“Kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan.” Each of us probably has read or heard this saying for a hundred times. In fact, they are posted in the walls of school premises to inspire the students that they can do more in the future—that they can be more than who they are today. One may be the next president of the country. One may be the next hero to be written in the history books. One may even discover the cure for AIDS and cancer. Everyone have their chance to be greater and braver than the others, disregarding the scores and grades of the test papers. It only takes practice and an enormous amount of motivation.
As to this, teachers portray a huge role in affecting each student’s lives. When a student graduates from elementary school or secondary school, he or she carries more the life lessons taught by the mentor and less remembers the lessons and lectures learned. Teachers are big motivations for students. They believe what a teacher says. They follow what a teacher commands. As to what a saying goes, a good teacher makes her students remember her lessons; a great teacher makes herself worth remembering by the students. Due to these kinds of expectation, as well as a dream of individual teachers to create a mark on the hearts and minds of their students, pressure exists on how they will be treasured after the lesson ends.
Moreover, as a teacher, there is a huge expectation that one is a lot smarter than the students he or she teaches. Thus, there is an unseen responsibility of superiority amongst students. It is like there is no room for mistakes for a teacher. Still, everyone knows that there are no perfect individuals, including mentors, despite the fact that they stand as role models for the students. It is quite impossible to dedicate a teacher’s life into teaching and studying, when in fact they still have a personal life outside the school premises. The pressure of maintaining a superior image becomes a challenge, most especially if encountered to highly intelligent and sarcastic students.
Definitely, choosing teaching as a profession is a challenging role. Still, despite the troubles and pressures ahead, as well as the expectations and disappointments of the students, they must be thanked. If not because of teachers, probably a huge percentage of the human race would be illiterate and the earth will be a simple planet with no progress. Also, they manage to teach and inspire students at the same time. It is already a gift to have the appeal to do so.
By: Dinah Maureen Libunao | Teacher III | Mariveles National Highschool – Cabcaben | Mariveles, Bataan
