Monday, December 20, 2010

THE NERVE OF YOU ALL

I address this to my students who dare have the TEMERITY to underestimate my intelligence and take too much advantage of my niceties. You know who you all are, I hope this strikes you worse than any of the admonitions of your instructors.

I am DEEPLY disappointed with what you had done with your Final Exams. I've half a mind to fail those who think they can get away with copying answers from their classmates without even as much as an effort to try and "fool" me in the slightest. This is just too underhanded and annoying to an extent since I know I'VE WARNED YOU ALL ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

If ever I do get the nice aura and decide to try and ignore this show of foolishness, do NOT expect any interesting grades from me. I was quiet the entire exam duration since I was hoping the severity of mooching off a classmate's hard-worked answers would not be this bad. Apparently I was wrong.

I placed my trust in all of you that what I was discussing is clear to everyone. I gave you all the patience and limits I know I have everytime we had class. I took the blows when other instructors questioned my methods with you all and the seemingly-endless leniency I exerted over all of you. In repayment you give me THIS? In repayment you do what I have always warned you about even before this happened?!

Disappointing. I'm glad I'm leaving you all next term.


Friday, November 12, 2010

A Barrage of SMS

I take a break from my current tedious task of documentation at work as I have been struck with inspiration to post this rather interesting event that took place this morning. It somewhat involved my students, my usual lazy habits, and a hell lot of SMS. Trust me, I have never waded through this stream of SMS messages before.

***
The Scene: A Barrage of SMS

It had been my usual custom to play games in the evening, ending up sleeping early in the morning (around 2-3am). La
tely though I've been engrossed in a little documentation work and thanks to GLEE as well, I ended up sleeping at 4am this time.

I feared for my students again, since whenever I end up sleeping during the most unholy hours of the dawn, I end up being either late or completely absent for my morning classes, and this habit seems to have negatively persisted throughout this trimester, one thing that discourages me from taking morning classes anymore. Thus I resolved to give them my mobile number and get theirs just so they could know if I'll even turn up for class or not.

So there I was sleeping at 4 in
the morning, dreams slowly swimming in my head, when half an hour later I was forcibly dragged back to reality as the Protoss Zealot sounded from my phone (yes it is my ring tone). Three-part dazed, three-part asleep, and three-part annoyed, I pick it up, wondering who would even dare text me in this hour.

'Good Morning!'

It was an unnamed contact, but after three prior texts in the past evening I know who it was - one of my devout students. Cur
sing to myself I plopped back to bed and tried to get some sleep.

As expected, my little brother woke me at 6 in the morning and groggy as I was, I marched to the sofa (as I always end up doing despite anything I do against it) and fell asleep for another good hour. At 7 I was shaken awake by another text message, paraphrased:

'Hoy Dave! (Joke) Nasan ka na? Magkaklase ka ba?!'

Yet another student of mine, this time one of the loudest ones I've had, and even through LCD screens I can sense her intensity as she texted it. Groggily, I answered that I won't make it and I would attend their next clas
s.

7:30 another message arrives, this time from the student who texted prior at 4:30:

'Sir sigurado bang aattend daw kayo? Nagtatanong sila'

Cursing at myself again, I replied the same as the previous texter, wondering if these guys even talk to one another about what I broadcast. Seeing the time I decided to start preparing for the next class.

Before I left the house, yet another text message welcomes me, this time asking if I'm already on my way to work. By this time a bout of annoyance was already over me, since I felt like a child being nagged by parents as to
my whereabouts.

Thanks to a burning hot traffic I arrived several minutes late, and as I was to take the jeepney to the school, one final text rains down on me:

'Sir san kana?'

I wanted to die right there and then.

When I got to class, I delivered a short nugget of madness:

'Guys I appreciate that you care for me and the class, pero when I say that I'll be coming to class, I'm coming. There's no need to barrage me with SMS messages like as if I'm your kid or boyfriend'


Suffice to say they were laughing as I let loose my exasperation in a fit of frenzied exhaustion.

***

Yes, a fine way to close the week. LOL






Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Daveaholics in Teacher's Day!

So YES, my dear students, you have just broken my mind yet again.

Pardon the initial statement, but this is more of an internal thing between my students and myself, who seemed to have taken root on me once again. I never really did expect that they'd grow on me like the others before them have done so and frankly speaking it flatters me that I still possess the flair to be the cool instructor that I am *gets shot*

Anyway, class was moderately amusing today partly because of this one scene that reminded me of the special occasion that is today - Teacher's Day! I must remember to greet my mother and mentor too later LOL.

The Scene - Teacher's Day Greeting

I was in the middle of discussions during my SYSTAND (Systems Analysis and Design) Class on my Accountancy students when all of a sudden one of the senior Accounting students who is also enrolled in another SYSTAND class of mine walks by the door and waves at me.

As I usually do with my students when they get the urge to start disturbing other classes of mine, I amusingly shoo them away but still they persisted so I had to take matters into my own hands.

Me: Huy, wala ka bang klase at nagkakakaway ka sa classroom ko?
Student: Happy Teacher's Day Sir!
Me: Ay gumaganon ka. Teacher's Day pala ngayon?
Student: Oo naman sir, kaya ka nga binabati e!
Me: Wag malakas, baka marinig nila batiin din ako.

I should also tell now that the door was ajar the entire time I was conversing with the student. Suffice to say the entire class can hear what I'm yakking about.

Me: Sige na baka hindi ko matapos dinidiscuss ko.
Student: *smirks* Sige sir, kita kits sa klase.

When I entered the room to resume discussion, a chorus of 'Happy Teacher's Day!' welcomed me back in.

To add icing into the cake, several of my students seemed to have banded together and formed the group they had dubbed as the Daveaholics - or even worse using my last name and making it appear like the Flores de Mayo celebration (Santacruzan). I admit I was flattered at the action, but that was after I overcame the hurdle of wanting to jump at them and strangle them to death. LOL

So yes, Happy Teacher's Day to my fellow members of the academe!