Sisimulan ko ang blog na ito sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay ng sarili kong pagkakaunawa sa salitang dignidad. Para sa akin, ang dignidad ay matatamo ng tao base sa sarili nitong paggalang o pagrespeto sa kapwa nito. "Wag mong gawin sa kapwa mo ang ayaw mong gawin ng kapwa mo sa'yo." Marahil ay maraming beses mo na nakita ang salawikaing ito, kaya naman, hindi ko na gagamitin pa ito. At sa halip, babaguhin ko ito ng kaunti at iyon na lamang ang bibigyan ko ng tuon. "Gawin mo sa kapwa mo ang gusto mong gawin ng kapwa mo sa'yo." Wag niyong bigyan ng ibang kahulugan ang sinabi kong ito. Ang ibig ko lamang sabihin, igalang mo ang iba kung gusto mong igalang ka nila. Kapag naisakatuparan mo na ito, nakatitiyak akong may dignidad ka. Sa puntong ito, nais kong balikan ang mga nagdaang araw namin sa Project 3 Elementary School sa pag-asang mapagnilayan kung natamo ko nga ang dignidad.
Unang taon ko pa lamang sa kolehiyo ay napasubok na kaagad ako sa pag-eerya. Sa totoo lamang, dati ay hindi ko maisip ang sarili kong nagtuturo sa mga bata. Hindi naman kasi ako magaling magpaliwanag at kulang din sa pasensiya. Sa amin nga, hindi ako gaanong nakikisalamuha sa mga bata, lagi lamang akong nasa loob ng bahay. Marahil nga'y marami na rin akong napagdaanan mula noon. Sa totoo nga, palagay ko tila napakatagal ko nang nagtuturo. Napamahal na nga siguro ako sa gawaing ito kaya nga sa ngayon ay pinag-iisipan ko kung itutuloy-tuloy ko na ang pagtuturo. Hindi pa kasi buo ang isip ko sa landas na tutunguhin ko kaugnay ang kurso ko. Nakatutuwa nga na isa sa mga pinagpipilian ko ay ang pagtuturo.
Ngunit may tanong na tumambad sa isip ko, "May naitutulong nga ba talaga ako sa mga batang tinuturuan ko?" Nung una ko itong naisip, hindi ko talaga masagot at sumakit pa ang ulo ko. May mga pagkakataon kasi na nagtuturo nga ako pero hindi ko mabakas ang mukha ng pagkakontento sa mga bata. Hindi ko alam kung na-gets nila e. Natakot tuloy ako kasi tsaka ko lang nabatid na ganon ang kaso. Maaari kasing wala silang naiintindihan mula pa noong simula. Kaya nung sumunod na erya, sinubukan kong solusyunan ang mga problema. Mas binigyan ko ng tuon ang talagang pagkatuto ng mga bata kesa sa pagtatapos sa mga nakatakdang aralin. Sinabi ko na lang sa sarili ko, "hindi na baleng mabagal basta gets talaga nila." Mula rito, masasabi kong nagampanan ko ang tungkulin ko sa erya.
Sa pagtagal-tagal ko pa sa erya, nabatid ko ang mas malaki pang bagay na naibabahagi naming mga tutor sa aming mga tutee. Higit na mahalaga sa kaalamang akademiko, nabibigyang tanglaw namin ang mga bata sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay pag-asa. Ang tinutukoy kong pag-asa ay ang pag-asa na kaya rin nilang magtagumpay, pag-asa na kaya rin nilang maging katulad namin na nakakapag-aral sa magandang kolehiyo o higit pa. Higit kong nauunawaan ang mga bata sa erya sapagkat hindi naman ako nalalayo sa kalagayan nila dahil mahirap din ako at nag-aral din sa pampublikong paaralan. Ito marahil ang dahilan kung bakit malaki ang pagpapahalaga ko sa kanila at sa mga ginagawa sa erya.
Haay..kung susumahin, isang beses lang sa isang linggo ang ginagawang pagtuturo, minsan nga ay wala pa e. Ang ibig ko lamang iparating, kakarampot lamang ang ating panahon na kasama ang mga batang ito. Hindi talaga tayo sigurado kung gaano sila naaapektuhan ng mga programa para sa kanila. Ngunit para sa akin, hindi na ito mahalaga. Sa loob ko, nakatitiyak ako na kahit gaano kaliit ay meron talagang nagagawa ang mga ito sa mga bata. Nakatutuwang makasaksi sa pagkahubog na ito ng mga bata, lalo na at alam mong isa ka sa mga nagdulot nito. Oo..maliit nga..pero hindi pa naman dito natatapos ang lahat..marami pa akong naibabahagi pagkatapos ng kolehiyo. Para sa ngayon, sa tingin ko ay natamo ko nga ang dignidad. Kasi kung hindi, sa tingin ko hindi naman ako magiging masaya sa mga nagawa ko.
Friday, March 6, 2009
*Human Dignity*
A person with dignity is someone worthy of respect and honor, and so it is commonly associated with wealth and power. Therefore, the Ateneans that we are, we are sometimes seen as respectable and honorable people which are of higher level than those outside our “Ateneo world.” But dignity is neither about material possessions nor power. All human beings, men and women and rich and poor alike, are given dignity even upon conception. The dignity of a person is always with him and just needs to be recognized. So it is not correct to see oneself as one who is born with greater dignity than others.
We believe that the true aim of NSTP for sending Ateneans to different areas is to show us that people who are not like us, in terms of the privileges and the quality of education that we receive, are still worthy of the respect and honor given to us by many. By learning how they act, think, and behave, we have come to a realization that the children in our area, however naughty and noisy they are, are still great kids. They have shown us how talented they were in spite of the financial status that we know they are having. Upon watching them perform on stage and looking at their art works, we realized that in some aspects, those kids are actually better than us. They can do some things which we can’t do. They excel in some areas where we are not good at. We may be higher than them in terms of education and social status, but they possess some blessings which we do not have. Maybe they can offer more than what we can, but because of their status and lack of resources, they just cannot reach their full potential. Who knows?!
After our NSTP experience, this is what we learned about the true meaning of human dignity: Dignity is not just about seeing what you have which others don’t have, nor seeing what you don’t have which other people have. It is recognizing that we, as humans, are all given blessings unique to us. Our strengths can be the weaknesses of others, and our weaknesses their strengths. And that makes us all equal: no one is higher, no one is lower. Dignity is about living our life with thankfulness, and striving to become better so as not to waste the blessings that we enjoy but are not given to others. It is also about treating other people with respect, knowing that just like you and me, they are born with dignity and are worthy to be honored. Since each of us is a wonderful creation of God, we are all deserving of respect and honor. Because of this, we should see others as great creations of God, equal to us in nature.
We believe that the true aim of NSTP for sending Ateneans to different areas is to show us that people who are not like us, in terms of the privileges and the quality of education that we receive, are still worthy of the respect and honor given to us by many. By learning how they act, think, and behave, we have come to a realization that the children in our area, however naughty and noisy they are, are still great kids. They have shown us how talented they were in spite of the financial status that we know they are having. Upon watching them perform on stage and looking at their art works, we realized that in some aspects, those kids are actually better than us. They can do some things which we can’t do. They excel in some areas where we are not good at. We may be higher than them in terms of education and social status, but they possess some blessings which we do not have. Maybe they can offer more than what we can, but because of their status and lack of resources, they just cannot reach their full potential. Who knows?!
After our NSTP experience, this is what we learned about the true meaning of human dignity: Dignity is not just about seeing what you have which others don’t have, nor seeing what you don’t have which other people have. It is recognizing that we, as humans, are all given blessings unique to us. Our strengths can be the weaknesses of others, and our weaknesses their strengths. And that makes us all equal: no one is higher, no one is lower. Dignity is about living our life with thankfulness, and striving to become better so as not to waste the blessings that we enjoy but are not given to others. It is also about treating other people with respect, knowing that just like you and me, they are born with dignity and are worthy to be honored. Since each of us is a wonderful creation of God, we are all deserving of respect and honor. Because of this, we should see others as great creations of God, equal to us in nature.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Not Your Ordinary Saturday Mornings
"We can’t wait for our Saturday mornings to be finally free…no need to wake up early…no need to spend much of our Saturday mornings to teach kids…"
These were probably what most of us have in mind during the NSTP insertions we had. Even though we didn’t mention it out loud or that we didn’t show it in our actions, we were thinking of it on the thought bubble. Most acted as if they were willing to do the effort of helping others just because of the grade, in short, wanted to put on a good show. (Although we cannot deny the fact there are also a good number who were really willing.)
But most of us, whether we admit it or not, were part of that larger group of the "unwilling".
But before one comes to conclusion, we must give emphasis on the “were” action verb. It is a past plural action. Yes we were guilty of that. But you know what, along the process; we have come to appreciate it.
There were times when the students came running to us just to greet us as we arrived in the school. A time where some grade four kids called you ate or kuya. Shared jokes and be your close friend. Gave you a warming smile and heart felt hug.
Those little things, those simple gestures made all the difference. It made it all worth it. We started to look forward to seeing them every Saturday morning. Just to play games, share knowledge, and simply to get to know them.
These didn’t happen overnight though. It was a slow progress. It was all the NSTP block mates, facilitators and especially the kids who made it happen. Everything and everyone was a factor. And the Man who made it all work, who blessed us to experience this opportunity, GOD.
Let’s start with the NSTP blockmates. If you have seen, we were bonded. There were no cliques or groups of people who isolated themselves from the rest. Nobody was left out. We felt that we belong. And it’s not just in NSTP, but even in school, we still say "hi" and "hello".
With the facilitator, even though we seldom see Ate Boots, she never failed to visit and check up on us. If we visit her at OSCI, she accommodates us. When she’s not there, she still returns our messages either thru email or text. As for Ate Ana and Ate Kathy, they were always present. We may be adults who seem not needy of supervision anymore, but the Ate's were still there which shows that they are also making an effort to wake up early just like us, for us. We create good “friendships” with them.
Another factor is the kids. They were the ones who made NSTP extra-special. It’s the feeling when a kid depends on you. We know it doesn’t sound or feel right. What we teach them may not be enough to really make a difference in their academics, but every time we can see that they are interested and that they learned something from us, a different HAPPY and SATISFIED light feeling suddenly brushes through our nerves. It’s the best gift or payback they could give to us in return for teaching them. Even though our NSTP ended, the friendship with the kids still continued on. We YM each other or share contact numbers.
And last is everything. Meaning the planning, playing of the games, riding of jeep or tricycle, NSTP processing and masses, whether recollection or ordinary mass, projects and who could forget the NSTP parties, like Christmas, the last day of insertions etc. All of this contributed to a great NSTP experience we would never forget.
God have planned all this to happen to us and we couldn’t be grateful enough. He bought us all together. HE made us see, realized, reflect, act and love. WE know that it doesn’t finish with NSTP; we will carry on With God beside us to wherever we may go. We will share the LOVE inside and outside of NSTP to everyone.
Our NSTP experience surely, is a huge part of our college life!
These were probably what most of us have in mind during the NSTP insertions we had. Even though we didn’t mention it out loud or that we didn’t show it in our actions, we were thinking of it on the thought bubble. Most acted as if they were willing to do the effort of helping others just because of the grade, in short, wanted to put on a good show. (Although we cannot deny the fact there are also a good number who were really willing.)
But most of us, whether we admit it or not, were part of that larger group of the "unwilling".
But before one comes to conclusion, we must give emphasis on the “were” action verb. It is a past plural action. Yes we were guilty of that. But you know what, along the process; we have come to appreciate it.
There were times when the students came running to us just to greet us as we arrived in the school. A time where some grade four kids called you ate or kuya. Shared jokes and be your close friend. Gave you a warming smile and heart felt hug.
Those little things, those simple gestures made all the difference. It made it all worth it. We started to look forward to seeing them every Saturday morning. Just to play games, share knowledge, and simply to get to know them.
These didn’t happen overnight though. It was a slow progress. It was all the NSTP block mates, facilitators and especially the kids who made it happen. Everything and everyone was a factor. And the Man who made it all work, who blessed us to experience this opportunity, GOD.
Let’s start with the NSTP blockmates. If you have seen, we were bonded. There were no cliques or groups of people who isolated themselves from the rest. Nobody was left out. We felt that we belong. And it’s not just in NSTP, but even in school, we still say "hi" and "hello".
With the facilitator, even though we seldom see Ate Boots, she never failed to visit and check up on us. If we visit her at OSCI, she accommodates us. When she’s not there, she still returns our messages either thru email or text. As for Ate Ana and Ate Kathy, they were always present. We may be adults who seem not needy of supervision anymore, but the Ate's were still there which shows that they are also making an effort to wake up early just like us, for us. We create good “friendships” with them.
Another factor is the kids. They were the ones who made NSTP extra-special. It’s the feeling when a kid depends on you. We know it doesn’t sound or feel right. What we teach them may not be enough to really make a difference in their academics, but every time we can see that they are interested and that they learned something from us, a different HAPPY and SATISFIED light feeling suddenly brushes through our nerves. It’s the best gift or payback they could give to us in return for teaching them. Even though our NSTP ended, the friendship with the kids still continued on. We YM each other or share contact numbers.
And last is everything. Meaning the planning, playing of the games, riding of jeep or tricycle, NSTP processing and masses, whether recollection or ordinary mass, projects and who could forget the NSTP parties, like Christmas, the last day of insertions etc. All of this contributed to a great NSTP experience we would never forget.
God have planned all this to happen to us and we couldn’t be grateful enough. He bought us all together. HE made us see, realized, reflect, act and love. WE know that it doesn’t finish with NSTP; we will carry on With God beside us to wherever we may go. We will share the LOVE inside and outside of NSTP to everyone.
Our NSTP experience surely, is a huge part of our college life!
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