“Mere movement is without value.
[It] should be purposeful and should contain possibilities
that contribute to the learner's growth.”
- John Dewey

Sometime ago, I attended a talk by Dr. Grace S. Khoo, a professor of educational psychology from U.P., Diliman. It was called “Kids are from Jupiter,” and talked about helping kids reach their full potential in the classroom via the use of a 'language' that was understandable and most of all, interesting to them.

Sometimes, we think that kids today are from another planet,” she began.

What with the demands from school, the many distractions available via television, the internet and video games, now, more than ever does it seem that we don't know kids at all.

“(At the end of this talk), we hope to understand more about our little aliens,” she finished.

Following the Men are from Mars, women are from Venus logic, Dr. Khoo likened children to the planet Jupiter. “Kids are large and active, and Jupiter is a large planet with any active volcanoes,” she explained. A good way to get them interested in learning things in and out of the classroom, especially in the realm of science, is to enhance their natural curiosity.

Questions are they key

Every parent in history has had to deal with his or her child's questions about everything from why is the sky blue to what makes a rocket ship fly. Dr. Khoo explained that just asking questions is not enough. Kids should be taught how to ask the right questions, and helping them reach correct decisions regarding the answers they have collected.

“Science learning is about decision making,” she said.

Three main things inspire kids to ask questions. They are:
 48% curiosity (based on personal experiences, the concerns and their observations of people in their proximity)
 2.5% wonder at the information propagated by the media; and last but not least,
 13.5% cultural beliefs and folklore

Kids have different reasons for asking questions. Among them:
 the need to validate common beliefs and misconceptions
 the need to gather basic information
 the need for explanation; and
 questions related to imaginary scenarios

In the next installment of this column, we find out how kids get most of their information (certainly not from mom and dad!), the kinds of questions kids asks, and how to help them ask questions that aid in their learning.

The talk was sponsored by Creative Challenge Inc. Read more about them at www.creativechallenge.ph

Last Saturday, I attended Arnold Arre's books signing at Powerbooks in Trinoma. I had meant to write about it here the Friday before the event but memory is a slippery thing. The signing was great. Lots of Arnold Arre fans showed up, some of them with his complete works in tow.

Arnold Arre is probably the most prolific and certainly the best known graphic novelist in the country today. His works include Mythology Class, Trip to Tagaytay, After Eden and Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat. He's also one half of the team that creates the Private Iris series for kids, a comic book about an extremely young and extremely smart girl who goes around solving mysteries. Though you could get anything by him signed during the event, it was mostly to highlight his latest work, Martial Law Babies.

His work just keeps getting better and better.

At the risk of revealing my age, I will say that I could identify with a lot of stuff in the graphic novel, though you don't need to have to be a Martial Law Baby to understand it. A Martial Law Baby, by the way, is the term used for kids who were born either from 1972 - 1977 or 1972- 1986 (depending on who you talk to), during Ferdinand Marcos' Martial Law years. We grew up thinking that everything was right in the world, while a little voice in our little heads said, No all is not right. Why do you think you're not allowed to see the last few episodes of Voltes V?

Here, Arre deviates from his usual fantasy mode to tell a tale that will, in one way or another, hit close to home. His characters are real. They could have been your friends. Heck, they may have been patterned after your friends. They could have been patterned after you. I'm not going to go into details as I don't plan for this to be a review. Let's just say that I bawled my eyes out while I was reading it, partly because the story was so compelling, partly because of the nostalgia it induced.

After being introduced by Jaime Bautista (the other half of Private Iris), Arnold said a few words about his works, then fielded questions from fans. Afterwards, the signing commenced. I got in line with a copy of Private Iris, which I plan to send to relatives in the States. Arnold was very nice, taking time out to chat with his fans and have pictures taken with them. The girl in front of me had about three books and was telling Arnold how she envied her boyfriend because he had a copy of After Eden, which is apparently now hard to find.

Inspired by Arnold's success and prolificity (is this even a word?), I wandered over to his Web site. Aside from the requisite bio and glowing blurbs from established writers like the Philippine Daily Inquirer's Ruey de Vera and Manila Bulletin's Luis Katigbak (insert wiggling eyebrows here), the site had a page called "From My Generation to Yours," which has a slideshow of pictures from the 70's and 80's. It's really trippy to see, especially when you can recognize the places in the background. "That's the Greenhills Shopping Center!" I found myself yelling. Good thing everyone was asleep. They think I'm crazy enough as it is. "A Scooby Doo mascot! And Howie the Magnolia Ice cream dude!" Like I said. Trippy.

What really interested me though was the page called "As Approachable as a Landing Strip," which talked about Arre's creative process. It shows Arre's test strips, thought processes and inspirations (like old memories and The Electric Company) -- proof that comic book writing is no easy task. It also lets you glimpse into the mind of a genius. It also has an original letter from Uncle Bob from Uncle Bob's Lucky Seven Club where he hopes that he and the recipient will be friends forever and ever.

Those were simpler times. But then, childhood usually is.

I got an email from an aspiring writer the other day. She introduced herself, said that she has always been her dream to write, and asked if I had any writing projects that I could recommend her for and that if I needed any writing samples, I should check out some Web site.

The letter had its good points and bad points. Alas, there were more bad than good, which might (and I say might precariously) pass in this country because most Filipinos are softhearted and we all operate under a culture of "pakikisama," but if such a letter were sent to a foreign editor/ writer/ agency/ business contact, or even one of the local ones who forego all notions of pakikisama in pursuit of craft (and rightly so), it would be deleted straight away.

Writing is a business. It does not mean big pots of cash delivered to your door (a lot of freelancers pick up their check, cry, then spend the night rocking back and forth in a corner wondering about their life choices). It does not mean starlets lining up all around the block just so they can be photographed with you (unless you are Salman Rushdie, but even he only had a hot wife for a while before she divorced him). It means long hours of lonely, backbreaking (most writers don't have enough cash to buy an ergonomic chair) work. Yes, work. But if you're like this girl and want to enter the harsh, thankless but ultimately fulfilling world of writing, here are some things to remember when writing to an editor.

Capitalize, please

You may speak lolcat in your text messages and forget punctuations in your blog posts, but remember, if you want to be treated as a professional, you have to present yourself as one. Remember proper sentence construction. Spellcheck (something I'm still guilty of not always doing). Capitalize the first letter of your sentences. Capitalize the first letters of your name, for goodness sakes. That goes for all proper nouns as well. Editors are always on the lookout for writers. They must, however, be good writers. The last thing an editor needs in his or her busy schedule is to guide a writer through things that he or she should have learned in grade school.

Be professional

The one thing that I like about the woman's letter was that it was straight to the point. No "greetings and salutations." No "good day." No "More power to you, God bless, take care cause I care." The only person allowed to get away with curlicues like that in a business letter is Yoda because his infinite wisdom has given him the right to do so, and also because he'll kick your ass if you complain. Oh, also please use only one font and one font size in your letter.

Keep your dreams to yourself

Unless you're a preteen girl writing to Miley Cyrus or the Jonas brothers, keep our dreams to yourself. I know that the urge to tell an editor that if he gives you an assignment, he will be instrumental in making your dreams come true is strong, but doing so will only brand you as unprofessional, and lessen your chances of getting any work from him. Remember, separate work from the personal. What you can and should do, however, is highlight all the projects you've done that's related to the position you're applying for. Your dreams are for your diary. Your achievements, however, go into your letter.

Hype yourself, but stick to the truth

By all means, feel free to list your magazine contributions, and your newspaper articles. It doesn't matter if the magazine you contributed to had a circulation of 10 or that it was the village newspaper that you wrote for. What matters is that you've gotten your name out there. These are samples that the editor can look over to see if your writing style fits his needs. Even if you've never written professionally before, sometimes, a well-written blog is enough. I know writers who have gotten calls out of the blue from editors who have stumbled on their blogs and liked the way they wrote. Don't make stuff up, either. Remember, this is the digital age. If you can easily Google the editor, that editor can certainly Google you.

Be confident

Believe it or not, a lack of confidence can easily be seen, even in a letter. Excessive word use, begging for a job, all these are signs of someone who is not sure of his or her worth. Sure, you knees may be trembling as you hit the send button, but the editor need not know this. Present a clean, confident image by:

a) Writing neatly,

b) Using simple but understandable words

c) Being polite and d. acknowledging authority

You should have a short, straight-to-the-point letter that your English teacher would be proud of. And if it'll get you an A in English class, chances are it'll get you an A in the eyes of the editor as well.