A Pimple Named Joeven
Finally, I was able to “steal” from my own time this leisure of blogging. I have long wanted to write these… (Quite a long blog)
Just like some students I was inching my way to squeeze into the throng of spectators who were desperately trying to have a peek on the human exhibit of some telefantasya and Filipino mythical characters last February at the FEU Mass Com Fair. I bumped one of my research students and joked, “Kumusta naman ang mga tigyawat natin diyan?” (because the pimples were much bigger than the usual.) The student replied while pointing at the swollen minute hills on his face, “Joeven po ang pangalan niyan…”
We burst to laughter. It was a funny but true realization that some students had a hotbed of pimples due to stress caused by school workload and the pressure of deadlines and, sometimes, dealing with freeloaders of the group. Of course it is unfair to attribute all the stress from me because they have other equally taxing subjects like Radio and Television Production and Information and Political Campaigns. But I was informed that according to my research and debate students, taking these subjects with me was a “double jeopardy”. According to them, the subjects were already difficult plus I was “difficult” as a teacher.
I admit I demand more from my students. I believe and I have always told my students that the real measurement of growth is when you do things that are greater than yourself. I have always tried to push them harder so that they will realize that they cannot only do it, but they can be very good at it. It is the same principle I wrote in “Comfort Zone” in the 100 Essays where I penned I may be misconstrued like Saddam Hussein sowing terror in the class; but my goals are genuine; that is, to bring out the best in my students.
True indeed, they became better students. Most winners of the Best Thesis Award of the 2nd Communication Research Colloquium of FEU Department of Communication were my students. They were so happy during the awarding in the same manner that the sight of their fulfillment overjoyed me. Some exhilaratingly jumped and embraced me as if I just arrived from the airport after years of work overseas. I am so proud of my students—all the finalists. Their hard work, patience, and competitive paid off. Special congratulations to:
Ingrid K. Velasquez, Jaymen Amihan, Arby Laraño, and Francis Garcia for bagging the top prize for their study “Marketing Principles for Philippine Independent Films.”
Ann Margaret Antonio, Ma. Katrina Cirilo, and Ailyn Nierra for ranking second over 15 finalists. Their study was titled, “The Social Responsibility Role of May Trabaho Ka”.
The third placers shared by three teams: Lovely Rose Magdayao, Katherine Imson, Charisse Concepcion, and Rove Tan for their study “Mariposa sa Likod ng mga Rehas: Coping Mechanisms of Gay Detainees”; Nona Palima, Mary Eleine Samonte, and Bryan Angeles for their study “Role of Social Experiments in Noypi Ikaw Ba To? in Promoting the Value of Honesty”; and Richiel Tolentino, Julius Paquera, and Jaemie Lopez for their study, “Helping OFWs: Communication Strategies of OWWA for Program Implementation of Social Services and Family Welfare Program”.
Thank you to Prof. Josefina M.C. Santos of UP Diliman and Profs. Bong Espinosa and Gene Pamittan of FEU for spending the whole day with the Research Cluster as judges for the thesis defense and presentation.
To all finalists, thank you very much for providing a tight but friendly competition and for helping enrich communication and media studies.
* * *
Now that the semester is over, I hope that no pimple shall be named after me. Summer is a period to relax where stress becomes a matter of choice. I just hope the La Niña phenomenon will not spoil the escapades of beach buffs who have worked out really hard to tone their bodies just so they could strut confidently this summer with their beach wears.
My summer is something to look forward to. Sources of pleasure are promising yet very tedious at the same time. My friends and I have already booked tickets. There is the thrill of getting lost in an unfamiliar but exciting territory. Jia you. We just need to prepare more “fuel to add to the fire”, so to speak, in order to maximize the pleasure of the travel. After that trip, I need to work in Palawan as organizer of a conference on speech communication. I hope I can find enough time to have a sojourn and “commune” with its pristine beauty. For now, I have to rush the full paper for three conventions I am expected to attend: two in May, one in August. I hope I can beat the deadlines.
* * *
The reflection and synthesis papers of my debate students are worthy of re-reading. I am very happy that they have seen the value of the subject as a communicator, professional, and as a person. Most of them shared the importance of reading news and current affairs in understanding social issues in the country and abroad. It was an eye-opener for them that everything that they say, as much as possible, has to be validated through facts and analogies. The discursive nature of the subject, according to them, has boosted their confidence in self-expression and has improved their spontaneity. I hope that the techniques they have learned will be handy as they join the workforce. My best wishes!
I was particularly struck by the reflection of one student who thanked me for giving her a very important lesson in life. In her paper, she shared that she once asked permission from me through a text message one night if she could re-schedule her oral exam the next day because she needed to fix a family problem. Instead of allowing the re-schedule, she recalled my SMS which read, “One of the things I’d like you to learn in my class is to make decisions in life.”
A textual analysis of my SMS now has made me realize that my student already started to make a decision in life. My classroom policy states that when you are absent during scheduled oral exams, the chance to debate is forfeited and the student will get a grade of zero. I bend this policy when the reason is really justified. (Note: Justifiable reasons have been qualified in class). She was probably not focused at that time due to her predicament and instead of sacrificing the quality of her performance she opted to request a re-schedule.
My SMS made her decide on her own. She made a choice, which to my mind is a sign of empowerment to a certain extent. In life there will always be crossroads. Friends and mentors, sometimes, will not be around to guide us always. Even if they are present, the decision still lies on our hands. They can only do so much, sheer “guides”. When we fail due to our own decision, there is no one to blame. But there will surely be a lesson learned. If we succeed, the decision was worth the risk. Surely, there will also be a lesson learned. Which reminds me of Dalai Lama’s word, “If you have a problem and it has a solution, there is nothing to worry. If you have a problem and it has no solution, there is nothing to worry.” True indeed, the counterpart of a problem is a solution. If you cannot solve it anymore, why waste your resources?
This kind of anecdote heartens me as a teacher, one reward that no money can buy. For my student, if you happen to read this, I’m so proud of your strength of character. I’ll always pray for you and your family. I am not privy to your predicament but always remember that this challenge will make you a stronger person. Pray.
Just like some students I was inching my way to squeeze into the throng of spectators who were desperately trying to have a peek on the human exhibit of some telefantasya and Filipino mythical characters last February at the FEU Mass Com Fair. I bumped one of my research students and joked, “Kumusta naman ang mga tigyawat natin diyan?” (because the pimples were much bigger than the usual.) The student replied while pointing at the swollen minute hills on his face, “Joeven po ang pangalan niyan…”
We burst to laughter. It was a funny but true realization that some students had a hotbed of pimples due to stress caused by school workload and the pressure of deadlines and, sometimes, dealing with freeloaders of the group. Of course it is unfair to attribute all the stress from me because they have other equally taxing subjects like Radio and Television Production and Information and Political Campaigns. But I was informed that according to my research and debate students, taking these subjects with me was a “double jeopardy”. According to them, the subjects were already difficult plus I was “difficult” as a teacher.
I admit I demand more from my students. I believe and I have always told my students that the real measurement of growth is when you do things that are greater than yourself. I have always tried to push them harder so that they will realize that they cannot only do it, but they can be very good at it. It is the same principle I wrote in “Comfort Zone” in the 100 Essays where I penned I may be misconstrued like Saddam Hussein sowing terror in the class; but my goals are genuine; that is, to bring out the best in my students.
True indeed, they became better students. Most winners of the Best Thesis Award of the 2nd Communication Research Colloquium of FEU Department of Communication were my students. They were so happy during the awarding in the same manner that the sight of their fulfillment overjoyed me. Some exhilaratingly jumped and embraced me as if I just arrived from the airport after years of work overseas. I am so proud of my students—all the finalists. Their hard work, patience, and competitive paid off. Special congratulations to:
Ingrid K. Velasquez, Jaymen Amihan, Arby Laraño, and Francis Garcia for bagging the top prize for their study “Marketing Principles for Philippine Independent Films.”
Ann Margaret Antonio, Ma. Katrina Cirilo, and Ailyn Nierra for ranking second over 15 finalists. Their study was titled, “The Social Responsibility Role of May Trabaho Ka”.
The third placers shared by three teams: Lovely Rose Magdayao, Katherine Imson, Charisse Concepcion, and Rove Tan for their study “Mariposa sa Likod ng mga Rehas: Coping Mechanisms of Gay Detainees”; Nona Palima, Mary Eleine Samonte, and Bryan Angeles for their study “Role of Social Experiments in Noypi Ikaw Ba To? in Promoting the Value of Honesty”; and Richiel Tolentino, Julius Paquera, and Jaemie Lopez for their study, “Helping OFWs: Communication Strategies of OWWA for Program Implementation of Social Services and Family Welfare Program”.
Thank you to Prof. Josefina M.C. Santos of UP Diliman and Profs. Bong Espinosa and Gene Pamittan of FEU for spending the whole day with the Research Cluster as judges for the thesis defense and presentation.
To all finalists, thank you very much for providing a tight but friendly competition and for helping enrich communication and media studies.
* * *
Now that the semester is over, I hope that no pimple shall be named after me. Summer is a period to relax where stress becomes a matter of choice. I just hope the La Niña phenomenon will not spoil the escapades of beach buffs who have worked out really hard to tone their bodies just so they could strut confidently this summer with their beach wears.
My summer is something to look forward to. Sources of pleasure are promising yet very tedious at the same time. My friends and I have already booked tickets. There is the thrill of getting lost in an unfamiliar but exciting territory. Jia you. We just need to prepare more “fuel to add to the fire”, so to speak, in order to maximize the pleasure of the travel. After that trip, I need to work in Palawan as organizer of a conference on speech communication. I hope I can find enough time to have a sojourn and “commune” with its pristine beauty. For now, I have to rush the full paper for three conventions I am expected to attend: two in May, one in August. I hope I can beat the deadlines.
* * *
The reflection and synthesis papers of my debate students are worthy of re-reading. I am very happy that they have seen the value of the subject as a communicator, professional, and as a person. Most of them shared the importance of reading news and current affairs in understanding social issues in the country and abroad. It was an eye-opener for them that everything that they say, as much as possible, has to be validated through facts and analogies. The discursive nature of the subject, according to them, has boosted their confidence in self-expression and has improved their spontaneity. I hope that the techniques they have learned will be handy as they join the workforce. My best wishes!
I was particularly struck by the reflection of one student who thanked me for giving her a very important lesson in life. In her paper, she shared that she once asked permission from me through a text message one night if she could re-schedule her oral exam the next day because she needed to fix a family problem. Instead of allowing the re-schedule, she recalled my SMS which read, “One of the things I’d like you to learn in my class is to make decisions in life.”
A textual analysis of my SMS now has made me realize that my student already started to make a decision in life. My classroom policy states that when you are absent during scheduled oral exams, the chance to debate is forfeited and the student will get a grade of zero. I bend this policy when the reason is really justified. (Note: Justifiable reasons have been qualified in class). She was probably not focused at that time due to her predicament and instead of sacrificing the quality of her performance she opted to request a re-schedule.
My SMS made her decide on her own. She made a choice, which to my mind is a sign of empowerment to a certain extent. In life there will always be crossroads. Friends and mentors, sometimes, will not be around to guide us always. Even if they are present, the decision still lies on our hands. They can only do so much, sheer “guides”. When we fail due to our own decision, there is no one to blame. But there will surely be a lesson learned. If we succeed, the decision was worth the risk. Surely, there will also be a lesson learned. Which reminds me of Dalai Lama’s word, “If you have a problem and it has a solution, there is nothing to worry. If you have a problem and it has no solution, there is nothing to worry.” True indeed, the counterpart of a problem is a solution. If you cannot solve it anymore, why waste your resources?
This kind of anecdote heartens me as a teacher, one reward that no money can buy. For my student, if you happen to read this, I’m so proud of your strength of character. I’ll always pray for you and your family. I am not privy to your predicament but always remember that this challenge will make you a stronger person. Pray.
posted by JOEVEN at 8:48 AM
1 Comments:
true indeed, my thesis days gave me pimple named joeven =)
but it's really worth the sleepy nights, the pressure and stress.. really worth having a thesis class under you.. thanks!
Post a Comment
<< Home