SheMi sent this via PM:

Quote:just an after thought after the meeting...

include letter e in sir ed's corner...about classroom management strategies....

then maybe...we could have a support group??? especially for first-time teachers or newbies...

hehehehhe....

and maybe a secretary for the minutes of our meetings....

and have eduphil dot org as part of our communication lines between DMs and non DMs...

All points taken She.

Classroom management strategies should be one of the things to discuss - perhaps we could devote one meeting for this. BTW, what specific things on classroom management would you like to consider?

A support group for new teachers would also be good - would you be willing to be one of the facilitators for such kind of endeavor? It could be separate from the regular monthly meetings we agree upon last night, since most of the members in such support group would be new teachers. We need some senior teachers though, those who had been in service for may be at least three years, so that they (senior teachers) could facilitate. I hope you're willing to be part Initially this would be gratis, but it could be possible that we could raise some funds for honoraria to facilitators (via sponsorships primarily - you know my stand on collecting membership fees).

Also, one of the things we failed to take note last night was assignment of a secretary for the meeting - I made notes though (to follow after this message).

Report for the USC DM Summer 2009 Meetup

I'm very happy of the high turnout in last night's affair. There were a total of 29 participants in the event. We started a little late, but we did extend to around 8.30, and there were a lot of interaction going on.

The meeting opened with a prayer, led by Mr. Alvin Cuandot, Batch 4, Intermediate School Principal and Science Department Head of PAREF Springdale School, Cebu City.

We had an introductory session, where each one was asked to state his/her name, batch number, and current affiliations. That took much of the time, but it was all worth it

What followed was an open forum. The discussion centered around the following issues:

1. The decline of the quality of students taking up the program. Reasons pointed out for this included the decrease in the subsidy of those taking up the program, aggravated by the increase in tuition fees of the University of San Carlos.

2. The absence of a job guarantee in the public sector, or at least the difficulty of getting into public schools, for those who are graduates of the program. It is such an unfortunate thing that politics at the school and division level get into the way of hiring qualified and competent science and math teachers which the government invested on. (But take note of the next point.)

In retrospect, I feel that there is a need to investigate this matter more fully, to check if there are existing rules on this. Perhaps we can ask the DOST to request DepEd to prioritize the hiring of USC DM graduates, or even a guarantee of a teaching item in the public school sector.

The absence of job guarantee in the public sector forces many DMs to seek employment elsewhere, including the call centers. This is a waste of trained talent, on which the government invested upon.

3. The body was on the consensus that it is better if fresh graduates go to the private sector first before going to public service. According to Ms. Lopez (Batch 1), the habit of efficiency learned in the private sector really helped her in not succumbing to the laxed attitudes of those in the public school system.

4. The issue of those who had left for greener pastures abroad had also been raised. Most did not consider this a problem at all - it is a choice which makes sense.

Ms. Manilyn Piloton, Batch 6, was able to achieve consensus on the need for monthly meetings. The agreed schedule was every 3rd Saturday of the month, from 6-8pm. The venue will be moved from place-to-place - this May 23, 2009, the tentative venue will be at Bright Academy. It was agreed that starting May, non-DMs will be welcome into the meetings. The meetings are purely voluntary. EduPhil.org will continue to act as the point of reference, but from now on, meetings will also be publicized through various fora where teachers from Cebu are usually found. Emails, texting, and word of mouth will be the main forms of communication.

We did not achieve consensus on creating an organization, either to represent all the DMs or to continue to run the monthly meetings. It was a consensus during the eating at the Larsian after the meeting that we may continue the monthly meetings, and if we feel that the time is right, an organization will be created.

There was some suggestion that a website for double majors will be created, but it did not prosper. For those who are interested, there are two Yahoo groups acting as a contact point for DM's: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/physchematics and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/csmedaa2003

For those who would like to comment on this report, please don't hesitate. If you don't have an EduPhil.org account, you can send your comments to me privately at admin @ gmail dot com

Quote:Classroom management strategies should be one of the things to discuss - perhaps we could devote one meeting for this. BTW, what specific things on classroom management would you like to consider?

as of now....i can't think of any...maybe we'll start with the general classroom management strategies...
even i myself had a hard time with classroom management when i was starting.heheheh....that was 5years ago...but still there are some new and better ways of dealing with the "problem child"

Quote:A support group for new teachers would also be good - would you be willing to be one of the facilitators for such kind of endeavor? It could be separate from the regular monthly meetings we agree upon last night, since most of the members in such support group would be new teachers. We need some senior teachers though, those who had been in service for may be at least three years, so that they (senior teachers) could facilitate. I hope you're willing to be part

why not?! yes, i'd be very honored (char) to be one of the facilitators. but take note sa "one of the facilitatorsssssss" ha. there should be other facilitators too especially those who have "much more" experience.

Quote: Initially this would be gratis, but it could be possible that we could raise some funds for honoraria to facilitators (via sponsorships primarily - you know my stand on collecting membership fees).

don't worry about that. i'd do it for free...