Homework: To give or not to give

Different researches proved that homework can be both a negative and a positive feature in the educational life of children.  This paper presents different cases for both sides.  Although all of these evidences and contentions appear to be valid and acceptable, yet the teacher is still the best judge as to whether or not the students get the benefit of homework.

Point # 1. Very catchy among the contentions is the belief of educators and researchers that homework robs children of childhood, nevertheless, play havoc with family life and asphyxiate the students’ natural curiosity.  Furthermore, learning becomes a mind-numbling grind, rather than an engaging adventure.

I believe that this statement probably sprung from situations where the homework assignment was impossible and irresponsible.  The homework provided to the students to do at home should support, strengthen and even extend what the students have learned in the classroom.  Other than this purpose, I should say, that indeed too much of the irresponsible homework given to student rob them of their childhood.  But more often, they do not.

The belief of homework bringing havoc to family life is a painful and baseless statement.  This statement is true only among families suffering from irresponsible parenthood.   In fact, homework should bring the family together, a scenario where the parents put down everything they do for the time being, just to show their children that they care about their education. 

Furthermore, the idea of homework killing the students’ curiosity is also far off.  The homework, I believe, is a potent way to lay the groundwork for curiosity.  With these premises, the teacher is once more challenged to plan for the homework assignments that are meaningful enough to be finished in an age-appropriate period of time. 

The proponents of the idea that homework possess dictatorial nature that undercuts responsibility, generates family conflict, and takes away time for creative play and natural learning must have evidences that have been played too much.  In fact, it is evidently too much to be credible.

Point # 2. Another belief worthy of mentioning in this paper is the idea of improving classroom learning by assigning more homework rather than by pursuing more costly alternatives such as lowering class size or hiring more experienced teachers.  This is indeed resounding, as homework are a way to encourage students to learn independently, and develop in their young minds and habits the sense of responsibility.  Aiming at this purpose, the teacher is considered the key to providing appropriate homework that would develop their sense of responsibility.

It is with in light that parents are also encouraged to spend quality time with their children in helping them with they assigned home task.  The positive attitude that the parents show at home toward their children’s school work cannot in anyway cause division or trauma in their family life. 

Furthermore, evidenced also showed that homework indeed instills responsibility.  Homework, such as reading a novel, memorizing vocabulary or writing research paper, are best done at home, and show the nature of independent learning, even a self-guided or a parent-inspired one. 

Point # 3. Coming from a student, an idea about not having homework lets them find their own motivation to learn.  This is a maxim so profound that it would inspire the teachers to see that all of the students across the country would be self-motivated.   This is actually impossible to achieve.  For in reality, no matter how plain or grandiose, simple or challenging, intellectual or manual are the homework given to the students, the students would still need the support, the guidance, and the expertise of the adults in doing both their class and home works. 

But as profound as it is, much more sublime, not giving the students their homework in faith of self-motivation alone is as dangerous as it is negligent.    

If it works, the educational system across the country will be reaping its golden harvest.  If it does not, the teachers will be at the mayhem of criticisms and disparagement.*

My teaching formula in a capsule

Though my becoming a teacher is accidental, as I desperately wanted a job after graduation in 1988, my becoming an educator is a process of learning and reflecting. Here I share my reflections and personal formula for teaching.

Struggling Students

I have come across a few students who are struggling in school, most of them are struggling academically.  Some others are struggling socially and emotionally. Students who struggle academically need much attention and scaffolding.  I also have students who just came to the country and are English learners. Take the case of Keron, who willingly signaled to me his language difficulty from the very first day when he was asking me the spelling of some simple words such as China, slippers, shirt, etc.  Coming in from Guyana, he shows poor spelling capability and language background.  No wonder, he was aloft and unwilling to participate in class activities.  Due to lack of school records, I decided to speak to the school speech teacher and the school resource teacher who provided me insights and shared me some materials for him.  I spoke to his mother about his difficulty, and we decided that he joins me during my Club 37.5 schedule at 7:30 AM, although he also had his scheduled Club 37.5 at 2:30 PM .  I started introducing him to the 100 most common words, then eventually advanced to 200 and 300 words.  It was a long climb for Keron to decode the words and to associate letter placements and sound, but after a few weeks, he was showing improvements.  Not being prepared for language therapy though, I continued to discuss his case with the speech teacher and eventually, he was placed in a resource class once a week.  I can see that after a few months, he has already gained confidence in answering questions and handing in his worksheets.

Last school year, I was assigned a self-contained class of 7 special education students, a majority of who were LD students.  That spring, I happen to enroll in one of my literacy courses, which I learned that in order for students to achieve literacy skills, teachers are to provide as much scaffolding as they can offer.  Although I teach Science, I have considered myself a Literacy teacher as well.  I learned to help my students with word meaning and vocabulary, and encouraged them to advance their written and oral sentence structures.  My self-contained students were able to write simple essays and other writing activities like the R.A.F.T., Four-Squares, and a lot more.  Surprisingly, I was able to organize a simple science fair for them, where they presented their science project with their Special Ed and Speech teacher present.

Differentiated Instruction  

A differentiated instruction, I believe, is one that allows the teachers to vary the content, the process, the product, or the environment of the lesson based on the students’ capabilities to receive instruction.  I always try to distinguish my students into at least two learning ability groups, since in reality, it is very difficult for a teacher to prepare a lesson that encompasses all learning styles.  I realized that in order for me to start differentiating my classroom instruction, I need to see where my students at, and gather information about them individually and as a class in general.  I have tried looking at students’ previous ELA and Mathematics State test scores and find some patterns.  To the least, the scores are very helpful.  But I also assess on my own, as I analyze their quiz scores, observe their language facilities, and read their journal reports.

Based on experience with my students, I have learned to group my students into two: those who can grasp the concept on their own, and those who cannot.  With this grouping in mind, I develop classroom tasks for those who demonstrate the understanding of a concept to be application lessons and other classroom tasks that would require me to apply direct instruction.  The mini-lesson is usually presented to the whole class and students who need direct instruction will be given more attention during the workshop time.  Sensing that some of my students can go on their independent pace, I just allow them to go on their own rate of progress, i.e., proceed to do the critical thinking part, which is an independent project or extension activity of the lesson. The struggling students may not realize it, but they are no longer required to do the critical thinking activity, which I usually reserve at the end of the workshop period for the advanced students to do.

I have also tried varying the learning activities of the students by developing alternative paths to learn, process, and analyze the key concepts of the lesson.  I usually provide opportunities to my students to use different kinds of graphic organizers, encourage them to express their observations in tabular form, or even draw and illustrate concepts and ideas using a model.  The graphic organizers may  become complex for some students who can process the ideas and concepts faster and in depth.  A simple tally sheet, for example, may require a columnar table to show the number of students who participated in a survey based on gender, grade level, zones, and ethnic groups.  With some students, it would actually complete my day to see that they have at least accomplished a simple Venn diagram to illustrate the comparison among the cold-blooded animals and the warm blooded ones.

Parent Involvement

Even from the very start of the school year, I make it a point to make the parents of my students aware that I want them to be my partners in educating their children. So during the first day of school, I send through my students a “Parent-Teacher-Student Contract” which I prepared myself.  I would ask the parents to review the contract and discuss the same with their children.  That is initially my contact with the parents of my students.  Aside from discussing the expectations and the classroom rules, classroom rituals and routines, the class requirements and grading policy in the contract, I would also ask the parents’ contact information, such as home phone number, work phone number, and even email address. I also give the school phone number and my email address which is unique and exclusive for my class, so that we can call and confer with one another anytime we need to.

I make it a point to be present during open house nights and parent-teacher conferences where I can personally meet and discuss academic concerns with the parents of my students. I also send in occasional information and communication about year-round projects, quarterly activities, classroom events, and even monthly academic reports. A return slip is gathered from the students to make sure the parents received these letters.  Phones calls are also a constant routine for me.

I believe it would also be helpful to invite the parents to visit the classroom during the day so they can see the classroom situation and even offer suggestions for the physical improvement of their children’s classroom.  We can also invite them to come and witness the class’ science project oral presentation, or act as judges during our classroom mini-fairs.

Parents can indeed provide valuable support and help during class fieldtrips, so I usually invite two or more to join the class when our class or academy goes on a trip.

Teacher Reward
With 15 school years of teaching experience in the Philippines and more than seven years
years in New York City, I realized that teaching is not just a noble profession. It should be a

fulfilling one.  Any teacher who would choose to teach can become severed with the challenges
and pressures of the profession, but counting the rewards of touching the lives of the young
people and making a difference in their outlook and belief in life can be gratifying and 
heartwarming. 

Add to a teacher’s emotional and professional support of a closely-knit faculty and school staff is prize and reward enough for the teacher to teach despite the extreme challenges.  A welcoming and supportive faculty is a gem in any given school, a treasure each teacher will conscientiously work for to keep.  It is from the warmth of support and acceptance of colleagues that teachers can gain the strength and perseverance to learn and grow in their teaching profession.

To work with students who respond willingly to the challenges of instruction and education is another treasure that teachers want to pursue.  Held to high academic and behavioral standards, students who are willing to climb and soar to any heights possible, would never fail to inspire teachers to do better, and give more of themselves in their teaching endeavors.  Add to that the willing and essential participation of the parents and the community to collaborate with the school staff.  It would be priceless, indeed!

Ultimately, teachers may find the challenge and the joy to share their experience, knowledge and expertise to demonstrate a learning program that promotes not only learning and wisdom, but achievement and success, as well.  With a learning program set along the culture and atmosphere of self-worth, industry, responsibility, recognition and appreciation, students would be encouraged and challenged to look into themselves and offer the best of what they have to their community and to their country.

School and the society
I believe that the school is an avenue for our youngsters to discover about  themselves and the

world where there live in as citizens and stewards.  Schools should be the source of an
accurate and functional view of the world, as well as their mirror of what they shall become in
the future.  The school for that matter should demonstrate the universal virtues of respect and
responsibility, compassion and accountability, equality and conscience, integrity and industry,
in order for us to see the world to operate through these universal virtues.  Nurturing the mind of
the young people in school about who they should be and what they can be, or who their
neighbors are and what they can do if they are in their neighbors’ shoes, is a preparation for
life that is worth investing for the future generations and yonder.

Specifically, the school should provide a pleasant, healthy and safe working and learning
environments for both the students and the teachers.  These are necessary if we want to
prepare the children and young people for responsible citizenship and effective participation in
the future society.  Children growing up in pleasant, healthy, and safe environments will pursue
the same environments for their children and children’s children.

The school should also meet the needs of the students and the community from a culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds and orientations.  This provision will ensure the development
of a just and harmonious learning environment that shall eventually extend into a community and
a society where equality and respect of individual differences and ideology are fostered and
upheld.

School curriculum
School should provide, first and foremost, the basic educational concepts that weave the foundation of all real life learning and decision making.  The basic concepts underlying the reading, writing, and counting skills, as well as the capacities to manipulate, sort, compare, analyze, and evaluate real life situations should be explicitly taught in school, aside from being taught at home.  This I believe, is basic to the building of a literate and intelligent society that builds a strong nation.   

But the education of the heart should never be left out.  It is not only the total education of the mind, but the construction of the character as well.  Schools should not deviate in their noble task to educate the mind and the heart.  For it would be unfortunate for a society to find its citizens slowly becoming intellectual giants yet morally dwarfs. For education to be encompassing, it must also prepare the individuals in their life skills and social demeanors.  The school is the proper avenue for these life skills, more particularly to manual operations, simple carpentry or electronics.  But the school should also be a source of the basic truths about social interaction, where respect, responsibility, integrity, citizenship, and honor are part and parcel of an individual’s dealings.  That is why, the school is compelled to create an atmosphere of acceptance and self-esteem so that each student may experience self-worth and exercise the same view about other people’s worth. Ultimately, the school should develop the decision making skills of the students in order for them to grow as responsible adults and resolute member of the society.  It should be an unwavering concern of the school to develop among the students the importance of choosing wisely, and the acting upon earnestly such choices in life.

     

Challenges of education
I believe that the greatest problems with education in our community at present are the lack of funding for adequate student services, the demands of the standardized testing, and the change of family structure.

I have observed that my teaching prowess diminish relative to the number of my students in the classroom.  This I realized that, although I am not a Special Education teacher, I can teach better a self-contained class than a regular class of 30 or more students.  The problem is, we don’t have enough teachers in our schools.  The lack of teachers in the school affects the class size, since the class size can be minimized when we have more teachers to teach more classes.  This is just a few of the other services that the school should offer the students. Take for example, it was reported that the budget for each first grade student in some suburban school districts that includes a foreign language program is much higher than the budget foe each first grade student in the New York City schools, where foreign-born students are hardly provided with English classes. 

Our schools also need more technology-oriented classroom programs, as well as adequate science laboratories and up-to-date science programs.  The access to technology would supposedly reinforce labor needs and globalization in this present time. As a teacher, I am used to make do with whatever available resources that are available for me to use in my classroom.  In terms of innovation and teaching resourcefulness, I can always find ways to make my lesson come alive with available and affordable materials.  The problem of class size and adequate services, though, are more of a heavy challenge to me than preparing a lesson plan.

There is always the problem of the demands of the standardized testing that compel the teachers to pattern their teaching based on the coming annual state examinations.  Although these tests are standardized, they do not usually and effectively measure the academic performance of a school district, much more of a particular school.  In most cases, schools are judged unworthy and non-performing based on a few populations of English language learners.  Because of

the fearful verdict of closing some schools considered as non-performing on the bases of standardized test, most educators would do the short cut to the concepts, exclusively teach the concept and pattern the teaching style to the state wide assessments.  Educators are compelled to teach the concept because they are necessary for better scores and good report.  

Realizing the need for students to reach up to the standards set by the city and state departments of Education, I have to consider myself, a Science teacher, as a Literacy teacher as well.  My classroom program usually includes literacy pieces, and learning the strategies in teaching literacy in my subject area actually pays off.  The literacy courses I have painstakingly taken during the weekends, as well as the summer literacy programs for ELLs I have participated in have given valuable insights to the teaching of literacy in the content area. 

The change of family structure has tremendously affected the school system at present and has led to other social issues such as violence, drug abuse, among others.  This problem actually stemmed from poverty, single parent homes, abuse or neglect and homelessness.

Although I am not trained to handle social problems, I still consider myself as responsible for addressing these problems since these problems have, to a greater or lesser degree, an impact on my teaching. I can always work with the school counselors or social workers once I observe some signs of social problem related to home structure and poverty.  I can be more understanding of the issues that confront the students everyday, and be more patient in dealing with some of them. 

Perseverance, Responsibility, Integrity, Discipline, and Enthusiasm

I actually started teaching as a non-Education graduate.  I finished a paramedical course, but I was drawn into the teaching profession many years ago after I volunteered teaching in church school.  The real world of teachers was not a joke, a task not to be taken lightly.  Since I believed that I needed training while on the job, I took Education courses that would allow me to take the Philippine Board Examination for Teachers.  I was past my 20s and didn’t really wanted to go back to school, yet the challenge of equipping myself to become an effective and worthy teacher drove me back to school.  It was extremely difficult to teach and study at the same time.  But I must finish my education.  My professional advancement must prevail. 

When I finished the 18 units of Education courses, I decided I should be taking the licensure examination to get me certified as a teacher.  I thought it would be easy, I got to have double study time, browsing through every review material I can get, getting outlines from educational philosophies and practices, analyze and compare pedagogical principles, develop my own learning outline of child development, etc.  It was indeed a tough preparation.  But I must pass. I must get certified.  I must be worthy of my profession.

It actually took me five years to complete my Master’s degree.  I had 6 units of courses every Saturday.  By the time I was to take my comprehensive examination, my wife is about ready to give birth to our daughter.  I have to divide my time. And how wisely I should!  A lot of times I wanted to give up on my Master’s.  But I needed to finish what I have started.  I needed to fulfill my goals, and my dream of becoming a better teacher, and a better person, a better catalyst in the society I chose to live with.

A few years ago, I was assigned to teach Values Education to First Year high school students.  I do not actually know how to teach the subject, so I have to exert extra effort to prepare my teaching materials and classroom activities.  One time, we had a lesson on Responsibility as a virtue and my students were asked to share about their ideas on how they can show responsibility.  There were a lot of instances that the students shared, all describing their experiences of being responsible to take care of their younger siblings, to keep the furniture and appliances clean and working, to do and finish their class work and home assignments, etc.  I never realized that after a few days, we would learn a better lesson about responsibility.

We had a culminating activity on social behavior which we held on the school auditorium.  After getting approval for the activity, the students prepared their own program and games, brought in food and some music.  Because of the excitement of the program, the students have become a bit out of control, and they started tossing and throwing some food to one another, until the floor got messy and the walls got dirty. 

I spoke to them and informed them that I have to write an incident report to our Head Teacher to explain the incident, and to apologize about not being clear with the students’ actions and behavior during the program.  I told the class that I won’t recommend them for disciplinary actions because I failed in my duty to set a clear guideline for the activity.  My students, upon learning about what I planned to do for them, felt sorry as well, and asked me to arrange for them to clean up the mess they caused.  Up to this time, I always remind myself never to put the blame to other people. 

I grew up in a family who values honesty as the highest form of integrity. I have learned through the years that whether my supervisor is around or  not, I do my job well because my conscience dictates me to do so. 

In the past when I taught at the Philippine’s premier Science high school, I always had the opportunity to travel with students.  Every year, I travel with students, either to represent the school in any national programs, quiz bees, or science fairs.  Although the school provides for our stipend and travel allowances, which are all approved and necessary, I always make sure I spend the money right be asking the cab drivers for his signature, and always keeping the receipts and the plane tickets intact for proper accounting after we get back from our travel.  I do this to make my mind clear of any doubts about my self. I just feel good when I know that I did my work with all honesty.

In my work as a classroom teacher, I believe I needed a clear and transparent source of my assessment as a teacher.  I make my reports credible by covering only the things that I have personally accomplished or achieved, and not pad them with eloquence and rhetoric. Because of that, I believe I can always stand proud about my works and my accomplishment, because there never was a hollow space in my conscience.   

I know that discipline comes from within the person.  It is the sense of control of your own will when confronted against anything that you are not pleased about.  As a teacher, I must be disciplined in my own time.  The time spent in school should be redeemed as much as possible, in providing learning opportunities to the students.  I do not delay in my preparation time, in fact, I spend the time thinking in advance what to do next.  The moment I get home, I have to divide my time wisely, as a father and as a husband, and toward the end of the night, as a teacher who is ready for the challenges of another school day.

I have also learned how discipline my mind about the many concerns of my personal and professional lives.  A disciplined mind is focused to its goals.  Because of this, I learned how to restrain myself in times my personal life is severed by my professional life.  I have to stop for a while, and refocus.  I have to divide the line.  I have to forget my personal life while I am on the job.  Unfortunately, whether I like it or not, I cannot easily dismiss my professional life from my personal life.  For whether I am at home or at a family retreat in Pennsylvania, I can’t help thinking and feeling that I am a teacher wherever I go.

Ever since I worked as a teacher, I have never considered bringing my troubles and family concerns to my classroom.  Once I get inside my classroom, whether I am well or not, inspired or disturbed, prosperous or broke, I always generate the sense of academic rigor and fervor for my work, such that my students would get infected to develop the same feeling and eagerness to learn.

It is only after the last student leaves the room and the bell rings for dismissal that I feel my energy has dissipated, and I needed time alone to gather my strength.  Drained of my physical power, I would slowly pack up to go home, where my family awaits me, and would eventually renew my strength for yet another school day to follow.  

I would most identify myself to be a patient and persevering person.  I have persevered with the struggles of life, although hard they can be.  I have welcomed the difficulties in my life since I was a child, growing up in poverty and learning to make both ends meet just to finish my high school, and opting to endure the sacrifices entailed with keeping a government scholarship for a college degree. 

I know that people can be difficult and cruel some times, but if they were given to me as a social investment, then I will do whatever I can to make myself useful and valuable to them.  I just have learned to accept people as they are, and keep up with them, since I believe that they too, will realize their good side once they see the good in others. It may be difficult and protracted, but it would be worth the long wait.

Broadening the World of Early Adolescents

          An article written by Donna Marie San Antonio and published in the April 2006 Educational Leadership discusses the interplay of characteristics that define the adolescent learners. Described by the author as a “period not only of turmoil, but of tremendous resilience, productivity, cognitive growth, generosity, and increasing involvement, adolescence is indeed a developmental stage in the life of the learner that never fails to awe parents and teachers alike.

          The author gathered several developmental philosophies to validate these complex personalities. One of these is the principle of “cumulation of stress” which was described to be the result of the sudden changes in the physical, emotional, and social life of the youngsters.  It disrupts the balance and stability of childhood when the adolescents start to experience being uncomfortable with their bodily changes, social adjustments with adults and peers, etc.

          Another principle that delineates adolescence adjustment is the Freudian ideology of short-term stress that allows the individual to learn from it.  These awkwardness and discomfort are actually learning experiences in themselves that may warrant the establishment and development of cognitive, social, and interpersonal skills. 

          I can see three important points in this article that I wish to express my own opinion on. First, the author puts forth the notion that “the passage to middle school is an opportunity for exposure to diversity at a time when students are developmentally ready for more reciprocity in their peer relationships and a wider social range:.  I believe this is true.  The challenge and the burden therefore lie on the hands of the middle education teachers to provide meaningful learning  experiences that suit the demand of the adolescents’ need for social acceptance and academic achievement.  I just realized after learning more about middle education that this stage of life of the youngster needs more emotional and interpersonal support than mere academic endeavor.  This is where the teacher becomes a crucial key player in the lives of the youngsters.

          Furthermore, the author expresses her belief that the “most significant stress in a young adolescent’s life is the sense of not fitting in”.  This is a highly complicated issue of students’ desire to be accepted yet the developmental changes that they undergo make it very difficult for them to manage to fit in. Since the adolescents may want to exercise self-fulfillment and social confidence, the critical conditions of the social environment and peer pressure hinder them from fully achieving these social and emotional goals in their lives.  The educators though, can help by creating an environment of respect, acceptance, and tolerance to the level acceptable to the society and to the developing minds.  

          Lastly, the author ultimately believes that “we teachers cannot accomplish our academic goals without a purposeful and thoughtful focus on social development”.  I think social development is the teachers’ ultimate watchword. Most middle education teachers fail to see the priority based on the developmental character of the young adolescents.  For me, the teachers should consider more the developmental aspects of their students, along with academics, at this point of their students’ lives.  It is the demands of education that allows the educators to miss the point of the middle education passage---a passage through a very crucial, interesting, challenging and complicated adolescent stage of life. Nobody can argue, since we all went through such developmental stage ourselves.*   

My Unexpected Road to Teaching

Returning home from Manila in March 1988 after taking the licensure examination for medical technologists, I was posed with the greatest question in my life.  How will I send my four siblings to school?

Since I was 15 years old and before I finished my bachelor’s degree in 1987 through the national state scholarship program, I already had experienced teaching children and young people in church.  With such informal training as a Sunday school teacher, I ventured into the world of teaching with the only aim to get paid, so I can support my siblings’ educational needs.  Although extremely difficult, I accepted a substitute teacher post to teach in a chinese private school in 1988, and finally worked as a full time Biology teacher the following school year.   Because I felt the need for equipping myself as a teacher, I took 18 units of professional education courses in order for me to learn how to “teach my students how to learn”.  When I took the board examination for teachers in 1992, I asked God if He really wanted me to be a teacher.  When I passed the teacher’s board examination without formal review classes, I fully knew God’s answer.  When my youngest brother finished college in 1994, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Education.  I finished my master’s degree in 1999 and then went on to pursue a doctorate in Education, which I didn’t finish when I came to New York City to teach, or reality put, “to earn”.

For 15 years of teaching secondary school students in the Philippines, I have learned that it is important for a teacher to personally develop respect for life.  I have learned that is it important that one should understand and constantly evaluate his view of the world and his place in the world.  Realizing this, I have decided that I should give the best of myself in this part in the drama of life that God wrote for me to perform.

I have seen the Filipino youth for so long as someone who has a big head, yet small hands and small heart.  When I became a teacher, I have committed myself to help the Filipino youth develop equally capacious hands and a noble heart.  I have attempted to show my students the essence of knowledge that they can gain from books and experiments. I have also endeavored to transform their hollow hands into purposeful one through the basic skills building experiences in class.  I have sought to define to them God’s standard of work and purpose, and contrast these to that of man.  Up to this time, I still believe in the education of the mind, the hands and the heart.

My experience as an environmental science teacher made me realize that it is important for a teacher to understand how the earth works as a system and how it sustains itself.  With this, I have come to appreciate and comprehend the important connections in life, i.e., connections between man and nature, connections between people and the rest of nature, connections among all peoples, connections between generations, connections among problems and the among the solutions to these problems.  And such realizations never failed to get through to my students.  It was also gratifying to see my students experience the real world outside the classroom every time I bring them out on ecological trips to the creek, rivers, mountains, waterfalls, watersheds, islands and even caves.  Such trips did not only provide me and my students the actual experience of outdoor life, they also provided us genuine specimen from the places we went to, i.e., exotic corals, bamboo flowers (can you believe that?), shells, pitcher plants, algae, live moss, etc.

As a research teacher, I have also come to know the real role of the teacher:  that of being a wisdom seeker, instead of being mere information vessel.   In my research class, I have attempted to translate research principles into practical avenues to the society through their research findings.  I have never imagined before that research can bring me closer to my students; working with them in their individual pursuit of excellence in their research projects has surprisingly ushered both esteem and honor that we have reaped in the division and regional level research competitions.  I have never realized how important and rewarding my working closely with them until we have for many years enjoyed the opportunity to travel and represent the region in the national level Intel Philippine Science fair since 1999.  My last year in the Philippines would have been more rewarding for me, for my students finally won the national best Science Project award during the school year I was ready to leave the premier high school in the country, and fly to a foreign land to teach foreign students of cultures more foreign to me than their language.

No matter how simple though, I have considered each of my effort important in the development of scientific culture in the region.  I have committed myself to the improvement of teaching as I participated in seminar workshops either as presenter or resource speaker.  Aside from teaching, I got involved into journalism with local newspapers, delivering environmental scenes and senses to the society.  I have involved myself and my students in the advancement of environmental education in my city and the world, as each of them take turn in the GLOBE protocol measurements of environmental data to be sent to GLOBE Washington DC database through the internet.  I have also devoted myself to continuous development of instructional materials and innovate some of my existing instruments.  The textbook in research that I authored was the most wonderful thing that happened to me in 2002, because it proved to me that hard work indeed can earn a nod, notwithstanding the privilege of just placing in the yearly royalty check I got from my publisher into my daughter’s savings account. 

It was painful though, that some people do not believe in my endeavors, as they rejected the use of my textbook in school, yet they now use it since they have no comfort from any sourcebook at all.  And who ever realized I have done action researches about my students? Or did reliability testing of my monographs and research worksheets?

Oh well, I am convinced now that I am not a good teacher for the Filipino youths.  So in 2004, I choose to suffer the shame and humiliation, the disrespect and insolence, the vulgarity and the callousness of my New York City students.  But again, my previous job as a teacher in this inner city is another convincing point that I am not worthy the plinth of a mentor.  My two supervisors have me in writing about my inefficiency and incapacity as an NYC teacher.  Simply put, I am a low level thinking teacher, who does not know how to create connections for my students to appreciate. I can’t get my students to write a sentence in my warm up activities for the day.  I usually end the session with no accomplished worksheet in my hands.  And what pains me at the end of each class session is seeing what I worked for as nothing as mere worksheets trampled on the floor, or torn bulletin board displays.  Physically, it drains me after every class session to see that I needed to sweep the floor, or pick up the books that some students deliberately pushed from the shelf to the floor. 

Then again, I’m thinking, I am not in my home country, where the grass is constantly green, the sun is almost always shining brightly, and the river waters are crystal clear.  Anyway, I just learned to count the hours, since I have proven to myself even without the Physics principles that the day indeed ends, and the payday comes just too soon.

Still, I am with the New York Board of Education.  It is only because of this that I can  continue to support my Mom along with my other siblings, so she gets a monthly allowance much more that any PhD can earn in the Philippines.  And besides, I don’t need to win a teacher’s award in the Philippines by working 10 years before I qualify.  I can get that cash award by working 15 days! Never mind if that used to sound like a high pay nannying job!

Just like any rainy day, though, the gloomy and the dampening spirit comes to an end, and the rainbow that sweeps across the sky signifies the coming of the radiant sun, I finally found a better place to exercise my craft.  After four years of earning my baptism of fire in this profession, I landed into a very welcoming and professionally cultivating school environment, where I can teach my students every moment of the class, and get my hands full of remarkable outputs at the end of the day. Despite spending more than an hour sleeping on the train to get home, I can smile at the dark and quiet moments of the night because I have given my best self for the day.

Now I am no longer surprised why God brought me into this path of life.

My Philosophy of Teaching

          Ever since I became a teacher in 1989, I have Confucius’ and Socrates’ philosophies of teaching in my mind.  And for almost 18 years of teaching, I still hold on to the same guiding principles.

          Confucius once said that “education is like the four corners of a square”.  Furthermore, he believed that the teacher uncovers one corner, and the students ascertain the other three.  With this in mind, my teaching of Science has become a journey of inquiry both for me and my students.  In teaching scientific concepts, I as the teacher, need to know “all corners” of the concept, yet leave the “other three corners” for the students to discover.  In achieving this tenet, I prepare activities and learning experiences that involve facilitated inquiries, guided discoveries, inductive laboratories, and of course, over-night field trips to the caves, waterfalls, mountains and watersheds. 

          Socrates on the other hand, started the practice of questioning as a means of discussion and deliberation.  I have learned through my teaching experiences that the students’ learning and formation of scientific concepts are largely accelerated by the essential questions that are posed to them, as opposed to mere receiving the concepts from the authority of the textbook.  I always make sure I have a lot of essential questions that challenge my students to what I refer to as “thinking and sharing” or “pondering and diverging”.  My students definitely can not pass my Research class without an oral defense to hurdle.

          I also believe in teaching the concepts bit by bit, and building these concepts upon one another to form a myriad of relationships which the textbooks do not offer to the students. 

          Despite the scientific and naturalistic approach to my teaching, I still reserve a part of my heart to qualify the students’ incapacity or despondency to learning.  I believe that everyone can learn and I take that belief as a rewarding responsibility upon my shoulders, for it may be too heavy for my hands alone.

A Genetic Twist to Tales about George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Abraham Lincoln

Dr. Harry Klinefelter and his coworkers at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston published in 1942, a report about nine male patients who had some peculiar characteristics such as enlarged breasts, sparse facial and body hair, and small testes.  Further examinations also proved that these patients have an innate inability to produce sperm.  This condition was later called Klinefelter syndrome. Researches done to study this male group from that time on until about the late 1950s led to the discovery of an extra sex of chromosomes in the male sex cells, which was later referred to as XXY, which is unusual compared to the normal male arrangement, which is XY.

The most commom chromosomal disorder associated with male hygogonadism and infertility, Klinefelter syndrome is classically defined by a 47, XXy karyotype with variants demonstrating additional X and Y chromosomes. Characteristically, Klinefelter syndrome is recognized by hypogonadism, which is the presence of small testes, and azoospermia or oligospermia, which is the absence of sperm cells or producing very low sperm supply. It is also characterized by gynecomastia at late puberty, which is the development of abnormally large breasts on men, as well as psychosocial problems, hyalinization and fibrosis of the seminiferous tubules, and elevated urinary gonadotropins.

The extra X or Y chromosome to a male karyotype results in variable physical and cognitive abnormalities. Generally, the extent of these abnormalities, including mental retardation, is related directly to the number of extra X chromosomes.  As the number of X chromosomes increases, somatic and cognitive development are more likely to be affected.  Skeletal and cardiovascular abnormalities can become increasingly severe.  Gonadal development is particularly susceptible to each additional X chromosome, resulting in seminiferous tubule dysgenesis and infertility as well as hypoplastic and malformed genitalia in polysomy X males.

Because of these characteristics, Klinefelter syndrome is observed only among males. Because of low testosterone levels, boys with Klinefelter syndrome may have sparse pubic, facial, and body hair, underdeveloped muscles.  They may be taller than other males in their family and have long legs, narrow shoulders, and wide hips. The smaller-than-expected testicles, are generally infertile, and cannot father children without special surgical techniques.

Klinefelter syndrome is seen in 1 in 1,000 total live births, or 1 in 500 male live births. Experts describe the XXY boys puberty as normal, i.e., without any delay of physical maturity.  But as puberty progresses, they fail to keep pace with other males. In chromosomally normal teenaged boys, the testes gradually increase in size, from an initial volume of about 2 ml, to about 15 ml.  In XXY males, while the penis is usually of normal size, the testes remain at 2 ml, and cannot produce sufficient quantities of the male hormone testosterone.  As a result, many XXY adolescents, although taller than average, may not be as strong as other teenaged boys, and may lack facial or body hair. As they enter puberty, many boys will undergo slight breast enlargement. For most teenaged males, this condition, known as gynecomastia, tends to disappear in a short time.  About one-third of XXY boys develop enlarged breasts in early adolescence slightly more than do chromosomally normal boys. Furthermore, in XXY boys, this condition may be permanent.  However, only about 10 percent of XXY males have breast enlargement great enough to require surgery.

There are generally are no signs of Klinefelter syndrome until puberty.  At this time, boys with Klinefelter syndrome often do not have the increase in testosterone levels that normally occurs.

Up to this time, no one knows what puts a couple at risk for conceiving an XXY child.  It has been thought that advanced maternal age increases such risk, but only slightly.  Furthermore, recent studies conducted by NICHD grantee Terry Hassold, a geneticist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, show that half the time, the extra chromosome comes from the father. Dr. Hassold explained that cells destined to become sperm or eggs undergo a process known as meiosis. In this process, the 46 chromosomes in the cell separate, ultimately producing two new cells having 23 chromosomes each. Before meiosis is completed, however, chromosomes pair with their  corresponding chromosomes and exchange bits of genetic material.  In women, X chromosomes pair; in men, the X and Y chromosome pair.  After the exchange, the chromosomes separate, and meiosis continues.

In some cases, the Xs or the X chromosome and Y chromosome fail to pair and fail to exchange genetic material.  Occasionally, this results in their moving independently to the same cell, producing either an egg with two Xs, or a sperm having both an X and a Y chromosome.  When a sperm having both an X and a Y chromosome fertilizes an egg having a single X chromosome, or a normal Y- bearing sperm fertilizes an egg having two X chromosomes, an XXY male is conceived.

Maternal nondystjunction, which is 75% meiosis I error, is considered the most popular sources of Klinefelter sundrome cases.  in most cases, maternal age is very high. The other cases are due to paternal nondusjunction, with the most common form as 47,XXY, mosaicism in the 46,XY/47,XXY form.  Other variants include 48,XXYY, 48,XXXY, 49,XXXYY, and in rarest cases, 49,XXXXY.

Klinefelter syndrome usually does not cause mental retardation, but affected males test slightly lower than their brothers and sisters on IQ testing. They also may have problems talking and hearing.  Most of them though, have normal intelligence. Mental capacity has been found to diminish with the additional X chromosomes.  The intelligence quotient (IQ) is reduced by approximately 15 points for each supernumerary X chromosome, but conclusions about reduced mental capacity must be drawn cautiously.  All major areas of development, including expressive and receptive language and coordination, are affected by extra X chromosome material.

Although some exceptions may be considered, XXY boys are usually well behaved in the classroom.  Most are typically shy, quiet, and eager to please the teacher.  But when faced with material they find difficult, they tend to withdraw into quiet daydreaming.  Teachers sometimes fail to realize they have a language problem, and dismiss them as lazy, saying they could do the work if they would only try.  Many become so quiet that teachers forget they're even in the room.  As a result, they fall farther and farther behind, and eventually may be held back a grade.

XXY males usually have difficulty with expressive language the ability to put thoughts, ideas, and emotions into words.  In contrast, their faculty for receptive language-understanding what is said-is close to normal. In addition to academic help, XXY boys, like other language disabled children, may need help with social skills.  Language is essential not only for learning the school curriculum, but also for building social relationships.  By talking and listening, children make friends in the process, sharing information, attitudes, and beliefs.  Through language, they also learn how to behave, not just in the schoolroom, but also on the playground. 

Throughout childhood-perhaps, even for the rest of their lives, XXY boys retain the same temperament and disposition they first displayed as infants and toddlers.  As a group, they tend to be shy, somewhat passive, and unlikely to take a leadership role.  Although they do make friends with other children, they tend to have only a few friends at a time.  Researchers also describe them as cooperative and eager to please.

The National Society of Turner Contact Groups reported that boys with Klinefelter syndrome manage well in school within the normal range, but with a tendency to certain learning difficulties, especially during the first years at school can be observed. This can, however, be remedied by a conscientious school staff and environment.  Learning difficulties are most pronounced during the first years at school, though they may not be present in nearly all Klinefelter boys.

Learning difficulties such as a short memory span can be overcome by careful analysis and appropriate measures.  It is of great importance for both parents and educators to know this and to act accordingly.  If there are problems in relation to speech development it is also important that speech therapy is given.

If conditions at home are good, stable and stimulating, and if there have been good conditions in the day institution, where the Klinefelter boy has been, learning problems rarely have any consequences.

As reported by the MeritCare Health Systems, males with Klinefelter syndrome appear to have reduced abilities in specific areas, which includes language development, which usually accompanies delayed or slowly development of speech skills and poor verbal skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving, and ability to plan, multi-tasking, impulse control, and response time.

Furthermore, boys are described to have emotional problems that range from being shy and immature to being overly anxious or aggressive.  They may also have poor social skills, which may cause problems for them in school and in

other social situations.  They are at risk for developing psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and drug and alcohol abuse

Experts believe that Klinefelter Syndrome doesn't affect intelligence, since  learning disabilities do not mean the child is limited intellectually.  Wolfram E. Nolten, an associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a board member for The American Association for Klinefelter Syndrome Information and Support, was quoted as saying that kids with Klinefelter Syndrome have perfectly normal IQs.  Furthermore, not every child with Klinefelter Syndrome will have every characteristic.  Some typical traits related to learning and social functions include talking later than other children, trouble with coordination and agility, low muscle tone which affects coordination, walking, jumping and hopping, language-based learning problems, shyness especially when speech is atypical, depression and anxiety.

          Dr. Nathaniel Robin, Medical Geneticist at the University of Alabama and expert in the ethical issues of genetic testing and research, explored why historic figures, whose physical characteristics included infertility, tall stature, and gynecomastia, are suspected of having Klinefelter syndrome.  He had discussed some issue like George Washington’s infertility, Napoleon’s growing breasts, Abraham Lincoln’s being tall and skinny, etc., which may be another twist to Klinefelter syndrome’s hitting some popular political figures of our society.