By My Blue Heart on Wednesday, 29 of July , 2009 at 12:04 am
By Philip Tubeza
MANILA, Philippines—The exodus of Filipino teachers to other countries is expected to continue in the coming years, according to a labor group.
The Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK) said on Wednesday two places were the likely magnets for Filipino teachers—the United States, which would need two million teachers in the coming decade, and Arab countries, which would need at least 450,000 teachers.
The group said teacher shortages, growing populations, and expanding educational systems in many other countries coupled with the dismal work conditions and salaries at home could push local teachers to go abroad.
“Demand for teachers across the United States continues to remain high even if the North American country’s economy is in a deep recession,” said Annie Enriquez-Geron, PSLINK general secretary.
“There are estimates that the United States will need to employ an additional two million teachers in the coming decade to maintain its current educational standards and closer to three million if it strives to improve them in order to stay globally competitive,” she added.
Geron said more than 10,000 foreign teachers are recruited by the United States every year to fill its demand.
“There is also very high demand for new science and math teachers in the US with estimates by the Business-Higher Education Forum in Washington putting the figure at 200,000 at the least,” she added.
In the last 10 years, around 4,000 Filipino teachers—mostly math, science, English, and special education teachers—left the country. This figure included only new hires for teaching jobs and did not include those who left the country for work other than teaching, the paper said.
The top destinations were the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, the paper added.
According to a UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) study, Geron said, the Arab states will face “the greatest teacher shortage in the drive to provide every child with a primary education by 2015 as the region will need to raise the current stock by 26 percent and create another 450,000 teaching posts in less than a decade.”
“As more developed countries face a graying workforce, they are increasingly resorting to the recruitment of skilled teachers from less developed countries. This phenomenon had already been foreseen by (European) countries since the ’90s, warning that aging teaching forces may eventually lead to shortages,” Geron said.
“For instance, more than 60 percent of all primary teachers are over 40 years of age in Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands; and more than 40 percent are over 50 years old in Germany and Sweden,” she said.
Geron said another factor contributing to teacher shortages in more developed countries was the declining interest of their nationals in entering the teaching profession.
According to a survey conducted by the temporary staffing agency Manpower Inc., teaching is the second hardest job to fill in the US. Many of their nationals, the study said, would rather pursue other more financially rewarding careers than become a teacher. Low salary and unattractive working conditions were often cited as reasons not to enter the teaching profession, Geron said. (But for a teacher from a developing nation, salaries would still be significantly more than what they earn at home.)
“Unfortunately, instead of addressing employment conditions of the teaching sector, governments of more developed countries are finding it more convenient and economical to recruit migrant workers, many of whom are offered lower pay and contractual jobs that deprived them of their due benefits,” she added.
Geron said the dependence on migrant skilled teachers in developed countries was leading to aggressive recruitment strategies by their governments, recruitment agencies, and the private schools themselves.
“There have even been governments which have created special agencies just to recruit teachers from other countries. Private teacher recruitment agencies in the United Kingdom have mushroomed to more than 100 while there are more or less 70 in the United States,” she added.
By Loving Asya on Tuesday, 28 of July , 2009 at 12:55 am
Here, across the room, I sprawl stiffly on some chair in front of him. Wondering if he has the slightest idea of my leaving.
Three months before I pack my bags, getting ready to be away from home, away from the one I used to waking up each morning, away from him, finally. A part of me is quite excited at the turning yet for the most part, cringing from sadness.
Slumped on the couch, eyes squeezed shut, his thin lips (like mine) protruding and the familiar constant involuntary movement of his fingers on both hands and feet as he tried to lull himself to sleep- I will never forget. Though it would seem as if he’s scrambling to yank tragic thoughts off his mind. He looks, as always, tired. And sad as ever.
It’s hard to see him this way. even harder when eventually I would have to let him know. Like how difficult it would be, as helpless as you are, to release someone from your grip after years of almost solely dwelling on the fact that the person will always be there. Especially if it has some rapport to your system. akin to your nature and whole being. Especially if it was your daughter. The one person who gives a glimmer of hope and somehow, light, for your existence. Or so I strongly thought.
His eyes are wildly open now, agitated by the noise of street children still singing caroling songs even if it is no longer Christmas. His eyes flicker on and off at its first opening, dazed by the light. He finally stands and sprinted toward the door, my prying eyes still following, so gracefully… and easily. I wished fervently it’s that easy, too.
By Loving Asya on Monday, 27 of July , 2009 at 5:53 am
“You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you’re both breathless…they crash…they hit the rooftop…you patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they’ll fly. Finally, they are airborne.” – EB
I was in a road trip for Malolos, Bulacan last week. For months of living in the hustle and bustle of Metro Manila, I suddenly felt joy of having the wide, vast expanse of green land from my window. The trip only took an hour but I had happy moments of reminiscing my childhood and my province in the south resembling to the province of Bulacan.
As I was peeping through my window sitting in the bus, I saw a little girl trying to make her kite fly. She was running in the field with her right arm clinging to a string attached to a newspaper and few fragile sticks, she was running along with the wind. Her image made me smile as I have been like her when I was still in grade school.
Under the scorching heat of the sun, or in the late afternoon with other kids my age, together we would run the whole day during summer. With sweating brows and back we don’t mind as long as we made our kites fly.
I have consumed a lot of paste, newspapers, sticks and threads though. My mother would even have to hide her sewing box of fear I might ransack again and again her collection of threads for mending clothes. But that did not deter me. I saved up some of my allowance to buy a roll of strong thread.
I have consumed a lot of materials before I made my first kite – a perfect kite, balanced in weight and can surely fly. A kite that can withstand the strong wind, stay easy in the atmosphere, gliding at my control and returns with me when I come home.
I have always been full of hope when making my kites. I was hopeful that the one I am making would fly, if not today, perhaps tomorrow after analyzing and fixing its flaws. My friends had the biggest kite, the most colorful and most beautiful. Jungjung had a butterfly-like kite, Rey had the sharpest tip that could ravage other kites in the air, and the Sta. Maria’s had the longest tail. Well, they had their fathers who made it. While I have the simplest kite of all, but I am mighty proud that it is mine for I made it myself. The one I took hardships on making it.
Cut here. Paste it there. Wrap some rubber band here and there. Attach some string here and there and hoping it will fly.
Thank God, I did not graduate from grade school without ever learning how to make a kite of good materials and make it fly. Just as I have believed, I have learned something valuable through the kite.
By Aries on Friday, 24 of July , 2009 at 1:01 am
To love and to be loved can be the most wonderful feeling we can experience. No amount of joy can surpass the happiness that we feel when we are in the arms of the person we love the most. When we are in love, it seems that everything in our life is fine, that everything is on its place. A state of equilibrium and high morale will engulf our whole being.
Somewhere along the way, destiny can be so cruel to take away the person that makes each day of our life a fairytale. Our world would start to turn upside down and we just find ourselves empty and broken. Myriads of things would start pouring into our minds but at the end of the day we are left with millions of questions. The hardest to answer could be “how could these things happen?” or “where do I start from here?”.
When it comes to love, each of us can have our different story to tell. Nonetheless, all of us can be on the same predicament, which is finding the strength to let go of the feelings that we can’t live without. Though there were able to find their way out of the melancholy of emptiness and despair, many are still trapped or even buried in the tormenting agony of accepting our destiny and learn to let go. Here are some few ways to get over the pain which will hopefully help you move on.
Dwell on the past. Yes, I’ve said it, dwell on the past and let yourself reminisce each moment you’ve spent together. Ironic isn’t it? But sometimes it’s only through allowing ourselves to find painful joy in the broken pieces of our past that we can start to feel tired and willingly wave our hands and give up. When that happens, we can start the next step towards totally letting go. After all, suppressing our feelings and holding back the tears is bad to our nervous system.
Commit to accept. It is pointless to say you gave up and after a few days you start to dwell on the past again. You have to decide whether you want your life to be miserable forever by living with the past or start again and find joy. Once you’ve decided, you need to commit to yourself that you will accept your fate. Total acceptance will allow your state of mind to focus on moving on instead of holding on. This will help you learn to appreciate the brighter side of things and eventually lead you to a new dimension in life.
Plan, plan, plan. Divert your mind by planning out a lot of things, things that can keep you busy or excited. Having something to look forward can plant a seed of happiness into your heart. Indulge yourself into activities that you seldom do. Join a charity group, volunteer, engage into sports, adventure trips, organize events, there are a lot to do out there. Doing worthwhile things and the sense of accomplishment you acquire from it will surely pep up your life.
Love yourself. Sometimes, when we fall in love, we tend to neglect ourselves, our personal goals and plans because every move we make seems to consider our behalf. Now is the right time to contemplate on what you really want to do with your life, what you wanted to attain. It is through loving ourselves and getting to know ourselves even more that we can start to move out from the doomed world that covered us. It is through loving ourselves that we can start to find the light again and start a new life filled with excitement, happiness and hope.
By Blue Rose on Thursday, 23 of July , 2009 at 8:32 am
People who do not succeed have one distinguishing trait in common. They know all the reasons for failure, and have what they believe to be air-tight alibis to explain away their own lack of achievement.
Some of these alibis are clever, and a few of them are justifiable by the facts. But alibis cannot be used for money. The world wants to know only one thing – have you achieved success?
As you read the list, examine yourself carefully, and determine how many of this alibi’s, if any, are your own property.
IF only I didn’t have a wife and family…
IF only I had enough “pull”…
IF only I had money…
IF only I had a good education…
IF only I could get a job…
IF only I had good health…
IF only I had time…
IF only times were better…
IF only other people understood me…
IF only conditions around me were different…
IF only I could live my life over again…
IF only I did not fear what “they” would say…
IF I had been given a chance…
IF now I had a chance…
IF only other people didn’t “have it in for me”…
IF nothing happens to stop me…
IF only I were younger…
IF only I could do what I want…
IF only I had been born rich…
IF only I could meet “the right people”…
IF only I had the talent that some people have…
IF only I dared assert myself…
IF only I had embraced past opportunities…
IF only people didn’t get in to my nerves…
IF only I didn’t have to keep house and look after children…
IF only I could save some money…
IF only the boss appreciate me…
By Blue Rose on Wednesday, 22 of July , 2009 at 11:54 am
Who is the real hero? What is the basis for us to say that he/she is a hero? Does he/she need to die for the country just to be called “HERO”?
Well, that is not just the basis, if you will look up around you, you can find the true heroes, the live heroes, just walking around you.
What am I talking about? Filipinas, they are the new generation heroes of our nation. Lots of Filipinas work hard for their families, lots of Filipinas flies everyday out of the country to be a DH (Domestic Helpers) or OCW (Overseas Contract Workers), or OFW (Overseas Filipina/Filipino Workers). They gamble their life, their happiness with their family and children, just to give them a good life that they cannot get here in our country. Why they have to go overseas if they can work here in the Philippines? Good question. But, difficult to answer, did you ever ask yourself about that?
Some of the Filipinas get the good job, good employer, but some are unfortunate, got beaten by their employers, raped, overworked with less payment and worst of all if your really unfortunate they went home cold and placed in the casket. Lots of eventual things like this happen for decades. Heroes they are called by our government, when they land “dead” in our airport, they pay tribute and do lots of things to help and show of for the family and people. But, come to think of it, have they done enough to help them when they are still alive?
Look at the news today, there are Filipinas and Filipinos who are in death row abroad, I know our government is doing something to help them, but, try hard and do your best to protect them.
A bow and head rose for the Filipinas, they give their life and death to help our country, they are the number one reason why our economy is growing, because of their love and care our life is a lot better now than before, because of their hard work and sacrifices lots of work opportunity are existing in our country.
I think its time to give them a real hero’s welcome.
By My Blue Heart on Tuesday, 21 of July , 2009 at 7:00 pm
We want organized, well-read, interesting, and funny writers with terrific writing skills who can compile and write wonderful articles. If your writing can take the readers in a bit of a different direction we love it. If you also can summarize or comment on published stores this will work great. We love it if you can write funny and even some jokes will make our day.
Well if you can only write one article a year and you are serious we will still accept you. Even if your writing is boring and not funny we will accept you. We are looking for you that are not scared to try something new. You that want to be exposed to the word in a new ways. You that want to train yourself to “conquer the world” with your written stories. We are looking for you that are different. That just know its in you, but maybe you don’t know how to start. This is your time.
Please start now by emailing editor [at] myblueheart.org
This is a chance to be part of a new writers network. Our Writers mailing list will teach you a number of tricks on how to earn money on writing. We sometimes get a number of paid for writing assignments that we distribute to our writers, and we give you hands on advice on web marketing and blogs. Are you thinking about starting your own blog. Work with us and you’ll be part of a supportive team that will give you feedback and advice.
Are you a writer? Then, you’re the one we’re looking for. It is that simple. We need written articles and other written content on a regular basis. All you need to do is submit to us your written articles on a regular basis. You can even work from the comfort of your own home. Names and other personal information are usually not required, anonymity is provided if you prefer, what is important to us is your written articles.
Four times a year we are hoping that some aspiring (or experienced) bloggers and writers will come by and have a drink with us in Makati, Manila. Ok – that’s only half of it. We’re hoping that you’ll also perhaps write an article or two or let us steal your ideas, and even better every six months our writers workshop will be in Bangkok. We will be very happy to provide a free trip and hotel for our active writers in the Philippines so please write.
If you are interested in stuff happening in the Philippines, if you live on planet Earth, have a killer writing skills (or are willing to be edited), we would love to hear from you. Please email us now at editor [at] myblueheart.org.
Getting published in mybluheart.org or one of our magazines can be very rewarding. Many of our authors report increased career visibility, increased credibility better and smoother interaction with many exciting people, some small degree of fame, the enjoyment of writing, and the increased confidence that comes from knowing you’re a published author.
Becoming an author is relatively straightforward. You need to have a combination of writing talent and some expertise and be able to demonstrate those abilities within your submitted article. Obviously, articles should be in areas of interest to our readers and should be topics we haven’t covered before or new approaches to popular subjects. Some time spent per-using the online back issues will prove valuable in getting yourself up to the speed.
By Loving Asya on Monday, 20 of July , 2009 at 4:31 am
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If you are in a long distance relationship, read on…
If you will ask me if long distance relationships work, it depends. Not that I’m playing safe or anything. I’ll speak first in general. Most of our beliefs are based on what suits our personality and situation and it also depends on our needs. I can speak only for myself, but for other people, they have their own opionion on this. There are some people who don’t believe in LDR for obvious reasons. Some people could not stand the distance. And again, it boils down to their personality and needs. They need physical connection with their partners. Not necessarily making love, but usually in a relationship we feel that certain urge to always see our partners, to be able to touch them, to feel their affection and attention through physical presence. For some people not all relationships are based on feelings. So I guess the question should be “CAN YOU HANDLE A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP?” Kasi kahit may statistics pa at mga survey about this certain topic, still, depende yan dun sa dalawang taong involved. (Because even though there is a statistics that says about this topic, still long distance relationship depends on the two people involved in it).
To relate it to my situation, like early this morning a friend of mine asked me how do I and my gf manage. First of all, I’m not a believer of LDR. Just like everyone’s reason of it, Gaya ng reason ng iba, ganun din ako. Same with my gf, hindi rin sya naniniwala sa LDR. So bakit ko ‘to pinasok? I hate what if’s. I used to believe that long distance relationships are like time bombs. It’ll explode anytime. There is an expiration date, a finish line. So in short…waste of time. This is actually the first time that I went against my own belief. But I succumbed to my situation kasi for me mas waste of time yung at least one minute everyday nagwowonder ka (because for me it is a waste of time if I’ll wonder for the rest of my life thinking what could have been only if I tried it) what could have been if you tried it.
Having to choose between emotional relationship and physical relationship, I’ll choose emotional relationship in a snap. It would be better if you have both pero kung isa lang ang pipiliin (but if I were to choose), I’ll choose the one which is more meaningful. I don’t know about other people who are in LDR if they feel the same way as I do, but for me it’s like this: I’m loving my gf both in faith and in fate. Faith that despite the uncertainty I know something good will come out of this and fate knowing she crashed into my world for a reason. What I hold on to isn’t just because of LOVE, I’m hanging on to that HOPE that one day we can be physically together every time we want , as in inseparable by proximity. I don’t need other people to gauge whether what we have is real or not, because for me it is. She became my reality. We may not see each other as often as we want, but I trust her heart and what we have.
How do we cope? We always go back to where we started and that’s all we need to remind ourselves why we are together in the first place. Of course, as a couple we’re far from being perfect. But if you both trust how you feel and what you have, distance may not be an issue. Sa lahat ng relationships, most of the time what you guys need lang to make things work is to COMPROMISE. (In most relationships, what we all need is just to compromise).
About other issues like cheating, temptations, growing out of the relationship blah blah blah……again, if you respect and trust your partner well enough, DISTANCE MAY NOT BE AN ISSUE. As an individual, just do your part. If you are in a long distance relationship, pinasok mo na rin lang yan, mahalin mo na (you succumbed to it, then by all means, love her infintely… whatever it takes), don’t hold back. As a couple, kung ang mga magkakalapit nga binabagyo ng problema (come to think of it, even those lovers who are together still face the turmoils of loving), what made you any different? Whether LDR or not, it still is a relationship. If you survive all of it, then you deserve to be together. If not, then you can’t push it. Whatever happens, happens.
To everyone who can relate:
TAKE A STEP AND JUST TRUST WHAT LIES AHEAD.
