Filipino Librarian of the Month: Tericel C. Tamayao

Librarians like Tericel Tamayao help kids navigate the digital environment

Our Filipino Librarian of the Month is Ms. Tericel C. Tamayao. Tericel is the teacher librarian of the Early Learning Center of Brent International School Manila. 

a. Why did you pursue LIS in college?

16 years ago, a librarian husband and 2 kids later, I met LIS in PUP that I don’t have a choice but to pursue because I was a late enrollee then. All the most popular and exciting courses were closed. That time, I am not really proud about the course and whenever my friends were asking me about it, just to at peace them, I remember that I keep on telling them that I will shift to Journalism next semester (which is my first choice of course). But it didn’t push through. A lot of crazy things happened.

To fast forward, all my dedicated and hardworking professors in PUP greatly influenced and motivated me to continue and finish the LIS course. Most especially when I did my practicum and was exposed to libraries and see how librarians were very enthusiastic and passionate about their job. It was only when I became a librarian that I realized that I didn’t choose to pursue LIS. It is LIS who pursued me. ☺ Now, I know I have the best job in the world! 

My family is very proud that I never gave up being a librarian.

b. What is exciting about your job as a school librarian?

The exciting part of my job as a school librarian is everything! I get to interact with students everyday. I get to read great stories to them and teach them library skills. They are so funny and excited about books. How I wish the whole world loved books as much as they do. They have opened my mind to a world of possibilities in learning, in technology, in life. There are so many wonderful children’s stories out there and I love introducing children to these stories. I love to see their faces glow and get so excited about something we’ve just read and most especially when they found a just right book for them. I enjoy helping students and teachers find answers to questions they have and I love connecting them to good books.

Storytelling and reading aloud are activities that kids look forward to!

c. What challenges do you face as an LIS professional?

The STEREOTYPE! “Oh, do you teach lessons in the library?” There’s the other challenging part: people think we do nothing but sit around, sshhing the kids and read books all day! There are still many people who do not have an understanding of what we do and what we can do. 

I currently have a very supportive administration, but this has not always been the case. We should be advocating for what we do, sharing our abilities and skills with the students, teachers and to the community. Going above and beyond what people expect.

Since becoming a librarian, I have discovered that I need to step up and be visible on who I really am and what I am doing to shine a positive light on my profession. I am very proud of the fact that I am a school librarian serving the school alongside with teachers. I want everyone to know that I am a teacher librarian. I teach kids every day and I engage them to love reading.

Advocating books, reading and literature is a job Teri enjoys doing.

d. Recommend 5 Must-Reads for K-3 readers, teachers and parents.

It is very hard to trim down the recommended must-read books for K-3 readers because I have a long list. But anyway, these 5 books that I chose to take a special place in my heart and were among my top 5 read-aloud favorites.

1. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – It’s hard to imagine a story more poignant than the tale of a tree that gives its life for a boy turned self-centered young man. It’s been interpreted along environmentalist and religious lines, but all can agree on the beauty of its underlying theme of generosity.

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle – A cheery caterpillar nibble his way through an assortment of colorful foods and transforms into a butterfly.

3. Love You Forever written by Robert Munsch; illustrated by Sheila McGraw – A mother cradles her sleeping and sings him a lullaby and keeps up the habit for years and years.

4. A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell – Louie becomes angry when the story in which he appears is ruined by messes from jelly, peanut butter, and other things that do not belong in books.

5. The Book With No Pictures by B. J. Novak – In this book with no pictures, the reader has to say every silly word, no matter what.

Book reviews from:

http://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/

Letters that Inspire Me to Keep Writing

The grades one and two students of the ELC of Brent International School Manila wrote me letters! I will reply to them as soon as possible. Sharing with you some of the letters of the kids.

Lettersto Ms. Zarah from Zarah Gagatiga

Thank you Ms. Tamayao for sending these letters! Thank you for being the bridge between my books  to your children in Brent!

My Author Visit at Brent International School Manila and Some Writing Tips for the Grade One Students of the Early Learning Center

With Ms. Tamayao and her staff at the ELC Library

I was at Brent International School Manila last week for an Author Visit. It was my first at Brent ISM and it was their first time to host a Filipino author. Thanks to Ms. Tericel Tamayao who invited me to visit and to talk to students in the Early Learning Center (ELC). The event was a lot of fun! Lampara Books, my publisher, displayed and sold my books during the book fair since the event was part of the Booklatan sa Brent, a three day bookish event highlighting Filipiniana.

My program was very simple. I did an author talk and told stories. What made it really special was the question and answer portion of the program. One of the grade one teachers asked me for tips on writing since they have a unit on writing a personal narrative. My answers were very practical.

I told them to:

1. Write everyday. Keeping a journal helps me in generating ideas as well as maintaining the brain ready for writing. My blog is my online journal. I have a notebook I carry with me every day where I write random thoughts.

2. Write what you know. My stories come from personal experiences.

3. If words are difficult to come by, draw! Do some art.

4. Talk. Conversations help me a lot because writing involves a lot of thinking. Keeping all the ideas in your head can get stuck there and it will stagnate. Talking to someone helps in shaping ideas and in the growth of stories.

5. Listen for feedback even if you are only beginning with an idea for a story.

A letter from one of the grade 1 students of the ELC of Brent ISM. Happiness!

Sadly, the time was too short to tell them more. So, here are some additions that may prove helpful.

a. Just write. Making your story  neat and clean can be done later on.

b. Having said this, remember that writing is a process. It begins with pre-writing; the writing of the story; revision and editing; and publishing. Much of what I said in 1-5 are pre-writing exercises. Here is an infographic to further help you in becoming aware of the writing process. Your teacher and parent can be a big help in helping you follow through the steps. This would mean that you would be spending a good amount of time when writing your story or a topic that you like.

c. A story has three basic parts: the beginning, the middle and the end. In your personal story, ask yourself what happened first. After that, what was next? Was there a problem? Was it solved? How did you feel? At last, tell us how it ended.

Once a grade one student of mine wrote about eating a delicious cake. His story went like this:

BEGINNING - I ate a piece of chocolate cake. It was yummy!

MIDDLE - I drank a glass of milk. My tummy hurt. I went to the bathroom and threw up. I felt awful. Mom made me drink a lot of water and I took a medicine.

END - I rested for a while, then, I farted! I felt better.

When I read the story with him, we were laughing. I asked him if all the words work well in each parts. Guess which word we changed during the revision stage?

d. Keep an open mind when your family, your teacher and friend send feedback or comments. Some comments are good and many are given so you can write better.

d. READ! READ! READ!

Writing is not easy, but it can be enjoyable. I love writing because I have stories to share. When I share stories, I realize I am not alone. I get to understand myself better and at the same time, I take in the perspectives of others. How similar we all are! This only goes to show how, despite the differences among people of color, race, religion and culture, we share the same humanity. We are all humans. We are all peoples of the world.

Share your story! Start writing!

Infographic Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/80/5a/a4/805aa4ecdb5f01d1a7dbfb492c7eeafc.jpg
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Zarah Gagatiga conducts one-on-one writing workshops for K-12 and runs writing camps in the summer. The 2017 calendar is open for reservations. Get in touch via zarahg815@gmail.com.