Thursday, October 24, 2013

Nipped In The Bud

Semester break will be around in a few days but it has definitely been a busy week and I expect a restless period all through the next week.

I am for psyching up myself for the upcoming local elections. I am designated as a poll clerk, to which I am aware is one of the most busy members of the board. I am still learning the ropes and hoping it would all go fine.

I am also into heaps of paper works like the MPS analysis of our recently concluded second quarter examinations. Trust my disposition when it comes to numbers.

At the same time I am consolidating the results of Early Grades Reading Assessment which was required to be conducted out of the bolt, so I panicked looking for forms.

I also have a topic for discussion in our in service training. Specifically, I will be delving into the areas of decoding skills as an important foundation of reading.

I really thought this semester break would be a welcome relief from all the pressure of living, but as a flower not to bloom, I am nipped in the bud. Sigh.


This picture is not mine. Photo credits: www.boklips.com.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Runny Nose

You came after the cold rain
I never hoped you will remain
But you got me under the nose
We've never been that close.

You blow all my friends away
And peeping rodents in the hay
I shut quick and bang the door
Than sputter something sore.

And you always make me cry
For reason I can only wonder why
I put on my shades with a sigh
Then gaze not at the bright sky.

I want to feel well and break free
I detest the days of your infamy
Why, why won't you run away?
Oh, runny nose, please run away!


Friday, October 18, 2013

Stay Strong, Bohol and Cebu

After the Zamboanga City siege, another tragedy struck our country after a 7.2 earthquake devastated Bohol and some parts of Cebu, putting both tourism provinces in a state of calamity.

Photo Credit: gmanetwork.com.

Aside from the rising death toll, another thing that really saddened me is the destruction of several world famous historical churches, mostly in Bohol. I have never personally seen any of them  but I have been in deep interest about these cultural heritages that are living grand stands to our colorful past.

But since these living grand stands of our past have crumbled into pieces on the ground, will they also be just dead remnants now? I really hope that these once revered national treasures will be restored back to their old glories. We surely can't afford to lose them forever just that way.

Pray for the people of Bohol and Cebu. Naghinaot mi sa inyong usab nga pagbarog tunga sa mga pagtilaw sa kinabuhi. Ang Ginoo magatabang kaninyo.


Monday, October 14, 2013

Novelty Effect

It is on these times when I would genuinely find a moment of complete peace midst business of living - when the pupils are all busy writing - and I segue my "golden voice" out of the bolt like a real concert royalty in front of my class who is my legion of fans.

Me: Got her head on the cloud...
Pupils: Cloud...  
Me: And she's not breaking down.... 
Pupils: Down... 
All of us: This girl is on fire...

Then, they would all give me a round of applause and giggly burst in cheers, which I suspect as a novelty effect of the fact that I am their teacher, not necessarily an expression of their awesome admiration of my vocal abilities in reality.

Friget! Friget! Friget!


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Guro Ka Ba?

Do you know that the very Filipino word GURO is not originally Tagalog at all? As a matter of fact, it came a long, long way - geographically and historically. Thus, to describe the origin of this term is a long path to traverse.

The common term guro is used in Filipino as a noun to mean a teacher, who celebrate their special month this moment. For example, a punong guro of a school is a head teacher.

This may have origin form the word "guru" that means a teacher, master or mentor in Sanskrit and other borrowing languages like Tamil, Hindi, Bengali and Nepali. 

Greza (2004) elaborates that the word has roots in the term gri that denotes action of invoking or to praising, and may have a relation to the word gur, that refers to the act of  raising up or lifting up.

The Indian and Filipino connection is not surprising though. The Indians traded with the Filipinos through some indirect proximal empires and consequently influenced the local culture. Its influence to the Filipino language found its way to terms in folk heroes, social strata, religious faith, moral operations, and even traditional attire.

I found this fitting explanation of our term GURO from a collection of philosophical text of Hindu religion:


The syllable gu means shadows
The syllable ru, he who disperses them.
Because of the power to disperse darkness
The guru is thus named.

So, I am saying that we must live to the very mold of the word we are called and may we continue to be instrument of enlightenment to the lives of the young ones. Guro, we are.


Friday, October 4, 2013

Heal, Ciudad de Zamboanga

As a language enthusiast, I have high fascination about Zamboanga City, which is still in the remnants of war today. It is home to Chabacano - the only Spanish creole language of its kind in Asia that had developed and survived for over four hundred years of trades and conquests, migrations and policies.

A creole language, like Chabacano, is a conglomeration of different languages that have evolved into a native tongue of a new generation of speaker. On the case of Chabacano, it is 75% Spanish morphology with grammar and structure from local languages. Linguists continue to be mystified and baffled with the presence of Portuguese, Italian and Mexican lexical terms in this creole language.

In the past decade, language purists of Zamboanga were worried with the continuing borrowing of their language from Cebuano and Tagalog, leaning away from its Spanish superstrate. However, linguists defend and consider this phenomenon as rather dynamism which is natural to all languages. 

Recent incorporations of modern Spanish words are mainly attributed to the Spanish standardization efforts of media, establishment of Spanish call centers in the region, and the reintroduction of Spanish subject in selected schools.

There are over two million Spanish speakers in the country, large bulk of which comes form the Latin City of Asia - a sobriquet given to Zamboanga City due to the fact that it is the only Spanish speaking city in the continent. 

Among the six Chabacano dialects in the country, it is in Zamboanga City that has remained alive and kicking, so it is my opinion that this unique language should be preserved, and there is no other best way than to take care its speakers and the environment where they speak it.