Fresh determinations.

It's been a while since I truly unloaded my thoughts and life on ^.^ Happy Monkey Thinking ^.^

Mainly because I enjoy putting up and sharing random stuff on this blog to give it some life and vigor. And also I couldn't be bothered typing because after writing out my self-evaluation of how I did in my classes @ http://gtvic.blogspot.com I'm too pooped-out to self-evaluate my life.

Well, it has been about 3 weeks since I started teaching (this is my 3rd week and it's coming to an end soon!!!) and I've been thinking. Doing a lot of thinking too! But you see, that's what I do best --> think but don't do.

Anyways I've been thinking about life in general, what I'm doing and what I'm lacking (besides just thinking and not doing anything about it!). And I find that I enjoy teaching! It's challenging as hell and puts tremendous stress on you; you gotta deal with kids that don't listen, kids that gives ridiculous excuses for not handing in their homework and kids that have temper tantrums because you discipline them... but yeah, I like being a teacher.

Ironically, it's really funny, I was probably like my students when I was in high school. In a way, what my mom has been always saying is coming true. You see, she always says that the way I act towards her (basically being ungrateful to her as a parent - in her view; I feel I respect her and feel gratitude towards her - well ok, other than me referring to her as a 'monster') would reflect back at me with my kids. In a sense, the way me and my friends are acting towards our teachers is starting to be reflected in my class with my students. The Buddhist laws of cause and effect is so strict!

I had an epiphany this morning in the shower - for some reason I get a lot of epiphanies in the bathroom, hmmm... - anyways, I realized that in the first two weeks of my teaching I've been bending over backwards to provide a very educational, interesting and engaging class for my students. But the main focus was to transfer facts/knowledge across. When I tried to create a class that is engaging and of value creating, this week (the 3rd week) I find myself failing utterly. Lots to learn - I may be an fact educator, but I haven't developed myself as a life educator yet.

I was reading my Great Teacher Vic blog and sudden realized that I had claimed to 'follow' Makiguchi sensei's theory of value creating education. In a way I do know his main points but I actually haven't really read his book thoroughly. In a way, I'm all talk with no substance... makes me feel terrible! I gotta go get his book and read it. (For those who are interested in what books I'm referring to, it is "Soka Kyoikugaku Taikei"/"The System of Value-creation Pedagogy" and "Jinsei Chirigaku"/"The Geography of Human Life.")

So after all this random rambling... what's my fresh determination??

It's to make my classes to be like what Makiguchi envision it to be. That is my determination.