School Year 2012-2013

I cannot believe it, time really flies to fast. Another school year is about to start. Well, this year is going to be exciting for most of us. Last year, the Department of Education started the K to 12 program and this year is the start of the implementation of Grade 7.

In line with this, the Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) held a 3-day In Service Training for Grade 7 teachers of private schools last May 14-16.

Five of us were asked to join the seminar which was held in Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center. The main objective of the seminar was to prepare the teachers of Grade 7 in preparing and making the module that will be used in teaching Grade 7. Since it was the IN-SET for the whole Region VI, there were more than a thousand participants. The teachers were divided according to the subject of specialization.

Registration started on May 13, at 2:30 pm, which was why we had to leave on Sunday morning. It took us more than 3 hours to get to Iloilo.

We had to leave our place at 7:oo A.M. and went home at around 7:30 P.M. I was not able to watch movie after the training. Too bad, I did not see Avengers on screen. :(

Overall it was a very informative training. The trainers were great, foods okay, but the service not so good. I have met a lot of teachers coming from different parts of Region VI. And, I am looking forward to attending another seminars and trainings again.

Mother's Day Without Mom

We had to leave early morning last Sunday. We had to be in Iloilo early in the afternoon to register for our seminar.

I halfheartedly joined my co-teachers not because I do not want to attend the seminar, but because I do not want to leave on Mother's day, but I just had to. I guess, this was one of the consequences of being a working Mom.

As a result, my family had to celebrate Mother's day without me. They also had to attend the Sunday Service without me. I only attended the Mid Week service to make up.

Again, I never wanted to sleep when Saturday came. At night, I decided to take a video of my daughter. I knew I had to do it so I would have something with me on Mother's day. Here's the short video that my daughter made for me on the eve of Mother's day.

Mananatili

God's love is amazing! Day after day after day,

His love will never change.

No matter how many times I fall,

His love will always be there for me.

I am forever grateful knowing that no one

and nothing can separate me

from Your wonderful Love.

Mananatili

Paulit ulit ng lumalayo sayo

Ba't hanggang ngayon laan ang palad mo?

Dakila ang pag-ibig mo

Kailan pa ma'y hindi magbabago

Tulungan mo na maalala ko

Ang pangako Mo na di maglalaho

Panginoon kay buti Mo

Ang puso ko sayo'y nagsusumamo

Walang hanggan ang iyong kadakilaan

Namamangha sa'yong mga ginawa

Langit ma'y lumipas ang mundo ma'y di na makita

Mananatili ang pag-ibig Mo'y wagas

Minsan pang lalapit sa Iyo

Hanggang layunin mo ay masilayan ko

Purihin ang ngalan Mo

Muli't muli sayo'y magsusumamo

Walang hanggan ang iyong kadakilaan

Namamangha sa'yong mga ginawa

Langit ma'y lumipas ang mundo ma'y di na makita

Mananatili ang pag-ibig mo'y wagas

Walang hanggan kitang aawitan

Pupurihin Ka at pasasalamatan

Langit ma'y lumipas ang mundo ma'y di na makita

Mananatili...

Mananatili ang pag-ibig Mo'y wagas

Equality

Man has long been fighting for equality from the very beginning. When we talk of equality, we can remember people like, Abraham Lincoln who fought for the equality of people and freedom from slavery. Martin Luther King fought for the equality of blacks and whites, and of course our national Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal who fought for equal treatment of the Filipinos and the Spaniards.

There are a lot of organizations now that focused on ensuring that everyone is being treated equally, however, we can still say that discrimination is still unavoidable.

“Cebu Pacific faces P5-M anti-discrimination suit”, this headline became very controversial on the first month of 2010, as Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific Airlines is facing a P5-million civil suit for attempting to offload a child with developmental disability from one of its flights last December.

The Alcantara family filed a complaint against Cebu Pacific for on December 23, Alcantara and her son, John Arvin, was pressured by Cebu Pacific's purser and cabin crew to get off a plane bound for Manila from Hong Kong. Alcantara said the crew members flatly told her that John Arvin was a special child and was banned from boarding Cebu Pacific planes as stated under company rules. This incident anger most people especially those who are against discrimination. This occurred a couple of years ago, but the it still mirrors the situation of today.

Within the field of employment, discrimination and equality apply in relation to gender, ethnic or racial origins and nationality, disability, sexuality, religion, transgender and age. Discrimination and equality are governed by the key principle that a worker should receive ‘no less favorable treatment’.

Our labor code includes the rights of our workers. The state is trying its very best to show equality of men and women and of handicapped people.

How about equality in education? Can we say we have equality in education when we have “public schools” for poor and “private schools” for the rich.

Teachers are very much expected to show equality and fairness in dealing with his/her students. As a code of ethic, teachers should not be biased in treating their students.

A parent bringing “something” or donating something to the school in exchange for the “medal” for his son/daughter is not a unusual scene, and sad to say that there are still teachers who are giving in to this kind of temptation but where is the “honor” in that?

Aside from “poor” and “rich”, another issue of equality comes in when dealing with those who are “bright” and those who are “not-so-bright.” Often times, teachers tend to be nice to those who can easily understand the lesson and tend to be hostile to those who cannot grasp the lesson easily.

Equality in education has many facets and teachers have to be sensitive to know and act on this.

“Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token to save it from that ruin, which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and the young, would be inevitable. An education, too, is where we decide whether we love our children enough not to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices, nor to strike from their hands their choice of undertaking something new, something unforseen by us, but to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world.” -Hannah Arendt

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” -John Cotton Dana

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Motivation

According to one survey that I have read last time, an average person can have at least three to five close friends, not counting the acquaintances and not to mention the “friends” in social networking.

People are made to interact with one another. But a normal person finds it hard to communicate and get along with a lot of people. How about teachers? Being a teacher is one tough job. It is one of those jobs that require interaction with not just ten people but often times, especially in public school settings and some in private schools, a teacher has to deal with fifty to sixty students. Getting along with fifty students is one thing, but motivating them to listen and to learn from what the teacher is saying is another thing.

What could be the best motivation to use for the students? Motivation is what drives someone to do something. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Extrinsic motivations are those things around or outside the person that motivate his or her to act on something. A reward, a prize, a gift, or an incentive where the person can benefit from can be considered as extrinsic motivators. While enjoying the work itself and not relying on the prize that he can get from doing it, is an example of an intrinsic motivator. In short, a motivation from oneself is called intrinsic and a motivation from others is called extrinsic.

The thing is there are no hard and fast rules for motivating someone. Motivation varies from one individual to another. One person can be so motivated by money to work hard while other is already satisfied by having the work done without thinking of the money.

A good teacher knows his students by heart. He must know his students names and be sure to call them by their names. One’s name will always be the sweetest sound in one’s ear. This is especially important so that the teacher can be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses. If a teacher identifies these things, then it would be easier for him to control and manage them. This will also be helpful for him to know what kind of motivation to use in each student.

The following are some Motivational Theories that a teacher can use to motivate his students.

1. The Incentive Theory. When someone gets a reward for something that he has done, he may be motivated to do the same thing again. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect is greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from two sources: oneself, and other people. These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, respectively.

2. Escape – seeking dichotomy model. Escapism and seeking are major factors influencing decision making. Escapism is a need to break away from a daily life routine whereas seeking is described as the desire to learn, gain some inner benefits through travelling. Both motivations have some interpersonal and personal facets for example individuals would like to escape from family problems (personal) or from problems with work colleagues (interpersonal). This model can also be easily adapted with regard to different studies.

3. Drive-reduction Theory. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological drives, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases if it is not satisfied (in this case by eating). Upon satisfying a drive the drive's strength is reduced. The theory is based on diverse ideas from the theories of Freud to the ideas of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

4. Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Suggested by Leon Festinger, cognitive dissonance occurs when an individual experiences some degree of discomfort resulting from an inconsistency between two cognitions: their views on the world around them, and their own personal feelings and actions. For example, a consumer may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling, in retrospect, that another decision may have been preferable. His feeling that another purchase would have been preferable is inconsistent with his action of purchasing the item. The difference between his feelings and beliefs causes dissonance, so he seeks to reassure himself.

There are still lot theories that we can find about motivation. There is no one best motivational theory. The best motivation is the one that will work best.

These theories can be very useful for teachers. The job of a teacher is no less than the job of any manager in a prestigious office or corporation. A manager or a teacher both need to have the ability to motivate the people under them – the subordinates for the manager and the students for the teachers. A teacher who knows how to motivate the students will find it easy to bridge learning. Motivations can also play a huge role in developing the full potential of a child.

Effective motivators do not only benefit the students but also benefit the teachers too. If the students are well motivated enough to study and learn their lessons then this means less effort for the teachers since the students will try to work on their own to get what they want.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivationy

A new Home

We'll yeah, we moved to a new home and I have made an entry about that already but this time, I am making a new site - a new home. My former site is not safe any more, I guess. It shows this error message when you visit it.

Which is why I have decided to just replace it. I hope someday soon, I will be able to have my own blog (domain) and enjoy the luxury of writing and posting things that I want.

Privatization of Public School

A group of College students outside the campus ground, holding streamers and megaphone shouting, “Makibaka!  ‘Wag matakot!”, “No to Tuition Fee Hike!”. 

They would like to get their message across.  Some students would pause and watch them for a minute or two to check what is happening and then go on with their usual way.  Other students seem oblivious to what is happening in their surroundings.     This is quite an ordinary scene in any State University here in the Philippines. 

I studied in a public school all throughout my elementary and high school year.  I only got to study in a private institution for one semester and then I transferred back to a State University.  I was not fortunate enough to afford the education given by a private institution. Was I unfortunate? 

 Thinking about it, I can now say that I was fortunate to be given the chance to study and be considered as one of the “Eskolar (s) ng Bayan.” Our school may not have the best of facilities back then but the support and encouragement from my teachers and their love for their job compensated for the things they lack. 

“Education is a basic human right. The State is duty-bound to provide it as a public good.”   When I was still in College, I remember my tuition fee was only about PhP 500.00 – per semester! I strived hard to get into the Dean’s List so I could still get a discount.  I settled in paying Php250.00 per semester.  That is a lot of savings!

That is just one advantage of having to study in a public institution.  Education will not cost that much. 

However, things have changed.  Privatization of the Public basic and higher education made a great impact when it comes to free public education.   As I looked for information about Privatization, I remembered my former schoolmate in University of Makati, my former classmate when I first had my Certificate in Teaching on the same school, Mr. Raymond Maglanoc.  He used to be the President of our Student Supreme Council.  He was a man of principles; however, I was not given the chance to get to know him more that time.  He now works in one of the schools in Mindanao.  Thanks to social networking I was able to get in touch with him again.  I wanted to know his views on Privatization and I was glad he spared some time giving me information about it.

 On his message to me he wrote, “Historically, privatization of public services including public schools took grounds during the Ramos Administration thru the Philippines 2000 (Educ2000 in public education aspect) that was prescribed by the IMF-WB. The major thrust of the program is to gradually convert public services into private enterprise to cover huge budget deficit, implement competition and generate income. This has to be done thru laws and policies such as EPIRA law on electricity, Oil deregulation law on oil and a certain CHED memorandum circular (I forgot the series number) to deregulate tuition fees. In UP it was called STFAP or Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program which every year, standard of qualifications and requirements are getting tough especially for poor but deserving students.”

His words made me thinking.  I looked for more information about this and I found that the budget our government is allocating now for education is so low compared to how much other countries spend on their education budget. 

I also stumbled upon a very interesting article where he agrees to privatization of education in the Philippines.  He said that “A private school cannot force customers to purchase its products, nor can it compel anyone to finance its existence, nor can it  regulate or curtail the activities of its competitors.  Because private schools are legally forbidden to use force, their existence and programs entail no violation of rights.  Having to earn their customers and money, private schools posses strong economic incentive to provide excellent educational services.  If they want to stay in business and flourish, they must make money by satisfying the educational requirements of students and their families; if they fail to do so, they face bankruptcy.” (Source: http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2010-winter/privatizing-government-schools.asp)

It is interesting to know that some people would agree to privatization of the education only because they do not like the idea of paying the education for “other unfortunate people” through the tax that the government is imposing to them.  They believe that if someone wants to be educated then he has to pay for it and not just depend of the subsidy from the government. 

Still a lot have to be said in this issue.  But I would still go against the privatization of our education.  If only the officials of our government will be honest and kind enough not to spend the money of the tax payers through their personal expenses the government could have helped a lot in educating the Filipino people to eventually help our country arise.

I like how much Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana has said it, “Think about it: Every educated person is not rich, but almost every education person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty.”    

A New Home

I arrived here in Kalibo, Aklan last October 2010.  It was after I resigned from my work in Singapore and decided I am better off here in the Philippines with my family.

For a year in six months we were living with our Grandparents (grandparents in law), which was in a way beneficial for them because they needed companion too.  The house was big enough for all of us (we're eight in a house with five rooms). However, we still felt the need to have our own home.

I have been telling, explaining, and convincing my husband that I really want to have our own place. I am glad he finally agreed after months of trying.

We have moved to our new place.  Now, I can do (hopefully) what other normal Moms do.  Well, I started cooking again.  That's a good start.  Although my busy schedule will get in the way of being a full time mom, at least I can try harder.

I thank the Lord for the blessings that He still continue to bestow on us.  

I am excited to post more stories and pictures of me - trying hard to be a mom and a wife. And, my family living together in a home we call our own.  :)

Moving Up!

    A time for moving up.  My husband still can't believe that we all have survived another year in school.  My eldest son finished Level 2 and now moving up to Level 3.  My youngest daughter just finished her Nursery and will be moving up to Kinder 1.

   It was different this time.  I must admit that I was not involved much with the activities of my kids, especially with my eldest.  Their's is different since they have to work on their own.  They were just given paces to study and finish.  I used to make my own reviewer for him whenever his exams would arrive, but this school year, I was not able to do that, since they work on their paces alone.  My son would only ask me for clarifications if there were things that he would not understand on his homework.  But, over all he worked on his own.  

   I was more involved with my youngest since their set up is the same as the traditional classroom set up.  So I was able to help her review on her exams. 

  So when the recognition day arrived, we were not expecting much  from them.  Unlike other schools who probably give all awards that you can think of, e.i. Most Behave, Most Friendly, Most Punctual, almost all the awards, their school only gave a few.  They gave medals for "Scripture Memory Verses" -the kids had to memorize verses from the Bible and recite it to their teacher.  My son got Silver for that,and  my daughter got Gold medal for that.  They also gave medal for pupils attending the Sunday School in Christ the King Church. My children did not get the medal for that award since they are attending the Sunday School in our own church.  They also gave awards like Cleanest Office, Good Penmanship, Fastest to finish the Paces, Highest grades for Paces.  

   They also gave medals  for achievers in Academics.  My son got Silver also,  and my little girl received Gold as one of the Outstanding Pupils for Nursery.  

   I thank God because He has given these children wisdom and understanding.  I pray that they continue to achieve greater things in life.   I also pray for wisdom, patience and understanding so that as parents we may not grow weary in teaching them the ways of God.  

   Till another moving up! 

February Activities

     February, as they say, is an abnormal month.  Abnormal in a sense that it is the shortest month.  It has 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap years, apparently 2012 is a leap year.

     This month is indeed an "abnormal" month for me.  A lot of things happened.  February 07, 2012 - I was tasked to join our School Campaign for 2012.  We visited six Elementary Schools and talked to their graduating pupils and introduced to them our school.

     It was a fun experience.  I was trying to imagine myself being a teacher of elementary pupils.  I am not sure I can handle them.  I don't think my patience is long enough.  :D

      February 11, 2012 I attended the burial of our dear friend, Arne Magdael.  You will  be forever missed, Sir Arne.

     February 14, 2012, we had our Quiz Bee in school.  I was picked up as the Quiz Bee Master.

       After the event, I am glad to hear positive comments from the veteran teachers from the College Department.

      After that very long and tiring day, hubby asked me out again for a little snack.

    February is not yet over.  I know that more things are  bound to happen.  

Life's too short

Yesterday, I entered the gate of our school as he was entering too.  He was always early at work.  He brought his new netbook. He asked me to help him with his SmartBro account.  He would like to surf the internet.  I tried to help him but to no avail.  We just could not get the signal.   One of the teachers teased him, "Uy, bago ung netbook nya..", "Hiniram ko lang 'to." was his replied. 

He is secretive, sometimes he just keeps to himself.   But, if he cracks a joke, you can be sure to laugh your heart out.

We had our lunch together yesterday.  We had our normal conversation.  I told my advisory class how strict he is.  One of the students almost failed the exam, he was their proctor.  She had to pee but he did not allow her.  She resorted to passing her papers even if she's not done yet.  That's better that peeing inside the room anyway.

Today, I did not notice him when I got into my first class.  He was not in school yet.  I came back after an hour to hear the news.  He was in coma.  He was heard moaning at around three in the morning, they have tried to wake him up but he did not wake up.

We visited him in the hospital but it was past visiting hours.  I was not able to see him today.  Her sister said that as per last update, he is brain dead.

We love you, Sir Arne Magdael.  We are praying for you.

Yesterday you’re here…

Enjoying the times of your life  

Laughing at every joke you’ve heard

Living life at its best

Now, you did not see the world. 

You tried to come out but just cannot.

You were fighting the battle

Some parts of you have given up. 

What lies ahead?  

What will happen next?

 Life. Love. Lost. 

Life is a mystery. 

Today? Tomorrow? 

We do not know.

A Busy day Tuesday.

Okay, January 23rd was declared a holiday, which means that I will have another long weekend. More time. Yeah, I needed more time. More time to work on the examinations, to update my class record, to check remaining, papers, to check the students projects, plus the English Club will have its first Spelling Bee Competition, so I needed to check on the words that will be included, the letters to be signed, the rules for the competition. Thanks for the extra time.

I know I was not alone. As I watched my advisory class earlier, I know they were also thankful for the extra time that they had. They had to work on their projects too, they had to memorize the steps for their presentation on their MAPEH subject - Dance Sports. It's the examination week too, so they had to study their lessons, plus, some of them are joining the Spelling Bee Competition and they had to prepare for that too.

I have watched the presentation of my "kids" in their MAPEH subject, I am just so proud of them. Here is a sample video that I have taken from their presentation.

Melody (yes, we have the same name), also won first place on our Dance Sports Competition during our Intramural last year.

The Dance Sports Presentation happened in the morning, the Spelling Bee Competition was held Tuesday afternoon.

It was fun, we initially had twenty five spellers in the Easy Round, trimmed down to less than twenty in the Moderate Round, down to eleven for the Difficult Round.

This year's Spelling Bee Champion is Jhune Perez.

Congratulations to all the participants.  Congratulations to all our winners.

This may be a tiring day, but it was all worth it.  Looking forward for more fun activities like this. :)

Thank God for this Friday

I was surprised. We were supposed to be evaluated last year - November, if I am not mistaken. However, one of the faculty members talked to our Principal and asked for an extension. It was moved to be set on February of this year.

After the long Christmas Vacation, followed by another week-long celebration of the Ati-Atihan Festival here in my place, I was welcomed by the news that the evaluation will be just four days away.

I did not get excited when I heard it was move earlier I was not afraid either. I felt nothing. The day before the evaluation, I was even laughing and not thinking what to do on my evaluation day. Yes, I prepared my lesson plan (updated probably would be more appropriate, lol! ), but I still do not know how am I going to present it to my class.

Day of the evaluation, I could not understand myself. I was fretting. I was trembling. I was so nervous. It was not the first time that I will be evaluated, it will be my second time. I was also nervous last time, but this time around it's different. I guess, I was insecure. I was intimidated. For one, our new Principal is an English Major, then, I will be evaluated in my advisory class - the Fourth Year section A.

It's finished. Everything went well. I was nervous at first but as I continued on everything turned back to normal. I felt like it was just any other day - an ordinary day.

My prayer on that day was that God will not let my limitations hinder me from fulfilling my calling. I am called for this and I know that God is able to provide me with everything that I will need to do what I am called for.

Reconciliation

It started with a little chit chat. I thought, I would like to talk to someone about what I am really feeling. Then, came one text - a text asking for forgiveness.

Few more exchanges of texts and I was able to set free. Thank God I was able to release and express my feelings - it definitely helped ease the pain.

I wish that it will continue on. I do not want to feel that same feeling anymore. It's just not worth it. Besides, we only have few more months left and we will all have to separate ways.

Sad - Sad 2012

The Ati-Atihan, held every January in the town of Kalibo in the province of Aklan on the island of Panay, is the wildest among Philippine fiestas. Celebrants paint their faces with black soot and wear bright, outlandish costumes as they dance in revelry during the last three days of this week-long festival.

It's this time of the year again here in Aklan. A time most Aklanons are waiting. I guess the most anticipated event during Ati- Atihan is the "Sad-Sad". This is the time when different groups get out of the street, to parade, dance with the beat of the drums, shout, drink - have fun.

Schools also participate in this event. A schedule is set for all High Schools to do their "Sad-Sad". Last year, I was not able to join since I was in a seminar.

The Ati-Atihan, a feast in honor of the Santo Niño, is celebrated on the second Sunday after Epiphany. Catholics observe this special day with processions, parades, dancing, and merrymaking. The Santo Niño has long been the favorite of Filipinos and devotion to it has been intense ever since an image was first presented to Juana, Queen of Cebu, in 1521.

Ati Atihan is a religious tradition, which means that since not everyone here in Aklan is Catholic, not everyone is celebrating it. I do not believe in tradition but I am joining because it is a school activity and I have to look after my advisory class.

Earlier, one of my students approached me and with teary eyes told me someone from the office talked to her and asked her why she would not attend the "Sad Sad". She was so brave in telling me that it goes against what she believed in. However, the person from the office questioned her and told her she has to attend because it's not about religion - it's a tradition. She also told me that another person questioned her being a Filipino because she would not participate in a Filipino Tradition.

I told my student not to attend. I told her she has to stand firm on what she believes in. The bible is clear in saying that if you are doing what you think is wrong then you are sinning, and if you ask someone to do something they think is wrong, you are also sinning. 1 Corinthians 8: 12 "And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ."

Just a Little Respect

They say that honesty is still the best policy. Well, I must agree with that. Early on, I have decided that I would like to be honest and transparent with all of my students and I did.

I showed them the real me, I guess, too much of the “real me. I have forgotten I was “just” their teacher. I have expected so much and that was why I got disappointed. I thought I could make them realized things fast enough. I just realized it also took me a while before I understood the importance of education.

After I graduated from High School, I continued studying for only one semester and then I stopped for three semesters because I was already working. It was then, that I realized how important education is.

When I have started feeling disappointments that’s when I knew, I did something wrong. Probably, I was just too naïve or too idealistic to admit that I am not as efficient and as effective as I want me to be (yet). Or probably, my husband’s correct, I have expected so much from them.

Am I asking too much from them? I only wanted respect. Sometimes it’s easy to say we respect someone but it’s hard to show it. Sometimes, just listening while I am discussing is more than enough.

Not everyone is going to know how to appreciate everything you've done for them. You have to figure out who's worth your kindness.

Making a Difference

I received an SMS from one of my co-teachers last night asking me to prepare some "words of wisdom" for today's meeting with the Parents. We have scheduled a meeting for the parents of our students who deserve "more attention" than the rest of them.

I would like these parents to know that their children are special in every way. They may be "causing troubles" sometimes but they still need attention and care. I also felt, we as their teachers, still need to make a difference to each of these students.

Whenever I would think of making a difference, one story would always come to my mind. I have heard this story long time ago, and I thought I could still use this story this time.

A friend of mine was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.

As my friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up on the beach, and, one at a time, he was throwing them back into the water.

My friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said. "Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you are doing."

"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen."

"I understand," my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don't you realize this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?"

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "Made a difference to that one!"

We should never cease making a difference, the world may not notice it, but making a difference to someone's life can go a long way.