BY: JACKIE LYN V. LOZADA

            Filipinos have unique traits and characteristics that clearly define who we are as a people. We have good qualities that we are commonly known for that surely attract foreign countries, visitors, and other races to our motherland, especially us Filipinos who dwell in it. I admit that we are not perfect; we have flaws, mistakes, and negative characteristics. However, as Filipinos, we have distinct qualities and some of the best traits in the world that we can be proud of. We are Filipinos by nature. We have different respectable values and characteristics that are innate in every one of us. It is our pride that we must treasure as long as we live.

            The Filipino values system arises from our culture or way of life, our distinctive way of becoming human in this particular place and time. It is the norms, ethical practices, etiquette, cultural and personal values that are common and shared by Filipinos in their society.  Filipino values system is molded in place where love, faith and hope exist. It is very important for us as people, especially for me as a pre-service teacher, because it will help me to become a better individual and become a better version of myself. It will give me clear goals and serve as my guiding torch that lights up the journey I will take. Filipino values are important to me because they empower my personal moral standards and shape my behavior to become a just and rational individual. Learning and applying these values will guide me as a pre-service teacher in how I should behave and act in various situations that I may encounter. A person with good values has a more structured way of living. That’s why having it as a future teacher will give me more opportunities to grow, strengthen my knowledge, and equip me with compassion, peace, and justice to teach my future students to be active, competent, and excellent students, not just in terms of academics, but most especially in their moral values.

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader”.

dolly parton

            Imagine yourself living in this world wherein most people hate you because you are immoral? I can’t imagine myself teaching in front of my students as well as serving as a bad influence on them by doing bad things. I believe that “action speaks louder than words”. That’s why it is important for me as a pre-service teacher to serve as a role model for my fellow Filipino citizens, especially to my students, on how to live righteously, morally, and Godly in this present world. Thus, let us appreciate the fact that these values should be applied to our society to have a good potential in terms of working for our human uplifting and to our national betterment. We must learn to strengthen and enrich our Filipino value system by preserving it as our own wealth. Good values are our treasure. They are something as precious as diamonds and jewels that no one can steal from us. It is the only legacy that we can leave to our students.

            Having good value helps me to create the future I want to experience. It helps me find my worth and the purpose of my existence in this world. The Filipino value system reminds me of my true essence as a human. It made me appreciate that there is a God who created us, and He, as a holy and righteous being, wants us to be like Him by obeying His goodwill. Good values are important to us because they act as a boundary line, limiting what we do in order to avoid harm. We are the ship sailing in big waves and stormy seas, and these values serve as our rudder, guiding and disciplining us along the right path or direction that we have chosen.  As a person, I learned that great accomplishments stem from our contentment, peace, and happiness, as well as how others treat us equally with respect and love as a result of our good deeds or good works.

“At the end of the day, the position is just a position, a title is just a title, and those things come and go. It’s really your essence and your values that are important”.

QUEEN RANIA OF JORDAN

PHOTO REFERENCES:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphilnews.ph%2F2019%2F09%2F17%2Fcore-filipino-values-and-cultural-concepts-and-their-importance%2F&psig=AOvVaw1UyhP-Q52–_SJJrZoEQEr&ust=1634103512884000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCJD2vO2TxPMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAK

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.john15.rocks%2Ffilipino-values-month%2F&psig=AOvVaw1UyhP-Q52–_SJJrZoEQEr&ust=1634103512884000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCJD2vO2TxPMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffilipinotimes.net%2Fnews%2F2019%2F11%2F05%2Flicensed-filipino-teachers-get-free-reintegration-training-abu-dhabi%2F&psig=AOvVaw33t8I0dFw5Cn8a1CC6dTmg&ust=1634103787131000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCKiIz–UxPMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheculturetrip.com%2Fasia%2Fphilippines%2Farticles%2F11-things-you-should-know-about-the-filipino-culture%2F&psig=AOvVaw1UyhP-Q52–_SJJrZoEQEr&ust=1634103512884000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCJD2vO2TxPMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

By: Jackie Lyn V. Lozada

“We are the HERO of our own STORY”

All of us have memories, both good and bad. Memories that shapes our experiences and build our personalities of who we are today. Some of it help us get by tough days and make us cheerful on good days. It is our precious wealth from long time ago and recent times that make us smile or be sad, either to laugh or even cry, the important is- it is a part of our precious moments in life that contribute to our growth and development as an individual today. Memories are the little things which help in running our lives smoothly. To put it another way, memories are priceless and hold a special place in our hearts. They assist us in learning from our mistakes and improving ourselves. Childhood memories, in my view, are the most precious to everyone. They aid in the existence of the kid within you. Furthermore, it is a source of our smiles when we are in the midst of adulthood.

            My Childhood memories are special and very important in my life. The different stories behind it made a greater impact on how my personality is today and the way I behave in different situations. The 21 years of my life have many different stories and experiences to tell, most of those are already forgotten knowing that as a human we have element of being forgetful but, some of it are still fresh, clear and vivid in my mind and that earliest experiences of mine stick with me for years and continue to influence me well to become a progressive and successful person someday in God’s will. One of my unforgettable childhood memories in life is when we experienced financial difficulties in life because of poverty during my primary and secondary school years. It is the moment in our life together with my three siblings wherein we experience hunger because we have “no food to eat”. I experienced having to eat young coconut (buko) as a staple for rice during that time in order to go to school because my parents didn’t send us an allowance here in our barrio while studying, knowing that they were too busy with their work during that time on our small farm.

I accept the reality that I came from a poor family, and I was raised by my parents in a simple way of life. Despite that, I am very blessed and thankful to God that I experienced those things and learned from them. I learned to be contented in life and be thankful even for the small things I have. I experienced going to school without new shoes, without new uniforms, and without a branded set of school supplies, knowing that when I was in elementary, most of my uniforms were simply handed out and worn out by my elder sister. My parents taught us to be kind, share the things we have and learn to be patient and contented knowing that we haven’t enough budget to buy new uniforms and other school materials in that time, so we tend to prioritize first our needs than our wants.

            We have no luxurious cars like what other rich kids have, or even a simple vehicle. That’s why we walk from home to school; anyway, it’s practical for me as a student. I graduated from elementary and secondary school without pocket money (baon) and haven’t experienced having food for recess. Sometimes, I come home from school tired from doing my school requirements and curricular activities without the dish I’ll be eating with rice. I tried to eat “mantoy dish” or what we called “mantika at toyo”, and salt and water (tubig at asin) were put in the rice, because we had no budget to buy meat or canned goods. Another thing is coffee with rice, but absolutely for me, it is really delicious! And I’m not shy about sharing this personal experience of my life because it taught me lots of lessons and values in life to go on, and that poverty is really not a hindrance to continuing our education, earning a degree, and becoming a successful person someday.

            I experienced being bullied by other students in our school before, those other people in our village, and the worst, even my own grandfather, because of our poverty. We heard lots of hurtful words from him, and even my grandmother (paternal side) wanted to stop my studies because, for them, it was just a waste of time and money. But, all of those challenges didn’t hinder me to pursue my goals and continue my studies. I use those challenges as my shield and huddle to face the battles within my journey. Our poverty in life inspire me today to fight and win this battle in God’s help. That’s why, even it is hard, sometimes it is tiring, I didn’t lose hope, I still face it and believe in myself that “I CAN DO IT THROUGH GOD WHO STRENGTHENS ME” for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrew 13:5, Omega Digi Bible, ESV).

            Childhood memories are very important in my life. It makes me remember the best times of my lives and always find the best reasons for me to fight, smile and go forward. Through it, I learned that “true happiness in this world of sorrows is being content with what you are and what you have” (twitter.com/BroEliSoriano). We may see how our childhood memories influence our adult lives. They don’t necessarily define us, but they certainly play a significant part in our lives. It makes no difference if a person with terrible childhood experiences turns up to be poor. People evolve as a result of their terrible experiences. However, memories play a significant part in this process. Those experiences motivate me to finish my studies and become a professional teacher someday, in order to help those students, like me, who experience poverty but have a passion to pursue their goals no matter how hard life is. Another thing is that I want to help my parents and give back all their sacrifices and sweat by giving me an opportunity to achieve my dream.

I’m Jackie Lyn Villar, Lozada, 21 years old and a Social Studies Major. I am a 3^rd year student in the College of Teacher Education (CTE) at Palawan State University. I’m honored to have an opportunity to write this journal article and share my story and experiences on how I learned and tried to face the storms and big waves in my life and for the readers to learn from it. Furthermore, I’m blessed and thankful to God that even though I came from a simple family, I learned to appreciate the spices of my life as a wonderful ingredient in being a courageous and strong woman, dependent and faithful to God. Despite our poverty, I’m blessed that I graduated from my primary school years at Alimanguan Elementary School as a 2^nd Honorable Mention and with high honor as a salutatorian during my senior high school graduation at Alimanguan National High School. One of my achievements in life with the everlasting help of God is being a Supreme Student Government (SSG) president on our school campus when I was in my 4^th and 12^th years of high school and being SSG Treasurer in the whole municipality of San Vicente’s different schools. I also became the 2^nd Editor-In-Chief of our school newspaper, for which I received an award, and it’s my honor to become the “most promising feature writer” in our municipality as we conducted our first journalist training. I also became an ambassadress of Mutya ng Kalikasan 2017 on our school campus and in our municipality. I was also a teen facilitator in our municipality before and an advocate of education in our Local Youth Development Council as we advocated youth awareness and education programs by conducting trainings and symposiums in every school in our municipality with regard to the different issues that are facing youth today. Not only that, I also joined academic training and other sports and curricular activities we had in school before.

             My tough situations taught me that the real definition of success is to have God within your heart, because it teaches you to forgive and have peace in your mind and soul, no matter how many people put you down and forsake you. Success can’t be measured only by material things such as having a comfortable house, a car, and having delicious food to eat. It can’t be measured only by money and your achievements in life, because I learned from my experiences that the true definition of success is to have PEACE, CONTENTMENT, HOPE, FAITH, and LOVE in you as a person. We can’t be successful unless God is on our side, and we can’t do anything without Him! for me, “Being successful” means understanding the true meaning of life by understanding its purpose. A life lived without its purpose was lived in vain and was wasted. A life spent for the purpose of God, which it was meant for, is a meaningful and successful life.

By: Jackie Lyn V. Lozada

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your WORK and the love you have shown him as you have helped his PEOPLE and continue to HELP them.”  

Hebrews 6:10

Omega Digi Bible

What is NSTP and its hidden facts?

The National Service Training Program, or NSTP, is a program designed to instill patriotism in Filipino youth. This program aimed to improve civic awareness and preparedness among youth by instilling the values of service and patriotism while undergoing training in any of its three program components. (1) Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) is a program established by Republic Act 7077 that provides tertiary-level youth with military training in order to activate them for national defense preparedness. (2) The Literacy Training Service prepares students to teach less fortunate school children, out-of-school youth, and other indigent people who have been denied the opportunity to learn. (3) Civic Welfare Training Service is a program that prepares students to contribute to the general well-being of community members’ lives.

How about LTS?

As a Social Studies pre-service teacher, LTS is the program I already took under my NSTP subject. It enables to train and teach students like me in terms of literacy and numeracy. Its noble goal is to develop the potential of future innovators not only in terms of academic performance, skills, and expertise in our specific field, but also in terms of personal development and values that we can apply in our teaching profession and volunteering, particularly with Out-of-School youth and Indigenous children. Exploring and learning through this program is quite interesting. It really helps me a lot as a pre-service teacher to gain more understanding of how to be a worthy servant and active leader of our country. It helps me to find my self-worth and purpose through serving others, not just my future students but also our fellow Filipino men.

This program provided me with some values and points of view in life. I learned to consider the value of giving even if you receive nothing in return. Just like what the Bible says in II Corinthians 9:7, God loves a cheerful giver. He wants us to give and share our time, effort, learning, and other available resources with those in need, voluntarily, based on our own free will. Another thing is that I appreciate the value of friendship. As we teach the students, we are adding them to our list of family members, those individuals that are important to us. And also, I realize the worth of love. We must unconditionally love our country and our fellow citizens. In my opinion, I learned to care about what our country needs, thus it really shows the great importance of LTS-1 for students and future teachers like me.

Literacy Training Service program is important for future teachers like me knowing that strong literacy skills are closely related to the likelihood of having a good job, earning a decent living, and having access to training opportunities that I might possibly use in my teaching career. Literacy is a fundamental human need as well as a human right to knowledge. Only when it leads to participation in cultural and social activities does it have meaning. It empowers us to make value judgments and rational decisions on our own. It helps us to improve our self-esteem, develop creativity, increase our productivity, and inculcate awareness of how we view situations around us in terms of ups and downs, and measure things behind our capacity. This program prepares me as a future teacher to become who I am as a successful individual someday. It cultivates me enough to grow out of my shell and enriches me to become a well-educated, well-mannered, and resilient responsible teacher who can cope with different challenges in different areas of the work field. It prepares me to be a flexible and versatile teacher for the next generation!

Let your LIGHT SHINES out of the DARKNESS!!

#Pre-Service_Teachers_CARES!!