Monday, June 18, 2007 Lizada: Kuya's Chair By Miguel Antonio Lizada First Day High
IT was the first day of class. My first day as a teacher. It was kind of surreal for me. Almost 10 years or more in the making. I finally have my class. I grabbed a chalk for a very different use for the very first time.
I woke up very early at 5:30 a.m. to be exact. I cooked my breakfast, took a bath, dried my hair and had an extremely long time deciding what to wear. Then I went downstairs to catch a tricycle to Ateneo.
It was very quiet when I entered the department as it was still 7 a.m. However, some teachers were a bit worried because the class lists were not yet there. The department secretary however, arrived in the nick of time -- 10 minutes before the start of the first period -- and distributed the class lists. I collected my copies and walked quickly to Kostka Hall -- my first class.
I came in and headed straight to the platform. I wrote on the board "En 11: Communication in English 1" then below it I wrote my name. I paused for awhile. This is my class now. This is my class now.
After I did the roll call, I gave a short activity to introduce the course. I asked the students to get a one half sheet of paper. Next I asked them to write a theme or a topic. It can be anything: Love, friendship, sex, your first day in the Ateneo...
Next, I asked them to write a line from a movie, any movie such as "This is Sparta!" "I am your father."
Finally, I asked them to write three random words then I collected the papers and shuffled them redistributed them, then I gave my final instructions: "I want you now to write a short essay about the THEME and using the MOVIE LINE as a title and IT MUST CONTAIN THE THREE RANDOM WORDS. This is your first quiz. You have 15 minutes."
After they finished, I relieved them by telling them that yes, this is a quiz but this is also their first bonus, perfect quiz.
Then I told them why I did the activity. I did it because I wanted to show them what En 11 is all about. In this class, you are given tasks to do and using your own materials, sometimes unlikely ones, you write cohesive, coherent essays.
After that, I proceeded to discuss the syllabus and my class rules.
For my class in literature, I asked them to introduce themselves and to tell me what their favorite story is. Most of them said Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and anything related to that genre. Then I told them (semi-non verbatim): "It's weird you know? I asked you what your favorite story is, and you all gave me fictional works.
And why is that? We have stories everyday. How you met your boyfriend is a story. How you won your first gold medal is a story. But why is it that, when asked what your favorite story is, you immediately lock on to the fictional. To the unreal.
Why? What is it with the unreal that fascinates us so much? So much so that when asked what your favorite story is, you identify yourself with someone who is not you. This course, is all about the fictional, the unreal..." After that, I discussed my syllabus.
I am pretty happy after my first day. I am hoping I can sustain it.
I ended the day by joining a surprise party by the School of Humanities for the Acting Dean, Benilda Santos. I saw my old professors from left and right. And now, they consider me as one of their own.
