February 10, 2020

Day 1

On the first day of my Field Study at Canamucan Elementary School, the skies were gray
and a light rain was falling; the streets glistened as I gathered my confidence for the day
ahead. I got to the school at 7:15 in the morning and headed directly to the Principal’s
office, where we were assigned our tasks for the day and given some brief instruction on
our designated roles

I was assigned the job of observing Grade I - Orchid Students under Mrs. Salahit’s
advisory. We performed the morning flag ceremony for the class and said a prayer, led
graciously by Haide Fate. By 8:00am, class had begun in earnest.

Mrs. Salahit began instructing the class in Good Manners and Right Conduct, followed by
an activity with the students on how to apply these principles in daily life. I watched closely
as Ms. Salahit engaged the students and drew them into the discussion, observing that the
students were engaged and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Mentally, I took note of how
well she turned what could have been a dry discussion into a fun and involving
participatory discussion. 
 February 11, 2020

Day 2 

My second day of Field Study at Canamucan Elementary was bright and sunny, and I felt
confident and eager when I arrived at the building around 7:20am. I went again to Mrs.
Salahit’s classroom. The morning routine proceeded in the same fashion as the first day,
complete with the flag ceremony and the Lord’s Prayer, along with an activity called
Panunumpa ng Watawat. After the prayer, Mrs. Salahit commenced with lessons on the
subject of poems and riddles, explaining the two concepts to the students and employing
examples. She elaborated the ideas well, tailoring them appropriately to the age of the
class. I took mental notes as she managed the different personalities among the class - some
students, to be certain, were more hard-headed than others, but Mrs. Salahit was able to
maintain control of the tone and direction of the discussion.

After the poetry discussion, we transitioned into a lesson about telling time, and more
specifically the reading of a traditional analog clock. Mrs. Salahit went over the concepts
behind a clock face, explaining how the different hands of the clock convey different
information, with the long hand indicating hours and the shorter hand indicating minutes.
I could see that some of the pupils were struggling at first to understand the ideas, but the
seed of understanding was planted. Mrs. Salahit stayed patient as she walked the students
through the clock lesson, and did well in assisting the students who were less able to grasp
the concept immediately.
 February 12, 2020

Day 3

The sun shone brightly as I arrived at Canamucan for the beginning of my third day of
observation. Once again, I was at the gate by 7:20 in the morning, and as I encountered
some of the students at the school gate, they now knew me well enough to give me a friendly
greeting. We headed to the classroom, and I reflected on how nice it was to be getting more
familiar with the children. At 7:30 sharp, the students began the flag ceremony again, and
went through their daily morning routine. 

With the formalities behind her, Mrs. Salahit launched into a lesson about good citizenship,
followed by administering a true-or-false activity on the material she had just taught. Most
of the students scored perfectly, either having absorbed the material well or perhaps just
having an intuitive sense for good citizenship. Today’s observation was shortened,
however, because the class ended early and the students went to attend a seminar on the
novel Corona Virus.
 February 13, 2020

Day 4

As I arrived for my fourth day of observation at 7:25am, a heavy rain was falling, and the
students were already inside. The daily routine started and proceeded as usual, with only
slight differences: The students did the flag ceremony, followed by the Panunumpa sa
Watawat activity, and some short exercises. The class was started by 7:30, and Mrs. Salahit
began a new activity about opposite words (antonyms), to which the students immediately
and enthusiastically responded. The activity was designed in the format of a “fill in the
blanks” challenge on the board, so that all students could see the correct answer, and the
demonstrated principle of opposites. The students performed well, generally finding the
correct words.

After the lesson and some break time, the students ate a small snack and Mrs. Salahit went
into a short recap of the previous lesson. This was followed by the beginning of a new
lesson, this time on the subject of following instructions. The teacher had each student
make their own scenario about how to correctly follow instructions, then followed this with
a written scenario of her own, which the students were then asked to answer. This was
followed by a break for lunch, and I noticed that when I came back from lunch myself at
12:50 in the afternoon, the students were sitting politely and punctually in their respective
chairs - looks like the lesson was a success!

February 14, 2020

DAY 5

On my fifth day of field study, the sun was shining brightly and the students were smiling
beautifully. This was, after all, Valentine’s Day, a day full of love. It was also a Friday! The
daily routine began anew - the flag ceremony, the Lord’s Prayer, and Panunumpa sa
Watawat. By now, it was beginning to feel like habit to me as well. 

Mrs. Sahahit stayed true to the spirit of the day by speaking to the pupils on the
importance of loving each other - and especially their parents, who take care of them. She
told the students that, to live together in this world happily, it is vital that we love each
other. One student asked, “Why do we need to be happy in this world, teacher?” - to which
Mrs. Salahit replied, “We need to be happy in this world so that we don’t have any regrets
in the future. A life full of happiness is a beautiful life to live.” The young student seemed
happy with this answer, and Mrs. Salahit began her prepared lesson, talking about Suhing
Pulong. After the lesson, the students did an activity called matching type, which was
followed by a quick recap about the earlier day’s lesson on the use of a clock and its
function. I noticed the timing of the three-day gap between the original lesson and the
recap, and noted the wisdom of giving the students time to digest the material in the
interim before attempting it again.

February 17, 2020

Day 6

On my sixth day of field study at Canamucan Elementary, I was at the school by 7:21 and
the flag routine, like clockwork, began at 7:30, followed by prayer and exercise. The lesson
followed after this, and covered the subject of descriptive words - that is, adjectives for
describing colors, shapes and sizes. The pupils listened attentively as the teacher laid out
the function and nature of these types of words, and the basic principles which make them
unique. 

After the lesson had finished, the teacher gave a short group quiz using a chart that had
been designed to test the reading schools of the pupils. As the class worked together, it was
clear that some of the students were having more difficulty than others, but the collective
nature of the activity allowed the youngsters to help one another out. This was followed by
exercise, then lunch.

After lunch, the teacher read a short story to the students, then followed it with questions
to gauge their comprehension: What was the story all about? What was the moral of the
story? The students answered eagerly and actively, and I noted to myself how storytelling
can routinely draw greater engagement out of young pupils than rote instruction. The story
was followed by a short “energizer” exercise, to make sure the students stayed attentive
and awake.

February 18, 2020

Day 7

I was at the school by 7:26 for my seventh day in the field, and found the diligent young
students sitting in their chairs politely, waiting for the flag ceremony and the prayer - for
their daily routine, which had now become my own as well. Class started at 8:00 this day,
and the teacher asked the students, “What day is today?” followed by “How many days are
in a week?” The students responded quickly, having no trouble with this at all.

Next came a lesson about religion, followed by a simple true-false quiz that the students
performed well with. The teacher then introduced a lesson about types of shapes - a follow-
up, of course, for the previous day’s lesson on descriptive adjectives. The students were
given a simple identification activity where they were shown different shapes and asked to
describe them accurately.

After the typical break for lunch, Mrs. Salahit began a lesson on time management -
specifically, how to use your time properly so that you can always get your work and
chores done, while living efficiently and still having time for fun. After this lesson - which
the students seem to absorb quietly and attentively - she asked the pupils to suggest a
favorite rhyming song, and then let them sing it as a group, which they enjoyed greatly.

February 19, 2020

Day 8
For my eighth day, I was at the school by 7:26, and there was a special addition to the
routine: The announcement of the recent winners for the SPG - Supreme Pupil
Government. After this, the routine unfolded as normal.

Ms. Salahit gave a short recap about several of the previous day’s lessons, to keep the
information fresh in mind, and asked the students questions throughout, which they
answered quite accurately. The new lesson for the day was on the subject of Pungway or
Pulong nag Hulagway, which was their MTB subject. The teacher delivered the lesson well,
as usual, and followed it up with a short quiz, which most students handled quite easily.
Then came lunch.

By 12:45 in the afternoon, I had returned to find the students sitting at their desks, ready to
begin again - in general, the discipline of the class was excellent. Mrs. Salahit showed the
students her chart again, and this time asked the students to read the words from the chart,
taking special care to pronounce them accurately. She gently guided the students through
this, though some continued to struggle. After the chart exercise, Mrs. Salahit made special
note of which students were having difficulty with reading, in order to provide special
attention for them later on the subject of pronunciation and comprehension. The students
seemed to me as if they were both enjoying the exercise while also learning quite rapidly.

February 20, 2020

Day 9
While it was a beautiful and sunny day on my final day of observation, I was struck with
sadness that this would be the last time I would get to see my pupils, the 1st Grade Orchid
Students. I reflected on my gratitude toward my mentor, Mrs. Salahit, and the way she has
shown me a variety of techniques for handling different students and situations.

I was at the school by 7:20, and for the last time, I watched them begin the flag ceremony,
the prayer, and the daily routine. Class had begun by 8:00, and Mrs. Salahit delivered a
recap of the previous day’s Pulong nag Hulagway MTB lesson - but with some deliberate
changes added to strengthen the lesson and improve the students’ comprehension. This was
followed by a short quiz. The students were so deeply focused on answering the questions
in this quiz, perhaps wanting to prove their own improvement that they broke for lunch at
exactly 12:00pm.

After lunch, we moved on to another topic - the proper usage of words - followed by an
open class discussion and a short quiz. We then took a short break, and Mrs. Salahit
informed the pupils that this would be my last day observing the class. Some pupils began
crying, knowing that they may not see me again. I was touched by this - it was amazing to
know that even in the short time I was with them, I was able to give them some value, and
they connected with me and gave value back. As I look back on my time with the Orchid
Students, it was a wonderful experience in my life - but at the end of the day, I need to say
goodbye!