. Haha.

Funny, funny things that happen in class I tell ya.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Classroom Escapades, Lesson Plans, Preschool, Teaching Resources | 0 Comments

The Senior’s Seed Experiment

Earlier this month we were discussing plants in our class. In order to supplement the discussion, I decided to have the kids do an experiment. I had them bring several different kinds of seeds and then we went on to do our scientific inquiry.

Here’s what we did:

We started out with an inquiry (a.k.a. creating a hypothesis) in which the children were asked what they think will happen to the seeds if put in a pot with soil and given water and sunshine. To do this I had them chart it on a Manila paper. In this part I had them draw the pots and seeds (although our pots didn’t look like real pots, they were just like dark circles in the middle of the paper with little dots for seeds haha).

Then we did some observations on the seed, the soil and all other materials we used. I asked them to take note of the similarities and differences of the seeds, such as size, color and shape. Some of them even smelled the seeds (which almost gave me a heart attack because they’re so tiny, right???) and one even attempted to taste it. Thank God I saw it on time haha.

After this, we listed the procedures of the experiment (such as put soil in the pot, drop the seeds, etc.) and then actually carried out the procedure.

Of course after carrying out the experiment, we got ready to record our observations and what happens in the experiment

So…after two weeks, the kids found out that:

Teacher shouldn’t plan activities right before we go on a break. Haha. Yes…I had forgotten that the whole week of Feb. 14-18 was not a regular school week because of Paranaque Day, our school field trip, and parent-teacher conferences. Haha.

Seriously though, they did get a chance to see the plants grow

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

The World, All Grown Up

I am taking a break from my usual teacher posts and will just share with you a realization that hit me just a few minutes ago: the world I know has really grown up so much! Yes, I know that is part and parcel of life, but it just dawned on me how everyone around me has grown up so much and at times, I feel like I have forgotten to follow suit.

Where is this thought coming from? Well, for one, it dawned on me today because I’m kinda cash-strapped as I quit my job and realized: I forgot to save. Haha. Yes, I still live like money flows out of a tap and that it is an endless reservoir. And so I feel like a little girl waiting for my next allowance. Or the ax to fall, whichever comes first harhar.

Secondly, a school mate of mine from way back when (um…I was a graduating student and she was barely in high school if I remember it right) posted this wonderfully beautiful wedding portfolio in her photography website and I realized: gosh, these are the same little girls I used to go to school with and now look at them…brides and mothers! Yikes. Haha.

Lastly, it hit me that even my body is not as young as it used to be (duuuh!) haha. I remember back in the day when I would bounce back from long, sleepless nights cramming papers and what-not (lets not forget pumped up on adrenaline, junk food and the occasional happy juice). But now…I need afternoon naps and it takes me forever to get out of bed.

Yes, the world has indeed grown up. It’s good growing up, mind you, but today, it leaves me a wee bit nostalgic. It makes me want to take a time out from life as I know it, because it’s moving oh so fast. So, anybody wanna give me a weekend voucher to some swanky hotel or one of those good cruise deals so I can just be careless and free for a wee bit?

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