Remembering Andres Bonifacio

November 30 is a national holiday for Philippines in honor of the national hero Andres Bonifacio. He is the founder of the Katipunan and is known as the father of Philippine revolution. During the colonization of the Spaniards, Bonifacio was one of the heroes who devoted their lives in exchange of the freedom which the Filipinos have been longing for.

However, Bonifacio has almost entered in the "hall of forgotten heroes" especially that many of today's younger generation has been hooked to modern fantasy heroes like Captain Barbel, Super Inggo, Batman, Spiderman, Superman and so on. The heroism of Spiderman in annihilating his destructive opponents could be remembered better than the heroism of Bonifacio during the revolution against the Spanish conquerors. The entertaining and heart-pumping moves of Spiderman is much more popular than the gallant stand of Andres Bonifacio who strongly fought for our country's freedom which we are still enjoying at the moment.

If we want to impart the sense of nationalism to every Filipino then we need to make them realize the sacrifices done by our national heroes like Andres Bonifacio. With appreciation to the deeds of our national heroes, comes intense nationalism to uphold the ideals of the Philippines as sovereign nation. As said by Bonifacio, "What kind of love is more pure and more majestic, like the love for your native country? What kind of love? There's nothing more, nothing." We're Filipinos who do believe that Philippines is worth loving for. Let's continue the fight! Move Philippines! Move towards glory and fame!

Simple Deeds, Great Impacts

We have just seen and experienced the powerful retribution of nature through natural calamities which occurred in different parts of the world. Tsunami in the American Samoa, earthquake in Indonesia, typhoons in the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam – these were just few of the natural disasters which shook the entire globe because of the huge damages they have brought which included desolation of lives and destruction of properties.

In the recent years, we felt how the seasons have changed and it’s almost unpredictable. Summer could be filled with rain showers and sometimes heavy rain. Winter fashion would not necessarily mean thick jackets, gloves and boots for one might eventually go out realizing that his/her winter outfit is making him/her feel like bread plunked in an oven. Scientists call the phenomenon global warming or climate change while others consider it as another conspiracy circulated by the first world countries who are threatened of the impressive escalation of the economy of some third world countries (they could hinder third world countries from producing particular products).

While there are so many speculations on the awkward natural phenomenon that mankind is experiencing, it’s always good to look back those old times and trace how our little deeds contributed the dilemmas that we are facing in this day and age. Let us replicate those old days and learn how we could contribute in healing our world which has been wounded by our very own actions. There’s always a solution to every problem that we are facing and we do not have to hit upon the government or media (although they are helpful) just to find them because the solution is just residing within ourselves waiting to be expended for a better purpose. As Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change that you want to see.” We can start it in our own like lessening the use of plastic cellophane or we just have to put the 3 simple R's in our minds. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Let's do whatever we can to help preserve the beauty of our world for we don't know how great the impact of our actions would be if done collectively. Let's create the world that we want to live and the future generations to inherit.

POLITICAL WARFARE

The Philippines has been in the global headline for a couple of times this year. Earlier, the typhoon Ondoy which flooded Metro Manila placed the country in the headlines of global news. Different stories were told which included some acts of volunteerism and unity in helping the victims of the catastrophic typhoon. Many lives were claimed in that natural calamity which made the entire country weep for the loss and the damages caused by such calamity.

Few weeks after the catastrophic typhoons hit the country, the Philippines, at last, had seen the light again when Manny Pacquiao won his match against Cotto. Once more, the Philippines was in the headline as the home of the best boxer the world has ever known (7 boxing titles in one person was truly remarkable in the history of boxing). Lately, the Phillipines triumphed again when its very own Efren Penaflorida was declared as the CNN Hero of the Year. Manny and Efren brought the Philippines into the limelight especially during the time when most of the Filipinos had become hopeless.


And now, the Philippines is shining in condemnation from other nations for the ongoing political warfare which resulted to the killing of more than forty individuals. Why do we have to end it this way? Did power became more valuable than lives? Do we have to kill people to serve people? Plenty of questions are starting to flow from the oasis of my wits down to the stream of my spirits. GOD! Please help these people! Please show them the beauty of life and give them wisdom to preserve it.

Wits and Spirits is joining the entire Philippine nation in praying for the souls of those people who have been killed in Maguindanao. May justice would prevail.

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
-- Albert Einstein

THE HERO IN US

Efren Penaflorida (Kuya F), a young Filipino who initiated "Pushcart Classroom" through the Dynamic Teen Company which he instigated to divert the youth's attention from gangsterism to simple act of volunteerism was named CNN Hero of the year.

I have been following Kuya F's inspiring story of heroism in helping the children in the slum areas in the Philippines by providing them education. What made his story more inspiring is when I learned that Kuya F did not come from a well-off family. Like the children he and his co-volunteers are helping, Kuya F was raised by his father who is a tricycle driver and his mother who is a plain housewife. He was able to finish high school and college (with a degree in BS Education) through Club 8586 -- a Christian people development organization committed in reaching out to families, campuses and communities. As I read and watched the video of Kuya F's extraordinary commitment to help people, I learned "again" that we all have something to share if we only want to share.

During the awarding night, as Kuya F accepted the honor as CNN Hero of the Year, he left a very astounding statement which is, for me, a wake-up call for all of us. With simplicity and all modesty, he expressed, "Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry. Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need. So to each and every person inside this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. ...You are the change that you dream, as I am the change that I dream, and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be." It was a very simple yet profound statement that would always be engraved in this blog and hopefully in my heart.

As an educator, Kuya F's life is a great inspiration and I do agree in him that the hero in us is just waiting to be unleashed. It's not all about how much we have but it's all about how much we are willing to share. A simple act of heroism could take many forms and could mean many different things like an encouraging word, a helping hand, an appreciative expression and so on. We only have to believe that there is a hero within us.


"True service to others is not an issue of scope or scale, for we may serve one, some or many -- through the smallest act of kindness or most noble feat of sacrifice."
-- Matthew May

The Power of Media

The Mass Media has been proven to be a very powerful tool which could transform simple thoughts into different actions and reactions. The latest advertisement of Thai Life Insurance Company which has been recently aired in Thai television stations is another testimony of the tremendous impact that the Media could bring.

The advertisement features young children singing the infamous "Que Sera Sera". At first, you would only notice their smiles and their enthusiasm in singing but as the storyline would reveal, you would discern that they are not ordinary children for they actually suffer from disabilities. As the advertisement goes on, you would eventually notice the reason behind the children's happy faces despite their disabilities. You would see in the latter part of the advertisement how proud their parents are which is more than enough of a reason for the children to be happy. The parents look at their children full of admiration.

The message of the advertisement is so inspiring and for me, it has served beyond its purpose which is to promote life insurance among parents especially to women who are planning to give birth. More than conveying to the audience the importance of life insurance, Thai Life Insurance Company has also imparted an important lesson to the masses especially in judging people with disabilities.

Luckily, I found the advertisement uploaded at Youtube and I would like to share this to everyone.


And here's another thing.This song is very popular in Thailand now. It has been sung by people from different walks of life. Actually, I learned about this advertisement when I heard some of my second year students singing it in the classroom. I was so amazed when I heard them singing the song because I seldom hear them singing a classic English song and another they do understand what they are singing. This advertisement, indeed, did not just advertise a product for it also imparted values and lasting English phrases in the heart of every Thai learner. Actually, I just used this advertisement last week to remind my students our classroom rules.

RANDOM POST

Hello everyone! Thank you for the unending support you have given to this blog. Indeed, I became so inspired to blog in the past few weeks when I learned that the number of visitors dropping into my blog has been increasing. To all the readers who dropped by especially those who promised to keep an eye in this blog, you're my inspiration and I will continue to blog because of you. I do hope that my life would be more interesting than ever in the following days so I could post more interesting articles. Well, I know that being interesting is so relative so I need to keep my fingers leashed and feel free to accept comments from my beloved readers.

Much as I want this blog to be updated on a regular basis (like twice a week), I need to admit that the following days would be a difficult struggle in my blogging career (yes, it's been a career for me). Midterm examination is fast approaching and it simply means that I need to prepare and consolidate learning evaluation tools and at the same time I have to keep updates of my students' progress in the classroom so they would become aware of the things which they need to improve and sustain. In addition to, I got an additional responsibility for the proposed Language Camp this March as I have to coordinate the planning of activities among Mathematics teachers in our program. You might be wondering why Math teachers need to be involved in the Language Camp. Well, few of us may have known that Math is just another language and for the speakers of English as Second Language, so much could be explored in Mathematics on the contextual usage of the English language. I do hope that our team would be able to come up with brilliant ideas that would encourage the learners to study Math.

Added to my jam-packed schedule in school is my thesis which I need to finish by last week of December so I could be ready for the internal panel defense on January. Completing this master's thesis would mean more online research hours, more library period and, of course, INSPIRATION to keep things going during the process.

So in advance, I would like to apologize for the delayed updates of this blog (as if you care... hehehe). Well, just in case you have been following this blog, we will still keep things going but we will be doing it one step at a time.

IN THE NAME OF FASHION

Fashion undergoes constant cycle. Right now, I don't know if English is also into fashion. Is it fashion or just another marketing strategy?

The mall where I personally took the picture above is one of the malls in Bangkok visited by hundreds of foreign tourists everyday.