way to life

The observing counsellor

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:24:00 +0000

A counsellor is almost always tied up with a counselling room or a counselling cubicle.

As a counsellor, I believe that the wonders of my craft take place in the confines of a room where the counsellee can fully manifest his or her being and totally express his or her thoughts and feelings without the fear of being judged or mocked.

In my experience, though, as a school counsellor, I discovered that being out of the comforting counselling space and immersing in the students' academic world is equally important and can surface myriads of issues and experiences of and information about the counsellee which may not be accessible in the actual counselling process.

In fact, I am convinced that at the onset of or even before the actual counselling, the school counsellor has to spend significant amount of time in immersing into the student-counsellee's environment--particularly the classroom environment.

As I, the counsellor, immerse in the student's world, I have to take different lenses. At one point, I have to take the lens of a teacher and see the child from the teacher's point of view. On the other, he or she has I have to take the lens of a classmate and seek to understand the child from the point of view of a classmate. At all times, I have to wear the lens of an observer, keenly noting down behaviours as they occur. As I shift the use of these lenses, I must keep my feet on the ground and must not be separated from the reality that although I am wearing diverse lenses, I am still the counsellor and for that reason I am immersing in the student's world--my counsellee's world.

In the process of observing the student in the actual environment he or she lives, I gain more idea about the student's concerns from an objective point of view. Hence, as a school counsellor I prefer observing children unobtrusively (without making the observed aware that he or she is being observed). Sometimes, I find it necessary not to inform teachers who I am supposed to observe so even them can freely approach any student in the most natural way they do.

After the immersion and observation, I make sure to analyze the information I gathered but guard myself from imposing my observations on the student. The pitfall of conducting observations is the possibility of the counsellor having prejudice towards the counsellee. This is the struggle that the observing counsellor has to face. Nonetheless, with enough preparation and genuine openness and concern towards the student, this pitfall can be avoided.

The same way that what takes place within the walls of the counselling room should not leak out, what happenes outside the counselling room must not dictate the counsellor's relationship and process with the counsellee.

At the end of the day, all these efforts are done to help the student become the best he or she can be. If what has been done by the school counsellor does not support this goal then something in the plan has to be checked and evaluated.

Not of fear, but of respect

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:39:00 +0000

This maybe is the shortest blog post I have so far.

I only have three things to share today:

First, it is more satisfying as a professional to act out of mutual respect than out of fear.

Second, no threat will ever work for a person who knows what he is doing and is clear that his actions are in good faith.

Third, it is a moral responsibility of any individual to objectively judge the action without having to judge the person.

Have a great weekend!

Herbart's Starter, Appetizer

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Apart from Bloom's taxonomy, which in succeeding posts I will spend more time discussing about, Herbart's parts of a lesson is another interesting educational concept that I deem sacred as a professional teacher. Herbart's lesson plan is what I would consider as among the most basic knowledge that any teacher should be aware of and must be trained to actually put into practice.

Just to give a brief overview, Johann Herbart lived in the latter part of the 18th century, when the Age of Enlightenment in Europe emerged. He's actually a psychologist who proposed the structured lesson plan. Well, psychology and education go hand in hand. On a personal note, I attribute all my pedagogical knowledge and skills to the fact that I have a solid training in psychology. According to Herbart, a lesson can be structured into five parts: preparation, presentation, association, generalization and application. I will be talking about each of these parts in time but in today's blog I only like to focus on the "starter." Others may have their own opinion but by starter, I only would like to refer to Herbart's preparation.

Why have a starter? Most probably the word "starter" would have reminded you of eating out in a restaurant where the waiter gives you the menu and asks you, as soon as you sit on the table, how you like to begin your meal. You must have been reminded of an "appetizer" or a soup or in, several restaurants, just plainly a starter.

I bet the word "appetizer" as the most conclusive of terms as to what a starter or Herbart's preparation really aims to achieve.

Bluntly, the starter activity must serve as an appetizer. It must boost your students' appetite for learning your subject.

Say for instance, you are teaching History, which can be really textual and dull depending on how you, as a teacher approaches the subject matter then your students come to your class from a really mentally-exciting subject (e.g. Maths) OR you are teaching a logic-based subject then your students come to your class from a creativity-based subject, how as a teacher would you ready (another word is dispose) your students for your subject.

The starter is supposed to help you do just this. It's supposed to allow a smooth transition from a large chunk of information towards another large (possibly, totally different) chunk of information.

Hence, the starter is a make-or-break situation.

You do it right, there's more probability that your entire lesson will be great.

You screw up on the starter, your entire lesson can be severely hurt.

What starter can I do? There are a lot of ways in which you can start a lesson. It can be through a BIG question or a visual stimuli or a song or a poem or a game or...it's just limitless. The options are limitless. You can basically do anything you can think of as long as it motivates the student, it catches attention and it draws interest towards your class.

HOWEVER, as a teacher, I always believe that whenever we provide any learning stimulus (that includes a starter), we have to be wise and strategic enough to figure out that this stimulus brings us closer to achieving our instructional objectives.

Thus, if I am to discuss about animals and I want a song to be my starter, I would rather opt for "Old McDonald had a Farm" and not "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". I would reserve the latter for my discussion about heavenly bodies.

Similarly, the starter should be interesting. If your class is generally auditory and/or highly musical, then a song would be the wisest starter. On the other hand, if your class is mostly kinesthetic then a brief game that involves movement can be done.

So what's my point? Simple. Choose a starter that can help you teach the lesson and that can equally entertain and arouse the students' interest.

Where does this starter lead me? Hmmm...I think I answered this earlier. A starter is a make-or-break moment. It can be a deciding factor as to whether you will have an effective lesson or not. In short, the starter either leads you to success or to doom. This is how important the starter is. REMEMBER: Motivation has a lot to do with how we behave and respond to situations (that include learning situations). If students are motivated to learn, they will learn quite well. If they are not motivated to learn (that is if they're bored and uninterested), they will find it difficult to focus and they will find it hard to learn as well.

What if my starter's gone wild? Ooops, that, for me, is really scary (and this happens to all of us) BUT, as a teacher, you must be prepared and ready to bring your students back on track. You just started the lesson, right? The succeeding part is always an opportunity to motivate the students and draw their attention towards what you want to achieve in class.

Irreplaceable

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:40:00 +0000

I have just made what I will consider as yet the most difficult decision in my life.

After almost two years of laboriously, wholeheartedly and selflessly expending time and effort to create a functional counselling department for my school, I finally decided to move on. Yes, just a few minutes ago, I sent one of my life's deciding emails--a final say on a resignation that I earlier discussed with my superiors.

This decision is not easy. What I have is not just a career, it's a vocation. I'm into counselling and teaching, two things I love doing. Although I have no numbers to back up my claim, I know and am pretty sure I have some sort of impact to people around me based on their narratives (thanks to the qualitative research tradition!). I'm a lightworker here in my present circumstance. I know there's more to do to set everyone ablaze but I'm quite sure I'm igniting some spark--to my students, to some colleagues who approach in the confines of my room to talk about things, to those I work with.

Then again, with all these little successes, there are instances in life which will really make you rethink about things. In my case, I am made to think what matters most to me. And this is why I made the choice. I am convinced that time is of an essence. Lost time, lost opportunities can never be replaced, can never be returned. I can't afford to lose time, especially that which I can spend with people who I regard as equally important as myself. I can't buy back the time that I'm missing away. While I'm trying to mend other people's brokenness, why can't I do the same to those I care the most?

Last night I had a great time watching "Cheaper by the Dozen" till 3 a.m. Yes, it's a film, it's art, it's not practical, but it's a watch call to me, "Hey, Neph, you're gonna lose something here but you're gonna gain something too." A coach and father, starting to climb up towards achieving his heart's desire...A writer and mother beginning to realize her dream of becoming a published author...Both gave up their dreams for something else. Why would they do that? The same reason they have is what drives me to take this difficult decision.

The time has come that doing things for people I care for isn't enough anymore. The time has come that doing things with them is what gives me peace of mind and satisfaction.

I'm not saying everything's going to be perfect. I know for sure there are accompanying challenges even with this decision I finally got the courage to make. But, as of now, I feel I chose the right option.

There really are things which can't just be mere alternatives.

There really are things which are just irreplaceable.

The Rose

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:52:00 +0000

(24 January 2012, 5:00 pm, Falaj Hazaa, Al Ain, UAE)

After a week-long hush, I'm again back at my blog.

Today, I wanted to share about a rose.

I was leisurely experiencing the chill of the afternoon breeze while waiting for my transport service today, when I saw a rose on the road side.

The rose plant was prominent for the reason that it's the only flowering plant in that area...the only attraction, if I may say, amidst the dull, wilting weeds around.

As I was savouring that sense of bliss that the rose endowed me at that moment, a question came up to me: What does it take to grow such a beautiful rose? And, just in a split of a second, Bette Midler's song started playing back in my mind's ears:

Just remember, in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love
In the spring
Becomes the rose

That rose before me...that rose, which at that specific fraction of time eased away the anxieties of my day...that rose which beauty I prized...used to be a seed that lies beneath the ground. It used to be away from sight. It was never there.

Probably, as I used to walk on the same grounds where the rose is planted now, I might have had stepped on that same seed without me even knowing it.

But now, that seed---helpless, lifeless, still, dull, mute, unrecognized, hidden--has metamorphosed into a rose--bold, colorful, vibrant, cherished, famed. We might ask why or how but these don't matter anymore. What matters is it did!

This reality about the rose is not that far from the reality about people.

Sometimes, we tend to box people...label them...place them within the bounds of our conception about them...define them. At times, we tend to look at people but don't really see them. We view them at a specific present but see their past, in a way like what I was talking about on my earlier post about the "cookie-napper".

We tend to look at people as though we are looking at the rose but, deep within our hearts, we are actually seeing the seed.

This is a fundamental error that we, humans, commonly commit--knowingly or unknowingly.

When we start looking at the rose but see the seed, we fail to appreciate the beauty of the rose and only see the dullness of the seed. In this case, we are missing a lot!

This reminds me further of Viktor Frankl who talked about how our perception about a person matters in his or her own search for meaning.

When we look at people and all we see is their past--not what they are capable of--we are guilty of hampering their growth. When we look at people and the foremost we see are their faults yesterday, a day before or a year ago, we are guilty of not allowing them reach their utmost potential. Why? Simply because, in our minds, we have already programmed that they will never be able to achieve what they are supposed to become.

In my life, I realized that, most of the times, the only thing people need to progress--to get out of that constricted seed where they are and bloom into a fully-functioning individual--is trust...genuine, authentic trust, from people they care for and work with, that they will be able to solve their own problems and that they are worth all the efforts and time people around are spending with and for them.

For a seed, it takes sun's love to make it flower and grow. The same is required for people--genuine love, which goes with trust, respect, care and value. If we provide enough of this to people, in time, they'll grow to become the most beautiful rose they can be.

Unlocking the mind through questions

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:12:00 +0000

(Photo from www.geoffreyweb.wordpress.com)

A person's mind is a sealed vault.

It is something inaccessible to the other unless a person allows what's inside to be apparent either by his words or actions.

If it is so, then a question is a key that opens up that vault.

This is how powerful a question is.

In the classroom, where a teacher faces multitudes of minds waiting to be unsealed, a question is a magical tool that allows students to figure out their thoughts and, eventually, if given the opportunity, to express them.

In certain cases, a question is enough to redirect, focus or refocus and clarify the otherwise wayward or chaotic thought processes of a learner. Take for instance a learner, who after reading a story still cannot figure out how to make meaning out of the information read. A teacher, just by simply asking basic questions such as "who" (are the characters), "where" (did the event happen) or "when" (did the story take place) can guide the learning in organizing information, thus, opening up endless possibilities on how the learner makes meaning out of the learning material.

On a higher level, a question can trigger more complex thought processes. A teacher, for instance, after establishing facts out of a learning material can bring the discussion to a higher level by providing opportunities for discourses that exhibit the learner's ability to comprehend and understand. A teacher can also choose to pave the way to relating learned concepts into real life situations by asking questions geared to application or analysis.

Finally, a teacher can choose to challenge the learner to make judgments about the learning material and, ultimately, further motivating the learner to create his own output based on the topics discussed.

All these levels of thinking can be ignited just by a question.

Without even having to feed information, a teacher can create an amazing learning environment if he/she hones himself/herself in the art of questioning.

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Some related materials:

A better way of arranging the class

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

In my earlier post, I discussed how classroom layout impacts the learning process.

Just recently, I've seen another classroom layout, which I find better than the typical students-facing-the-board layout.

I say its better because if properly used, this layout enhances the amount of productive interaction (emphasis on "productive") taking place in the classroom.

As some of us are probably aware of, there are two types of major interactions happening in the class: the interaction among students (student-student interaction) and the interaction between the teacher and the student (teacher-student interaction). These are what we want to maximize to promote meaningful learning.

Let's take a look at a typical arrangement of a class with 8 students:

The two-headed arrows represent the interaction taking place among students.

In this arrangement. we can see there are four probabilities of student-student communication taking place.

Often, a classroom using this is a teacher-centered classroom wherein the teacher's talking/working time is significantly greater than the student's talking/working time.

This arrangement is amazing for lectures!
However, if the teacher wants to engage students in activities, it will be difficult in this format.

Likewise, since this layout often caters to a teacher-centered discussion, the chances are, if the teacher loses hold of the class attention, it totally disrupts the entire learning process.

Students begin to finding something interesting-say, for example, talking with each other or moving around.

Now let's take a look at a modified classroom layout of a class with 8 students:

In this layout, we can see that the teacher grouped the class into four's in an L-shape arrangement, where the students at the side are facing inwards the classroom.

As you can see, in just one cluster (with fours students), we can expect six (6!) probable productive interactions. So, multiply this number by the number of groups we have (in this figure, two), we are expecting 12 strands of interaction taking place at a time.

Amazing isn't it? IF we are talking about collaborative, student-centered and interactive/experiential learning.

A little modification though is necessary to make this equally effective in lectures. By asking the students at the side to face the front, we can easily deviate their attention from the group to the teacher.

Here's an actual class with the modified arrangement:

Bottom line

The modified classroom layout is an amazing way of arranging the class.
It provides us the opportunities to make use of lots and lots of teaching techniques.
It allows us to practice effective pedagogy and sound teaching principles and praxis aside from lectures.
However, if we do not innovate in a classroom with this modified setting, we may expect multitude of unproductive interactions that may eventually jeopardize the learning process.

In these small hours

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:34:00 +0000

Blogging isn't typically the best thing to do at 10 p.m. But here I am, fingers on the keyboard, writing.
I can't postpone this post. The time is now.

It's the first week of classes here in the UAE and I'm having my first-ever group session for the year with my students. As planned, I wanted to start with resolutions. Well, most teachers would start with resolutions, I guess, because it's always good to have a target set for oneself.

(Photo from www.justglasssite.com)

But, things that have happened recently and my insights during the long vacation made me realize that talking about how to write resolutions is not what I want. What I want is for my students to realize what can make their resolutions work. And, in my long years of writing resolutions, myself, I learned that I need two have two things with me to achieve whatever change I want to implement.

The first and binding element between me and my resolution is commitment. In the past, I've always wanted to lose some weight and this is a mainstay in my list. However, I didn't really have much progress for long until recently when I focused all my efforts in doing physical activities and checking my food intake religiously. Yes, I committed to my resolution and that's when my way to fulfillment began. I haven't reached my target yet but I've had great progress. This means I'm going somewhere!

The second and pressing concern I've just started to gain insight recently is sense of urgency. Usually, when we set resolutions for ourselves, we tend to procrastinate. In my case, I may postponed my workout plans because of one thing or another and say that I'll do it next week or next month. However, with the recent and devastating news about death, passing and loss, I regained consciousness about the reality that life is so uncertain.

Now, right now, I am existing. I don't know until when. This is how unpredictable life is. So, if I postpone doing things that I want to achieve and changes that I want to realize, would I be sure that I can still accomplish these tomorrow or in two weeks? Would there be tomorrow? I am not sure.

This uncertainty may put us in a state of fear or anxiety. Or, we can choose to allow this uncertainty make us understand life's reality.

Commit. Start. Don't procrastinate. These are three thoughts I've learned and shared to people this week.
I don't want to compromise with life. In these small hours, our lives are made. Use it wisely.

The best time to do things, to start achieving is now.

Beyond the "dead-end"

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:50:00 +0000

I'm not sure if you will agree with my belief that the greatest satisfaction of a teacher is not the success of a student who is academically-exceptional but the victory of a student who has achieved his/her learning goals after struggling really hard. I believe this because I think that,as teachers, we are not there for those who know but for those who don't know. And, if we are able to make those who don't know, know; then we have fulfilled our purpose.

One thing for sure, in your years of experience as teachers, you must have encountered a student or two who really find it difficult to catch up with your class requirements. Since you are a responsible teacher, you must have really worked hard to help that child. But, there comes a point of saturation--a point where a teacher might think that all his/her efforts to help the child are in vain. Or, worse, he/she might find being caught on a dead-end, asking, "What am I supposed to do?" or, worst, "Why aren't you getting it?"

Believe me, being a young blood in teaching, I have so much experience of "dead-ends" and asking these questions.Fortunately, I've come to realize that answers are readily available. The only thing I had to do is ask. Maybe not others, but myself. I had to ask myself and recognize that I don't know. Then, only that I will try to find. Should I have not asked, I would have not found. This made me realize how self-reflection is imperative.

So, going back to your child who seem to not respond to your teaching, we have to remind ourselves that students--although they learn in groups (that's how education is designed for centuries since its formalization)--are individually different. There is no one-size-fits-all approach (although, going down the lane of the history, this is what education has been dying to achieve). They have individual needs such that, at some point, we must flex our teaching so that students will learn. Sometimes, we are so much engrossed with the output that we forget the process. Sometimes, we are so overwhelmed with similarities that we fail to appreciate and celebrate, or at least manage, diversity. The "how" and "why" of these principle are so extensive and multi-faceted that they cannot be contained in a single discussion.

I am, nonetheless, linking you across a presentation by Dr. Stephen Shore (a doctor of education who, himself, is a person living with autism) delivered during a conference I attended in Dubai. It is about promoting students with special needs in the classroom. It discusses the 9 Educational Domains--nine different ways--on how we can tackle students with learning difficulties.

To access the presentation, click here.

As it has did to me, I hope the presentation also gives you valuable insights on how to move beyond the dead-end over a student with known difficulties in class. Ultimately, may the insights bring all of us towards a celebration of our students' individual differences and diversity and make these realities, a friend rather than a foe.

Declutter your space, declutter yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:26:00 +0000

It's 2012! Surely, there are lots and lots of things that I have thank 2011 for--having reached this far being top of the list--but 2012, I'm sure, is gonna be exciting and monumental, especially that I've committed to start new life projects for myself. I bet you can relate to this hype of setting new goals and braving new paths for the new year.

(Photo from www.myzerowaste.com)

Since, we're starting anew, I want to talk about what I feel is the best way to begin the new year and that is to declutter your space--physical or psychical--to bring simplicity and order to the confusion and chaos brought by the dynamism and haste of the previous year. By decluttering, I mean getting rid of stuffs that aren't really important anymore.

Almost often, long lists of activities, projects and accomplishments of the previous year yield us tons of stuffs-papers, documents, files, etc. that, in most cases, wouldn't anymore matter in the future. Taking away these unnecessary stuffs is, for me, the most awesome project to kick the new year with.

Unfortunately, some may be apprehensive to do this. There's a popular belief (particularly among eastern cultures) that you shouldn't start the year by cleaning the house or washing clothes or throwing unwanted things out else you will struggle with these chores all year round. I disagree.

What I believe is that cleaning and organizing things--specifically, getting rid of unwanted and unimportant stuffs--are not only practically good so as to revitalize your direction and focus to what you want to achieve from here onwards, but are psychologically a form of ritual that frees you from the emotions or thoughts or baggages associated with these unwanted stuffs.

Things aren't just things. They are linked to something immaterial or transcendental that evoke thoughts and emotions that, eventually, elicit actions. To add a bit of color on this, let me share about my wallet:

My brown leather wallet was actually my brother's. I had it during my last year's vacation and it's been an amazing stuff that I can't leave my house without. All my important cards are there and many other things that I'm not comfortable placing anywhere except close to me.

Early morning of January 1, 2012, as soon as I went off the bed, I got hold of my wallet and checked it. From a thin sturdy leather wallet that it used to be, it's now become a bulging lump with protruding slips of papers and I-don't-know-whats.

What I did was to take all the stuffs out of my wallet and got amazed to find that much of what makes my wallet bulgy and huge are ATM receipts (that slip of paper you get when you withdraw from the ATM), taxi/bus tickets, money transfer slips, and some crumbling business cards from some people.

So why in the world would my wallet be that fully-packed with these papers? Don't get me wrong I know they are there. I check my wallet once in a while. I throw things that I feel are unnecessary. But, why are these slips, tickets, receipts, etc are still in my wallet? Simple. I didn't feel they were unnecessary. I was hesitant to throw the bank receipts because I'm scared I might still use them. Maybe I'll require them in my future transactions with my bank. I was hesitant to dispose of the bus tickets. They remind me of a wonderful trip I had few months ago that I want to keep them as souvenir.

This sense of importance that we ascribe to things are what may hold us back from decluttering. Stuffs that link to our values--money, career, business, etc...stuffs that relate to our concerns, aspirations or even anxieties--that we might consciously not just ready to free ourselves from--are commonly those that are so difficult to get rid of. This explains our hesitations of decluttering the house, too. Rug dolls, broken pots, torn books--these are just examples of things we won't readily dispose of for some sentimental reasons. It's a living proof how easier it is to live in the past.

(Photo from www.mettacenter.org)

But, at a certain point, stuffs may not be genuinely valuable anymore. In some instances, they may even be evoking thoughts and feelings of the past that we must already let go. By decluttering our space, we are not anymore getting rid of physical objects that are not anymore important, but we are also letting go of thoughts and feelings that may not anymore be important too--not now, not in the future.

Hence, decluttering the physical space is simulatenously a decluttering of the psychical space. After decluttering my wallet--throwing all those receipts that I don't genuinely require--I feel better. It was a cathartic experience to be able to let go of unnecessary stuffs and the linked emotions and thoughts that go with them. It felt awesome to restructure my mind and the way I look and evaluate things. Decluttering didn't only have a visible effect to my wallet; it also had an invisible effect to my inner self.

Now, my leather wallet looks better than before. In a way, I feel better than before.

This is what decluttering made me feel.

How about you, how would decluttering make you feel? Try.

Pasión

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:47:00 +0000

“Te amo como se aman ciertas cosa oscuras,secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma” - Pablo Neruda

How do I know that what I am doing is something I love?

It was the question that oscillated my consciousness at 4 a.m. this morning, before I went to bed from a long and tiring day.

Around this enigma hovered another question: Is finding the answer necessary?
Swaying to and fro my mind, these conundrums eventually laid me to sleep.
But then again when I woke up, they were striking like a metal baton on a gong that I cannot anymore keep my ears closed in silence.

How do I really know that I am in love dearly to all these things that I am doing now?
Well, I realized in my musings that I am, for a fact, a self-contained bomb.
There is a gargantuan force building inside me waiting to explode. When this force explodes, sharpnels shoot forth in different directions then, in a matter of time, it would suck up itself again into singularity like a black hole.

This event is not a one-time, big-time explosion. It is a continual, recurrent event that I go through at specific moments. I experience it every time I put my thoughts and feelings into words. I feel it when I transform melodies into songs. I soak in it when I sit down, face to face, with a person--a living, breathing person--and talk about life, conflicts, emotions, thoughts. I bathe in it when I stand in front of people and share ideas and opinions. In these moments of frenzied release of energy, my senses shut down and I experience oneness with my surroundings. After that uncontrollable flow, the aftermath is an endless reminiscing of the wonderful feelings evoked by the experience such that I'll willingly wake up at 4 a.m. just to think about it or do it without any feeling of remorse.

Those things that ignite the consuming fire of sublime experience, I realized, are things that I love.

How about you? What would you wake up for at 4 a.m.?

Love + hope + joy

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 07:48:00 +0000

Christmas, as we know it, is a feast for all. It must have originated from the believers of the Christian faith but the jubilation it brings is for everyone.

The historicity of the Nativity may be challenged by some but the message is clear, the underlying principles are clear: love, hope and joy.

Christmas came into being out of unconditional love. The faith on a God-made-Man to save us from sin is in itself an expression of selfless love...the love that we are called forth to spread not just in this wonderful moment of the year but also in our daily affairs. As the birth of Christ signifies salvation, Christmas is also an emblem of hope. In its truest essence, it is the promise of salvation fulfilled...salvation that mends our distance from God...the true source of joy.

IF we look at these central themes, we'll realize that they are human realities experienced by peoples of the world regardless of origin, color, race or faith. They are typical human experience, typical human desire and aspiration. Hence, in this feast of Jesus' birth, we are called to look at our brothers and sisters and share these three--love, hope and joy. Christmas is a transition from darkness to light, and the truest consciousness of light is when we are able to completely gaze at someone's face and recognize that he or she is our brother or sister.

May we spread the love, hope and joy of Christmas.

Blessed Christmas to everyone!

a childhood story + comfort sanctuary

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:22:00 +0000

While lurking in my indolence at Al Qasba on the eve of Christmas, I had an imagery of children playing in the streets: a typical scene in Philippine urban areas. Suddenly, I began to wonder in awe about my childhood.

(Photo from www.flickrhivemind.com)

I grew up in a slum area just along the track of Philippine National Railway. My place was an old community that can be traced back to be in existence even before the Japanese occupation (that's what my grandparents told me). It was situated in a very accessible location. Just crossing over a cemented wall, we used to have access to the nearest elementary public school in the locality. This is where I spent almost eight years of my KG and primary education. A little walk farther would bring us to the church then across the bridge is the city's central market. This was the setting of my childhood...a simple barangay somewhere in the heart of Naga.

My childhood plot was simple, too. Early mornings were a trek to school. Swarm of children in rubber slippers coming from nearby barangays walking towards the public school. The mode of transportation was, primarily, by foot. Afternoons were spent, on the other hand, with my playmates who, like me, were born and raised by parents who were also born and raised in that same place. After school, my playmates and I would spontaneously group together to play hide-and-seek, catch-and-chase or other games that we just created or learned from other children in nearby barangays.

(Photo from www.filipinolifeinpictures.wordpress.com)

I had a childhood with so much freedom. I can't think of any other better allegory than that of a bird which soars freely without being held in chains away from curiosity. It was a small place but I was given all the power to explore its nooks and cranny, eventually, allowing me insights about simplicity, satisfaction, enjoyment, sacrifice, suffering, struggle and life. That time, I learned about life in that small place much more than I learned from school. It was a learning sanctuary.

The railroad witnessed how my playmates and I discovered life. The railroad was our first balance beam. It is where I first learned that it's easier to balance when I walk slowly and steadily than when I run. On the other hand, it is where I learned too that sometimes I had to run and fall really bad to know how to stand up again. The railroad taught me a lot of things that only make sense when I finally set my foot out of that comfortable sanctuary.

Years after, I'm now miles away from that comfort zone. I'm in a state of this deep reverie in a place totally different from where I was raised. But, when I think and talk of childhood, my consciousness is still drawn towards that place. It was my cradle. It was my home and it still is.

Now that I'm older I desire to be in so many distant places but, if I'll have to redo my past, I'd still choose to grow and be raised in that small, simple place in the heart of Naga.

A millionaire's treat

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:08:00 +0000

"The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of the circumstances, while being the best you that you can be.” - Leo Babauta

It was a cold Friday evening yesterday. My friend and I just thought of checking out Dubai Mall. Just strolled; no real intentions where to stop.
Then, we passed by the Millions of Milkshake stall reminding me of Kim Kardashian's appearance in the opening of the same store.
Yep, it's cold but we just got curious about the product.
We ordered two small size 20-dirhams worth Ferrero Rocher-blended milkshake (hers with banana, mine with strawberry).
And, slurp!, didn't check calorie count, but there was bliss!
Nice treat for yourself.

my one word, my random word IV

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:30:00 +0000

My oneword.com today is: fireplace.

my one word, my random word III

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:14:00 +0000

My oneword.com today is: hurry.

God's little gift to me this Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 09:09:00 +0000

All my life, God has been so generous to me.
I cannot ask for more.
If I will count all the blessings--both sought and unsought--it will take me another lifetime to go through all of them.

This Christmas I received a little gift. I say it's "little" not because it's trivial but because it's little compared to tons of really humongous treats I've been having from God ever since.

The gift: the inspiration to write.

(Photo from www.epiclaunch.com)

I love writing.

My Bikoliana blog that I started in 2005 is a living proof of my addiction to writing.

For quite a while though I've been distanced from writing. Work, laziness, other priorities took away my passion to grab the laptop and key in words. Before I thought that once I have my own laptop I'll be more prolific. It was the other way around. I lost writing.

But, just before Christmas, I was blessed with the inspiration once more.

I started scribbling then putting my little notes in this blog.

At once, again, I'm dying to write.

This little gift is one of the best treats I have this Christmas!

Home is where the heart is

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:03:00 +0000

Here's something for Ennio Morricone:

Music appeals to the soul as words to the intellect.

This video reminds me of very special people in my life.

the kind of people who come to create ripples in your silent and otherwise tranquile comfort zone.
the kind of people who leave footprints in your life.
that when you part ways you'll realize you're a changed man.
a changed man forever.

As I celebrate my fourth Christmas away from home, I treasure this masterpiece by Maestro Morricone to remind myself that home is where my heart is.

Christmas is in the air

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 07:16:00 +0000

Christmas is in the air!

The entire Christendom is commemorating the birth of Jesus. The world celebrates with colorful lights, bountiful gifts, sumptuous meals and amazing events.

The message of Christmas, though, is love. Love for neighbours. Love and gratitude for the gift of life and salvation. Love for God, the most generous and merciful dreamgiver.

Merry Christmas to all! Happy holidays!

May this be a blessed and wonderful one for you and your family!

How we make children hate learning

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:30:00 +0000

Don't get me wrong.
I don't want to play the 'blame' game here.
I don't want to open cans of worm either.

I just thought it might be cool to look at children's learning process from the other side.
It's so typical to talk about how we, adults, make children love to learn.
When we ask ourselves how, we can list hundreds or even thousands of methodologies we use at home, in the streets or at school to nourish love for learning in our kids.

In this blogpost, I won't touch on those. I'll leave them aside for a while. What I want to do is to ponder how we make our kids hate learning. In doing so, we hope to gain more insights on how we can further enrich our "tricks" basket.

So, how do we make children hate learning?

"Stop asking me those silly questions!"
Children love to ask questions. Sometimes, we aren't just so open to answer. We find children's question silly or, at times, stupid, that we just ignore or reprimand kids from asking. This often happens when we're out of answer anymore. Oh, children are good at Socratic questioning! But remember, it doesn't mean we don't have an answer, the question automatically becomes silly.

"Don't make too much noise!"
Children love to blabber. This is understandable. They just discovered an amazing, extraordinary, and magical skill called "talking" or language and, you bet, they'll love to explore what this magic can do! When children talk...and talk..and talk...they're learning and molding their language skill. Now, here comes us who wants complete silence, commanding our little ones to "Shut up!"

"That vase's so expensive. Don't touch that!"
Children love to explore things. In my still young experience with children, I've seen how they are awed by strange objects in their surroundings. I've witnessed how they would die to touch and manipulate these objects. Unfortunately, most of the things around us are really of value so we won't want kids to break a china wear, again. Easy way out? Stop them from tinkering around.

"Don't make up stories!"
Children love to make up stories-in certain cases, even to the point of lying. Well, children have something to say and must be listened to. Their narratives show their troubles, desires, conflicts, source of happiness etc. Maybe it's difficult for them to say "I am scared," but easy to talk about a little bunny left by its parents in the woods. And, if children lie, it might be a red flag, right? Still it makes you know something's has to be checked out.

What's the point?
The point is that: Children are unique from adults. They are just starting to learn things. They are in love with learning so we must allow children the opportunity to explore. This goes with the fact that our guidance is so important to make their explorations safe, secure and educational.

Word of caution: What about positive behavior and discipline? These two are constants. As adults, we don't want to raise monsters. We want to instill values of respect, responsibility, care for others and a lot more. But, don't you think we can also achieve this without killing children's love for learning? I believe, when we talk about children, teaching values and love of learning are all in our hands.

I love Odiogo!

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:41:00 +0000

I just discovered an amazing application to give voice to my textual posts.

Through the free text-to-speech technology powered by Odiogo, my followers can now enjoy audio support as they read my blog posts.

No need for lengthy registration. Just type in your site and a valid e-mail, Presto!, you now have a wonderful widget to promote multisensory learning.

I love Odiogo!

Shine and make others shine

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:41:00 +0000

Here's a Pantene commercial that I often use in my group sessions. It's about a girl who despite her condition of being unable to speak and hear was able to achieve her dream of playing the violin.

When I use this video in class, I often look at the story from the girl's perspective--her conflicts, her desires, her motivations--eventually boiling down to surrounding issues such as determination, self-esteem, self-worth, and hard work.

Just recently, however, as I was preparing for a workshop for special educators, I watched this video once again and discovered another way of looking at it...or at looking at children and people, in general.

A question was lingering in my mind when I looked at the girl: what does it take for someone who has special needs, who may be facing challenges and difficulties because of a certain condition or disability, to be able to advocate himself/herself and reach his/her dream?

As I was preparing for that workshop, I gazed at the old man in the video. Would it be that he is the driving force that redirected the girl's otherwise negative emotions into something great and beautiful?

I asked further: If the old man gave up on the girl, would she be able to fulfill her desires and reach her greatest potential? Maybe yes, maybe no. But the thing is, he didn't. That's what made the difference.

Indeed, whoever we are--a teacher, a mentor, a counsellor, a parent, just an ordinary person who inspires, motivates and encourages--can make a difference in other people's lives.

It's amazing to shine, but making others shine is sublime.

Ost-racism

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:57:00 +0000

(Photo from www.memory.loc.gov)

The terms "ostracize" and "ostracism" have an interesting history.

In ancient Greece, people decide who to banish from their state by writing someone's name on pottery shards (ostraka), putting these shards in an urn and figuring out by counting whose name hits the top of the "popularity" list. With at least 6000 shards (Bingo!), Mr. X is out!

Nowadays, we don't use pottery shards for writing anymore. But then again, a new breed of ostracism has emerged. Worst, this breed is ferocious as it is hidden away from our naked eyes.

The breed I am talking about does not linger on pottery shards. It lurks beneath the deepest recesses of our consciousness (Freud would love me for this!) and finds its way out through our thoughts, feelings, words and actions towards people. It's shackled by our reasoning but still escapes once in a while through our own irrational acts.

Unfortunately, this new breed of ostracism has already creeped on newer grounds outside the political arena. It's invaded streets, parks, highways and...sadly...schools.

School is a place where all must be given the opportunity to learn so everyone has equal chances of succeeding in a great arena we call life. Nonetheless, even in this supposedly-neutral ground, many students (or even workers) are ostracized without them even knowing it.

(Photo from www.robertfagan.com)

When we shun away others through our language or actions...when we cater stereotypic thoughts and groupist ideas of "us" and "they" / "ours" and "not ours", whether overtly or covertly...when we isolate others (consciously or unconsciously) because of their faith, language, origin or color...we are feeding this new breed of ostracism and providing it a really wonderful place to live and grow.

If before it takes 6000 to ostracize someone, now it only takes one...that is you...me...or anyone of us.

Don't despair, though. This new breed of ostracism is manageable.

If only we look closely and start appreciating others as they are without holding judgment merely because of what language they speak, what clothes they wear, what beliefs they uphold, or where they come from, then we will prevail.

You must remember: the new breed of ostracism will only grow if we nourish it.

Free Stanford online courses in January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:10:00 +0000

Are you up to learn?

Stanford University is offering free online courses in January 2012.
Courses on computer science, engineering, medicine and complex systems will be facilitated by Stanford professors and delivered via asynchronous mode through video lectures, quizzes and discussion forums.

Click the following links to sign up:

If you're in, you can watch video lectures at your leisure time and, although, joining won't give you any extra credits, information from the courses will surely satisfy your hungry mind.

Firelighters/firefighters

noreply@blogger.com (Nephtaly Joel Botor) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:53:00 +0000

I wish to blog here a forum post I wrote in one of my master's class at UPOU when I was still an active and dynamic Master of Distance Education student (how I wish I can come back soon!). My post says:

Although the sage-guide debate lingers on and, I guess, will not cease as long as there are teachers and learners, I believe that in terms of opportunity, learners can choose not to depend on the teacher in terms of acquiring information. They can get as much as they think they need from the Web. Nonetheless, learners absolutely need someone's guidance particularly in optimizing technological affordances and in processing what they learned thereafter. The five words (in italics) are crucial since they refer to the aspect where most students (including me) tend to fall short—processing.

Consequently, it might be right that "even the paradigm of 'facilitators' may slowly be changing". Before, the challenge to facilitators has been to draw out knowledge/experience from participants. Now, since knowledge/experience seems to come so easily, the challenge is to sift or rein knowledge/experience bursting forth from learners towards the achievement of learning goals. I guess most of us observed this in our online classes when posts suddenly explode like mushrooms and our FICs, committed to their roles as "facilitators", are agile in setting direction to our discourse. Hence, paradoxically, as teachers of our time, we are not only becoming "firelighters", we are also becoming "firefighters" putting off (minimizing) fire when it becomes harmful (to the learning process) or wayward. This is just but one change I can see and perhaps as we go along the discussion, we can discover more.

Just a thought to ponder for teachers maximizing the vastness of information in the digital world.