It happened again.
This Tuesday last, I asked my MGT151 class, Marketing Systems, to describe the Philippines. The answer given by a lady were the following adjectives: polluted, overpopulated, corrupt and dirty. The class nodded their heads. They agreed.
I think she's 18 or 19. Too young to be losing hope. It is so early. Serious.
Sadly, I "kind of" expected those type of answers.
So, I asked the class - if the Philippines is what you say it is, why then are the Koreans buying swats of land in Baguio? Why are the eastern Europeans invested so much money in Boracay? Why would foreigners invest millions of money and build the Manila Ocean Park behind the Luneta Grandstand, a place considered baduy by wersh-wersh speaking society of the Philippines? And why would Koreans and Taiwanese put $300 million on developing Coron, Palawan if the Philippines is indeed polluted, overpopulated, corrupt and dirty?
The class was silent.
I hope I was instrumental in putting a little of disequilibrium in their heads.
Why are the foreigners putting serious money and resources to our country?
What is it that they see in the Philippines that we do not?
Or what is it that we wrongly see about the Philippines that we all want out? = )
I love the Philippines. And I am proud to be a Filipino! A race of Lapu-Lapus and Jose Rizals.
... I will not fear men, Lord!
Thursday
on education, on teaching and on learning
The situation with current formal education business is it is so focused on the act and process of teaching that the inherent and natural learning process, once considered, is actually a business growth area. A blue ocean = )
Monday
coron the beautiful
Anywhere with Beb is beautiful. Period.
And this trip is superbly beautiful. Makes you remember that He is indeed a very beautiful and magnificent God. A perfect 48 hours!
The trek, all 726 steps, to Mt. Tapyas is worth it as we went down and the golden sun was everywhere. All around us. I had to close my eyes to really digest it. To mark it in my head. To inscribe it in my heart. To put it at the center of my soul. As if it wasn't enough, He sent us a rainbow too just to see how we respond = )
Then off to Makinit as the "sleepy" town was engulfed by darkness. Night fell. The trike ride gave us a feel of what it means to live in Coron. Meaning, not as tourists but as citizens. Stories supplied by Lisa (0919-6042929) and Joan, our very friendly and engaging tourist guides, filled our way to Makinit and when we finally dipped out tired legs from all the 726 steps towards Mt Tapyas, the relaxing heat of the salty hot spring sipped through and we suddenly felt home. Relax. This place has this power to reacquaint you to the very version of yourself God intended you to be. I am my Father's son again.
I submerged my whole body and peace engulfed me.
The trip to Kayangan Lake is to die for and I actually had a sort of out of the body experience when I took all that beauty in and happily failed. I could not keep all in. I had to express it. My jaw dropped and I uttered, "... aaahhhh!" It's akin to holding the hand of the woman you love for the very first time. It's simply beautiful.
Then, we docked inside the rock formations and we went up. And as we reached the top of the hill and looked at where we came from, the view was another adjective synonymous to magnificent = )
Coron is beautiful!
The water, the corals, the fish, the food and the people. Beautiful!
How can a beautiful place not create beautiful people? Friendly people. Nice people?
Coron reminded me why we need beauty in our lives. Coron reminded me of the beauty inside all of us. A beauty that could never be touched by failure, hurt and sickness = )
Lord, You are magnificent!
And this trip is superbly beautiful. Makes you remember that He is indeed a very beautiful and magnificent God. A perfect 48 hours!
The trek, all 726 steps, to Mt. Tapyas is worth it as we went down and the golden sun was everywhere. All around us. I had to close my eyes to really digest it. To mark it in my head. To inscribe it in my heart. To put it at the center of my soul. As if it wasn't enough, He sent us a rainbow too just to see how we respond = )
Then off to Makinit as the "sleepy" town was engulfed by darkness. Night fell. The trike ride gave us a feel of what it means to live in Coron. Meaning, not as tourists but as citizens. Stories supplied by Lisa (0919-6042929) and Joan, our very friendly and engaging tourist guides, filled our way to Makinit and when we finally dipped out tired legs from all the 726 steps towards Mt Tapyas, the relaxing heat of the salty hot spring sipped through and we suddenly felt home. Relax. This place has this power to reacquaint you to the very version of yourself God intended you to be. I am my Father's son again.
I submerged my whole body and peace engulfed me.
The trip to Kayangan Lake is to die for and I actually had a sort of out of the body experience when I took all that beauty in and happily failed. I could not keep all in. I had to express it. My jaw dropped and I uttered, "... aaahhhh!" It's akin to holding the hand of the woman you love for the very first time. It's simply beautiful.
Then, we docked inside the rock formations and we went up. And as we reached the top of the hill and looked at where we came from, the view was another adjective synonymous to magnificent = )
Coron is beautiful!
The water, the corals, the fish, the food and the people. Beautiful!
How can a beautiful place not create beautiful people? Friendly people. Nice people?
Coron reminded me why we need beauty in our lives. Coron reminded me of the beauty inside all of us. A beauty that could never be touched by failure, hurt and sickness = )
Lord, You are magnificent!
Wednesday
the most insecure place to be in
... is buying things we do not need
... with money we do not have
... to impress people we do not even like!
Yikes! = )
... with money we do not have
... to impress people we do not even like!
Yikes! = )
Thursday
manny, the boxer
He is, I think, our first billionaire Filipino athlete.
There was a time when someone tells you that there will be a day when there will be a billionaire Filipino athlete seemed ridiculous. It's like hearing, now, that there will be a day when we will have our first Filipino astronaut. Not that it will not happen but... catch my drift?
And he is truly a pride of the Filipino race.
But the one thing that made me admire Manny Pacquiao, aside from his physical genius, is his discipline in preparation.
Think, Manny trains and prepares, physically and mentally, for at least eight grueling weeks, or 11,520 minutes for a 48-minute fight, granting, it goes the full 12 rounds. I mean, the actual fight is simply 0.4167% of the whole preparation. That's not even half of a percentage point = )
Talk about preparation!
Here's a quote from Joe Frazier, a former heavyweight champion, on preparation: "You can map out a fight plan. But when the action starts, you are down to your reflexes. That's where your roadwork shows. If you cheated in the dark, you're getting found out now under the bright lights..."
No shortcuts indeed!
Trials are food of faith - Streams in the Desert.
There was a time when someone tells you that there will be a day when there will be a billionaire Filipino athlete seemed ridiculous. It's like hearing, now, that there will be a day when we will have our first Filipino astronaut. Not that it will not happen but... catch my drift?
And he is truly a pride of the Filipino race.
But the one thing that made me admire Manny Pacquiao, aside from his physical genius, is his discipline in preparation.
Think, Manny trains and prepares, physically and mentally, for at least eight grueling weeks, or 11,520 minutes for a 48-minute fight, granting, it goes the full 12 rounds. I mean, the actual fight is simply 0.4167% of the whole preparation. That's not even half of a percentage point = )
Talk about preparation!
Here's a quote from Joe Frazier, a former heavyweight champion, on preparation: "You can map out a fight plan. But when the action starts, you are down to your reflexes. That's where your roadwork shows. If you cheated in the dark, you're getting found out now under the bright lights..."
No shortcuts indeed!
Trials are food of faith - Streams in the Desert.
questions to ourselves
Could we see how we see?
If we could, will it change how we see?
How about the very thing that we see?
Does it change the very thing that we see?
If this happens, will it change how we interact
... with what we finally see?
Does it also mean,
since we interacted differently,
how we see changes us?
How do we see failures?
If we could, will it change how we see?
How about the very thing that we see?
Does it change the very thing that we see?
If this happens, will it change how we interact
... with what we finally see?
Does it also mean,
since we interacted differently,
how we see changes us?
How do we see failures?
Wednesday
on the future and on failing
I just heard it but it never left.
"We are emotional beings who happen to think..."
It is truly fascinating. I mean, for eight words, a truth, intelligently grouped together, changing one's perception for life and in return changes the perception of people he comes in contact with.
My passion is in the field of education.
As of the moment, I am formally on vacation but my mind is truly and really on on-line mode. And thanks to Mozilla Firefox's Stumble Upon, a gem fell on lap. Crystallized rumbling thoughts.
If we think about it, the college that I have the privilege to teach in, we are currently educating people who will retire by 2055. By then, if I am still alive, I will be 81 years old. As old, as my ailing grandmother right now.
But why I am stating this fact. The point is - do we know what the future will be in 2055? How about in 2035? How about in 2015? That's only 6 years away from now. Do we really know what skills our students will need by then?
This is significant because it is through education where we usher in the future that nobody knows. And yet, we educate like we know. We design courses like we know. We design curriculum like we know. We design syllabus like we know. We teach like we know. Serious.
I know we know but do we really know for sure?
Of course they need math, science and language. But, here's a suggestion from out of the box - you think we need a skill on how to fail beautifully?
Enter ABET Accreditation. There's a required skill set in the ABET framework called 'lifelong learning.' Actually, this is similar to that part in a Job Description where you read "... will perform other duties that may be assigned and required." This is what we term in HR as the catch all phrase. Funny = )
But seriously, what designed experience do we put out out there to show the importance of lifelong learning among our students?
Serious, what makes a person a student for life?
The simple answer is if the students finds out what he really enjoys doing. But how does the student find that out?
The simple answer is when he finds out what he really does not want to do = )
But how does he find that out?
The simple answer is he goes out there and try things = )
But, this approach have these constraints or challenges: [1] Time does not stop. Once it's gone it's gone and [2] The student's appreciation of failure.
We can not do something about time but we can do something about failure appreciation. Not that we will make the pain will go away but we can make lemonades out of lemons = )
Do not get me wrong, I am not making a virtue out of failure. All I am suggesting is how do we process failure? How do we see failure?
Failing that leads to a new awareness is a good failure. But a failure that failed to bring one person to a new level of thinking is a failed failure. A very sad failure = )
Good failure is a necessity. Not being afraid to fail is a skill set of the 21st century professional. We must not be afraid to be wrong. Because if we are, how can we come up with something original? Something new. Something that is necessary for a future that nobody knows? = )
If that's the case, then how do schools, the classrooms, the classes, the professors and the learning facilitators process failures?
Wait. Do we invite failures in class?
And another wait - is it important to prepare for the future? = )
Lord, You are the lamp that lights my feet...
"We are emotional beings who happen to think..."
It is truly fascinating. I mean, for eight words, a truth, intelligently grouped together, changing one's perception for life and in return changes the perception of people he comes in contact with.
My passion is in the field of education.
As of the moment, I am formally on vacation but my mind is truly and really on on-line mode. And thanks to Mozilla Firefox's Stumble Upon, a gem fell on lap. Crystallized rumbling thoughts.
If we think about it, the college that I have the privilege to teach in, we are currently educating people who will retire by 2055. By then, if I am still alive, I will be 81 years old. As old, as my ailing grandmother right now.
But why I am stating this fact. The point is - do we know what the future will be in 2055? How about in 2035? How about in 2015? That's only 6 years away from now. Do we really know what skills our students will need by then?
This is significant because it is through education where we usher in the future that nobody knows. And yet, we educate like we know. We design courses like we know. We design curriculum like we know. We design syllabus like we know. We teach like we know. Serious.
I know we know but do we really know for sure?
Of course they need math, science and language. But, here's a suggestion from out of the box - you think we need a skill on how to fail beautifully?
Enter ABET Accreditation. There's a required skill set in the ABET framework called 'lifelong learning.' Actually, this is similar to that part in a Job Description where you read "... will perform other duties that may be assigned and required." This is what we term in HR as the catch all phrase. Funny = )
But seriously, what designed experience do we put out out there to show the importance of lifelong learning among our students?
Serious, what makes a person a student for life?
The simple answer is if the students finds out what he really enjoys doing. But how does the student find that out?
The simple answer is when he finds out what he really does not want to do = )
But how does he find that out?
The simple answer is he goes out there and try things = )
But, this approach have these constraints or challenges: [1] Time does not stop. Once it's gone it's gone and [2] The student's appreciation of failure.
We can not do something about time but we can do something about failure appreciation. Not that we will make the pain will go away but we can make lemonades out of lemons = )
Do not get me wrong, I am not making a virtue out of failure. All I am suggesting is how do we process failure? How do we see failure?
Failing that leads to a new awareness is a good failure. But a failure that failed to bring one person to a new level of thinking is a failed failure. A very sad failure = )
Good failure is a necessity. Not being afraid to fail is a skill set of the 21st century professional. We must not be afraid to be wrong. Because if we are, how can we come up with something original? Something new. Something that is necessary for a future that nobody knows? = )
If that's the case, then how do schools, the classrooms, the classes, the professors and the learning facilitators process failures?
Wait. Do we invite failures in class?
And another wait - is it important to prepare for the future? = )
Lord, You are the lamp that lights my feet...
Tuesday
A zoo called AVILON
The first trip was frustrating in a sense that we arrived at the zoo a little past 4pm. Though the zoo closes at 5pm, the Avilon people did not let us in. The reason they told us was that one hour will not be enough to tour the whole place, 7.25 hectares.
We, Beb and I, felt bad. Really bad. And most of all, we did not "understand" the policy of Avilon. But that's that. So, we head back to Manila from Montalban, Rizal. Luhaan = )
It took us almost 2 years to have the guts to try again to go to Avilon. And when the tour was done, we finally understood why the security guards, then, did not allow us to enter at past four. They had a very good reason. Two hours is indeed not enough to tour, no, to experience Avilon.
This time, we took the route via Philcoa. The last time was from Cubao.
We decided to take public transport to really experience the local flavor of Rizal. We met a little over 9am in Manila. Took an FX to Jollibee, Philcoa then a jeep to Montalban. Philcoa to Avilon will cost PhP28/ pax. Told the driver to drop us off in Avilon. The trip is a bit over an hour. Then we disembarked in a gas station, past twelve, and took a tricycle ride, 30PhP/pax, to Avilon. This is a 15-minute ride on very rough road. Watch your head as the trike driver traverse the course = )
But the whole public transport experience was worth it when we finally entered Avilon, PhP 200/pax, and walked through its 7.25 hectares grounds.
Ben, our braided guide, was a very good investment, PhP 350, to heighten the Avilon experience.
He brought us first to the crocodilean part of the zoo. Warned us about a jumping crocodile. Told us the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. Ushered us to the land of the birds. I finally understood that a peacock is male and his partner is called a peahen. That the peacock had this wonderful feathers to attract a mate so that they can procreate. But that the peacock will eventually lose those magnificent feathers once the mating season ends and when the deed was done. Ostriches were also present. There two legs really looked like dinosaur legs.
We continued our tour and it was a bit unnerving when Ben told us, as we neared a fish pond, if we would like to feed the fish. Ask what should we give the fish, he said raw chickens. Wait. A note to myself. He is asking us if we would like to interact with a chicken eating fish? Did I hear him right?
Apparently, yes. So, we did feed the chicken eating fish. And that was something else. The fish were snapping the PhP10 chicken we were throwing.
After that, Ben introduced us to Joey = )
Joey is a 20 year old orangutan. He is big. Overwhelmingly big. Ben told us that orangutans are afraid of water which explains why their private place was surrounded by water.
By this time, it was close to 2pm. We have been walking for almost one hour and half. Ben decided that we should rest a bit. And this is when we met two year old Trixie. Another orangutan. But she was friendlier. We even took some pictures with her, gangsta style.
Then after eating ice cream, which Trixie was bent on swiping away from our hands, but thanks to her trainer, her funny and tenacious advances were stopped, off to the big cats.
Even as a young boy, the big cats had always mesmerized me. They had a hold on me. And for me to really see them, up close, really close, walking and darting around, though in a cage, I felt alive. I really felt their energy. Their power. I understood the term - wild beasts.
The Sumatran tigers, a pair, were awesome. The male was really active. Walking. Though it was subdued, I heard his beastly growl. Then, Manolo came to view. This magnificent Jaguar. Boy, he is something else. Among the big cats, jaguars or pumas, though they can jump 20 feet into the air, are the unpredictable ones. They do not follow a pattern. Even in the cage, Manolo walks around in no definite pattern. Only one thing is certain. The kill. Compared to Manolo, the leopard on the other cage was a close second.
Then off to snakes, the turtles, the spiders and the small cats. To see a king cobra in a cage, I think, everyone would ask how the keepers ensure that the poisonous snakes are really kept inside the cage. And you know what, I felt a small dose of fear running through my veins when I saw a cage with no poisonous snake in it. I caught myself looking for the snake. Where did it go? Above us or below us? = )
The tour ended with the iguanas. By this time, it was past three. Time for lunch = )
Avilon was an experience. An experience I will recommend to everyone. The animals, I think, are really cared for. And the landscaping was superb. I could see myself having a picnic there.
On a personal note, Avilon is a perfect getaway, last week, to "un-jade" me. To tame the urban soul that's been creeping in unhealthily. To remind myself, I was Nunoy first before Elisier. That I was Elisier first before Sir Fants.
Plus, it was also an appropriate way to hold hands and reconnect with Beb = )
We, Beb and I, felt bad. Really bad. And most of all, we did not "understand" the policy of Avilon. But that's that. So, we head back to Manila from Montalban, Rizal. Luhaan = )
It took us almost 2 years to have the guts to try again to go to Avilon. And when the tour was done, we finally understood why the security guards, then, did not allow us to enter at past four. They had a very good reason. Two hours is indeed not enough to tour, no, to experience Avilon.
This time, we took the route via Philcoa. The last time was from Cubao.
We decided to take public transport to really experience the local flavor of Rizal. We met a little over 9am in Manila. Took an FX to Jollibee, Philcoa then a jeep to Montalban. Philcoa to Avilon will cost PhP28/ pax. Told the driver to drop us off in Avilon. The trip is a bit over an hour. Then we disembarked in a gas station, past twelve, and took a tricycle ride, 30PhP/pax, to Avilon. This is a 15-minute ride on very rough road. Watch your head as the trike driver traverse the course = )
But the whole public transport experience was worth it when we finally entered Avilon, PhP 200/pax, and walked through its 7.25 hectares grounds.
Ben, our braided guide, was a very good investment, PhP 350, to heighten the Avilon experience.
He brought us first to the crocodilean part of the zoo. Warned us about a jumping crocodile. Told us the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. Ushered us to the land of the birds. I finally understood that a peacock is male and his partner is called a peahen. That the peacock had this wonderful feathers to attract a mate so that they can procreate. But that the peacock will eventually lose those magnificent feathers once the mating season ends and when the deed was done. Ostriches were also present. There two legs really looked like dinosaur legs.
We continued our tour and it was a bit unnerving when Ben told us, as we neared a fish pond, if we would like to feed the fish. Ask what should we give the fish, he said raw chickens. Wait. A note to myself. He is asking us if we would like to interact with a chicken eating fish? Did I hear him right?
Apparently, yes. So, we did feed the chicken eating fish. And that was something else. The fish were snapping the PhP10 chicken we were throwing.
After that, Ben introduced us to Joey = )
Joey is a 20 year old orangutan. He is big. Overwhelmingly big. Ben told us that orangutans are afraid of water which explains why their private place was surrounded by water.
By this time, it was close to 2pm. We have been walking for almost one hour and half. Ben decided that we should rest a bit. And this is when we met two year old Trixie. Another orangutan. But she was friendlier. We even took some pictures with her, gangsta style.
Then after eating ice cream, which Trixie was bent on swiping away from our hands, but thanks to her trainer, her funny and tenacious advances were stopped, off to the big cats.
Even as a young boy, the big cats had always mesmerized me. They had a hold on me. And for me to really see them, up close, really close, walking and darting around, though in a cage, I felt alive. I really felt their energy. Their power. I understood the term - wild beasts.
The Sumatran tigers, a pair, were awesome. The male was really active. Walking. Though it was subdued, I heard his beastly growl. Then, Manolo came to view. This magnificent Jaguar. Boy, he is something else. Among the big cats, jaguars or pumas, though they can jump 20 feet into the air, are the unpredictable ones. They do not follow a pattern. Even in the cage, Manolo walks around in no definite pattern. Only one thing is certain. The kill. Compared to Manolo, the leopard on the other cage was a close second.
Then off to snakes, the turtles, the spiders and the small cats. To see a king cobra in a cage, I think, everyone would ask how the keepers ensure that the poisonous snakes are really kept inside the cage. And you know what, I felt a small dose of fear running through my veins when I saw a cage with no poisonous snake in it. I caught myself looking for the snake. Where did it go? Above us or below us? = )
The tour ended with the iguanas. By this time, it was past three. Time for lunch = )
Avilon was an experience. An experience I will recommend to everyone. The animals, I think, are really cared for. And the landscaping was superb. I could see myself having a picnic there.
On a personal note, Avilon is a perfect getaway, last week, to "un-jade" me. To tame the urban soul that's been creeping in unhealthily. To remind myself, I was Nunoy first before Elisier. That I was Elisier first before Sir Fants.
Plus, it was also an appropriate way to hold hands and reconnect with Beb = )
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