Growing Through Stories: Mga Pasahero sa Dyip

 

The Lighthouse Diary Entry #91: From Finding Information to Making Informed Choices

A couple of weeks ago, in our Grade 8 English class, we had the opportunity to revisit a previous lesson on Types of Sources and Determining Their Credibility. More importantly, we continued the conversation about why we choose particular sources and how those choices are shaped by purpose and the evidence we need.

Starting with the claim, “Schools should limit smartphone use during class,” the students unpacked the kinds of evidence needed to support or challenge it. By phrasing these as keywords and conceptual phrases, they were able to identify and match possible sources to specific evidence needs.

In our second meeting, the Grade 8 students moved from identifying sources to using them purposefully. They selected and evaluated sources, took notes, extracted bibliographic information, and examined the pros and cons of the claim.

The process was a simple but meaningful shift from finding information to making informed choices about information, an important step toward becoming more critical, purposeful, and independent researchers.

Book Signing at the MIBF 2026

 

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Poetry: At Fifty and Two

At fifty and two 

I hold a vessel 

filled with tears and laughter too. 

It is an offering to the Diwata of Light 

and the Word Witches who gather in mountain and fog, 

in sunlight and in rain. 

One of them whispers and I lean in to listen. 

“Life is not measured by what we keep, 

but by what we pour out and give.” ©️

zarahgeeh 08272026

National Bookstore: Fast Talk with Zarah Gagatiga

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Book Spine Poetry 2026

Our New Books Will Be Launched at the MIBF 2026

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Book Review: Jim's Ramen

 

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Book Review: Kahit Munti

Book Review: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Esperanza’s journey begins with the self, the family, and moves outward into the community. Through little chapters of vignettes, she explores her identity through ripples of memory and everyday experiences until she comes to terms with the difficult but beautiful challenges of growing up. What lingers with me is Esperanza’s appreciation of the small and quiet things. 

One scene where this is evident is when she comforts her father after the news of her grandfather’s passing. Cisneros writes with a precision and poignancy that affected me in ways I have not experienced in a while. 

I also appreciate the feminist writing that is subtly narrated, yet cuts like a knife. It is real. It is something I recognize because I know girls and women like Sally, Nenny, Esperanza’s mother, and her grandmother, who was forced to marry at a young age. Their stories are not presented loudly, but they are there, in the limitations placed on their lives, in the choices taken away from them, and in the ways they learn to survive. This is what makes The House on Mango Street linger. It is a quiet book, but its truths are never silent.

Growing Through Stories: Ang Sampung Pusa ni Lola Adela

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Growing Through Stories: Maya at Laya

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Books to Read: Stray Cats and Every Day I Read

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Bangtan Hermana Notes: BTS × Gemini, Part 2: Where Does Help End and Authorship Begin?

New Book! Cover Reveal: I Dream of Peace

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Every Story Holds a Hand: Reading for Care and Belonging

I will be conducting a Reading for Care/Bibliotherapy workshop at the Philippine Readers and Writers Festival 2026. This workshop is for parents, teachers, librarians and professionals working with children. We will read children’s books and design engaging activities that foster belonging and empathy building.

Every Story Holds a Hand: Reading for Care and Belonging

5PM - 7PM Prologue Room

National Bookstore, Araneta City

Cubao, Quezon City

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Ahjumma Reviews: East Palace

Having rewatched East Palace, I realized how beautifully the romance between Gucheon and Saeng-gang was rendered. Their love story was simmering, bubbling on the surface and sometimes flowing through the undercurrent of a raging river.

While they grappled and fought forces bigger than themselves, in the spirit world and back in their reality, their romance was like smoke from an eternal incense, wafting through and about them.

It was there, even when everything else seemed to demand their attention. Their love didn’t need to be proclaimed. It was in the spaces between the battles, the conflicts, the choices, the moments when they were simply there with and for each other. And this is what makes it so delicious.

The romance is not separate from the larger story. It moves with it. It is simmering in their exchange of glances and looking at each other a few seconds longer. Nam Joohyuk’s eyes speak volumes: yearning, care, the need to protect. And Roh Yoonseo takes it all in by staring back fiercely but with tenderness. How many times did I wish they must kiss already?!

But no physical intimacy can outdo nor trump down this connection. The restraint is the romance. Sometimes bubbling to the surface. Sometimes almost disappearing beneath the raging river of everything they have to face. It never really goes away.

That kind of romance gets me. And on a rewatch, when you already know where their story is going, you notice the undercurrents even more.

Delicious. Absolutely delicious.

In the end, as Gucheon and Saeng-gang walk away from the palace, I was wishing for a second season.

When Seoul Surprises: What Kimbap Taught Me About Sticking Together

One of the first things I wanted to try after returning home from Korea was how to make kimbap. We learned how to make one at the Seaweed Museum in Goyang. It wasn’t because I suddenly wanted to become a Korean cook. It was because kimbap had become part of our days in Seoul. We bought it from convenience stores before long bus rides. We packed it for an afternoon at the beach. It was simple, filling, and somehow always satisfying.

So ARMY Daughter and I decided to make tuna kimbap together. For her, it is a survival meal on the go. For me, it was a way to remember the cross-cultural experience having taught by a Pinay guide and invigilator at the Seaweed museum. It is something I want to share with friends at work.

As we spread the rice across the sheet of seaweed, I hesitated. I was afraid of putting too much. ARMY Daughter smiled and said,

“Put enough rice on the seaweed. It holds the rest of the ingredients together.”

I paused. Of course. The seaweed protects. The rice holds everything together. Without enough rice, the filling falls apart.

As we rolled the kimbap, I couldn’t help thinking about how rice has always been more than food across Asia. Whether it is served at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even dessert, rice gathers families around a table. It accompanies celebrations and ordinary weekdays alike. It is humble, familiar, and often unnoticed precisely because it is always there.

This is the metaphor I keep.

ARMY is much the same, when I think about it.

We are wonderfully different. We come from different countries, generations, professions, and life stories. Some of us found BTS through Dynamite. Others have been here since No More Dream. We carry different experiences, different perspectives, and different seasons of life.

Yet something holds us together because we choose, over and over again, to return to what first brought us here: seven artists whose music taught us to listen more carefully, love more deeply, and become better people. Like rice in kimbap, it is often the quiet things that hold a community together.

Kindness. Respect. Generosity. Patience. Openness. The willingness to make room for one another.

Sometimes the most ordinary things become the memories we carry home. Kimbap wasn’t just a quick meal during our trip to Seoul. It became a reminder that joy often arrives simply and with humility, wrapped in seaweed and shared with people you love.

Looking back now, I realize that travel isn’t only about the places we visit. It’s about the stories we continue to tell long after we’ve returned home. Every time I make kimbap now, I think of ARMY Daughter’s simple reminder.

“Put enough rice on the seaweed.”

Communities are built the same way. Not by making ourselves the center of the story, but by becoming what quietly holds everyone else together.

Apobangpo! Purple and true! 💜

#BTSFESTA2026 #BTSArirang #koreanfood #seoultravel

The Lighthouse Diary Entry # 90: First Day High of Academic Year 2026-2027

 

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AI Framework: AI Citizenship and Literacy

One of the things I appreciate about working in an IB school is that we are encouraged not only to adopt new technologies, but to ask better questions about them.

This AI Citizenship Framework reminds us that AI learning is more than mastering prompts or discovering new tools. It is a progression. From recognizing AI around us, to understanding it, using it critically, creating with it, and ultimately contributing to society through responsible stewardship.

I especially like that ethical thinking is not the destination but the foundation of every stage.

In the library, this reminds me that our role is no longer simply to teach students how to find information. We also help them question, evaluate, create, and act responsibly in an AI-enabled world.

Thank you, Zakir Hossain, for developing and sharing this framework. It offers a valuable language for conversations about AI in schools.

Storybook Making with Kids and Pilot Pens

 

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