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The Grade 7 teachers were the last in the roster and I was also the last teacher to be observed, which I find amusing because I was also the last teacher in the morning session during the initial observation. I was anxious all morning and negative thoughts started to flood my mind, but I had friends and family who cheered for me and I’m grateful for them.

I can say that I had a lot of hiccups during my actual grand demo because I was nervous, but I’m relieved that I improved a lot in terms of voice modulation and movement animation. Dr. Delos Santos also commended me for being able to make my class student-centered, which has been my struggle since the beginning. I’m also happy about my class activity, where my students will put on costumes of their dream jobs before walking in the aisle as if they were on a fashion runway.

I’m very grateful for my cooperating teacher, Mrs. Maricar, for being patient and for guiding me throughout my practice teaching journey in Parañaque National High School, and for my students, for being cooperative throughout the entire demo. My experience in Parañaque National High School will be an unforgettable one because of the lessons I’ve learned in the past two months of being a teacher there. I know that there’s still a lot I have to learn, and that’s okay, because teaching is a life-long journey and I will continue to learn as I go my own way.

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For the second day of our grand demonstration teaching, it was the Grade 10 teachers and one Grade 8 teacher (Axl, Jonalyn, Krisha, and Sarah)’s turn. I was able to watch all four of them as well, and I couldn’t be any prouder of them.

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It was finally happening—our grand demonstration teaching. The Grade 8 and 9 teachers (Jenny, Gellie, Daniella, and Jasmine) were the first four in the roster since the school was still under ADM. I was happy to be able to get a glimpse of my co-practice teachers’ grand demo and I’m proud of them for doing an amazing job.

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The school announced that the class will be on ADM or alternative delivery mode, where classes are only 35 minutes each. I was hoping that I could still use it to practice so I did, even if I wasn’t able to practice the supposed-to-be highlight of my demon.

I also went to Ms. Annie with Sarah for the feedbacks regarding my lesson plan for my demonstration teaching.

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This was my second day for dry runs and I can say that there was improvement in my instruction and delivery. I had Mrs. Maricar check and approve my lesson plan before giving it to Ms. Annie for her to check and comment on. While the EsP teachers were having a meeting, the practice teachers also held a quick meeting of our own to finalize the committees for each day, as well as how much our budget will be for the expenses.

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It’s the first day of my dry run for my grand demonstration teaching. I made a few mistakes in my first class, but I was able to improve by the second class. I had another post-con meeting with Mrs. Maricar after dismissal so we can go over my mistakes and what I need to improve on.

I still have a lot to work on even after my internship and working with Mrs. Maricar has been very insightful. I appreciate her mentorship and her patience with me.

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For the past five days, I’ve been preparing for my grand demonstration teaching. From instructional materials to powerpoint presentations to writing notes, I’ve been anxiously checking these everyday to see if there’s anything I missed. I made sure to rest, of course, since I knew that worrying too much about it will only make it worse.

Here's a photo of the bingo card I'm going to make for my motivational activity, where students will mark which of the choices is their dream job.

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For these two days, it was the school’s 3rd quarterly exam. Mrs. Maricar asked me to stay at the faculty and check the students’ notebooks and activities while she supervises the students. It’s a little disheartening to see that some students made a lot of mistakes and it made me reflect on whether I was doing enough as a teacher for them.

Mrs. Maricar and I also decided that I’ll use the topic Pangarap instead for my grand demonstration teaching to give me enough time to prepare and practice for it.

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I used this day to conduct a dry run of my grand demonstration teaching in one class and for the remaining classes, we were still finishing up the completion of requirements. This made me realize how tough it is to chase after students who don’t pass their activities and assignments on time.

It's one of the realities of being a teacher that I should face. I have to learn how to be efficient with my time so that I don't have to always chase after my students to complete their quizzes and activities.

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By this time, we received confirmation that the Grade 10 and 12 students will take the National Achievement Test on the days of our grand demonstration teaching. This affected our plans greatly and we decided that we’ll use the 22nd for our dry-run instead while there’s still news of when our next demo dates will be.

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The students were still completing their missed activities and exams today. While they work, I also took the opportunity to check the answer sheets submitted by the students were absent during the exam and quiz periods. I checked their notebooks and missed activities as well and recorded them so I don’t have to do it when I return to the faculty room.

Although it can be a little tiring, I learned to appreciate that short time for me to rest my voice before we start another lesson. It also made me happy to read my student's answers, because it shows that they are learning from me.

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It was my last day teaching the topic on Panloob na Salik, but Mrs. Maricar said that I should retouch my lesson plan for my grand demo first, since it was now only a week away. For this week, the students will be doing the requirements they’ve missed in the past weeks due to their absences and other activities. I used my vacant time to check their notebooks and record their scores.

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For the past two days, I’ve been down with a fever but I still tried to work on my lesson plan since I didn’t want to just lie down and rest. I replaced Mrs. Maricar in the classroom to watch over the students while they work on their unfinished tasks. It was a last minute decision, but I decided to change my grand demo topic to Panlabas na Salik na Nakaiimpluwensya sa Paghubog ng Pagpapahalaga.

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It was my last day teaching the topic on Panloob na Salik, but Mrs. Maricar said that I should retouch my lesson plan for my grand demo first, since it was now only a week away. For this week, the students will be doing the requirements they’ve missed in the past weeks due to their absences and other activities.

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Our supervisor, Dr. Delos Santos, went to visit Parañaque National High School for our initial observation. As I went on with my discussion, she suddenly entered the classroom and I got really nervous. I was the last teacher she observed for the morning session and after that, we went to the faculty for lunch break before having our post-con meeting with Dr. Delos Santos.

Her feedback regarding our performance was very detailed, which I appreciate because it'll be easier for me to understand and pinpoint where I should improve in.

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Although I’ve been noticing this since last month, I realized that students were a lot more different now compared to us back then. Teachers are forced to spoon-feed the lessons and answers, even the simplest ones, to them because they’re slow on the uptake. It’s upsetting, of course, since it’s obvious how badly the pandemic affected not only the students’ lives, but also their academics.

As a practice teacher, it's important for us to promote a student-centered learning that will teach students how to learn independently without leaving them alone. They were forced to be dependent for two, almost three years because of the pandemic, so it's up to us to stop that cycle and teach them how to think on their own.

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I made a few adjustments on my lesson based from Mrs. Maricar’s suggestions from our post-con meeting yesterday after the class. I had difficulties with finishing until the evaluation part of my lesson, so I tried to speed up things and gave them a shorter time to do their report, but I still wasn’t able to give them their evaluation activity.

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Just like the first and second day of the week, the students only took their preliminary exam and second quiz. Meanwhile for those who were done with both, I proceeded with teaching a new topic: Panloob na Salik na Nakaiimpluwensya sa Paghubog ng Pagpapahalaga. I decided to go with a group reporting this time as the main activity, where they will answer the provided guide questions using the material I gave them.

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It was the same for today, too. For those classes who are done taking their preliminary exams, they took their second quiz. And for those who are done with their second quiz they will be taking their preliminary exams. During my free time, I recorded their scores so that I won’t have to think about it during the completion week.

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There wasn’t anything new that happened today, but I’m starting to get nervous for my grand demo teaching since it’s now less than a month away. But my CT and friends assure me that I will be able to do well as long as I prepare myself and build up my confidence by then.

In my free time, I tried to come up with unique activities that I can use in my demonstration teaching.

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I applied what Mrs. Maricar did and used the picture analysis for a teacher-student discussion and I’m happy that it went well. The students kept wanting to recite and they were very engaged with the topic. I also realized that giving recitation chips is a very effective way to encourage them to recite.

We had another post-con meeting by the end of the day and by then, we decided that I will use this topic for my grand demonstration teaching.

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I bridged the past lesson to Hirarkiya sa Pagpapahalaga, which was the next topic. I was disappointed in myself when I blanked out in front of the class, but I immediately picked myself up and took it as a mistake that I should learn from.

All of us are only human, so we're bound to make mistakes, big or small. What matters most is that we learn from those and take it as a chance to improve and strive to be better.

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Classes were back to normal again so I continued where I left off with the discussion. I’m slowly becoming more confident in myself, but I’m still aware of the mistakes I haven’t corrected. I'm also slowly growing closer with my students! They're easier to approach now, and they also ask questions about me every now and then.

During my vacant time, I checked the students’ activities and notebooks, and recorded their scores.

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For Foundation Day, students were allowed to roam around the campus and visit booths of different departments. We all agreed to go to school early to design the booth and had a last-minute idea of endorsing it as a photobooth area as well. Aside from that, we also sold flowers and candies, which were ideas of the teachers. Overall, it was a fun event.

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I continued with the discussion of the new topic and applied the feedback I received from the day before, but I still made a few mistakes. During my vacant time, I helped with making the booth design for tomorrow, which was the school’s foundation day.

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For the classes that were done with their quiz, I started the discussion of Pagpapahalaga. I was glad that a lot of them wanted to recite and engage with the topic. I also started to use the recitation chips I bought for my classes because I remember that positive reinforcement is crucial in helping students improve their performance in class. I had another post-con meeting with Mrs. Maricar since it was a new topic, and took note of the things I needed to improve on.

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Since it was technically quiz week, I did the same as yesterday — we reviewed first before starting the quiz, then had checking of answer sheets once they were done answering it. At the faculty, I alternated with checking their notebooks and activities and cutting out letter templates for the foundation day together with the other PTs. It was comforting to be able to catch up and talk to them about our experiences so far.

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I arrived exactly on time for the first class because I had to have their long quiz photocopied. Before giving the students their quiz, we had a quick review of its coverage. I gave them enough time to answer the quiz before proceeding to exchanging their papers for checking.

Upon our post-con meeting, I realized that the quiz I made was a too difficult for the students to answer. We decided to change some of the questions to make it easier for them.

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Even though it was Catch-up Friday, I still had discussions with the classes I had for this day because they were going to have their long quiz the following week, so they needed to catch up on the lesson to be able to prepare for it.

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Mrs. Maricar told me to give the students an activity to do in their notebook, where they’ll draw a big shirt, with enough space for them to write their name along with their positive traits. It was fun watching them brainstorm about what traits started with the letters of their name. With this activity, though, I realized that a lot of them still don’t know how to spell despite being in their 7th grade already.

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This was my third day of teaching now, and I can say that I’ve seen improvements since my first day of discussion, but I also think that there’s still a lot of improvement that can be done. Hurrah for me, though! I didn't stutter as much in front and I used less filler words as I discussed. The PTs and the entire faculty continued to prepare for the school’s foundation day.

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It was my second day of teaching now and I tried my best to apply all the feedback I received from Mrs. Maricar and I think I did a bit better compared to my first day as a teacher. I was a little more confident compared to my first day, but I was still really nervous that I kept stuttering. Aside from that, we continued to cut out letter templates for the booth on Foundation Day.

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For today, it was finally my turn to teach and Mrs. Maricar’s turn to observe me from the back of the class. I was really nervous since it felt so different compared to our demonstration teaching back at PNU. My heart was beating loudly against my chest the entire time I was in front because I was scared of making a mistake.

After our last class, I had a post-con meeting with Mrs. Maricar so she can give me feedback on what I have to improve on.

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Aside from preparing my lesson plan, we also started cutting out letter templates for the school’s foundation day. The EsP Department has decided to hold a mail booth, where students will be given papers to write letters to whoever they want. Chosen students will be tasked to deliver the letters to whoever they’re addressed to.

My first topic was Birtud, which I thought was a difficult topic to discuss to Grade 7 students because they have the attention span of a goldfish, but I tried to come up with an interesting activity that will encourage them to participate.

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I was still on observation mode in terms of classes, since Mrs. Maricar and I have decided to let me observe how she does things inside the classroom. She started the orientation for the third quarter lessons and changed the students' seating arrangements based on their grades, where she will pair up the students who do well in class with those who need improvement so they can help them. I thought it was a smart student-centered strategy, because it promotes learning with peers instead of solely depending on the teacher.

I felt nervous the entire time, wondering if I’ll be able to do as well as she can once it’s my turn to teach.

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Today, I got to experience a flag raising ceremony as a teacher and it felt nostalgic to be standing there with all of the students, watching them as they sang the national anthem, pledge to the patriotic oath, and dance along with the leaders for the energizer. I remember the time when I volunteered to be one and it was very nerve-wracking to dance in front of the entire school.

We also had our orientation for ancillary service and I was assigned to the guidance office, along with a few of my fellow PTs.

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It was finally the day of our Pinning Ceremony. Thinking about it on the way to university was a little surreal, because after years of learning to become a teacher, we’re finally going to be pinned as a practice teacher. It was one of the most awaited events of an Education major.

My mom was there and I’m happy that she was able to attend, because she deserves to see how far I’ve gotten already. For a moment, I felt proud of myself for being able to endure and persevere up to this day.

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For today, the students were tasked to help their teacher do the item analysis on their second quarter exam. I also introduced myself to handle some classes and volunteered to help with the activity. It felt a little weird that I was the one in front now, when I was sitting on the arm chairs years ago, raising my hand for every mistake I had on my exam.

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Since our deployment started right before the third quarter started, my first task was to just join Mrs. Maricar in class and observe from the back. She also gave me a few minutes to introduce myself to the students. For that day, the frequency of error activity was done. Although I volunteered to help, she insisted that I should just observe first, to which I agreed to. I didn't want to overwhelm the students with a strange presence suddenly taking over the classroom.

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Just as we were told, we went back to Parañaque National High School the following day for another orientation. I was also able to meet my cooperating teacher then, Mrs. Maricar. She gave me a quick rundown on how she does things, as well as what she’s expecting from me.

Even though I felt anxious about what awaits me, I can't help but feel excited, too. The past three years of learning inside the classroom has led us all to this point, after all. I can't wait to apply the things I've learned soon.

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The day of our deployment has finally arrived. My classmates and I have agreed to meet at 9:30 in the morning at the school. Today was also the first time I’m going to commute to Parañaque by myself and I had my Google Maps application turned on the entire time. It’s safe to say that I got there quickly, though, which was relieving since my travel time to PNU is always two hours or longer.

We met the head of the Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao Department, Ma’am Annie Mascariñas and we were able to talk to her for a while before we were asked to return tomorrow so she can introduce us the faculty teachers that we will be working with.

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For Patnuro, we were briefed about which partner schools were included for the deployment, as well as what to expect once we’re out in the field. We were also introduced to our supervisor, Dr. Delos Santos. We also had speakers, which gave speeches that shared their experiences as well as speeches that I’m sure inspired a lot of people.

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Today was the day of our general orientation for practice teaching. It was a little nerve-wracking to think about it as the orientation went on because after years of being a student, we’re going to finally experience what it feels like to be the teacher in front.

By the end of the orientation, I've been enlightened on a lot of things—from who our supervisor will be to how will we be graded throughout the practice teaching deployment. I can feel the pressure weighing on my shoulders already, but I kept repeating to myself to just use it as motivation to strive to be better.

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Since the start of this week, I’ve been having trouble breathing because of my colds and the day before the VR Training Workshop, I went down with a fever. Unfortunately, I was still sick on the day of the workshop, so I wasn’t able to attend. It was a little envious to see photos from my classmates who had the opportunity to try the headset and they looked like they had fun. Even though I wasn’t able to attend, I still did my own research about what VR is since my knowledge about it is only surface-level.