Sunday, January 19, 2020

Grace in Full Circle 2x around

Teacher Mailin, Teacher Vic and Teacher Amor are top of my list as the best K-12 teachers I've encountered in 3 decades of my teaching life. Right below them are five more whom I've been most fortunate to observe and immerse with, some whom I think are actually 'gifted children'.

Teacher Mailin was our humble Goddess=Dyosa. Such a reflective teacher who taught me to feel my way and trust my instincts. She was a very good listener, esp during case conferences when we each teacher had to say something about the each child in school. At School 2, she observed me clinicking with E.  I didn't have a whole plan written out, just a structure for the session and scribbles on my pad paper. It had a brief word list and sentence stems. That was it. She still went on to observe for the first time, I got honest feedback about my teaching. It was something I never had from School 1 = 6 years of teaching.

Later on she took chances on me = 5x.  While I was still an uncertain teacher of LD kids at School 2, she assigned me J, my first clinic case. While being a teacher to the barrio at Romblon, she gave me K, my first case of home-based remedial reading instruction, to demo-teach remediation while handling a special child, behavior mod included.  Back from my teacher to barrio stint, she threw me to a pilot class of 6 male, pre-adolescent ADHD  students to do behavior modification, small-group kind.

Later on, she took me in at School 4 to set up the Phil Hist Culture and Values program = Social Studies + Filipino SL classes within the PYP program. At School 6, she got me to do the title Learning Coordinator. Again, a first, something I had to live up to.

I will always remember her for the pineapples she shared with me during my first few weeks at School 1. Of course, I grabbed one cuz food is food. Only to find out much later on who SHE IS = a woman, alta de cuidad, with a bodyguard.

So being with her much later on in life, as part of the School 6 leadership team made me appreciate her constant evolution as a teacher-leader.

Teacher Mai = Harkness Discussion

Now comes Amor - me Amorrre former housemate with Miranda, fondly called as Teacher Motie.

More of Victor's colleague before she and I worked together. Most OC teacher I've ever met who will have all  her school supplies sorted and labelled in a certain way. She has the knack of instantly coming up with guides to help any student extract content and find meaning, then all the writing guides. It gets too much sometimes, seeing here spend 100% effort.  She handled the toughest adolescent/ high school cases, with care and with compassion and strictness. No bully can get their way with her except me. Hihihi...I always drop by her office to grab this and that. Or demand something, somethat and she delivers.  Such a fast learner.

Last but not the least, a fave of mine - Victor. How do I love thy teaching? Let me count thy ways.

First time I overheard him speak to his class, I thought he was a femme. The S comes out as sssss.
His pinky finger moves towards the ceiling while holding his utensils. His table manners, impeccable.

To be continued....

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