IT’S NO brainer, give a person something he would like and expect him to be nice to you.

When I was still a student teacher, I couldn’t seem to appreciate the Law of Rewards thinking that it only works on kids. But now that I’m a teacher, it seems to have found its significance.

Last week, we had our mid-year performance review and evaluation. We did loads of work that we almost never slept for the whole week. But on Thursday and Friday, our activity was interrupted because we were asked to attend a seminar–and we found something dubious there. Think of how rampant corruption is in this part of the world.

LIFE IS getting more and more complicated for these days and I’m about to lose my sanity.

I BADLY NEED A BREAK.

After days of poring over our school improvement plan, I had a (very) short break in Lake Sebu. No, it wasn’t really a break; it was part of work. And now, I’m back to my stressful life.

Next week is our Mid-year Performance Evaluation. That means a break for the students but not for us, teachers. That means loads of work to be done and training conferences.

TO DO A DEMOSTRATION TEACHING NEXT WEEK

What’s wracking my nerves about the coming week is my demonstration teaching. The participants are master and would-be-master teachers all over the region. The former Education Supervisor in Science of Region XII asked me to prepare a lesson on radio communication systems. We will be having a meeting tomorrow to discuss the details.

I tried to bargain with her that I could not do it because it’s me who needs training. But it seemed to be a tall order and she has already talked with my principal about it. All I could do now is obey.

When that demonstration is done, I would really spend a day in our farm to unwind. It’s a need that if not addressed will take me to the nearest mental asylum.

THE IDIOM is just so apt for me these days. I’m like a zombie at home. When I arrive, I just go straight to my room and doze off. I just hope we could finish the school improvement plan very soon. I could not take it if our stress would be prolonged.

It’s Saturday today but I and three of my co-teachers spent the whole day in school polishing our school improvement plan, which we were working on for almost a week already. Even until tomorrow, we’ll still be going back to school to finish it. It’s like being in college again. Ugh.

FOR SEVERAL days now, I have not been doing classroom teaching because my principal commissioned me to draft our school improvement plan. It’s draining the spirit in me because, for several hours in a day, we’re talking about problems and trying to find solutions, which appear to be very elusive.

It’s not that I am complaining. It’s just that I don’t think I’m ready enough to talk about things that only mature people talk about. I started teaching for only about a year or so and I don’t think that is long enough for me to be able to make plans for the school. But I’m sure that eventually, I’ll be dealing with more stuff like this.

At the moment, of all the things we do in school, it’s being in the classroom that I enjoy the most. There is something about being with the young that lifts up my spirit. Two days ago, my senior students called me a “terror.”  But I appreciated it because I think it’s the best time to teach them a lesson. Kidding.

TEACHERS IN the country may enjoy treats from any Jollibee stores nationwide starting today, October 5, 2008 until October 10th as Jollibee takes part in the celebration of World Teachers’ Day.

However, it is public knowledge that teachers do not need a treat from Jollibee because they need more than that. Nevertheless, we say thanks to Jollibee for thinking about the teachers. I wonder what is GSIS’ participation in this year’s celebration — setting us free, maybe, from all the anomalies some people in the agancy are allegedly doing.

There are some good news for teachers, though, like the 6-hour teaching load, setting the maximum number of classroom teaching to only six hours, and the proposed staggered salary increases. The government must be afraid that our good teachers will all fly to where milk and honey flows.

By the way, October 5 is set by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a day to honor our teachers who are the ones who help shape the future of the world. Support must be given to the teachers to help them perform their duties well.

LIFE INDEED is a cycle. A few months ago, I’ve been feeling so low because it seems like everything I do fails. First, the blogging seminar we orgnanized was postponed. Of course, I’ve already put a lot into it. I also suferred some depression after the great deception. I thought it was just nothing. I thought that it would easily slip off my head. But that trauma I experienced was quite too grave that it affected my work.

NO, I am not currently in conflict with anyone at work and I hope it will be like that for the rest of my stay here.

I’d just like to write now about how I was able to avoid conflicts with my co-teachers in my first year of teaching. Here are the five thoughts I always keep in my mind:

1. Know where you stand. I have to always keep in mind that I am a newly hired member of the faculty, which means, I should not assume that I know the subculture within the group. I should listen to my superiors and be always willing to learn. Later on, I could start making a difference once I am able to establish my identity.