I am a Working Woman

Like most young people, my children just cannot get enough of the Internet. They could spend hours on the web, playing games, chatting with friends, or just surfing their favorite sites. You’ll rarely find them hanging out at the mall with their friends because they prefer staying at home.

But even though my four children are always at home, I sometimes feel that I’m all alone. Why so? Well, simply because they’re all glued to their screens, enjoying the wonders of the Internet. They’re so enamored with the wired world that it’s hard to keep a conversation going at the dinner table. They want to finish their meals pronto, so that they can get back to whatever it is that they were doing. And so, the sneaky mommy that I am, I asked our Internet provider to cut off our service temporarily.

My children noticed immediately, and started bugging me about it. What happened to our Internet? Ma, how will I do my research for our history paper? Ma, we have to post our findings on the experiment we’re doing in class. I have to read this article in Time.

In my haste, it slipped my mind that my children use the Internet as much for learning as they do for entertainment.

Learning for the young

Indeed, one of the most exciting things to happen in the field of education is e-learning. It’s been called computer-based training, web-based training, online learning, and virtual learning. However, all these terms are practically synonymous with each other. Simply put, e-learning is a way to learn new things through the use of electronic media whether via Internet applications, networked systems, or interactive CDs.

Today’s generation has embraced this development with open arms. Because of their easy grasp of technology—I’ve seen two-year-olds playing Angry Birds—e-learning comes naturally to them.

Kids have no fear of technology, I’ve noticed. They’re not afraid to fiddle with gadgets, pressing buttons to see what they’re there for. They’re not afraid to explore a site, clicking all sorts of apps to see the one that they like. Actually, I think they’re looking for that magic button that says, “Amaze me!”

Kids are not only very curious, they are also quite fearless. This makes them very good candidates for learning. Fortunately, educational institutions and computer software companies have taken advantage of children’s thirst for knowledge—and dare I say, entertainment—to come up with systems and programs designed to amaze these children on a daily basis. Most schools now incorporate computer technologies into their curriculum, mixing in Web-based tools with classroom lectures in their students’ everyday schedules. This they’ve called blended learning.

The challenge for teachers and their blackboard methodology is how to make the classroom experience more exciting than the Internet experience. Because the Internet is so cool—where else can you learn about Geometry with Train in the background?—teachers have to get even way cooler!

While I believe that nothing beats the excitement of the face-to-face interaction that classroom discussions bring, especially when moderated by an exceptional teacher who knows how to encourage his students to get deeper in their analysis, some may say that you can get the same kind of dynamics on the Web. Indeed, teachers have their work cut out for them.

Learning for everyone

But e-learning goes beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic. E-learning is for everyone. Because learning is a life-long pursuit, e-learning’s out-of-the-classroom model makes it accessible to anyone who wants to pursue a passion or enhance an interest.

For example, a young professional who wants to pick up some accountancy skills can take an accounting course online. An inveterate traveler who wants to be able to read the menu at his favorite restaurant in Tokyo can get himself some Learn Japanese CDs and supplement it with online tutorials. A stay-at-home mom who wants to learn how to paint like Picasso can sign up for a virtual class with classmates from all over the world. E-learning is even suitable for old folks who want to keep their mental abilities mean and sharp.

As for yours truly, I see e-learning as one of the avenues by which we can keep our best teachers in the country.

Whenever I read news reports about a Filipino teacher being recognized in the United States or China, I feel very happy for all those young minds which our Filipino teachers are helping develop into fine citizens. At the same time, I feel a bit melancholy for the sad fact that those great Filipino teachers are not here in their own country, teaching their kin. It is indeed unfortunate that our best teachers have to seek employment elsewhere in order to make a good living.

E-learning is one way that we can keep our best teachers in the country. Because e-learning can happen anytime and anywhere, we can find gainful employment for our best teachers by offering online educational services. They’re doing this in India and in Korea. And I am certain that we could very well do it here in the Philippines.

What makes a Filipino teacher so great is not just because he knows his subject by heart, it’s because he is always all heart. He is caring and compassionate, and always has the best interests of his students in mind. That’s why Filipino teachers are so popular abroad—and that’s why we should keep them in the Philippines.

As for our Internet service, I’ve asked out provider to put it back on. I didn’t tell my kids about what I did, but I did talk to them about having more face time. As cool as the Internet is, nothing beats love of family!

Having lunch with my mommy friends is always an enjoyable experience. One mom talks about her experience taking her son to his college entrance exams. Another tells us the never-ending saga of her daughter’s on and off relationship with her boyfriend. And still another talks about her sometimes wacky adventures at her new job. In between bites of takoyaki and tempura, we have a lot of laughs, interspersed with little bits of mommy wisdom.

Listening to my friends, I noticed how fervent they are about taking care of their sons and daughters, husbands and partners, mothers and fathers, family and friends, colleagues and co-workers. As mothers, we are genetically wired to be nurturers, to enhance the lives of those around us. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. Caught up in the hundred and one things on our to-do lists, penciling in some time for ourselves is oftentimes a luxury, if not a purely accidental treat.

Of course, spending your energy to take care of your family and your professional career is all well and good. However, I hope you also spend some time investing in yourself. After all, you are your best asset. If you don’t invest in yourself, nobody else will.

Invest in your mind

I am a great believer in continuous education. In fact, that’s the very foundation of AHEAD Tutorial & Review Center.

Education starts by being open to new thoughts and ideas and by being a keen observer of the world around us. Reading is one way of feeding our minds with some brain candy. I myself am a voracious reader of all sorts of stuff. I love surfing the Internet to find out about new trends in online learning and new techniques in teaching age-old subjects. It is through the Internet that I discovered new developments in adaptive learning that we eventually offered in our centers.

Education also means learning from others. My staff would tell you that I love attending seminars and participating in workshops. I love sitting in a roomful of my colleagues, listening to an expert talk about Internet marketing or discussing the latest trends in primary education. Whenever I get an invitation to attend a conference here or abroad, I arrange my schedule so that I could attend the most important ones. That’s because I don’t want to miss out on anything that’s happening in our industry.

Of course, my education would not be complete if I don’t share what I’ve learned. Whenever I get back from a conference, I give a briefing to my staff of the event’s important highlights. I also love forwarding articles to my friends and colleagues. I don’t care if they think it’s just spam. If I believe that they’ll get something from it, then I don’t have any qualms of clicking forward.

Invest in your body

Of course, where would a healthy mind be without a healthy body, right? And this has been quite a challenge for me. I used to have a 36-22-36 figure, but now it’s 42-32-42. I’ve started dieting 36 times, but they all turned out to be one-day diets. I know so much about dieting not that I can probably write a book about it. However, there is a difference between knowing and doing.

Still, I believe that nothing beats getting the right balance of nutrition, physical activity, and rest to keep one healthy. So last summer, I enlisted my family in a fitness program with the help of a trainer. He devised a scheme that had us taking walks, playing soccer, and doing aerobics. It was exhilarating, but eventually, my work schedule overtook everything else. I tried doing the treadmill again last week, but then I’d always get distracted and find myself sitting down and thinking about something else. After awhile, I’d remember what I was doing and get back on the treadmill.

For now, I take care of my body by making healthy eating choices, slowing down on work when needed, and making sure I get enough sleep. Every so often, I also reward my body by having soothing massages and prettifying pedicures. I also sometimes splurge on beautiful lingerie and lovely clothes. Mommies, part and parcel of taking care of our bodies is by loving the shape and size we have.

Invest in your spirit

For the next few days, I will be on vacation with my four children. It’s a much-needed break from my hectic schedule. For the past few weeks now, I’ve been hopping from one meeting to the next, one conference after another. These meetings are the lifeblood of our business, and I always look forward to them. It gives me such joy to discover new ways of helping out an organization with their educational and training needs. But after some time, these meetings can be very tiring. They’re not just physically demanding, they can be psychologically draining as well.

When I get this feeling of weariness, I know that it’s time to take a vacation. It’s time to take myself away from what I see and do and hear every day, and delight my senses with the thrill of the new. That’s when I start surfing the Internet for new places that my kids and I haven’t seen, so that I get excited by life once more. This vacation is such a treat as we are back in Korea, a country we came to love when we visited it a few months ago. I know that we would be able to discover more of its delights this time. And when I get back, I would be refreshed and ready to face new challenges at home and at work.

Every so often, one of our students would drop by our center and show us his report card. He’d point out his improved grades and proceed to thank his tutor profusely. Whenever I witness such acts of sweetness, I whisper to myself, “God bless our teachers!”

Yes, where would we be without our teachers? Next only to our parents, our teachers opened our minds to the wonderful world of learning. They were thorough enough to explain the hardest concepts and patient enough to answer the simplest questions. They challenged us every day in the classroom with their pop quizzes and graded recitation sessions. At the time, we hated these impromptu tests of our abilities. Little did we know that we were actually being trained to think quickly on our feet, something that would come in handy once we got out to the real world.

That’s why everybody has a favorite teacher. Everybody has a favorite story to tell about a teacher he hated or loved, about a teacher who was a stickler for rules, or about a teacher who acted more like a mom than anything else.

Yet, some of us never bothered to thank our teachers. We figured that it is their job to teach us and train us. Only later on did we realize the sacrifices that they had to go through to be able to enlighten our minds.

I am particularly proud of our Filipino teachers. For me, they are the best in the world because of their passion and dedication to their vocation.

Here are just some making headways in their fields:

Queena Lee-Chua: Queena is known for demystifying the complexity and difficulty by which students approach mathematics. Graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Math at the Ateneo de Manila University, Queena could have easily taken the corporate world by storm. Instead, she chose to teach Math. She has attacked her one-woman mission to make learning math and science easy and fun with much zeal, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed. Heaps of awards have been bestowed this professor, columnist, and author including the Outstanding Young Scientist (National Academy of Science and Technology, 2002), Outstanding Teacher Award (Metrobank Foundation, 2003), and National Book Award for Science (2003). Queena currently teaches at the Mathematics Department of the Ateneo.

Ambeth Ocampo: Ambeth breathed life to ancient history. He made heroic figures real, telling us what Jose Rizal was like and what Emilio Aguinaldo ate for breakfast. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University and taught at San Beda College, De La Salle University, and the University of the Philippines. His column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer is always an enjoyable read and his numerous books have won for him three National Book Awards. A keeper of our nation’s history, he maintains an extensive Filipiniana collection. Ambeth is the chair of the Department of History of the Ateneo and a professorial lecturer at University of the Philippines.

Solita Collas-Monsod: Mareng Winnie, as she is more popularly known, can outtalk anyone when it comes to economics, among other topics. A cum laude graduate of the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Winnie began teaching at her alma mater in 1963. A fierce nationalist, Winnie exhorted her students to stay in the Philippines and try to do deeds honorable and good.

The academe could not contain her energy and she went on to hold various government positions, most notably as President Corazon Aquino’s Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning. Later, she would serve as co-host of the popular GMA Network show “Dabate with Mare and Pare.” Currently, she is hosting “Bawal ang Pasaway Kay Mareng Winnie” on GMA News TV.

The many awards that Winnie has received include the Professional Award in Economics (University of the Philippines Alumni Association, 1987), Cabinet Secretary of the Year (Philippine Free Press, 1988 and 1999), Broadcaster of the Year (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, 2000), and Best Public Affairs Program (Catholic Mass Media Awards, 2000).

Josette T. Biyo: Dr. Josette’s academic star shines so bright that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology  named an asteroid after her, the 13241 Biyo. The first Asian to win the Intel Excellence in Teaching Award in 2002, Dr. Josette was recognized for the ingenious ways she taught science research. Her techniques were so inspiring that her students produced exemplary works in the fields of physics, oceanography, and robotics.

Among the many awards she has received include the Outstanding Teacher of the Philippines (Metrobank Foundation, 1997), The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM, 1998), Award for Continuing Excellence and Service (Metrobank Foundation, 2004), and Presidential Award (Philippine College of Physicians, 2007).

Dr. Josette is the Executive Director of the Philippine Science High School System.

Christopher and Maria Victoria Bernido: When this couple bid farewell to their posts at National Institute of Physics at the University of the Philippines in the 1980s, not a few of their colleagues were surprised. They were at the top of their game, as they say, and had won recognition for their zeal for excellence. But the Bernidos chose the hard road, devoting their lives to the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF), an antiquated high school in Jagna, Bohol.

There, they showed that excellence can bloom anywhere, even in an impoverished town. The Bernidos introduced an innovative way of teaching called CVIF Dynamic Learning Program (DLP). Their strategy worked, producing remarkable improvements in their students’ academic performance. Later on, they came up with the “Learning Physics as One Nation” project, which addressed the shortage of physics teachers. For their efforts, the Bernidos received the 2010 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

One of my friends is smart and beautiful. She runs her own travel agency, planning fabulous vacations for her growing number of clients while taking care of her family and managing the everyday affairs of their home. In short, she’s a very capable individual who knows how to get things done.

When it comes to helping her two grade school children with their schoolwork, however, she is at a complete loss. The three of them would spend hours at the dinner table, and still not get everything done. At the end of the day, she would be completely frustrated, but she didn’t want to give up. And so, she would try again the next day with pretty much the same results.

It was her husband who finally stepped in, and asked her to get a tutor for their children. The two kids were not doing badly in their academics. But because they were in a highly competitive school, the youngsters needed all the help that they can get.

This is a story that I come across at our tutorial centers almost every day.

As parents, we want to be the one to guide our children in their school life. We want to be the one they come running to when they have questions. Unfortunately, not all parents are good teachers.

What does it take to be a good teacher?

Teaching is a gift, and unfortunately, not everyone has been blessed with it.

The good teacher is passionate about his subject of choice and is a master of it. Because he knows his subject inside out, he can simplify it, making it easier for his students to understand.

The good teacher can breathe life to complex materials through stories, illustrations, and other materials. He can explain concepts with such wit, humor, and enthusiasm that even the disinterested student can’t help but get curious.

The good teacher encourages his students to do their best. Because the good teacher gives his best, he expects his students to give their best as well. The good teacher knows how to motivate his students, encouraging them to set goals and helping them to reach those goals.

The good teacher challenges his students to think outside the box. He pushes his students to see concepts in a new light, enabling them to look at things from different perspectives.

The good teacher encourages independence. He will guide his students toward the path to academic excellence—instilling in them discipline and diligence, and developing in them the proper study habits—but he will not do the hard work for them. That’s because the good teacher knows that the best gift that he can ever give his students is a love for learning.

Why should you get a professional tutor?

There are some parents who can help their kids finish their homework and study for their long exams, but there are also some parents who just can’t. And it’s not because they don’t want to, it’s simply because they don’t know how.

Here’s a question: When there’s a problem with the electrical wiring in your house, do you fix it yourself? Or do you call a professional electrician to take a look? You call the professional, right? You know that fixing electrical wiring isn’t exactly your specialty, so why dabble with it and risk putting your house on fire?

You can look at tutoring in the same way. Some parents can teach, and some don’t. If teaching is not your specialty, then why dabble with it and risk putting your kids in constant misery and yourself in endless frustration?

The sooner parents realize this fact, the sooner they can get real help for their children.

As parents, our expertise is in loving our children. It is our job to wake them up with a kiss and nourish them with deliciously nutritious meals. It is our job to be there when they bruise their knees or when they get their hearts broken. It is our job to inspire them to go after their wildest of dreams and fill their spirits with the happiest of thoughts. Most of all, it is our job to love our children with all of our hearts.

All too often, a teenager is dumbfounded when it comes to filling out that all-important college application form, especially when he gets to the part where he has to choose a specific course. Will he opt for a course that seems easy, ensuring him an almost stress-free time in college? Or will he go for a course that’s difficult but singularly interesting, guaranteeing him a fulfilling collegiate journey?

Of course, we want our children to make up their own minds, but who’s to say that we shouldn’t make ourselves part of the process? Your child needs your counsel now more than ever. After all, it’s his future that’s at stake.

Steer him toward making the right decision by asking him the following questions:

• Who are your heroes?

Who does your child look up to? Is it his soccer coach, who’s good at encouraging every player to do his best? Is it his aunt, who runs her own business? Or maybe it’s the chef, who whips up delicious meals at your family’s favorite restaurant? Knowing who your child’s heroes are will give you an idea of the kind of person that he hopes to be.

• What do you dream about?

Does he dream of having a corner office at a top corporation? Does he see himself running a small resort in an island paradise? Or maybe he wants to be a social leader, fighting for causes dear to his heart? Knowing your child’s dreams will give you an idea of the kind of lifestyle that he hopes to lead in the future.

• What do you like? What don’t you like?

Steer your questions toward possible career choices. For example, does he like working with people? Does he fancy the arts or are the sciences more to his liking? Would he rather solve tricky problems or come up with fabulous ideas?

• How would you describe yourself?

Is he adventurous or conforming? Would he describe himself as an introvert or an extrovert? Is he a pessimist or an optimist? Does he know how to put order in a chaotic environment? Or does he work better in a messy place?

After gathering all his replies, the two of you can match his personality and interests with suitable career opportunities. Here we look toward Dr. John Holland’s theory of career choice. According to his theory, there are six personality types, each of which can be matched with suitable job environments.

• The realist is practical, persistent, and self-effacing with a talent for things mechanical. He may not be blessed with social skills, but he knows how to get the job done. He’ll make a good mechanic, farmer, or surveyor.
• The artistic is idealistic, expressive, and independent with a flair for the dramatic. He has a talent for the arts, but has a hard time keeping his files in order. He’ll make a good writer, actor, or interior decorator.
• The investigative is analytical, rational, and precise with a liking for math and science. He’ll make a good chemist, physicist, or medical technologist.
• The social is generous, persuasive, and responsible with a knack for listening to people. He’ll make a good psychologist, counselor, or teacher.
• The enterprising is adventurous, self-confident, and ambitious. He is a born leader with excellent speaking abilities. He’ll make a good salesperson, corporate executive, or television producer.
• The conventional is efficient, conscientious, and obedient. He likes things nice and precise, and would stick to a plan no matter what. He’ll make a good accountant, financial analyst, and banker.

This is a rational way of steering your child toward a college course that suits his temperament and interests. Of course, you cannot force him to do it your way. Still, give it a try. At the very least, he will gain more self-knowledge from this exercise, something that he’ll need as he enters the world of adults.