Teachers Month

World Teachers Day is held on October 5th annually. This year the Philippines is celebrating it by labeling it with a theme entitled “My Teacher, My Hero”. The celebration begins on the 4th of September and culminates on World Teachers’ Day. It is in the spirit of celebration that spurred me to again open my blog site and start posting away.

Visitors who have been loyal readers (including those with hopes that I will finally be able to post regularly so they drop by every so often) will notice that I still do not have any consistent schedule of posting.

Newbies will realize that I’m not much into creative design as I am into writing. Because my blog site is bland, I make up for it in quality posting… at least imo.

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I’m a frustrated educator. Since college, I’ve always wanted to teach. Unfortunately, I don’t have a masteral degree yet so I can’t “corrupt the minds of the youth” yet, as our college Philosophy professor used to say. So what I can’t do in the classroom, I try to do in the workplace by mentoring and coaching people. I’m no career guru but I try to share with my people my previous experiences and give them opportunities to shine.

So while I’m no professor in the school, perhaps I try to sublimate it by becoming a coach in the school of hard knocks.

I can never forget that cliche. I was at the canteen alone during my last term in college and an old Religion professor approached me and asked if we could share a table. I obliged. He goes on congratulating me that I’ll soon be a college graduate but that there is still much to learn in the school of hard knocks.

I haven’t visited my alma mater – regardless if it’s the college I went to or high school -  for a very long time. I wonder where my teachers are today. I guess this longing just reflects the profound effect educators have on their students. This is especially true for great educators as well as lousy ones. You always remember the extremes.

One time I was in ____ (I can’t remember the municipality), Bulacan doing a market visit of a public market (now doesn’t that sound double redundant….) and lo and behold I spot my grade 6 school teacher. She recognized me and we exchanged pleasantries. She had stopped teaching and was now doing business in Bulacan. She was our English teacher and she made us spell all those crazy words like o-no-ma-to-pee-ya, hai-per-ball-y, and other words that befuddled the minds of the tweens.

I also frequently see one of my college professor in a mall in Manila. He can’t remember me and I don’t call out to him because I am not even sure if he still teaches. This teacher did not corrupt our minds, but he did pollute it somewhat.

Of all the teachers that I hold close to my aorta is Mr. Hilario Francia. He was our professor for art appreciation and he would frequently ask his students to submit art reviews. At the end of the semester, I was one of the 5 or so students whom he asked to contribute to the Manila Times. I guess that’s where the writer in me was born. I still contribute today but not to Manila Times, due to limited time, I only contribute sparingly- a community newspaper and a personal finance magazine (although lately haven’t contributed anything to said magazine).

I wish that one day I can also plant the seeds for a student’s future success. To all the teachers of the world, happy teachers day(or month)!

Careera

I started to professionally write late last year when an employment opportunity opened up for me.  After being successfully hired as a freelance writer, I was suddenly tossed into a new environment. Years of working in the corporate world as a marketing guy had shelved my writing skills to an unknown cellar in my brain.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not some writing wunderkind. I haven’t produced any award winning article/s yet to date. I’d like to get an award one day, but right now, I’m just a regular contributor. I still envy the great writers – both of local and international repute.

I can’t say that I’m a prolific writer either, but I’ve managed to maintain my blog for a year since my first post here. So that should count for something write?

What I find puzzling though, is when it comes to resume writing. I can write about anything but when it came back to updating my resume, I was staring at the screen.

After rustling through my hair a million times, I was able to write my first draft. It was pure crap. The details were not there, the work experience was not arranged chronologically, etc. It was a mess.

Updating my resume also gave me an opportunity to think about how to choose work. Should you choose work that revolves around what you enjoy doing? Or should you choose work that utilizes the skills that you have?

The answer to those questions seem obvious enough, but honestly speaking, it’s often difficult to distinguish if you merely enjoy what it is you are doing, or it’s because you have the skills to successfully – or even excel – at doing what it is you are doing.

I guess a dose of practicality is in order.

You have to consider the remuneration you get for doing whatever that is.  You also have to weigh both your interest and skills. An extreme example of that might be something like this – you enjoy playing basketball – for fun. That’s also saying that you shouldn’t try out for the pro league even if the pay is good.

Right now, I’ve not much to share about career planning since I’m just getting back to it. As I go along, I’ll try to share what I’ve learned to give people insights to choosing the job they want. Or better yet, choosing the right career. Have a nice weekend!