LGBT – Nasaan na nga ba ang Lipunan sa usaping ito?

LGBT – Nasaan na nga ba ang Lipunan sa usaping ito?

Aldrian C. Valles

Bilang isang Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, o Transgender dito sa Pilipinas, tingin sa kanila ay hindi “normal”. Marami ang nagsasabi na “Ang lahat ng tao ay pantay-pantay lalo na sa mata ng Diyos” pero bakit marami pa rin sa kanila ang parang hindi tanggap ng lipunan?

Pagkakapantay-pantay, pagmamahal, at pagtanggap – ito lamang ang kanilang higit na kailangan at kanilang ipinaglalaban pero marami pa rin sa kanila ay nakakatanggap ng mga pangungutya mula sa ibang tao. Kung minsan, nakakatanggap rin sila ng pangungutya mula sa kanilang pamilya at mga kaibigan. Sa halip na pagtanggap at pagmamahal, ang kanilang natatanggap ay walang tigil na pang-aabusong emosyonal. May mga pagkakataon na nakararamdam rin sila ng hindi pagtanggap mula sa simbahan ng iba’t-ibang relihiyon. Madalas, sila ay pinagtatawanan habang dumadaan. Tinitignan sila mula ulo hanggang talampakan. Marami sa kanila’y hindi tanggap ng kanilang mga pamilya lalo na ng kanilang ama.

Para sa akin, hindi kailanman dapat maging hadlang ang kasarian sa pagkakaroon ng maligayang buhay at Tagumpay sa mga adhikain. Ang mahalaga ay wala tayong ibang taong tinatapakan. Huwag mong ikahiya kung ikaw ay isa sa kanila. Sila din minsan ay mas maraming alam at mas mahusay sa paghahanap-buhay at iba pang mga kapaki-pakinabang na gawain.

Isang magandang Halimbawa ay so Aiza Seguerra na isang proud lesbian. Siya ngayon ay isang sikat na singer, isang mahusay na kompositor, at mainpluwensiyang youth advocate. Si Vice Ganda naman ay isang proud gay/transgender. Isa rin siyang sikat na komedyante, nakabenta ng libo-libong album bilang isang mang-aawit, at isa na rin ngayong matagumpay na negosyante. Siya ay sikat na sikat hindi lamang dito sa Pilipinas kundi maging sa ibang bansa. Si Rustom Padilla na ngayon ay kilala na bilang Binibining Gandang Hari o Bb Gandang Hari ay isa namang proud na transgender. Noon, siya ay isang magaling na actor ngunit ngayon ay isa na siyang sikat na modelo sa ibang bansa.

Isa lamang ang aking nais iparating sa lahat. Dapat nang itigil natin ang panghuhusga sa ating mga kapwa lalo na sa mga miyembro ng LGBTQ. Dapat nating irespeto ang kanilang pagkatao at mga desisyon. Dapat natin silang tanggapin dahil tulad din natin sila na taong mayroong mga pangarap na gustong makamit, may karapatang mabuhay nang may pantay na karapatang tinatamasa, at marunong magmahal at nangangailangan din ng pagmamahal.

Games we Play by Emmanuel A. Parajeto

We all played games. It started in our childhood. We loved playing with other kids even with the ones that we don’t really know well. We enjoyed playing all kinds of games and we look forward to playing outside whenever we’re doing something else. It made life fantastic for us as children. Even though our clothes become dirty and our mothers reprimand us about it, it never stopped us from having fun. It doesn’t matter even when the sun is at its brightest and hottest. We didn’t care. We just couldn’t stop running, jumping, sliding, and hiding. Our skins got darker but we simply want to play some more.

We can’t get enough of Chinese Garter, Luksong Baka, Luksong Tinik, Sipa, Patintero, Dodge Ball, Paliboy, and more. There is no gender discrimination when it comes to playing. We capitalized on our social skills and team work to win each game. We didn’t really notice it at first because we were mostly after having fun but it actually did wonders to our body and our mind. It made our hearts beat faster and it made us sweat. Often, it took our breath away but after trying to steady our heartbeat by inhaling and exhaling oxygen, we’re good to go again and there’s that great feeling that we cannot simply define.

Nowadays, we only see few children in the playground or playing in the streets. Compared to the past years, children nowadays play someplace else. They can actually play games everywhere because they do it with their gadgets. More and more kids spend more time playing with their mobile devices. Some even choose to skip their meals whenever they can get away with it. Others cut classes just to feed their addiction. In the evening, you can easily spot them through the lights from their mobile device’s screen at they play in the dark. There are some children who are so young but are already wearing graded eyeglasses as their eyes’ health slowly deteriorates with lack of rest.

Yes, gadgets are useful. It is true. It can help us be more efficient. We can use it in communicating, browsing social media and web pages, creating PowerPoint presentations, downloading videos, documents, and other media, and playing different games. However, not all of us can set and handle limitations.

All in all, both traditional games and gadgets have their own unique advantages. Yes, we need to cope with the changes that time brings. However, we should not forget the laughter that we shared with our playmates when we played, soiled our shirts, and scraped our knees. Our traditional games are part of our culture. It speaks of how we are sporty, active, and resourceful. Besides, wouldn’t you want the next generation to experience the fun that you had in the streets even when your mother had to shout your full name for all your neighbors to hear while threatening you with a flip-flop, a belt, or a broom. Remember what you did? You probably ran home, laughing all the way!

Jawili Integrated School Celebrates 14th National Dental Health Month

“Give your smile to everyone but give your heart to only one.” This saying is popular among the high school students so as part of Jawili Integrated School’s celebration of the 14^th National Dental Health Month, JIS teachers, especially the Nutrition and Health Coordinators – Mrs. Jean T. Daroy, Teacher III (Elementary) and Mrs. Vemalyn T. Felisario, Teacher I (Secondary), and MAPEH teachers facilitated activities that will help the learners make their smiles worthy of sharing. These activities also help the learners understand why taking good care of their dental health is a great investment and how they will reap its fruits when they get older. This is to emphasize the theme of the celebration which is, “Ngiping Inaruga mula Pagkabata, Malusog na Ngiti baon sa Pagtanda”.

Dental Health Care was embedded in different lessons in MAPEH, specifically in Health, in English and Filipino subjects as topic in writing activities and presentations, and in TLE subjects through PowerPoint Presentation Making activities.

A Poster-Making Contest was also held on February 21, 2018 in two categories – one for elementary pupils and another for secondary students. The certificates of recognition for the winners were awarded right after the flag ceremony the next day.

Jawili Integrated School continues to integrate dental health care in different subjects to raise awareness and encourage the learners to practice it and share what they have learned in school to other stakeholders.

Awarding of Certificates of Recognition for the contest winners after the Flag Ceremony on February 22, 2018 with Ms. Lina D. Tumbagahan, OIC, and Nutrition and Health Coordinators – Mrs. Jean T. Daroy (Elementary), and Mrs. Vemalyn T. Felisario (Secondary)

Winning Posters

The Limitation of Human Brain by Aldea Rose B. Tunod

We live in a vibrant and complex world. Every time we gather information that catches our attention, we rely on our senses – sight, taste, smell, and touch that tell us what’s happening around us.

 What our senses are capable of is incredible because according to research, our eyes can receive 1MB of information every second that is equivalent to reading an entire encyclopaedia every minute. We can hear a person whispering from 10 meters. In less than a second, one whiff takes us back to a memory from childhood. Our skin contains four million receptors that give us vital information about temperature, pressure, texture, and pain.

Our senses give us so much information that our brain has developed ways to respond effectively. It particularly focuses on things that could harm us, information about things that are important to us, things that could give us pleasure and reward, or things that are interesting and new but sometimes, the information that our senses are gathering seem confusing or incomplete. That’s why our brain draws our memories, past experiences, and current feelings to guess and fill in the blanks. Most of the time, these guesses are helpful to us but sometimes mess them up. We do not just get some information wrong but the sheer amount of information we receive every second we can only do about 4 bits at one time because our brain is prone to information overload and misses some important pieces of data.

Everything has its limitation, even our brain so we must explore ourselves to know its capacity.

Vacuum dominates Dirt

With the busy schedule at work and a busy household with children roaming around like cockroaches, a mother of three toddler and pre-schoolers cleaning is one tough task to do. Having everything in your hands to do while cooking and taking care of them is a bit of a burden. Good thing there is a helper now that does it all. No need for sweeping. No need for dusting floors. No more scraping the carpets. A vacuum cleaner is the answer. Yes, it is a long time ago house helper but traditional vacuum cleaners are not the topic today.

Robotic vacuum cleaner seems to dominate the market in cleaning materials. There are a lot of different brands out there that promises every quality and reliability they can offer for a single vacuum cleaner.

What is important in choosing which robotic vacuum cleaner is the best should be based on its basic features, add-on features, price, storage, battery performance and also actual reviews online.

Features of a simple robotic vacuum cleaner

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          It cleans well on edges and corners. A vacuum cleaner can go through under sofas and bed and able to go back out of the dark. A docking function is necessary so you and other members of your household won’t accidentally step on it. Having cliff sensors is a must if your house has stairs or a few steps because detecting hollow areas could save you from damaging itself. Purchasing a unit also depends on their ability to clean on the type of flooring your home has.

Add-on features

• This may or may not be that necessary but simply makes you comfortable in some ways. Like the remote controlled vacuum cleaner, no need to lean down and push the buttons, just grab your remote and let your fingers do it sitting down.
• Having to see obstacles is a great function too because what if there’s a particular area in your house that is elevated and should be cleaned like a small ramp or a high pile carpet? Still consider this before buying.
• Does helping you clean the air important? A robotic vacuum cleaner of a famous brand has this feature, it just only say how environmental friendly they are.
• Full bin indicator helps you maintain your robotic vacuum cleaner’s performance because if it just sucks up dirt continuously and there’s no function like this, what is the use of it roaming around sucking up nothing, and also the battery will be wasted.
• Multi room navigation can be used in several rooms on the same floor, it can also function a memory eventually, remembering where it left off going back to the unclean area without human help.

Performance and Battery Duration

Most robotic vacuum cleaners work for approximately 90 minutes but there are brands that don’t get it full because of their cleaning path. Some brands cleaning path are back and forth which is better and some are just randomly picking up pieces which takes much time therefore time consuming.

These are just tips on how would one choose a better robotic vacuum cleaner for their household.

Link Start – Advantages of Gadgets by Emmanuel A. Parajeto (as published in Busay)

“Tap, tap, click, click…” These are the usual sounds when we use our gadgets. Some devices even have voice recognition. Just tell your gadget to start and it will start. Gadgets nowadays play a big role in mankind, especially mobile phones. These gadgets are popular for most teens. Now, even the grandparents seem to be catching up on these as well as little kids as young as three.

Gadgets such as Android devices and iOS (iPhone Operating System/Apple) seem to make everything easier. However, myths started sprouting one after the other especially in the eyes of the older ones. Here are some of the facts about the most common myths about mobile devices.

Myth: Phones will ruin your focus and distract you from your studies.

Fact: Phones really help us in terms of education. It makes searching for information quick and easy unlike before when we need to go to the library, find the book that may contain the information that we need, and flip through the pages until we find that information. Then, you can either manually copy the information, or have specific pages photocopied. Now, we could just connect to the internet and use search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing and have multiple sources of our needed information. We just need to be wary and know which sources are reliable and which ones are not.

Myth: Gadgets are just for gaming.

Fact: Our parents say it a lot, right? But, when you go on an adventure, it’s time consuming and sometimes inaccurate to use a conventional map. You need to identify your location first, the route that you will take, and your destination. It might sound simple to others but for those who do not have much sense of direction, it’s a herculean task. On the other hand, with your phone, you can just use the GPS. It will automatically identify your location. It will show you different options on how to reach your destination from where you are. Pocket dictionary apps are also available should you decide to have your adventure in a foreign speaking place.

Myth: Gadgets do not serve many purposes and is just a total waste of time.

Fact: The term that should be used is “entertain”. Gadgets always keep us company as we listen to music, watch videos, play games, and more.

Myth: Gadgets create a wall between people and prevents social interaction.

Fact: This is the opposite of one of the major points of having gadgets (connected to the internet, of course). You can use your gadget to communicate with your friends and loved ones who live far from you through calls, instant messages, and even video chat. You wouldn’t need to go through the traditional means of long distance communication such as snail mail, telegram, and others. Snail mail may take days, weeks, months, depending on its destination. There are even times when the mail does not reach its destination at all. On the other hand, the telegram is quite expensive and you have to pay per character that you send. This is why most telegrams neglect the use of prepositions.

Just like any other products of technology, whether gadgets are helpful or destructive depends upon how people use them. Time management will always be a great key to break these myths and to break our parents’ daily routine of scolding. Talking about the future, it’s always best to be ready and knowledgeable enough to use higher level of technology. Who knows, maybe next year, Stark’s or Iron Man’s cool gadgets will be available for use in virtual games like SAO and Holographic projections – no more screens. Also, remember the most important thing – finish your studies or you will end up watching your friends using cool, new gadgets during the grand alumni homecoming while you sit in the corner playing “Space Impact” in your old console.

The Spirit of Giving – Alive and Well with Develop Philippines

               I met Kuya Glen through online through my side job. It was from him that I learned about Develop Philippines. I was checking the website and decided to seek their help through book donations for the Jawili Integrated School Library – the school where I teach. I got a positive response in just a couple of days and I was really excited. I even thought for a moment that it was too good to be true.

              We are also very thankful for Lyndsey Rose from Union Catholic High School for all her help - from identifying needs to finding resources so these needs are fulfilled. May God bless you more as you continue to touch lives.

Getting a “yes” from Develop Philippines through Kuya Glen was virtually effortless. I know that out learners will love the new books. On top of it, Kuya Glen also asked if the teachers and the students in our school need anything. I said that we could use some supplies especially some of our students who came from families without a stable source of income. He also asked me if my family and I needed anything. Although I told him that we are actually quite lucky that we are able to provide our needs, he told me that he wants to do something for us.

On July 5, 2018, the Supreme Student Government was having our Fundraising Fair when I was called to the Principal’s Office. Turns out, the package has arrived. I called three of the Supreme Student Government Officers to help me open the package and sort its contents in three – books for the library, school supplies for the learners and for the teachers, and the bags for the learners. As we did, the officers who were helping me cannot help but flip the pages of the books and check the school supplies out. They were most amazed with the touchscreen calculators and the storybooks.

We divided the school supplies – which ones are to be given to learners and which ones to keep in the office, ready for use in case the teachers need them.  Then, we brought the books to the library where some of the other students went when they saw us carrying the books. The moment we put the books on the table, they started reading and I let them read for a few minutes. Then, I informed them that I have to record the information about the books first but the books will be available for them to borrow the next day.

During recess time, some students borrowed the Frisbees which are now officially the favorite activity of our learners on their break time. I also asked the class advisers about their suggestions about the learners who need and deserve the bags and the school supplies most. Before the last period, I already have the complete list so with a couple of our SSG officers, we sorted out the bags and school supplies so they are ready for the recipients.

During the last period, we asked the recipients to come to the library so they can get their bag and school supplies.

Yes, the spirit of giving is alive and well and Jawili Integrated School is deeply touched by it. We will always be thankful for all these blessings. We are sure to include Kuya Glen and Develop Philippines in our prayers – that they may continue to be a blessing to others especially those who are in need. Again, thank you for your generosity and for having a big heart for the Philippines! God bless! <3 o:p="">

P.S. Thank you for your gift to my family! <3 p="">