The State and Religion

           For some time already the ongoing opposition of the Roman Catholic church in the Philippines has stirred much public opinion about the Reproductive Health Bill. The conflict was even more aggravated with Carlos Celdran's "Damaso" drama and a hint of "excommunication" and "civil disobedience" from the church in case the RH Bill is pushed through.

          That's no the issue. The issue here is about the church meddling with the government.

          The separation of religion from the state has long been established. The failure of honoring this leads to the disruption of solidarity amongst us.

          The fact that our country is overpopulated must also be taken into account and that all possible solutions must be considered.

       

Quotes for the Day

"Men naturally possess the heart of a superhero 
so when a guy does good, thoughtful, 
and heroic deed for you, 
don't think that he likes you. 
They just function according to their nature."

Tears speak of what you lips cannot.

"The moment you start thinking about giving up
think of the best reasons why 
you've been holding on for so long."

Life is full of sacrifices.

"Two of the hardest tests in life:

The patience to wait for the right moment

and the courage to accept that you've waited for nothing"

Homework or No Homework

     I watched the news a while ago and I heard that DepEd is issuing a memorandum or something which is about not giving any assignment to public school students that are to be done on weekends. As seen in the screen there were mixed reactions. Some students like it while some parents don't.

     I think I will stick to the con side but with a little twist.

     As a student from a science class I encounter many assignments and projects. I feel frustrated at times when we're given a very short time frame especially when it incorporates thorough research. It is okay for me to have assignments on weekends but I wish there would only be a maximum of three. Looking at my situation on a different point of view, I noticed that it is really hard to have many assignments with an additional short term and long term projects for only a short time.

* ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  *

     I like taking responsibilities. However, there are times that I feel exhausted making school works. I understand that this is part of learning. Education entails perseverance, tolerance, patience, responsibility, and sacrifice. We can never learn if the only feeling we experience is joy.

* ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  *

     There are times that I had to work while having dinner and sometimes none at all just to finish my assignments.  These are the times when I am really feeling the pressure on my shoulders. There are also times that the last thing I do before I go to sleep is to turn off the computer while the first thing I do in the morning is to open the computer just to cram up my paper works.

     I wonder how my other classmates are faring whenever we have too many assignments in a day or when they did not finish their assignments. 

* ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  *

    Yes, it is true that students must be given time for themselves to relax and enjoy weekends but this does not mean going to playing games or looking at porns in computer shops, etc. Weekends should be a time where students could do recreational activities like sports. 

     At present, high technologies are all around, some people get addicted to electronic gadgets and other stuff. This causes some people to skip physical activities which entail vigorous movements. Having exercise benefits the mind not just the body. It helps one to let go of the things that are preoccupying our minds. It is a way to relax. Relax? In exercise? Yes, we can relax through exercise. By doing so we clear our minds from the things that are troubling us. When we exercise we release our energy and as we release our energy, we throw out the negative thoughts and others while we are also absorbing the positive energy and attitudes.

   By the way, we will have our intramurals on next week on October 27 - 28, 2010. 

* ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  * ~  *

   Ciao! I have to make my assignments on biotechnology about the Human Genome Project and a journal writing for Values Education. I also have to outline for Chemistry, Araling Panlipunan, Physics, Biotechnology, Advanced Statistics, and Values Education. I also have to sew the juice packs for our project which is still on Biotechnology. We are going to make mats out of these juice wrappers. I also have to think of a way on how to raise funds for our project. I will also have to finish my article about the additional two year BEC. For how many days I wasn't able to finish it. How will I ever be a good writer if I do not have the time to write??? Huhuhu!

:) "Without wax" :)

The Young Apprentice

There are many things around us which we often tend to overlook. A simple activity like gardening could aid us in exploring many fascinating things in nature.

         

The sun was peeping behind the mountain when they finally reached the vegetable garden. It was already six in the morning. The garden was situated near a river in Camp 6 of the municipality of Tuba which is found in the province of Benguet. 

The little girl’s eye beamed when she saw the wide garden filled with many crops like, onions, lettuces, camote tops, and pechay.  Like an apprentice she eagerly did the task that her grandmother told her to do. Her assignment was to pull out the weeds growing on and near the vegetable plots.

Removing weeds was a challenging task for the four year old kid. Armed with long sleeves, long pants, and a wide brimmed hat, she started pulling weeds. There were small weeds with shallow roots. Whenever she pulled these out, many roots were left behind. She remembered her grandmother telling her to remove all the roots to prevent weeds from sprouting back again. The pretty-looking weeds with small bright flowers looked so ornamental that the child did not even bother touching these. Although these are weeds they still beatified the garden bringing such a merry feeling to a young child like her.

Another arduous task was removing grasses with deep roots. No matter how hard she exerted her effort to pull the grass, it still stood its ground, looking undisturbed. She was on the verge of giving up after how many tries. Looking at the metal lying on one of the plots she was working on, an idea popped out of her mind. She used the hoe to loosen the ground. She pulled the grass again and voila! The grass was finally removed. 

Her joy was short-lived though when she noticed little insects on the roots. A worm surfaced on the soil where the grass was pulled. The ants started to spread in many directions. Some reached her toes without notice. 

“Ouch!” she screamed. 

Her voice echoed and the birds flew away from the nearby guava tree. She thought that weeding could have been easier without the merciless little fire ants that had really painful bites. Her toes were often the target of these ants. She had been bitten by these many times. The sting was so painful and was very itchy. Her skin swelled due to the profuse rubbing of the bitten areas. 

She still likes ants, however. She enjoyed watching them lined up carrying little things as though they are people carrying back packs. They are small but they do a mighty task. She wondered why these ants would always come face to face as though they are kissing whenever they meet from opposite directions. 

          Weeding was tiring. She would stand up once in a while to straighten her back. Her exhaustion would fade whenever she heard the rhythmic sound of the gushing river nearby. She felt her tiredness being lifted up by the towering mountains. She could feel the cool breeze caressing her cheeks. It was a soothing feeling. The birds merrily chirped as if they’re sharing her sentiments. The leaves of the surrounding trees rustled as the winds passed by. The tall grasses swayed gracefully while the cicadas shrilled. She started to wave her hands moved them like the way a conductor gives instruction to an orchestra. They all sang and moved with harmony with the young girl as the music director.

           The girl really enjoyed gardening. She played with the makahiya plant and wondered why the leaves would always close whenever she touched them. She jumped many times just to grab the low lying ripe guava fruit. She slid on a white boulder near the border of the garden. She played with the shallow pool of water that was supposed to be used for watering the plants.

          Now that she was 15 she realized that gardening was a great way to spend one’s time. Through her childhood experiences she learned lots of things besides the way of tending a garden. She cultivated a love for nature in her heart. She discovered fascinating things about nature. Gardening had given her a great learning experience.

Tolerance

"The highest result of education is tolerance."

           Mrs. Fayangkao, our Values Education teacher, made us write about this topic on our journal. How do you view this quotation? For me...

          Education. Most of our younger years are spent in education. A year in nursery or day care, 2 years in kindergarten, 6 years in elementary, 4 years for high school and another 4 years or more in college for a total of 17 years. That's a long time, indeed!

           Haaay... Remembering my younger years during kinder and elementary, I admit that I was intolerant. I wanted everything to happen right away. I wanted them to happen fast.When I was in kindergarten, I wanted to be in grade one. When I was in grade one, I wanted to advance to the second grade. When I was in the second grade, I wanted to be in the third grade and so on. However, when elementary graduation came, it seemed that I didn't want to graduate yet. I was a bit nervous about high school. 

          Indeed, the highest result of education is tolerance. As we grow up, we learn and as we learn, we grow up. Through education, we get to know how things work. We learn to understand in a deeper way. We develop our value. We learn to respect others. We learn how to be patient. we get to learn how to endure each problems that are coming towards us. We learn to take control of a situation instead of letting a situation control us. At the end of everything we become more tolerant.

         How about you, what do you think about the quotation?

Truth's in Life

Life is always accompanied by hardships, pain, and sacrifice.

* * * * * * * * * *

Life is never fair. 

 * * * * * * * * * *

Challenges mold our lives.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *