| ON BEING A TEACHER |
| School is in again. I didn't even feel the summer vacation. It was probably my most stressful but unproductive summer ever that I still want to stay at home for a few weeks. Some friends have asked me what I'd do on the first day of school and I casually answered I'd "intimidate students!" I was kidding of course. Cos somewhere in the back of my mind I was also thinking of what I'd do.Honestly, though I hated the idea of going back to school (sheesh, that's what I felt like when I was in high school) I'm somehow excited just the same. It's not easy being a teacher, and truth be told, I don't even remember why I took up an Education course. As far back as I can remember, I was really contemplating on studying journalism. I had different dreams when I was in high school. I even wanted to join the Air Force, if you ever care to know. But Mass Communication or Journalism was what I preferred. I think it was my father who persuaded me. Maybe I was really meant to be a teacher. In high school I used to play teacher to younger kids in our community. I'd teach them the things that I learned in my elementary years, using the books that I did then. I even gave assignments and tests, but all of them were just games to me. Then I assisted the Sunday School teacher in our community church also. I was only 19 when I graduated from college. I thought that if I taught right after graduation, I would be just a few years older than the senior high school students. That would be intimidating. I didn't have the confidence so I started to shun away from applying for teaching jobs from then on. Besides, teaching is something that I could always fall back on. So I looked for another line of work. After my first job in a telecommunications company I rested and just tutored English to foreign students (Taiwanese to be specific). Then, I worked in a bank but only stayed there for a while. But during that time, I was already teaching in our church's Sunday School. In June of 1999 a friend recommended me to a company that was looking for computer instructors. I applied cos I thought it would be temporary and got hired. I majored in English (linguistics and literature both) so Computer is a far cry from that. But then again, I thought, "hey, this is only a temporary thing. Besides, I'm not gonna be a teacher." This is my fourth year in teaching and I'm enjoying it; I never thought I would. But like I said before, maybe I was really meant to be a teacher. There was a time last year when I really wanted to give up.There had been so many heartaches and stress that I was so close to packing my things and leaving. I don't know what held me back. There is no money in teaching. Our salary is low that it isn't even enough to raise a family...so if you want to get high salary, DO NOT BECOME A TEACHER! But then again, the reward of being an educator is far more precious than any material things the world could offer. You gain respect, you gain honor. Imagine the excitement and the adrenalin rush that I feel now when I think about going back to school. I miss the students greeting me, "Goooooooood MOOoooorrnNNIIIIInnnggg, Ms Evangelista," in an annoying manner. Or when I run into several kids in the corridor and they would stop and greet (some will just nod and say, "hi, ma'am!" and the little kids would stop, with both palms together and say, "Good Morning, Teacher Len" while bowing.) The feeling of talking and encouraging students, especially the failing ones, and see them perform better the next quarter. Meeting kids at a mall, those who do not study in that school anymore, and they still remember you. Or kids asking if I would still be their teacher and seeing the disappointment in their eyes if they I told them I won't be. That's my reward, and it's more than enough! The dilemma I'm facing right now is my desire to teach literature. But that may mean leaving the school that I'm in. And I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I just try to incorporate some literary pieces, like poems, with the activities that I have in class [so who says that Computer and Literature can't go together :)]. This school year, I have resolved to try to be the best teacher I can be. I am going to get better, in all aspects of my being an Educator. This is my commitment: not to myself, but to my God, to my country, and to the children of this nation. |