Friday, October 2, 2009

...Of Typhoons and Class Suspensions

September 30, 2009. My cellphone was flooded with my students' SMS about the alleged CHED Memorandum suspending classes in Nueva Ecija from October 1 to 3 because of another typhoon hitting the country in the next few days. It was basically a GM message saying that our University President abided by the CHED's order being passed by the USSC. Irritated by being disturbed after having to do the last set of demo teachers until almost 8:30PM, I even shrugged one of the students that I will only abide with the suspension once the President hands us the signed memorandum. I dozed off.

I was awakened by the angry rainfall early 3AM (October 1), so I thought that the classes are worth suspending. When I woke up at 7AM the sun was brightly greeting me a great and happy morning. Classes will not be suspended was what played in my mind.

Sadly, we had so many class suspensions that classes were sacrificed. I, personally, am running out of time catching up with the lessons that I need to cover. I felt that the students rallied to suspend the classes, and they won. Early October 1, the memorandum was faxed to our office.

For me, it will be a long weekend. But for them, it will be tons of sighs and protests because of the tons of school works (reading assignments and paper works that I'll be giving them) and make-up classes extending until their semestral break. They need to catch up with what they needed to learn. =)

Typhoon Pepeng...

Here comes another typhoon. Few days ago, Ondoy left but invited Pepeng to visit the Philippines. Pepeng is the reason why many students in public elementary and high schools will have compressed lessons in the coming days. College classes were even suspended earlier that our toddler and teen students. I admire the resiliency of the early memorandum but it could have been done later today (October 2) when there is already a typhoon signal raised.

There has been plenty of text messages saying that power will be off by 9PM or 11PM but hey its already 11:30PM and I'm still writing this blog.

The problem with us is that we over exagerate things. Yes, we have been hit and was devastated by Ondoy but we need to positively look into things. I thought we are a God-believing nation? Of course most will say that it will be the end of the world. But hey its not yet the end.

What we need to do is to listen to the experts, with PAGASA I mean. And not even give a damn to a GM message saying that its a devastating typhoon and that we are all gonna d because of Pepeng. Hey Philippines, the media sometimes over-exagerate things. Let us be critical thinkers.

I think all we need to do is to prepare and to follow the advises of disaster management experts. =)

I am blessed because I am a trained Red Cross volunteer and disaster responder. Like math problems, disasters also has a formula to come up with the answer. All we need to do is to follow the step-by-step solution.

God bless us. =) (Think Pasitib! -sabi nga ni Kuya Robin. =)

**Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)