SHE-POWER Men: Chris Austria Talks Marriage, Dreams and What He’d Say to the President

Chris Austria of WatDawat is a teacher, blogger, husband and father to five children. A man who dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player, but instead found his calling in the classroom. A man who believes in the value of education so much that he left a higher paying position so he could work for a school with disadvantaged youth, where he felt he could make more of a difference.

With his thought provoking and sometimes hilarious posts about parenting, education, love and life, Chris has made WatdaWat a must read for anyone who likes a bit of intelligence and insight with their humor.

As one of my longest running readers and a regular commenter to this blog, please make Chris  feel welcome as we get inside his mind and find out what really makes a man crazy enough to surround himself with so many kids!

Chris, you’ve been married a long time and have 5 kids. What’s the secret to a successful family life?

I wish I have a definitive answer to this question. My wife and I try our best to spend time with our children and with each other. We eat meals together, we watch t.v. together, and we talk to each other. That’s it.

You would be surprised how many families don’t spend quality time together. It also helps that my wife and I share the same passions with our children. We all love to read, watch movies, and giving each other a hard time.

Organization and routine must be a big part of your life as a teacher and parent. Do you follow a particular productivity system to manage your goals and responsibilities?

I really don’t follow any type of a routine and whenever I tried to create a routine, my children or my students always find a way to mess things up for me. What I try to do is to have a very simple plan on how I will tackle my day at home and at work. Then I do my best to be flexible and to be prepared for anything that comes along.

With regards to achieving my goals, I just stay focus and don’t let go. I might not achieve my goal immediately, but in time, with tenacity and perseverance, I will attain my goal.

Did you follow in your parents’ footsteps when raising your kids, or have you formed your own values and traditions?

There are definitely some traces of my parents’ parenting style in me, especially my mom’s. However, I can honestly say that my wife and I have raised our children differently from how I was raised. For example, my children and I have a more open relationship, communication wise, than what I had with my parents.

Also, I was raised in United States by parents who grew up in the Philippines. Naturally, there was a huge cultural gap. Fortunately with my own children I understand them better since I went through what they are going through.

What advice would you give someone just starting out as a husband and parent?

I mean this sincerely. As a husband and as a father your primary responsibility is to keep your wife happy and provide for the family, in this order. If you follow this formula, you will have a happy home.

What are your best and worst qualities?

My best qualities are that I’m pretty easy going, I smile a lot, and I have an insatiable hunger for knowledge.
My worst qualities are that I could get annoying sometimes, I’m very sarcastic, I procrastinate, and I talk too much.

What would your readers be surprised to learn about you?

My readers would be surprised to know that while I exude plenty of sensitivity in my writing, I can get very callous at times.

Readers would also be surprised that I’m actually better looking in person. Seriously though, readers would be surprised that I’m a homebody.

Was it hard growing up in America with a Filipino background? And do you think it is easier for your children than it was for you?

At times it was difficult growing up Filipino because I had an identity crisis, maybe because I didn’t grow up with any Filipinos. Fortunately, my children aren’t suffering with the same fate. My wife and I do our best to make them proud of who they are.

If you had 15 minutes to talk to the President about the educational future of the USA, what would you say?

I only need 5 minutes. I would ask the President to pay the teachers like doctors, fund the schools the way we fund our national defense, and give tax credits to parents who attend all the parent-teacher conferences and who volunteer at the schools.

Finish These Sentences:

I am passionate about my family and my teaching.

One thing I know about life is that it will always throw you a curve ball.

Teaching is like breathing.

And finally, your dream is to establish a school in the Philippines. Can you tell us a bit about that project and how it’s going?

My project is to start a school in the Philippines. I want the school to be a public school but privately funded, much like how charter schools work in the United States.

My goal is to bring first rate education to children who are in poverty.

Like any developing country, the Philippines have an inequity when it comes to providing quality education to its children. The rich will undoubtedly get the best education and the poor will obviously be fighting for scraps.

I have been dreaming and planning about the school for almost 10 years now. It’s been tough to get it going because life always happens and money is always difficult to come by. However, now I have the perfect opportunity because my wife and I have secured a building.

The challenge right now is raising the capital for construction. We haven’t been doing so well. We are planning on maybe mortgaging our home in the Philippines to get some cash to get the construction going.

Other than the construction, everything is set.

The curriculum, teacher commitments from US teachers, and the people who will run the school while I finish up my contract in the United States.

So far, I’ve raised $4,000 We need $25,000 more to get the ball rolling.

It will definitely be an uphill battle. It’s been 10 years since I started this project. I can wait a little longer.

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If anyone would like to donate to Chris’ project, you can give as little as $10 and be immortalized as a benefactor to the school in the Philippines with an engraving of your name on the front wall of the building.

Tagged as: SHE-POWER Men