This afternoon I spent time teaching a cousin, Pauline. She stays over our house every weekend.
My mother and aunt told me last night at the dinner table that Pauline is graduating (or "moving up") from nursery school with honors. Next year, she will be in Grade 1 at the start of the school year.
Pauline is 6 years old. She doesn't know the alphabet. Neither does she know how to count. And I don't know how to begin to describe what I am exactly feeling right now. Pauline is a smart and witty girl. She has a lot of potential and I hate to see all of it go to waste.
Pauline was born to a poor family. Her father is a company driver and her mother is working in a salon. None of these is a valid excuse for how Pauline is.
I believe that at the heart of overseeing a child's educational growth is, mostly, the responsibility of the mother.
For this weekend's lesson, I had 3 big posters readied and which I bought last Friday at the National Book Store - one is of the English Alphabet, another is of the Bagong Abakadang Filipino and the other is of Numbers 1-16. I asked one of the househelps to join us for the tutorials to simulate a classroom setting. I taught Pauline the letters A, B and C. Yes, just those letters and which Pauline could never seem to learn by heart. We were at it until my throat hurt.
I place a premium on education. Like Pauline, I grew up in a poor family, but my parents have NEVER EVER taken my studies for granted. They saw to it that I get the best possible schooling a child can have. They always told me, "
We might not be able to leave you with anything when we go, but for as long as you have your degree, we can leave knowing you will survive without us."
Years passed and I am now a lawyer.
Whatever I have and presently enjoying and whoever I have become, that is because of EDUCATION and of RESPONSIBLE PARENTS. Nobody will have to endure poverty if you have had both.
Bejeezus, if you start a family, please do not do this to your own child.
I am disappointed and deeply...deeply...angered.
Pauline said she wanted to become a doctor.
Photo Source
He has sparked an outrage. Betchaknowhy so no need for me to elaborate and be an accessory to his growing infamy. Lol If the Filipinos will retaliate against the Chinese residing here in the Philippines [because of the Chekua's article], that we have yet to see in the days ahead.
With still a tinge of fever, I headed out of the house to buy toiletries at a nearby supermarket, Cherry Foodarama.
Corporal Daniel Smith and "Nicole"?"
For those of you who are about to renew their DLs, instead of going to LTO branches, I suggest you go to Driver's License Renewal Centers (DLRCs). Would you believe I had my new DL in less than an hour! No lines, no queues.
isted his way that we brave the bumper-to-bumper traffic along EDSA North-bound lane caused by the ongoing construction of LRT-3. Once you get past the U-turn slots at Macabagdal Street and Muñoz Avenue AND the speeding buses and jeepneys at Monumento Circle, you're okay. Lol Not to discourage, but try other DLRCs first if you're not ready for the most reckless of drivers as you approach the Circle.
My declaration has certainly met some frowns. It's like I was talking Greek or has just landed from Pluto. Some reacted like what I said was blasphemous. Some moved inches away from me as if they are certain that I would be struck by lightning for earning the ire of their god. I saw the fear of hell/Hades in some. Lol
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