I was in high school when I was assigned in a literature class of Miss Jhocson.
She was known as a terror teacher. I got a little scared. But as days passed by, I
came to know her well. I discovered that Miss Jhocson was caring, friendly, under-
standing, and oh, loved music as I did. She taught me to sing and dance on week-
ends.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
MY CHILDREN
My children tried to get me many times to get my hands on a computer, but I kept putting it
off. Now I regret it big time. Well it's never too late, right? I just need to be patient.
off. Now I regret it big time. Well it's never too late, right? I just need to be patient.
my mother
My mother is the most important person because she taught me proper behavior in my privateand public life .
THANKS!
The person that had a profound impact in my educational career chall remain nameless. This person inspired me to push myself to the limits. I thank her for her endless words of inspiration. There were times in my career where I thought the seemingly endless balloon of stress would just explode. When those times came, she would just say a few words of inspiration--most of the time she doesn't know it--and everything would be ok. I must say, if it weren't for her, I probably would have fallen apart and changed my career already. Thank you person who will remain nameless for the rest of my educational career. Thank you for walking with me up those mountains.
My Inspirational Teacher - Mr. Steve Protasio
People have a way of coming into your life. Some are introduced by friends and family, some by work, and others, well, who knows? The people I meet are a blessing in disguise, for I find that whomever I meet, they seem to always have some strong impact one way or another. One person in particular was Mr. Steve Protasio. He was my English 11 and 12 grade teacher at John F. Kennedy High School. He made a commitment to understand all his students. He never judged us by our covers but rather read into us. He would always know when things were amiss and took time to listen to us after class rant and rave about peer pressure, home life, school life, and even personal relationships.
As a student, I was rebellious but smart throughout my middle school and most of my high school years. I would skip class, jump gates, or get into fights, but was never caught or retained in school. I did not know that my actions would lead me down the wrong path in life. It was my way and no other way. That was until I entered my junior year and met Mr. Protasio. He made learning an art. He made it fun. And he made the subject make sense. I always looked forward to his class everyday and would dread when it ended. Mr. Protasio had high expectation of his students and I wasn't aware that one day I would be his highest.
One school day during my senior year, my class had an assignment to write to ten universities in the mainland. We had to get ten copies of our school transcript and fill out college applications. We had to also write an introduction letter about why we wanted to attend college. This assignment had me thinking. Did I even want to go to college? What good would it do? What if I don't get accepted, then what? I shared these thoughts with the class and was given the best advice ever. Mr. Protasio said, "You will never know the outcome of a situation unless you try. And if these colleges don't accept you, then they are the dumb ones." I thought for a moment that he was being sarcastic and we all stared at him waiting for the punch line, but it never came. He was dead serious. At that moment, I saw myself through his eyes. I saw myself living a life without trouble. At this point, I decided to put my everything into my assignments and my heart into school. It was a traumatic change. People in school starting noticing and I was making friends with people who I used to tease and terrorize.
The end of senior year was fast approaching and Mr. Protasio made an announcement that he had some items to give back to us. He reached behind his desk for a huge box. As he opened it, he shared that what he was about to pass back to us were the responses of the college applications we sent. Not all responded but we at least got an idea what it was like to go through the application process. As he passed out the large packets, I kept thinking what if I decided to pursue my education further. The moment of truth came when Mr. Protasio handed 9 packets back to me. I opened all the packets and read each of its contents. University of Arizona, University of Hawaii-Manoa, Florida State, and Portland State University accepted me to their colleges. I was flabbergasted that an young girl from small island would have a chance to attend some big college out there in the mainland. Then, Mr. Protasio asked us to settle back into our seats because he was excited to share some news with us. I thought there couldn't be anything as exciting as this. He held in his hand a packet that was labeled, Who's Who Among American High School Students. Mr. Protasio shared that he had a friend, who was an English professor at University of Hawaii-Manoa, and sent a few of our essays to him. His friend then went on to share one essay in particular with his colleagues and one of those colleagues suggested submitting the essay into Who's Who. We were all excited for the one student who had their essay shared with so many people. I didn't think it was me, no way, there were by far better writers in the class than myself. The class asked if Mr. Protasio would read the essay and he said that he would if everyone gave their consent to share it. We all said, "Yes!" He started with the first few lines and my heart stopped. I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. Those words were my thoughts about my life. My struggles of life: being abandoned by my father when I was a newborn, the age of nine with an alcoholic parent, and then living with grandparents who guided me with loving yet firm hands.
Mr. Protasio finished reading my five-page essay and I took my first breathe. I looked around the room and saw some people with tears in their eyes, the boys were shaking their head thinking that one of their friends probably needed them right now. Then Mr. Protasio looked at me and said, "Venessa, you are a strong person to go through this life at such a young age. You are truly an amazing writer and a disciplined student. No one knew your life before now and I would like to congratulate you in making it out of that life. Never doubt yourself and just know that whatever you set your mind to - it can be accomplished."
I took those words with me forever and set my life into action. I graduated top ten in my high school class, went on to receive my Bachelor's degree in three years, and pursued my Master's degree in two years. I never thanked Mr. Protasio until I met with him four months ago at a education seminar. He didn't recognize me until I introduced myself to him. He asked how life was and I gave him a big smile and shared all of my accomplishments. I thanked him for making learning fun and for having the confidence in all his students. He laughed and said, "I really had no idea what I was doing. I was just hoping for the best." In my opinion, he is the Best!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Reaching My Dreams
Many individuals and circumstances have significantly made an impact in my life.
First and foremost are my parents. They believe in my ability and determination to achieve my dream to be a teacher, so they worked really hard to send me to school and get my degree. Despite our difficulties in life, my father and mother inspired me to pursue higher education.
Some of my teachers in high school instilled the importance of learning in me. They taught me a lot - knowledge and skills that improve my total being , giving me courage to face the world. My family doesn't in any way belong to the middle class, but I was never afraid to face other people. For as long as I know I'm right, I will stand for what I believe in.
I also finished school because of my determination to uplift the status of our family in the society. I love my family so much that I didn't give up my dreams despite of all the obstacles. I know in the end they would benefit the fruit of my success. I know they did.
impact on my life
The people who have made the most impact in my education would be my parents. I would not have made it to college if weren't for them. They stressed almost everyday how important it was to get a degree.
Mrs. Smith
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeMrs. Smith had such an ordinary name but she was an extraordinary teacher. She was my teacher in the 5th grade. I don't recall anything that happened with her teaching but I do remember the relationship she had with my friends and I. We would often hang out in her room after school, during lunch, or she would give us special jobs to help her out. When the school year was over she invited us to her cabin and we waded down a river through the woods. This seems crazy now and extremely inappropriate but it was no big deal then. A few years later after we had moved on to middle school, we decided to visit her. I literally walked through a snowstorm and got frostbite on my ears. So I guess I remember her the most because she showed an interest in her students' lives. I think that is probably common with most of the people who have an influence on us. It happens because they show that they care about us in a personal way. Do you have a teacher or someone in your past that had an impact on your life?
Gateway To Technology Training has so far given me more in-depth knowledge of the different computer software applications that I believe we have been introduced to before. Somehow, I learn more in just the first 3 days. Kudos to Mr Tom Petra, our trainor. One reason could be that each participant has a working computer infront of them. Thanks to Okkodu High School. Immediate application of the theory is required. Not like some of the staff-developments I have attended before when presentors mostly show and talk; there is no immediate applications of the process being taught. With this training, I'm very positive that I will be learning more .
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Now what?
Image by superkimbo via FlickrYou've just received a week's training in educational technology, so now what? Well, as I've said throughout the week, try to pick a few things to follow up on. What tools or resources interested you the most, and are they for your classroom or your own professional development? Let me suggest a path for you to take.Choose a source of information to follow.
We covered Edmodo, Classroom 2.0, Edutopia, Twitter, and more. Pick one to follow and start participating in it. Make sure you aren't just a spectator.
- Gather ideas and resources and list them in a Google Doc.
- Add links to your list so you can find where they came from.
- Keep organized and share your resources with others.
- Set a specific time of the week or day that you can attend to this.
- Blog, webpage, website, wiki - something!
- Is it for school or is it for you?
- Work on a structure and design that you like.
- Start composing your usual print material: Welcome back to school, newsletter, classroom policies, etc.
- Remember the criteria: audience, direction of communication, number of authors, visibility, features, and cost.
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