Saturday, February 27, 2010

Live blogging: Dr. Paraluman Giron, Filpina

This is not my first time to listen to Dr. Paraluman Giron of the DepEd, Director of Region 4-B. I have sat in one of her speeches way back in college at the PNU. She was dynamic, engaging and charming. Her content was relevant and tuned to the times. The last time I saw her was in one training workshop for public school teachers. Her message to them was truly inspirational.

She has not changed at all.

Today, she opens the creative writing workshop of PHILAAS (an association of scientist and science educators in the Philippines) and she is just a joy to watch. Her passion to reading and writing is very evident. Yan ang Pinay!

Friday, February 26, 2010

PLAI-NCRLC Forum & General Assembly 2010

I will be sharing some insights and new perspectives on Social Networking as a promotional tool in library service during the PLAI-NCRLC's (Philippine Librarian's Association Inc. - National Capitol Region Librarian's Council) Assembly on 22 March 2010 at the National Library. See you there!

Here's the invite from the PLAI-NCRLC's Chair, Madame Nora J. Claravall.

Dear Colleagues in the LIS profession,

You are cordially invited to a Lecture Forum cum General Assembly of the
Philippine Librarians Association Inc.-National Capital Region Council
(PLAI-NCRLC) . Details are the following:

Date: March 22, 2010 (Monday)

Time 8:00 A.M. 12 noon
Venue: The National Library, TM Kalaw, Ermita, Manila
Registration: 8:00-9:00 a.m

Part I
Forum: Social Networking in promoting library service

Objective:
The forum aims to provide knowledge on social networking and how we can use
this in promoting our library services.
Resource Speaker: Ms. Zarah Gagatiga


Part II
General Assembly: President's Report
Treasurer's Report
Other matters

* FREE to all paid members of the PLAI-NCRLC.

For more details, please email/call/text : Lily Echiverri, lily.echiverri@
gmail.com, 9292180; 9205514 loc. 301; Jo Ladlad, jocelyn.ladlad@ dlsu.edu. ph,
5244611-21 loc. 602/265; Fe Abelardo, feabelardo@yahoo. com, 09194948178; Nora
Claravall, nora04claravall@ yahoo.com, 09278417048, Marlo Chavez, marlochavez_
capricorn@ yahoo.com, 5259401, 09273027474 and Sandy DAvid:sdavid@....
edu; 09179625388

Thank you.
Very truly yours,

NORA J CLARAVALL
Chair, NCRLC

Thursday, February 25, 2010

A Librarian Among Educators

Last January 30 and February 6, 2010 I had the good fortune of joining Vibal Publishing House's roster of educators who gave seminar-workshops for teachers in Iloilo City and Manila on UbD (Understanding by Designs) and ICT (Information and Communications Technology). From the line up of speakers on the different content areas of instruction, I am the only librarian who gave a session on Storytelling (Iloilo), and Reading and Technology (Manila).

The macro seminar which Vibal Publishing House, Inc. (VPHI) organized was in support of DepEd's move to UbDize the high school curriculum. There are several private schools in metropolitan Manila that have caught on the UbD fever though. A few, like PAREF Southridge and Xavier School, have been successful on its implementation since the early 2000s. No wonder, more and more private schools are studying possibilities of its theory and practice. In my PAASCU visits, I have had the opportunity to see efforts of big and small schools experiment on UbD. This was where the VPHI macro seminar came in - to further evangelize and enlighten teachers and administrators.

For three months, VPHI toured the Philippines to bring knowledge, content and skill to participants from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Guest speakers gave a variety of seminar-workshop activities on UbD and its facility in grade school and high school instruction. While it carried UbD as its main topic, ICT played an important issue of discussion in the con-current sessions. Some provided theoretical and hands-on sessions on ICT integration. For my part, I did Storyteller! Storyteacher! (Iloilo) and Reading Technology (Manila).

Suffice it to say that the teachers I worked with were all tech savvy, if not, were open to using ICT to facilitate learning. The preschool teachers in Iloilo had fun doing the storytelling techniques. I did too! Once again, I had the honor and pleasure to discover teachers with unwavering passion and commitment to the craft of teaching.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Doll Eyes Book Launch & Art Exhibit

I got another invite to a book launch cum art exhibit from CANVAS' Gigo Alampay. I'm not sure if I can make it though. Maybe I'll drop by and touch base with some friends in the industry. The event is tinged with KUTING (Kwentista ng mga Tsikiting) connections!

KUTING's Eline Santos did a great job at writing the story which won the 10th Romeo Forbes Story Writing for Children contest. Joy Mallari, the artist of Doll Eyes, on the one hand is Alice Mallari's aunt. Alice is another KUTING (my batchmate in the organization ca. 2004)who has several Palancas to her name. Augie Rivera did the translations in Filipino. Yes, he is yet another KUTING and one of its past presidents, besides. Oh, I hope I can go!

Below is the e-vite and an excerpt from the book. Ganda!

You are cordially invited to an exhibition of the first set of artworks that Joy Mallari has painstakingly rendered for “Doll Eyes,” the latest winner of CANVAS’ flagship Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Writing Competition. An original story written by Eline Santos and inspired by a Joy Mallari painting, “Doll Eyes” will be CANVAS’ 10th children’s book when it is launched simultaneously with the exhibition of Joy’s final set of paintings in early June 2010.

The exhibit opens with cocktails at 6pm on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the ArtistSpace of the Ayala Museum, and runs until March 9, 2010.

Proceeds from the sale of the artworks and books will be used to support CANVAS initiatives to promote broader awareness, appreciation for and access to Philippine art, culture and environment.

For more information, please email info@canvas.ph or visit www.canvas.ph.

She kept scanning the crowd. If she had one virtue, it was patience.
Manang Bolabola had the patience of a hunter...

There.

The doll maker sensed the little girl. Alone. A street urchin.
One of seven kids. Blood ties broken.
Hurting, hurting, hurting...

Manang Bolabola licked her lips.
Yes. This one was ripe for the picking.

With a wave of her hand, she beckoned the little girl to come over.
Obediently, the child approached.

"What is it, lola?"

The doll maker smiled toothlessly, whispered in the girl's ear, and
drew back the curtains covering the shop's entrance.

The girl stepped inside.

--Excerpt from "Doll Eyes" by Eline Santos; with artworks by Joy Mallari

Patron Saint of Libraries & Librarians

St. Jerome, pray for us!


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

BESRA & the Need for Higher Education Reform

Prof. Dina Ocamp sent this invite to a forum via our PBBY Yahoogroup. Since I missed last year's forum on Educational Reform by the UP Diliman, I hope to attend this one to live blog and micro blog as well.

I'm not sure if it's an open invitation. There's a set of contact numbers below though.

The University of the Philippines
Office of the President
Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
College of Education, College of Law and the
Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UCIDS)

Cordially invite you to a forum on

The Promise of Redemption: BESRA and the Need for Higher Education Reform

Maria Serena I. Diokno
Convenor

Ma. Cynthia Rose B. Bautista
Allan B. I. Bernardo
Dina Ocampo
Panel Members

Arguing that Philippine education should be treated as cohesive passageways to learning, the panel examines the philosophical and practical underpinnings of current reform plans and proposals. The nature and pace of reforms already in place will be analyzed. Despite its rich and progressive content, for example, why has the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) not moved fast enough? The panel also extends its analysis to higher education and proposes guidelines for reform in the tertiary sector.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 2:00 – 5:00 pm
NISMED Auditorium, UP Diliman Campus

Beamed live to UP Baguio, UP Los BaƱos, UP Manila, UP Mindanao, UPOU, UP Visayas at Iloilo, Cebu and Tacloban

For inquiries please call 4359283 or fax 9293540

Monday, February 22, 2010

Storytelling for Education and Entertainment Part 3

Stories and storytelling hold an importance place in a person’s development of lifelong learning skills.

• Storytelling introduces the child to language.
• Storytelling develops a child’s listening skills.
• Storytelling is an effective technique to introduce the child to books and reading
• Storytelling builds the child’s values and moral fiber.
• Storytelling contributes to a child’s mental health.
• Storytelling helps children appreciate literature and the culture of peoples.
• Storytelling nourishes and nurtures the imaginative power of the mind.

Find the time to read and listen to stories. Share them! Tell them! Write them!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Iriga City Public Library

My visit to Iriga City last February 19, 2010 ended with a short stop at the public library. It was built in 2007 through the LGU's initiative on strengthening the advocacy on books and reading. I took some photos using the built in camera of my old LG cell phone. It's only 1.3 megapixels so I ask you to bear with the not so impressive photos.

The library is housed on the second floor of the new building. According to my friend and tour guide, Hermie Salazar, the first floor shall be the repository of the city's Library Hub.

Outside is a spacious patio where tables and chairs are set for those who wish to read in the open air. A good number of users were seated comfortably, their laptops turned on. Yes, they're logged on Facebook. Inside, one would find a mini-photo exhibit of places and people that are relevant to Iriga. Nora Aunor; Dr. Filipina Alfelor; the ancestral house of Jaime Frabregas (which I hope the family would repair and rebuild); and tourist spots in the locality. Provision for reading area is present as well as Internet stations.

If that's any indication on modernity, then the Iriga City Public Library sure knows how. And more!

It was my first time to see a library cum coffee shop. Wow. My kind of place! Books. Coffee. And a place with WIFI connection. Sadly, I did not get to talk to its librarian who attended the seminar-workshop I gave earlier that day at the University of North Eastern Philippines (UNEP). I would be interested on knowing the library and literacy programs they run for children, young adults and older members of the community. Library facility is one thing. The services and programs it implements are important things as well.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Storytelling & the Macro Skills in Communication Arts Part 2

There are four macro skills involved in communication and language arts: listening; speaking; reading and writing. These macro skills can be further divided into sub skills that somehow connect from one to another.

For example, listening skills are necessary to acquire sounds of letters and new words. Thus, it leads the listener to produce the sounds and speak the words. Writing the words help in remembering. When the words are read, meaning and context are shaped.

Another example on the interconnection of the macro skills happens when reading. A reader encounters the text and studies its structures like cause and effect, problem-solution and chronological order. When there is mastery of skill in understanding such structures in a text, the reader can model these into writing. The reader becomes the writer. The writer continuously reads.

Looking at this basic example, we can see how the four macro skills work together.

Learning the skills in communication arts is empowering. Research shows that people with good communication skills are better learners who can pick out information, use them creatively and responsibly and evaluate its worth.

Ideas and emotions, opinions and feelings need to be conveyed in different manners and in a variety of ways. There are even special occasions when a particular communicative skill is called for while the rest take a back seat. In the acquisition of information and ideas, listening, speaking, reading and writing may be used separately, in pairs, or all together! To know when to use which macro skill to acquire, access, encounter and evaluate information and ideas is a higher order thinking skill that can be learned over time and with much practice.

In formal instruction, techniques and strategies are taught to
build on sub-skills and the proficiency in its facility. Storytelling is one of the many strategies that teachers and learners use to develop and hone the macro skills in communication arts. Besides, storytelling is a process of communication. There is a sender of a story and a receiver accepts it. Feedback occurs in response through different means like writing, art, retellings, etc.

A. Storytelling and Listening

There are many kinds of listening: marginal, attentive, critical-analysis, critical-evaluative and appreciative listening. These listening skills find their place in classroom instruction through strategies that teachers employ for students to acquire and learn. In storytelling, appreciative listening is developed as well as attentive listening.

Appreciative listening is the enjoyment of sounds, words and literary pieces like stories, poetry, ballad and song. Attentive listening is the focus by which the listener involves himself/herself in the communication process. Both listening skills are developed through storytelling.

A listening audience, be it child or adult, derives enjoyment from the tempo, rhythm, rhyme and tone color of poetry, chants and songs. These are found in stories told orally. Once the listener is exposed to such components, understanding on the given literature or text is achieved as well as pleasure from the experience.

B. Storytelling and Speaking

When a story is heard, two things happen. First, meaning is taken from it. Second, it is shared through retellings, role- play, songs, chants and the like. Storytelling sessions are venues where the listener takes in a message (story) and sends it back to convey it to another through oral means.

C. Storytelling and Reading and Writing

Another way to transfer stories is through writing. Coding a story through book form, on-line format or in a collections of stories via published print formats (journals, anthologies) preserves them for future readers and tellers of the tales.

Storytelling sessions are springboards to reading and writing activities as well.

Pre-storytelling activities that prepare listeners to the story are excellent ways to arouse schema and the development of context. This is one means by which the listener’s understanding is activated prior to the encounter of story. In reading, this is very important since comprehension occurs through connection to experiences, feelings and ideas. During storytelling activities, the teller may inject songs, rhymes even questions that elicit predictions and inferences. It is also in this part where “think alouds” are ideal as it help establish what-if moments leading to creative thinking. Upon reaching the finish line of a storytelling session, post storytelling activities that involve writing can be done. This is the part when listeners can give feedback through writing. Feedback may be in the form of letters, essays, posters, advertisements, poems, scripts, etc. Some creative productions like the staging of a reader’s theatre or a mini-skit/play is not far fetched. In fact, these may prove to be a relevant communication arts activity for the listener, young and old alike.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Liveblogging: Cheering Librarians!

It's lunch time and participants of the UNEP (University of North Eastern Philippines) seminar-workshop on Building Up Literate Communities Through Books and Libraries are taking a much needed break. They just ended the morning session with group cheering presentations, group dynamics, diadic sharing and individual writing activities.

See the students of library and information science (LIS) from the University of Nueva Caseres and librarians from the Bicol Region present an all-original cheer!



The group called themselves GURUMUS. In Bicol, it means wrinkled. The participants, however, used the letter of the word as an acrostic to describe who they are as librarians and students of LIS.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Summer's Hot But Art Is Cool!

I will be conducting a workshop on storytelling for children at the Museo Pambata from April 17-18, 2010. It's a creative expression workshop using voice and body movements in telling stories.

For inquiries call 5231797 or 5360595.

Storytelling and the Communication Arts Part 1

This post is part of a series on storytelling and communication arts. It's the material that I developed for the seminar-workshop in Iriga tomorrow, February 19, 2010. If you're not from the Bicol region, you can still catch this session in April during the PLAI-STRLC in Palawan.

See you (and don't be shy to say hi)!

I.Introduction
Storytelling.

The mere mention of the word and a host of images rush through one’s mind and consciousness.

What is your metaphor of storytelling? An open book; a lock and key; a child reading; a parent reading lovingly to his or her child; a teacher holding a book; a bird in flight; a rainbow. The list could go on and on. Each of us holds a special meaning on stories and the way we tell them.

To some, telling stories is as simple as sharing with another the mundane activities of everyday. To others it involves the utility of a variety of art forms and discipline especially when storytelling is used as a means to educate and entertain.

The use of voice, body movement and props enhance the telling to an audience, young and old alike. In such cases, performance storytelling becomes a delightful audio-visual experience. In schools, reading aloud is a very common but relevant activity. Holding a book while telling a story has become a technique many teachers and educators employ. In media, storytelling in radio shows and TV programs figure prominently but with a history that traces way back to the babaylan and the Lola Basyang tradition. Writers for television of telenovelas and movie scripts are storytellers in their own right. Thus, their output becomes a storytelling fodder for an intended audience. With the advent of computers and information technology, modern weavers of stories find many creative ways to render a captive audience the enchantment found in storytelling.

Indeed, stories make up the very fabric of our existence. Through storytelling magic happens; our wounds heal; our wings grow and we take flight.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The 2010 Alcala Prize

Since there is already a winner of the Salanga Prize, the 2010 Alcala Prize now commences.

The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) is now accepting entries for the 2010 PBBY-Alcala Prize. The contest is co-sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).
The winner shall be given a cash prize of P20,000.00, a gold medal, and an opportunity to be published. Prizes will be awarded in an appropriate ceremony to be held during the celebration of National Children’s Book Day on July 20, 2010.
Contest Rules:

1. The contest is open to all Filipino citizens except those who are related to any PBBY members up to the third degree of consanguinity.

2. Entries must be based on the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize-winning poetry collection by Raymond Falgui. Copies of the said poetry collection may be requested from the PBBY Secretariat.

3.All entries must be original unpublished illustrations that have not won in any previous contest.

4. All entries must consist of three (3) illustrations that are of the same size and medium, based on any 3 poems in the winning collection.

5. A contestant may send in more than one (1) entry.

6. Each entry must be signed by a pen name only, preferably on a small piece of paper pasted on the back of each artwork. Entries with a signature or any identifying marks are automatically disqualified.

7. Together with each entry, contestants must submit a separate envelope, on the face of which only the pen name of the contestant shall appear. The envelope must contain the contestant’s full name, address, contact numbers, short description of background, and notarized certification vouching for the originality of the entry and for the freedom of the organizers from any liability arising from the infringement of copyright in case of publication.

8. All entries must be sent to the PBBY Secretariat, c/o Adarna House, 2nd Floor, FSS Building, 20 Scout Tuason Street, Quezon City by April 30, 2010.Winners will be announced no later than May 28, 2010. Non-winning entries must be claimed no later than June 25, 2010, after which they will no longer be the responsibility of the organizers.

For more details, interested parties may contact PBBY by calling 372-3548 or emailing pbby@adarna.com.ph.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Blog With Integrity

BlogWithIntegrity.com


By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.

I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.

I believe in intellectual property rights, providing links, citing sources, and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.

When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.

I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.

I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.

Monday, February 15, 2010

The 2010 Salanga Prize for Children's Poetry

Congratulations to Raymond Falgui, fictionist, poet and English teacher at UP Diliman, for being the first winner of the 2010 Salanga Prize for Children's Poetry. He will be formally awarded on July 20, 2010 at the Museo Pamabata during the celebration of the 26th National Children's Book Day (NCBD).

Poet and publisher, Rayvi Sunico and Metrobank's Most Outstanding Teacher of 2009, Prof. Dina Ocampo served as judges to this year's Salanga Prize.

Release Date of Mockingjay

From a reliable source:

The third book of The Hunger Games series will be out on August 24, 2010.


I'm saving up every hard earned dough and will be making inquiries for its reservation in the nearest National Bookstore outlet.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Mockingjay

I heard a rumor online. It's a good one if you ask me. Mockingjay, the third book of the The Hunger Games trilogy will soon be out by the second quarter of 2010. I've no confirmation yet from its local distributor nonetheless, it's an exciting news for fans of the book. It's going to be out by the summer (Manila) so if there is any truth to the rumor then Mockingjay is in my list of MUST READS by then.



I'm itching to get a copy!

Friday, February 12, 2010

Storytelling @ St. Theresa's College Quezon City

The theme for English Week at St. Theresa's College was Care for the Environment.

I told stories to grade six students and they were an attentive audience. The experience reminds me of my storytelling at St. Paul's Pasig last year. Both being an all-girls' school, I conclude that the affinity for stories, sitting down and listening are natural qualities among females. At the end of the two storytelling sessions, I was given tokens. See the bee I'm holding? That's another prop I can use for future gigs!

And then there were the flowers. It was only later that I realized the reason for the flowers.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Suffering in Translation

Candy Gourlay is in town! She will talk about her experience as a Filipino writer who moves to London and, even as she raises a family, gets her YA novel signed by one of the more prestigious imprints of Random House UK.

Title: Suffering in Translation: A Filipino Author's Writing Journey
Time and Date:
4.30-6.00pm, 19 Feb MMX, a Friday

Venue: Batch 83 Multimedia Room
2/f New Rizal Lib (it's a 40-seater.)
Ateneo de Manila

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Book Review: Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief

As a child, I was enthralled by the stories of the Greek Gods. Zeus and the titans; Hercules and his labors; Aphrodite and her many lovers; these were stories that filled me with awe and wonder. I read books about these fantastic Olympians and their many scandalous, if not obscene, affairs with mortals. Yes, Western influence came at a very young age. Add some Hollywood movies (Clash of the Titans; Jason and the Argonauts) to this process of acculturation and viola! I was hooked on the Olympians for life.

Bulfinch was a buddy in high school. Edith Hamilton, a companion in freshman college. In this age of ICT and reality TV, I wonder the writers who could lure kids, my own included, into the realm of Greek mythology and the like. I found the answer to my question after reading Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief but with a few disappointments along the way.

What Worked
Riordan writes energetically. His work on the first book of the 39 Clues Series was exciting. In the The Lightning Thief, he kept his style of writing with the same verve and energy. The trip which Percy took from Long Island to Denver then Los Angeles and back to New York was arrayed with monster attacks, magical gifts to ward off the beings from hell and enough nymphs to sustain him and his companions. Reading Riordan is indeed a roller coaster ride.

The intertwining of myth and reality was carefully designed that for once, you would believe that the gods do walk among us mortals. While this conceit is not new, Riordan picks out places in modern United States as setting to establish one's suspension of disbelief. Thanks to Holywood. I had no difficulty imagining the Empire State Building as a gateway to Olympus and Los Angeles as a route to the Underworld. The mythological monsters that thrive in stories and grow in the imagination populate these places and other city states in between. Medusa tends a garden with sculptures, apparently, victims of her deadly gaze. The furies are a couple of retired old ladies on a vacation trip. And the fates, yes, my personal favorite, can be found in common flea markets spinning and cutting one's thread of life.

If only for these trivialities, The Lightning Thief is an engaging read. Sadly, it is not entirely so.

What Did Not Work
Percy has dyslexia and ADHD. He's a darling despite the disorder. Then again, what educational research try to find out and understand for years, Riordan demystifies in one novel for young adults. Kids with special needs are sired by the gods. So if one kid can't read English, try using some Greek texts. Yeah, right. This conceit is not for me. Sorry.

Percy's friends, Annabeth and Grover, are characters I've met before. Think Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Both were cut from the same mould except that neither did any significant actions or decisions to push the story further on. If there were, I did not find it relevant to stand out in Percy's quest. In the end, both ventured into their own internal and external quests by leaving Half-Blood Hill -- the summer camp for godlings. As for the adult characters, none of them appealed or grew on me. Even Poseidon's surfer dude persona lacked the yummies. The villains are too predictable, besides. There was effort on the characters' part to show tenderness and sensitivity to each other but it just does not bring home the bacon.

I think I've read too many Neil Gaimans and Dianne Wynn Joneses and Eva Ibbotsons. I've watched too many Miyazakis as well. For the late tweener and early teener, however, Percy Jackson and The Lghtning Thief is probably the book to bring at bedtime or in a long trip to grandma's house on a weekend visit. My twelve year old son is actually carrying Percy wherever he goes and has put aside the required Newberry book this semester.

Now if that's a sign of hope, then let the disappointments rot in the basement.

My rating -- 3/5 Bookmarks

Monday, February 8, 2010

Creative Expression Through Storytelling

Rebecca Pierce of the Childen's Media Center, IS Manila sent me a link of photos from the the wonderful workshop I had with the grade one students there. It was my first time to handle a workshop on storytelling for kids as young as grade one. It's definitely a workshop to remember!

Go tho the CMC blog and see the fun we had last Friday, February 5, 2010.View the photos here.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Filipino Librarian: Cora Nera, PAARL Awardee

Every now and then, I blog about Filipino Librarians who I meet in my journeys (literal and figurative). This time, I'm posting about one of the more popular and esteemed Filipino librarians in the country today -- Madame Cora Nera of the Board for Librarians (BFL).

Madame Cora Nera is conferred by the PAARL The Lifetime Achievement Award and naming her The 2010 Woman Achiever. Of course, her achievements are numerous. Her continued work in uplifting the profession to higher levels of excellence is evident in all corners and areas of library and information science locally and abroad. There is one thing I have to say about one of her achievements and this has nothing to do with libraries and librarians.

For one, I happen to know Madame Nera's son, Jack. He's a spitting image of his mother. He's one of those simple guys in the office who quietly goes about his work but whose insights and perspectives are like windows and doors to new worlds. Best of all, he writes and loves to read. Now that is what I call an achievement.

Congratulations to Madame Cora Nera for her achievements as librarian, mother and woman! Mabuhay!

Source of photo: http://plaistrlc.blogspot.com/2010/02/prof-nera-2010-woman-achiever.html

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Spirit of PaperTigers

PaperTigers is in the process of selecting books for children that will be donated to places around the world where the need is great. Here's an introduction on the project they launched last February 1, 2010.


The Spirit of PaperTigers project is best understood within the overall goals of PaperTigers: that is, to encourage literacy, helping to make children hungry readers and thus helping them form a lifelong habit. It is also our goal to do that within the context of promoting “multicultural” or “cross-cultural” books: this means we focus on books that promote awareness of, knowledge about, and positive acceptance of “the other”, books that encourage empathy and understanding.


I'm hoping that The Spirit of PaperTigers reach the Philippines. To stretch my hopes further, it would be a great opportunity if PBBY can network with PaperTigers on this endeavor. Click the highlighted words for more information on the project.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...