“Teachers are like potters. Teachers are like bakers. They knead and mold the lives of the children.”

                We often hear the saying that teaching is a noble profession. People say that teaching is more than just a job- it’s a mission and vocation. We keep hearing those sayings about the importance of teaching.

                Oftentimes, we take these quotations are clichés cause we’ve already heard it countless times. Due to it, we tend to ignore the essence.  Sadly, sometimes, we can regard teaching as tiring. Most of us are guilty of this.

                My perspective about education was refreshed when I accidentally watched an investigative documentary about teachers who are assigned on far-flung places. Their workstation is very challenging yet you can see in them the genuine smile each time they are teaching. Another factor that awaken me was a conversation I had with a former pupil who is now in high school. She recalled that teachers serve as parents and inspiration to pupils. Then, I remembered the story shared to us by our then District Supervisor, Mrs. Elizabeth A. DImarucut during our commencement exercise (April 2010). She shared about Teddy, who seemed to be a difficult and indifferent learner. By the inspiration he acquired from his teacher, he became a successful doctor.

                Teaching is indeed noble. It doesn’t end on the four corners of the classroom, rather, it involves the wholeness of the learner. We may think our job is tiring and the simple things we do our irrelevant and often ignored by our society. There are times we whine about our lower salary, compared to other professionals. Our reward, however, may come years after we imparted learning to our students. It may not come instantly but surely it will come. The impact we had on our learners is remarkable. One day, I know we’ll be surprised that one or more of our pupils might come back to us and show us what they had become.   Personally, I am looking forward to this.

                Let us also not forget that we teachers are God’s stewards. He asked us to supervise our learners and help them become better individuals. Even Jesus Christ himself is called the Great Teacher. So we know, teaching profession is indeed SPECIAL.

                There is JOY in teaching. More than monetary rewards and prizes, we are sure that there are two greater  fruits of our labor- the accolade from God and the learners themselves.

By: Rhodora R. Lacson | T-II | Pantalan Luma Elementary School