Attitude

I've recently posted some nasty stuff on Facebook commenting on certain people's show of "attitude" both online and offline. Kids these days think they're way cooler when they call themselves "bitches" and "bastards" and refer to each other with such endearments. Yet, when the words are actually uttered in their truest sense, they get insulted and parade all their "drama queen antics" all over Facebook or to anyone who'd want to listen as if they're the most important people in the world. They're just so full of themselves and it gets to me sometimes and mind you, I don't easily get annoyed especially since I do handle lots of people on a day to day basis. To those of you wondering, I work as a part-time college instructor in a private college here. I teach marketing, economics and a bit of literature. Only the fun stuff. Hehe!

So anyway, I've come to realize that in a world that teaches us that life is a race, people will inevitably run fast to get ahead of each other. It doesn't even matter if they knew what actual race they're on or what they're racing against and what they do to get past another. As long as people tell them they have a time to limit to do something, they will run. I see that everyday among friends, students, even colleagues. No one pauses. And because life is a race, people have made up thousands of ridiculous ways to get ahead. It doesn't even matter who they hurt and what kind of evil monster they've turned themselves into. Plus people think you'll run faster if you stand out and so many people come up with insane ways to rebel against status quo not minding the kind of legacy they're leaving to the world. It's a cookie-cutter world they say and it pays not to follow the mold. So everyday, people do everything they can the get out of the mold not realizing everyone else is doing the same. 

And what do you get after all these struggles? Exhausted people. People who run through life half-asleep. People who no longer smell the air and feel the breeze. People who go out on the beach and yet go home more exhausted than they've ever been. Then you get couples who need thousands of adrenaline-rush activities to do together to bond and stay in their idea of a marriage. This is the society we've created because we unwittingly run a race that does not even exist.

I was once that kind of person. Everyday it's a struggle to see people running past me in my own idea of a race. So what do I do? I give everyone attitude, pretending that I loved my life and having that "to hell with the world" mantra. I thought I was cooler that way. Then I realized what a lame poser I was, being a bad ass when all I wanted was some signal, some recognition that I actually mattered. Isn't that why we're struggling to be different than everyone else? 

Then I encountered Jesus. Jesus, who chose to love me and all of me without any condition; and who loved me anyway despite all my excesses and shortcomings. Jesus' life has been marked with love. He tells us that to genuinely love a person is to give them love even if they don't deserve it. He also reminds us that to truly love Him and His Father, is to always, always act in love. It doesn't matter what you get out of it. He said it is easy to love lovable people but what about your enemies? Can you love those that hurt you and those that don't necessarily matter to you? When He gave His life, it was for EVERYONE. It doesn't matter if people receive His love or not, He gives it anyway. 

So this sunny season, may we reflect on what kind of life we are living. Are we running too fast or is life a leisure walk in the park? Do you actually enjoy every waking moment because you do or you need to see someone else's misery in order to be happy? An idiot (from the Bollywood Film 3 Idiots, which is another story) once said, don't run after success; instead, be passionate about what you do and strive for excellence so that success will run after you. I choose to honor God this way, and experience Jesus' love this way -- to never settle for mediocrity because He died so I can live a life worthy of heaven while here on earth. I don't need to stand out because my Father in heaven knows that I do. So I will embrace each opportunity to get to know of His love deeper and let others experience that as well.

Defense + Summer

I can almost smell the summer breeze. I've taken yet another hiatus and this is because my students are going through their final defense for the first part of their research study. I used to hate this part of the school year when I was a student. Every year there seems to be one important paper that will make or break you. And if you're graduating that's triple the pressure because there is no next semester for a chance at a rebound nor will there be removals. There are countless of sleepless nights and cup noodle-dinner days that you'd have to endure to get to the finish line. I was looking forward to becoming one of the advisers whom in my opinion before would just sit down, eat (some cases I've seen), and critique. But I was dead wrong.

This is my first taste of becoming one and it's driving me crazy. Seven groups are under me right now and I have to guide them every step of the way. And my OC-ness is kicking in too plus the pressure of doing this the first time. Most of the advisers have known the panelists for quite a while now (apparently they're the same panelists every year) and they know what exactly to expect. They said that the panelists ask almost the same questions so the others know what to anticipate. But here I am groping in the dark. Hopefully I've given enough and done enough for my students. It doesn't help too that most of them are such scaredy cats. I told them to trust themselves by trusting God. It was a nice opportunity to pray for them and remind them that God desires that they prosper and have a future. First defense officially commences tomorrow. And since I am the first adviser to help my students finish their papers, all groups under me are going on their defense earlier than everyone else. So tonight I'll be coaching and praying. God bless us all!

Jaded

So it's a little crazy for me this week. So many things to do and read. I have to come up with a marketing campaign, prepare for a seminar, come up with graphic designs (I don't do them; I just conceptualize how they're supposed to look and the artist and I have good chemistry) and write tons of papers! Plus, there are essays I need to grade. So that's me studying my seminar materials and trying to grade essay papers all at the same time. When I get bored reading my students' essays I study my seminar notes. That way you don't waste time staring into space wondering why on earth your student wrote what he/she wrote and expect you to NOT GIVE him/her a big fat F for his/her gobbledygook. Doing two things at the same time also makes it less boring. Haha! And yes, I try to stay away from the computer while studying and making the grades; but apparently here I am again. So just a short update. I have to get back to that other table like NOW.

Cheating in Class

 (image via here)

You've had zero hours of sleep because you spent the entire night trying to memorize theories, equations and a whole bunch of mambo jumbos that explains how societies allocate scarce resources to satisfy people's wants and needs. Your notes are scattered all over your desk (or the floor) and practically all the pages of your book are filled with neon highlights that emphasizes all the important information that you need to remember in order to survive. You've eaten more than a fare share of junk food and consumed gallons of caffeine in order to last the night. And then you ponder why, with the abundance of time you've had before, you never thought of allocating them to memorizing and understanding the things you were already supposed to know. Welcome to the night before examination periods where students cram, panic, and try as hard as they can to shove up all the information they can possibly process in 24 hours (or less) in their brains, all for the ultimate goal of attaining that seemingly elusive passing mark. This may not apply to everybody but at least a large majority of students all over the world have nights like these. But when that fateful exams day eventually comes, all systems would suddenly and (most of the time unsurprisingly) fail and none of the information hurriedly digested the night before are available for recall in the memory banks. Exam questions then transform into un-decipherable encrypted data and the chances of making it through have gone from barely possible to mission impossible.

When this happens, students turn to one of their last and most ingenious of tricks -- cheating! The art of cheating is one that is perfected throughout time. It takes skill, perseverance, determination and cunning to be executed seamlessly. It evolved together with the advancement of technology and has now taken on numerous forms. Students have now developed elaborate and fail-safe systems of cheating; some of which have been widely successful while the others have caused grief even to top students. It has been embedded deep within the academic culture and putting an end to it has proven to be futile.

Schools have now set-up stricter policies to counteract cheating such as -- no cellphones during exams; bags and all notes must be left in lockers or placed in front of the class; and worse, students have to be frisked before they're allowed to take the exam (yes, I've seen that happen!) As a teacher you must exert a significant amount of effort to ensure that your exams are cheat-proof (if you can only put anti-cheating charms in the exam papers that would be neat). You need to have a hawk's eye to detect the most subtle of movements and you'd need a bat's ear to hear the faintest of whispers. But despite all of these, cheating persists and prevails.

So what should a teacher do in order to minimize if not eliminate the incidence of cheating? In my two years of teaching I've learned a trick or two that has helped significantly reduce the number of students in my class who resort to cheating as a means of getting through a course and I'd like to share them here:

1. Take the focus away from grades -- most teachers think that terrorizing students with failing marks will somehow push them to work harder. That may move at least three to four students in class to react positively but unfortunately, the good majority of the class will not only respond with hate, but will try to outsmart you whenever they can just to exact revenge on you for being unreasonable even if you have the best of intentions. Instead of constantly reminding them that you hold their fate in your precious little hands, stress to them the significance of the things they ought to learn in class. After all, the end goal for classes is not just achieving a high grade but actually learning from them. If you take away the stress of grades the focus will be on learning instead of achieving. Students will no longer need to cheat because they've actually learned something.

2. Prioritize depth over breadth -- You hand out the course syllabus at the beginning of the class with high expectations and with a wide range of topics and learning objectives. You throw piles and piles of reading materials to the young ones believing that it's the only way to achieve the goals you've set for them. But the truth of the matter is this, your class is not the only one your students will have to attend to. We've all been students once and we know what it's like to have heaps of reading materials to go through. And because we have to do so many, we end up taking shortcuts for some subjects (like cheating) in order to focus to the ones we think are more important. The key is to streamline. If there's a range of reading lists for a single topic focus on the material that would best enable the students to learn what it is they're supposed to learn. Slow deep learning is still best. They'd remember those that they've learned deeply. Even if you've covered hundreds of materials, students will immediately forget them if they don't really have a clear understanding of them. As a result, it will be as if your class never happened.

3. Make learning fun by being creative in class -- Sell your class by understanding your students' culture and relating to them. You may find hearing a barrage of facts entertaining but not everyone does. Find a common interest among your students and build from there. All classes even the dullest ones have practical applications and it is your duty as a teacher to discover what those are. Sure, teachers have different personalities and interests, but classes are not about them, they're supposed to be about the students. There's more at stake for them than for you. (Here's when I remember Mr. Miyagi telling Daniel that there's no such thing as a bad student, only bad a teacher -- Karate Kid I) And when the class is fun, students will absorb the lessons like extra-absorbent sponges and learning goals will be achieved. As a result, exams will be easier for them.

4. Be a mentor not an authority figure -- Ah, the lure of power and domination; for what end? I believe it is better to be feared out of respect than to be feared out of hate. If you're their mentor they will have so much respect for you, that they will never try to cross you and cheating never becomes an option (or less of an option).

5. Don't ever try to show off by emphasizing how difficult the subject you teach is (even if it really is) -- It's like telling the students they can't do it. Instead, encourage them to take it as a challenge and remind them that they're capable. You once survived it right? Always emphasize the practicality of the subject. That's how I've learned to love my business law and statistics classes despite the number of jargons and other technicalities.

6. If all of the above still fail, make your exams cheat-proof -- Schools have different policies on the type of exams a teacher can give. Some schools require multiple choice exams, while others are okay with essay questions. It's very difficult to cheat on essay exams; but checking them can be such hard work. For essay exams, try to limit the number of sentences a student can use to give his/her answer. For multiple choice exams on the other hand, you can probably give different sets of exams for each row or line. Exam questions need not be entirely different. You can have different sets of options for each exams -- like instead of using ABCDs, you can make use of numbers or other letters in the alphabet. It's fun to form some sort of a code with the choices.

Cheating is really something we (both teacher and student) will encounter when we go to school. It's beginning is unknown and how it will progress in time is not for certain. But one thing is clear though, we go to school in order to learn. More than anything, that has to be the priority whether you're there as a student or as a teacher.

P.S. First exams in the school where I teach will be next week and I am currently revising the exam questions. I sincerely hope, all my students will do well.