Tabang Pulihug (Help Please)

I am on a mission. I am on a mission to improve the library at Inopacan National High School. I am on a mission to improve the library at Inopacan National High School because I started a reading remediation program there, and the students deserve books to read after working so hard at improving their skills. And not just books, but books that are on their level; like chapter book series (Goosebumps, Babysitter’s Club, Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, The Adventures of Captain Underpants, Animorph, etc.), quality children's literature (Maniac McGee, Shiloh, Bridge to Terabithia, Sarah Plain and Tall, Holes,etc.), non-fiction (books about science, sports, oceans, animals, cars, motorcycles, fishing, farming, receipes, etc.), magazines (pop-culture, National Geographic, Upper Room devotionals, etc.), old English or Grammar text books, even children's books (like Dr. Seuss or other beginning to read stories, to help students that are having difficulty with English phonics).

I’ve thought a lot today, well really for the past 4 months I’ve been in country, about how I could fundraise books. Ideas have started to form and take shape, most are still blurry and questionable about practicality, but one thing is blatantly clear; I need all the help I can get!

I’m currently considering the following:
· Book Drive- A couple people have offered to hold book drives for me back in the States, and I can’t even begin to say how much I appreciate that! How cool would it be to have the time could align with a Scholastic Warehouse Sale :)
· PC Affiliated Book Drives- I am searching for these, and will hopefully find a source to help.
· Public Schools- I’ve started a search to find out what the public schools do with their used textbooks (particularly their English and Grammar books). If my understanding is correct, the SCPS’ website says they are able to distribute these books to non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. My goal is to contact the local Oviedo schools’ textbook managers to inquire about their out-of-adoption textbooks.
· Public Library- Again, used books… where do they all go? Doesn’t the Casselberry branch have a used bookstore? Maybe I could check to see if they ever have to clear out the shelves or make room for newer old books- that didn’t sound right, but you know what I mean!
So this is where I currently stand. Of course the next dilemma is how to get the books over here. It seems like so far the best solution is the marvelous Balikbayan Box. I’m hoping that the PTCA at the school will help with shipping costs. They seem like they are a very supportive group of parents.

Oh, and one more dream of mine? I would love to have a reading comprehension program that would kind of mimic the idea of Accelerated Reader. Each book in the library would have an index card with 10 comprehension questions for students to answer to rate their understanding. I wonder if it’s conceivable to have the kid or parent write possible questions on a card and stick it in the book when they donate it. Kind of a "These are things that made me think when I read my book that I'm going to donate to a Filipino student," type idea. Just an idea… I figure if I think of more ideas than necessary, maybe a couple of them will end up working out!

So to wrap up this astronomically long blog post, does anyone have any other ideas of what I could do to raise books? I really would appreciate any help that I can get!

Know Your Audience

In all of my teaching classes I always heard how important it is to know where your students come from. No matter what the outward appearance may be, whether it's the kid with ironed jeans and GAP t-shirts or the one with Goodwill shoes and no backpack, a teacher should look past the sometimes inaccurate outward appearances and have a realistic view of what the students' homelife is like.

This is defintely true for the schools here in the Philippines. It amazes me how economically diverse some of the residents here are, much like in America. From what I can gather in the short time I've been here, there are students attending the school that come from families in town that are very well provided for and then there are students from the barrio area that have to cross rivers to get to school each day.

So how have I learned the importance of the lesson from my education classes? There was a boy that I taught on Tuesday who was absent from his morning class. He's one of those students that is always smiling and one of the few in the school that doesn't giggle over everything I do... in other words, I really missed him when he wasn't there that day. However, at the end of the day during Remediation time, I noticed that he was there in the library reading the material with his mentor partner. I asked him why he wasn't there that day, ready to give the automatic "you shouldn't skip school" lecture.

He momentarily shocked me though when he said, "I had to help plant rice this morning."

Okay, so at that moment all of the reflections and papers I had to write in college about how to be sensitive to the students' situations came crashing back like a ten pound brick. Even with the little background knowledge I had of what a lot of the home situations are like for the students here, I was still taken aback to actually hear a boy tell me how he skipped school so he could help his family that morning make a living. He went on to tell me that they plant a hectare of rice, which is equivalent to 107639 sq feet (according to Wikipedia.) It's so interesting to hear the students talk about their lives.

There are some really awesome kids at this school... especially this one because he came back for my Remediation class! :)

Hail Mary

So, I've been wondering what I could write about since the last time I wrote and tonight at dinner I got my answer. We eat dinner, and every other meal for that matter, together. It's the host dad, host mom, and me every meal, at the dinning room table. We had just finished eating our daily meal of fried fish, rice, and vegetables when I looked out the window and saw a candlelight processional coming through the gates to the house. Hmmm... this is not part of our usual evening routine.

I tell the others at the table there are people out side, and the host mom says, "You stay right here," and then she runs to turn the outside lights on and opens the door.

I stay at the table and just listen to her. As soon as she opens the door opened host mom started speaking fast-speed Cebuano. I had no clue what was going on. She stood at the door for 5 minutes, holding a giant sign/banner that the others had brought with them. Finally at the end I heard an, "Amen," and she returns to the table.

I wait a second to see what will happen and finally ask the question, "So, Anita, what was that about?"

She explained to me that they have a procession around the barangay (which is like a neighborhood area of the town) that visits a new house every night. They say the Hail Marys. The whole scene seemed very traditional and I could just imagine how the same ladies have probably been doing this for decades with each other. My next question was if she knew they were coming that night.

She laughed at me and replied, "Yes, they text me when they are on their way."

Call to Order

Obviously there are a lot of things that are different between American schools and Filipino schools, the biggest being the use of airconditioning.

I was able to see another big difference on Friday when the school had their Parent Teacher Community Association PTCA meeting. Both countries place great importance in the associations, and wonderful things are done through them, but the way they are conducted is slightly different. This was the schedule of Friday's meeting:

1:30- Time meeting was supposed to start
2:00- Time meeting actually started
2:00-2:15-Opening prayer and playing of National Anthem
2:15-2:30- Discuss how not all the parents are attending and set deadlines for when those who did not show up to pay fines (50 pesos per family).
2:30-2:35- Student comes in sings "How Do I Live Without You?"
2:35-3:00- Discuss the budget (this was all in Cebuano, but it got quite heated... I wish I had paid more attention during language classes)
3:00-3:30- Each teacher (all 6 of them) speak
3:30-3:35- Connie goes up and has to read a speech in Cebuano (again, I wish I paid more attention in language class)
3:35-3:40- Students come in and do a pop dance routine
3:40-4:00- The principal speaks and dismisses the parents.

It was quite interesting! They have the PTCA meeting once a month... here's hoping I won't have to speak again anytime soon!

Lost and... Still Lost

I have learned the power of a small Filipino town. I lost my umbrella. I have no idea what happened to it, here yesterday and gone today. I told my host mom #2 it was gone, and she began a search that is so indepth, if she doesn't find my umbrella, she will at least uncovered the mystery of life.

What does this search entail you wonder? Well it began with her texting my co-teacher before I had even walked the 15 minutes to school and telling her that I lost my umbrella. Next, the text approach must have continued to every teacher at the school because throughout the day they all came up to me and asked, "So you lost your umbrella?" Yep, sure did! Even students began to question me about it. With the text approach not bringing any immediate answers, she moved into a groundwork approach: she came to the school. She wanted to know if I had found it yet and continued to tell others that I lost my umbrella. Yep, I sure did! She next moved the groundwork to a new location, the post office, just incase I left it there the other day.

As of 6:30 this evening, the umbrella is still missing. I have however discovered the intricate communication networks of a small Filipino town.

Goal Number 2

So I actually had a real "fuzzy, warm, feel good moment" yesterday. That didn't sound right, I do have a lot of highlights here, don't get me wrong. This moment however will probably always stay with me.

I went the one other American's house last night for his birthday party. We are the only 2 white people in Inopacan, so it's nice to see him every once and a while. He's the only person that gets sarcasm here, and we can joke about things, such as how he's so happy to be an AARP member.

So I was there at his house with a bunch of other neighbors, and there were 3 kids there. I started talking to them, but one little boy was extremely shy. I get this a lot. I finally got the other two to bring him over and he took me hand and had an entire conversation with me. I was so proud of him, and then I completely fell in love with him because he said, "I'm very glad you are the first American I have spoken with." I told him I was glad to be the first American he has ever spoken to.

Many times, I hear a lot of preconceived ideas about Americans. Like we're all rich, we all know Brad Pitt, or we never eat rice. It felt good to accomplish the Peace Corp's second goal: to show the people of your host country what Americans are really like. Plus now I have a new crush :), his name is John Luis... I think.

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I really hate it when I can't add pictures to the blog and all my entries consist of is more 'blah blah blah.' I've tried to upload pictures onto blogger, and I guess my Internet connection is too slow to do it, but it works on Facebook. So if you don't have Facebook, and might like to see some of my pictures from the Philippines, just let me know and I'll send you them through an e-mail.