Newton’s waffle

This is a post from my other blog that I just want to share:

One of the hardest things for a teacher to do is to let go of his or her students - whether it be because they’re moving on to the next higher level or because they’re moving on to another school.

Because even though they don’t see it, letting go really hurts. I guess the main reason why it does is because it feels like losing a part of your self whenever it happens. I mean, no matter how much we distance ourselves from our students, we can’t help but take them in as our own children. Yes, as our own, regardless of how stubborn or hard-headed they may be. And being semi-parents, we can’t help but feel responsible for everything that they do or experience.

We can’t help but feel angry when they get hurt, or feel scared when they’re threatened. We feel protective when they’re vulnerable, or worried when they’re confused. We can’t help but feel proud of their accomplishments, or feel guilty for their shortcomings. We can’t refrain from feeling all these things because no matter how much we try, we always end up getting attached to them (even if they don’t know it).

And what’s even worse is that it doesn’t end there. Just when you think the act of letting go is hard enough, we still have to put up a straight face for everyone who was left so that they would understand our intentions that come with the parting better than the suffering that we feel. We have to pretend to be strong and adamant so that the others can continue to be forged and find it easier to let go when it is their time to do so. That’s our burden.

And at the same time, that’s all we can do. That and hope that someday they’d understand… that one day they’ll figure out… that it was all for them - the sacrifice, the hurting, the parting of ways. After all, they’ll only learn to how to fly when they venture away from the nest.

In every generation, there is always an electronic bane that tempts students away from studies. In my time, it was the family computer. This time, it’s a lethal combination of phones, music players and game consoles.

You see, back then, the temptation seems to be a very easy one to deal with. Family computers, because they only have a single function (for gaming) and because they used to cost a fortune, could only be afforded by the more well off families. Aside from this, parents have more control as to when they can be used because they serve no other purpose but for playing games. Before, most parents bring them out only during weekends or vacations when they don’t have to compete against studies.

Today, however, temptations are a million times more difficult to fight against for a variety of reasons. Cellular phones, for example, have become quite an integral part not just of everyday communications but also of everyday things. From talking to others, to finding directions when lost, and even to providing emergency light in the absence of a flashlight, people depend on their cellular phones. Even students from as early as elementary levels, are provided with cellular phones by their moms and dads.

Music players, another form of temptation in this age of rhythm and sound, have taken the hearts of adolescent generations by providing an instant escape from everyday worries. Whenever, they need to relax, or sometimes even to focus or drown out the noise around them, they turn on their music players to listen to music inside the classroom, during breaks or anywhere else where they feel like it.

Lastly, game consoles such as PSPs, just like their predecessors, are gaming units. But unlike the family computers, PSPs serve a variety of other functions. They can play music, movies, and can even be used to surf the internet wirelessly. They’re the electronic version of Swiss Army knives, so to speak, nice to have, but not essential.

Anyway, regardless of generation and sophistication, the fact is these electronic wonders just like their ancestors, no matter how many good functions they have, will always remain a distraction for students. Cellular phones, music players, and game consoles require attention and that alone is enough to consider them a threat to our children’s studies.

I, for one, will try my best to keep Mateo from all these temptations until such time that he is able to prove to me that he’s responsible enough to bear the burden of these gadgets without sacrificing his studies, health or behavior. It is then and only until then, that he will ever be allowed to possess any cellular phone, Ipod or PSP.