Over 100 Elementary and High School teachers of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan gathered at the conference hall of Grotto Vista Resort on November 2, 2015 for the 1-day “Voice Care for Teachers” workshop. The team of Voice Care Philippines came back to teach the second batch of teachers regarding voice care, following the success of its first run last September.
After the opening ceremonies and welcome remarks, the workshop began with an inspiring and motivating talk by Voice Care Philippines founder, Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales. He brightened the morning with his wit, charm, humor and even voice acting prowess. The highlight of his talk, however, is on understanding the Generation Z – the new generation that fills the classrooms of today. With his extensive experience of working with the youth, Pocholo shares his learning through research and experience regarding the lifestyle and behaviors of this new breed of young people, and how to best motivate them to learn. The teachers learned about the language, applications, games and many other tools that kids of today use, and caught a glimpse of their ‘virtual world’. Pocholo also motivated and inspired the teachers to love their vocation, which he considers the most influential vocation in the world.
Shortly before lunch break, Voice Care Philippines Executive Director Ada Cuaresma took the stage to do the Voice Care workshop proper. Ada opened with an icebreaker to remind teachers to expand their horizons when it comes to teaching the Generation Z. She then went into the science of voice, and gave the teachers a simple yet helpful explanation of how voice is produced. She also gave tips on how to take good care of the voice.
After lunch, another one of Voice Care Philippines’ trainers, Andrew San Fernando, facilitated a workshop on “Voice Acting for Effective Teaching.” Andrew shared his journey to the voice acting world – starting from when he became one of the VoiceMaster’s protégé, up to establishing his own name and career. He then talked about the elements of the voice that make a teacher sound more confident and effective in teaching their students. He also gave voice exercises for the participants to explore their vocal range and release tension from facial muscles that are essential to producing voice.
Overall, it was a day of fun-filled and memorable learning for the teachers, who have paid attention this closely to their voice, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
