Team BA Library had an online round table discuion with librarians of St. Scholastica's College earlier today, March 30, 2022.
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A co-teacher referred to me a student he is supervising. This is for a Theory of Knowledge (TOK) task as the student is preparing for the TOK essay. My co-teacher has given me the background of the student. A few hours later, the student sent me an email explaining the specific task to be accomplished and the questions the student must answer. Having all this information helped me prepare for my meeting with the student.
Can there be knowledge that is independent of culture?
Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge.
What is knowledge?
To answer these questions, the student needs to know three concepts namely, knowledge, culture and mathematics as an area of knowledge. For this purpose, I planned on showing the student two kinds of encyclopedias namely, the general encyclopedia and the special encyclopedia. The former provides basic information on topics and different kinds of knowledge while the later, as the name suggest, has a specialized treatment in content as concentrates on the subject or disicpline.
Before diving into the design and contents of the online encyclopedia, I will provide an orientation on the different ways of using each kind to address an information need or answer questions for a task.
It means several things. One, students who chose to go on campus for face to face learning have a space in the classroom and in school, in general. Two, students who chose to stay at home for online distance learning have access to learning experiences and resources. Three, the Academy has put in place a thorough adherence to health protocols following DepEd guidelines and WHO research based protocols. Previous to this, the school leadership had FGDs with all the members of the community; consultations with stakeholders, lawyers, doctors and medical practitioners; and countless meetings with the team assigned for this transition of ODL to Hybrid Learning. Needless to say, the school leadership made sure that they can be trusted and that this movement to Hybrid Learning is a shared responsibility.
How does the library figure into Hybrid Learning?
For starters, I went with the flow. This is another change that superseded a change that many of us have not adjusted fully. Or, to some, work from home has been a zone of comfort that going back on campus requires agility and flexibility. It is tiring. It is anxiety inducing. We soldier on. This is the story of our pandemic lives, so far.
Second, we observed. The protocols, following the DepEd guidelines and ruling, were enforced and soon enough, we had dry runs among faculty and staff. Then, we huddled for plans to welcome our students for this new learning experience. A week before we finally welcomed our students back on campus, my staff and I decided to have the library on limited use. We have just migrated to a new library management system in December last year. Our inventory was put on hold since March 2020. There is a backlog of books and resources for cataloging. We need to clean up and clear up the systems and structures before we can fully operate full on hybrid.
Around January, I put together a scheme of a book club for one a group I belong to. Here is my proposal.
Book Club 1 - for independent readers.
Yung choice mag-isa sa pagbabasa at magpopost na lang siya ng review niya. Kung
may mag respond, g. Kung waley, kebs lang. Any member can post a book review of
any length. Always use the hashtag #BTSbooktalk #reading*** #BookClubSonyeondan #(title of book)
Book Club 2 - middle ground ito since member
will be given a reading guide. (*** Book Bingo or *** Reading Challenge) Member
reads at his/her own pace within a given year. Member will post on *** his/her
review or response on the book he/she finished reading. Always use the
hashtag #BTSbooktalk #reading*** #BookClubSonyeondan #(title of book).
Book Club 3 - guided book reading. Para sa
readers na kailangan may fixed sched, mas Keri mag work pag may challenge at
yung gusto nyang may kasama siya mag discuss sa reading experience niya. *** will have a list of books (7 titles) for members who decide to take on Book
Club Scheme 3. For this, we need at
least 10 members to sign up. Pag less than ten, ok na ang 1 and 2. Book
discussion can be done in 3 ways:
a.
By pairs or small groups via GC
b.
Monthly or quarterly via Zoom
c.
By posting reviews and responses on TOB after
book discussions done on GC and on Zoom - Always use the hashtag
#BTSbooktalk #readingTOBbies #BookClubSonyeondan #(title of book).
7 Books in the *** Reading Challenge 2022
1.
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (tie up with
Spring Day and PTD)
2.
Almond (tie up with Crystal Snow, Your Eyes Tell
and Lights)
3.
The Midnight Library (tie up with Zero 0’Clock)
4.
Into the Magic Shop (tie up with Magic Shop)
5.
The Little Prince (tie up with Serendipity and
Moon)
6.
Demian (tie up with Wings Album)
7.
I Decided to Live as Me (tie up with Awake and
Epiphany)
Namjoon has been lag rapping since 2014. Forever Rain, a
track in Mono (2018) is a slow rap that lags and appears to be syncopated (more
on this in a future post). I take it that he is simply going back to how things
were when he off beat raps in the PTD concert. I do not belittle this gesture.
In fact, this is a nuance that reflects his philosophy, if not, his principles
as an artist, poet and musician.
The Bangtan Boys are all grown up now. They have reached the
apex of their career. Each of the OT7 are pursuing their own artistic
inclinations but with constant reflection as evidenced in their current body of
works, interviews and choice performances. It can be an exciting and
frightening time. Overwhelming too. What better way to begin planning for the
next chapter of their career but to go back to the very beginning. An
examination of who they are and the eternal why of being Bulletproof Boy Scouts.
BTS is very much like the idea of syncopation: different,
disrupters of the status quo who blend so beautifully in the songs of our
lives. ARMY is right behind them when they say so. Always.
Sources of video and photos
@quickli2512 @nysa_ljy @joonies_crab
Related readings on syncopation
Syncopation in Hiphop
https://rateyourmusic.com/.../The.../syncopation-in-hip-hop/
What is syncopation in music?
https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/syncopation/
Life Goes On
So many stories are going around socmed, fanbase groups, GCs
and messaging platforms. PH ARMYs are swapping moments and memories made with
each other and for each other as multitudes trooped to their cinema of choice
yesterday afternoon. This is a first in BTSxARMY history. It is an event too
cool, too memorable and too risky not to be a part of.
Bound by limitations, my ARMY daughter and I decided to skip
this once in a lifetime chance for the online streaming concert on Day 1 and 3
instead. You got to give it to HYBE for offering options to the fandom. They
have indeed designed a business model to meet fans’ affective needs and to earn
big. At the same time, keeping Bangtan’s relationship with ARMY as loyal, as
sincere and fair as possible (the official merch is of high quality, bar none).
It is not surprising how, for the past two years since I started stanning BTS, HYBE has been offering well produced online concerts in lieu of the live performances and world tours. As medical scientists, public health experts and international health agencies speed up research on the mitigation and the prevention of COVID-19 infections, the global entertainment stage has opened up for artists, musicians, content producers and creatives. Life goes on. It must. HYBE made sure of this.
Learning with Bangtan
As a “young” ARMY, what I am really impressed at is
Bangtan’s learning continuum. With the Tannies, learning never ends. They were
on hiatus for three months, more or less. Five of the seven members tested
COVID positive at the start of the year. But we saw the Tannies in their best
form on Day 1 of the concert. There were traces of exhaustion midway in the
show, but they managed to sail through until end. The vocal line was awesome in
Day 1. Their voice control and placement were exceptional. The rap line remains
a solid and formidable triumvirate of swag, oozing masculine confidence and
poetic grace. This is where I zero in on Kim Namjoon whose off-beat rap
surprised ARMYs young and old.
Namjoon’s “lag rap” in Boy With Love from Day 1 of
the Seoul concert caught the attention of fans. He did the same styling in
several songs. I asked my daughter who is four years ahead of me in the fandom what
the change was all about. To this she simply said that Namjoon really does that
— off beat rap. Not satisfied with her answer, I sought my son’s opinion about
off beat rap. He teaches children music and performs with an acapella group as
its vocal percussionist.
From him I learned that off beat rap is a technique called “syncopation”. There is a lot of theory and history in that single word that has something to do with rhythm. To fully understand the concept, a basic knowledge of rhythm is necessary. According to Chase (2021), rhythm is just any regularly repeating pattern of beats. There are measured and timed beats, accented and unaccented. When you nod your head or clap to a song’s beat that is accented beat. The beautiful thing is, the song has other beats surrounding the downbeat and the upbeat. These beats are unaccented. When there is a disturbance in the normal beats in the measure and time of song or music, syncopation happens. Despite this disturbance, the song or music sounds even more aurally appealing and aesthetically enticing.
Syncopation is a style that many musicians, song writers,
musical directors and arrangers, even rap artists do. It is not Kim Namjoon’s
invention nor innovation because syncopation has existed since the Baroque and
Romantic era. Thank you, Bach and Beethoven! Musical geniuses of this age owe
you big time! Eminem, JayZ, Imagine Dragons, to name a few, are the ones who
rap off beat and style their music in syncopation.
Sources of video and photos
@quickli2512 @nysa_ljy @joonies_crab
Related readings on syncopation
Syncopation in Hiphop
https://rateyourmusic.com/.../The.../syncopation-in-hip-hop/
What is syncopation in music?
https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/syncopation/
One of the things I have been busy with since recovering from COVID-19 was co-facilitating a DepEd Teacher Training organized by Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. The past four session leaned heavily on theories on language and literacy teaching, especially the psychology and nature of reading. Tonight, we had a session on Direct and Explicit Instruction. I have a group of teachers I monitor, supervise and learn from. Most of them are very new to the ideas we are discussing in the training. Speaking for myself, I am also learning new things and re-learning strategies to teach literacy for students in the K-12 levels.
1. Teachers are instructional designers. The framework known as Gradual Release of Responsibility is useful in designing instruction geared towards student agency. In this framework, the teacher is leader, model, guide and companion in the student's learning journey.
2. Language forms a key role in discourse. Discourse has two kinds namely, Primary and Secondary. The former is discourse that happens at home and in the immediate environment of the child while the later is discourse that occurs in school and in formal instruction. Already, the difference in language acquisition exist between the two. Teachers need to recognize these two kinds of discourse to be able to design instruction that is appropriate and helpful to the child and his/her family.
3. Predicting. Questioning. Clarifying. Summarizing. These are the Fab 4 in strategic learning. These strategies can be taught in isolation or through integration.
4. There are five principles of Direct Instruction namely, Conspicuous Strategies; Mediated Scaffolding; Strategic Integration; Primed Background Knowledge; and Judicious Review. Of the five, I am most challenged to apply Judicious Review in my teaching practice. I think I need to do more research and to try this our in my tutorial sessions.
5. Learning and re-learning takes a while. The first step is to try. The second step is to continuously do. The third step is to document. The fourth step is to reflect. Last is to take action.
Next session, we will be looking at lesson plans and how these principles can be applied.
