Growing up in a family with 7 children, we were conditioned to the fact that we could not all go to college due to our financial situation. At that time, sending children to study in Manila was no joke for any family in our barrio. We were born 2-3 years apart, hence, the younger ones have to stop after graduating from high school and help in the farm to give way to the brother or sister studying in Manila. And since the only cousins who were able to study in Manila were all teachers, our father would often tell us “Mag-teacher din kayo.” To date, even the children of our cousins are also teachers.
I was fifth among 7 children, and I was lucky because I didn’t have to wait for long. I took up Education because I have always wanted to be a teacher, you see. And in doing so, I have fulfilled one of Tatang’s wishes, and that is to have a teacher in the family. How I missed the way his face would light up each time he was introduced as “Father ni Mam Lory.”
But what does it mean to be a teacher? I never had any doubts when I made my decision to embark on my mission to become a teacher because I believe that I can bring so much more meaning to the word teaching.
Historically during the pre-colonial period in the Philippines, the children were taught by parents or their tribal tutors wherein stories, songs, poetry and dances were passed from generation to generation through oral tradition. Amazed to find a population with a high literacy rate, the Spaniards simply put the friars and missionaries of religious orders in charge of educating the locals and teach Christianity. When the Americans came, chaplains and non-commissioned officers became the teachers using English as the medium of instruction. In 1901, more than 1,000 teachers from the United States, called the Thomasites, were brought to the Philippines to teach at barangay schools.
Teachers of today are defined as those who invest part of themselves into each class – those who make learning fun, those who connect with the kids on a personal level, those who make kids feels safe, those who are willing to open their hearts each and everyday to let a little person in. Ready or not, a child’s education ideally begins at around four or five years old in the Philippines. In the formative years of our life, what we learn from our teachers remains with us, and shape our future. The teachers are the ones who take on the challenges of molding and in the process shape these children’s future.
A distinguished professor of education at Michigan State University, Judith Taack Lanier, stated that teachers of today go beyond their set roles, and are now taking on varied roles in the school and in their profession. In other words, modern day teachers are now working side-by-side, not only with the students but also with their co-workers, parents, politicians and other members of their community especially with projects and situations that may involve the students’ learning.
True enough, by taking on these responsibilities too well, they are considered the children’s second parents outside of their homes. Even Carmel V. Abao, a political science professor, likened teaching to motherhood. A teacher has to be equipped with stories to be able to get the children to be genuinely interested in what she has to say. All it takes is the teacher’ encouragement, perhaps, a smile, some words of encouragement and praise, or silence, which affect students’ behavior and change them socially and academically, whatever age they maybe. One admirable trait that a teacher has is flexibility, he knows when to press his suit despite a non-receptive class through a joke, a song, or a friendly argument . . and then back to the lessons.
Three awardees of Metrobank’s 2014 Outstanding Teachers have one thing in common — teachers Anna Abellera, Dr Noel Ibis and Dr Resurreccion Sadaba never intended to be a teacher at first. Sabada said that many can become teachers, but only a few can teach. For him, real teachers go beyond feeding students information; they mold and shape young minds by setting a good example. In Abellera’s words: only a few can teach, and that one has to be brave to speak out what he wants and what he means. For Ibis, a real teacher makes a stand on various issues and empowers his students to do the same. Accidental or not, there are still teachers like them who, even after decades of conducting class lectures and doing paper works, still have not grown tired of the profession they have come to love.
When Senator Aquilino Pimentel said that, “Every success story will almost always have a teacher behind it,” during last year’s Metrobank Outstanding Teachers’ awards, it made me think. Teachers make good professionals—doctors, nurses, engineers, architects, scientists, lawyers, etc. Ironically, these professions make good money, but not teaching. Teachers are supposed to be highly regarded, but it is an open secret how teachers are weighed down by accountabilities.
It is a well-known fact that one of the prevailing problems in the country’s education system is the low salaries of teachers. And how teachers have to resort to buying their own teaching school supplies and, many parents may still not realize that their child’s teacher is, often spending his or her own money just so the classroom can look inviting. Now, do you still wonder why there are teachers who sell foodstuffs and other saleable items to their students and/or other school personnel? Isn’t it a good thing that they are resourceful? Aren’t they the originals of backyard farming, that is, growing vegetables in the school’s vacant spaces and now even using empty cans and plastic water bottles? And currently they are putting to good use the recycling craze. One thing is sure though, you cannot put a good teacher down, despite the adversities inside and outside the classroom.
Another Metrobank awardee Teacher Marcelo Otinguey of Ampusongan National High School, in Benguet, summed it up correctly: “I think it is the passion to serve. Kahit wala kang pera, wala kang resources, yung ginagawa mo parang magaan sa kalooban (Even without money and resources, what you do feels good inside).” He wanted to be a nurse.
October 5, World Teachers’ Day. And just in time for the World Teachers’ Day global celebration on October 5, Sunday, let us join our hands for an encouraging applause and be thankful for the existence of these unsung heroes in our lives.
But whatever the way you have chosen to amuse your teacher, it should convey your message to him/her, very convincingly, and that is “Thank you, Teacher!”
By: LORENA M. NAVATA | T-III | LIMAY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | LIMAY, BATAAN
