school – markmagpusao.com

December 2, 2025

It’s been a long time since I posted. Why write blog posts? Why not.

I always feel guilty about not writing blog posts. No one reads it.

I should follow my own rules. Who am I doing this for? I’m doing it for me.

So if or when the time comes that I will need to write something important and meaningful to others. I would have already had the practice by writing for myself.

3 things.

I am a substitute teacher. I drive for a ride-share company. I still want to do art.

I left my elementary teaching position from last year. The job was so stressful and overwhelming. I can’t see how anyone can do that job. There are just so many responsibilities. I appreciate every job in a school because of my experience. The job is impossible to do perfectly. I can go on and on. Fast-forward to now. I decided to substitute teach to see if there’s some other aspect of education that I want to explore. Started in October. I should give updates of my experiences.

I substitute in my old school district. Sometimes I see former students in 5th or 4th grade. When I subbed for my old school. A former student hugged me. A student that gave me a some trouble here and there. He gave me a gift (pictured above) while I was hanging around during recess. I’m not sure if he liked me as a teacher or not. Nonetheless, I appreciate it and I keep it on my shelf of student gifts.

I drive for Lyft. Truthfully, I always wanted to drive a cab. Just to try it out. In my mind, through media and pop-culture, the cab driver is very knowledgeable with city streets, traffic, establishments in their respective city. Think Jamie Foxx’s character in Collateral. The first month was fine and pretty fun. I’m in my third month. The honeymoon phase has worn off. It really is a grind. It is work. I do enjoy the stories. I will share some next time. (I like to practice my Spanish when I get fares that are hispanohablantes.)

A good friend keeps asking, “Is it worth it !? “

I still want to do art. I don’t really know how to start. I don’t know if I go on a path. Will it lead to something? I’m I wasting my time? I have a lot of insecurities.

Last day of School

An artifact is a human-made object that provides evidence of a past culture or period.

Today was the last day of school. The last day that I spent as a 3rd grade English Language Arts Teacher in 2025.

Straight to the keyboard.

What did I learn from teaching a full academic year?

I don’t want to do this. That is what I learned. There are too many responsibilities and tasks to do on a given school day that it is overwhelming. The learning curve is too steep to be a proficient teacher right after school. Teaching students who are disrespectful, rude, or unwilling to put the effort don’t make the job enjoyable. I found very few moments in my year and half where I enjoyed teaching. I will further to add to this laundry list of why I don’t want to be a general education teacher at a later date, but the moments today were good.

Last day

Somewhere along the way, I learned that elementary teachers will get their class a gift. When I graduated from student teaching, I gave my class Frisbees. I taught them how to throw and play a modified version of ultimate Frisbee. These kids were from the bilingual class, and they choose to play Frisbee over soccer. So, I gave them all Frisbees. They signed the Frisbee that I used throughout the year. Last year, I gave all my students a picture of themselves with a quote I wanted to give them. All of them were different.

This year, I wanted to give them a portfolio or book of all their writings. I was their ELA (English Language Arts) teacher. The end of their book would have a message from me. Think Lisa’s Substitute. Then I wanted their parents to create a message that makes them appreciate their parents. Think Iron Man 2, when Howard Stark talks to his son from the grave through a secret recording. I kept this sketch and idea in my head for a long time. I didn’t do this. I still feel it is a strong idea that should be thoroughly planned out. Maybe someday.

Today, I gave my students a photo of themselves. They were props like 80s sunglasses, a blow up novelty 80s cell phone, a blow up novelty boom box and a vuvuzela. They also showed the camera a printed QR code. The code is an unlisted YouTube video. I made a slideshow of pictures of their 3rd grade year. I printed the 4×6 photos and framed them. I had 44 students this year.

My closing remarks to my class

” I learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”- Maya Angelou

I put this quote on the board. I thanked them for the opportunity to be a first year teacher. I apologized for the mistakes that I made. I paraphrased the quote to fit my situation. You will probably forget what I taught you, you will forget what I did during the class. I think that you will not forget how I made you feel. I hope you felt safe, listened to, and cared for. I told them that the quote will also reflect them when they grow up. People will not forget how you made them feel. Then I passed out the framed photos. I did this to my morning class and my afternoon class. For some reason, the afternoon class started bawling for 10 minutes after I left their room. That class was the most difficult in diversity of behavior issues.

Why?

Why do this at all? … As a teacher, we do take pictures of our students. I thought that I should give back all those photos to them. I take pictures and give them Fuji Instax print-outs. So they do have most of those physical photos. One of my students showed me her teacher’s slide show of last year. So I stole the idea. It does not carry the weight of the Iron Man 2 idea. Regardless, the photo and the QR code are an artifact. Not the education definition, but the normal definition is just as strong. An artifact is a human-made object that provides evidence of a past culture or period. A year book is an artifact. Some of them bought year books. I just made them a video slideshow of their year and just for their class. Again why? I would want someone to record the happy childhood of my life. Perhaps, that is why I became a teacher. To give them a better education and childhood than what I had.

Teacher Appreciation Week

I never remembered this week when I was in school. I’m glad we have it. It makes my grateful that I have this job. It also makes me reflect on the people that have affected my life.

This time of year is bitter sweet. It is sweet because I enjoy the end of the year and I look forward to summer. It is bitter because of the finality of possibly never seeing my students again is depressing. Why? I will have no idea how their story will continue. I want their journey to be successful and enjoyable. I suppose that’s what makes teachers naive. That’s what make me naive. I’m a sap. I got into this profession thinking that I can make a positive impact on every student that I encounter. In reality, after they leave your classroom, their life is entirely out of your control. Their journey will be filled with the ebb and flow of life. I have no control over it after they leave my classroom.

The big takeaway from this week is gratitude. I really don’t expect anything from my students. I’m glad they got me stuff, but I treat all of them as I would like to be treated.

10 de noviembre de 2024

I really don’t like listening to people complaining. Who does? Since this is my blog. I’m going to complain, but I will try to propose a solution to my problem. Currently, I’m in my 2nd quarter of my 1st full year teaching third grade elementary. This is the hardest job I have ever had. The task is impossible to do with 100% accuracy. Only people who have had actual experience as a classroom teacher knows this. I have to lesson plan, differentiate assignments, accommodated special needs/dyslexic students, communicate with parents, manage behavior, grade work, hand work back, input data for the district, make sure my students feel safe and appreciated in the classroom, and so much more. It is overwhelming and insurmountable. Maybe because this is my first year doing this. I should probably give this an honest try.

I do believe in the fight against illiteracy. I believe being illiterate is one of the worst things that a human being experience. I have to fight against that everyday I am in school. Most of my students can read. Can they read well? No. They need to read better. They need to read to synthesize. Synthesize means to connect and combine to create new ideas. This is higher level. Reading to memorize facts and dates is meaningless unless they will play Jeopardy.

Handwriting

I’m going to focus on cultivating my students to have better handwriting. My plan is to make a writing journal for common sight words. They will practice writing legible words. Not beautiful, but legible. Handwriting can promote literacy and reading comprehension.

Several things I want to focus on.

to light on paper (not dark enough, press harder)

not touching baseline ( concentrate on making letters touch baseline)

not legible( words are messy, concentrate on making letters that are legible)

words not taking the entire line( concentrate on using the entire line when creating sentences or repeating words)

5 de octubre

English

I’m thankful that I can blog.

This has been a tough week of teaching third grade. Have I mentioned that this is the hardest job I have ever done? Well, it is. I think I want to try high school art teacher before I leave the profession entirely.

What makes this job so difficult? I think it is the different personalities that all go to public school. The wide range of economic backgrounds, family structure, cultural behavior, language, social media influence, and a growing individual who doesn’t know who they are and why they are alive. I had a friend told me that I would be a recruit division commander in Navy boot camp. I never wanted to do that job. I know why she said that now. I also know why my RDC’s hated their job.

So I made some dictionaries for my third grade class. Bookmaking on a Friday night was very enjoyable. Are my students going to notice the craftsmanship? Are my students going to appreciate the effort? Are my students going to lose it? Probably no, no and yes. Regardless, I enjoyed making it, and it gave me an idea to make a book of all their writing as an end of the year gift for my students.

Espanol

Esta ha sido una semana difícil para la enseñanza de tercer grado. ¿He mencionado que este es el trabajo más difícil que he hecho jamás? Bueno, lo es. Creo que quiero probar como profesora de arte en la escuela secundaria antes de dejar la profesión por completo.

¿Qué hace que este trabajo sea tan difícil? Creo que son las diferentes personalidades las que van a la primaria pública. La amplia gama de orígenes económicos, estructura familiar, comportamiento cultural, idioma, influencia de las redes sociales y un individuo en crecimiento que no sabe quiénes son ni por qué están vivos. Un amigo me dijo que sería comandantes de reclutas en el campo de entrenamiento de la Navy. Nunca quise hacer ese trabajo. Ahora sé por qué dijo eso. También sé por qué mis RDC odiaban su trabajo.

Así que hice algunos diccionarios para mi clase de tercer grado. Hacer apuestas un viernes por la noche fue muy agradable. ¿Mis alumnos notarán la artesanía? ¿Mis alumnos van a apreciar el esfuerzo? ¿Mis alumnos van a perderlo? Probablemente no, no y sí. De todos modos, disfruté haciéndolo y me dio la idea de hacer un libro con todos sus escritos como regalo de fin de año para mis alumnos.

25 de marzo

Lincoln. A relief Print. I like the imperfection of each print.

School

How is my school life going? Terrible. I’m behind on a lot of my work. I’m stress all the time. What’s worst is that I failed/did not pass my STR. (Science of Teaching Reading)(sigh) I was perturbed. This is just one obstacle in a series of many. I have to keep going. I have to keep going. When I get knocked down I have to get up. I know its hard, I get home from school and I don’t want to do any school work or study. I just want to relax. I have to find the time, the energy, and the motivation to keep going.

Spanish

Tengo muchas tareas pendientes en mi clase de español. Tengo mucha ansiedad en mi clase porque soy soltero en el mar de hablantes nativos. Sin embargo, yo hablé con mi profesor. El dime muchas estrategias para resolver mis tareas. Estaba haciendo mi trabajo más duro que lo necesite. Yo perdí algunas colegas que empiezan conmigo al principio. Lamento este cierto.

Art

Recently I received some tools to play around with. I got linocut tools and a printing press. Slowly I’ve been fascinated with relief printing, specifically linocut printing. Why? I like the look. It was the first form of mass production. It reminds me of MC Escher. I think it was an MC Escher exhibit. I love it all. Its a form I never really explored. I always loved drawing but I never explored other art printmaking like intalgio and planographic. I would like to incorporate my art into class or a class lesson. The lino cut tools are dangerous for kids. But I’m thinking if I learn more about the screen printing process. That may be a better fit for students. I think the printing a graphic and using the light bulb technique on a screen.

Guided Reading Summary from one of my students

Nuevo Vocabulario

Conjuntions

Para que– So that

Sin que– with out

Antes de que– before

Por mucho/poco que– no matter how much/no matter how many

El 14 de febrero

Birthday Post(English)

I turned 38 two days ago. (sigh) I’m not a fan of my birthday. I never really cared for it as an adult, especially past 30 years old. It’s just another part of life. I hate when I used to get facebook messages wishing me a happy birthday. The last time some of those people contacted me was my last birthday. Where were you the last 364 days of the year.

My college club knew my birthday because it was a required information. So went along. It feels so forced or contrived. When I receive it. I do say, ” Happy Birthday!” to people when it is their day. I think people like to hear it and feel special. But for me. Don’t bother.

That was my negative part. Here is what I do appreciate from my birthday. I appreciate the messages and calls from my friends and family. When I receive messages from them I really feel like they care. I was able to talk to my friend who lives abroad. I haven’t spoken to her since I visited her over the summer. It felt good to connect and laugh again. That’s something I miss, reminiscing the good times. I don’t get to laugh as much as I would like to.

My friend, Juan, sent me a birthday message. That’s a friend who reaches out but I have been bad at staying connected. In that aspect, I am a hypocrite. I have friends that reach out. But I don’t meet them half way. These connections could be lost, or grow weak. Friendship is a joint effort.

My takeaways. I should be more appreciative of the life I am currently living. I always think about how it could be worse. It can also be better. I can also do better work that I’m doing now.

I didn’t want to go to class tonight. But I glad I did. I had a break down right before class because I spent all afternoon doing a practice test for certification. I finally completed it. Then I forced myself to go. I’m glad I did. I think that little battle that I fought was a small win in the war against my ego.

That’s it.

No más excusas

Tengo que mejorar mi nivel. Es difícil porque soy “lazy” perezoso. Si yo quería lograr el siguiente nivel en español, tengo que estudiar más. La consistencia es lo más importante en el aprendizaje de idiomas extranjeros.

Algunas fotos y bocetos de mi vida.

Por Favor. Ustedes pueden corregir mis errores en gramática, ortografía, y la forma

First Few Weeks at Sam Houston

This is my post about the first few weeks at Sam Houston State University. It is a little daunting to finally be at a university. So far I am enjoying it. Although, I am not a doe-eyed 18 year old. I’m a 36 year old adult. This means that it is difficult for life to surprise me. A new place is just a new place. I’ve been nomadic for most of my adult life. I still have a lot to learn. Here are a few things that helps me settle in a new place. It takes time and patience to get accustomed to a new locale. You have to actively search and discover your new location. Find a system that works for your and constantly improve it, be it for work or school.

Blatchley Bell Tower at Sam Houston University

Adjusting to a new school in a new city will take time. I still live in Spring, Texas so I don’t have too much to acclimate too. There is also a campus in The Woodlands. I try to have most of my classes in The Woodlands. I have two classes at the Huntsville Campus, which is approximately a 45 minute drive from my apartment. I have 2.5 years left at Sam Houston. I have time. What does that mean? 2.5 years is a long time but when comparing it to the length of a 80 year old life, it really isn’t that long. I enjoy the Huntsville Campus. It is a beautiful green campus. I already have spent a lot of time in the library. I should draw on campus, so I will have memories and practice my drawing skill.

I think people neglect the part of knowing where you live or work. It is easy though because people only seem to drive to work, home and grocery store. I’m guilty of this as well. The search for secrets, sub cultures, or cool dive bars is my favorite part of about discovering a new place. I’ve live in Texas for 3 years and I have not really seen the state. It takes effort to search out and discover something new, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for. I suppose you just have to keep your eyes open and be willing to experience things that could be interesting. Stay Curious.

Rules by John Cage. Still pretty good rules. They hold up.

I need a system for handling school and home life. Every semester is different. Now life is somewhat going back to normal, going to class in-person feels new and awkward. I have to organize my school work, my job, and the other things I enjoy. The main thing is time management(or Priority management as my former professor J would say). I have to make time to make sure I dedicate time to accomplish everything that will be due and the needs immediate attention. I write my weekly goals on butcher paper.

To summarize this post. I started school. I need time to adjust. I want to get to to know Huntsville, as well as Texas better. I have a process of time management which is a large paper taped to the wall.

Traveling for Winter

Let’s do 500 words.

I know I haven’t blogged very much. I can make excuses, but I won’t. I just choose do other things than blog.

My goals for this Europe trip. First, Improve my Spanish and receive a baseline for my level. If don’t receive this I’m going to get during 2020 somewhere. Secondly, I taking an online course for school, Federal Government. Thirdly, improve my French, I learned the basics in the last 6 months. The last few things is visit a few friends in Paris and draw and water color more.

I choose to go to Europe because I find being in the United States quite boring. I love my family but I saw them on Thanksgiving already. I also feel Christmas is overhyped holiday in the United States. We, as a society or just Americans, are too materialistic. I want to get away from that next year. I’ve never visited Europe in the Winter. It has always been the summer when I visited. Which is always the best time to visit a country, but I like to change it up and experience something different.

I’m in Valencia, Spain right now. I’m taking a Spanish course. Hopefully it can jump start my learning to a new level. I’m here for a week. I hope to take an exam to finally get a baseline on my level. Then I can better evaluate where I am. “If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.” – Peter Drucker.

During all this traveling I’m going to do a college course online. One might think why are you taking a class while you’re traveling in Europe? I say them Why not? I am school again. I can say honestly I’m not in love with living in Texas. I might as well just keep going to school and enjoy myself in the location of my choosing. We are lucky to live in a time where we can go to school online.

I held off visiting France for over ten years. My first experience was very off-putting. I made an unconscious decision to not visit France ever again. Then over the years I’ve met many cool French people. Those experienced change my opinion on French people. They can’t all be bad I thought. So I decided back in September to visit again during winter. My experience from the first time will not be repeated. A key to the story was that I was monolingual, immature and young. I learned a little bit everyday for 6 months. So hopefully I will have a better experience.

Afterwards I will go to Belgium. I’m going to visit a few cities during the Chrismas Holiday week and New Years. I’m going to visit Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges. Finally Paris, France. I will end in Madrid to fly back.

I have two transfers on my flight back, which I will not enjoy. MAD- AMS. AMS- ATL. ATL-IAH. I use airport code because it is just easier to write especially if you’re a traveler. There is probably a better way to write it.

I got an Idea with my language learning. I listen to podcasts on Spotify. There is speed option on the application. To increase my comprehension. I will listen to the podcasts three times. (thrice) Once at 0.8x, the second time at 1x(normal time), and the third time 1.2x. I can also do this on Youtube.