Green Day's 21 Guns Broadway version

A new version of '21 Guns' performed by the 'American Idiot' cast alongside Billie Joe Armstrong and co. Featuring Tony Award-winner John Gallagher, Jr., the song captures the original's bombastic energy while re-working the arrangement for added theatrical flair.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's my anthem...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all mommies!

Teachers are not always found in schools. A teacher can be anyone with a generous heart and an open mind who pass along life's golden rules. You are the best teachers, YOU ROCK THE WORLD!

Happy Birthday, baby!

Knowing that I did everything to bring this perfect little girl into this world was good for me...and having her around (plus another little one) was never boring :)

My daughter, Rae, is now 12 years old, time flies fast! A high achiever, Rae has been a consistent honor student eversince she started school. Recently she came home with a certificate that says she received the High Honors Award from her Middle School for maintaining a GPA of 3.6. With the skills and the spirit of a warrior, she is anticipating to get her Red Belt in Karate very soon. She was excited when she was accepted to the Black Belt Club because she wanted to be trained to use different kinds of weapons in self defense and to compete regionally. Martial Arts has instilled in her intense discipline, responsibility and self confidence. She started playing the violin in first grade and now her proficiency with playing some Classical pieces is very impressive.

She is a creative writer. Here's a sample of her work with a "thumbs up" from her teacher... P.S. she told me to emphasize to everyone that this is just a product of her imagination and that she loves her baby brother so much.

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Memories...sad memories...bad memories

Author: Maren Rae Angala

May 17, 1865

It was very cold, my brother was sick today. Not like it was surprising or anything because my brother was always sick eversince he was born. Today, we stopped in the middle of nowhere, we were setting up the fire while Ma was making food. I made sure I watched my brother because he seemed to eat anything he saw that moves.

May 19, 1865

It was very tiring because we worked hard to try to survive by making food, hunting, looking for berries, carrying heavy wood. Then while Ma was cooking and I was busy, Ma screamed which startled us. We all ran towards the kitchen and saw my brother chewing something gooey. We pryed up his mouth and saw half a caterpillar's body. Pa identified that it was one of the most poisonous caterpillars ever.

May 25, 1865

He was very sick for a few days and today it was really worse. We layed him down on the flat bed, he was turning blue, his mouth was foaming. Pa said eating the deadly caterpillar would be fatal, no cure would help him. My brother opened up his mouth mumbling (I could read his lips), "please don't leave me alone..." His greatest fear was being alone, nobody beside him made him lonely.

May 27, 1865

I could still remember what he said a couple of days ago. Tears rolled down my cheek as I looked at the carved rock written in his name. My parents couldn't bury him in the cemetary, Pa said a lot of people would be suspicious. As we left in the carriage I felt miserable knowing that I will never see him or play with him again. But I felt relieved knowing that he will never suffer again.

June 1, 1865

My brother is now all alone...by himself...nobody to play with. His greatest fear came true and it will always be that way now, alone forever, never to see anybody, never to talk to anybody ever again. But someday he'll see a light, hear a voice. Then he'll know that the time has come for him to never be afraid ever again... -END-

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Rae is destined to be an incredible woman. Happy birthday, baby!

Happy Teachers Appreciation Week!

Dear Colleagues,

You have a heart slightly bigger than an average human being...because you are a teacher!

-Love, Maria-

P.S. Please remember that you are an excellent educator (please do not let anybody tell you otherwise!)

Going Green!

Colleagues, let us explore some ways on how to make our classrooms environmentally friendly. With the economic downturn and budget squeeze affecting our jobs, I see that this is just one of the answers to this problem.

I am attending the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference this week co-sponsored by the AFT. Good timing, shortage of copy papers has been a perennial problem in my school. The solution, cut back on photocopying worksheets and quizzes. Let us watch our paper consumption. It has never been a concern to me, the two reams that was given at the beginning of the school year was enough for me. Why? Because I have a "green classroom" (***correction, attempting to have one!).

As teachers, it is important not only to teach our students about the environment but also to conserve our natural resources. It is imperative that we set as a role model to our students of how to respect our environment. In this digital age, we can make use of the technology that is now bombarding our digital natives (the students that we teach), it is time for us to become digital immigrants. How?

Here's how Broward County is having a paperless classroom (been trying it in my room, it works for my students! Works wonders for me!)...

When I was a school administrator back then...

I call myself an accidental Special Educator, because it wasn’t my plan to be in this field. My childhood dream was to become a doctor. And I was in medicine proper, in full scholarship, when I realized I was called for another profession.

My exposure to Special Education at the Center for Developmental Intervention Foundation at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center has left me deeply encouraged to be with special children who are in need of time and affection. I realized that if a regular child yearns for attention from people, more so with special children. Unfortunately, most of them have been fed with a diet of leftovers- leftover love, leftover patience, leftover laughter, leftover stories, leftover kindness, leftover energy, leftover everything.

I did not fail myself by not fulfilling my childhood dream, I feel that I am now in a better position. As a special education teacher I don’t look after people’s physical health but the child's mental health. I don’t dissect people’s brain but I open my students' minds in wonder. I don’t cut people’s hearts, rather, I touch their hearts. With what I do now I am able to save lives in a different way...

This morning I missed my friends and wanted to see how they were doing. It's been awhile since I last logged in to my Facebook account. I was guilty of not responding to some friend requests, like Billy, who has been reminding me about it. As soon as I accepted his invitation, the chat box popped up and we started bridging the gap and reminiscing about the times when I was a school administrator (at 23 years old) and he was one of my hardworking staff. Teacher Billy Esmalde just recently finished his MA in Special Education at the University of the Philippines (my Alma Mater). He sent me his photo with the caption "the result of my hardwork and perseverance amid the adversities"...

Billy:Teacher Sol, how are you? t. sol kmusta po?
Me: I'm ok, congrats! ok naman...congrats!
Billy: Thank you, Teacher Sol, for all the trainings and the skills you gave us, thank you so much. The rest of us, Melody and Fretzie, are now in the UK salamat t. sol sa mga training s mo sa amin, salamat talga, c t.melody nasa UK na at fretzie
Me: you're welcome! I'm glad to hear I made a positive impact on you!
Billy: Of course, we miss Funshine, please come back home so you can give us some more training-seminars, you inspire me Teacher Sol syempre naman miss namin FUNSHINE, uwi ka pinas mag seminar ka sa amin, idol kita t.sol
Billy: I miss your management, we still talk about you with Melody and Fretzie, we miss Funshine miss ko management mo talaga pag nag uusap nga kmi nila melody at fretzie
sayang wla na funshine

Me: Funshine will always be with us...in our hearts and minds
Billy: yes

I left a legacy in the Philippines – Funshine Preschool in Lagro QC and Funshine Special Ed Center in Fairview QC.

Funshine - “being bright while having fun”. That was our motto, which suggested a developmental philosophy of teaching students. The logo was a smiling bright sun, with eight rays. Why the sun? Why the sol? The sun is a source of energy, vibrant, powerful...it shines bright in darkness. Since I was a kid my family called me Marisol.

I miss how the parents and my students called me Teacher Sol. The title is a sign of respect, teachers are highly regarded in my country.

I started the schools with just 4 tutorial students. The students grew to more than 50 in five months, and branched out to two satellite schools in four years. My friends who are taking their MA in SPED were helping me provide the services we offered to the kids before I left the Philippines.

Since its inception summer of 1998, my schools has managed exceptional children who needed academic follow-up and advanced lessons from pre-school to high school, refreshment and review sessions for the next school year, as well as tutorial and therapy sessions for children who are exhibiting infantile autism, ADHD, language disorder, and learning disability.

A lot of entrepreneurs became instant millionaires because of this business of putting up a private school. It was lucrative but I charged a very minimal tuition fee because the parents of my students could not afford the prevailing rates for such services we offered.

I am not an entrepreneur. I am an educator.

Me: How are our students at Funshine? kamusta mga kids natin sa Funshine?
Billy: They're all grown ups now, Funshine has greatly impacted me, look at us now we are successful and having a better life malalaki na sila, malaki impact sa akin ng FUNSHINE, tingnan mo kung nasan ka po ngayon successful kna at kmi nasan na grabe...maganda na buhay namin
Me: I know...I learned a lot from you guys too...you all made me what I am today
You have been around, what is so different about Funshine? what made it stand out to you?

Billy: Discipline, high expectations, and most of all you treated us fairly and that is extraordinary for an administrator here disiplina at wlang mas mataas sa iba you treat us fair, basta t.sol mismo kaw masasabi pag andito kana sa pinas
Me: I really tried...
Billy: Yup we're now miles away apart but at least you still remember us, Sherwin, T. Car, and Lanie, you will be in our hearts oo nga ang lalayo na natin pero at least in our hearts t. sol naalala mo parin kami nila melody, sherwin. t. car and lanie
Me: of course, will never forget the bond we forged w/c made us resilient amid the storm
irreplaceable...hard to replicate

Me: T. Billy, now that you have the skills and the wisdom to make a difference to our children, I challenge you to do the same thing...
Billy: i will t.sol

I was in tears after our conversation.

Working Class Hero

May 1 is Labor Day in the Philippines. Here's John Lennon's "Working Class Hero"...dedicated to the Filipino working class heroes.

Mabuhay ang manggagawang Pilipino!