Klasrum Adarna Workshop: All for the Love of Reading Baguio Edition

Last March, I was at the ISO in Ateneo De Manila Univeristy for the Klasrum Adarna Workshop  Developing A Genuine Love for Books and Reading. The Adarna Dream Team brought this workshop to Baguio City last Saturday, May 10 2014. There were only forty two teachers, compared to the eighty five participants in the Manila workshop, but all forty two of them went out of their way to give their one hundred and one percent in all the activities.

At the start of the workshop, I asked them to introduce to me a side of Baguio City I have not known or discovered yet. They were game! The Adarna Dream Team and I were treated to a mini-cultural show of Cordillera culture. Teachers sang songs, chanted and danced in traditional folk songs and music. This energy fueled us to finish the workshop with a bang.

Following the original design of the workshop, the Baguio teachers put forth well written book reviews; artful drawings of the folk tale of The Legend of the Cashew Nut; an artistic story theatre presentation of Father Rat Finds a Midwife; and insightful reflections from Lit Circle activities and worksheets. As my "pabaon" I shared with them activities and reading promos on digital reading. On both workshops, I observed that very few teachers engage themselves in this medium. Kids and teens are so immersed in the digital environment. I wonder what teachers are doing to reach out to them through technology.

At the end of the workshop, the Baguio teachers gave me a standing ovation.

I ate a lot of humble pie that day.

One teacher took my hand in a firm handshake and said, "You are very inspiring. Thank you for the wonderful ideas you shared and the positive attitude you displayed".

I thanked her back and replied, "It is in teaching others where in I learn so much, about one's self and about others too. Thank you for allowing me to facilitate this workshop here in your school."

This experience of teaching and learning never ends. It grows!