Teacher On Center Stage: Arabella Soniega (1 of 1)

I was in Pangasinan around mid-June to conduct a workshop for DepEd teachers in the K-3 level. I was invited by Teacher Ara Soniega who impressed me as one of the dedicated teachers DepEd has in its teaching force. Let us get to know more about her and the work she does with DepEd Pangasinan.

What is your teacher story, so far?

I have been working in DepEd since I passed the PBET 1986. I am a BSE graduate, major in Social Science and minor in Filipino, however, I spent my first 5 years as elementary classroom teacher in two private schools in NCR – 4 years at Mother Goose Playskool/ Gradeschool in Pasig and 1 year at St. Anthony Learning School in QC – an experience I truly treasured because it has prepared me a better teacher prior to my entry to public school. In 1992, I finally entered public school at Antonio P. Villar National High School, the only high school in a small municipality of Sto. Tomas, Pangasinan,  next to my hometown (Alcala)and handled Social Studies and Filipino. I was promoted to MT 1 in 1990 then shifted to HT 3 in 2005 and became an Education Program Supervisor in 2008.I was designated as OIC in a newly opened high school for almost 3 years, then OIC office of the District Supervisor in 2 different districts.

​

     At present, I am the Education Program Supervisor in-charge of Filipino, MTBMLE, Multigrade Program in Pangasinan Division II.

 

2. What has been the most rewarding experience you have as  a DepEd teacher and professional?

 

​As a classroom teacher, I consider my being a pre-school teacher (at St. Anthony Learning Center, QC) as the most challenging yet rewarding one because I learned how to become a beginning reading teacher which was far from my area of specialization. It was rewarding because at the end of the school year, my pupils became readers.

​ In addition to this,  I was actively involved in the K to 12 Curriculum since it started in 2011 – from the development of materials in MTBMLE to the mass training conducted from Grade 1 to Grade 12 - as a writer (MTBMLE and Grade 4 (Filipino) materials) and as a national trainer during the mass trainings conducted from Grade 1 to grade 6; a regional trainer in Filipino from Grade 7 to Grade 12.

​I also became a certified NEAP Facilitator after going through rigid screening and evaluation and facilitated series of trainings conducted for school administrators and supervisors in Region I.

​Being in DepEd for 27 years and still counting, a lot of opportunities came my way. I was actively involved in the different activities of the Central Office as regard to the programs assigned to me. These activities provided me the opportunity to experience working with different people at different places and more importantly, an opportunity to take part in worthwhile endeavors that benefitted not only the teachers and learners in my own division but nationwide, as well.

Part 2 of the blog feature will discuss the literacy projects Teacher Ara conducts for K-3 learners.

NCTED 2017: Teaching Tech and Thinking Skills (2 of 2)

Here is part 2 of the post on the NCTED 2017 experience I had two weeks ago. Part 1 can be read through this link. For this blog post, I am sharing what the teacher participants in my workshop, Media in the Time of Social Media, came up with during discussions and group activities. There were many ideas that came up so I took the chance of writing them all down. We called it, Teacher's Idea Box.

I did ask permission from them for this blog post. Thank you, teachers!

Teacher's Idea Box

1. Create a Media Log. Digital natives write diary entries about their digital lives.

2. Know your tech tool for thinking, teaching and learning.

3. Reading corners never go out of style.  Design an attractive reading corner where digital natives can read books.

4. Involve parents in the teaching and learning experience. Open avenues where parents can give valuable feedback of their child's progress when at home or with the family.

5. Encourage students to use social media by posting reflections, highlights and questions they had during class.

6. Make use of hashtags that are relevant to the learning experiences and activities in the classroom.

7. Provide students with constant feedback on their use of technology, specially on their communication skills and how they relate to others in an online environment.

8. Schedule a time and space where students can play around with tech tools, integrated them with subject related activities and allow them to explore and curate content online.

Do you have something to add or share? Feel free to post a comment!

Teacher on Center Stage: Teacher Mary Rose Lagunsad

Because it's Teacher's Month, the blog is featuring another teacher who goes beyond the call of duty. Teacher Mary Rose "Marose" Lagunsad is a grade school teacher in Bitik Elementary School in Valenzuela City. If she is not in the classroom, she trains colleagues and peers to become better teachers. She supports many literacy groups one of them is the Pinoy Reading Buddies. Read on and get to know Teacher Marose and her advocacy.

If I were not a teacher...

If I were not a teacher, I would be a journalist who writes about peace education, reading intervention and literacy advocacy, environmental concerns and relationships. 

What do you love most about teaching?
 
Over the years, I feel extremely fulfilled and grateful whenever my pupils’ potentials unfold before my eyes. Seeing how they journey toward their dreams year after year gives me that assurance that I made the right choice of vocation after all. What seemed to be impossible for a child at the beginning of the year becomes “I’m possible” come the last two quarters. If I could be there to guide them as they sparkle on their own and at their own pace would mean I am on the right track in my mission. 

Describe to the blog's readers the Picture Walk strategy in teaching and learning how to read.
 
Mam Rowena Jimenez, our Founder, Executive Director of Pinoy Reading Buddies (PRB), is  one of our beloved mentors has this to say about the PRB Picture Walk Component: "Picture Reading" or picture talk (instead of book talk) is being used naturally by emergent readers. As a component of the Pinoy Reading Buddies Program, the PRB Picture Walk is meant for older, struggling readers. 

It is more deliberate than the natural inclination to talk about the pictures. One main difference is we get our kids to pause and summarize what the story is about from the beginning -- to get them very familiar with the narrative structure: "What happened first? Then what came next? Then what happened?” and so on... until they retell verbally the whole story they conjured up simply by looking at the pictures. 

Young emergent readers simply talk about each picture --they may skip some--and they don’t worry about creating a complete story. Of course, it may be used by other teachers. We're just hoping that they see it the way we do --and use it the way we do - as part of the 4-component program called the PRB Reading Buddies program. 

Tell us something more about Pinoy Reading Buddies.
 
Pinoy Reading Buddies is student driven literacy intervention where learners collaborate to improve their thinking and decoding skills. It is a Non-Stock, Non-Profit Organization, founded by Rowena Jimenez, a Filipino teacher based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and a group of other Filipino immigrants and Americans whose mission is to help build a nation of engaged Filipino readers. 

PRB has partner schools in a number of cities, municipalities and provinces all over the country. These partner schools practice the PRB Method through the aid of teacher volunteers who have been trained on the Four Components of the program. These training workshops as well as boxes of donated gently used storybooks from PRB book drives in the US are provided free. 

For more information, please like the Pinoy Reading Buddies official facebook fan page and visit the PRB website at pinoyreadingbuddiesweb.wordpress.com

Teacher On Center Stage: Fe Matullano Lustanas

Teacher Fe at the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipinong Guro Awards Night

The blog's featured Teacher for the Month of September is Fe Matullano Lustanas. Teacher Fe is the recipient of the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipinong Guro in 2012 for her initiative in educating street children and out of school youths in Paranaque City through Journey of Hope and Education Under the Bridge in La Huerta. In April 2013, she set up the Kabayani Community Training Center, a parents' education program in San Dionisio Paranaque City.

Why am I teacher?
After high school graduation I obeyed my mother Nanay Conos to go to Manila from Iloilo to become a teacher. It was a simple request of my mother which I fulfilled when I graduated college in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.

If not a teacher, I would be...

A medical technologist. I love science. I love taking care of people. But, since it is my mother's wish that I become a teacher, I switched to taking a degree in education in college. I consider myself a teacher community volunteer who advocates education especially for children in the mission area.

Teacher Fe in action: Journey of Hope and Education Under the Bridge

Right now, I am a public school teacher teaching grade one in the morning and kindergarten in the afternoon. I'm also an Alternative Learning System Instructional Manager for older children and out of school youths in our community.  I have been doing this since January 2010. After 2 years I was not absorbed by our local board, but it was the start of our mission. My husband and I have been involved in this mission since 2012. Luckily it is sustainable and it has been going strong! We are now on our eighth year of missionary work a teachers for children and out of school youths. 

Success Stories Worth Sharing 
 
Through Education Under the Bridge, we have weekly activities every Saturday afternoon which caters to 2 - 4 years old children in formal school and out of school youths living in the coastal areas of Paranaque, Las Pinas and nearby areas. Our curriculum is based on the K-12 program of the Department of Education.

With Education Under the Bridge (EUB), we continuously help 12 out of school youths before and they are now in formal school. For 7 years now, Monica Tan, a mute and deaf child has not attended school but, religiously she attends our EUB program.

Teacher Fe, as she is fondly called by friends and colleagues, appears in the radio program Voice of the Teacher which airs every Saturday at 1PM over at DWDD 1134 Khz.

Teacher on Center Stage: Victor "Teacher Vic" Villanueva

This month, the blog features Mr. Victor, "Teacher Vic" Villanueva, teacher and reading specialist. He conducts reading assessment and implements reading intervention programs for K-12 learners. Teacher Vic teaches at Builders School in Quezon City. In this blog post, he tells us a bit about his job as a reading specialist and provides parents with tips on how they can help their kids become better readers.


What does it take to be a reading specialist? 

The person who aspires to be a reading specialist must have a real desire to help someone to read better than how he is reading at the moment through mindful teaching. This person needs to have a solid understanding of how the reading process actually happen in normally achieving individuals so he can tell when it is not working for a particular person. This understanding should be fused with teaching skills that will enable this person build the literacy competence of the one who struggles with reading.

 If not a reading specialist, what are you today? 

I would have been a high school history teacher. When I started dreaming of becoming a teacher, I was also falling in love with story of humankind. I was in high school at the time. I knew then that I wanted to teach.

Your top 5 tips to parents so they can help their kids become better readers 

    •    Parents should first have to believe that their children can become better at reading or in anything that is worth being good in.

    •    Parents should be convinced that reading is worth being proficient in.

    •    They have to think that reading is an ability that depends on desire and habit.

    •    They need to have a basic understanding of how a child develop the love for reading and the skill to do it.

    •    They need to put their money where their mouths are. If parents believe in the value of reading, they need to be ready to spend for it.

For inquiries on reading assessment and intervention programs, Teacher Vic can be reached through these contact numbers: 293-5431 (Builders School) and 09178527491 (mobile number).

Behind the Scene at the Creative Reading Activities Workshop

Here are some wonderful stories I encountered during my week long stay in Naga City, CamSur for the Educo and Adarna House sponsored teacher training workshop.

Mr. Peralta proves himself a leader and mentor.

1. I met the teachers I had trained for the Sa Aklat Sisikat (SAS) Read-athon Teacher Training Workshop in Donsol, Sorsogon (2009) in the Creative Reading Activities Workshop (EDUCO and Adarna House). Mr. Arnold Peralta was then a principal in Donsol. He is now a district supervisor. He is still the same jolly guy I met six years ago who asked all the silly questions and joked through the Pinoy Henyo game we had. In this workshop, he proved himself a trooper once more. He worked with his groups mates, he created a mini-book with a partner, and read the story out loud for everyone to hear. In a short personal conversation I had with him, we both agree how transformational the SAS workshops were to his teachers. He was transferred to another school after the SAS workshop but he recognized and saw the impact it had on his teachers who attended the Gurong Kaakbay Conference in the Ateneo De Manila Univeristy in 2012. It was the last Gurong Kaakbay Conference.

With Teacher Irish of Donsol, Sorsogon

One of Mr. Peralta's teachers, Teacher Irish, who was also a SAS Workshop participant in Donsol, is now a master's degree holder. She has a specialization in Music Education. She completed her MA from the Bicol University. Her thesis is a compilation of Bicol and Donsol folk songs for children.

I met school leaders from Nabua, CamSur who know my grandaunt. This prompts me to think of visiting the region once again. This would mean planning a trip to may parents' provinces: Tuguegaro, Iriga and Nabua sooner and not later.

I let my hair down during the cultural night. Teacher Pam, Teacher Michelle and myself sang "Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko", with matching choreography. There is a video of this "amazing" number that brought the house down. As of writing, it is an exclusive property of Adarna House. Until Teacher Pam gives her consent to have it on public viewing, for now, a picture of us three will have to do.

Workshop facilitators by day, performers by night: Lower photo: L-R Lea S. Eugene Domingo and Jennylyn Mercado