the best school

We get our best education in the streets, don't you think so? I mean, we spend many, many years and lots of money in school that oftentimes fail to give us the kind of education which ought to prepare us to battle life's challenges without giving up.

A lot of things had been prolonged and postponed which ultimately end up costing more. What I am saying is, if there is any opportunity for one, no matter how young or inexperienced, to start his or her career long before finishing a college, then I believe that anyone in his sane mind should grab that opportunity and start facing life early. I see no need to wait until you get your diploma. Now is the right time to etch your destiny. Your education or college diploma should only be an added bonus but not the main reason for one to succeed. One can still succeed even without it. What's your say?

half-baked what?

Some people label their capabilities as either developed or half-baked. Are you a full-grown singer? or dancer perhaps? A complete writer? or half--baked actor or teacher? |Whatever. I know I can not only do a little of everything, but I believe I can do a lot of everything. Funny, but that's how big my belief in myself is. I don't wanna say I am half-baked here and there because I know that I almost always gave and give my best in everything I do, so how can that be half-baked? Hmmmm.....

the Entrepreneur

I have developed this habit of reading the Entrepreneur, a monthly national magazine that features inspiring stories of real people who want to be boss by having their own business. Wow, the articles are so inspiring they can make you fly.lol Like other readers I seem to hang on to every word on every page like it's going to change the world.lol Well, better than nothing. I mean reading anything is far better than not reading at all. You better agree with me on this one.

blogging as a new literary genre

Everything has evolved and of course the world of literature is now facing a new sort of challenge since there is now a deluge of literary stuff online which can easily be accessed by online readers all over the world. So where do the heavy hard-covered books fit in this new genre? We know that producing anything online can be done in just a matter of minutes regardless of quality. Is this good or bad news? Will real books lose their place in the sun one of these days?

Blogging is the latest tool writers can easily use to express themselves quickly. It is so easy for anyone to get read and to read anyone's blog as well.

Although the quality of the works online is in question, but their easy access makes them the more preferred and library books are now starting to gather dust.

getting back into the groove

It only took one book for me to get back into reading. I've sort of lost touch and given all sorts of alibis to skip what I used to love and that is, reading. I am thankful to this friend of my son who sent him a book he had recently written and published and which made me start reading again. I know I have wasted a lot of time doing nothing that would contribute to my well-being. I am glad though that I am doing it again before I totally forget how to read or worst, totally lose interest in it.

I want 'em funny

Whether it's books or movies, I now have this special preference for one that makes me laugh. I used to enjoy books and movies with loaded plots, particularly those that capitalize on vengeance as the motivating factor that leads characters into the different twists and turns of events. Heavy. But those were the days. I do not have time anymore for anything that taxes my mind and emotions unnecessarily. I have more than enough of my day-to-day struggles I now want something that will tickle my funny bones. Any suggestions are most welcome.

to know the culture, know the language first

How true. In a recent interview we had with someone who spent 20 years of her life in another country and who eventually married someone from that culture, the first thing she did in order to understand the new environment and its people was to learn its language.

Yes, language comes first in knowing or studying another culture. This is why people who move to another place with an entirely new culture have to study and learn the language first before understanding everything else.

Human Securities Act: Does it violate human rights?

How can something which is supposed to uphold an ideal violate it at the same time?

Skeptics have questioned the morality of the Human Securities Act which is primarily aimed at curtailing terrorism of all sorts. The new law is supposed to give assurance and protection to the public and not otherwise. Does it violate human rights? This question can only be raised by those who probably have a stake on the issue. Why? What human rights does it violate if it only aims to protect the citizenry? That is why precisely it is called the Human Securities Act because it purports to crack down on big and small types of terrorism that are openly perpetrated by some groups in our country.

My stand is for us to wait and see. The law is still in its infancy and it is too early to give final judgments. That it violates human rights still needs to be proven. We have to see concrete examples of these violations before anyone hurls any accusation against the new law.

That's just my two cents.

debate

Schools today are training their students in the art & skill of argumentation. Debating clubs exist for this purpose and those that are really serious in molding their students into excellent debaters set a regular training schedule so students can practice their skill.

This is the secret of schools that breed champion debaters----regular practice and training that give the students the opportunity to polish their speaking skills on a regular basis.

If you only start training your students only when you get challenged or invited to a debate, forget about winning. You will only be putting the name of your school to shame.

Practice and train even when there is no invitation. Be prepared always for any battle.

interviewing skills

It pays to know interviewing techniques, how to ask relevant questions and give winning answers.  We are often made to handle situations that require this skill of being able to ask the right questions and answer them as well when they are thrown your way.  It is much like preparing for the interpellation period in a debate or the cross-examination in court.  The skill starts with the ability to LISTEN with your mind.

As the interviewer, you need to listen to the responses that the interviewee is giving, and as the one being interviewed, you need to listen very well to the questions being asked in order to give the best answer.

Follow the thinking of your interviewer. Anticipate questions and responses and be ready to respond accordingly.  It is good to have a set of questions prepared beforehand but use these only as a crutch or to fill in the gaps.  Otherwise, be spontaneous, adjust the situation to the person you are interviewing.  Be flexible and be genuinely interested in the person you are interviewing.

Offbeatmom beat this

Although I started this blog many months ahead of my other blogs, but one of it, OFFBEATMOM, beat this first blog of mine in terms of number of visitors.  Just look at the counter I have on each blog and you would know what I mean.

I miss reading

Because of the many tasks I have to do for our TV show and also as a family woman, I have missed to do one of the things I love and that is reading.  I just envy those people who really find time to read and bury their faces in the pages of a book.  It's a shame because I recently bought two books from the local National Bookstore but until now they have remained untouched.  Sigh....

they want their kids to look their age

The latest singing sensation in the world is a 15-year-old Filipina, a petite girl named Charice who performed in Ellen Degeneres' show where the child impressed the host as well as the audience who gave the girl from the Philippines a standing ovation.  It was not only the powerful voice of Charice which captivated the hearts of foreign audiences.  It is her image as well, an image of a genuine child.

People are tired of child celebrities who are dolled up and dressed up like old entertainers.  They are tired of child celebrities acting and behaving like sexy adults.  The girl from the Philippines will certainly serve as a good role model to all the youth in the world.  Everybody hopes that Charice will not succumb to the lures of the material world, that she will remain as she is.

poor quality of education in RP cited

In yesterday's issue of the Inquirer, a lengthy news feature on the deterioration of the quality of education in the Philippines caught the attention of many.  Am I surprised? Uh--uh.  With 27 years teaching experience I know and I've known that sad fact that the quality of education in this country is really going down the drain.  Ask the students.  Let them speak if they can.  I mean, how many of our thousands of college graduates can truly communicate in good English?  Two out of two thousand?  That's what most call centers are saying, that is why they have no other recourse but to hire those with very poor communication skills in the hope that these guys can be trained.  But they are wrong again because everything should start from the bottom.  If we want to have quality graduates in this country, then we have to strengthen the system from the bottom, pre-school, going up.  Have a very good foundation in the the grade school, then a very strong follow-up in the high school, and a robust training in college.  I mean, it should be collaborative.

2008 is a good year....

Sez who?  Sez many who see the last number 8 as a perfect number.  The two circles on top and bottom to form the number are symbolic of wealth and proportion.  Since 8 is also an even number, this also increases its positive connotation.

With this interpretation, then we should all make use of it and make this year a real blessing not only to us but to everybody.

Happy New Year!

writing the first draft

When you have already finalized your outline, you should now be prepared to move on to the next phase which is writing your first draft.  With an outline based on the notes you have gathered, this phase of term paper writing should be like a breeze. All you need to do is follow your outline but be sure to acknowledge all borrowed ideas.

A term paper is not a string of borrowed ideas from different authors.  Of course you need these ideas from authority as springboard for discussion but should not be the main course of the paper.  It is up to you throw in some expert opinion but be sure to come in after each borrowed item by agreeing or maybe disagreeing or maybe expanding the discussion in your terms.

after notetaking, what?

When you have gathered enough ideas or notes to make you write a substantial term paper, next comes writing an outline or trying to arrange the notes you have collected.  This is an easy part since all you need to do is evaluate the value of each card containing an idea and see where each one fits.  This is fun to do since it's much like playing cards, shuffling ideas here and there until you can come up with a working order of your paper. Think of parts, topics, sub-topics and try to arrange the note cards accordingly.  Discard some that are repetitive or unnecessary.  Use only those that you will need.  Arrange and rearrange, discard, evaluate.

As the cards containing the ideas are laid out on the table in the order that you want them to appear, start drafting your working outline.

Taking down notes

Notetaking is a very crucial task in writing an honest term paper.  However, many students have not developed the proper way of taking down notes.  When the teacher asks them to submit their notes, they usually submit notes that are copied word for word from a source or two.

The first step in notetaking is reading.  Read a source one at a time and look for ideas that you could use in your paper. Each idea is to be written on one side of a note card.  Take note, do not use the back part of your index card and do not lump more than one idea on an index card.  This is done so that arranging them to make an outline would be easier for you.

See to it that you also write down the source of each idea---author, title of book, page, publishing company, place of publication, year of publication.  The source info is to be written on top of the index card.  Limit the number of ideas you borrow from each source and see to it that you get ideas from as many sources as you can.  If your teacher requires you to read 10 sources, then do so.

looking for sources

Once you have chosen your topic, it is time for you to start hunting for sources.  The more sources, the better.  Avoid limiting yourself to one, two , or three sources because this will most likely lead you to plagiarism.   Have at least 10 sources.  List them all down, the author's name, title of the book, place of publication, date of publication, and publishing company.If you find more than 10 sources, you will need to skim and scan each book or source and see which ones you will really need.  After you have chosen your sources, you can now start notetaking.  This aspect of term paper writing requires more time since notetaking involves reading.  

Next topic is Notetaking.

Find a topic that is of interest to you

The first step in writing a paper is worrying about the "topic" or the subject of your research.  What will you write about?

It will seem at first that there is nothing left for you to get started. It will seem like all the topics had been taken and there is nothing left for you to write about.  You professor will most likely encourage you to think of a "problem" that is still unsolved either in your community or on a global scale.  Now when you think of "problems" I am sure that you can come up with many broad ones such as poverty, terrorism, government, politics, religion, etc.  Now try to narrow down those topics or problems into smaller problems and see what you can come up with.  Write down as many as you can under each broad issue and see the best angle or aspect that you might want to tackle.  Let's say you are interested in the worldwide problem of poverty.  What aspect of it would you want to write about?  Try to get hold of papers related to it and find out from which angle you will be approaching the topic this time.  You can have a seemingly popular topic and still use the same but this time from a different angle.

Always make sure that the topic is of interest to you.  It is hard to write an honest paper if there is no interest on the writer.  There should be that "curiousity" to know the answers to the questions that you will be asking related to the topic in order to reach your goal of writing an honest term paper without feeling like you're being punished to do it. Make the research a learning experience that could lead to the possible solution of an age-old problem in your community.