The Batland Trumpeter

Many times I have been a prey of the prescriptive words "you should be like that" and "you should be like this". Though many times I have vehemently rebut them, these words still persist to come out like mushrooms from nowhere. These crippling words destructive of self-worth and esteem have caused many to doubt themselves and to those who are not strong enough to fight, changed and were trapped in a shell not even of their own and acted like puppets run by the judgemental and conventional society. Though tired of explaining and rewinding the same litanies over and over again and again,  I stood firm for those many who are poor victims of discriminations, judgements and stereotyping who gave in and let themselves be trapped in the quagmire of cruel societal norms. Family,  relatives, loved ones, friends and acquaintances are not excused because in reality, sadly many times, the perpetrators of discriminations, judgements and stereotyping come from these circle of peo...

               Mothers are heroes and heroes are mothers. These are the exact words which truly define and picture our heroic mothers.             I will begin narrating the heroism of my mother as far as my mind could remember. My mother is a farmer. The field and farm are the sources of our livelihood so that makes the field and farm her playing grounds. She did not finish any education. She tried the first grade but did not finish it so she knows only how to read the alphabet and scribble her name. According to her, her parents were not interested to send her to school because she will not learn any art of survival and living. Instead, she went with her mother to the field. There she learned how to plant and harvest sweet potatoes, plant and harvest rice, clean and prepare the field for the next planting season and any work related to the farm. She mastered them all.   ...

                    Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ is not easy compared to being male and female. I for one, representing one of the letters in the LGBTQIA+ community have experienced discrimination and stereotyping many times and in many ways.             Having a different gender preference, orientation and identity, I was at times called sissy and weakling by my classmates in the elementary grade. Bullying was so rampant in those days that there were times I thought of not going to school anymore. This was worsened because in my primary grades, I was then living with the family of my uncle so I have no parents to confide what I had been going through. My parents are both farmers so they have to work from a far province to provide our basic needs. What I was so thankful is I was an achiever and performing well in school which somehow covered up the gender-related inflic...

A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations.             With the many programs of the schools, the meager Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of every school is not enough to fund the many flagship programs of the department. This is where the schools can make initiative to reach out to external partners through partnership and linkages.             In order to cater the needs of the schools the Department of Education (DepED) promulgated the revised implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act 8525, or the Adopt-a-School Act of 1998, on 18 January 2013. DepED Order 2 series of 2013 is the latest revision to Department Order No. 80 s. 1998 – the fi...

Moving towards the 21 st century, the use of technology in the classroom is becoming more and more dominant. Tablets are replacing our schools’ textbooks. We can research just about anything that we want in just a click on our smartphones. Nowadays, social media has taken its toll. In fact, the way we use technology has completely changed the way we live our lives.             Teachers have seen the benefits and impacts of technology in the classroom. A study conducted by IT Trade Association CompTIA shows that around 75% of educators think that technology has a positive impact in the education process. Educators also recognize then importance of developing these technological skills in students so that they will be prepared in entering the workforce once they complete their studies.             We all know the impact that technology has made on today’s schools has been sig...

In a class, the learners have different socio-economic status, cultural backgrounds, different abilities, capacities and intelligences. Some are endowed with abilities and others are born with disabilities. This is where inclusive education comes in. It is considering the manners our schools, programs and lessons are designed so that all learners can participate and learn. Inclusive education may also mean looking into and finding different strategies of teaching so that every school actively involves all learners.             According to Alquraini & Gut, the school and classroom operate on the premise that students with disabilities are as fundamentally competent as students without disabilities. Therefore, all students can be full participants in their classrooms and in the local school community. Much of the movement is related to legislation that students receive their education in the least restrictive environment (LRE)....

One of the missions of the Department of Education is to provide learners with a gender- sensitive environment. When we speak of gender sensitivity, it simply means the changing of behavior ascribed by culture and society and imbibing the proper attitude and empathy into the perspectives, ideas and principles that we hold on to on our own and to other genders.             The Department of Education issued through its DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017 the Gender-Responsive Basic Education Policy (GRBE) in line with its Gender and Development (GAD) mandate as stipulated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Republic Act No. 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, RA 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, and the Philippines’ International Human Rights and Commitments to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Right...

For the past few days, i have battled over one of my very unexpected and my most fearsome among medical procedures. Knowing what i will undergo and pre op procedures like needles and syringes piercing through the nerves for tests and as preparatories shoot up my blood pressure. Thanks God and to the team of doctors and nurses who expertly did their best to make it successful.  Post op is another difficult challenge. Pain is inevitable but at times unbearable. Forced urination of blood clots and blood for the first time made me writhe and perspire coldly. Liters of water gushing out from the fresh wound that even several diapers can not hold made me pale and drained of nervousness. But thanks Lord and to the prayers of people which i knew a Listening God has heard and granted. Thanks to my family members for being always there. They knew i am single and so in this kind of trying times, i needed their hands. To my one only sister, you are the best nurse in the world.  Truly i sa...

Bakit di ka pa nag-aasawa? (Why are you not getting married?) A query asked so many times. Life is indeed unfair because there are many unwritten rules in the society which are unjust to humanity. One major issue is in relation to one’s vocation- whether single or married. What is the unwritten rule? Society will demand and judge you automatically that if you are not a priest or nun, you have to get married or else you are gay or lesbian inconsiderate of what you know to be be who really you are. Judged already by societal standards using rubrics fabricated from the one side of the coin.  Others will even say that if you are “good looking” you are either gay/lesbian or taken. These are toxic ideas or fallacies which are affecting one’s mental hygiene. Society is very cruel. These are not true and people believe it to be true. Just because this is ascribed by the multitude. That’s why they marry for wrong reasons and just end up in the statistics of broken marriages, the trend nowad...