GONE OUT FISHING

I always pack light, bringing only the essentials.

 I'LL BE OUT OF THE CIRCULATION FOR A WHILE GUYS...HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK...STAY COOL AND SEXY.

INTRAMURALS @ KNS

Intramurals are fun, recreational, social and competitive on-campus sports activities for Kolehiyo ng Subic students and staff. It is a fun way of involving the different departments of the campus. However, it's not all about the competition. Sportsmanship is a huge part of the intramural leagues in bringing the whole community of our academia as one unifying force. Here are some pictures of the opening event last Monday to get you involved with our recent activity.

Starting my very busy day with a big breakfast.

These colorful flaglets are a clear sign of a fun events to come.

Meet my cool and awesome family in the Computer Studies Department.

Prepping for the big parade (pretty chaotic isn't it?)

The Business Education Department in  bright yellow.

Pretty in pink are the Tourism, Hotel and Restaurant  Organization Department.

Finally,  the blue-blooded students of Education Department.

An intramural program is perhaps the most ideal location to foster moral development education, and this focus is the responsibility of the intramural administration. The overall atmosphere of a college intramural program should be fair, just, and geared toward moral growth. Participants should be clear that the focus is participation, teamwork, sportsmanship, and a sense of belonging.

RESPECT, CONSIDERATION & INTEGRITY

I am wearing a knit shirt from Oxygen, G2000 white shirt,F&H bow tie,
Memo black trousers and Xianniao eyeglasses.

I have been part of the teaching force for almost 5 years now. Two gratifying school years in elementary level and another three years in collegiate level. I would say that one of the most satisfying aspects of teaching at the college or university level may be found in the mentoring relationship that faculty members can develop with their students. It has been observed that student relationships with members of the faculty is regarded by most students as the most vital aspect of the quality of their college experience.

Being a mentor with young individuals bring forth self satisfaction to the teacher. I firmly believe that to establish a mentoring relationship a teacher must eradicate most of the boundaries/stigma between educator learner relationship, because a good learning process can only be achieve through lectures, social activities and glimpses into each other's personal lives. And yet, despite this closeness and sharing, the teacher does remain a teacher and the student a student. The teacher maintains certain evaluative responsibilities and the student continues to be dependent on the mentor's guidance and approval. Therefore respect must be the foundation of this or any other type of relationships, may it be mentoring relationship or professional relationship.

Maybe you might already asking yourself by now, whats with the sudden change of direction of our today's post? Well after spending a fun afternoon with friends (one of which is my colleague) I am sadden by his story of how some students can be a little inconsiderate & impudent. And it got me thinking...What are appropriate student & teacher boundaries? Is there a necessary limit to the verbal,  personal, or even social interaction that may be experienced between student and teacher without compromising their academic & professional responsibilities? How should one handle verbal or social overtures made by a student? What can we do, as individuals, as professionals, and as institutions to help ensure that appropriate student-teacher boundaries are maintained?

Most students nowadays believes that being frank & vocal with how & what they feel at the moment, suggests being assertive. They forget to analyze the situation, study the action they need to execute and most importantly organize the words they want/need to say. Resulting in the damage of three general positive  principles, which are central in building and maintaining harmonious relationships. These concepts are respect, consideration, and integrity. We must be reminded that there's a thin line between being outspoken and being uncouth. Some students think it’s OK to interact with teachers the same way they interact with their friends or peers. These students get into all kinds of trouble at school because of it.

It is necessary that we both respect the boundaries needed to exist between a student and a teacher, because there are load of things a student can do at home that he can’t do in school. The maintenance of healthy boundaries is not only something that teachers need to do in their own relationships with students. We also need to prepare ourselves to monitor our personal boundaries & other people's boundaries. We can help  our students develop this awareness by exploring this issue as a part of their training and by modeling appropriate professional behavior in our own relationships with them. Finally, we can help develop institutional guidelines and policies that reflect a commitment to the maintenance of appropriate student-teacher boundaries.

Relationship might be the most complicated subject to teach, yet it is the most rewarding topic on Earth. Develop a relationship to produce intellectual sparks and lightning—and fan those flames for the benefit of yourself, classmates, the instructor and all whom you will eventually meet along your journey.

THE ALLURE OF AGE VERSUS REASON

It's a long-weekend here in Phili!  August 29 , a Monday; marks National Heroes’ Day while August 30, Tuesday; is the end of Ramadan, both dates have been declared non-working holidays. And nothing beats starting one's  holiday with old friends, great food and an eye-opening conversation. 

That Saturday night I met up with my two college buds at "The Coffee Shop Restaurant" -  it is a well known  local landmark here in my city,  having been established back in 1984. The restaurant serves a variety of local and international cusines, known for their best-tasting jumbo taco (it overflows a 9-inch plate). 

It was like a reunion composed of three "mature" men with the neanderthalistic inclination from high school. Without leaving the building, we took the fastest rocket back to our long gone college days. 

In occasions such as this, relationship questions are inevitable. It's only common to put your romantic affairs in the spotlight. Friends will interrogate, dissect even butcher your love life. One of my friends asked me who am I dating at present, in an attempt to be truthful with an assumption that my honesty would shut him up, I answered instantly with "I'm taking a breather!" The other friend immediately stated, "Why don't you just date one of your students!", in a tone that doesn't seem to be asking, but imposing. 

On the way home from that dinner, I decided to brave the evening rain showers to have a brief moment for myself. I wondered...In today's gender sensitive culture are the men of my generation growing into responsible and emotionally stable adults or are we morphing into wimps scared of taking chances, resulting in the lowering of our qualifications in searching for "the one"?

I always thought that it is quite unprofessional to date a colleague and definitely it is highly unethical to date one of your students. Just the idea of dating an individual 15 - 20 years my junior is enough to give me the creeps. When a person stayed in his profession long enough, he is supposed to get wiser and that includes the knowledge of making sane decisions about dating. What people to pick and where to meet them.  

Sometimes it's nice to look back on simpler days. When educators were like parents, like fathers to their students. Think of the inspirational male teacher characters like John Keating (played by Robin Williams in the film Dead Poet's Society) and Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos of Stand and Deliver). Escalante's educative efforts are excellent. Keating is charismatic and creative as "My Captain". Both were pillars of strength, support and discipline. Their work were endless and, oftentimes, thankless. But in the end, it showed in the sound, well-adjusted students they raised.

Now it may well be argued that, off the silver screen, it is men who are much more likely to have to wear the tag of  violators. This is certainly true. I do think that there are real constraint that make it almost impossible for men to do caring academic and cultural work at the moment. As a result of media sensationalism and true revelations of such violations in the past and present.

In these days of polarized sexual politics, the value of a great male teacher is often overlooked. But there are few things as valuable as a fatherly educator who will do everything he can, and provide all the tools he has so that his students can become better than him.

In the end, I have weighed. In a profession like teaching, with its paces and pressures, sometimes it is important to reflect on the shortcomings of others to strengthen our morale fibers. To remember that the best things in a teacher's life is upholding your dignity, nurturing the trust and respect of the community and sustaining a stronger claim to greatness through our passion for power in learning.

BEING SINGLE BY CHOICE ROCKS

I am wearing Wharton white dress shirt, Memo black trousers, knit vest from Gap, F & H striped bow tie and Adidas Superstar II.

I am not entirely sure why most men hate it when asked by their loved ones “what are you thinking?” I used to be asked by that line quite a bit, actually, and I never really got  to answer with a straight face. But I think most men feel invaded. Men are, by and large, more “emotionally contained” than women are. Men use "joke-speak" to mask their real emotions. Men evolved the ability to contain their feelings, sometimes even from themselves! So we are not as comfortable sharing our intimate world because we feel our words might backfire on us. In an effort to break the cycle let me share something intimate about relationships.

A wise young friend once said: "It takes half the time you dated someone to fully get over them." It's like a math solution of what known as romance equation, the unwritten rule that implies that - if you went out with the person for, let's say three years, it means that you got 18 months to get over with that person until you finally get back in the game. That just doesn't sound right, noh?!

Some people want a help-mate, someone who will build a family and share their moral code. Others want a soul-mate, someone with whom they can share their deepest needs and feelings. Others seek a mind-mate, someone with whom they can exchange ideas and fulfill their ambitions. And some want a play-mate, someone who will go adventuring with them, either intellectually or physically. Living in a town where everyone's dying to couple up, sometime there's nothing better than being out of the relationship. In most cases being single is just what a person needs. You have more time for yourself - to sleep as long as you want; to go for a long walk alone and lose yourself with the faces and places; and of course do weird stuffs that a loved one might not approve of. But the best part of being single is having adequate time to catch up with your close friends. And discover with them that there is something thrilling about varying the pace of life. It's really important to be unattached for a while and get to know this new you.

There are times we need to stop and look who we are and appreciate how far we have come and less attention on how far we still need to go. Freeing oneself of everything we've been holding on is crucial to send us on our new path...the right path. I needed to make a choice and I choose me! Because when I am truly single, I step to quite a different tune.