Homeworks and assignments were parts and parcels of student's life but when a teacher assign projects in every subject and homeworks everyday, he was not being helpful and he was not really teaching but rather confusing his students. I realized this when my children were still in the elementary and high school.
I noticed my freshman son was getting very temperamental one night. I decided to find out and I discovered that in science alone he was expected to cut pictures and write a two-page reaction, typewritten in long bands on each of the following subjects: Geology, Hydrology, Oceanology, Meteorology, Astronomy, and Volcanology. Did the teacher think anybody can really do it correctly in one week? In Christian Living at about the same time, my son's homework was to look for and cut out pictures of Churches in the Philippines.
I knew there were calendars that carry pictures of old churches but where to find those calendars then was another problem.
Aside form homeworks and projects students were expected to join field trips on every subject matter discussed in school.
I congratulated my children just for passing.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
LIVING FOREVER
Another relative died and several others were in the hospital. For four consecutive weekends I was doing vigils in my town mate's wakes. I was already tired writing about deaths, so instead I am quoting a most unique last will and testament. This was sent to the Philipine STAR by Chartel Ylanan who copied it from the October 11, 1989 issue of the Visayan Daily STAR. The author was anonymous.
"Living Parts Left Behind At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function, and that, for all intents and purpose, my life has stopped. When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of machine. And don't call this my "deathbed". Call it my "bed of life", and let my body be taken from it to help others led fuller lives.Give my sight to man who has never seen sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a pretty woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. Give my blood to a teen-ager who has been pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week. Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk. Explore every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of the rain against the windows. Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flower grow.
If you may bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudices against my fellowmen.Give my soul to God. If by chance you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I WILL LIVE FOREVER. Lord,thank you for the joy of knowing that you love me! Thank you also for family and friends. And thank You for the privilege of life itself. Help me live each day for You".
"Living Parts Left Behind At a certain moment a doctor will determine that my brain has ceased to function, and that, for all intents and purpose, my life has stopped. When that happens, do not attempt to instill artificial life into my body by the use of machine. And don't call this my "deathbed". Call it my "bed of life", and let my body be taken from it to help others led fuller lives.Give my sight to man who has never seen sunrise, a baby's face or love in the eyes of a pretty woman.
Give my heart to a person whose own heart has caused nothing but endless days of pain. Give my blood to a teen-ager who has been pulled from the wreckage of his car, so that he might live to see his grandchildren play. Give my kidneys to one who depends on a machine to exist from week to week. Take my bones, every muscle, every fiber and nerve in my body and find a way to make a crippled child walk. Explore every corner of my brain. Take my cells, if necessary, and let them grow so that someday a speechless boy will shout at the crack of a bat and a deaf girl will hear the sound of the rain against the windows. Burn what is left of me and scatter the ashes to the winds to help the flower grow.
If you may bury something, let it be my faults, my weaknesses and all prejudices against my fellowmen.Give my soul to God. If by chance you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you. If you do all I have asked, I WILL LIVE FOREVER. Lord,thank you for the joy of knowing that you love me! Thank you also for family and friends. And thank You for the privilege of life itself. Help me live each day for You".
Life Insurances
All of a sudden there were so many applicants for insurance. Was it because the risk to life were so many that people want to insure the future of their families?
I honestly do not believe in life insurance. First, because the one insured never enjoys the benefits and in case of death the heirs, most of the time quarrel over the money involved. I knew a lot of families broken because of insurance benefits. I've also seen ambitions and crumpled, dreams that dwindled and even lives destroyed because of the false promises of insurance benefits.
But as a medical examiner of insurance applicants, insurance was doing me a lot of good. Most of the patients (clients) were generally healthy and the medical fee was almost always assured.
I examine clients for Philamlife, Sunlife of Canada and Aetna. I used to be medical examiner too, of Insular Life but there were not so many agents for that company.
As medical examiner I have a chance to meet people from all walks of life. Some of them became my regular patients, others turned out to be lot buyers and still others bought home-decor items as well s RTW item from my wife. Though I didn't believe in insurance as it was conceived I have to admit that people who believed were doing me a lot of good.
I honestly do not believe in life insurance. First, because the one insured never enjoys the benefits and in case of death the heirs, most of the time quarrel over the money involved. I knew a lot of families broken because of insurance benefits. I've also seen ambitions and crumpled, dreams that dwindled and even lives destroyed because of the false promises of insurance benefits.
But as a medical examiner of insurance applicants, insurance was doing me a lot of good. Most of the patients (clients) were generally healthy and the medical fee was almost always assured.
I examine clients for Philamlife, Sunlife of Canada and Aetna. I used to be medical examiner too, of Insular Life but there were not so many agents for that company.
As medical examiner I have a chance to meet people from all walks of life. Some of them became my regular patients, others turned out to be lot buyers and still others bought home-decor items as well s RTW item from my wife. Though I didn't believe in insurance as it was conceived I have to admit that people who believed were doing me a lot of good.
THE BLACK SHEEP
He is a sixteen year old six footer and ruggedly handsome, deepened by some fresh and raw pimples trying to ruin his cheeks.
His mother referred him to me because he often takes money from her bag. He did it several times and the mother was worried.
During the informal interview he related to me his story in between cute shy smiles. So, he admitted he was the "black sheep" of the family. He was completely misunderstood by everyone and he felt he was an outcast.
When he did wrong no one forgets but when he did right, no one remembers. No one noticed him at home and nobody gives him importance. In short he was craving for attention and a little care, a very typical dilemma encountered by teen-agers.
I explained to him that what he was feeling and what he was experiencing was normal. He was in the transition period from boyhood to manhood. He won't agree that he was still a child but he was aware that he wasn't yet an adult.
Somehow I was able to create a rapport between us so he submitted to hypnosis. He turned out to be a very good subject. He is scheduled to come back for more follow-up sessions as he was impressed during the first session.
His mother referred him to me because he often takes money from her bag. He did it several times and the mother was worried.
During the informal interview he related to me his story in between cute shy smiles. So, he admitted he was the "black sheep" of the family. He was completely misunderstood by everyone and he felt he was an outcast.
When he did wrong no one forgets but when he did right, no one remembers. No one noticed him at home and nobody gives him importance. In short he was craving for attention and a little care, a very typical dilemma encountered by teen-agers.
I explained to him that what he was feeling and what he was experiencing was normal. He was in the transition period from boyhood to manhood. He won't agree that he was still a child but he was aware that he wasn't yet an adult.
Somehow I was able to create a rapport between us so he submitted to hypnosis. He turned out to be a very good subject. He is scheduled to come back for more follow-up sessions as he was impressed during the first session.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Life Goes On
A mother died. It was a painful death. She was hanging the laundry outside the house, when she heard her grandchild crying. She run to find out but she slipped on the wet cement, fell down and hit her head. Just like that. She was fifty years old.
She was the fifth in two weeks who died young and suddenly. God must be saying something to the people of our community: that life is uncertain while death is definitely coming in no time at all.
For the orphans and others she left behind it was a sad moment but for the tired mother it was a transition, a rebirth. For death is very much part of life. It is a divine door where one passed from one level of existence into another, which is generally a better one.
Only the physical body dies. Life goes on beyond the grave because life is a quality of the soul and the soul cannot die. The soul will experience different stages of "death" on its process of purification towards perfection before joining the Creator.
Those who died unprepared remain as earthbound entities doing their chores when alive. When perceived, they are what we call ghosts.
She was the fifth in two weeks who died young and suddenly. God must be saying something to the people of our community: that life is uncertain while death is definitely coming in no time at all.
For the orphans and others she left behind it was a sad moment but for the tired mother it was a transition, a rebirth. For death is very much part of life. It is a divine door where one passed from one level of existence into another, which is generally a better one.
Only the physical body dies. Life goes on beyond the grave because life is a quality of the soul and the soul cannot die. The soul will experience different stages of "death" on its process of purification towards perfection before joining the Creator.
Those who died unprepared remain as earthbound entities doing their chores when alive. When perceived, they are what we call ghosts.
RECONCILIATION
Reconciliation is the establishment of harmony. It means forgiveness and at the same time forgetting the offense. It is accepting back the enemy. It is renewal of friendship.
One of the most important qualities of marital harmony is the capability of the couple to accept or apply reconciliation. It is the test of maturity and intelligence. It is the binding force of love; the string that keeps two bodies together.
He who is capable of loving must also be capable of forgiving, for then he becomes capable of living a truly Christian life. People who love each other have reasons to feel that way. When they quarrel they both become unreasonable, as they are both covered by a thick shadow of misunderstanding. They begin to feel nothing but the negative qualities of the other and unless the spirit of reconciliation is given a chance to work everything will be gone forever.
Reconciliation is a human quality because it is based on reason and only human beings are rational. Animals live together but animals also kill each other. On the other hand, humans forgive their enemies and this is the very quality that separates men from animals.
One of the most important qualities of marital harmony is the capability of the couple to accept or apply reconciliation. It is the test of maturity and intelligence. It is the binding force of love; the string that keeps two bodies together.
He who is capable of loving must also be capable of forgiving, for then he becomes capable of living a truly Christian life. People who love each other have reasons to feel that way. When they quarrel they both become unreasonable, as they are both covered by a thick shadow of misunderstanding. They begin to feel nothing but the negative qualities of the other and unless the spirit of reconciliation is given a chance to work everything will be gone forever.
Reconciliation is a human quality because it is based on reason and only human beings are rational. Animals live together but animals also kill each other. On the other hand, humans forgive their enemies and this is the very quality that separates men from animals.
MISCOMMUNICATION
Miscommunication is the failure of two parties to send message correctly. It is the inability to reach the other one. When there is miscommunication or worse still, non-communication, something is wrong somewhere.
Maybe the sender didn't send the the message correctly or perhaps the receiver didn't receive rightfully, but whatever is the cause, the result is sometimes catastrophic. What happens when couples miscommunicate? When teachers fail to reach the students or when friends misunderstand each other? A lot of unpleasant events follow. It can be as simple as snobbish silence or as destructive as a full-blown war.
Miscommunication started when men turned so proud that they planned to build a tower to reach God in heaven. God saw what were in their hearts so He willed that each one speak a different language. No one could understand what the others were saying and they were all humbled. The tower of Babel was never finished.
Misunderstanding due to miscommunication is very common nowadays and that is why the world is always in trouble. Even modern communication facilities didn't help solve the problem. Yet, if man can only nourish fully his sense of humor, so many misunderstandings and miscommunication could be felt and dealt with in a more positive manner.
Maybe the sender didn't send the the message correctly or perhaps the receiver didn't receive rightfully, but whatever is the cause, the result is sometimes catastrophic. What happens when couples miscommunicate? When teachers fail to reach the students or when friends misunderstand each other? A lot of unpleasant events follow. It can be as simple as snobbish silence or as destructive as a full-blown war.
Miscommunication started when men turned so proud that they planned to build a tower to reach God in heaven. God saw what were in their hearts so He willed that each one speak a different language. No one could understand what the others were saying and they were all humbled. The tower of Babel was never finished.
Misunderstanding due to miscommunication is very common nowadays and that is why the world is always in trouble. Even modern communication facilities didn't help solve the problem. Yet, if man can only nourish fully his sense of humor, so many misunderstandings and miscommunication could be felt and dealt with in a more positive manner.
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