“Mama, bakit po pag kayo ang nagtuturo, mas madali po naming naiintindihan?”  (Mama, why is it that if you are the one teaching, we understand the lesson more easily?”)

These were the exact words I heard from my two sons in 2002. I was an office employee in Mariveles that time and I was the tutor of my two boys then studying at the Bataan Montessori School.  I just smiled and said “Thank you”, but little did I know that God had a plan for me… one that would change my life totally.

The following year (2003), when I was riding a mini-bus en route Mariveles one morning, an accident happened.  The vehicle I was riding on lost its gear and turned-turtle.  It spun three times and fell into a ravine.  How lucky was I to have survived that bitter experience! Due to the trauma that I got, I did not want to travel via public transport anymore.  Every time I rode a mini-bus I recalled that miserable experience.

One day I had  school  PTA meeting, a parent encouraged me to enroll/take up Education in Limay Polytechnic College (LPC).  Since the school is just a stone-throw away from our home, I told myself “ Why not?”  At first, it was like a play… one which I liked so much.  My first two years in school was really fun  until I learned that LPC was yet not accredited by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).  As soon as I heard that news, I immediately transferred to Bataan Peninsula State University where I finished the course – Bachelor of Secondary Education, major in English.

As soon as I had finished my studies in 2010, I took and  passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET)  the same year.  Perhaps due to my passion and strong determination to help the public school students, I applied at my first school-employer — the Limay National High School.  Life in a public institution is real, unlike what we had studied in the undergraduate.  Here I hear and absorb the different problems of our students which, most of the times, make me cry and break my heart.

More than monetary consideration, being a public school teacher for me is very rewarding and fulfilling.  No amount of money could compensate the affection and concern I get from my students.  Especially when they are saying that I am their favorite teacher, all of my problems seem to have lost, I feel very, very grateful.

Indeed, being a teacher is more of a privilege, to serve our community, our nation, and most of all, we get to do what our REAL TEACHER, JESUS CHRIST did…  teach and lead His flock!                                                                    

By: Gina R. Bagtas | T-III | Limay National High School