PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK

PGCPS Teacher Migrants standing up!

2011-07-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

On the issues of Pinoy Teacher Migrants in PGCPS

2011-04-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

Going through The Washington Post’s 4.4.11 article, “US Dep’t of Labor orders MD. School system to pay millions to mostly Filipino teachers” is like reading a familiar history story. On August 12, 1901, a group of 500 American teachers, the Thomasites, came to the Philippines to help establish the country’s public school system, to teach basic education, and to introduce innovative and effective way of teaching kids. My research tells me that the U.S. government spent about $105,000 for the expedition in 1901. More American teachers followed the Thomasites in 1902, making a total of about 1,074 stationed in the Philippines. I have seen the reverse of this happening right now; actually, I am experiencing it. According to the AFT report “Importing Educators”, “On the international level, UNESCO estimates that 18 million new teachers are needed by 2015 to meet ‘Education for All’ goals and ensure universal access to primary education for students in all countries in the world”. In the past few years, I have seen hundreds of teachers from the Philippines coming to different parts of the US, including PG County Public Schools with this mission: to teach the American school children.

It was not easy for the Filipino teachers to make this righteous decision and accept this noble challenge for they had to give up their homes, sell their properties, and make a sacrifice to be away from their loved ones. They did not have to, but unfortunately, they paid a very high price for this, approximately $15,000 out of their pockets. The Philippine government did not deploy and pay them to come here; it was their personal decision to make a difference to the American students. These Filipino teacher migrants stayed true to their mission, they reached out to everyone in the community and were able to pull in some 21st Century resources and help the students maximize their potential. Even PGCPS attested to the fact that “without these Filipino teachers, Maryland’s most precious resource – our children - would have been denied access to quality public education”.

I am pleased to hear that my fellow Filipino teachers are making a positive impact in their school district. What is alarming is that according to The Washington Post’s article, “DOL investigation found out that the teacher migrants, who were hired between 2005 and 2010, paid fees ranging from $190 to $320 to file their visas; spent about $1,000 in immigration attorney fees; and shelled out another $3,500 in placement fees. Hundreds also paid a $500 anti-fraud filing fee.” Where did the rest of the approximately $15,000 that each teacher pay for go? Shouldn’t PGCPS have policies in place for hiring international teachers to avoid these kinds of violations and exploitations? It is an irresponsible act of negligence if they do not have one.

I hope that the proper county authorities would go to the bottom of this to help find out what went wrong and who did wrong. I still believe in the fairness and sense of propriety of PGCPS in reaching an equitable end to this sorry affair.

- Maria Angala, NBCT -

Filipino teacher migrant, Washington DC

STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY (TDC's 5th Anniversary):

2011-04-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Pinoy Teachers Network (PTN) in the USA would like to congratulate the Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) and all of its local sites in all parts of the Philippines on this important occasion of its 5th anniversary. Since its inception in 2006 the TDC has been the torch that lights the way of our teachers in the Philippine public schools during this time of struggles in our profession.

There will be no justice unless the dignity of all people in every profession is respected. In the past five years, the TDC has been challenged to protect the rights of every public school teacher from unfair labor practices, arbitrary and capricious terminations and to uphold the dignity and respect in the teaching profession.

From the words and example of the TDC and PTN teacher leaders, we come to a new appreciation of the Filipino teaching profession that brings with it the spirit of solidarity and collaboration, commitment to share our wealth of knowledge and experiences with each other, the building-up of the common good, and concern of the rights of all Filipino teachers everywhere around the world.

Let us strive to honor our God Almighty and our Filipino national heroes and by serving as a voice for those who are voiceless in the four corners of our classrooms and the hallways of our schools. We must continue to organize and mobilize ourselves, fuel the flames, and empower each other. We need to make everyone in our country aware, most especially those who are making decisions that directly affect our teaching profession, that we are not mere instruments but the key players in the education arena.

Please know that each of us Filipino teacher has a voice that must speak out loudly and cry out for justice. Our students are counting on us, for they have been let down too often, we must stand up and speak up our concerns.

To the TDC Teacher Leaders, do not be intimidated by this responsibility; it is a blessing to be in a position to help another. The only way we can fail is to stop using our voices on behalf of the voiceless.

Let’s keep the fire burning…kayang kaya basta sama sama!

In solidarity,

Marisol Cribe-Angala, NBCT

PTN, Washington DC

Statement by AFT President Weingarten On International Recruitment of Teachers in Prince George's County, Md.

2011-04-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release

April 4, 2011

Contact:

John See

202/879-4458

jsee@aft.org

Statement by Randi Weingarten,

President, American Federation of Teachers,

On International Recruitment of Teachers in Prince George’s County, Md.

United States Department of Labor investigators today announced they have found that Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public Schools willfully violated federal labor laws. More than a thousand teachers paid thousands of dollars in illegal fees before coming to the United States, according to the Labor Department.

WASHINGTON—It is appalling that a school district illegally and unfairly exploited workers who came from other countries to teach in American schools, and it is especially troubling that this exploitation occurred just a short drive from the nation’s capital.

This isn’t the first example of this type of abuse. A 2009 AFT report called attention to abuses in international teacher recruitment, and the AFT filed state and federal complaints last year on behalf of Filipino teachers working in Louisiana. The AFT has been actively pushing for legislation to regulate the recruitment industry, and is participating in a MacArthur Foundation-funded effort to develop a code of ethics for the international recruitment of teachers. Our goal is to create a systemic fix to keep such abuses from happening again. If proactive regulations had been in place to stop the bad actors, Prince George’s County Public Schools would not be spending millions in back pay now.

We are grateful that the United States Department of Labor has investigated, and is enforcing these laws. We will continue to work with federal, state and local officials to end exploitative recruitment and to support all teachers in our public schools.

###

The AFT represents 1.5 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

ABS CBN EXCLUSIVE: 500 gurong Pinoy posibleng masibak sa Maryland

2011-03-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/global-filipino/03/29/11/exclusive-pinoy-teachers-us-face-ax#ooid=5pZmhjMjrDrux4sxue3Oha8c4qFdak1H

Daan-daang Pinoy na guro ang ni-recruit sa Pilipinas para magturo sa Maryland, USA.

Puno ng pangarap, dinala rin nila ang kanilang pamilya sa Amerika.

Sa isang iglap ay gumuho rin ito, nang sabihin sa kanila ng mga opisyal ng Prince George County School na hindi na ire-renew ang visas ng mga gurong nasa "non-critical positions" tulad ng elementary education, music, at language .

Kakulangan naman ng budget ang idinahilan sa desisyon.

Ang paniwala ng mga gurong Pinoy: diskriminasyon ang dahilan ng pagkasibak.

Sabi ni Arnedo Valera ng Migrant Heritage Commission, "Meron prima facie evidence dito ng discrimination against international teachers because wala silang objective criteria and standard to lay off their personnel."

Sa tantiya ng samahan ng mga Pinoy sa Maryland, posibleng umabot sa mahigit 500 guro ang kailangang bumalik sa Pilipinas ngayong taon.

"Masakit, kasi dumating kami dito, nag-promise ang school na 'We will take care of you,'" sabi pa ng isa sa mga nasibak na guro.

Nasa panganib din ang trabaho ng iba pang Pilipinong guro sa ibang estado ng Amerika.

Ayon kay Bing Cardenas Branigin ng Asia America Initiative, "Wala na kasing pera ang gobyerno so ibang state... Maryland ito, maaring tamaan 'yong sa Texas din, sa California, mga hired teachers natin."

Tinututukan naman ng Overseas Workers Welfare Association o OWWA ang sitwasyon ng mga Pinoy na guro sa Amerika.

Umaasa naman ang OWWA na maisasalba din ang kanilang trabaho sa tulong ng ilang international group sa Amerika. Henry Omaga-Diaz, Patrol ng Pilipino

Pinoy teachers in the Metro DC Area, this one's for you!

2011-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

3 Docus on Pinoy teachers in US...

2011-03-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

By Ruben V. Nepales

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:45:00 03/18/2011
Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Cinema

(Editor’s Note: Inquirer.net is posting an expanded version of Ruben V. Nepales’ column published on the Saturday Special Section, March 19 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer upon the request of the author himself.)

LOS ANGELES – Ramona Diaz is a driven filmmaker. Even before she showed her much-awaited documentary, “The Learning,” in a special screening at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, Ramona had already announced a new project. She will direct a film adaptation of Rafe Bartholomew’s bestselling book, “Pacific Rims: Beermen Ballin’ in Flip-Flops and the Philippines’ Unlikely Love Affair with Basketball.”

Of course, Ramona has that other much-anticipated docu, “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey.” “I'm actually deep into editing that film about Journey and its Filipino front man, Arnel Pineda,” Ramona told us recently via e-mail. “We hope to be done by the end of the year. And I've just started development on ‘Pacific Rims…’”

In addition to these projects, Ramona is the executive producer of Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco’s “Give Up Tomorrow,” which debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival next month.

But we’re especially glad that Ramona, whose credits include the award-winning “Imelda” and “Spirits Rising,” has finally finished “The Learning,” which we first wrote about in 2006. The film follows four Filipinas, part of a group of teachers – mostly women – from the Philippines who were recruited to teach in inner-city schools in Baltimore, Maryland. Aside from Baltimore, where Ramona is based, she shot the four women in Metro Manila and in their respective hometowns in Cebu, Sorsogon, Pampanga and Cagayan de Oro.

Ramona plans to dedicate the first screening of “The Learning” in Manila to Miguel V. Fabie, who passed away last year. Miguel, the cinematographer of Lav Daz’s “Batang West Side,” did the first shoot of “The Learning” in the Philippines. Miguel, Gabriel Goodenough and Gretchen Hildebran are credited as the film’s cinematographers.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Ramona moved to the US when she was 16. Below are excerpts of our email interview with the busy filmmaker:

How was the special presentation screening of “The Learning” at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival? And what thoughts were in your mind as you finally watched the film with an audience?

The screening went very well and was very well attended, considering there was no press (on purpose) because of its special screening status. The official premiere will be in Baltimore, where the story is set. The four teachers, Angel Alim-Flores, Rhea Espedido, Dorotea Godinez and Grace Amper-Gonzales, will attend.

As I watched, I really felt that I had made the film that I set out to make – an honest, sometimes brutally so, portrait of life in America, which is not always pleasant. “The Learning” is actually my homage to the Bagong Bayani, the OFWs who toil all over the world. The film will be broadcast on “POV” on PBS in the fall. “POV” is one of the most prestigious documentary series in the US so I'm very flattered that “The Learning” was chosen out of thousands of submissions. I'm hoping that Fil-Ams across the country will tune in in droves.

What were among the interesting or surprising questions or comments during the Q and A that followed?

What surprised me most were not the questions in the Q and A but the reaction during the screening. The audience laughed so much – in a good way, in all the right places. All the things that my editor and I thought were funny, the audience got. But one of the best comments I received after the screening was, “You made us cry and laugh, and sometimes you made us laugh and cry at the same time.” And the film does that. It's a roller coaster ride.

Have the four teachers featured in the film seen it?

Yes, I made sure to show the film to them before screening it publicly. They were very moved and laughed so much at everything, but it may have been mixed with nervous laughter. It is always a strange thing to see yourself on the big screen

Can you give an update on the four teachers – Dorotea, Angel, Grace and Rhea?

All four of them are still teaching and living in Baltimore. Angel married her long-time boyfriend, Anj. Grace was joined in Baltimore by her husband and son and has since given birth to her second child. Rhea is now divorced. Dorotea has gotten tenure and was joined by her husband and three sons earlier this year.

Of the estimated 600 Filipino teachers originally hired to work in Baltimore City, about how many are still there? How many have returned to the Philippines? Is the program considered a success?

I am not sure of the exact figures but the attrition rate has been very low. I think the fact that most of the teachers are still in the city speaks to the success of the program. The Filipino teachers are treasured by the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS).

What steps have been taken to provide support to the transplanted teachers in light of two Filipino teachers who committed suicide?

I'm not sure that I can speak about this with any authority because I have not really followed closely what is being done since the two suicides. What I can say is that it may be dangerous to assume that the two teachers committed suicide because of the hardships of teaching in the US – it's inaccurate and irresponsible to assume that. I knew personally one of the two teachers, Fe Bolado, because she was one of the teachers I had filmed originally. Fe was a super smart and innovative math teacher. Why she chose to leave us so early will ultimately remain a tragic mystery.

Is the US still actively recruiting foreign teachers for its public schools?

I do not think US school districts are still actively recruiting aboad because of massive budgetary cuts that the public school educational system has had to deal with in recent years.

What’s the latest on “Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”?

We wrapped production last September as the band went back into the studio to finish their album, “Eclipse,” which is coming out this May. We have also started a crowd funding campaign which is the hottest and hippest movement in independent film financing these days – going to the fans (of the band, of independent filmmaking, etc.) to raise money to finish the film. If you log onto indiegogo.com and look up “Everyman's Journey,” you will find the details. Every donation is attached to perks so someone can give as low as $10 to as high as $10,000. Every little bit helps, of course. And to top it all, it's tax deductible!

What can you tell us about one of your next projects, a full-length docu version of Bartholomew’s “Pacific Rims…”?

I'm just at the very beginning of what is typically a marathon process. Rafe and I are collaborating to adapt his book into a film. Rafe is coming on as producer-writer, I will be the producer-director, while Marty Syjuco is a producer. It's a look at the Filipino national character through the prism of basketball. We hope to be in the Philippines sometime this year to start shooting a fundraising trailer. I am still searching for an executive producer. Do you know anyone who is into Pinoy hoops?

Email the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com.

Research on Teacher Migration

2011-03-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT: The American Federation of Teachers recently issued a report, "Importing Educators: Causes and Consequences of International Teacher Recruitment," which estimates that 19,000 teachers were working in the United States on temporary visas in 2007.

http://www.aft.org/pdfs/international/importingeducators0609.pdf

In The name of Democracy

2011-02-28T00:54:00.001-08:00

I was driving to school this morning reflecting about the series of protests happening across the nation, the uprising in Egypt, and the 25th Anniversary of our bloodless revolution in the Philippines. I recall printing out a write up by a group of highschool Filipino students who created a website in remembrance of our People Power and the fall of a dictator..."In The Name of Democracy" -

For three days, men, women and children filled the streets of EDSA holding on frail hope. For those brief moments, they feared for their security, their lives, their future.

Rumors were spreading all over that the forces from the loyalists were coming in from the north to silence the cry of the people through bullets and shells. The prayers grew louder; anxiety filled the air.

From above, the citizens of Manila resembled ants swarming on the entire stretch of EDSA. Most of the streets were blockaded and trees were cut down to serve as makeshift anti-tank barricades. Curious civilians climbed the 25-ft. light posts to have a glimpse over the crowd. Along the curbs, women attended to the thirsty, hungry and the weary. Men stood vigilant and served as perimeter guards just in case loyalist troops decided to attack. Priests and nuns prayed and comforted people as they made their way through the population with rosaries at hand..

Tanks were on the other edge of EDSA, and the people had no hesitation to meet them with bare hands and prayers. Soldiers aboard the vehicles climbed out and were ordered to shoot. Most either shot in the air or were simply shocked at the amount of sacrifice ordinary people are willing to gamble. Tears rolled down their eyes as they were greeted with food and comfort from the rebels.

As Marcos proclaimed his presidency atop the balcony of the Malacañang, little did the remaining supporters realize that their would-be president was already arranging his plans for Hawaii.

All these events happened 14 years ago and are still alive in the hearts of many Filipinos who were there to experience it first hand.

This is the EDSA revolution – the peaceful cry for freedom.

Today, the Wisconsin Assembly has passed legislation that would curb collective-bargaining rights for most public employees, including teachers. This is a call to action. We must be activists in defense of our faith, our jobs, and our security. We can't turn a deaf ear to those who casually malign our beliefs. We can't daydream while the political, economic and cultural agendas are crafted and imposed by others. The complacent and the apathetic are the weakest among us. The strongest among us must get up and speak up.

We can influence the world through our prayers, our words, and our example. We are one million strong, we will keep the spirit of unity and solidarity in our hearts, and minds, and actions...in the name of democracy.

Sincerely,

Maria Angala, NBCT
Filipino Teacher, Washington DC

Congrats, Gay Mateo, NBCT (Little Rock, AR)

2011-01-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Three teachers in the central Arkansas area were awarded classroom grants by the Arkansas State Teachers Association, one of them is our very own Emma "Gay" Halili-Mateo, NBCT. Gay, who teaches special-needs students, will use the grant to purchase Leveled Reader Books for her class. CONGRATS, Gay!!!

Read article

PINOY TEACHERS SURVIVE MARYLAND SCHOOL LAY-OFFS

2011-01-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Filipino teachers in Prince George’s County have largely escaped deep budget cuts that have led to the lay-off of hundreds of teachers and school support staff.

“There has been some cost-cutting, and yes some Filipino teachers were affected but they have been minimal,” explained Dr. Carlo Parapara, president of the Maryland-based Pilipino Educators Network (PEN) and Special Education (SPED) teacher in Upper Marlboro.

PG County has been hiring teachers from the Philippines since 2004. There are now over 600 of them, not counting their family members.

The PEN was formed only last February and swore-in the maiden set of officers three weeks ago.

Parapara explained that PEN aims to be the public voice of Filipino teachers in PG County.

Their objectives include uniting Filipino educators in the county for mutual assistance; help them understand their rights and responsibilities; facilitate professional development; and help promote Philippine culture and traditions.

Parapara said Filipino teachers in PG County are flourishing despite the economic recession.

Grace Genova, an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher, concurred with his assessment.

They attributed this to the fact that the vast majority of Filipino teachers have kept their certifications current and performed well in their jobs.

The PG County Board of Education had eliminated hundreds of jobs – 300 of them teaching positions – slashed bus service and expanded class sizes to cope with budget cuts.

The $1.66 billion budget approved at the start of the 2010-2011 school year represented a 2.6 percent reduction from the previous year.

Parapara said they only get to know of a Filipino teacher who’s been laid off or transferred to another school through the grapevine or if the affected mentor goes to them for help.

He explained they arrange for legal advise for those who want them.

Based on that, he said the number of displaced Filipino teachers has been minimal.

He said they are more concerned with the reduction in training opportunities.

This appears to be one of the secrets of Filipino educators in making themselves recession-proof.

“Most of our teachers are pursuing higher studies,” Parapara averred.

Most of them entered the United States on an H-1B visa which is valid for three years and can be extended for another three years.

The first batches of Filipino educators are near the end of the H-1B visa validity but even here, they’re not worried.

Parapara said 95 percent of the Batch 2005 mentors – to which he belongs – have already received their immigrant visa, the so-called green card.

He said he plans to stay five more years in PG County before embarking on a major career move.

The majority of Filipino teachers have expressed the desire to stick it out in PG County although some plan to move “to a less difficult” school, he said.

“There’s a reason they hired teachers from the Philippines,” Parapara explained, “No one here wanted to fill the positions. So, some of our teachers also want to try other schools or even schools in other states.”

But even as they continue to plot their future, Filipino teachers are confident they have found a home in Prince George’s County.

Teachers finally receive bonus

2010-12-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

ABS CBN MANILA, Philippines - It is Christmas after all for teachers.

The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) reported today that teachers from almost all 16 Department of Education (DepEd) regions have been receiving their P10,000 Productivity Enhancement Incentives (PEI).

"We appreciate the efforts made by the DepEd leadership to ensure that there would be a merry Christmas for its half million employees, most of them teachers who are selflessly and tirelessly performing their tasks for the entire year, who deserve to be rewarded,” TDC chairperson Benjo Basas said.

Last week, DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said there may be delays in the release of the bonus of teachers.

Department of Budget Management (DBM) Circular 2010-3 dictated that the PEI should have been released as early as December 15.

Basas noted that this is also the first time that the DepEd released the full amount of P10,000.

“Since year 2007, the PEI or Performance Bonus is divided into two tranches, the P7, 000 normally comes several days before Christmas or New Year and the P3,000 from agency savings could come as late as February of the following year,” Basas said.

TDC monitoring as of Wednesday night, however, revealed that teachers in some areas are still waiting for their PEI including those from Taguig, Paranaque, Tacloban, Iligan, Isabela, Cagayan, Negros Occidental, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Davao Oriental, Zamboanga Sibugay, Gen. Santos City, South Cotabato and Cotabato City.

“We hope that everyone will receive this Christmas bonus within this day so every family of Filipino teachers will be celebrating a bountiful noche Buena tomorrow night,” Basas said.

English Speaking Robots Become South Korea's Newest Teachers

2010-12-30T13:10:00.000-08:00

Government invests 1.58 billion won (1.37 million dollars) into the test program.

Twenty-nine egg-shaped teachers are the wave of the future in South Korea. As part of a four-month pilot program sponsored by the South Korean government, 3-feet high telepresence bots have started teaching English to elementary school children in the country.

Developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), the Engkey robots are handled remotely by English-speaking teachers in the Philippines. The robots sport an avatar face on a TV display panel and are wheeled around each classroom as they speak, read books, dance and interact with the children.

According to KIST senior scientist Sagong Seong-Dae, cameras detect the facial expressions of the English speaking teachers in the Philippines, who can see and hear the students via remote, which then reflect them on the face of the avatar.

"Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea," said Sagong.

Kim Mi-Young, an official at the Daegu city education office said that some robots may be sent to remote rural areas of South Korea shunned by foreign English teachers. Both Kim and Sagong indicate that the robots will be used as reinforcements. Kim added that the experiment was not about replacing human teachers with robots.

"We are helping upgrade a key, strategic industry and all the while giving children more interest in what they learn."

Kim also noted that having robots in the classroom makes the students, especially shy ones, more active in participating.

"The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person," said Kim.

The South Korean government plans to expand the program in all 8,400 kindergarten classrooms by 2013.

To The Filipino Teachers

2010-01-20T02:25:00.001-08:00

Dear colleagues,

It is Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday today here in the US, and as I was reading once more his immortal speech "I Have A Dream", a movie of the same slavery, bondage, injustice and oppression that our Filipino ancestors endured was playing in my mind. I guess I am presently too preoccupied with so many trivial things happening around me that I have buried our history into my subconscious. As if reminding me, a voice of our own heroic leader back home in the Philippines resonated in my head...

...At the vanguard of progress in this part of the world I stand - a forlorn figure in the eyes of some, but not one defeated and lost...

...Out of the lush green of these seven thousand isles, out of the songs of the farmers at sunrise when they go to labor in the fields, out of the limitless patience of teachers in the classrooms, I shall make the pattern of my pledge:

I am a Filipino born of freedom and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance - for myself and my children's children - forever. - Carlos P. Romulo

It is no coincidence that CNN's 2009 Hero of the Year is a Filipino Teacher. Indeed it runs through our veins...heroism, valor and persistence is the insignia of our race.

Are you a Filipino Teacher? Here's an invitation...

DC Pinoy Teachers Support Group Session

2009-02-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

How are you coping with your work? Getting better? Good. Don't forget to relax and pamper yourself during weekends and holidays, we also need to take care of ourselves so we can better perform what is expected of us in the classroom.

WHAT: Monthly DC Pinoy Teachers Support Group Session on Special Education Protocols and other Legal Issues

WHEN: February 21, 2009, 9:30 am- 12:00 am

WHERE: Jefferson Middle School Room 118

801 7th Street SW Washington DC 20024 (Green Line: Waterfron/ SEU)

WHO: Toni Sanao (SPED Coordinator/ SPED Teacher, Tacoma) and Jean Mata (SPED Teacher, Anacostia) will be our facilitators

Questions to ask yourself/ others as a new teacher:

- do you keep a reflection journal with you?

- do you keep a parent contact log?

- how do you modify your students' work?

- how much do you know about IDEIA? Inclusion or LRE?

Please be ready to:

- share your classroom experiences as a teacher (answer questions above).

- ask our facilitators your questions at the end of their presentation.

Please call or email back if you have questions or any concerns. See you all on Saturday!

Thank You – DCPS Pinoy Teachers Support Group Meeting

2009-01-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

TO: George Parker
President
The Washington Teachers Union

Dear Mr. George Parker,

It was very enjoyable to speak with you and to your Chief-of-Staff, Mr. Clay White, yesterday at the WTU Executive Boardroom about some of our most pressing concerns as newcomers in the DC Public Schools System.

Right now the challenges that we are faced with, on our quest to make a difference, seem all uphill. But with the assistance from the WTU and with our focused efforts to become exemplary DCPS educators we will survive and thrive.

We feel the sense of urgency that is enveloping the school system and rest assured that we will respond with great enthusiasm to bring about the change that is needed for our students to achieve at their optimum potential.

Once again, thank you and we are looking forward to a positive collaboration.

Respectfully yours,
DCPS Filipino Educators

HBO Documentary: Hard Times at Douglass High

2008-06-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

TO: Dear Baltimore City, Prince George’s County and District of Columbia Public School Teachers
FROM: Donald Mooers
DATE: June 23, 2008
SUBJECT: “Hard Times at Douglass High”: ON AIR TONIGHT
HBO, Monday, 6/23 at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time)

Dear friends:

I write to you both as your immigration attorney and as a grateful Citizen of the United States . As I have told many of you on several occasions, you and your certified teacher colleagues from the Philippines and elsewhere are helping to rescue America ’s educational system from the depths of despair. Thank you for doing what you do.

Tonight, viewers across the country will get a first-hand view of the challenges that many of you face each day in your classrooms. HBO Films produced a documentary called “Hard Times at Douglass High”, which covers the 2004 – 2005 school year at one of the Baltimore City Public Schools where Filipino H-1B teachers have been assigned. One of the recurring messages throughout the movie is that Baltimore City faces a critical shortage of qualified teachers – it is not by coincidence that Filipino teachers began arriving to work in the School System for the 2005 – 2006 academic year.

I hope that each of you has the opportunity to watch the documentary this evening. If you are not able to watch it, below is the description from HBO.com that also includes the dates and times when “Hard Times” will be re-broadcast.

On Friday, June 20, I attended the World Premier of “Hard Times at Douglass High” at the 2008 SilverDocs Film Festival. Many of the individuals, including the then-principal and the Douglass Marching Band, were in attendance with me. It is because of the profound impact of watching this powerful documentary that I recommend it to your viewing.

I also suggest that you forward my e-mail on to your colleagues and friends – it is important that they too understand some of the challenges that you have faced as you have helped turn around the educational systems in the school systems where you work.

Once again, I thank you for the service that you are providing to your students and the schools where you teach. You are truly unsung heroes, and I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to assist you through the complex and convoluted US immigration system.

Sincerely,
Don Mooers
****************************************
HARD TIMES AT DOUGLASS HIGH
Rated TV14: ADULT CONTENT, VIOLENCE, ADULT LANGUAGE
Running Time: 112 minutes
Genre: Documentary

At Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore , MD , the expectations raised by the No Child Left Behind Act have reached a critical point. Shot over the course of one year, this film looks at this storied institution at a time when its very existence has been put in doubt. Oscar®-winning filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond delve into the classrooms, corridors and offices of Douglass High. Their focus: to look at the challenges facing teachers and students as this inner-city school copes with the looming specter of sanctions in the wake of the 2002 education-reform act designed to raise academic standards. (TV14) (AC,AL,V)
Director(s): SUSAN RAYMOND, ALAN RAYMOND

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U.S. HIRING PINOY SENIORS AS PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS

2008-03-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

MANILA, MARCH 19, 2008 (STAR) By Mayen Jaymalin - Instead of going into retirement, many Filipino senior citizens are getting a new lease on life by landing high-paying teaching jobs in the United States.
The local recruitment industry yesterday reported an increasing number of Filipino teachers, including those above 60 years old, employed in various American public schools.
Isidro Rodriguez of the Green Life Care International and Worldgoal Corp. said his agency has deployed to the US at least 20 Filipino senior citizens and 15 others now applying for teaching jobs.
“Age is not really a problem for American employers as long as they can prove that they are able to do their teaching job well,” Rodriguez said.
The oldest they have deployed so far was a 67-year-old teacher.
Sixty-year-old Erlinda Panares, a BS psychology graduate, said she was hired to work as special education teacher for three years at a public school in Virginia and received a monthly pay of $5,700.
Panares is encouraging other Filipinos to work as teachers there because American schools provide not only high pay but also better working conditions for foreign workers.
However, Panares said she opted to return home after four months because she was very homesick.
“If only I have my family around I would continue working there because they have good working conditions,” she said.
According to Rodriguez, the only challenge in deploying Filipino senior citizens is that they could not stay for more than a year because of homesickness.
“It’s a challenge but I am not discouraged to deploy senior citizens because for them it’s not the pay that is really important but that they were able to prove that despite their age they can still teach young people,” he explained.
Even for young teachers, Rodriguez said employment opportunities in the US are very bright. “The recruitment of teachers for deployment in various states in America is now a big business, in fact, even bigger than that of nurses.”
Meanwhile, Rodriguez belied reports that he is into illegal recruitment and human trafficking activities.
Contrary to television reports, Rodriguez said, he has a license from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and all those he deployed have permanent jobs.
“There are few instances that a worker would have to wait for a month after arrival before he or she could work but all those I have deployed are now employed,” he said.

Part 4: Challenges for a “Non-native” (L2) ESL Teacher

2008-03-04T03:19:00.001-08:00

by: Rolly Obedencio, ang ating ULIRANG GURO in Thailand
** Part 1
** Part 2
** Part 3

Another trying experience was on the use of educational technology. My boss provided the teachers the needed facilities and equipment, like built-in moving LCD, projectors, computers and other high-tech gadgets. The money and effort spent rippled back as many of the students became motivated to study the moment my class period would come. Their language skills significantly developed as indicated in their achievement progress report.
As a result, the most daring experience was when my boss at this first school gave me the credits, confidence and recommendation to train a group of top 50 Thai ESL teachers reviewing for their national test, using their material on phonology from the British Council, with those audio-visual electronic devices. (I wondered why my boss preferred me to seven L1 teachers in teaching phonology. I entertained the thought that, perhaps, they were busy finishing the students’ marks). I was impressed how good those Thai teachers were at producing British sounds. That week-long review workshop sponsored by E.R.I.C towards the end of the school year was worth attending, since I learned a lot from them, too.
Knowing my financial constraints, my boss was so nice to me to suggest that I find a part-time job around. I found one at a language school. The owner was a very kind Chinese Thai. We had different levels of learners—students and professionals. This business-oriented school gave a chance to L2 ESL teachers, especially Filipinos.
I got a much better offer from one of the Catholic schools towards the fourth quarter of 2006. I felt, however, I had to finish the whole year as indicated in the contract. Besides, the relationship I established with my boss was a test whether to leave or not. It was hard to say goodbye to the former one, but I had to, since my family needed this new one. It was a different challenge here than before.
Language barrier is has been a big test for me at this new school this year 2007. I don’t have a Thai counterpart with me to translate some words and ideas. I haven’t learned much Thai, since the previous school was so strict in speaking only English once we were within the school premises. My partner is also a foreign teacher. Both of us have to divide the class into two smaller ones and teach them just by ourselves. I have to use every means available—a real EFL/ESL teaching, which is short of the comfort I was used to at the previous government school. There isn’t any better technology than the former school. I have to use the conventional way: whiteboard, marker, photos, and other audio-visual materials that take a week or two to request. Besides other aids, I have to use my own notebook computer to present in small classes of about sixteen to 20 students per class.
There are more foreign teachers, about fifty, at this new school. Most of the teachers are Filipinos. There is a challenge as to how I relate myself to each of them. There is a big tendency to speak in our vernacular once I’m with them on campus, even if our head had announced to speak English at school, especially in front of the students, faculty and parents. On one hand, I’m cautious not to be ostracized by fellow Filipinos and branded a half-cooked Filipino-American (“Fil-Am”). On the other hand, I’m careful of not losing my job, since some of my boss’ staff members sometimes show some questionable stare to any foreign teacher who speaks any vernacular. These Thai staff members were just silent, but I have been wondering what has been going on in their minds.
After midterm, my foreign co-teacher and I were busy calculating the marks of the students. While he was encoding the marks into the computer, our Thai coordinator, who happened to be seated next to him, kept on telling him to doctor the marks to pass the students. I couldn’t believe what I saw with my two eyes. I was told by my other co-teacher not to intervene, or I would be history like the previous teacher the last year. I couldn’t understand this system. To me it’s grave dishonesty. Trying to understand that system led me into internet search and I have figured out that there is such “No Fail” policy among primary and secondary schools, and that the same problems many of the foreign teachers encounter at their respective schools. I later understood that the “no fail” policy is for special case with special students—students with learning disabilities. However, the way it is implemented by some Thai teachers seems questionable, in that, able students are given passing marks too when they failed the tests because of their negligence to study or do the tests. I have observed that students don’t dare to strive during midterm and final tests, because they know they are not going to fail the test anyway. I don’t see any feeling of urgency on the part of the Matthayom 2 and 3 students to strive or pass the tests. It seems that tests or exams don’t mean anything to them but just an ordinary daily activity. They even sleep during tests. Some students noisily play some musical instruments, or throw balls inside the classroom. Some do some makeup on their faces in front of their mirror for the whole period. They keep on cheating openly no matter how I warn them not to. After three times of warning, I couldn’t help but take some action, by getting some test papers and let them retake in our faculty office. I’m not sure what’s going on in the minds of these fourteen and sixteen year old students.
Recently, a group of Thai teachers proved themselves a better match to the way foreign L2 teachers performed during our English Camp. There was a clash of strategies, management and implementation of programs between the two groups of teachers. Thai kids seemed to be more active and participative with their Thai English teachers than with the foreign teachers on the second night. There was a threatening statement from one of the organizers that if foreign L2 teachers are not cooperative and able to handle the students, then the Thai organizers might employ their local teachers only for the next English Camp.
Keeping the job is important to me and for my family at this time. My conscience tells me not to be complacent at all times. While I do make a distinction between workplace and home, I make sure that all the requirements at schools are done within the specified time. I also have to be sensitive to both Thai teachers and students’ expectation. This is not often easy, since I may not be able to please every one of them. There is always a second thought of looking for a better job, just in case.
There may be more unexpected challenges ahead. Predicting them to some degree ahead of time may be helpful. For instance, I honestly don’t expect that I will be an ESL teacher throughout life for some reasons beyond my control. For instance, some schools may prefer to hire younger, more able and appealing teachers. Before this happens, at least I have some other options, such as taking an area within educational domain, but not restricted to ESL teaching. I like to explore and broaden my skills in the area of education, and not just language teaching. Hence, the present degree in educational leadership I’m pursuing might help me a lot. This is a branch of educational administration, but the emphasis is on looking for some new ways education can take turn. Therefore, I learn not to be traditional and stick to what is commonly accepted norm, but respond to any need in any situations.
At present, there is a need for self discovery for more potentials and skills for better challenges in the future. Whatever future thing this profession may offer, I must be ready to face every challenge with willingness, confidence and determination to move on, because this is what I know about what it takes to be an L2 ESL teacher.

Rolly Cainglet Obedencio, MA-Religion (Biblical Studies-Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Languages), ESL teacher, Assumption College Thonburi. Rolly has been teaching ESL in the Philippines, China and Thailand for about nine years. He has earned a Certificate in TESOL. He is presently pursuing his second MA in Educational Leadership. He lives in Bangkok at the moment.

Part 3: Challenges for a “Non-native” (L2) ESL Teacher

2008-02-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

by: Rolly Obedencio, ang ating ULIRANG GURO in Thailand
** Part 1
** Part 2
Continuation... As I came in close contact with many Filipino applicants in the middle of the year, English proficiency over qualification was their major challenge. Some of them came to the training center, because they had been fired by their employers when their accent had changed in the middle of the year. (I just wonder whether accent was the real reason of their being fired). They thought that there was nothing wrong with their accent. My boss, however, said, that they had a terrible accent. The training center had to retrain and market them at the end of the course after they would have acquired the near native-like accent.

Teaching skills necessary for a Thai environment were easy for those Filipino teacher-trainees. They had been educated in their college years. In my observation, not many of those schools where I had interviews asked for a TESOL/TESL/TEFL certificate, though. So, TESOL/TESL/TEFL certificate wasn’t a big deal for me at my job interviews, except at this first school I worked for. The training I received paid off when my boss wanted me to demonstrate in each class, especially the visiting groups of students, teachers and administrators from other schools, what a certified TESOL teacher had to offer in the entire year.

Students at that government school were mostly slower and much larger in number than those at private schools. So I had to dumb down my approaches to an average of 37 students each class. Some of them in grade 12 couldn’t respond to some personal questions, such as name, age, or occupation. There was the slowest section among grade 12 students that every teacher, local or foreign, just gave up. I had to provide them a positive atmosphere that they would risk speaking up without any hesitation. My boss was very glad that these students were able to open their mouth, speak up, and have a meaningful conversation with me in the middle of the term. It was satisfying.

Different Thai teachers seated in each of my classes posed another challenge too. They were not there to teach, but to help control the class as were told. However, they were just seated there as observers and evaluators, taking notes of my strategies and management. The mood of the class would naturally change if looked at a different perspective by an observer seated at the back row of the classroom. I didn’t underestimate Thai teachers with me in my classes. They were the eyes and ears of my boss. I had to overcome that little uneasy feeling, until I got used to it that they became my friends and partners. (You would receive presents if you got much approval from them, though).

The foreign teachers, not only the local Thai teachers, posed a challenge to me. There were about six L1s (first language speakers of English) and four L2 foreign teachers, of which two were Filipinos (including me), one was a Hollander and an overqualified Indian, having a Ph.D. in English Literature. There was a fast turnover of teachers after the middle of the first term. The Hollander left with a promise to return, but he never came back. He had his personal reasons. He was replaced by someone from Scotland.

Let me give emphasis about this strange Scottish teacher who was discriminatory. He asked me, “Are you teaching pronunciation?” “I don’t if it’s not a part of my lesson objective,” I said. He retorted “How can you not teach English without pronunciation?” I replied with a subdued one, “I do teach it if it is a part of my objective.” He raised his voice, “What kind of English can they learn from a non-native speaker? Students should learn from me, because I’m a native English speaker.” I smiled and said, “Well, I’m bloody sure my students have learned from me. I don’t have problems teaching pronunciation, though. My co-teachers can attest to what I have done.” He continued patronizing me by saying in a Scottish way “D’you have a ‘paddow’ (i.e. paddle) on your boat?” “Sorry, what did you say?” I asked. He said acerbically, “a flat thing used for rowing a boat.” I grinned and said, “Ahh, a paddle. What is that supposed to mean?” Instead of answering, he asked another question, “Which prestigious university did you graduate from?” I politely said, “Just a small college at the top of the mountains in the southern part of the Philippines.” He said, “I graduated at Cambridge University with a degree in History.” I asked, “What was your thesis about, and tell me your main variables.” He was surprised to say and ask me, “I wrote about the World War II, but what’s a variable? I have never heard of that word. That’s bloody difficult question.” I smiled and winked at him, “I understand, don’t worry. Forget about that.” The following week came. He didn’t show up. I inquired. I was told by my boss that he was fired, because he didn’t know how to teach. Each period was wasted by a mere series of drill of rote pronunciation without communication, and that students couldn’t understand him of his accent. He complained about why I should be favored by the students and teachers when I’m not a native speaker. My boss just said that the Scottish teacher had nothing to offer comparable to my skills and qualification. I pitied him. He became history.

Except me, another bunch of teachers replaced our batch in our regular program the following term. After the Scottish teacher left, a very handsome young Swedish guy came. Girls giggled as if tickled by their laughter in class. He also lasted for two weeks, because he had nothing to offer but his handsome face. He was replaced by an excellent South African. An experienced British teacher replaced another British colleague of mine. His English was not without errors, but his teaching skills were impressive. My boss requested me to find very good teachers of any nationality. I surely found some among the Filipinos. They were ranked according to accent, skills, experience and qualification during their job interviews. The best one among them was hired. (To be continued...)

Part 2: Challenges for a “Non-native” (L2) ESL Teacher

2008-02-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

by: Rolly Obedencio, ang ating ULIRANG GURO in Thailand
** Part 1 of his story)
** Part 3 of his story
** Part 4 of his story
Continuation...The experience in China was so rich that I was able to teach six university classes, three middle school classes, six elementary classes, and one kindergarten class for one year. Yet I felt that something was lacking. Towards the later part of my stay in China, I came to realize that I needed more formal TESL training to certify my experience and observations. I had enough experience, and I wanted more certification to qualify for better opportunity and possible positions. TESL/TEFL training schools, however, are scarce to find in China and if there are, the training fee is too high.
While I was in quest of more knowledge in honing my teaching skills, I considered Thailand. After much searching on the net, I ended up in Thailand, the place where I thought the training ground for more rigorous TESL.

Few months before coming to Thailand, I was faced with another challenge--job hunting. I never wasted time. My goal was to individually send about three hundred résumés in a month, an average of about ten applications a day. Filling the employers’ inboxes, I might be guilty of sending unsolicited emails. Responses were varied, such as about nationality, accent, color and others. Some common phrases were: “Native speakers only”, “Good accent, but you are brown”, “No more vacancy, but I can recommend you to my friend of your good accent“.

I have observed that the employers’ first preference of teachers was definitely not the Filipinos, but the so-called “native speakers” of English (L1). The second is any L2 whites. The third could be the blacks, and the fourth could be the Filipinos and other Asians. This preference of nationality, race and color was not new to me, since I had met it China. I wouldn’t mind if language schools or any business-oriented institutions make their preference of teachers on color, race or nationality. It’s business anyway. However, it irks me a little when a school is an established institution of higher education, either a privately owned or a government type, which does not consider applicants by skills, experience and qualification. To me, this is close-mindedness and a lack of education. These types of schools don’t have any values in education, but look at an educational institution as a mere business industry.

I was forced to devise my marketing strategies to sell myself at a job interview. Usually, I don’t send résumés right away if they aren’t needed; Instead, I make a call to get an interview, which I got more interviews through it. When the person on the other line gives a go signal, it’s the time to get ready for a more impressive actual presentation, loaded with answers to objections. I was determined to inject some “anesthetic” ideas when I unearthed an interviewer’s objections before he/she could articulate them. I had to be proactive, or else I would lose the opportunity. I wonder why I didn’t have any teaching demos at those interviews, when those other applicants with me did. I reckon I had five memorable interviews in my first week in Chonburi: at two high schools and at a university in Chonburi, through phone call with EF-Chiangmai, and at a secondary government school in Bangkok. I wanted the one in Bangkok, because of my preference of place.

In my second week, I decided to attend a TESL/TEFL/TESOL certificate course at a training school in Bangkok. I was happy that I met a lot of Filipinos who wanted to do the course, too. Most of them were education majors, but were shy when any white folk was present in class. Our L1 professor had to boost these teachers’ self-esteem (EQ), as he believed was the primary secret in achieving success. Methodologies, strategies, management and other techniques were discussed. There was heavy emphasis on accent, as the professor claimed that it was this other reason that Filipinos have to improve to get and maintain a decent job. I was given the privilege to train some of them on phonology. I was glad that those who endured the course got their decent job.

Salary was another challenge. I had the skills, experience, qualification, yet my boss-to-be at a government school wanted to negotiate the salary I wanted to a much lower rate than that of the whites. We were in a kind of tug-of-war or seesaw situation when each of us was pulling each other to his end or to my end. We met at the center when he asked me whether I had any TESOL certificate. It was good that he graduated a Master in TESL at a nearby university. He understood my concerns, and we closed the deal to a little lower salary than that of those white teachers. It was worth it. I got the job. (To be continued...)

Part 1: Challenges for a “Non-native” (L2) ESL Teacher

2008-02-27T07:53:00.000-08:00

by: Rolly Obedencio, ang ating ULIRANG GURO in Thailand

Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) can either be a chosen or a fortuitous career. For many, TESL has been a chosen profession planned since before entering college, to finishing courses leading to a baccalaureate degree in TESL or its related degree in education until landing a TESL job. For some, TESL is a result of their serendipitous discovery in quest of their calling, a case of this writer, a second language speaker of English (L2), or the so-called “non-native” speaker of English (which is commonly interchanged with the ambiguous “non-native English speaker”).

Below is my personal account of the challenges I have met as an ESL teacher, coming from a different perspective. Some teachers of similar experience may find this article meaningful. Any positive implication elicited from reading this brief memoir is sufficient for me to say, “mission accomplished”.

I was introduced into TESL profession through what I call the “backdoor”, when a group of Koreans in a graduate school in the Philippines approached me to teach them English conversation to supplement their English grammar courses for Michigan Test sometime in 1999. I told them that I didn’t have any formal training in TESL or its related field, and that my degree was purely in the area of theological education, particularly Biblical Studies (Old Testament emphasis). These Koreans assured and gave me confidence that I had the skills and proficiency in teaching a language, even ESL, since some of them had seen me teach a Biblical Hebrew class (when I was temporarily requested by our professor to teach a group of masters and doctoral seminary students while he was on vacation in the USA for several weeks).

Consequently, I took the challenge. Sweat dripped from my scalp when I found out that TESL is different from teaching Biblical languages. While teaching biblical languages is confined to grammar, vocabulary, syntax, reading, exegesis, translation and interpretation, ESL seems to be more student-centered in developing language skills. I thought the ordeal was just for a few days. More sweat rolled down my younger baby face then when more Korean parents introduced their children to me. Oh, my! My limits were tested, as these Korean kids didn’t know ABC. I was forced to use common sense in catering to the needs of these young learners, groping into darkness in search for appropriate strategies and activities suited for their learning styles and needs. (Teaching graduate students seemed easier, though, because I could easily identify myself with them). There was no translator, so I was forced to use a Korean-English-English-Korean dictionary, photos, gestures, games, and other visual aids. They easily learned if I used their “Hangul” (the Korean alphabetic writing system) and its transliteration into English alphabet when they asked how to pronounce words. Some kind of bibliographic and experimental research was needed for me to grasp some basics of TESL. I learned to adapt to the level of these kids in a short period of time. Tens and hundreds of students came until I couldn’t accommodate all of them to my schedule, as some of them wanted to study as early as 5:00 A.M. and as late as 11:00 P.M. These Korean students studied like machine. They were killing me. It was fun, though, because they became my friends. And the joy of teaching continued into weeks, months, and six years as more demand arose to teach several levels of students from kindergarten to adults. It was funny that they wanted American accent, yet most of them couldn’t follow exactly its pronunciation after a period of study.

Another challenge came when I received a call from a group of Chinese evaluators to teach ESL at a language school in China for a year from 2005 to 2006. No longer on proficiency and experience (since I got the job through them), challenges were on teaching Chinese students from kindergarten to university levels in a Chinese way. What on earth was their style? My boss would just wake me up anytime without advanced notice and preparation and take me for demos to any schools around. There was no lesson plan required. Any books pulled from anywhere would do, and it’s the teacher’s job to adjust his/her teaching style to the student’s learning level and styles. I told my boss that I didn’t need those books, since they didn’t fit the students’ level. I would rather make my own plans and curriculum.

I soon discovered that the boss was marketing me to these schools so she could make a teaching contract with them. I was often scrutinized by a big crowd of students, teachers and administrators, as if a foreign ESL teacher was an expert in applied linguistics. They threw unexpectedly very hard questions ranging from phonetics (including Chinese ‘Pinyin’), proficiency, teaching methodology and strategies, classroom management, and cultural backgrounds, which were beyond my understanding and ability. I felt I was placed in a fighting arena with these Chinese gladiators. I had no choice but to “dance” with them to meet their expectation, using my common sense, or else my boss wouldn’t make a contract with those schools. After the question-and-answer portion, the interactive audience seemingly turned into a throng of political campaigners and voters with their loud shout, whistles and applause. The whole amphitheater was abuzz. I had never been in my life that I felt like I was running for president, because of the accolade they granted. Surely, my boss signed a contract with them. And that was not the first time. Soon, I came to know that in China, schools from kindergarten to university hire ESL teachers from language schools.

Every Saturday night, foreign teachers of different language schools would go to a park to participate in an informal program called “English Corner”. Students of all ages from different schools would gather around and ask varied questions, such as “What is your favorite color?” “What Chinese food do you like?” “Are you married?” “How do you like Chinese girls?” “How can we speak fluently like an American?” As with other foreigners, I had to respond favorably, or they would say “your accent is bad” and I would lose the gathering students. They often asked me the written phonetic symbols and enunciation of some words.

It’s funny that Chinese wanted spoken American English, while most of their books were written in British. So, I had to modify some written symbols to represent and produce the American sounds. As young as kindergarten kids, Chinese students are well-versed in Pinyin (a system for transliterating Chinese ideograms into the Roman alphabet) and many of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols to produce the Chinese sounds. Like Koreans, Chinese are meticulous in phonetics. (To be continued...)

** Part 2

** Part 3

** Part 4

Covering the Filipino teacher suicides

2008-02-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

by Sara Neufeld, Baltimore Sun
My story in today's paper was one of the hardest I've had to write in a long time.
As those of you who have been following The Sun's education coverage for awhile may remember, I spent the 2005-2006 school year following Aileen Mercado, a teacher from the Philippines who at the time was living 10,000 miles away from her husband and three kids. Aileen lived in the Symphony Center apartment building near the Meyerhoff along with 70-plus other Filipino teachers, and I got to know many of them that year, including Fe Bolado. (An archive of my series is posted here.)

I met Fe on the same day I met Aileen, in July 2005 at Fallstaff Elementary School. The first batch of Filipino teachers was in orientation, and I was there to pick one to trail for the year. For a little while that day, I actually considered making Fe my subject, but I decided against it because I wanted a teacher who'd left young children behind in the Philippines. But I'd see Fe at the teachers' weekly prayer meetings (which often turned into karaoke nights). I sat with her in the hall at Symphony one evening as she waited, dressed in a white skirt and top and wearing more makeup than normal, to record a Christmas video message for her boyfriend back in the Philippines. That boyfriend became the husband whose infidelity sent her into an emotional tailspin.

When Aileen called me in tears on the morning of May 25 to say Fe had killed herself, the only comfort I could offer was that newspapers don't normally cover suicides. When she called on the night of Nov. 8 to say it had happened again, I could no longer offer such comfort. Another suicide, done the same way, I knew my editors would say it was news.

I didn't know Irene Apao, but it was terrible to see the pain her death has caused on a community I've come to care very much about. And it was terrible, getting back in touch with some of Fe's friends, hearing about the sleepless nights and nightmares and stress-releated illnesses they've experienced since she died.

Learning of my plans to write a story, many of the Filipino teachers were afraid it would reflect badly on the program that's brought more than 400 of them to teach in Baltimore. I hope that's not the case. As the story points out, Baltimore's foreign teacher program has actually become known around the country for the intensive support it provides. Many administrators attest to the good that Filipino teachers are doing for the city schools.

The suicides have sparked efforts to raise awareness about mental illness, which is highly stigmatized in the Philippines. I hope that those prevention efforts pay off, and that there won't be an occasion for me to write about this subject again.

A Filipino television segment about Irene's death is here.

Filipino Teachers on Exchange Visitors Program to Implement Training Program for Teachers in the Philippines

2008-02-20T07:53:00.000-08:00

PHOTO: Labor Attaché Linda Herrera (left, standing) and OWWA Officer Oliver Flores (left, seated) with three Filipino teachers.

On 31 January 2008, three Filipino teachers visited the Labor office of the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. to secure an Overseas Employment Certificate. These teachers who are J1 visa holders are going home to the Philippines to fulfill one of the requirements under the Exchange Visitors Program. They will be implementing a project aimed at transferring the knowledge and skills they have learned in the U.S. to other teachers in the Philippines.

Lawmaker wants pay for teachers doubled

2008-02-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

SENATOR Loren Legarda is pushing for new legislation that would nearly double the minimum basic pay for the country's public school teachers.

Legarda's proposal is contained in Senate Bill (SB) 1611, which proposes to raise from Salary Grade 10 to 19 the entry-level pay classification for teachers in public elementary and high schools.

This means that their initial monthly pay would be jacked up to a new range of P18,471 to P21,995. The existing range is P10,933 to P12,997.

More important, the adjustment would automatically trigger commensurate pay increases for every teacher in the public school system currently, receiving compensation higher than the starting rate. "There is no question that the public school system has been losing thousands of highly qualified instructors forced to seek greener pasture overseas or here in the private sector," Legarda lamented.

In the US, Filipino teachers in English, Math, or Science can easily land a job that pays anywhere from US$34,000 to US$47,000 annually, or about US$2,833 to US$3,916 monthly, according to Legarda. "But this is not just about checking the exodus of teachers. More important, this is about raising the quality of life of our teachers, restoring the nobility of the teaching profession, and building up our school system," she stressed.

Once enacted, the lawmaker's proposal would make the first-year pay for public schoolteachers around 23 percent higher than the P14,991 average starting pay for their counterparts in the private sector.

Legarda also authored two other bills seeking to protect and advance the welfare of more than 500,000 public school teachers -- the country's largest group of professionals.

The senator earlier introduced a bill that seeks to totally empower public school teachers and non-teaching staff to freely bargain for bigger pay and benefits.

Legarda also filed a measure that proposes to establish a new national hospital that would cater exclusively to the health care needs of public school teachers. (CPB/Sunnex)

Teaching Ambassador Fellowship Positions

2008-02-13T07:34:00.000-08:00

Secretary Spellings has announced the creation of Teaching Ambassador Fellowship positions for currently practicing, K-12 public school teachers at the U.S. Department of Education for the 2008-2009 school year. These positions will offer highly motivated, innovative teachers the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and experience to the national dialogue on public education. The Fellowship includes two kinds of opportunities for teachers across the U.S. Up to 20 Classroom Fellows will remain at their schools under their regular teaching contracts and will be paid to participate in additional Department discussions and projects throughout the school year on a part-time basis. Up to five Washington Fellows will be chosen to become full-time, paid federal employees in Washington, D.C. for the school year, working on education programs and participating in policy discussions.

Teaching Ambassador Fellows will be selected based upon their record of leadership, impact on student achievement, and potential for contribution to the field. Highly qualified K-12 public school teachers who have spent at least three years in the classroom are eligible to apply. Teachers must be currently practicing in and employed by a public school district to be eligible. To ensure collaboration at the school and district levels, teacher applicants must have the full support of their school principals.

Applications are due by April 7, 2008. Teaching Ambassador Fellows will be named by early summer for the 2008-2009 school year.

Please read the detailed information found at http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship to learn more. Be sure to click on all of the links to review the following: Program Overview (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/programoverview.html )Eligibility (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/eligibility.html )Applicant Info (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/applicant.html )Application Instructions (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/applicationinstructions.html ) FAQs (http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherfellowship/faq.html ).

Government action to the exodus of Filipino teachers

2008-02-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

The human capital theory stipulates that the more and better educated a people, the greater the chances of economic development.

However, the exodus of Filipino educators to other countries like the United States, has created a vacuum in the education sector. The best teachers in English, Science and Math are leaving in droves, and many of those remaining in the country are those often ill-trained, if not incompetent.

One of the thrusts of Education Secretary Jesli A. Lapus for this year includes the forming of a core staff of Science and Mathematics supervisors and master teachers, train education managers throughout the country, and hone the skills of non-teaching personnel.

"Our schools are only as good as our teachers," Lapus said, "and while we do have many good teachers throughout the country, we need to improve the skills of many others, especially those who are non-majors in English, Science and Math.

"Many Filipino teachers have also left for China and Thailand, which may not be offering salaries as high as the US, but still way above the salary rates in the Philippines.

Scores of school teachers have also left to take on jobs as domestic helpers or caregivers in Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Canada, among other destinations.

Annie Enriquez-Geron, general secretary of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLink), said widespread corruption, deplorable working conditions and low pay in the education sector has pushed many Filipino teachers, particularly young women educators, to work overseas.

"The exodus has contributed to the shortage in teachers. Moreover, the teaching profession is no longer attractive to the youth," Enriquez- Geron lamented.

Without a competitive salary, the best teachers in the country will remain teaching somewhere else. GMA News

Smuggling of Filipino teachers to Texas

2008-01-30T15:35:00.000-08:00

Not all Filipino teachers leaving for the US and elsewhere are lucky. In El Paso, Texas, Filipino couple Noel Cedro Tolentino and Angelica Tolentino, and his mother, Florita Tolentino were put on trial early this year for about 40 counts of criminal offenses including conspiracy to smuggle aliens, visa fraud and money laundering in connection with the recruitment of teachers from the Philippines.

The Tolentinos' placement company, OMNI Consortium, provided teachers for Socorro, Ysleta, Canutillo and El Paso independent school districts with fraudulent visas. The Tolentinos have pleaded not guilty.

A teacher from Bacolod said more than 200 teachers from the Philippines were recruited for jobs in Texas between 2001 and 2003 but when they arrived, many did not have jobs waiting for them as promised.

Two other teachers from Bacolod City said they were promised jobs in Texas but were brought instead to McAllen, about 14 kilometers away by bus.

The US government case against the Tolentinos included a series of alleged junkets to the Philippines, all-expenses paid trips during which US school administrators were expected to offer Filipino applicants teaching jobs in Texas. Those involved in the alleged junkets said those were working trips to recruit Filipino teachers.

In some cases, the job orders turned out to have been canceled when school districts scaled down their request for teachers, but the Tolentinos did not cancel the H-1 visa applicants for the unwanted teachers.

Baltimore to hire 178 Pinoy teachers

2008-01-22T07:32:00.000-08:00

By JOSE KATIGBAK, The Philippine Star Washington bureau
The Philippine Star

WASHINGTON – Baltimore City will hire an additional 178 new public school teachers from the Philippines in the coming school year, the latest in a wave of Filipino migration to hit the United States.

This will bring to nearly 1,000 the number of Filipino teachers in the Washington metropolitan area which includes parts of Maryland and Virginia, said Consul Rico Fos, head of the Philippine embassy’s cultural section.

Fos said teachers follow a long tradition of migrant Filipino professionals supplying the global need for doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers and computer programmers.

Fos recently drove to Baltimore city in Maryland, some 50 miles north of Washington, DC, to look into press reports that 12 Filipino teachers recruited three years ago were in danger of being sent home because the Baltimore City Public School Board (BCPSB) would no longer sponsor their employment visas because of lack of funds.

He said BCPSB officials clarified that while it was true that the city lost its funding for some of its programs, it did not mean the 12 Filipino teachers in the affected programs would not be rehired.

They will instead be transferred to other schools where they are needed and where their teaching skills/specialization matches the needs of the intended school, Fos said.
Maryland suffers from a yearly shortage of about 6,000 teachers and routinely recruits from other states and countries.

The BCPSB informed Fos that by this summer it would be hiring 178 new teachers from the Philippines.

Filipino teachers recruited to the US earn on average about $40,000 a year, significantly more than what they receive back home even amid the shrinking dollar. About two years ago the dollar was worth P55 compared to about P41 now.

In another development, the local recruitment industry Monday warned that with the government’s new hiring policy, fewer highly skilled Filipino workers would get overseas employment this year.

Recruitment industry leaders said the new policy on "direct or name" hires would be limited due to the stricter requirements imposed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

The additional burden of meeting more requirements would discourage foreign employers, said Emmanuel Geslani, a consultant for the recruitment industry.

Last week, the POEA started implementing a policy that requires foreign employers of direct hires to seek approval from the labor secretary prior to deployment.

Previously, the employment contract of name hires just needs verification from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office prior to POEA processing.

The policy also restricts direct hiring to members of foreign embassies and international organizations, and foreign employers are required to post $5,000 repatriation bond aside from the performance bond equivalent to three months’ salary of the worker.

A recruitment official also questioned the POEA decision to allow name hires to pay the peso equivalent of the $125 processing fee for employment contracts.

"If the workers are paying in peso this means that they are shouldering the processing fee when it should be paid by the foreign employer," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Baltimore hiring more Filipino public school teachers

2008-01-21T19:34:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- The city of Baltimore in Maryland, USA will be hiring 178 more public school teachers from the Philippines by summer, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) disclosed Monday.

The embassy reported to the DFA that officials of the Baltimore City Public School Board informed assistance to nationals (ATN) officer lawyer Loy Cortel, welfare officer Oliver Flores and consul Rico Fos about the decision to hire more teachers during a meeting.

The embassy officials met with the school board to discuss the case of 12 Filipino teachers reportedly in danger of being sent home because the board will no longer sponsor their employment visas due to lack of funding.

During the meeting, officials of the school board clarified that “while it is true that the city lost its funding for some of its programs, it does not mean that they will not rehire the Filipino teachers in the affected programs,” the embassy report said.

They said “the affected Filipino teachers will instead be transferred to other schools where teachers are needed and where their teaching skills and specializations match the needs of the intended school.”

Fos told the 300 Filipino teachers who attended the meeting that the embassy will continue to closely monitor their situation and is ready to render any assistance, including a forum on income taxation for newly arrived Filipino teachers.

The forum aims to help them learn about their rights and privileges under federal and state laws.

Filipino teachers in Georgia

2008-01-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

The acceptance of Filipino teachers in the US is also seen in Georgia where 41 Filipino teachers who took up residence there last August were given boxes of foodstuffs and supplies from the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System that hired them.

The Filipino teachers including Ammi Hernandez and Girlie Acasio helped fill the school’s teacher vacancies for the current school year.

The teachers were given boxes of materials with toiletries, paper products and nearly everything they would need to start their kitchens - from flour and sugar to canned goods, rice, oil, salt and pepper.

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System has at least 49 schools and satellite facilities in the district with over 34, 500 students in pre-kindergarten to Grade 12. It is one of the largest school systems in the state of Georgia.

It offers foreign teachers $1,800 signing bonus for a 190-day contract for fully certified Math, Science, Foreign Language and Technology Education or Special Education teacher relocating to Savannah.

Under its Alternative Education Program, foreign teachers are given $900 monthly salary plus incentives.

Nearly 200 new Filipino teachers hired

2008-01-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

This year’s recruitment of nearly 200 educators almost doubles that of 2006.

About 200 Filipino teachers will come to Prince George’s County schools over the next 12 months as school officials attempt to lessen teacher shortages.

Teacher vacancies — including special education shortages — have brought officials to the Philippines to recruit teachers over the last five years. There are more qualified teachers than jobs in the Philippines so Prince George’s personnel and school board members have coordinated with school systems and teacher associations there, arranged hundreds of interviews and brought more than 400 Filipino educators back to the county since 2002.
Twenty-eight teachers recruited during the trip are slated to start in county schools this month, while another 170 will begin teaching in the 2008-09 academic year.

The county recruited 107 Filipino teachers in 2006 and 80 in 2005. Filipino teachers are sought because accreditation requirements are very similar to American requirements, officials said.

‘‘We’re not training the teachers in the United States, so we need to start looking at places where there are more teachers,” said school board chairman Owen Johnson, who helped interview teacher candidates. ‘‘They recognize our shortages. ... They have been very aggressive in getting us to come and recruit.”

Johnson said more than 300 candidates were screened and interviewed and 200 were offered a contract to teach in Prince George’s, the second-largest school district in Maryland and the 17th-largest in the nation.

A $300,000 advertising campaign aimed at filling teacher vacancies netted about 1,000 teachers over the summer, but left 200 spots open — most of them in special education — when the school year started Aug. 20. The open classrooms were filled with substitute teachers, human resources workers said.

Maryland universities and colleges graduate about 2,500 teachers annually. Prince George’s County, which hires more than 1,000 new teachers every year, must compete with 23 other state school districts for those new teachers.

The new hires are not expected to end the teacher shortage, as the school system loses about 1,000 teachers every year, school officials said.

‘‘There is no question that the state of Maryland does not produce enough teachers to fulfill the needs of Prince George’s County,” said board member Rosalind Johnson (Dist. 1) of Laurel. ‘‘There just aren’t enough teachers.”

Arrowhead Inc., an organization that helps school systems recruit Filipino teachers, finds apartments for teachers when they arrive in Prince George’s, said Robert Gaskin, the county’s recruitment officer. The teachers can teach in the county for six years with temporary citizenship. After that period, teachers must seek citizenship or return to the Philippines, Gaskin said.

In the Philippines, some of first-grade teacher Evangeline Salvivar’s classes ranged upwards of 60 pupils. In such a large classroom, she said, it’s common for some students to get left behind in their instruction. Salvivar, now a second-year teacher at Samuel P. Massie Elementary School in Forestville, said the most noticeable difference in American public schools is that everyone is given an equal chance and equal support.

Having taught pre-school in her home county for eight years, Massie pre-K teacher Shiryl Maglangit came to the school last year so she could learn new teaching strategies and help her family financially. In the Philippines, Maglangit said the average monthly salary equated to $350 a month.

In Prince George’s, the average starting salary for a teacher with an undergraduate degree is $43,841, leaving foreign-born teachers with much more to support family members.
‘‘We are changing economies here,” Massie Principal Sharif Salim said of the money sent back to the Philippines from those posted in the United States.

Maglangit’s husband arrived in the United States this year, and she said she plans to stay here through the rest of her career.

Early next year Salim also plans to visit Puerto Rico to recruit Hispanic teachers. There are currently two Puerto Rican and eight Filipino teachers at Massie.

Salim said he likes to personally recruit teachers to make sure his classrooms are ready at the start of the year.

‘‘Every year I am losing four to six student teachers due to certification issues,” Salim said. ‘‘It’s good to have a ready pool of teachers.”

Kansas school recruiting Filipino teachers in 2008

2008-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

In Kansas, Maria Santiago was among the 40 Filipino teachers who arrived in the US state to fill teaching vacancies in Math, Science and special education classes. During the summer break, she took her children from the Philippines to live with her in the US.

According to Superintendent Winston Brooks, they choose Filipino teachers over other nationalities because most regular teachers in the Philippines are also college professors. Many have applied for overseas jobs to earn better wages and provide well for their families in the Philippines.

In January, representatives of Topeka Unified School District 501 will be traveling to the Philippines to recruit teachers who can provide instruction in areas where US schools are finding it increasingly difficult to fill for the next school year.

Springfield, Missouri-based HealthQuest Enterprises will finance the recruitment trip.

Currently, 18 teachers from the Philippines are employed in 11 other district schools in Kansas. Seven of them work as middle or high school science teachers, four as math teachers, five as special education teachers and two as elementary teachers, one of whom is certified to teach English second language learners and the other with math concentration, the report said.

Of the 18 Filipino teachers, 13 had a master's degree or have completed one since being hired.

Alabama hires more Pinoy mentors.

School officials in Alabama recruited 14 Filipino teachers this school year to teach Math, Science and special-education instructions there.

Baldwin County is the first school system in Alabama to lure in foreign teachers to the state. It sent two officials to the Philippines to recruit competent teachers.

The school system offered jobs for 16 teachers from the Philippines but only 14 of the applicants met the requirements. GMA News

Phonepatch interview about being a Pinoy Teacher in the US

2008-01-06T08:10:00.000-08:00

This was recorded when Teacher Sol was just a newbie teacher in one of the inner city schools in Washington DC, Wednesday, April 6 2005. She blogged about an AMBUSH INTERVIEW by Michael Vincent, programming director of Metro Plus AM 1044 radio in Hong Kong. This interview was in mixed Tagalog and English which took place at 11:30 pm.

2 accused in teacher smuggling plead guilty

2008-01-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Two key figures in a white-collar smuggling scheme to import Filipino teachers to Texas schools pleaded guilty this week in federal court in El Paso to conspiracy to defraud the U.S.

Noel Cedro Tolentino and his mother, Florita Cedro Tolentino, were accused of procuring work visas for teachers for jobs that were not confirmed and that often did not materialize.

They and Noel Tolentino's wife, Angelica Tolentino, had been indicted on about 40 counts, including conspiracy to smuggle aliens, visa fraud and money laundering. Noel and Florita Tolentino pleaded guilty Jan. 2 to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. in exchange for the dismissal of all the other charges.

Plea documents showed they admitted to "failing to tell (the U.S. government) the alien teachers did not have confirmed employment."

They face up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines at their sentencing, scheduled for March. It wasn't clear Friday what happened to the case against Angelica Tolentino.

Manuel Barraza, one of Florita Tolentino's lawyers, declined to comment. The other lawyers could not be reached for comment Friday.

The case went to trial a year ago, but U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone declared a mistrial at the end of nearly two months of hearings because two jurors said they read a newspaper article about the proceedings. A new trial was supposed to start Friday.

During the trial, prosecutors described the alleged fraud that involved school officials from several Texas school districts, including Socorro, Ysleta, Canutillo and El Paso school districts.

Prosecutors said the Tolentinos would take Texas school administrators on junkets to the Philippines, all-expense-paid trips, during which the school administrators were expected to interview teachers and sign a certain number of letters of intent to hire. The letters were then used by the Tolentinos' company, OMNI Consortium of Houston, to file I-129 petitions for H-1B work visas in the U.S.

Using the visas, Filipino teachers, who had paid OMNI a fee as high as $10,000, according to the indictment, emigrated to the U.S.

But school districts then scaled down their request for teachers. For example, the Brownsville Independent School originally wanted to hire 55 teachers but later said it needed only 19. The government said that instead of canceling the H-1B application for the unwanted 36 teachers, the Tolentinos continued the process. They allegedly shopped the teachers around to different schools from the ones the visas were obtained for, which is illegal.

The U.S. attorney's office has said that 273 Filipino teachers were brought to the U.S. during 2002-04 and that fewer than 100 actually had jobs waiting for them.

Some El Paso school officials were also charged in the case.

Mario Aguilar, former superintendent of the Socorro Independent School District, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of failing to report gifts to a public official and was sentenced to one year of probation. Raye Lokey, former Ysleta Independent School District associate superintendent for human resources, was sentenced to six months of probation for aiding illegal entry.

As part of the their plea, the Tolentinos also agreed to forfeit assets, including a 1996 Mercedes Benz, a 1999 BMW, real estate properties in Houston and McAllen, and money from five bank accounts.

BCPS fails to renew work visas of a dozen Filipino teachers

2008-01-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

BALTIMORE - The jobs of about a dozen Filipino teachers who were recruited three years ago to fill gaping teacher shortages in Baltimore County public schools have been jeopardized after their work visas expired.

According to Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, each of the instructors is certified. However, if their visas are not renewed, they may be forced to look for work in other districts.

Bost said that for the past several years, the teachers union has attempted to work out the issue with BCPS but to no avail.

“They go over there [to countries like India and the Philippines] and recruit the teachers, give them money for their expenses, provide extra training to acclimate them to the U.S.,” she said.

“Then after three years, the school system says they can no longer sponsor them. It’s a revolving door of highly qualified teachers who have had successful evaluations.”

Bost said that each time she’s addressed the county Board of Education, officials have said it would be too costly to assist the teachers’ transition to the next level of the visa process.

“This has been going on for six years and they’re letting go of good teachers who are needed in the areas of math and science,” Bost said. “In effect, they’re adding to the teacher-retention problem.”

To help offset Maryland’s yearly shortage of between 6,000 and 8,000 teachers, recruits are routinely imported from other states and countries. The Filipino teachers, who earn an average $40,000 a year for first-time teachers, are paid significantly less back home.

BCPS spokeswoman Kara Caulder said the teachers were aware when they were hired that their visas would expire in three years.

“We have met our obligations,” Caulder said, adding the teachers would “probably” have to return to the Philippines.

She also said the loss of the teachers was not a factor in teacher retention.

Maryland State Department of Education spokesman William Reinhard told The Examiner this past summer that most shortages are in special education, science and mathematics. He said the schools particularly look for more male and minority teachers. The Examiner

Filipino teachers likely to lose jobs as visas lapse

2008-01-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

BALTIMORE - Baltimore County's teachers union says about a dozen teachers from the Philippines recruited three years ago by the county schools stand to lose their jobs because their work visas have expired.

The president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County, Cheryl Bost, says the teachers are certified and have had successful evaluations, but she says the school board has refused to cover the costs of extending their visas.

The teachers were recruited to fill shortages in math and science.

Schools spokeswoman Kara Caulder says the teachers were aware when they were hired that their visas would expire in three years. She says the school system has met its obligations. The Examiner

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?

2008-01-04T06:53:00.000-08:00

Dear colleagues,

Have a good laugh!!!

HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TEACHER?
by Jeff Foxworthy

1. You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line
2. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
3. You walk into a store and hear the words 'It's Ms/Mr. _________'and know you have been spotted.
4. You have 25 people that accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
5. You can eat a multi-course meal in under twenty-five minutes.
6. You've trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period
7. You start saving other people's trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You want to slap the next person who says 'Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off.
10. You believe chocolate is a food group.
11. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
12 You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says 'Boy, the kids sure are mellow today.
13. You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
14. You believe in aerial spraying of Ritalin.
15. You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
16. You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
17. You can't pass the school supply aisle without getting at least five items!
18. You ask your friends if the left hand turn he just made was a good choice or a bad choice.
19. You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
20. You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer and finally,
21. You understand instantaneously why a child behaves a certain way after meeting his or her parents.

DepEd chief: RP education has sunk to its lowest level

2008-01-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- It was the Department of Education that first raised the alarm in 2006 that the quality of education in the country had sunk to its lowest level, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said.

“The problem is systemic. The entire system is [seriously affected],” said the DepEd chief, reacting to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s admission that the state of education continued to worsen during a consultative meeting in Baguio City Monday.

In a phone interview, Lapus minced no words in disclosing the woes faced by his department.
“Everybody is aware that education is a primordial concern in our country. From the start, we have raised the alarm and it succeeded in getting national attention and support and involving the private sector,” he said.

No overnight solutions

However, Lapus said improving the quality of education could not be done overnight.

“The issues confronting us are the [result] of decades of under-investment, understatement ... English has had to take a back seat. The reading skills also suffered with many Grade 6 students unable to read,” he said.

Consider this: Of the elementary school teachers tested for English proficiency in the school year 2006-2007 by the DepEd, only 60 percent passed.

The secondary education teachers fared worse -- only 20 percent passed, 70 percent were below the desired proficiency and 10 percent failed the test.

Impact on education

These are full-fledged teachers, said Lapus, pointing to the tremendous impact on the entire educational system of teachers who fail to master English, the medium of instruction in all public schools.

“How many thousands of students are affected by this? We have our hands full. This will take time but we’re doing everything to address these [educational problems],” he said.

With regard to the students’ proficiency in English, Lapus said the problem started in the primary level.

“The biggest dropout rates are in Grades 1, 2, 3,” he said, disclosing a dropout rate of 25 percent in the three grades.

Day-care as preschool

Only 40 percent of those in Grade 1, Lapus said, passed the readiness test, an examination to gauge the pupils’ familiarity with the three core subjects of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.

The solution could take the form of an “intervention” during the formative years, he said.

Some 50,000 day-care centers [already established in barangays] can be transformed into preschools with standard instructional materials and trained day-care workers, according to Lapus. The target is 1.8 million 5-year-old children this year, and 2 million children next year.

This would reduce dropout rates in succeeding years and increase the “holding power” of schools, he said.

But the scheme would need an additional budget of P2 billion, on top of the proposed DepEd budget for 2008, which at P146 billion, is already the biggest among the departments.

Retraining teachers

During a meeting with education stakeholders in Baguio City, the President said she had earmarked P500 million for the retraining of teachers in English proficiency to arrest the declining quality of education in schools.

Ms Arroyo expressed alarm over the teachers’ proficiency in English, stressing that teachers, not just students, needed retraining.

The sooner the deficiencies are fixed, the better, she said.

The President made no bones about her concern over the current state of English-teaching, recalling a comment by Sen. Richard Gordon that many of the semi-finalists in a recent English competition could not “verbalize” their answers to interview questions.

In the past several weeks, Ms Arroyo has met with various academic groups and education stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to discuss reform measures intended to upgrade the quality of Philippine education.

Written, not spoken

Lapus said teachers were not proficient in English because it’s mostly used for writing but seldom spoken.

“The defect is oral. So we plan to put up speech laboratories. You won’t learn to speak [English] unless you hear and say it,” he said, disclosing the mentoring scheme in which English-proficient teachers teach their colleagues basic grammar and other nuances of the language.

Small victories

Lapus also talked about his department’s small victories in the battle against illiteracy.

He said the national achievement test results improved last year, albeit far from commendable.
There was an average improvement in the three core subjects: English, 12.45 percent; Math, 12.3 percent, and Science 10.2 percent.

This is an 11. 8-percent improvement on all three learning areas, compared to the mean score in 2006.

“We’re very proud of that,” he said.

Lapus said that after the Grade 3 pupils were taught “effective reading and comprehension,” there was an improvement in reading skills in both English, 9.6 percent, and Filipino, 12.5 percent, compared to 2006 scores, or a composite difference of 11 percent.

National awareness

“We have a myriad of problems in the education sector. But we can say that we have aroused national awareness and participation in education as a societal concern,” he said, pointing to the “adopt-a-school program” which encourages private companies to invest in selected schools.

“We have raised P4 billion in contributions and pledges from the private sector for basic public education,” Lapus said.

Pinoy Teachers on Paskong Pinoy

2007-12-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

Claretians Carol the Pinoy Teachers

2007-12-29T19:08:00.000-08:00

Hi to all PTN members out there,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here's a small video that we made to all our friends abroad on how we celebrate Christmas in the Philippines. I'm sure all of you out there abroad are missing it too.

Merry Christmas once again,
Pinoy Teacher Rox Cosico, Claret School of QC

Greener pastures for Filipino teachers in the US

2007-12-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

In October 2004, Ireneo Abadejos and Julieta Perez were among Prince George’s County School System's “lucky 30" Filipino teachers recruited to Maryland.

And what was meant to be an experiment by Maryland officials to fill the big teacher shortage proved to be a success, with 100 more Filipino teachers arriving this month before the opening of classes in September.

“We're going to continue to look for teachers in innovative places," said Prince George County’s recruitment officer, Robert Gaskin, who is still searching to fill up the 1,000 vacancies mid-August this year.

Three years ago, Gaskin selected 30 teachers from the Philippines to come to the US as temporary workers on H-1B visas. The visa allowed the employer to later on sponsor the Filipinos' residency in the country.

The 41-year-old Abadejos left his job as a science teacher at Ateneo de Manila University to teach physics at Suitland High School, a part of the Prince George County school system.

“We survived. Filipinos are very pliant. As pliant as bamboo," Abadejos said, recalling how a guidance counselor there initially told him that he will be ‘eaten alive’ in the American classroom.

Perez, 35 years old, teaches at Oxon Hill Elementary and had to overcome cultural challenges such as the American lingo.

Both have acclimatized well with the culture and have moved their families to Maryland. They have to remain with Prince George’s school system for three more years to secure their permanent US residency.

In 2005, a critical teacher shortage has forced Baltimore educators to look overseas for help. WBAL-TV 11 News education reporter Tim Tooten reported that almost 60 new teachers from the Philippines arrived in Baltimore in July 2005 to prepare for their first day on the job.

The teachers -- most with 10, 15 and 20 years of experience -- believe their new jobs will be worth the challenge and the sacrifice of being away from home, family and friends.

Maryland’s second largest school district has hired almost 200 teachers from the Philippines to fill up vacancies in the next 12 months.

Twenty-eight of the new recruits started in Prince George’s County schools this month while another 170 will be coming in for the 2008- 2009 academic year beginning August next year.

Maryland’s Gazette recently reported that the teachers can teach in the county for six years with temporary citizenship. After the term, they can either apply for US citizenship or return to the Philippines.

Last year, Prince George’s County hired 107 Filipino teachers and 80 in 2005.

Maryland universities and colleges graduate about 2,500 teachers annually. Prince George’s County, which hires more than 1,000 new teachers every year, must compete with 23 other state school districts for those new teachers, according to the Gazette.

Filipino teachers are said to be preferred in US schools because accreditation requirements are very similar to the American requirements.

‘‘We’re not training the teachers in the United States, so we need to start looking at places where there are more teachers," said school board chairman Owen Johnson, who helped interview teacher candidates. ‘‘They recognize our shortages. ... They have been very aggressive in getting us to come and recruit.

"School officials of the school district personnel went to the Philippines earlier this year to screen more than 300 applicants and 198 were offered a contract to teach at prince George’s, the second largest school district in Maryland and the 17th largest in the United States.

Since 2002, Prince George’s has recruited more than 400 Filipino educators.

The average starting salary in Prince George’s for a teacher with an undergraduate degree is $43,841, leaving foreign-born teachers with much more to support family members.

RP's best teachers are leaving in droves

2007-12-29T14:00:00.000-08:00

For hundreds of Filipino teachers who have given up on their disproportionate salaries in the country, a future in the United States seems to be the best option. And then, there's also China.

Filipino teachers are highly esteemed abroad and are paid up to 10 times their salaries in the Philippines.

Because of the attractive salary rates and other incentives for their families, there has been an increasing number of Filipinos pursuing teaching jobs overseas. In the process, the Philippines is losing many of its better, if not the best, teachers in specialty subjects like Science, Mathematics and English.

Emerita Cervantes took a one-year leave from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and accepted a teaching job in a university in Fujian province, China.

"I'm proud of what I'm doing in China," she declared. "I can still recall that on my first day at the university, my students asked me where I come from. When I answered, 'Philippines,' they asked, 'Where is the Philippines?' Not one in my six classes (total of 270 students) knew anything about the Philippines. Now, it's a different story. Little by little the Filipino English teacher is gaining respect," she said."

Even on the train, I often get requests (through some Chinese passengers who speak a little English) to teach English, on the spot. The train often becomes an 'English Corner.'

"I am proud to be a Filipino and to do my share in improving other countries' perception of the Philippines. I hope, though, that the Philippine government, through the Department of Labor and Employment, will be a little stricter in screening overseas job applicants, especially professionals, to make sure that only the qualified ones are sent for overseas work," Cervantes said.

In an attempt to somehow curb the trend of the country's best teachers leaving for overseas jobs, bills have been filed in Congress seeking to upgrade the salary rates of teachers. However, the proposed rates still pales in comparison with the salary offers overseas.

House Bill No. 800 or the “Act Upgrading the Minimum Salary Grade Level of Public School Teachers in the Elementary And Secondary Levels from Grade 10 to 15" is geared towards providing public school teachers a much-needed wage hike.

"Our teachers are not accorded due recognition and importance they deserve, their salaries are insultingly low and with the high cost of living today, it is no wonder that the best and brightest among them are now teaching abroad, or worse, have migrated to work as caregivers or domestic helpers," said Caloocan City Rep. Mary Mitzi L. Cajayon, author of HB 800 at the House of Representatives.

Cajayon airs the side of the much underpaid yet overworked professionals in the country who, aside from performing their jobs as teachers, would also endanger their lives when being called to serve during local and national elections.

"This could be done by giving our public school teachers --who are unappreciated, overworked, and underpaid -- proper incentives, such as increasing their minimum salary grade level from Grade 10 to 15," said Cajayon.A similar bill is introduced at the Senate by Senator Edgardo Angara but with a bigger adjustment of salary rates from Grade 10 to 19.

A public school teacher under a Salary Grade 10 receives a gross pay of P9, 939 a month.

A Salary Grade 15 teacher gets P12, 546 a month and a Salary Grade 19 teacher is entitled to a monthly salary of P16, 792.

“There is a need to upgrade the minimum salary grade level of teachers from Salary Grade 10 to 19, which corresponds to almost P6,000 increase in their monthly basic salaries. With this increase in salaries, more qualified and competent educators will be attracted to teach in public schools," wrote Angara in his bill’s explanatory note.

The proposed salary adjustment does not seem adequate to entice emigrating teachers to just stay or come back home.

In the United States, for instance, a Filipino teacher in Maryland is offered a starting annual salary of $43,481 (roughly equivalent to P1.8 million), making it a much coveted slot for many teachers from the Philippines.

Looking to 2008

2007-12-29T13:04:00.000-08:00

Average teacher proficiency in the five subject areas (ie, English, Science, Math, Filipino, Hekasi for grade school and Araling Panlipunan for high school) ... Inquirer.net

Dagohoy in the States

2007-12-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

It was the first day of school in Washington, D.C. and a new student named Dagohoy, the son of a Filipino immigrant, entered the fourth grade.

The teacher began, "Let's review some American history, class. Who said 'Give me liberty or give me death?" She saw a sea of blank faces, except for Dagohoy who had his hand up. "Patrick Henry, 1775." "Very good," said the teacher.

"Who said 'Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth'"? Again, no response except from Dagohoy: "Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg , 1863," he said.

The teacher snapped at the class, "Class, you should be ashamed. Dagohoy who is new to our country knows more about our history than you do." She heard a loud whisper from the back: "Screw the Filipinos." "Who said that?" she demanded. Dagohoy put his hand up. "General John Pershing, Manila , 1896."

At that point, Jack, another student said, "I'm going to puke." The teacher glared and asked, "All right! Now who said that?" Again Dagohoy answered, "George Bush, Sr. to the Japanese Prime Minister during the state dinner, Tokyo , 1991."

Now furious, another student yelled, "Oh yeah? Suck this!!" Dagohoy jumped out of his chair waving his hand and shouted to the teacher at the top of his voice, "Bill Clinton to Monica Lewinsky, the Oval Office, 1997!"

Someone shouted, "You little shit if you say anything else, I'll kill you." Dagohoy yelled, "Congressman Gary Condit to Chandra Levy, Washington, D.C., 2001!"

The teacher fainted.

"I'm outta here!" muttered one student as he sidled to the door. "President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Baguio City , December 30, 2002!" Dagohoy responded.

As the class gathered around the teacher on the floor, someone said, "Oh shit, now we're really in big trouble!" "Saddam Hussein, on the Iraq invasion, Baghdad , May 2003!" Dagohoy bellowed.

"Now, I really have to run," Jack muttered, heading for the exit. "Gloria Macapagal Arroyo again, Pampanga, October 4, 2003!!!" Dagohoy shouted triumphantly jumping with glee.
Then a burly African-American boy grabbed Dagohoy and strangled him, about to give a fistful to a frightened Dagohoy. Then an Asian boy stood up and shouted, "Hey easy on him. I'M A FILIPINO!" Dagohoy then blurted out before he got socked out, "Fernando Poe, Jr. Manila , January 2004!!!"

Filipino Teachers USA Christmas 2007

2007-12-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

Filipino Teachers USA Christmas 2007

Teachers in Baltimore

2007-12-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

teachers in baltimore

‘Uncouth, thick-faced’ teachers

2007-12-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

THE letters titled “Teaching sideline” (Inquirer, 11/29/07) and “Teachers cheat by not teaching” (Inquirer, 12/17/07) prompted me to write this letter.

Some experiences in the past several years have confirmed my suspicion that many Filipinos no longer have a high regard for the teaching profession.

A few years ago, I was introduced at a wedding to a relatively young Quezon City councilor who went to the same private school I attended from elementary to high school. From across the table, “Mr. Konsehal” asked me what my course was. When I told him I was taking secondary education, major in English at the University of Santo Tomas, he looked at me contemptibly, saying: “What? You wanna be a teacher?”

His apparently rhetorical question silenced everyone (including his own entourage) at our table. Needless to say, I was taken aback by his failure to hide his condescending attitude. (After all, diplomatic skills are expected of politicos like him.)

I was left deeply wondering why he reacted that way. Perhaps he thought I was a masochist for wanting to teach, considering that most teachers get an awfully “pathetic” salary. Or perhaps, during his student days, he was victimized or disillusioned by his own teachers’ improprieties.
How, indeed, can we teachers be seen as role models if we sell to our students “Chocnut” and “Boom-Boom lollipops” inside the classroom? How can we gain their respect if we dump money into their hands and order them to go to the canteen pronto to buy us one cup of rice at lunch time?

Do we not realize that we come off uncouth and thick-faced if we constantly “joke” to students about giving a “pakain” during their birthdays, Christmastime, graduation season, or when their OFW parents arrive from abroad? How shameless can we get to send a student on an errand to a government office to carry out a personal obligation just because our schedule prevents us from doing it ourselves?

Meanwhile, letter writers have worried me no end with their various accounts of the unethical, unprofessional and exploitative practices of their own teachers. These “horror” stories further cheapen the image of my profession.

Certain observations made me realize that this problem boils down mostly to the teacher’s upbringing, which makes it even harder to solve, for the teacher is blind to his or her own malpractices. But something must be done. All I can hope for is that the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education will address this problem. Likewise, school administrators should monitor very closely their teachers’ behavior, making sure they do not abuse the considerable power they have over students. Parents as well should not be afraid to speak up against abusive teachers.

To my fellow teachers, we may unfortunately be underpaid, but that does not justify unprofessional conduct. Let’s have some self-respect. Inquirer.net

Pasig teachers ask DepEd to fire principal

2007-12-27T13:39:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines – Teachers of a public high school in Pasig City have asked the Department of Education to relieve their principal, saying she has been abusive and disrespectful toward them and the students.

The complaint against Nenita Villamarin was signed by 140 out of the 150 teachers of the Pinagbuhatan High School which has 6,000 students.

Villamarin has been the school principal for six years.

According to Valeriano Enriquez, head of the PNHS faculty, they decided to file a formal complaint against Villamarin after she berated one of their colleagues so loudly that the latter suffered temporary loss of hearing.

Enriquez added that Villamarin has a temper and a habit of yelling and hurling insults at teachers for little or no apparent reason.

“She should be removed from here. She should not be allowed to handle people,” he said.
The principal, meanwhile, denied the allegations leveled against her by her teachers.
In a phone interview, Villamarin said that the accusations “were not true,” adding that she found them “ridiculous.”

When pressed to elaborate on her statement, Villamarin refused, saying she does not want to comment further as the case has already been sent to the DepEd. Inquirer.net

Baltimore Teachers X-Mas Party

2007-12-24T14:10:00.000-08:00

Filipino Teachers in Baltimore Christmas Party Batch Feb. 07

2007 worst year for RP education, say student activists

2007-12-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

MANILA, Philippines -- Citing tuition hikes of up to 600 percent and yearly cuts in the budgets of state-run tertiary schools, militant organizations have called 2007 the “worst year for Philippine education.”

At the same time, they assailed officials of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) for ignoring repeated requests for a dialogue on their concerns.

League of Filipino Students (LFS) national chair Vencer Crisostomo said “local student council leaders last week requested for a meeting anew with chair Romulo Neri and other CHEd officials but they refused.” Inquirer.net

Dansih Musician builds a School in the Jungle

2007-12-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

"The renovation of the elemtary school in Cadingli An is the one thing in my life I have done which I am the most satisfied with," says 80 year old Henning Blegvad. One his own, he has designed and led the renovation of the Cadingli-an Batuan Turog Turog elementary school on Panay island in the Philippines.

“Welcome to the end of the world,” says Henning Blegvad and laugh, as we get out of his car in Cadingli-an village. We are outside the town Oton close to Iloilo on the Island of Panay Island in the Philippines. On either side of the muddy and bumpy road there are nothing but rice fields framed by majestic mountains in the horizon. The tiny buildings in the village seem to be competing about which one in the most warn out. Apart from the but the village’s primary school.

Thanks to Henning Blegvad, an 80-year-old Danish musician, who has been living in Cadingli-an village for about 20 years with his Philippine wife Melanie, 500 children today have the fines primary school in the area. And they even have two young Danish students from Jydsk Pædagog-seminarium, Sussanne Høy (23) and Nicole Eskildsen (22) who take care of children with special needs. ScandAsia

Filipino teachers becoming sought after to fill difficult positions

2007-12-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

School board members in Topeka Unified School District 501 on Thursday gave the go-ahead for another recruiting trip to the Philippines.

Board members voted 4-3 with Ned Nusbaum, Betty Horton and Janel Johnson casting the dissenting votes to send district staff members on a trip to the Philippines to look for teachers who can provide instruction in areas where U.S. schools are finding it increasingly difficult to find teachers. The recruiting trip is to take place in January, paid for by Springfield, Mo.-based HealthQuest Enterprises.

"I am supportive of this," said board president Doug Glenn. "Just seeing some recent statistics on graduates in those high-needs areas, they're just not there."

Already, 18 Filipino teachers are working in 11 different district schools. Seven work as middle or high school science teachers, four as middle or high school math teachers, five as special education teachers and two as elementary teachers — one of whom is certified to teach English second language learners and one with a math concentration. CJ Online

Schools may be getting more foreign teachers

2007-11-27T23:23:00.000-08:00

Regie Zamora came from his home in the Leyte province of the Philippines to teach math at Meade Middle School in August 2006.

He and 11 other Filipino nationals were hired last fall by a county schools recruiter at a job fair in Cebu City in the Philippines, and it looks like that trip won't be the last time the school system recruits teachers overseas.

Faced with what school recruiters call a critical shortage of teachers available for hiring nationwide, the county Board of Education is creating a new policy to govern the hiring of foreign teachers.

It's the first time the school system has created a policy governing the hiring of foreign nationals, said county schools spokesman Bob Mosier.

"We're going to get the best teachers we can find, regardless of where they are," he said. Capital Online

Anne Arundel Looking Overseas for Teachers

2007-11-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Anne Arundel County school officials are working on a policy to hire foreign teachers.

Superintendent Kevin Maxwell says the state needs 7,000 new teachers per year. But he said Maryland colleges only produce about 2,100 teachers annually.

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The president of the teachers' union in Anne Arundel County said hiring foreign teachers won't address the shortage. Tim Mennuti said people aren't willing to work for the salary that teaching offers.

But school board members say it's one of several options they'll use to address the shortage.
A county schools recruiter hired 12 Filipino teachers last year at a Philippines job fair. No recruiting trips are planned overseas this year.
The board will vote on the policy in January.

Pinoy teacher driven to suicide in Baltimore

2007-11-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

News Article: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=99655

It happened twice this year, it's in the papers, see another article from ABS-CBN Interactive sent by a colleague from the Middle East.

Colleagues, those who are abroad can tell you that teaching in a foreign country is not as great as you think it is. Initially, you can not take your family with you, they are your only immediate support system here. Though you have the support of the FilAm community, your colleagues, some relatives, the tight sincere embrace of your family members is incomparable to theirs, enough to save you sometime from the cruel effects of stress and depression that you will surely go through when you are teaching abroad. I've been through this stage, I survived and thrived, but I still go through the pain and suffering over and over everytime I see the eager faces of my newly arrived co-Filipino teachers. The adjustment period is not over yet.

To all of you who are abroad, about to leave, or are contemplating on leaving your family behind to teach and to make a difference in another place, hold your family close to your heart. Let them be your inspiration to survive and thrive. They need you as much as you need them, be strong for them.

We in the Pinoy Teachers Network sympathize with the Baltimore Filipino Teachers, we had several fun get togethers with them. Irene and Fe will forever remind us to be always there for a colleague through thick and thin. As long as we live, they too shall live, for they are a part of us, as we remember them.

At the rustling of leaves and the beauty of Autumn...

We remember them.

MARISOL ANGALA
(for Pinoy Teachers Network)

Washington DC

Fall 2007

Filipino Teachers in Baltimore, Maryland

2007-11-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

a year in the life of Filipino Teachers in Baltimore

198 more Pinoy educators to teach in US schools

2007-11-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

AT LEAST 198 out of the 300 Filipino teacher-applicants who passed the rigid screening early this year that was conducted by school officials from Maryland, United States will fly out of the country in two batches starting this month to assume their new teaching positions offered to them with a promised US$43,841 starting salary even for a teacher with an undergraduate degree.

Quoting a report from Maryland's Gazette, recruited teachers will be distributed in several schools in Maryland, the second largest school district in the US, over the next 12 months.

Twenty-eight of the new recruits will start in Prince George's County schools this month while another 170 will be coming in for the 2008-2009 academic year beginning August next year, it said.

The teachers can stay and teach in the county for six years with temporary citizenship after which they can be allowed to apply for US citizenship or will opt to go back to the Philippines. Sun Star

Nearly 200 new Filipino teachers hired

2007-11-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

About 200 Filipino teachers will come to Prince George’s County schools over the next 12 months as school officials attempt to lessen teacher shortages.

Teacher vacancies — including special education shortages — have brought officials to the Philippines to recruit teachers over the last five years. There are more qualified teachers than jobs in the Philippines so Prince George’s personnel and school board members have coordinated with school systems and teacher associations there, arranged hundreds of interviews and brought more than 400 Filipino educators back to the county since 2002.
Twenty-eight teachers recruited during the trip are slated to start in county schools this month, while another 170 will begin teaching in the 2008-09 academic year.

The county recruited 107 Filipino teachers in 2006 and 80 in 2005. Filipino teachers are sought because accreditation requirements are very similar to American requirements, officials said. Maryland Gazette

Pinoy Teacher Abroad

2007-10-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

GMA7 Pinoy Abroad interview with a Pinoy Teacher in New York

Filipino teacher blogs to ‘connect’ to students

2007-10-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

A PHILIPPINE Science High School social studies teacher, known to his students as “Sir Martin,” believes teachers can use blogs or other web-based tools to connect to students.

“Blogging has allowed me to connect with my students this deeply,” Martin Perez said in a speech he made during a blogging forum organized to gather teachers who blog.

A blogger before he became a high school teacher, Perez admitted that blogging is not easy. In fact, it meant extra teaching load.

But apart from being a convenient way to distribute content online, the Filipino high school teacher sees blogs as a way to hook students and fostering better relationships with them.

“My current blog was born just this year — January 6, 2007 to be precise. I created it with the vision of it becoming my work blog, a place where I can focus on presenting material that would add value to what I teach. I wanted to go beyond information dissemination and to really engage my students online. I would use the blog to tease upcoming activities and give them a look into the origins of the different things we do in class. I would write about issues which interest me, which I feel will interest them, and thus will be interesting to add to our course. I would write about my students, my work and my love for teaching. But as I did all these, little did I know that I would realize something even far more powerful. A while ago I mentioned that the Internet has the potential to displace the teacher. I realized that through blogging, we teachers can win back our place in the classroom,” he said.

He stressed, however, that blogging is a decision teachers have to make.

“It takes a lot of commitment especially when it begins to work. Sure, there are some blogs which don’t take much effort — a PowerPoint here, a link there, a course description here, a table of deadlines there. But a blog is not a bulletin. It is an unending conversation and this is why it takes some commitment. Through my blog, I get to talk with my students, parents, fellow teachers, and even random people from Minneapolis to Mongolia,” he added.

During one instance, Perez said one of his students wondered why he didn’t include entries about his personal life. That got him thinking, and eventually he started writing about his life too.

“After all, one of the pillars of blogging is honesty. It does take a lot of courage, and I realize that sharing such information on the Internet is a huge risk on my part. However, I also realize that the students I handle — these teenagers who are at the same moment hungry for life and sick of life — appreciate knowing that other people have been hurt, rejected and tested and yet have turned out fine. For them to realize that their teacher had been one of them and that this teacher now chooses to work among all of them is what it means to be credible in their eyes. And once you are seen as credible, they will trust you. They will listen to you. They will respect you. They will take risks with you and they will learn with you. Everything else follows from there — what we teach, how we teach, and even why we teach,” he said.

Filipino teachers fail to show up

2007-09-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

Back in January, the Roanoke school system's human resources director traveled to the Philippines to recruit teachers.

When she came back, she said she had hired six qualified teachers, all of whom were to teach special education, a notoriously hard-to-fill position for schools across the country.

Fast forward about eight months. There's a new administration in the school system. The former human resources director, Gloria Simon, left over the summer.

Now, a day before the start of school, new administrators are left with a pressing question: Where are the six Filipino teachers?

"I am just dumbfounded by this," said Rita Bishop, who took over as superintendent a month ago.

The school system had prepared orientation packets for the Filipino hires and expected them on the first day of new teacher orientation Aug. 23.

They did not show up.

School administrators then tried unsuccessfully to contact Green Life Care International, the recruiting company that was supposed to arrange for the teachers to come to Roanoke. The company also arranged and paid for Simon's January trip to Manila and Cebu in the Philippines. Roanoke.com

NEWLY ARRIVED TEACHERS GET TRAINING FROM FELLOW FILIPINOS

2007-08-27T00:17:00.000-07:00

New teachers from the Philippines attended an orientation training on surviving the classroom in Los Angeles. On August 15, about 58 teachers who were recruited by the Los Angeles Unified School District received the training conducted by the Filipino American Educators Association of Los Angeles (FAEALA). A similar training was held in June by FAEALA for 23 Filipino teachers.

The teachers learned basic topics as preparing a resume, classroom management, survival skills, transportation, housing arrangements, and comparison of instructional and discipline practices in the U.S. and the Philippines.

Facilitators of the training were Zaida Monserate JRA, Frances Lacebal, Dan Gumarang, Lucila Dypiangco, Joseph Nacorda, Glenn San Pedro, and Ron Hage. The training was held with the support of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Human Services Department, represented by Imelda Fruto. Erick Mata, a Filipino American principal at Marina del Rey Middle School, was the training coordinator.

Other community service groups which cooperated with the training include the Filipino American Service Group (FASGI) represented by Bernie Targa and Filipino American Library (FAL) represented by Jonathan Lorenzo.

A CBEST review is also scheduled for September 15 and 22, 2007 to be coordinated by Glenn San Pedro, Zaida Monserate JRA and Junnie Verceles. It will tentatively be held at Cochran Middle School in Los Angeles. Passage of this test is a requirement to qualify as a teacher in California.

FAEALA is an organization dedicated to helping the needs of Filipino American educators and promoting Filipino culture and heritage. Zaida Monserate JRA, the current FAEALA president, stated that this was the second training program conducted for free by the organization to help the largest number of Filipino teachers ever recruited by Los Angeles. The training was a community effort to support the newly arrived teachers become successful in the classrooms in Los Angeles.

Filipino teachers leaving in droves to the US

2007-08-17T00:43:00.000-07:00

For many Filipino teachers who have given up on their disproportionate salaries in the country, a future in the United States seems to be the best option.

Filipino teachers are highly esteemed abroad and are paid up to 10 times their salaries here.

Because of the attractive salary rates and other incentives for their families, there has been an increasing number of Filipinos pursuing teaching jobs overseas. In the process, the Philippines is losing many of its better, if not the best, teachers.

In an attempt to somehow curb this trend, bills have been filed in Congress seeking to upgrade the salary rates of teachers. However, the proposed rates still pale in comparison with the salary offers overseas.

House Bill No. 800 or the “Act Upgrading the Minimum Salary Grade Level of Public School Teachers in the Elementary And Secondary Levels from Grade 10 to 15" is geared towards providing public school teachers a much-needed wage hike.

"Our teachers are not accorded due recognition and importance they deserve, their salaries are insultingly low and with the high cost of living today, it is no wonder that the best and brightest among them are now teaching abroad, or worse, have migrated to work as caregivers or domestic helpers," said Caloocan City Rep. Mary Mitzi L. Cajayon, author of HB 800 at the House of Representatives. GMA News

School Recruiters Turn To "Innovative Places"

2007-08-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Julieta Perez and Ireneo Abadejos, came from the Philippines to help fill a teacher shortage in Prince George's County. (By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)

The Filipino teachers are coveted by U.S. school systems, such as Prince George's. The county has 1,000 vacancies to fill by mid-August, and it recently hired a marketing firm and launched a Web site to boost recruitment.

Filipino teachers, who are trained in their home country according to U.S. education standards, have increasingly been entering local classrooms. Prince George's County employs 110. Another 100 will arrive in the county the first week in August. They are hired at the school system's starting salary of $43,481, nearly ten times what teachers are paid in the Philippines, Perez said. The stark pay difference makes U.S. teaching slots coveted there.

"We're going to continue to look for teachers in innovative places," said Robert Gaskin, the system's recruitment officer. The Washington Post

Filipino teachers in limbo

2007-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

BAY MINETTE -- Fourteen teachers from the Philippines, expected to fill critical needs in math, science and special-education instruction, won't be available when school resumes today in Baldwin County.

The teachers have been delayed by a slow-moving immigration process that has grown increasingly vigorous since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to school system spokesman Terry Wilhite.

Substitute teachers will have to lead the classes until the Filipinos arrive.

"The real world is high-quality teachers simply aren't always available when you need them," Wilhite said. "We're very disappointed they're not here. On the other hand, it's comforting to know that immigration is working, and these candidates face great scrutiny."

School officials now expect the Filipino teachers to arrive by "the third week of August," Wilhite said. If they're still on hold by month's end, he said, they won't be hired. Alabama.com

Filipina director films adventures of RP teachers in US

2007-07-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines--Sleep-deprived, Filipino-American filmmaker Ramona Diaz’s mind was swirling with all sorts of “compelling” images: African-American girls dancing and chanting “Pen-pen de Sarapen.” An American school principal and janitress swaying to “Pinoy Ako [I'm Filipino],” the theme of the ABS-CBN reality show “Pinoy Big Brother.” And her film’s Caucasian cinematographer insisting on changing his citizenship to Filipino.

Diaz, whose 2004 documentary “Imelda” won Best Cinematography in the Sundance Film Festival, was in the country for almost a month, to shoot scenes for her latest documentary “The Learning.”

It was a whirlwind trip not only for the teachers, but for Diaz and her ragtag crew as well.

Although Diaz was the first to admit that the documentary was a challenging shoot, she would gladly relive the process of telling these teachers’ stories all over again.

“In a way, it’s an homage to the teaching profession,” she explained. “This docu is a snapshot of our time. The theme is very universal. Filipinos are not the only ones flocking to the US, thinking it’s a land of milk and honey … only to discover it’s not always milk and honey.” Inquirer

Filipina Director Films Adventures of RP Teachers in US

2007-07-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

By Bayani San Diego Jr.
Inquirer

From controversial First Lady Imelda Marcos, Diaz is now training her camera on a group of Filipina schoolteachers who have migrated to Baltimore, Maryland, to teach in inner-city schools.

“The good teachers are leaving. Filipino children are not getting the benefits of being taught by veteran teachers. But, we can’t really blame them. A lot of these teachers told me that if only they were paid enough here, they’d never leave.”

Although Diaz was the first to admit that the documentary was a challenging shoot, she would gladly relive the process of telling these teachers’ stories all over again.
“In a way, it’s an homage to the teaching profession,” she explained. “This docu is a snapshot of our time. The theme is very universal. Filipinos are not the only ones flocking to the US, thinking it’s a land of milk and honey … only to discover it’s not always milk and honey.” Philippine Inquirer

Filipino Teachers in Los Angeles (First Part)

2007-06-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

The life of filipino teachers in Los Angeles. Batch 2006

Pinoys on Trial in Texas for "Smuggling" Teachers

2007-03-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

EL PASO, TEXAS -- Three Filipinos were at the center of federal court proceedings in El Paso, Texas for illegally “importing” school teachers from the Philippines between 2002 and 2004.

Noel Cedro Tolentino, his wife, Angelica Tolentino, and his mother, Florita Tolentino, were indicted on 40 counts of federal offenses including conspiracy to smuggle aliens, visa fraud and money laundering, the Texas El Paso Times online edition reported Saturday, March 10.

The newspaper said the Tolentinos were allegedly involved in “white-collar smuggling scheme” to import Filipino teachers to Texas school districts.

It was learned that the Tolentinos, through OMNI Consortium based in Houston, have recruited 273 teachers from the Philippines, but only fewer than 100 of them actually had jobs waiting for them in Texas.

El Paso Times reported that officials from several El Paso school districts who hired some Filipino teachers are key players in the trial. FilipinoExpress

The Philippines

2006-09-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. Harry Wong meets with PTN in Baltimore, Maryland (PHOTOS)

2006-08-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

Filipino Teachers from PG County MD (3), Washington DC (1) and Baltimore MD (119), representing the Pinoy Teachers Network (PTN), were invited as special guests at the Digital Harbor High School Baltimore MD by the keynote speaker himself, Mr. Harry Wong, last Tuesday August 15 during the school’s New Teachers’ Orientation.

Mr. Wong is the author of “The First Days of School” and the most sought-after speaker in education today. More than half a million teachers all over the world adhere to his wisdom. He is a living legend to every successful teacher worldwide!

It was an honor and a privilege for PTN to be personally invited, to have our books autographed, to casually talk and have photos with him. He overwhelmed us with his presence and motivated us with his practical strategies, common sense, user-friendly, no cost approach to managing a classroom for high level student success. Because of his inspiration, indeed every Filipino Teacher will not only survive but thrive.

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY TAPS PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK (PTN) IN CREATING A MULTI-MEDIA

2006-08-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Cultural Section of the Embassy of the Philippines has enlisted the Washington, DC-based Pinoy Teachers Network (PTN) to develop an online cataloguing system for the Embassy library collection. The project is aimed at enhancing the ability of the Embassy to provide both online and physical access to Philippine information sources.

The project is the second phase in the Cultural Section's effort to make the Embassy library fully functional and internet-accessible. For this project, the PTN is mobilizing both its Manila-based and U.S.-based members that are experts in library science to assist in developing and creating the system architecture. A modest collection of audio and video materials are likewise planned to be uploaded to an online library website for webcast capability.

The library opened in January 2004 and was named Jose Rizal Filipiniana Resource Center. The library contains a special collection of Philippine historical books and publications, as well as more recent books on various Philippine subjects. Included in the Embassy's collection are published reports of the Philippine Resident Commissioner (since 1938), Census reports on population and natural resources (since 1903) and other old Philippine statistical bulletins, Official Gazette (since 1945), the compilation of the acts of the Philippine Commission, Philippine Reports (since 1901), Philippine Yearbook Series, old issues of FilAm newspapers, and a series of books by Carlos P. Romulo. The library also contains a significant Jose Rizal collection.

For inquiries, please contact the Cultural Section at 202.467.9397 or email at wdcpecul@aol.com.

Outstanding Teachers

2006-07-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

By: Von Totanes, Toronto Canada, PTN Links Moderator

July is the anniversary month of the Pinoy Teachers Network!

Do you remember the good teachers you had? The ones who were truly inspiring and helped you achieve more than you thought you could? Perhaps your teacher has even been one of those recognized in the Metrobank Foundation's annual Search for Outstanding Teachers. Click on the links below and try to remember...

1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005

Some of them are now teaching outside the Philippines. Others have retired or passed away. But some, like Onofre Pagsanghan at age 79, and those who received the Award for Continuing Excellence and Service, are still inspiring students and even other teachers.

Heck, the one good teacher you had way-back-when is probably still inspiring you today, wherever s/he is. Do yourself a favor. Go back to your teacher and say "thank you." It will be good for your soul =)

PTN Activities Video

2006-07-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Anniversary, PTN!

2006-07-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

By: Rox Cosico, Claret School of QC (Philippines), PTN E-Pals Moderator

Where have many of our best teachers went? In the United States of course!

However, a group of teachers (including me, although I'm still sticking it out here) wants to make a difference. We only want the best for our students' future. These children are not just our real children but as well as our hundreds and thousands of children in our classrooms.

Whether that would mean teachers working abroad or staying in the Philippines, the Pinoy Teacher's Network was organized a year ago to come up with an on-line teachers' community support group. We, PTN members, share not only our expertise in our field of work but most especially in comforting and helping one another. I could just imagine how it is to be lonely and feeling lost in a foreign land for our Filipino teachers. But here comes PTN with open arms with their generous projects, among them, the giving of winter clothes to newly arrived teachers (who have just sold just about everything that they own or borrowed lots of money just to get to America). This simple act of kindness perhaps could never be seen in any other culture except among Filipinos and surely would be long cherished by these teachers... "Nagtutulungan kahit saan ka man".

We just hope and pray that all of you, colleagues abroad, will succeed in the path that you have chosen. We also hope that one day, you will share whatever blessings that you have back here in the Philippines not only to your own relatives but as well as to the millions of Filipino children all over the country who are underfed, who had no classrooms, no books, no chairs and now not even enough good teachers because they are now in America. I pray for the leadership core group members of PTN to always have the energy and determination to continue what they have started and I hope more teachers will join and actively participate in the months and years to come.

I am proud that I am among the first to have signed-up to join this group and have a chance to interact with Filipino overseas as well as local teachers. They have become my friends and will remain a part of my life.

Pinoy Teachers Washington DC & PG County MD

2006-07-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

PTN Activities in Washington DC and PG County Maryland

Hurray! Another Birthday!

2006-07-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY, Pinoy Teachers Network!

This support group of Filipino Teachers wasn’t meant to be easy. Pinoy Teachers Network is going to evolve over time, it is a creative process. We are bound to fail but together as Pinoy Teachers we will rise again as one network. We hope to have our own identity as Filipino Teachers, not just an organization working under the umbrella of another organization. We hope that our organization will gain prestige, recognition and respect as other professional organizations do. And to be able to achieve that goal we have to protect ourselves and our identity as Filipino Teachers. We need to step back and reflect on where this support network is going. We’ll be here to support you, because that’s what we are supposed to be: a support system of Filipino Teachers collaborating with other organizations with their EDUCATION RELATED activities and responding to the issue of “brain drain” back home. After all, the Philippine Education is what made us world class teachers, don’t you think it’s payback time? Let’s rethink over and over our goals being a Filipino Teacher.

I’ve always believed that the Filipino Teachers has something more to achieve and share than being workers in the classroom. Professional development, personal development, and giving back to our country (not just serving the Fil Am community), we can be experts in these fields.

Being in the Pinoy Teachers Network is life changing, and it will automatically challenge you to become Filipino Teacher Leaders, who do not only make a difference to our country but to the world. Let us make every experience with the Pinoy Teachers Network a positive experience.

Let’s continue to meet on common ground. Working together we can solve problems. Our differences are our strengths. We can always find an advocate of what we do in others, so we don’t have to start from the very beginning.

COLLEAGUES CAN BECOME BEST FRIENDS.KAYANG KAYA BASTA SAMA SAMA.

(P.S. It will be a tradition that this piece be repeated during our anniversary every year, in every chapter. Written wholeheartedly it tells about the true spirit of the Filipino teachers and what our support network is all about. - MARISOL CRIBE ANGALA, PTN Director, Washington DC)

Let's welcome our offspring...

www.epalsproject.blog-city.com (click here)

PTN E-PALS Project = n. electronic collaboration through a shared writing space (blog) for students and teachers around the world initiated by the Pinoy Teachers Network.

Watch the Video here!

PTN @ One

2006-07-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

By: Zarah Gagatiga, Teacher/ Media Specialist Xavier School of Greenhills QC, Local PTN Liaison

I was in Hong Kong last year, attending a conference, when Teacher Sol informed me via email that "we" have given birth to PINOY TEACHERS' NETWORK. The "we" meant a core group, a good number of avid teacher bloggers and supporters all standing on common ground. Back then, all "we" wanted was an online community for Filipino teachers here, there and everywhere in the globe for them to feel inspired, motivated and appreciated. Teaching is no easy task and teachers are always left out stressed and stretched. An online community for Pinoy teachers may rejuvenate them and may give them the enthusiasm. After one year of active account in Yahoogroups, PTN continues to be a venue where Pinoy teachers from all over can connect, communicate and care about each other.

Do not think that the journey to its 1st year had been smooth. There were differences in opinions and personalities among members to start with, besides the challenge of monthly and weekly updates in the PTN Blog. But what is a group of people, or a community with out trials and troubles? We all have to go through the hardships, the pains and the problems to gain contentment, joys and accomplishments. We had to face our own personal problems too. Nevertheless, we stuck to PTN and its objectives to lend support and "online" presence to the members, lurkers or not.

Despite our busy schedules and tremendous work, PTN was able to pull out projects that foster a sense of community to fellow Pinoy teachers in the US. More and more Pinoy teachers are subscribing to the network. The e-group is kept alive and kicking. Articles and issues on education are continously being discussed. Attempts at technology integration and at being better at this noble, yet thankless craft is never wanting. The Ulirang Guro feature is updated bi-weekly and write ups by teacher volunteer writers are constantly posted in the PTN blog.

If you ask me what else would I want to do for PTN this year, aside from the collaboration that Rox Cosico (Claret, QC), Maria Valdermey (Giorgia, USA) and Teacher Sol (Washington DC, USA) are cooking up, I would want an EB. An eye ball to meet all PTN members based in Manila. Impossible you say, for teachers are busy creatures? Teacher Sol is planning to come home some time soon. So who knows? An EB with Sol may just be the highlight for PTN's 2nd year anniversary in 2007.

Maligayang Kaarawan, PTN!

Pinoy Teachers Network: Sharing, Supporting and Exchanging Ideas Together

2006-07-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

By: Elizabeth Genuino, ELL Teacher Carson California (USA), PTN Membership & Fellowship Moderator

If it's one thing that I definitely love about the teaching profession, it lies in the simple attitude of sharing. When I was just a brand new teacher working for school chartered specifically for high school probation students, the "veteran teachers" used to remind me that "a good teacher knows when to borrow, steal, tweak and exchange good ideas". I am still a rookie teacher, being one who has only taught for the past 7 years. Sharing and exchanging does make sense for practical classroom survival, and has helped me in the classroom over the years. I really enjoy it! If I don't network, I am not able to gain any new insight. Part of my growth as an educator is to meet other educators outside of the school yard. It is very difficult to expand as a teacher if you only surround yourself with teachers who only work in your school The ideal thing is to expand yourself and meet other excellent teachers. You can't keep learning from a stagnant pond.

I have done some expanding with my network and it has been amazing for me. There is a really neat circle of teachers in the blogging world. Their enthusiasm and passion for the teaching and learning process is catchy! Their insights and queries about education and the classroom life have greatly helped me reflect on my own teaching practices. The neat thing about this circle is that it is growing! I'm amazed and proud of what has been accomplished so far within this network of teachers. I'm pleased to be just one out of the many who have joined Pinoy Teachers Network. I have helped to greet new members as they first come into this unique circle.

Pinoy Teachers Network is a new organization, a seedling that was planted in July of 2005. I was contacted by Teacher Sol about forming a Pinoy Teachers Network last year. It was only an idea that a handful Pinoy teacher colleagues felt needed to form after keeping in touch through the network of Pinoy-blogging educators friendly exchanges of classroom experiences. A few of us collaborated on ideas about how to get together and build a community of educators by blogging about our experiences. It is very friendly and supportive. I have seen how much PTN has grown, and how it is continuing to branch out and help the teaching community. I hope that it continues to inspire and support many Pinoy educators out there!

Happy First Anniversary Pinoy Teachers Network! KAYANG KAYA BASTA SAMA SAMA.

Kayang Kaya Basta Sama Sama!

2006-07-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

By: Zarelle Bernardo, Special Ed Teacher (PG County, Maryland USA) , PTN Overseas Moderator

We are teachers and education advocates who "met" in the cyberspace and were pulled together by a common vision last year. We started exchanging thoughts, we listened to each others' rantings, we celebrated each other's achievements. We were teachers and advocates educating and empowering each other. That was how the Pinoy Teachers Network started. We still continue living our noble vision...

I left September 2005 along with 49 other teachers to work here in Maryland. I emailed Marisol soon as I got here and she showed up with a bunch of stuff in time for the cold season -- a lip balm, a good pair of gloves, winter coat and a phone card to call home. I've only known Sol through blogging and before that meeting I only know Sol's face through her pictures online. I didn't expect that little act of kindness became one of PTNs first biggest projects (for now), the "2005 Winter Drive".

I am so proud to say that in one year PTN has helped a lot of Filipino teachers here in the States and in the Philippines. PTN is an active organization that works hand in hand in collaboration with Filipino communities and the Philippine Embassy to the U.S. with projects for the benefit of our fellow Filipinos at home and abroad. Being a part of a generation that is no stranger to the negativity happening around us - greed, envy, corruption and crab mentality, the positivity of PTN made me believe that Filipinos are still good hearted and always ready to help. It made me feel more proud to be a Filipino. It's true that we can achieve great things as long as we hold hands and stick together. "Kayang-kaya basta sama-sama!"

Mabuhay Pinoy Teachers' Network! Happy 1st Birthday!!!

PTN Message

2006-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

by: Atty. Noel Punzalan, Lawyer Advocate, PTN Legal Adviser (Philippines)

I feel honored and privileged to be a part of the Pinoy Teacher's Network.

In my own little way, I can be of service to the backbone of any civilization or culture-- the teachers.

I have been taught that teachers are like farmers when it comes to upbringing and education. They are the ones that sow the seeds of knowledge and wisdom in all of us. And all of us reap the rewards of their hard work.

I address this message not only to those teachers abroad, but also those who chose to remain in the Philippines to take care of this country's future. To all of you, I give my sincere gratitude and deepest respect.

And may the Pinoy Teacher's Network assist you in all your undertakings. We hope we have been of service to you during this past year.

Mabuhay ang mga gurong Pinoy!

One Year Old and Counting...

2006-07-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

by: Rolly delos Santos, Teacher: La Salle Zobel (Philippines), PTN Entries Moderator

On July 4 of last year, I was surprised to receive an email from Marisol (a high school special ed teacher) asking me to join a group she was conceptualizing with other teacher bloggers. I did not hesitate to accept as I am not only interested in meeting new people but also learn about the trade of teaching. I told myself that at last, now I have a venue where I can share, probably vent my frustrations, and read other people’s sentiments and experiences and learn from them. Some of them would probably be new to me, something I have never encountered, some old ones which would affirm that I am not alone in committing errors, be affirmed about my shortcomings and strengths knowing that I am not alone.

A few more invited personalities, mostly people we’ve already met in blogosphere, soon joined in. We knew we were on our way to becoming a group. Next on the agenda was to come up with the group’s constitution and by-laws and procedures. We all pitched in ideas, discussed them until we came to an agreement which ones to use. Wiith these done, the group begun to have a soul. The mission and vision thus sums up:

Realizing the need for us to be united and proactive, we need our voice to be heard. We will start small, let's focus on the cyberspace for now...

We are joined together to start this community of Pinoy Teachers because we believe in our capability to be teacher leaders. Let's begin now. We may start here and there is no telling where we will end up. But let's stand tall and work together...

Core Group members (click here for the names and assignments) volunteered to keep the group going. As this line-up will tell, you know we almost covered everything necessary to keep this group alive. Once all these posts have been manned, we knew the major backbone for the group had been established and we were on our way.

Working from the inside, the next item in the agenda was its physical get-up. We had to work on a logo. Several designs were submitted to the group by Jonas Diego which we all commented on until we finally decided we all wanted the present design found in the masthead of this blog designed by J. Angelo Racoma, our technology liaison.

Thus Pinoy Teachers Network or PTN was born. Under Core Group’s leadership activities for the group were underway. Sharing of ideas and resources, EB’s , Christmas parties transpired to give these cyber people a face and a real name. We are working hard to make PTN a bastion of innovative ideas that would cross the channels that in spite of the group's diversity, both in personality and locus, we would be able to withstand the obstacles facing Philippine education by helping one another and providing the impetus for growth.

And guess what? We are now a year old. Come join us and be part of this worthy endeavor.

Did We Dream Too Fast?

2006-06-30T07:23:00.000-07:00

by: (Philippines) Julieta "Bing" Yap, PTN Parent Advocate, E-group Moderator

That was a one-liner from an ad in the 1970's. And probably a question in the minds of some who thinks that PTN's creation is an overused idea of promoting Philippine education.

A non-teacher like me could not probably feel the joys of being one. But seeing the network's achievements and how it has fared, I can say PTN did its job respectably. Many of its achievements which mirror the group's objective of "Kayang-kaya, basta sama-sama" had inspired and is inspiring Filipino teachers around the world. It had introduced to the world that Filipino teachers can think and act for the Filipino dream of becoming one of the best, and giving the best.

The two founders, both teachers in the Philippines and Washington DC, have to be congratulated foremost for the success. In their busy teaching world, they have managed to generate an idea that will help not only promote Philippine education but to develop more compassion for the profession and instill the value of camaraderie, love and concern among Filipino and non-Filipino teachers. They have exhausted all the best resources and efforts to make the endeavor a successful one. They have encouraged many Filipino teachers to participate and contribute their ideas and thoughts.

The PTN Core Group Members (scattered in the Philippines (6), Washington DC, Maryland, Florida, California, and Canada), and its members across the globe, has to be congratulated, too, for their nonstop support. Their contributions, articles, podcasts, etc, as well as their cooperation and efforts, are as indelible as the pillars of Philippine education.

Now, did we dream too fast? No, it's only the beginning of a very well meaning endeavor to promote patriotism and to uplift and change the Philippine education system.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY, Pinoy Teachers Network, on July 12!!!

Ambassador

2006-06-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

YOU ARE INVITED:

WHAT: The Community Farewell for Ambassador Albert and Mrs. del Rosario

WHEN: July 7, Friday 6:30 PM

WHERE: JWMarriott Hotel, Pennsylvania Ave, NW.
COST: $45.00Proceeds will go to the Philippine American Foundation for Charities

***************************

To the Filipino American Community of Metro Washington, D.C.:

I have been asked about my reaction to your Open Letter.

In truth, your Open Letter has welled up so much deep feelings within me.

There is no way for me to thank you for your zeal in taking a position on my behalf.

At the same time, I am most saddened that my situation has caused your expression of disappointment with our government. If you will, may I please urge us to move on.

I have no regrets whatsoever in coming to Washington, D.C. It has been a joy and a privilege to work hand-in-hand with all of you to help our government and our people.

It is fully my intention to continue serving my country in my forthcoming capacity as a private citizen. Let us look on how we can build upon our constructive partnership and our invaluable friendship to strengthen the institutions and to benefit the people of the Philippines.

With my affection, I am

Sincerely yours,

ALBERT DEL ROSARIO

***************************
An Open Letter to Her Excellency, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,
President of the Republic of the Philippines
June 21, 2006

Dear President Arroyo,

We are deeply saddened that Ambassador Albert del Rosario has been unceremoniously dismissed from his post as the official representative of the Philippine Government to the United States. The news of his untimely removal was particularly shocking to us, coming as it did at the height of our Filipino American Centennial Celebration. He has played a highly visible role in projecting a positive image of Filipinos in America and in nurturing the historic friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.

But what is more dismaying is the unprincipled manner in which his exemplary service has been abruptly terminated. Common decency and respect require that a head of state treat her official representative with high professional standards befitting his stature. Ambassador del Rosario has certainly upheld those standards throughout his five years in Washington, D.C., even to the extent of defending your administration’s integrity in the face of withering criticism.

We are utterly disappointed that despite his loyalty and dedication you chose to treat him so shabbily. It’s simply beneath the dignity of your office, Madam President. How could you stoop so low as to not even give him the courtesy of a personal call informing him of your action. This is truly disheartening given the ambassador’s abiding faith in your administration’s mandate to represent the best interest of the Filipino people. Your actions fuel even more cynicism and mistrust at a time when we are being asked to give your leadership the benefit of the doubt.

Ambassador del Rosario has served his country in many extraordinary ways and we will always remember him with much affection and respect.

The Filipino American Community of Metro Washington, D.C.

A Teacher’s exodus

2006-06-21T00:51:00.000-07:00

A lot has been said about the influx of Filipino teachers abroad. In the past year alone, more than 100 teachers were hired by the Baltimore City School System in an effort to supply much needed educators in the inner cities.

Hiring foreign teachers is a phenomenon that has swept the United States as school systems struggle to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act’s requirement of “highly qualified” teachers in every classroom. Critics say schools should instead fix the classroom conditions that make it hard to attract and retain American teachers, but urban systems aren’t having much success in meeting that goal.

The Philippines, which has long supplied the United States with nurses, has emerged as a recruitment hub, because of its surplus of education majors and its English-speaking population. FilipinaSoul

‘Pinoy Titsers’ in the USA

2006-06-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

With their low wages unable to keep up with the rising cost of living, more and more teachers leave the country to get a higher pay teaching in the U.S. American students are so lucky.

BY MARYA G. SALAMAT
Bulatlat

Teacher Claire, as she was fondly called in an exclusive grade school, didn't plan on teaching abroad. She just planned on teaching, period. Even when her cousins had derided her course, "Sus, educ lang pala." (Oh, it's just Education she's taking). She did her practicum in a congested public elementary school with both normal and special children "because in public schools, teachers have to do everything by themselves," she explained. She wanted to practice her teaching skills and every work that it entails. Bulatlat

Long Live PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK!

2006-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

By Renee Donalvo-Carlsen (Pinoy Teacher PG County, Maryland USA)

Mabuhay! I am joyful to be a part of the Centennial Celebration of Filipino Migrants to the United States. The Pinoy Teachers Network played a vital role in making this possible. Pinoy Teachers Network, what a fitting name to an excellent electronic media helping Pinoy teachers everywhere to get to know and learn from each other.

I am surprised and overwhelmed to receive such an award, "Exceptional Teacher Ulirang Guro." What did I do? I helped Kathy communicate with her friends by teaching her to type without looking. I taught Charlene cook safely. Now she has a vending stand at the Department of Education. I helped Ian transition from a self-contained classroom to the mainstream. Now he is an accounting student at Prince George's County College. I was so happy when little Heather learned to sa "hello mommy" for the first time. I could not forget the day when Tyler finally learned to say his name correctly. I felt like I won a million dollars when out of a long-time silence, Delonte said his first clear word, "cookie". When little Christian learned to read with his fingers, he read these words, "The animals got wet." He exclaims, "Let's find out what happens next". At That moment I was beginning to make a difference in the boy's life. One day my principal saw a boy reading a book to his class in a mainstream classroom. "Is that Ms. Donalvo's Steven?" he asked. "No, that is Ludlow-Taylor's Steven", his homeroom teacher replied. That was my Steven; I am proud of him. He is now in Junior High School. I like teaching and I love my special students!

Thank you to the Pinoy Teachers Network and the Philippine Embassy for this honor. I wish to share it with my mother, Fidela, my American mother/ mother-in-law, Leta, and my best friend/ husband, Donald. They have always been supportive in my career and all of life's ups and downs. I will always remember many others who have helped me along the way to get to where I am today. Most of all, I praise and thank God Almighty, through him, all these things were possible.

There is a young lady in our midst working like a busy spider. She is actively collecting, building, sharing a bit of information in the world-wide-web. You know who you are. Keep up the good work! As a Pinoy teacher, myself, I hope that we continue to work as a team so that we can meet and exceed the expectations of our jobs. I dream that Pinoy Teachers Network will keep growing, and in the future we will have an organization called, "Pinoy Teachers Network Inc." Mabuhay!

This teacher is a ‘hero’

2006-06-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

People Magazine featured Filipino American Math teacher Oliver Sicat in its June 12 “Heroes Among Us” section. Only the fourth Filipino to make it to this wide-read American magazine, what’s so special about this teacher?

For one, he developed an innovative after-school program called EMAGINE that’s been so successful it has become the buzz among educators around the US. All 20 inner-city freshmen high school students that teacher Oliver started tutoring four years ago have now been accepted to various colleges and universities. He helped them land paid internships and toured potential colleges with them with funds coming from his own pocket. “They don’t hear positive messages every day,” says Sicat, who takes no salary for Emagine. “They needed to have someone teach that to them.”

For another, he ran the 110th Boston Marathon last April to raise funds for laptop computers for the graduating students. Believing that by building relationships with students and holding them to high standards helps schools succeed, Sicat commented on why he ran. “These students believed in Emagine’s mission for four years, and their hard work has paid off. I wanted to give these graduates a gift that will help them succeed in college and congratulate them for dedicating themselves to Emagine.” The students were so inspired by his commitment to them that at the marathon they started jogging along their teacher, chanting his name and waving posters with “Oliver, we believe in you’ at the 20th mile when Sicat’s knees started buckling.

To these students, Oliver Sicat is their hero. To us, he is inspiration that giving our lives for others is cause worth living for.

To know more about Emagine, and give to its causes, click here. FilipinaSoul

Halina Byahe Tayo!

2006-05-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Wild on E! The Philippine Islands

2006-02-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

An Open Letter to Pinoy Teachers

2005-12-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today, December 12, 2005, marks the 5th month of our existence as a global support network of Filipino Teachers and Education Advocates. I am so proud of all of us that we are spreading far and wide our advocacy and are successfully executing our every project which aims to give back to our country, and spread our culture and tradition.

Next year, 2006, we will be doing more noble projects, and we would need the cooperation and commitment of everyone in the Pinoy Teachers Network family. I've been reflecting a lot about our support network for quite sometime now. And I am inviting everyone to read and understand what's in my mind. Please tell me if you feel the same way too...if you say yes, we surely need YOU.

Dear PTN Members,

Hello!

While on my way back from the National Writing Project Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I just thought I had to express myself to you because many of you do not really understand what the Pinoy Teachers Network is about. You may just have joined the band wagon not understanding the advocacy of PTN. I encourage you to read and understand what has been published and unpublished about our fast growing support network: www.pinoyteachersnetwork.blogspot.com.

This support group of Filipino Teachers wasn’t meant to be easy. Pinoy Teachers Network is going to evolve over time, it is a creative process. We are bound to fail but together as Pinoy Teachers we will rise again as one network. We hope to have our own identity as Filipino Teachers, not just an organization working under the umbrella of another organization. We hope that our organization will gain prestige, recognition and respect as other professional organizations do. And to be able to achieve that goal we have to protect ourselves and our identity as Filipino Teachers. We need to step back and reflect on where this support network is going. And that is what I personally want to do over the Holidays. The Holidays is supposed to be our time to have fun and not be stressed out. But if you’ve committed yourselves already, we’ll be here to support you, because that’s what we are supposed to be: a support system of Filipino Teachers collaborating with other organizations with their EDUCATION RELATED activities and responding to the issue of “brain drain” back home. After all, the Philippine Education is what made us world class teachers, don’t you think it’s payback time? Let’s rethink over and over our goals being a Filipino Teacher.

I’ve always believed that the Filipino Teachers has something more to achieve and share than being workers in the classroom. Professional development, personal development, and giving back to our country (not just serving the Fil Am community), we can be experts in these fields.

Being in the Pinoy Teachers Network is life changing, and it will automatically challenge you to become Filipino Teacher Leaders, who do not only make a difference to our country but to the world. Let us make every experience with the Pinoy Teachers Network a positive experience.

Let’s continue to meet on common ground. Working together we can solve problems. Our differences are our strengths. We can always find an advocate of what we do in others, so we don’t have to start from the very beginning.

COLLEAGUES CAN BECOME BEST FRIENDS.
KAYANG KAYA BASTA SAMA SAMA.

MALIGAYANG PASKO AT
MANIGONG BAGONG TAON SA INYONG LAHAT!!!

Your best friend,
Marisol Angala
Director, Pinoy Teachers Network

PTN: A Product of Collaboration

2005-11-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

By Zarah Gagatiga (Pinoy Teacher, Manila Philippines)

Pinoy Teachers Network turns four months old on November 12, 2005. Like a new born baby, it is being nurtured and nourished by the very people who concieved it and by the growing members of FilAm teachers and Filipino teachers from all over.

Since its conception in July 2005, PTN has become many things to its members. For Pinoy teachers, based abroad and otherwise, PTN is their support group; a network of ideas and information; a hub of professionals from the academe and allied disciplines; and, a news source about the Philippines. For Pinoy teachers who are budding and aspiring writers, it is a doorway in the publication of articles, essays, compositions and contributions about technology, parenting, education, teaching and life in general. Those with blogs are lucky to find that PTN is a free space to plug their blogs. From job hunting, press release of events and seminars, resource sharing and campaign of teaching advocacies to gossip and "kikay" stuff, PTN has indeed achieved a lot in its four months of existence.

PTN is already a growing e-community forged with the values of commitment and cooperation. The same values that inspire its members to continuously collaborate with in the network and outside of it. Using technology to reach out and connect with people and organizations, PTN is a living example on how collaboration can bridge the distance and fill the gaps.

Last month's visit to the Philippine Ambassador in Washinton DC was a successful one. The Ambassador gave his support to PTN and was very proud of the projects of PTN, one of which is the donation of winter clothes to Pinoy teachers based in Maryland. Today, November 12, 4th month of the Pinoy Teachers Network, PTN is to be formally welcomed in the FilAm Community in the Metropolitan Washington Area in a Meet and Greet the Teachers activity in Virginia, USA. Partnering with the Philippine Embassy and other FilAm Organizations, this is a collaborative effort of everyone in the community that is aimed at helping new Pinoy teachers adjust in a new environment. By 2006, the Manila Chapter is dreaming of having the same collaborative activities but with a twist to the Meet & Greet of its sister chapter in the US.

If you think that you can contribute to PTN in any way that you can that will inspire and encourage Pinoy teachers to be the best that they can be, do it now! Collaborate and be empowered!

Mabuhay ang Gurong Filipino! Mabuhay ang PTN!

PTN in Manila Bulletin, Halloween Issue

2005-11-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Blog-O-Rama
Pinoy Teachers' Cyber Classroom
By Annalyn S. Jusay (now blogging at www.annalyn.net)
October 31, 2005 Halloween Issue of the Manila Bulletin

As its name suggests, Pinoy Teachers Network PTN) is a website for teachers, created by teachers. Even though it has been existing for only three months in cyberspace, the extent with which it has united Filipino teachers scattered across the globe is impressive to say the least. PTN is definitely the place to go if one would like to be updated by the latest education issues and what educators have to say about them.Aside from the interesting blog entries contributed by its members, some of whom are eking out a new and challenging life as migrants, PTN also has a section on a featured teacher as well as bulletin board announcements about the latest happenings in academia, in the Philippines and abroad. We had a chance to have an email exchange with Washington D.C.-based special education teacher Marisol Angala (Teacher Sol) and here is what she had to say about the noble group she founded:

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/11/02/TECH2005110248051.html

2nd Month for Pinoy Teachers Network...A Call to Action.

2005-09-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

"All of our national problems, from international competitiveness to improving our standard of living to the future of our children, ultimately rest on one important word: education....

Through the history of civilization, the concept of education has remained stable. Colors fade, temples crumble, empires fall, but education endures. Societies that succeed respect their teachers, and the teachers respect themselves." - HARRY WONG-

It is the people who make the country great. In every country, brave compassionate people of action must be willing to assume the mantle of leadership and face the challenges to education, environment and human rights.

We in the Pinoy Teachers Network accept these challenges. Our examples can make a difference. Our strong moral stance can give courage to the many who may feel weak amidst the negativity happening to our mother country and the tragedy happening to the world. Every Pinoy teacher is not going to be alone anymore. The Pinoy Teachers Network family is fast growing far and wide, reaching every island in our country and every corner of the world.

This is a call to action to everyone. Help us disseminate our presence in the cyberspace. Pass it on.

PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK: We are professional Filipino Educators. We are going to inspire, be proactive, give hope and go the extra mile. We believe that these are the values a nation needs from the leadership of its professional educators.

WE CAN DO IT!

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“Podcasting” refers to any software and hardware combination that permits automatic downloading of audio files to an MP3 player for listening at the user’s convenience. Podcasting allows education to become more portable than ever before, giving educators another way to meet today’s students where they live and learn—on the Internet and on audio players. (SOURCE: EduCause)

I couldn’t contain my happiness, so pardon me if I appear to be excited about this, haha. I experimented with podcast last night; and guess what…our first PODCASTING is now up in our Filipino Teachers’ community blog. I am also trying to experiment on how to integrate inside my classroom this new tech revolution that’s sweeping the internet at the moment.

Watch it here: http://pinoyteachersnetwork.blog-city.com .

RELATED TOPICS: teachers, professional education, podcasting

Going Month and Still Growing...

2005-08-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

OUR HOME: http://pinoyteachersnetwork.blog-city.com

"Any new endeavour is always tough in the beginning". Hah! Whoever said this is an all time motivator; I believe he's one of those people who helped to change the world by changing people's attitude about themselves; I agree with him, it's true, it happens.

I gave us just two weeks to plan this out and prepare for the launching. Ready or not, the website of the Pinoy Teachers Network went officially up in cyberspace on July 12, 2005. We took the challenge. We learned from our own experiences and then finding our own way out of the obstacles we encountered. For most of us, quitting or not trying isn't an option.

It's been a month, can you believe it? What happened during that span of time, aside from my being so busy and missing my blog hopping routine?

We have more than 50 members now, and still growing. Teachers from the University of the Philippines (Visayas), Mindanao State University, De la Salle University, Claret School of QC, Xavier School in Greenhills... are proving themselves worthy of the title "Teacher" by being leaders themselves in their own schools.

We also have members as far as Japan, Singapore, Texas, Arizona, California, Washington DC...who are Teacher Leaders themselves and are as persistent as we all are in disseminating the information about the Pinoy Teachers Network.

It was intimidating for us because nobody among us have ever done this before. To find the answer, we had to go outside the box. We learned to communicate via email and the Internet, and soon podcasts.

I am so lucky to find people who are willing to help without complaints. Who are also willing to learn by doing. They are few of the people I know who are effective communicators, who persuade with modesty, who are leaders themselves. I thank the Core Group Members of the Pinoy Teachers Network who are the people behind the success of this pinoy teachers' community around the globe. The success of one is the success of all...

PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK CORE GROUP MEMBERS:

-TECHNOLOGY LIAISON= J. Angelo Racoma
-BULLETIN BOARD ENTRIES MODERATOR= Tito Rolly
-Education Resources Links MODERATOR= the Filipino Librarian
-FELLOWSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP MODERATOR= Teacher Liz
-LOCAL PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK LIAISON= Zarah Gagatiga
-OVERSEAS PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK LIAISON= Zarelle
-Teachers Network Around The Globe MODERATOR= Teacher Ela
-Parent Advocate/ E-group MODERATOR= Bing
-LEGAL COUNSEL= Atty. Punzi
-DIRECTOR= Teacher Sol
- EDUCATOR ADVISER =Dr. Danilo Baylen

PINOY TEACHERS NETWORK; WE ARE PROFESSIONAL FILIPINO EDUCATORS. WE ARE GOING TO INSPIRE, BE PROACTIVE, GIVE HOPE, AND GO THE EXTRA MILE.
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RELATED TOPICS: professional teachers, education, weblogs

Pinoy Teachers Network

2005-07-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

You must become an advocate of what you believe, otherwise you will become a victim of what others want you to believe. - JESSE JACKSON

Dear Filipino/ Filipina teachers,

Please take pride in who you are and in those values and beliefs for which you stand. Be proud of your education, work, and personal accomplishments. Don't be afraid of who you are, since you act with courage and compassion. Tell others, and bask in the feeling of being your best.

(by ERUANNIE) If you are:

1. a pinoy/pinay educator in practice and in deed
2. retired or currently teaching and in the field of education
3. an advocate for teaching, school, education, and the like...

...you are invited to join us. Be decisive. You don't allow yourself to become paralized by indecision. Take the initiative. Do it now.Success may involve many mistakes and disappointments. Let's try anyway. If we hesitate too long, doubts may linger and turn into fears. Yes, we may be rejected. Yes, we may fail. The difference between successful people and others is not whether we make mistakes or even temporarily fail, but how we respond.

Inspiring, being proactive, giving hope, and going that extra mile -- these are the values a nation needs from the leadership of its professional educators.

WE CAN DO IT! PINOY/ PINAY TEACHERS, UNITE!

You are now invited to visit our official website/ Bulletin Board: http://pinoyteachersnetwork.blog-city.com/ .

Join in our discussions, speak your mind with us. Help us disseminate our existence. Tell everyone about it.

Check out our Bulletin Board, see you there!

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From the bottom of our passionate hearts, the Pinoy Teachers Network would like to sincerely thank your kindness for our logos, JONAS DIEGO (creator of Yan ang Pinay logo).

RELATED TOPICS: education, teaching profession, weblogs