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“Student Agency boils down to students having a voice in the classroom…” -Laurie Manville and Dr. Alva Lefevre Today’s the last day for our seniors and I wanted to celebrate this milestone. Last year, I had an ambitious take to co-create a Math class from scratch with our 12th-graders. Students who chose to withdraw from IB classes would be transferred to our class somehow defeated without fully realizing that curriculums are not one-size-fits-all. Our class was mainly seen as credit recovery and what breaks my heart is when their self-esteem is at its lowest - our first order of business is to administer a diagnostic test and discuss their challenges. That’s when I knew something had to change. Toward the end of the school year, I co-planned with my students and asked them what they wanted to gain from this class. This reflection has been a healing process as they slowly realize that the respective pathways they are choosing (sailing, theater, social work, etc.) do not require extensive math skills. This became my passion project over the summer break. In our classroom, when they finished a task, I would always ask my students, “Is this something you’re proud of?” The very same prompt resonated in my head - I wanted to build something that I would be proud of and that my students would take pride in participating in. I wanted to create a robust and rigorous class wherein they would feel challenged but not debilitated or bored while seeing the value and connection of the units we will discuss throughout the year. I’ve reached out to former colleagues and spent some of my afternoons reading Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics by Peter Liljedahl. I must admit that there are days when I thought to myself, “What did I get myself into?” Fostering a new routine while building, learning, and editing materials could be quite overwhelming. Although there are good days when our class is engaged when we have a roundtable discussion on emergency funds or the effects of inflation or when they are engrossed in computing compound interest and argue why credit card is a bad idea over personal loans. Most of all when my student wrote - “These past two years learning Financial Literacy with Mr Lingo has been the best maths experience I have ever had and I am so grateful.” just pierced through my heart. This takes me back to our first days together wherein they are enveloped with anger, disappointment, or self-doubt. Now, they are walking away engaged, with pride, and prepared for the years beyond high school. As for me, I am pondering again if this is something I am proud of? 100%! We did it. We did that and a huge shoutout to the class of 2024 for helping create a classroom that brings out the best in each other. Click the image below to read the TIE Article: 
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 2023 has taught me to embrace all the Nos. At an early age, this has been our weapon if we want to assert our power and individuality, we give out a resounding no. Somehow along the way, we compromise and lose sight of the power it has. They said No is like a bright line, that when used properly marks off where you end and others begin. This year, I was able to find courage to start over and say no by letting go of things, relationships, and affiliations that do not serve me. Embracing the Nos in form of rejections and losses and through time, knowing fully that these detours are clearing the way for something greater. Lastly, being grateful for a No through a second chance in life. “No, your mission’s not yet done,” and sending a piercing reminder to love deeply and stop taking moments for granted.
Every no deserves to be celebrated. Your personal journey deserves to be celebrated. I just hope you are proud of who you were throughout 2023. As we look back at the year that was, may we finally gain clarity why things had to happen they way they did and enjoying how we landed exactly where we should. Keep embracing every No as a deeper yes to whatever that you aspire to be. Here’s to a glorious 2024! Sport is a master class of tough and important life lessons. It is a means to build champions. Not just champions in sport, but more importantly, in life through sport. Every season, through these opportunities, our student-athletes quickly realize that discipline, determination, perseverance and sacrifice that are necessary to succeed in volleyball are the same qualities that make for champions in any sport and in life. As we start each season, I challenge our coaches to reflect on our goal - Am I developing great athletes or developing champions? Great athletes find fulfillment in the win. Champions dare to dream of more than just winning. They strive to achieve a level of excellence that will push them to the limits, whether it is by themselves, their teammates, or their opponents on the court. Their love for the sport does not solely depend on winning but on using sports as a catalyst to be the best version of themselves on and off the court. It is our mission as coaches to create a champion team that steers towards their goals with clarity and in pursuit of that vision they will consciously take ownership to be proud of every choice they make. A champion team gets excited competing with the best and even losing at times in a head-to-head game because they find the joy in the struggle and embrace being in uncomfortable situations. They choose to sweat the small stuff with determination and enthusiasm, with absolutely no guarantee of a result, except to be able to confidently say, “I have no regrets because I gave it my 100% at every given chance.” The heart of a champion isn’t validated by winning a game. While losing stings, often for quite some time afterward, the heart of a champion thrives in the process – the process of excellence, including taking responsibility for everything within their control. Through this process, they not only elevate their own game but also everyone’s game around them. They take pride in becoming the best in all aspects of their lives. After coaching for 17 years, I still tend to love it more each year. That fulfillment lies in the power to speak life to our student-athletes by teaching a mindset, a vision, and a dream that gets the best out of a person. And when that mindset is honed - a person can be a champion at anything and nothing is more humbling than following their path to success knowing that you’ve taken part in it. Hong Kong Academy U-20 Girls Volleyball Team - ACAMIS Back-to-Back Champions. Moreover, champions in life! If we encourage students to identify their brain functionalities as differences to be celebrated, rather than disabilities to be feared, it empowers them to self-advocate within the classroom. This year, I take so much pride in trailblazing the neurodiversity celebrations here in Hong Kong Academy and being part of a global movement in changing the narrative and creating a balanced view that focuses equally on the talents and strengths of the neurodiverse members of our community. Along with inclusion advocates from International School of Uganda, Jakarta Intercultural School, and International School Manila. Here are some of the initiatives that we accomplished to further empower our students' voices: 1. Neurodiversity Library Collection - In HKA, our library collection strives to reflect the authenticity of being human. In order to achieve this, we are honoring authors, stories, and research that are consciously inclusive of every type of person that forms our society, including people with disabilities. If disabilities are represented in literary texts, it helps bring a stigmatized topic to the center of public discussion. How do you make the people in your community feel validated, important, and cared about? 2. As I am Challenge - We are sharing one simple action per day that you can undertake in order to be more autism-friendly. The #AsIAmChallenge inspired by https://asiam.ie/ – 29 days, 29 actions for an autism-friendly community. We begin with simple behaviors right through to significant measures which can be put in place to make an impactful change. Our capacity to move away from ourselves and being aware of challenges and potential barriers faced by people with autism and their families is the greatest gift we could bring to create a more inclusive environment. 3. Self-Advocacy Tiktok Videos - Through short reels we were able to give more insights on how to become a better peer for someone who has learning differences while focusing equally on their talents and strengths. Our hope is that our students at Hong Kong Academy will thrive by giving opportunities tailored to their needs when we accommodate their uniqueness, and when we put our energy into building the self-esteem of our students, rather than labeling their difference. 4. Community Building Activities - Our school engaged in community-building activities such as collective bulletin board making and film showing that aim to provide an invitation to openly discuss neurodiversity. By doing so, we are intentionally taking the approach of empathy and relationship building. How do we make sure that we don’t run the risk of token inclusion? Through this celebration, let their voice rise up . Help them learn to be proud of who they are, embrace their differences and allow them to embrace them too. Our students need champions to enable them to decide for themselves what they want and how they want it. Don’t make decisions for them, be guided by them. Don’t speak for them, silence the rest so they can speak for themselves. Don’t talk over them, about them, for them, just listen. By equipping them with self-advocacy skills, they become empowered and enabled. Let them be heard. Let the small ripples make the ocean rise. And always remember, a small change can impact all. Conversations humanize us. The easiest way for a person to connect with someone else from another walk of life is for them to hear about their experiences, hardships, and successes. When we can empathize with someone’s situation, we’re able to connect on a much deeper level. Keep those conversations going. Keep sharing your stories. Thank you The International Schools Network for having me and providing an opportunity to discuss the importance of diversity in a school setting. Click the image below to watch the full video.   In facing closed doors, detours, and roadblocks in the recent recruitment season, Jerome Lingo turned it into an opportunity to reflect on his “whys” and emphasize how this practice leads to a greater sense of purpose in our classroom and personal lives. It’s a reminder that in these challenging times, we get to the heart of self-discovery, and equate a sense of “why” with one’s fulfillment, clarity, and life meaning.
My article just got published!!! It’s a vivid series of personal experiences that paint a picture of what I believe and how I came to believe it. It took me six years to recount and process my personal journey. Nonetheless, having the platform and finding my voice to talk about systemic racism in the international school community has been a healing experience. This wouldn’t be possible without the following people - Max Humpston of International Schools Network for reaching out and encouraging me to tell my story. Joel Llaban, a fellow Filipino, for opening doors to amplify my voice by concurrently publishing this article on TIE Online and helping me collaborate with several amazing international educators such as Doline Ndorimana of AIELOC who resonates with my experiences. It was a humbling experience to learn from each other and lending me the courage to breathe in my words while sharing my vulnerability to the world. Sarah-Louise Alsop for carefully deliberating and editing this piece. Special thanks to Madeleine Maceda Heide and Simon Gillespie for being an integral part of my journey. Lastly, to my family, for witnessing it all and not even once doubted me as I constantly doubted myself. They’ve always been my driving force to keep going. This is dedicated to all the Filipinos, people of color, and anyone who is braving to rightfully take their place in the world despite the adversities hurled at them. Always remember - You are enough. You are valued. You are capable. You are important. You matter! I hope through our collective stories we get closer to the understanding of an honest and more accurate version of our community while finding ways to do and be better. Here is the link to my article: https://www.tieonline.com/article/2998/breaking-the-system-through-our-collective-stories    It is one of the most painful things I’ve heard in my classroom when our students say, “I’m stupid. We all are, that's why we’re in this class.” As a learning support teacher, my heart sank every time they made these statements with a straight face. No remorse, fixated, and with full conviction. Oftentimes, we would try to redirect these conversations and simply reply, “It makes me sad when you say that, because I know it isn’t true. You’re great at basketball, a wonderful speaker, and outgoing. So tell me why you feel this way.” This opens up the conversation and lets you get a sense of what’s going on. It’s a great first step by providing them a safe space and acknowledging their feelings but sometimes this is never enough.
“Differences” of any kind tend to attract critics or bullies, who prey on insecurities and fear. Most of the time, the biggest bully we always face is ourselves. We constantly call our brain stupid, or lazy, or crazy. For these reasons, I have put a huge emphasis on Self-advocacy in our classroom. It starts with self-awareness which entails consistently reinforcing the student’s strengths and identifying their challenges. By giving them a platform to share these with their peers, teachers, and parents. It would help them not only discover how they learn best but also encourage them to take ownership of their learning. There are tons of resources available to help teachers explicitly teach self-advocacy in the classroom. Some are locating themselves in the Next Frontier Inclusion’s (NFI) Self-Advocacy continuum, one-to-one conference to help the create goals through the MARIO framework, and a systematic intervention to self-advocate by Bonnie Singer. It is also important to walk through their psycho educational assessment. From my experience, there is always a sense of relief in giving the power to agree or sometimes disagree with their diagnosis. It also helps them reflect on how much they overcame over the years and the reassurance that there is nothing broken. Nothing to fix. This is just how I learn best and we all learn differently. Recently, I was reminded how teacher expectations influence student performance and beliefs. If we believe in our students and our ability to impact their trajectory in life, it will happen. When they were asked to write a This I Believe speech. One of my students came to me and told me, “I want to write about learning support and self-advocacy.” I know that sometimes, there are days when they still doubt themselves and how their brain works but now they have a voice to speak up their own needs and ideas. The conversations shifted from “I am stupid.” to “Miss, I would need some extra-time to complete this project.” Hearing them argue with their classmates on why they are happy to get an approaching (2/4) in a test and saying, “There’s nothing wrong with approaching. I am happy to pass the test because I have slow-processing speed but I’ll get there.” I believed and equipped them to be self-advocates and so they did. This is one of the best parts of being a teacher. Seeing the greatness in our students and believing in them and slowly seeing how our students become the person that we exactly root for with sheer hard work. In celebrating one of the greatest milestones, I have this year. I wish for all teachers to take on this challenge - Every time we go into our classrooms, it is crucial that we could look into our students’ eyes regardless of the circumstances bearing down on them and what they would see is somebody that believes in them or even exceeds their expectations and they will have the confidence to take on things they never thought they could. A huge thank you to SENIA International for amplifying students’ voices and highlighting our students’ success. Here is the link for my student’s speech that is published on the SENIA Newsletter for the month of April 2021. Enjoy!   Today marks another milestone in my teaching career and here is a back story:
In my years as a teacher assistant in International School Manila, I often helped out when we host conferences and workshops, you would probably see me in the registration booth giving out name tags and later on enjoying all the learning (and free refreshments) from these conferences myself. Similarly, I would listen to the stories of my colleagues after they’ve attended workshops overseas, trying to live vicariously on their opportunities to have some time for work and play in some of the amazing cities that I kept on adding to my bucket list. Post-Manila, I got my chance to travel and attend workshops in places I would have never thought I would set foot on and learn from some of the best people in the forefront of international education not realizing that this is only the beginning. Today marks my first day as an official member of the SENIA board and it is hard to believe that from the registration booth I find myself in a room of people that are responsible in creating these opportunities happen for our wonderful teachers. As a bonus, I find myself inspired in collaborating with fellow inclusion advocates and passionate educators around the world and humbled by how much work goes into organizing these events. I think in savoring this moment, it is worth sharing our humble beginnings and reminding ourselves that life is not only made of success stories. This is for the people who continuously work on themselves, reevaluating their worth, and patiently waiting for their shot. May you build enough momentum and strong will to take that leap of faith to change the narrative when it is your time. When you finally make it, may you have the platform to celebrate your success loudly, in the hope that its echoes could cheer people that are falling and getting back on track in chasing their dreams with more courage and motivation. #thrive #nolimits #representation #roomwhereithappens Learn more about SENIA International and its vision by clicking on the link below: https://www.seniainternational.org/  An empty school is definitely a teacher’s kryptonite. These past few days is a reminder of how our students bring the best in us and in their absence, how we deeply care for them beyond the school walls. We spent the last few days moving mountains together to shift in virtual learning, with students at the center of our planning.
Our halls may be empty today but not our spirits. We recognize all your hard work as you juggle around our current reality that throws so many uncertainties and the unfamiliar territory in digital spaces to access learning. It is a bleak path ahead and yet you embrace these roadblocks with so much ease which inspires us to keep up with this ever-changing platform in teaching. You taught us to courageously put ourselves out there as you seek feedback and directions when you are lost and confused. Self-advocating and taking ownership of your learning even if it takes graciously accepting criticisms or worse, starting over. You showed resilience by pushing boundaries and challenging norms. Finding resourceful ways to get an answer from million search results, learning a new math concept in IXL, discussing a question with a friend or a sibling to compensate for the absence of a teacher and a classroom setting. You made us feel connected with your random chats in Google Hangouts, virtual thumbs up or insightful comments in the Google classroom’s stream. You reassured us that we could have the license to be social in times that social distancing is strictly encouraged. Today and in the coming days, we might be mourning for lost time but we’ve proven that learning does not have to stop. We see you. We hear your insightful perspectives. We cherish you today more than any day. We applaud your perseverance in these trying times. We miss you. Lastly, we remain very hopeful because if there’s one thing we could learn from this is that, there is no pandemic or any force that could stop the drive of our future generations. |
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