Performance assessment is one way of assessing the learner’s complex skills in conjunction with the lesson. The teacher can utilize Performance-based assessment for him to understand and clearly determine how well the learner incorporated into their own structure of knowledge which is basically, complex skills by nature. Over pen and paper test, performance assessment can measure process and product as a result of the instruction process. On the other hand, pen and paper test can best and efficiently used in measuring learners’ knowledge on information, concept, and rules as fundamental and prerequisite means before going to complex skills that the performance assessment can best measure. Advantages present in performance assessment includes its process of evaluating students performance since complex skills is best measured in actual or behavioral setting; through monitoring the process, the learner can be helped by the teacher, that is, an effective avenue to determine the difficulties encountered by the learner as he acquires the skills – quality control as the teacher evaluates the process and the product. Performance-based assessment also has limitations. These are time required to evaluate the performance, rater errors in evaluating the performance pertaining to the process and the product to be assessed. In order to increase the reliability of scoring, teachers have to develop scoring rubrics or checklist to determine how well the learner achieved the skill or if the skill is achieved or not.

                Performance-based assessment is a powerful tool for teachers to establish the expected performance of the learner. There are lessons that require students to acquire basic information, concept, and rule. The learning objectives for these are best achieved through pen and paper tests.

                Performance assessment is used in daily classroom set-up. For me, it is usually embedded in daily classroom activities but not evidently written down. Sad to say the behavior is usually not credited. Like in other classes that one is asked to speak on front of the class; sometimes the teacher forgets assessing or correcting some mispronunciations and faulty grammar committed by the student as he/ she delivers his/ her ideas to class. Still, it is best to use performance assessment and pen and paper test simultaneously since information, concept and rule as basic foundation in declarative knowledge as the learner develops these, taking it to the next level, to fully achieve the learning objectives.

                Performance-based assessment is best when used together with pen and paper test since we still need declarative knowledge in order to proceed to procedural that answers the development of complex skills. In classroom use, we can utilize the simultaneously both the pen and paper test and performance-based assessment to holistically shape both cognitive and the behavioral aspect of learning since we aim to have an impact not only cognitively but also in how the learner behaves in accordance to what he/ she have learned. In this way, we can also develop skills that are relevant to the learner, that is, he can use this in his every day setting with proficiency and mastery not only head level but as well as affective and behavioral.

                Various assessment techniques are available nowadays to aid teachers in assessing the learning of the student. Considering the objectives that a teacher develops dictates what assessment technique can best guarantee that we have measured the competency very well.

                As a future teacher, I will use Performance-based assessment because it holistically addresses the competency we desire our students to acquire. Since its not only head level, it can be of a potential help in addressing values such as patience, social skills, and even work ethics as we try to observe the process; but I should also consider nurturing the head as how I nurture the behavioral aspect of my students. O can do this of I will incorporate effective means of assessment together with the performance-based assessment.

                Classroom assessment procedures are conducted to aid the teacher gather information as to how a student is learning in congruence to the material intended to be learned. The two general assessment types are informal and formal assessment. In formal assessment, the process or the student response is graded according to specific criteria. This, in return, perceived by the students as threatening and oftentimes, can affect student responses due to anxiety towards the test. Informal assessments can be in the form of anecdotal records, participant observation, retelling, journals, checklist or rating scales, etc. These techniques allow the teacher to provide immediate attention to some students’ misconception and allow the teacher to resolve it right away. The teacher uses set of specifically designed questions en route to the learning outcome as the lesson progress to determine and reinforce student learning. These assessment procedures don’t necessarily be a test; but they can serve as monitoring and for instruction-improvement technique to instill to the learners the lesson as the instructional process is being initiated.

One way in building the desired learning in the part of the student is through questions. These questioning techniques can help the student correct misconceptions and become more guided through the correct responses as the teacher uses techniques of such as probing, redirection, and prompting. The Art of Questioning can help the teacher develop related sets of questions that can help promote higher order thinking skills in the part of the students. This can give the teacher an idea of how his student is learning as the students move on from knowledge to creating levels of asking questions.

                Oftentimes, I perceive test as a procedure that is limited to recall, analysis, and familiarity with content by the students. I can say that the more inclined a person is to written instructions he is capable of having appreciable scores from the exam. Verbal procedures then become redundant as the teacher moves from written to oral tests just to compare whether the student understands the content. For me, the process becomes unreliable. Considering the multiple intelligences, a learner that is good at writing his thoughts may not, by same reason, be that good at speaking towards the crowd.

For sometime, I have been used to written examinations. These tests can bring so much tension between students and the procedure since the tests are said to be graded. This may turn the student so engrossed with the material being studied without developing a scheme why he is learning such content. I encounter this questioning technique in some of my subjects before and at present. The strategy is less threatening since the teacher’s questions is founded from simple knowledge that proceeds until you are encourage to plan out things for specific content area.

I can’t deny that without stimulating questions, I find a class dry. This is evident in some subjects that use the lecture type without even evaluating how well the students understand the content area. This often leaves students hanging at the end of the lesson without even organizing the things they have in mind. Without using questions appropriately structured to meet the lesson goals, it is hard for me to synthesize what the lesson is for. This often becomes a burden on my part since I have to read the lesson over again to come up with correctly organized ideas about the material I read.

                In order to develop good teacher-student relationship, one way to achieve this goal is through informal assessment. It is a tool to aid teachers in achieving their objectives both in the cognitive and the affective side of the students as they are learning the content of the lesson. In informal assessment, we can determine behaviors that affect a child’s learning more than focusing on as to how successful a child retains the content of the lesson. This may then aid the teacher in seeing what could be the possible problem of the child (as exhibited through his behaviors) that aversively affects the learning outcome for him. For example, a child performs low in mathematics (for a certain test) doesn’t necessarily mean that he is really slow to learn in that area. It might be that some problems like family, peers, health or that of personal-related issues are blocking his in learning the content of the lesson for a certain period of time. The teacher’s evaluation may then help the child settle his concerns first before moving to the lesson. This can help him focus and actively engross himself in learning.

Through the Art of Questioning, a teacher can monitor and develop his learners’ understanding of the lesson content. This system can help them answer correctly without being actually embarrassed in front of the class. This can promote trust and metacognitive thinking among the students as the teacher facilitates the responses of the learner as he tries to let the learners elaborate and ponder more on their answers. This is also a means of reinforcing the correct responses as the teacher listens and let the learners correct the wrong responses.

                The use of informal assessment is a way of helping our learners become better in formal assessment. Though seen as “not graded”, this is an avenue of instilling to the learners what is expected of them in any assessment procedures. They work hand in hand with formal assessment to make the instructional process be better.

                When I become a teacher, I will use informal assessment to know my students better. This will be an avenue where they can build trust and can also develop their skills in speaking. I can then help them develop understanding on certain topics without posing much threat of grading on them. I can also use informal assessment to develop their thinking skills after helping them analyze how they arrive at their answers. To properly sink in to them and know them better, informal assessment can pave a teacher’s way after developing that sense of trust and approachability of a teacher towards his students. In this way, a teacher’s professional attributes can also be improved by his personal attributes in relating with his students. 

                A mark is a representation of achievement in relation to a standard of quality of academic importance. It shows as to what level of the academic standard a student’s performance has reached. For students, marks serve as a determinant of how well their performance in an assessment procedure relates to that of a particular pre-determined standard. Marks also serve a purpose for student motivation; evaluation of instructional procedures; relating students success, achievement, academic difficulties and failures; and in probing a student’s strengths and weaknesses. In general, marks are of great benefit in instructional purposes, reports to parents, for administrative and guidance uses. It is also for promotions, admissions, vocational and awarding-of-honors purposes.

Mark aims for the improvement of students.  A mark provides a summary of the results of tests and any assessment procedures in relation and reference to a well-laden and well-implemented instructional objective(s). It presents students achievement in brief but understandable form. Usually, marks are in congruence to a particular state or school policies.  There are three commonly used marking systems used by educators nowadays: Letter grades (A, A-, B….F or 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 depending on the academic institution), Numerical grades (100-0 or 100-750), and Pass-fail marks. Each of these forms of compacting a student’s over-all performance carries along certain advantages and pit falls. Letter grades are concise and convenient to use, widely understood, and easily averaged; it is a compressed report of the student’s achievement, effort, work habits and good behavior; but it is prone to variation from teacher or institutions’ standard of marking a student with grades from A to F, for sometimes, it varies; a letter grade also ranks poor in indicating a student’s strengths and weaknesses since the grade is compact. Likewise is true, for some, when we talk about Numerical grades. Pass or Fail mark on the on the other hand is easy to use but offers less information about a student’s performance; it6 is directed towards the mastery of skill rather than a higher level of achievement. It is likely to be said that Pass or Fail mark presents the idea “The student achieved the skill/ competency or not” or more likely, “the student has or has not mastered the skill”. Generally, these marks are products from frames of reference which the teacher used in determining the result of the assessment procedure. The teacher may use criterion-referenced, ability-referenced, growth-referenced, norm-referenced, etc.

It is universally true that when a student receives his final grade, it is something that may make him rejoice or make his spirit run dry. It is an alluring feeling to receive an A but a demeaning feeling when you received an F. I love to receive an A. it makes me think of a bountiful harvest after a semester of work, toil, and disappointments. I scarcely turn to be happy when receiving final grades. I treat final grades or even midterm grades as a reaping time; it is like withdrawing money from a bank account – it is my performances’ result, nothing to become overly entwined with fantastic celebrations because after all, it is my investment. The problem comes in when you withdraw your money but there are deficits in your account. It is something very alarming – to harvest something not worth for you. We students know how well we are doing in a particular subject (true to some but false for the taking-studies-for-granted ones). It is so excruciating to get something which you don’t deserve. There is an anatomy for everything. I may receive as far as A or as exterminating as F but I believe that there is an anatomy which I can dissect to find out why and how I receive the grade.

A grade doesn’t reflect the entity of a person. It is a reminder of how well a skill is mastered or not. For as long as the student wanted to learn and for as long as he has the best spirit to continue the learning, he is able to receive an A; but the question will lie in whether he deserves that grade in relation the mastery of the skill he is to achieve. Let us remember that marks have pit falls. It doesn’t tell everything we have; but we are entrusted by the power to control our marks for we are the ones making them.

                The uses of marks help us in many possible ways. It can help us to easily find jobs, careers, promotions, awards, scholastic honors or for some, even fulfillment. It is something not worth to be wasted. 

                When I become a teacher, I will use marks to indicate my students’ academic performances. It will be a way of communicating to them how well they are doing in my subject. With enough motivation and reinforcement to their learning, it is my way of helping them out from the abyss of ignorance and makes them to be learners who can actively appreciate themselves. Though it is not a way of generalizing the person inside them, it is my way of ensuring that they are competent enough to face the world. I will clearly define learning expectancies to them so they can be able to reach and have a clear view in achieving it. It will also be a way to communicate to parents how well their child is doing academically for them to help the child in his learning course and for them me provide better learning opportunities for my students for their future plans, careers, and whatever endeavor where academic marks are of the biggest stake.

In Special Education subjects, we often do portfolios. Although it is not that easy to construct since it requires considerable amount of time and effort, portfolios helps us in many different ways. The end product or the portfolio itself helps me in reviewing concepts that we had discussed during the course. It is a helpful tool for me since it aids and is easy to browse through when I need them the most. Oftentimes, I take time and read those portfolios as basis for reports and some other concerns relating to my course. The help that a portfolio can offer is immense that it is not that easily to be discarded. Scanning completed portfolios makes me appreciate the time that I spent to finish a subject. Somehow, it is nice to look at something concrete that represents the undying effort I had enmeshed in completing a portfolio.

In my Education 25 subject, I had learned that portfolios can be of other form; that it also advances at par with the technology we are using today. These are called digital portfolios. A digital portfolio, for me, offers better advantages over the commonly known ones like its portability, the no. of people who can view it at once, and its easy manageability (given the skill and the knowledge of the digital world) but undeniably, their purpose(s) remains the same and that is to show improvement or progress over time.

As teachers, we help our learners in things pertaining to learning progress in a variety of ways. A good avenue for a teacher in helping achieve this goal is to provide avenue to our students to monitor their learning and encouraging them to explore the possibilities of learning along the way as they develop portfolios. Through portfolios, my learners can readily review on their weak points and improve them for further revisions as they develop the skill expected of them. Like for the case in developing written communication skills; a learner can monitor how he is improving while looking at how he structured his previous write-ups. Through portfolios a teacher helps his learners to become persons eager to learn more. It will be also my way of highlighting the importance of parental guidance and support in the life of a learner.

A portfolio is a tool for everyone to have an evidence of a learner’s improvement as he undergoes the learning process. It is something so strong that it can present the accomplishments of a student after a semester or a year-long process of learning. With a strong congruence with the instructional objectives, a portfolio is made into a visible summary of the learning, effort, and creativity. Through a portfolio, a parent may develop a strong bond with his learner – that is, to show concern for both of the learner’s academic and non-academic achievement(s). it will then be a good avenue for the parents and the child to bond with each other that may help foster the growth of motivation to the learner himself. A portfolio is also a good mechanism to help our student develop self-evaluation skills, become responsible learners, and a good way to develop self-trust when they communicate themselves, through their portfolios, to audiences outside the premises of the classroom. 

I

am an educator

I am a learner

I learn life and forever will be

I give it my all

In making everyone understand

What learning is as it is.

My learners are people w ho deserve to learn. I’ll help sow the seeds of wisdom within them for them to reap the indescribable goodness it brings – to change their lives and to be persons more than anything else.

More than the skills and the competence, my learners are able and willing to commit within the inner voice calling out to them to become active participants in the community. In their continuous quest for happiness and wisdom, I am a scribe. I am to guide them in the process. Even the time won’t permit; I will be a fellow, a friend, and a companion. Within the walls of the classroom, learning has meaning. Even the world outside is cold and stern, inside the classroom is a beautiful world waiting to be discovered.

Learning is the fortitude to stay in the ever-changing world. I’ll teach it to my learners so they can thrive and live their lives happily.

I am the artist helping the unshaped to have the courage to seek goodness and not turmoil. I am to prepare lessons that are designed with the intellect and the affect. My learners will have humility with unfathomable depth. They have the courage to admit they are wrong and claim if it is for an upright cause.

I will be remembered in a number of ways.

I am the dawn who welcomes the fields of the day – giving hope and optimism of the new day. Yet I am the dusk to restore them for the new day to come.

A passion to share is here I am to do;

I am to share the youth the gifts I have.

I may be just the anonymous face;

But I am hope I touched a life – if not all.

Life is learning with the world.

It starts with a naïve soul

In the learning world I hope this soul would be

Full

Problem-based learning allows learners to collaboratively and independently search and direct the learning process with minimal support from the teacher who acts as a cognitive coach. PBL is characterized by challenging, open-ended problems, learners’ collaboration, and a teacher as a facilitator. PBL can promote to increase retention of knowledge as well as factual knowledge acquisition, mastery of general principles or concepts that can be transferred to solve similar problems, and acquisition of prior examples as means in solving situations of similar nature.

How PBL likely does happen? It is typically done through small group discussions (where task delegation comes in) where the teacher acts as a facilitator. They might consider engaging in inquiry to get information or sequentially initiate the tasks. The learners are presented with an ill-structured problem to be discussed, define it through what they know, generate hypothesis, organize information and apply results to solve the problem. This will be concluded by a reflection on their learning, means of solving, and collaboration. In this situation, the teacher must guide the learners as they go along the process than providing the over-all needed information. He guide by giving open-ended questions that are mostly metacognitive in nature.

Finkle and Torp (1995) include seven specific tasks in the PBL learning environment. These are determining whether the problem exist, creating an exact statement problem. Identifying helpful information, identifying resources for data gathering, generating possible solutions, analyzing the solutions and orally/ written solution presentation.

The main goal of the PBL approach, as based on cognitive theory, is to engage learners in learning. However, in a PBL learning environment, its implementation encounters unavoidable problems. Learners who are used to “talk and chalk” process may feel uncomfortable since this approach shifts in the procedures, teachers’ unfamiliarity with the process, relevance to the learners, time, complexity of learning tasks, etc. Along with these are its benefits. This includes enhanced learning engagements due to cognitive dissonance, relevance to real-world scenarios, opportunities for critical thinking, metacognitive growth and real-world authenticity that promote transfer and recall. In this process, the role in the learning process changes, there is a demand for the learners to acquire critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies and team participation skills.

contact: xubrylle@gmail.com

Reflection

Usually, the concerns that arise in the classrooms are effects of the lack of preparation of teachers for a particular situation. There are sudden glitches that occur may range from familiar to unusual situations.

The question will always be fundamental-“Am I ready to face such circumstances when they arise?”

Problem-based learning answers this query. The matter that is being resolved by the process teaches us to scrutinize every possible means to answer questions left unanswered in the ordinary lessons. Math can teach a person about operations, English help us do better in communication, Science will present facts about the human world, and so as the other disciplines. Suppose that I encounter a very noisy class; Math can help me calculate the number of students making the noise, English will help me translate the problems so everybody can understand, and Science will help me explain the process why they are noisy. But is there such approach that will help me translate everything into unified and much comprehendible structure that will answer my question?

The approach of Problem-based learning is very much helpful in answering the challenges in teaching – not only on the cerebral level but also on the sociological level. This is the advantage of Problem-based learning. Having the future career as a teacher, the preparatory things needed are being scrutinized and carefully studied to achieve the desired attitude being a teacher. Through PBL, the engagement level is being geared grounded to what the profession should be.

Am I prepared in facing the future classroom I will be into? The answer would be both yes and no. Yes, because I am familiar with the daily operations going on and No, because there’s so much to learn before facing the learners I will soon handle. I still need to consider a lot of understanding of the possible circumstances that I will be facing. There might be enough self-help books out there but it will always be different when I will be the one who’ll manage the situation. Experience is still young to say I am ready. I believe that it is still better to have them studied first. And PBL can help me doing this. It brings the other disciplines together. PBL assures the profession that the teachers that will be sent out on the field will be filled with enough not only on the head level but as well as on the work dedication and in understanding that the disciplines can be locked together as one and not as separate entities. It will help us in realizing that the things we are learning are part of a whole preparing us towards the greater community.

For now, being a student, undergoing the process of PBL matters a lot. It lumps all the disciplines together. It appeals to the actual world where I will be into someday. It equips me with various experiences, processing and reflecting to ensure that the demands of the profession I will be into someday will be best addressed. It is something that bolts me with the arena of teaching. If the subjects prepares my head, PBL’s process glues me to my work. It works side by side with perseverance and backed up by work ethics. As of now, it relates to research and group dynamics. In this way, these two fields of study relates to the value-formation being adhered by the ideals of PB

The question will always be fundamental-“Am I ready to face such circumstances when they arise?”

Problem-based learning answers this query. The matter that is being resolved by the process teaches us to scrutinize every possible means to answer questions left unanswered in the ordinary lessons. Math can teach a person about operations, English help us do better in communication, Science will present facts about the human world, and so as the other disciplines. Suppose that I encounter a very noisy class; Math can help me calculate the number of students making the noise, English will help me translate the problems so everybody can understand, and Science will help me explain the process why they are noisy. But is there such approach that will help me translate everything into unified and much comprehendible structure that will answer my question?

The approach of Problem-based learning is very much helpful in answering the challenges in teaching – not only on the cerebral level but also on the sociological level. This is the advantage of Problem-based learning. Having the future career as a teacher, the preparatory things needed are being scrutinized and carefully studied to achieve the desired attitude being a teacher. Through PBL, the engagement level is being geared grounded to what the profession should be.
Am I prepared in facing the future classroom I will be into? The answer would be both yes and no. Yes, because I am familiar with the daily operations going on and No, because there’s so much to learn before facing the learners I will soon handle. I still need to consider a lot of understanding of the possible circumstances that I will be facing. There might be enough self-help books out there but it will always be different when I will be the one who’ll manage the situation. Experience is still young to say I am ready. I believe that it is still better to have them studied first. And PBL can help me doing this. It brings the other disciplines together. PBL assures the profession that the teachers that will be sent out on the field will be filled with enough not only on the head level but as well as on the work dedication and in understanding that the disciplines can be locked together as one and not as separate entities. It will help us in realizing that the things we are learning are part of a whole preparing us towards the greater community.
For now, being a student, undergoing the process of PBL matters a lot. It lumps all the disciplines together. It appeals to the actual world where I will be into someday. It equips me with various experiences, processing and reflecting to ensure that the demands of the profession I will be into someday will be best addressed. It is something that bolts me with the arena of teaching. If the subjects prepares my head, PBL’s process glues me to my work. It works side by side with perseverance and backed up by work ethics. As of now, it relates to research and group dynamics. In this way, these two fields of study relates to the value-formation being adhered by the ideals of PB

In every corner of the world, you see people. You see them doing different things; but do these people ever think something aside from what previous people taught them? How many of these people dissect every angle before they went in? Maybe only a few of them do this. The sad truth is that many of these people aren’t growing up because they don’t know how it is to grow and let others grow.

Teaching is a profession I perceive before as a challenging one. You explore the things around you, you have the chance meeting different people, and you never stop learning. Indeed, it is – when you are still an idealistic first year; but now, that perspective suddenly eroded. This profession is a sensitive profession. Many believe the ideals of the brave novices we have in this profession. I’ve been here for almost three years. I have done lesson demonstrations, examinations, write-ups, etc. Now I realized this is not the profession that you take risks. When a teacher is there, reaching out to many children, you don’t take risks! I can always say this. Taking the risks with your class is something so frightening! What if you take the risk and broke a child’s core values just by just taking so much risk. I don’t sacrifice their future just because it’s an in word when you say take the risks. Children are fragile. Their development during specific periods in their lives is crucial and a teacher must not risk within that boundaries of development.

I often tell myself “The actual field is depressing”. Imagine how much children out there receive education in grade one? In grade 6? In high school? How many proceed to college? Are we just concerned of the children present within the walls of our classroom or perhaps our school ground? In the Philippine statistics that I have read, Filipino children who work in the streets but thus return home after working on the street constitute 75% of the total children population; about 25%-30% children lives on the cold highways of our country; and around 5%-10% are the children abandoned and live for survival among themselves. These are the children we fail to reach. These are the children who suffer discrimination, poor health; filthy living conditions, prostitution, drugs, and they are the most vulnerable to prison walls at the age of 18. Depressing! This is not seen in the eye view some of us who never knew, don’t want to know, or doesn’t care about to know. Then I understand how bad an idealist I am not to see them. I thought life is better. If a teacher doesn’t know how to give all children hope, enlightenment, and voice, he will always and only be a horrible addition to the tremendous number of teachers who are just teaching children the subjects but never a life teacher. I just think, am I allowed to enter into their lives if I just teach them how to do arithmetic calculations, proficient speakers, or perhaps the most intelligent person in the universe? A big shun is what I will then be receiving from them – I’m just a passerby having anonymous face and an unidentified reason why I am teaching them. They will be giving me a big Ha Ha in the face. It’s sad but it’s true that not everyone understands or maybe they just cannot see. I will just reach them if I teach them how to give life a second chance.

A teacher is not someone who risks a child’s development; he is not someone who seeks greatness in the pedestal; he is not someone who doesn’t know how to operate his cards; he is not someone who doesn’t question how the present human society affected the his children in his custody; he is not someone who manages affairs of a classroom just to be praised as generous member of the professional world; he is not the one who just take on the job without asking the real nature of the job; he is not some one who suggest someone to think just because it’s nice to tell someone think; he is not someone who refuses to read the elements present in his very eyes; he doesn’t do the job for the sake of compliance; he is not the one who takes the speck in other person’s eyes without noticing he has the log run over his face; he doesn’t do things because those things are just challenge for him; he is not just a symbol of faithfulness but he is the hope-giver; he is not someone who says fair without thinking of how fair it is for others; he is not someone who teach concepts but he let the children be themselves as he teach.

A teacher is a living body, a sentient of enough resilience moved by unfathomable wisdom inspired by the spirit as he gives hope, structural changes, acceptance, humility, and unending drive to chase his meaning as he continues to inspire people making them persons without thinking of something in return from whomever.

I’m postponing a celebration because of some of the writings written in my paper.

It just breaks me that almost everyone wastes their ink just writing fathomable insinuation of the statement or shall I say the question I wrote on my paper. How do they understand this profession? There’s more out there. Sometimes, those who stay until the end are the persons who disintegrate from the multitude.

Even I am whipped by their insinuations; I still have something to smile on. They surely have the affect! But is it enough?

I can remember of my favorite fictional character, the Harvard Symbology Professor, Robert Langdon (Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code). He is an expert. Whenever his student listens to him, he perks them up through his lessons and he takes them right in the nook of history itself nothing less but there’s so much more. No matter how you try to overthrow him upside-down or what, he is THE PROFESSOR – I want to be like him or more than like him.

I’m afraid of stagnation. I wanted to be doing different things. That is why I wanted to do many things. I want to see things for myself before teaching them to my students. I want them to have the first taste of what is really is outside there. Someday I hope they will see the things I mean of. I can be very mean in telling so but these are all what’s here and I don’t want these to continue by the next century.

I just hope.