NURTURING LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP:Key to Happy Living

Teaching online is not far from teaching in an actual classroom. You still need to prepare your materials. Traditional classroom stores realia or actual objects necessary to emphasize keywords or convey the idea of your lesson. It also keeps lots of visual aids prepared for each subject matter.

The same should be observed in the virtual classroom. If you want to become a successful online teacher, whether it is teaching for a specific course or teaching English as a Secondary Language to Kids Level, you must prepare yourself to organize your own digital shelf.

If visual aids take space in the actual classroom, the digital shelf will also take space on your computer. Hence consider the following in building your digital shelf.

1. Provide yourself with a flash memory. Either a flash drive or a memory card. Choose one that has a high storage capacity.

2. Organize your files by folder. Aside from having a neat file window, it is easier to locate files if they are saved by category.

3. Put your pictures in a PowerPoint presentation. Aside from saving some space, students can easily follow your lead if you are showing them an organized lesson.

4. Lastly, instead of downloading Youtube videos, why not copy the URL of that video you want to show to your students then paste them by category in a Notepad or MS Word. You can retrieve them later should you need it for your today’s lesson. It is one way to build a digital shelf as well as save space in your storage media.

Are you wondering how to start your video for self-introduction? To give you an idea, I list down the steps on how to create a self-made video for your self-introduction.

1. Prepare your script.

* Tell your name.

* Where you live.

* Share your teaching experience. Much as possible your online teaching experience. You don't need to mention other jobs you have in the past. Remember, this is a short introduction. If you have a certain expertise in this and that, reserve that during the initial interview or better yet show it off when you are on the platform already.

* Tell how you do your class. Are you the scholarly type? Are you the traditional type who uses board and pen? Are you the techie type?

* Tell what the students can expect from you after they have booked your lesson.

* Lastly, invite them to book you for a lesson. Encourage the potential students to book your class by showing your friendly nature in camera. Tell that you offer fun-filled, engaging and interactive classes all the time.

2. Be natural. Be yourself. Memorize your script. Don't read them during recording or else you'll appear like a robot.

3. Most parents look for a teacher with a friendly aura. So, don't forget to smile. Show your bubbly personality. Enjoy teaching.

Are you an aspiring ESL teacher? Here is a short example of self-introduction for you, especially for kids' level.

1. Provide good lighting in your workspace.

2. Dress casually so you will not scare them with your "professional" looking-attire.

3. Wear light makeup. You don't need to overdo it since your demo is intended for kids.

4. Prepare your Manycam apps, a creative app that you can embed to gender, Google Classroom, or Zoom. Download or create effects that are necessary for your short introduction. Take a slow transition for each effect.

5. Speak slowly and keep your effects going with the content of your introduction.

6. Of course, children are children. They like to see toys, so show-off your favorite toy. Parents want to see how you make use of teaching resources, so show a sample.

7. Wear something on your head. It could be a hat, flower crown, or a catchy headband. I regularly use a digital Minnie Mouse headband is available in Manycam.

Do you see the demand here? The parent is looking for a connection to someone who can help her understands and empathizes with the challenges of a parent, forced overnight to “home school” my child. Before COVID-19, I could send my child off to school, and the teachers would take care of the rest.

The child is waiting on the other line. It is about time to camp in your garage or your attic or to any quiet place in your house to set up your virtual classroom., the answer to the demand of weary parents and children.

Most children nowadays behave differently from the children of the past. Some are becoming wild, while few are being bullied. It is very noticeable that most children are impolite, rude and have uncontrolled behavior.

These challenging children may be attributed to three risk factors that influence their behavior. One is their environment. If a child lives in a wholesome and accepting family, the child is more likely to be gentler, kinder and soft-spoken compare to a child who grew in a troubled, dysfunctional family with a single parent raising him/her.

The second factor is the inner experience that the child received from his/her immediate family. These positive or negative inner experiences will dictate how a child will behave as an individual especially when in a group or among peers.

The last and third factor that impacts the behavior of a child is receiving the correct empathy which should start from home. Self-awareness which is one aspect of empathy should be taught earlier to a child. When a child becomes aware of his strengths and weaknesses, he/she turns to be more open to the correction of his/her own misbehavior. The child also tends to be more apprehensive about his/her behavior. He/She can easily distinguish positive or negative emotions which leads to self-management of emotion.

As educator, the teacher should pay close attention to the behavior the students manifest in a class or among his/her friends. When the teacher approaches the student or the child per se, she should take into consideration what personality does the child possesses and use that the parameter to choose a learning style appropriate and matching to the student. Likewise, since most students are now more open and aggressive, the teacher must motivate them more to choose self-improvement than self-destruction.

Due to Novel Coronavirus a.k.a. COVID 19, people were forced to stay at home to keep them safe and protect their families from the unforeseen enemy. This deadly virus created havoc on our economy. Businesses are shut down, entry for vehicles is lockdown and people were restrained to go anywhere.

Many schools are now closed because of COVID 19. Millions of children were forced to stop going to their respective schools especially after the government requested citizens to avoid social gatherings, including church activities. Social distancing measures are implemented nationwide hence people preferred to stay at home.

To support the needs of the family, experts on online teaching suggest to those who are able and have the qualifications to teach online to make their home a virtual classroom. This is the right opportunity to earn a living amidst the crisis.

Many online ESL companies are popping out like mushrooms in all social media platforms and looking for teacher support because of the influx of students who are enrolling in virtual classes. If you are a graduate of any BA or BS degree, you are good to go.

Having ESL teaching certification is a plus point to get you hired faster. If you don't have any yet, many companies offer 160 to higher hours of training. Then lookout for a few kid's stuff which is necessary if you will apply to teach kids level. If you prefer teaching adults and you have the skills to share, then you can clean up a little space in the corner of your house to make your instant virtual classroom.

Of course, all online ESL companies require teachers to be in a quiet, clutter-free environment. So, find a suitable place to set up your table and teaching materials.

In this world where global competition is high, having singular talent is not enough, especially if you are aiming to be a leader. Take my personal experience. I have been running a business for a few years already. I thought, being talented and skillful will be enough to outrun competitors in our area.

But when technology became a significant factor in increasing profitability, it was then that I thought of resourcing personnel who can fill in my weaknesses. I am knowledgeable in computer programs but not in other graphic presentations. I am adept at using Excel applications but not in accounting.

To be able to catch up with my competitors, I hired people who are good at stuff where I am not good at.

I created a support system where I am weak. In this way, it makes my load easier. It even improves my program because my idea was collaborated by the ideas of other experts.

I provided my self with a team that can help me create a strategic plan for the improvement of our services.

Anyways, two heads are always better than one. It really works in business.

Being contented in life is one sign that you are leading a happy life. In my simple abode, while sitting in the front yard, I came to read this book about finding ways to lead a happy life, and I would like to share what Goethe, a poet, playwright, and novelist, would love people to know as the essentials for contented living.

1. Health enough to make work a pleasure.

2. Wealth enough to support your needs.

3. Strength enough to battle difficulties and overcome them.

4. Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.

5. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.

6. Clarity enough to see some good in your neighbor.

7. Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.

8. Faith enough to make real the things of God.

9. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears confronting the future.

When faced with trouble, it is good to find the courage to act over the matter. It gives a better result in these situations.

ANXIETY TO STAND UP FOR SOMETHING YOU BELIEVE IN.

Even though it might mean rejection, ridicule, or physical harm, face the person who causes you anxiety. Nothing will be resolved if you keep hiding. Voice out your ideas. You'll never know its worth until you voice out them out.

UNVOICED EMOTION

Do you feel depressed because of someone? It takes courage to air what's in our heart but opening up communication to the other end helps ease the hurt feeling inside.

SCRUTINIZING SOCIETY

It also takes courage to defend someone who is considered unpopular or unacceptable in our society but who knows, you're courage can bridge him and open the gate for his approval.

BEING AGAINST THE NORM

Being different and going against the norm takes courage for someone who wants change. This is so true in politics. But if you want to achieve progress and development, be fearless to be transparent and stand up for what you think is good for all especially for the silver lining.

I have a friend whom I kept for years. Though we are living miles apart, me in the Philippines and her in Finland, we are able to nurture our friendship through the years with the aid of technology. But before e-mail came, we used to send snail mail to each other. I was a first-year college and she in senior high school when our friendship started.

Do you want to know how we kept it? Here are some tips you may follow:

* Talk about your friend to others. Saying her name out loud and "introducing" her to others keeps your friendship alive.

* If you're on e-mail, send a "real letter" every once in a while -- something pretty or a funny card or even a comic from the newspaper that made you laugh.

* Create your own traditions. For us, we sent each other any holiday card for years. Things that never been done by friends nowadays. We added a personal letter each card and keep that special card in a safe place for the rest of the year. Mine was still in my chest box in my maternal house.

* Embrace when you finally see each other again.!

Let me share how Renee S. Sanford who lives in the United States and her best friend who lives in Europe maintain their friendship blazing. She gave the following tips on how to do so.

* Choose a specific time of day when you can commit to praying for each other.

* Send photos! Not just the kids' school pictures, but photos of anything important in your life--a new hairstyle, your latest gardening project, or even your children's everyday antics.

* Create a code between the two of you that says, "I'm thinking of you--you're special."
Maybe it's a particular greeting or closing to your letters.

* Always send a birthday card--unless you've agreed ahead of time not to do cards.

* Make it a habit to hit that reply button on the e-mail, even if it's just a short note. Don't wait so long between letters that it takes a novel to catch up on your life.

Living is nice despite some chaos that we face 365 days. Giving is part of living whereas your happiness.

I would like to share the 10 gifts you can give to humankind by Charles R. Swindoll:

1. Mend a quarrel.

2. Seek out a forgotten friend.

3. Hug someone tightly and whisper, "I love you so."

4. Forgive an enemy.

5. Be gentle and patient with an angry person.

6. Express appreciation.

7. Gladden the heart of a child.

8. Find the time to keep a promise.

9. Make or bake something for someone else. Anonymously.

10. Speak kindly to a stranger.

I am sure you can afford to give all these gifts to anyone who comes across your path.

Living a happy, successful life is easy if you can show how generous your heart is.

A natural disaster is one culprit to have a happy, successful life. It wrecks not only our life but also our property. It comes unexpectedly, so I am sharing the 12 ways to prepare for you and your family's safety.

1.

Sign up for Alerts and Warnings.

2.

Make a plan with your family.

3.

Save for a Rainy Day.

4.

Practice emergency drills.

5.

Test a family communication plan.

6.

Safeguard documents.

7.

Plan with your neighbors.

8.

Make your home safer.

9.

Know evacuation routes.

10.

Assemble or update supplies.

11.

Get involved in your community.

12.

Document and Insure property.

Always remember to update yourself with the alerts and warnings via your cellphone. Stay updated with severe weather alerts from your National Weather System Station.

Do you ever wonder why when you are with friends, you have this good feeling inside you that makes you smile and makes you want to be with them for a bit longer of time?

YES, we can really find real happiness with our friend. Here's how to BOOST your everlasting friendship.

1.

Do activities that are fun.

“A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad.”

- Arnold H. Glasgow

2.

Explore new interests and hobbies.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ” What! You too? I thought I was the only one?”

- C.S. Lewis

3.

Paste your pictures together in a scrapbook.

This idea is for you to have a creative time with your friends. Selecting pictures together to post in your slam book develops friendship even better because you reminisce each and every detail in the picture. At the same way, you are fostering growth in creativity by pasting the selected pictures

Do you know that it has been proven by science that friendship can help us survive? But Dale Carnegie says that you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

Here are 3 keys to find people get interested in building a friendship with you.

1. Talk with godly older people and discover how they build their friendship.

“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” - Albert Schweitzer

2. Read a good book together, and discuss how its content can help you foster your relationship.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. - Marcel Proust

3. Seek to understand the other person's viewpoint.

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” - William Shakespeare.

Friends have a great impact on our happiness, whether it's friendship from partners, parents, or siblings, or to any people you have known for a few years or since you were a kid. It is incredible how these people can be brought us joy and sorrow at the same time.

So I would like to share some points on how to build meaningful and lasting friendships match with powerful quotes from known personalities.

1. Be yourself - don't put on an act just to get the person to like you.

“A a real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” - Walter Winchell

2. Ask open-ended questions.

“Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is a conversation.” - Oscar Wilde

3. Listen to the other person's heart, not just to the words.

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people do not listen.” - Ernest Hemmingway

Finding happiness is essential to life in the midst of pretentions, wrath, and trouble.

Here are some quotes to live by to find happiness within.

"The secret of being happy is accepting where you are in life and making the most out of everyday"

"Be happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good side of everything."

"For every minute that you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony" - Mahatma Gandhi

"Hapiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own action." - Dalai Lama XIV

"The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are, and not who people think you are." - Goldie Hawn

A confidant is a trusted friend we can talk to about personal and private things.

Choosing one is very hard because, at the end of the day, a secret must remain a secret so we must take caution in spilling them to a friend unless he/she is our confidant.

Here are some ideas I shortlisted from Janis Long Harris, to consider:

Choose someone...

...you can trust

... who can keep a confidence

... who will respect your boundaries

... who will give you perspective

... who will pray for you

... who is wise and has more experience than you

... who values commitment in marriage

... who will keep you accountable without unjustly condemning you

... Of the same gender, or a married couple

... who will not be negatively affected by your confidences

"Always be careful of your friend who loves your enemy; you either trust such a fellow for your life or for your death."

Let us read these 7 good reasons to fight to gain a happy life by Dr. RICHARD C. HALVERSON, former chaplain to the United States Senate.

**Fight for the relationship - not against it.

**Fight for the reconciliation - not for the alienation.

**Fight to preserve - not to destroy it.

**Fight to win your spouse - not to lose him/her

**Fight to save your marriage - not to cash it in.

**Fight to solve the problem - not to solve your ego.

**If you're going to fight, fight to win... Not to lose!

Remember, we don't grow when things are easy. We grow when we face challenges.

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. " - Thomas Paine

Saying "I'm sorry" is sometimes very difficult for others but saying these words will make things a little bit different.

Here are twelve reasons why you need to say "I'M SORRY" :

1. When you are wrong.

2. When you are rude.

3. When you are defensive.

4. When you are impatient.

5. When you are negative.

6. When you are hurtful.

7. When you are insensitive.

8. When you are forgetful.

9. When you are confused or confusing.

10. When you have neglected, ignored, or overlooked something important to the one you love.

11. Have damaged or misused something that is not yours (even if it was an accident)

12. Have not said "I'm sorry" as sincerely and quickly as the situation needed.