"The Day We Learn"

“I get stinky, I get dirty, but see I learned”… The line is often heard in a milk commercial uttered by a little girl who stoutly stands for what she learned no matter what it takes her. Such act of that little girl is worthy of emulation. It has powerfully enriched the supremacy of positive thinking. Despite the struggle, that girl never sees the hardship but instead highlighted the wisdom she has gotten.

Everyday of our lives as educators, we encounter so many pressures: meeting deadlines, disappointments on students’ behaviors, sleepless nights, fatigue, brain cracking lesson planning, and all that we could think that presses us to say, we were already burned out. We then become self-centered mammal! We think big enough to underscore the hardship instead of the reward these encounters as being a teacher has brought us. Why don’t we celebrate that because we spend formulating time-table we submit requirements and reports on the expected dates. True, we often got disappointed with our students but after being saddened with the students’ behavior we acted on it appropriately – When we see them change, how do we give rewards to ourselves? Sleepless nights has painted eye bugs on our faces, fatigues has cause us muscle and back pain planning and preparing lessons – When we see these students learned, do we smile with a feeling of fulfillment?

What if all of us will think like that little girl in a NIDO commercial oozing with positive outlook in life? I believe that if we think positive the output would also be positive.

When we were born, we were a blank slate – the “TABOLARAZA”. While we grow, this blank slate will be filled with either positive or negative attitudes. The more positive experiences we had during our childhood years, the more we would develop the attitude of having positive sense, action, and perspective in life in the coming years. – The value of optimism.

Romans 8:28 says, “Everything works well for good according to God’s purpose.” A story was told about a man who is in a journey way back home; He brings with him his flashlight, his tent, and a chicken for their dinner. He has to cross a wild, dark and dangerous forest before he could reach the other town where his wife and kids are staying. He started to walk until he felt exhausted and decided to take a rest. He sat down and rests his back on a tree. Because he was very tired, he was able to sleep. When he woke up, he noticed that his chicken is gone, though sad, he stood up continue the journey until he reached home. We haven’t heard him complain of losing the chicken in the story right? Why do you think he didn’t do so? Friends, when he reached home he told his wife, we could have a perfect chicken soup for dinner, but that chicken we suppose to partake tonight has saved my life. If not for that chicken, you would no longer see your loving husband again. I could have been devoured by wild animals in the forest. They took the chicken instead of me.
Such a lovely story from a very optimistic man! He sees the positive side of the experience other than blaming and pointing fingers. Ladies and gentlemen, Optimism believes on the power of good things. It is in believing that we are always here for a purpose. And according to Og Mandino, that purpose is to grow into a mountain and not to shrink into a grain of sand.

We play the real wheel fortune of life, we may loose a turn some times, bankrupt at times, yet we never stopped spinning the wheel hoping to get the big prize which is success.

We bead with our real banker for more. When we think the offer is big enough, we deal and settle on it. Only to find out that there could have been more in your chosen briefcase. Regret and perhaps frustrated. But why not satisfaction and contentment?

We rush on pressing the button to give our answers to the question. We felt it was the perfect answer.

(error sound)

We realized we committed mistake.

The correct answer is given.

… And we learned.