A Plastic Bottle

In the last few days, my classes have discussed about 'go green'. It led me to think about the recycle process of plastic bottles. It has taught me a lesson.

It was the time for me to have lunch. And as usual, I brought my plastic bottle to the dining room. When I was walking to the dining room I saw some other used plastic bottles in the rubbish bins along the corridor. And I started to think if they were alive.

A girl was holding a bottle of drinking water. He said,"How proud I am! This girl needs me everywhere she goes. She can't live without me. I've made her alive." Then after using the bottle for some time and the bottle's condition became worse, the girl bought a new bottle and threw the old one into the rubbish bin. Then the old bottle said,"Ooohh...I'm just rubbish now. Can anybody help me out of this rubbish bin? It's too dirty here. Hey, you, rubbish! Get out of my life! How can I live in the place that smells so bad?" In the afternoon a man took the rubbish and moved it into the bigger rubbish box.

Then one day the truck came to take the rubbish from the big rubbish box to a big field full of rubbish. "Oh my God! What a place!" Then a machine took him and let him gather with other plastic bottles. And then the machine crushed them! "Lord, have mercy! I was too arrogant to be a bottle needed by the girl! Please let me out of this place!" But it was too late. "Now I'm broken into pieces. It's so painful!! All I can do is just hope and pray."

The next day the broken pieces were put into a machine. "Help! It's so hot here! I've got no shape now!" But after a while, a machine took him and made him a new plastic bottle. "Thank God...I've got my new life!" The new plastic bottle was very grateful and he swore he wouldn't be arrogant anymore.

Have you ever felt the same as this plastic bottle?

Have you ever experienced the process of recycle which is done by God?

Maybe I'm in the process now. Not being the old anymore...but not yet the new one....

NOT NOW

Every school has their own characteristics. So does the school where I work. We have some ideal characteristics that have to be achieved. Every teacher has to build the students' characteristics in activities inside or outside the classroom. The students are expected to have the spirit of Cc5 (Compassion - celebration - competence - conviction - creativity - community).

I try to build this spirit in my activities with my students. One of the activities is the students choir. Since 2003 we have done the service. And one special event for the choir members was the annual charity concert. My students always prepared the performance enthusiastically. During the preparation, they experienced many things and many kinds of emotions and learned how to manage them. The performance was not the only thing to achieve, because we had two things - concert and charity. We have held the charity concert for ten times. The spirit of Cc5 lives in this event - I think!

We are going to end this school year soon. We planned to end the school year with the 11th annual charity concert. Unfortunately, the principal said that the school would not hold the concert. There were some problems (or mistakes) of the previous concert. And the problems became the reason not to hold the concert. I thought that the problems could be solved easily to hold a better concert. But the school authority did not say so. We fought for the concert because we thought that we were still walking on the spirit of Cc5 track. But...we couldn't change the decision. There must be some 'political' reasons here.

As the charity concert cancelled, we were sad...shocked...disappointed....

But this is the fact...God's will. I asked Him. But I'm sure He says,"Not now. I'll give you better than what you have asked for."

Don't give up. Let's set the spirit of Cc5 on fire!

The Best You Can Give?

The last day of this week at school will be February 14^th. It’s Valentine’s Day! My students are looking forward to that day excitedly. As I had planned before, yesterday I gave my student a one-night writing assignment. I asked them to write something to someone who they love so much. They could write to their mom or dad, brother or sister, friend or best friend, boyfriend or girlfriend, teacher or someone else. I asked them to write to show their love. They would do it at home. They had to write on a piece of paper. They could type and print it, or if they wanted to be original, they could write using their own handwriting. I told them that everybody would get good score if they wrote with love.

This morning they had to submit the assignment. And it made me shocked! Most of them used their handwriting, but it wasn’t because they tried to be original. They didn’t make enough effort to finish the assignment. Some students did it in the classroom, and they did it without thinking deeply of the addressee – the one they love so much.

I asked my students, “What will you give to someone you love on Valentine’s Day?” Some of them were not confident to give an answer, but one of them answered, “Chocolate!”

Then I asked him, “How much will you spend for the chocolate?”

“I don’t know. It depends on the money that I have.”

“Well, now check the money that you have this week. So you can decide how much you will spend for it.”

“I’ll spend one hundred thousand rupiahs.”

“Is it the best you can give?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Then I said, “Imagine…if in the morning on Valentine’s Day you find this paper on your table. What do you feel?” I showed them a piece of test paper. “Do you feel that the sender really loves you? Is this the best that you can do for the one you love so much?” And then I showed them a piece of nice paper with some decoration on it. “How do you feel if you receive this? Are they different?”

When you want to show your love to someone, do and give your best, although it’s just a simple thing you can give.

Have a lovely Valentine’s Day!