Classroom Science Initiatives

Two new Mac minis at the Student Center! Thank you to Sir Lawrence of Power Mac Center for the donations!

@@ Besides that, I gave the welcome remarks at the opening of the college sports fest last night.

It was simple. I just looked up “lessons from sports” on the internet and rattled them out to the assembled athletes.

Here they are, edited as I saw fit: Performance under pressure, Organization, Meeting challenges, Handling both success and failure, Acceptance of others’ values and beliefs, Flexibility and success, Patience, Risk taking, Commitment and perseverance, Knowing how to win and how to lose gracefully, Working with people you don’t necessarily like, Respect for others, Self-control, Pushing yourself to the limit, Recognizing limitations, Completing the task without hatred, Accepting responsibility for behavior, Dedication, Accepting feedback and criticism as part of learning, Self-evaluation, Wise decision making, Setting and attaining goals, Communication with others, Ability to learn, Working within the system and last but not the least, Self-motivation.

I would probably spend several posts just exploring each of these. As a whole I don’t think the students were able to absorb these, but I didn’t want to put an emphasis on each one and prolong the speech.

But then I was just a fill in and I had somewhere to be that same evening anyway. So it was speak-and-run.

@@ If you have to tell people that your performance that they missed is great then it wasn’t great.

If you have to quote only one or a handful of people or even your relative especially your parents that your performance was great, then it wasn’t. It’s more pathetic that you disregard how the people who were there when you performed do not want to tell you anything about how you played, rather than be honest.

The problem with people nowadays is that they say one thing when you are face to face with them (admitting their mistakes), but they say something else when they are with the people they want to impress (saying that they have no fault whatsoever and that the system is oppressive).

Yes you have lofty dreams that you have held on to for years, for which you say you have been supposedly preparing, but if you reject all the negative criticisms you receive because it’s stepping on your dreams, well, they you’ll only be great in your own mind and in front of people who would rather not see you break down than tell you the truth about your so-called abilities. Say goodbye to any dreams of a stadium full of people applauding you, because it’s not going to happen.

@@ Preemptive strike! Tomorrow’s DLL today! Well, it is a holiday, and I don’t want to leave hanging the last lesson of the month.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 30 - The reward of a thing well done is to have done it. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

My take on this: finally something different! Not about working for others or working for honor but just working for work’s sake.

@@ October 31 - Enjoy what you do, always!

My take on this: and from there we end up with loving your work as being the bottom line to success.

There was no post yesterday, the first regular college class day of the week, because I only got to school after lunch and there was a laboratory class immediately upon arrival. And I had to leave at 5pm.

The closing ceremonies for the sports camp were great. Highlight of the evening was the fireworks from Enchanted Kingdom, which for the first time ever was set off inside the campus. I hope that it would be a regular occurrence now, at least for the graduation ceremonies.

Besides that, two great bands that had played in the previous events of the college (talent quest and the band fest) played for the athletes. I especially appreciate one band learning “We Are the Champions” by Queen.

What the event actually lacked were guest celebrities. We would have enjoyed having one or two there.

I know that there were some in the opening ceremonies, but there should be just as much fervor for the other bookend event.

I guess it was an indication of the success of the event that the participants wanted it to be extended, not realizing that the organizers would have wanted it to end as soon as possible. That the pressure and harassment on the part of those behind the scenes was not felt is a great measure of success.

@@ Personally, I had a lot of fun manning the robotics training part for the students with no more games.

I liked the dedication of the students in wanting to finish their robot even though the dinner bell call already went out.

I also marveled at how they were able to improvise finishing the robot they wanted to make from the start even though other groups had already taken up the parts that were specified in the manual.

@@ I wish there was a better way to measure technical musical skill better than Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

As it is, just because someone you look up to who happened to have spawned you says that you are doing great doesn’t mean that it’s true, especially if you see that there are fewer people around when you finished playing than when you started. It also doesn’t help to hide behind the “artistic appreciation” clause.

If that were true you could go to some deep dark hole and play there where the rats and worms will not boo at your playing, but don’t force yourself into our events where we know what kind of music we want to hear play (the good kind) and our taste will be judged by who we allow to play.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 28 - Do good with no thought of return and gratitude will fill your heart in the joy of service. - Anonymous

@@ October 29 - No person is ever honored for what he received. Honor is the reward for what he gave. – Anonymous

My take on this: well, technically, someone is honored if he takes a bullet for his country, which some might say is actually giving up his life, so it’s still giving rather than receiving. Anyway, I’m just being a bit contrary.

It still ties in with all the previous lessons for this month where it’s all about living your life for others.

It’s the last day of the Sports Camp. Closing ceremonies will be tonight. The Integrated School will have no classes until November 2 though, since they already had their report card giving last week.

There will also be at least one delegation from the provinces that will be staying one extra day tomorrow (and leaving on Thursday).

Fortunately this has been foreshadowed so they were billeted in the learners’ community one building, away from college classes.

That leaves two regular days of classes for the college later this week, and four next week, excluding Saturdays.

@@ I have been told that softball and badminton are the highlights of the Sports Camp. I noticed one kid accompanied by their coach leaving the covered court saying “the other kids are so big”.

I would also like to commend the Integrated School Student Council for coming up with a very unique and entertaining “star” scavenger hunt that I saw the kids getting their hands dirty on yesterday.

I have already mentioned it in the social networks and micro-blogging sites, but I’m very excited about the first performance of the revived Music Council tonight, which is an inter-school event at that!

I just hope that it will not be as late as originally planned, and that they will be able to finish at least an hour or so before midnight. After all, tomorrow is a regular 8 am starting day for the college.

@@ Here’s something from out of the blue: sometimes, we just need someone (and this sentence could stop right here and it would be all about the unexplored territory, but it won’t stop there) to draw us out of our shell and realize there is something we’ve been missing of which we want to be a part.

@@ Here’s something else, related to the first one, if one wants to go with the most obvious connotation: how do you land a fish?

You keep casting your line out there, and you keep reeling it in. It doesn’t just fall into your lap.

Nor does the fish follow you if you stop going to the lake. And don’t put the behavior of the fishes in a box.

Sometimes it’s random; there are days when they bite, there are days when they don’t. But you won’t know if there are days when you are not out there casting and reeling over and over again.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 27 - You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. - Woodrow Wilson

My take on this: well, at least it’s a little different from what has been written in the lessons recently.

So your life in this world isn’t just about helping others, as long as it’s not only for selfish reason, but you have to think about the future generations as well and how your life (even if it’s just as a bad example in the case of the unwitting Darwin award nominees) can improve the lives of most people in the quickest possible time, and yes, that includes willingness to die for your country.

I just came from the beach again, from the same place as last April with the college faculty. Before that I was there with friends in January of last year. The first time ever I was there was in the mid-nineties.

This time though I was with the CS oldies, students again just like during that first visit, members of a mountaineering group.

Now there were banners all along the road about a port in the same town that travels to one of the islands in the south where they hold a festival of wooden head masks patterned after the centurions in the story of Easter.

It really is amazing how well the access to the town had become better since that long dirt road roughly a decade ago.

Back then there weren’t even resorts, just huts that we were able to rent out from the residents.

And during that time, I remember waking up in the morning to excited shouts from the beach, right in time to see dolphins jumping out of the water near the shore. Not so during subsequent visits.

This new place that we went to was great in terms of service. A gas stove was available, so we were able to cook our own food for three meals (dinner, breakfast and lunch). Considering we paid two thousand pesos each (including for the van) it was really worth it. If you didn’t want to cook though, they had a restaurant at the site. Maybe I should have tried it out at least once.

Speaking of food, ours was bought in boxes, so it looked like we were conducting relief operations there.

Plus, they had customized plates and bowls with the name of the resort. Even if people decided to steal them, which we were tempted to do it would still be advertisement for the place.

I didn’t though because I want to go back there - best I’ve seen so far among the resorts I’ve visited.

Only difference here was that use of the pool was an additional hundred peso charge, not like the last two places I went to.

They also had cable, just like the one I went to in January of last year, which the third place didn’t.

It was also convenient that it was politicians’ faces (running again in May?) plastered all over the banners along the access road saying that they were the ones behind the development of the place.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 24 - Never reach out your hand unless you’re willing to extend an arm. - Elizabeth Fuller

My take on this, and the ones below: again it’s about helping or serving others. Only so much I can say about that really.

@@October 25 - God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other. - Spencer Kimball

@@ October 26 - Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. - John 12:26 NIV

So this morning the kinder students were supposed to have gone around the offices trick or treating.

Too bad they didn’t pass by the east wing faculty room or the student center, so that the college students would have been involved.

I would also like to commend the management of the new cafeteria for letting their staff go to work today in costume.

Now if only the college students would have the initiative for something similar for next week, but I doubt it.

@@ Just to make it official, the college will have no classes on this coming Monday and Tuesday because of the inter elementary school sports camp. There will be 600 plus Grade 4 to 7 students and their coaches who will be housed in all of the classrooms, including the college rooms.

The college students will still be allowed to enter the campus though, since they have been requested to have activity booths scattered all over grounds and buildings to occupy the time of the students who do not have any sports events, since not all will be playing for the two days.

On the night of Tuesday, during the closing ceremonies, there will also be an opportunity for the college bands to perform even before the talent quest or their kick-off party, but not to their intended audience demographic.

The Integrated School committee has requested for heavy metal songs and those with explicit lyrics to not be in the program, or at least bleeped out, if that’s possible. There was even a list given of the types of artists that our own students in that age group are into, and it’s not all M. Cyrus and Jonas Brothers.

There will also be a division of the students from each school by house, something that may have been originated here in school but has its roots in the Harry Potter books, or at least became popular because if it.

That is the grouping they will be using when they go for their tree planting in campus during the camp.

I have already mentioned it in the book of face, but I still would like to thank and commend the student organizations who are going out of their way (not taking advantage of the new vacation days to just lie about) to set up booths at limited profit (since we have provincial visitors).

@@ They took out the WIFI from the robotics laboratory, by the way, to put it somewhere else of better or more convenient use during the sports camp. Will the students from other schools be allowed to bring their laptops to use in the school? I never heard about it in the meeting I attended.

I know that there will be computer labs open for that purpose, so that the students can put up their statuses for their families back home to follow on the social networks and ditto with the pictures.

I’m sure at least that mobile phones will be allowed, but not all will be picture capable.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 23 - Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others. - Elbert Hubbard

My take on this: I don’t know what else I can add here from the past few days that would be new. Golden rule, it comes back to you!

Well, after several months of chasing it around the metro (and finding out it was listed in one of those strange schedules where one film is showing in the morning and another in the evening) last night I finally got to watch “The Time Traveler’s Wife”.

It’s only marginally science fiction, but a lot more complex than “The Lake House” and “Premonition” in that strange period when Sandra Bullock decided to typecast herself.

It also portrays the helplessness of the TV series “Quantum Leap” without the weekly platitude about helping others.

It might also have been part of the influence for all these integrations of romance into other genres such as fantasy, horror and semi-lawless post-apocalyptic futures.

In a way it turns the man in a relationship into something otherworldly, basically telling women that they are difficult to understand, and cannot be measured by the same yardstick as ordinary humans.

It also says that men disappearing on them are not something that has any reason, but can’t be helped. In fact, the same can be said about the destiny of being with someone, literally shown in this flick because one has already seen the inevitability.

At one point the lead female character, the title character, actually says she has no choice.

And just like those vampire-woman pairings, since the male lead can still return to be with the woman he loves long after he’s dead, then in one sense he is also “immortal”.

Just like the TV romance series “Beauty and the Beast” was analyzed by science fiction and fantasy writer George R. R. Martin as to how someone in the same city can piece together all the clues as to the existence of a beast, in this film it’s also possible for someone to do the same thing, stringing along all the incidents of indecent exposure (the time traveler, after all, appears nude), breaking and entering and pickpocket thievery to realize that something strange but consistent is going on. After all, at least once in the film he was actually apprehended by the police.

But that wasn’t what the writer wanted to focus on, although having someone external investigating the man in the midst of their relationship could be another metaphor to the outside obstacles that a couple have to hurdle for their love to survive.

So is the message that love can withstand anything, even supernatural occurrences?

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 22 - When I am serving others, I do not look upon myself as conferring favors, but as paying debts. The kindness shown me, I can only repay by passing it on my fellow man. - Benjamin Franklin

My take on this: Pay It Forward, conceptualized two hundred years before the movie was made.

Short but meaningful topics today – well, at least I think they’re meaningful. There are some subjects when you can only say so much, if anything at all.

@@ Well, what do you know, it works to show concern for a student who doesn’t show up for class by calling him right at the time when your class is supposed to begin.

I guess that is one of the benefits of instantaneous communication. Even if the student does not pick up the phone, he still knows who called him, and also why, and can respond immediately with a text message assurance of returning to class next meeting.

Before, it had to wait until the end of the class for the teacher to call the student’s house on the landline, or worse, visit their house at the end of the day or maybe even as far away as the weekend.

@@ It’s really sad when people tell you one thing when they are pleading in front of you, but do something else, or announce something else, when they already have the discussion on paper to be signed, and they expect you not to notice. It’s still a lie.

And is that how they want to be the way they go through life, deceiving people of their true intentions?

People like this who do not learn how to compromise, or are under the illusion that everything they want is paramount and that everything will go their way at the expense of their word of honor, are up for a big rude awakening sometime in the later part of their life, when regret would be too late, and they realize there is something they can’t talk their way out of, that there’s something they can’t escape the consequences of.

@@ Pet peeve of the day: women who don’t secure their long hair when seated beside you on the jeep. Again, talk about those who have no consideration for others.

My remedy: find a way to somehow trap those errant strands of hair between your fingers while you are protecting your face from their whipping locks. Then it becomes a matter of self preservation for them to hold down their tresses, and they will think YOU’RE the inconsiderate one.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 21 - Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. - 1 Peter 5:2-3 NIV

My take on this: it’s great. It enumerates the right and wrong reasons for wanting to be in a position of supervision.

Although in today’s world, there is also the fame and believed prestige that accompanies being given a title, which makes people want to seek out these roles, as well as the opportunities it gives them to rub elbows with famous people, or the perks it gives them above the common people, such as skimming off money intended for relief operations.

You may already be familiar with a local column writer’s ongoing rant against a telecom provider.

Keywords for searching (no links, sorry): Jessica Z., Globe Tattoo, Livid, Worthless Piece.

Of course she was assuaged by the company; this is ongoing (and passed around) bad press for them.

Of course they are going to blame the recent natural calamities. It’s an easy scapegoat.

The “automatic per-kilobyte charging unless reset” thing is underhanded though, much like their “free for the first three days but automatically deducted the fourth day unless stopped” scams.

And even if she does not publish comments recommending the competition because she wants accusations to stop about being funded by the competition, even if for a lot of people it’s really about choosing the lesser of two incompetents, it’s still what everyone is thinking.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 20 - The person who gives of himself gains most in life. The more we give, the more we gain. - Anonymous

My take on this: the same vein as all the other DLL’s from the past few days. There is a limit though.

Are you helping others for the sake of helping, are you helping because there’s something for you somewhere down the road or are you helping because they threatened to hold it over your head that you owe them a favor since they voted for you?

When do we start worrying about legacy? Is this the kind of process of doing things we want to leave the future generations? Or is it really a “take the opportunity to do what I want while I’m in this position, successors be damned” mentality?

Also, from all these reports coming in from the evacuation centers/schools, those who are victims are getting cocky with their palms out. Part of the reason they lived in those easily devastated areas in the first place (I’m talking about the metro here, not in the provinces) is that they accepted the poor living conditions there because of their belief of having a better life in the big city, or because it’s easier for them to get the droppings (or slip a hand in the pocket) of the rich and successful is they actually hung around in the fringes of their well-built society. But the dream of a better life remains a dream, because they clogged their drains with garbage.

And being given a new place to live, even temporarily, means that they will also bring their way of life there.

So should we be surprised that the evacuation centers now look worse than the actual flooded areas?

Footnote for the day: what’s with this sudden five stars rating craziness? Where did that come from?

What is the nature of compromise? I would like to quote “The Office” on this one: “Ask for $15,000 so I could give you $12,000.”

Not necessarily that you would request for something unrealistic at the start so that you would get something attainable in the bargain. It does not hurt to ask, because you might be pleasantly surprised what the other party may be willing to give you that you never dreamed of in the first place.

But it also means that it does not pay to be unbending, especially if you’re going to act like a kid throwing a tantrum who does not listen to the reason of the others because you will only be happy with what you want.

It also does not help in your argument if you are going to involve other people and say, “But I already promised this to them! I can’t back down on my word!” That only means that you are like a politician who promises the moon because that is what those who will vote for you want, without seeing whether or not it is something that you really can give them. And if you are able to deliver that to them by any means necessary, do you really feel good about yourself afterwards?

It’s also funny how some people can show politeness after all, but in other situations are just all rudeness.

They have this air that this person is not worth telling the truth to, so I will lie to get my way even if it destroys how this person will look at me, and even if it’s possible I will get caught somewhere down the road.

So much for the golden rule then; they are only courteous when it suits them, and if it’s done in the company of the one they were rude to, it just shows how insincere their so-called respect is.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 17- Try to forget yourself in the service of others. For when we think too much of ourselves and or own interests, we easily become despondent. But when we work for others, our efforts return to bless us. - Sidney Powell

My take on this: what life is more fulfilling anyway? Being a hermit just fending for one’s self, or supreme positive interaction with the rest of the six billion residents of this planet? If man were mean to live alone would he have invented all these forms of instantaneous communication?

Would there be a need to have at least two people to further the species? Okay I don’t know why I said “at least” there.

Just think: if with one single action you are able to make the lives of two other people easier, then when they do you a favor in return out of the goodness of their own hearts, your effort would already have doubled in return.

@@ October 18 - … Out of effort and labor comes strength, and out of service comes gladness, - Gordon B. Hinckely

My take on this: very close to what was said above, except that here, it tells of the warm feeling that comes with assisting others.

@@ October 19 - There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting someone up. – Anonymous

My take on this: even more specific than the ones above, because it specifically mentions help when someone needs it most, or at least, that’s how I read it. “Lifting someone up” could also mean showing them something better (like a way of life) than what they have been previously used to.

Computer science pioneer JP had this message in his tweet today: “Stay curious. Discover. Learn something new every day. Be careless. Try to be lost. Explore.”

It goes so much with my personal philosophy about sustaining that Wonderment of Discovery that I reposted it, adding the following line from one of my recently favorite songs since he already used the word “discover” in his entry: Never Lose That Sense of Wonder.

@@ In another front, using the social network to get a message from a divine source was something that I have seen used by others in my network, but I only joined the bandwagon today.

Here’s the message I got for the day: “God wants you to know… that it’s OK. Just rest for a moment. It’s OK. Yes, things are crazy, yes, the world is going nuts. Yet, deep underneath the stormy waves, there, in the core of your being, there is pure silence, pure love. And … it’s … just … OK.” Well, it’s a bit generic, but it serves its purpose.

@@ My personal assessment of the past few days, or the past week: everything is coming together.

Opportunities from one part of my life are filling the void left in another part, and I get to help people in the meantime.

My mom was right in telling me to rise above pettiness and an eye for an eye. It eats a person up in the inside and wastes one’s energy that can be better spent in living well, which is the best revenge.

Of course part of it is from visiting the M.L.I.G. site, where there are amazing stories that even when it seems like everything is falling apart, the most incredible things still happen.

Focus on the positive in your life and everything else, and it attracts that to you.

@@ Daily Leadership Lesson October 16 - But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all duties of your ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:5 NIV

My take on this: okay, I get how keeping your head in all situations is essential for a leader.

But doing the work of an evangelist? Preaching at the same time as helping people discharge their duties as part of a team? Some people in this very diverse world right now would be turned off by that. I would marvel someone better who could keep their religious convictions out of a task that is supposed to be neutral, like education or electronics.

But if there is a way to instill little lessons like punctuality or discipline in daily tasks (something not as pulpit-sounding as forgiveness and faith in God’s plan) then I’m okay with it.

Then there is discharging all duties of your ministry. I guess this means that this message really is for pastors and that leaders are supposed to apply it in their group.