Halloween Night at the Museum: A Review and so much more!

The last day of the month of October was very busy for us as a family. We admit that we really encouraged our child to join the Halloween Night at the Museum because we find it as an avenue for our child to exercise different skills. Personally, it is also the very few times Mommy can dress up our child without our child complaining.


We arrived at Manila Ocean Park early to register for the Halloween Night at the Museum. After getting a ticket at Zoocology for P150, we proceeded to the restroom found at Manila Ocean Park's Concourse area to change to our costume. Both mother and child wore a Halloween costume in the spirit of Halloween Night at the Museum. Based from the billboards we saw about Halloween Night at the Museum, the event will start at 3pm. Thirty minutes past 3 pm, there were only a handful of kids in the Concourse area. Finally, about 15 minutes before 4 pm, the Halloween Night at the Museum formally started. The host for the event is Ms. Mary of Manila Times.

When Halloween Night at the Museum started there were only a number of kids who were present. I can say this because the same kids joined every contest.


By the fourth game more kids have arrived. When it was time for the kids to go Trick or Treat around Manila Ocean Park and its stores, the kids participating for Halloween Night at the Museum had to be divided into three groups because there were too many kids to go around just as one group.


In my opinion if your child has special needs, it will be alright to bring your child to this kind of event. Of course, your judgment of the readiness of your child, safety and security will also affect your final decision. However, in my case, we are constantly looking for different avenues where our child can practice improving his social skills. Exposing him in events where he will have lots of opportunities to meet new people, new kids and hopefully build new friendships is our primary goal. After the Halloween Night at the Museum, our child was invited to attend a birthday party. It was also his first time to go in a party without his mother so its another opportunity for him to practice being independent and being friendly.

When my child was really small (so small that he needs to be carried or placed in a stroller) we only need to go to one Trick or Treat event in a subdivision. After that Trick or Treat we already had to give away most of the candies our child received because our child could not eat most of them anyway. As years went by, we would go to two to three Trick or Treat parties. This was the time he loved to dance and show off his costume especially if its his favorite character like Ben Ten, Ninja and so on...


Now that our child is a lot bigger I noticed that our child is getting a little bit shy to show off in front of the stage and he is even conscious of the little girls and little boys looking at him. We have been asked questions like "Why are they looking at me mom? Do I look ok?" or comments like "I don't want to go in front of the stage mom. It's embarrassing." My first reaction was "Is there something wrong with my son's self-concept that he feels very conscious already?" or am I just imagining things again?


To make a better judgment I reviewed the stages of development, Erik Erikson and other Special Education philosophers and accounts of parents who also has children with Special Needs. Finally, I noted that during the program our child was not that focused anymore in the treats or the contests and attractions. Our child was more focused in making friends and talking to them. The stories were not just about what our child did or likes and dislikes. It now included what our child and other kids did, their conversations, and their jokes. I guess to sum it all up one parent told me "Wow, nagbibinata na ang anak mo". And until now I can hear that sentence echoing in my ears as if I am in a Twilight zone.

Are we happy? scared? worried? excited? We (the parents) are not really sure yet what we feel (mostly mommy). However, as parents, we have always given our child several opportunities to grow his social skills because we know that this is an aspect of our child's life that is the most challenging due to impulsivity and inattention. Now that our child is finally exercising the skills needed to build relationships and maintain them, we get this feeling "So it does work. It really works. Experiential learning really works and just by exposing our child to several experiences that will allow our child to grow in a multi-dimensional manner we target not just one skill but several and equally important skills of our child's life.

As part of the vision and mission of this blog, Special Education does not stop in the classroom or inside the school. Special Education or Education for that matter happens when the child is ready. When the child with special needs is ready, the special education teacher will always come. The special education teacher does not even have to be a person. It can be an experience, an event, or a group of people.

As a Special Education teacher myself I am more than amazed to realize that the classroom of life really has no borders. We just have to be creative and consistent to our goals. The lesson plan now is more than just a piece of paper, the curriculum is not just extrinsic but intrinsic. And the special education teacher is not always a person. Most importantly the SPED lesson runs not just for 45 minutes but for LIFE.

The Halloween Night at the Museum had other exciting activities in store for kids such as coloring activities where the best works were awarded a prize by Sterling.


There was also an interactive storytelling activity where guests were randomly picked to actively participate in the storytelling.

Finally, loot bags were distributed and sponsored by Sterling and Hygienix.


Overall, I like the pace of Halloween Night at the Museum event. The length of each activity was just right to keep the kids entertained and on their seat. I also liked the host Ms. Mary because she was really great with kids. I love the storytelling portion because it promotes Filipino literature and love for reading.

I hope next year that the event will start on time to also encourage parents to be on time. It will be more fun if there will be more stores who will join in giving treats to kids. I particularly like one facilitator, Kuya Shane, who joined the kids in the Trick or Treat because he encouraged kids to greet every store they visited. The kids greeted in unison "Happy Halloween" when they arrived and "Thank you po" after they received their candies. I find the repetitive action a very good positive reinforcement.

So there you go, till next year's Halloween Night at the Museum.

FREE TICKETS to PERCEIVE: Plan, Evaluate, Reinforce: A Conference on Early Intervention for Educators

As mentioned in my previous blog, there is another exciting seminar sponsored by UPSEC for Special Education teachers. Below are details about the seminar.

OVERVIEW OF THE SEMINAR

Content:
• Overview of Early Intervention
• The Role of Screening and Assessment in addressing the needs of
CSN
• The Processes that teachers can do for CSN in their classroom
• Getting the support of administration and parents
• Progress monitoring and evaluation
• Best practices in early intervention

Date: November 14, 2010, 1 - 5 pm
Venue: To be announced
Fee: P150 (Early Bird - 9/15/10 and Students with valid ID);
P200 (regular rate)

To support Special Education in the Philippines, UPSEC and the UP SPED Department, a new friend of mine and I would like to share our blessings by sponsoring ten teachers (incoming teachers, student teachers, public school teachers, private school teachers, parents, advocates to the seminar.

To get a free ticket, all you have to do is to:
a. Write in 200 t0 500 words what you can do to promote early intervention.
b. Post your answer in this blog
c. Subscribe and follow my blog (This is for win-win. Yipee!)

Now I fervently hope that the comments will not stop at ten as I think we teachers, parents, and advocates have so many bright ideas to promote early intervention not just in the classroom but also at home. So even if the tickets are taken just leave a comment to share with the exchange of ideas. Hopefully, we can get more people to get involved by pledging more teachers to come for free or maybe your idea can serve as an inspiration to start a program. The possibilities are endless as long as we have the common end goal and that is to help our children - who are all special in one way or another.

Looking for SPED (Special Education) Teachers/Jobs in the Philippines September 2010

Cradle of Learners, a school with inclusion set-up located at 19
Mayaman St. UP Village, Q.C. is looking for (1) full-time teacher with
the following qualifications:

- has passion and commitment in teaching children

- preferably BEED major in special education graduate or MA SpEd with
practicum

- has experience in teaching children with special needs
(Autism,MR,LD,ADHD)

- preferably not more than 40 years old

- preferably with PRC license

For interested applicants please contact Mr. Rimando Rana at 4351022
or 09088922435

Sounds of August: A Concert Series in University of the Philippines Diliman (Free)

I was lucky to be part of the UP-D College of Music's mailing list when I reserved my seats for the Viva Espana show. I showed my support because a previous student of mine is performing, Adrik Cristobal, and I am very proud that he is pursuing his dreams.

After that show, I received an invitation from the UPD's College of Music about a series of free concert shows. This series of concert is named Sounds of August. Unfortunately, I missed the first one already as I read the e-mail late and I have made plans on that day. Still, there are two more shows you just haveto check out. I also received information from a friend who is a mother of a home-schooled boy about these concerts and from what I heard it is something the kids or students should not miss.

Here are the schedule of performances:
August 12, 2010 - Baroque Overdose (A night of Baroque Music)

August 19, 2010 - Dichter Liebe (Poet of Love- In celebration of Robert Schumann's Bicentennial Year)

August 26, 2010 - Tugtog at Indayog (Dance to the beat of Tango, Jazz, Contemporary and Afro Latin Music)

All concerts will be held at Abelardo Hall Auditorium 7 pm UP Diliman. The show is free admission.

Why should you go:
1. Concerts such as this performed by talented people for FREE!!! - really? Do you need to be convinced more?
2. I am a big advocate of building schema and music appreciation. There is no better way to expose and teach our kids and students about different kinds of music besides pop but to expose them.
3. Because it is brought to you by none other than the Student Council of the College of Music.



For the list of performances, please refer to the photo attached and for more information you may contact them at cmusc1011@gmail.com.

Sea Lions at Manila Ocean Park: What to Expect as a Field Trip

I was privileged to watch Manila Ocean Park's first sea lion show. When I arrived in the area it was already packed with students, chaperons and teachers. As a teacher myself, I was wondering how the students will react watching the sea lions perform tricks and dances. Basically as a SPED teacher, I was wondering if the sea lion show would be able to sustain the student's attention.




When I arrived, there is a group of students having a field trip. They were looking over the viewing area (which is about chest level for me) and below them is the stage for the show. I noticed a couple of boys running around already and not minding the show that much. However, most of the students were just enjoying to watch the sea lions or to take their pictures and videos.



If the students were in preschool and relatively small, they can still watch the sea lions because the wall of the viewing deck is transparent.

When the announcement was made about who threw the water bottle in the pool, I thought did somebody from the audience do that or was that part of the performance? I saw the trainers throw water bottles on the floor and asked the sea lions to pick it up but the one floating in the water I did not see the trainers throw it. When that announcement was made, it seemed the audience became quiet and there were whispers "Sinong nagtapon nun? Nakita mo?" (Who threw that? Did you see what happen?) The trainer asked one of the seals to swim and get the bottle and of course it was done successfully.




Finally, the captivating voice of the announcer informed the audience that the sea lions will perform a dance. Once the music started, the kids who were playing behind me pushed themselves to the viewing area to see the performance. So I guess, kids really want to see these mammals dance. After the dance, attention started to dwindle again. Reminders were provided to practice the three R's (reduce, reuse and recycle). The kids were waving at the sea lions. I guess they were hoping that sea lions will wave back at them and you know what they did! Of course, after a cue and a treat from their trainers. Nonetheless, the kids were thrilled.

So if your school is planning for a field trip, here are some unsolicited advice I could give:
1. Make sure the kids are the ones in front of the viewing area. I know the adults want to take pictures and they are excited as well but let's not stray from the purpose of the field trip which is exposure to these animals that our students don't normally see everyday.
2. Again I cannot ascertain if the water bottle thrown in the pool was part of the performance or not but advise our kids to not throw their trash in the pool even if it was just a candy wrapper.
3. Advisers please keep an eye on your students. I understand they are with their chaperons but still this is a school activity; hence, the adviser/teacher is the person-in-charge in making sure the students get the point of the field trip. Maybe you can enjoy the show more when you visit with your families.
4. For chaperons, please help the advisers. They might be the head of the class but two hands are still better than one.
5. Keep the students in their section or group. Don't let them stray around. Remember this is still a public place. The staff from Manila Ocean Park will be there to assist you but still an ounce of prevention is still better than a pound of cure.

If your students need special attention, here are some pointers:
1. I heard the show can run from 30 and even up to 45 minutes. I was able to watch only 15 minutes of the show. There is a big tendency the students' attention will be lost and there will be issues on asking them to stay standing on the viewing deck for that period. Hence, prepare how will you manage behavior given that period of time.
2. The viewing deck is wide so there is lots of space. Be wary of tendencies to push.
3. The area behind you is a perfect place to play and run around. You can opt to give kids who need to move a break if they are tired of watching the show but like I said once the sea lions dance they might want to go back and watch them.



So far, in my limited time to watch the show those are the most obvious things I observed as a teacher. I have not seen the show wherein the audience are just walk-in visitors so the dynamics may be different. Nonetheless, the show is different and I hope your kids will appreciate sea lions more.

Equus: A Teacher's Perspective on the Impact of the Play

Last July 25, 2010, my new theater-play buddy, Teacher Ada, and I watched the play Equus at Greenbelt 1. We caught the 3pm play featuring Red Concepcion as Alan Strang.
To give you a brief background on what the play is let me quote the synopsis taken from the programme:

Pyschiatrist Martin Dysart is brought the most challenging case of his career. Alan Strang, seems like a normal seventeen year old. His life appears routine and his family loving. However Alan's passion for horses and an encounter with stable hand Jill has led him to behave in the most devastating way. Dysart must discover why this severely troubled teenager, has gouged out the eyes of six horses with a hoof pick. Dysart slowly realizes hat Alan has evolved his own bizarre religion, in which horses are his gods - and has enacted a strange Passion play.

Only Dysart seems able to grasp the answer to this psychological puzzle. He understands that to cure the boy, he must take from him the richest and most profound experience of his life. The boy's fierce passion forces Dysart to recognize the barrenness and aridity of his own existence.

Honestly, I went to the play with the most simple or in Filipino we call it "babaw" of reasons. To see what was the play that made Harry Potter boy "Daniel Radcliffe" controversial as a theater actor. Is is true that there will be nudity? Is this really about a guy who gets turned on by a horse? OMG!

But alas, I left the theater a changed teacher? (While still gawking at my favorite horseman, yummy guys) Ooops wait, I said changed right? No seriously back to the topic at hand, the last thing I remembered Dr. Dysart say in the play was "Passion, you see, can be destroyed by a doctor.It cannot be created."

As a Science teacher, it rang a familiar bell. Sounds like the first law of Thermodynamics.

As a teacher it pinched my heart with the mention of the word "Passion".

A shoutout in my Facebook inspired me to write this blog. It was just too long to say in my shoutout. I had to post it in two parts.

The shout out goes like this:
Sabi ni Dr. Dysart, "Passion can be terminated (destroyed) by doctors... but not created"- Equus July 25, 2010. Ang play na ito ay muling naganap pagkatapos ng 37 na taon since una syang pinalabas dito sa Pinas. Feeling ko connected sya sa video na Faculty [HD] at sabi ng theater play-buddy ko connected rin daw sya sa Inception (di ko pa napanood).

So ano ba talaga ang purpose ng isang titser or sino pa mang nagtratrabaho kasama ng mga bata? Magturo ba na maging normal sila para mapabilang at tanggapin ng society or tulungan silang hanapin ang passion nila? Ano nga ba itong si passion, paano mo malalaman kung meron ka ba tlaga nito? Hay naku, masyado ng mahabang shoutout baka i-blog ko na lang...haaaay! Mag-isip. Mag-isip titser. Paano ka nga ba ginawa?

So as a teacher what was my take for this play?

The quote I provided about doctors killing passion should not be taken literally. Dr. Dysart in this play is a psychiatrist. I don't want anybody thinking that I am dissuading parents from bringing their child to a pediatrician or any health doctor because they might kill their child's passion. That is so out of context.

Anyway, I think it's better to read the continuation of what Dysart said in his ending speech as he holds Alan's body close to him.

You won't gallop anymore, Alan.
Horses will be quite safe.
You'll save your money every week...
and change that scooter for a car...
and spend glorious weekends...
grooming that.
You'll pop round to the betting shop
and put the odd pence on the nags...
quite forgetting they ever meant
anything more to you than...
bearers of little profits and little losses.
You will, however, be without pain...
almost completely without...
pain.

So what does Dysart want to do for Alan? In simple words, he aims to bring Alan back to normal. But what is normal?

The Normal is the good smile
in a child's eyes.
It's also the dead stare in a million adults.
Both sustains and kills...
like a god.
It is the ordinary made beautiful.
It is also the average...
made lethal.
The Normal is the indispensable...
murderous God of health.
And I am his priest.

Who is the priest? The people who work with children to prepare them for the adult world. How do these priests do it?

My tools are very delicate.
My compassion is honest.
I've honestly assisted children in this room.
I've talked away terrors,
relieved many agonies.
But beyond question...
I have cut from them
portions of individuality...
repugnant to this God, Normal,
in all its aspects.
And at what length.
Sacrifices to Zeus took,
at the most, seconds each.
Sacrifices to the Normal...
can take as much as...
sixty months.
Can you hear me?
Can you speak normally?
Say "yes" if you can.
I can.
Good.
Now raise your head.
Open your eyes.

So now let me ask you, as a teacher who inevitably has a high probability to influence and mold each child that enters your classroom as they go up each level, each grade until adulthood, were you able to reach your goal to help these kids become normal adults? or in that same process did you kill their passion?

In the small things you say:
...pay attention
...stop singing
...stop laughing
...slow down
...stand up properly
...read this
...listen to this
...follow me
...walk this way
...Say "yes" if you can.
...Raise your head
...Open your eyes

Or in the things that you did not say...

If passion and dreams were like fairies in Neverland, how many fairies would have been dead by now every time you curb out a child's imagination and passion so that they will look and sound normal and acceptable to society.

Am I promoting disorder or chaos in the educational system? Heck no! As a Science teacher I am fully aware of a phenomenon called entropy. Wikipedia defines it as "a thermodynamic property which serves as a measure of how close a system is to equilibrium — that is, to perfect internal disorder." I think as a teacher we should always check our level of entropy, our internal disorder, as a measure if we are still honest to the vocation we pledged to take and the life we are bound to live.

I wish more teachers and parents will have a chance to watch plays like this. I wish I could have written this review earlier? or watched the play earlier so I could have promoted it to my fellow teachers and parents? But I watched the second to the last scheduled play last July 25. Still, I guess if someone wills it, there is always a way.