![Why I Work]()
by rossanahead | May 14, 2011 | career, children, Education, family, parenting, Rossana Llenado, woman
By Rossana Llenado
rossana llenado
Women work for all sorts of reasons. For some, it is to pursue a lifelong passion. For others, it is to have that sense of self-fulfillment inherent in a job well done.
One of the reasons that I started Ahead Tutorial and Review Center 16 years ago was because I wanted to be able to manage my own time. I was a mother of twins, and leaving them in the hands of strangers was not acceptable. Going into the tutorial business seemed like a very good idea. Not only could I pursue my passion for teaching and molding young minds, I also get to keep an eye on my children.
Today, I have four children of my own, but thousands more that I could very well call my own. Yes, one of the great joys of being in the business of education is that you get the chance to meet all these wonderful children and see them grow up into young adults with purpose. You could see it in their eyes—that burning desire to learn and improve.
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing a student shine—and I’m fortunate enough to have witnessed this many times over. A child would come to us, defeated because of failing grades, and then several months later, he has grown confident in his skills—and has improved his grades immensely.
And so, whenever faced with the everyday problems of raising four children and managing a company, I just picture that child who could now walk with his head held high.
by rossanahead | Apr 24, 2011 | career, Education, woman
By Lilia Vengco
Teaching has always been my passion. I started teaching right after graduation many years ago. To this day, I continue to teach and share my knowledge about teaching as an art and a skill to young adults who have chosen to take the path to teaching hearts and molding young minds.
While I no longer handle regular classes, my many years of teaching and administering have deepened my commitment to train young teachers to become better. Doing so has kept me in touch with teachers and school leaders and while I advance in age, I have kept my heart young for these groups of people who share my passion.
In my many years of being a teacher and a school administrator, I have encountered some exceptional teachers along the way who have inspired me and a few terrible ones who probably convinced me that I should do better. I moved on in my chosen ministry and no matter what obstacles came my way with constant prayers I succeeded.
What a joy it is to hear former students greet me anywhere I meet them. And indeed, I meet them everywhere. I meet them when I go to the malls, in church, at the park, at the train station, on the streets, and even on an airplane. These are my rewards.
I believe that becoming an educator has to be a decision that comes from the heart. I am grateful for having been part of the religious, educational community of the Christian Brothers who taught me how to nurture, how to be compassionate, how to love and care for one another, and most of all how to be Christian. I treasure all these in my heart wherever I go. What I am now is the result of the nurturing I experienced with the Christian Brothers.
As I look back and reminisce those wonderful days, I feel a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction. I feel blessed for having been given the opportunity to serve others through teaching.
I strongly encourage young people to join the teaching ministry. It is such a noble vocation that is enriched by the lives of the young people it serves. Nothing is more rewarding than to see young ones grow and develop to be productive citizens and to hear words of gratitude from young teachers and from fellow administrators who aspire to become better.
Yes, it is great to be a teacher!
Lilia Vengco is the former principal of La Salle Greenhills and the pioneering principal of La Salle Canlubang. She is a lecturer at Ahead Tutorial and Review Center and Ahead Professional Network.
by rossanahead | Apr 20, 2011 | children, Education, family, Karen Galarpe, parenting
By Karen Galarpe
Walking into my room one time, a friend said, “Do you read all these books?”
And one time, my aunt came in, looked at my son’s bookshelf and said, “Ang dami niyang libro ‘no?”
We’re a family of readers, my son and I, and have been so for as long as I can remember.
Growing up, I buried my nose in books during vacations, and during school season, I would be in the school library almost every day. I felt a certain kind of high filling out my library card for the year in just a few months, and requesting a crisp new one to last me the next 3 months.
My books of choice when I was growing up were varied: fairy tales in the early grades, then Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Bobbsey Twins later on.
By the time I was in high school, I was into Sweet Dreams, Sweet Valley High, Mills and Boon, even Barbara Cartland romances. But my mom said I should read better stuff, so I shifted to John Steinbeck and books about the Holocaust and the Nazis.
The reading bug continued to bite me while in college, and today, I have to read a book every day no matter how busy I am. Sometimes, just 10 to 15 minutes a day, or a chapter, would do. Having an hour to read is bliss to me.
My reading choices today have become wider: from parenting and personal finance to history, fiction, Christian living, psychology, food, arts, et cetera.
With my son, I have started reading to him while he was still in my tummy. As a baby, he would look at the images I would point out at the board books we would read every day. It also became a ritual for us to read a storybook at night before he went to sleep.
Among the books we would read over and over again when he was small were “Ang Ambisyosong Istetoskop” by Luis Gatmaitan, a story about Jose Rizal’s stethoscope; a book on American presidents; a book series about Lego toys; an atlas; and so much more.
Today, his books have gone more eclectic, from “1984” by George Orwell to books about politics, history, cars, and manga.
To make your child enjoy reading, you have to enjoy reading yourself. When a child sees how much joy you derive at reading and learning, he will gravitate to reading himself. And as Dr. Seuss said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
by rossanahead | Mar 28, 2011 | children, Education, parenting, woman
By Bubbles Salvador
The terrible twos can be, well, terrible. This I know because my son, only almost two, is worlds away from that cute little baby who always did as Mommy or Daddy said.
It’s not that he’s out of control – he’s just too much to handle sometimes.
Luis behaves very well in church, and is able to sit through the entire mass. At night, we say our prayers together, which he ends with a sweet “Good night, God!” He even surprises me with an affectionate hug every now and then.
But there are also times when the terrible twos hits like the plague. When he refuses to share a toy or greet an elder (we insist on the age-old tradition of pagmamano), it could result into a riot: Mommy is screaming, Daddy is demanding obedience, Luis starts whining.
“It’s a phase,” my Mama said. Should I believe her? She instilled enough fear in me and my siblings to make sure that none of us even thought of misbehaving like that. What did she know about terrible twos?
“Just keep telling him that what he’s doing is wrong. It’ll take a while but he’ll get it. Luis is smart,” she told me.
Maybe Mama’s right after all. “Smart” may be the key word. At times, even before we send him to the corner for a timeout, Luis would go there himself and say, “Stay…corner. Mommy’s mad.”
It is exactly this smartness that we are counting on so we can finally get past this stage. He can recite the rules anytime: “No hitting. No throwing toys. Good boy lang.” I think we’re getting there.
I guess part of being a parent is hitting these highs and lows; we just try to make the most out of the highs. Just as we need to encourage our kids’ positive behaviour, we also need to give ourselves a pat on the back for trying (and just keep our fingers crossed that things turn out OK!).
Photo by MI PHAM on Unsplash
by rossanahead | Mar 18, 2011 | Education, Gina Abuyuan, parenting, woman
By Gina Abuyuan
Previously, I mentioned the amount of parent involvement non-traditional schools may require—self-imposed field trips, for once, have been de rigueur for me since my twins started a blended school program. But even if you don’t feel obliged to organize little jaunts for you and your kids, taking a simple trip to a restaurant (and I’m not talking the usual fastfood joint), or a much bigger production such as an out-of-town weekender, can still be both education and not just fun.
Now that summer’s here, you can have more reasons to make every moment a moment of learning for your kids. It’s not difficult—all it takes is a little effort, time, money (but not so much as you would spend going to, say, Boracay), and the readiness to venture beyond the comfort zones of the malls.
Here are some suggestions:
* North of Manila, try Bulacan. In Plaridel, there is the memorial to Juan Evangelista, Pablo Maniquiz, and other Filipino revolutionaries that resisted the U.S. army that annexed the Philippines a century and a decade ago. This is a favorite of author Red Constantino and wife, Kala, and their kids Rio, 12, and Luna, 10. A history essayist, he’s big on historical sites, especially those that celebrate national pride. He also suggests Malolos, which has the Barasoain Church. Malolos also has Casa Real, which houses the printing press that published revolutionary papers during the days of the Philippine Republic. You can also visit the Bautista home on Kamestisuhan Street, a grand old house built during the Spanish period.
(Within Manila, there is Casa Manila in Intramuros, where I took my own kids, where I spoke myself harsh reading the markers to my seven-year-old twin boys, and encouraging them to imagine how life might have been like in those times.)
* Bulacan also has Biak na Bato National Park in San Miguel and the historic Real de Cacarong in Pandi.
* Southbound, try the Viaje del Sol route (viajedelsol.org, a tour that covers Laguna, Quezon, and Batangas). You can cover Ugu Bigyan’s pottery studio and garden (although if you have rambunctious, hard-to-handle kids, you might want to skip this) or go to Café San Luis at the foot of Mt. Banahaw for trekking, a visit to the waterfalls, and coffee. You can spend the night in either of those places or drive back towards Laguna and check in at Casa San Pablo (casasanpablo.com), run by the genteel Alcantara family.
* Liliw, Laguna is only an hour away. If you’re churchgoers, you can hear mass at its great old church or go shoe-shopping. Everything is priced rock-bottom and made well. I once bought a pair of slippers there that were pretty enough to wear to a beach wedding, and they lasted me a couple of years.
* Closer to Manila is Pinto Museum in Antipolo (formerly Pinto Gallery, a beautiful place and collection of artwork lovingly put together by renowned patron Dr. Joven Cuanang). As with all museums, noise and boisterous play is discouraged, so brief your kids first before entering.
As I said, anything can be a learning experience for kids, particularly a trip to an art gallery. The Pinto Museum presents talking points about art of all kinds—installation, sculpture, modern, mixed media. Allow them to be slightly creeped-out by the antique wooden icons in the small chapel; overwhelmed by those in the big works gallery (built around equally-gigantic stumps of ancient boulders); and question Elmer Borlongan’s take on the human figure.
* You can also try Seven Suites Hotel and Observatory in Hollywood Hills, Sumulong Highway, Antipolo. Its resident astronomer, Ramon Acevedo, is eager to teach and talk to kids about the stars and planets, and there’s nothing that gets him sadder than seeing cloudy skies and kids’ faces fall when they’re told the giant telescope won’t work under zero visibility.
I guess the important thing for parents to remember is that no matter where you go—your favorite mall, your own garden, Disneyland, the beach—show interest so they too, will gain interest. Keep judgments and biases to yourself; allow them to express their own opinions. Let the conversation and questions flow. I guarantee you, the fun and learning experience will be shared by both you AND your kids!
Photo by Kevin Delvecchio on Unsplash
