MY mother was a public-school teacher, and I am mighty proud of her.
I have known teachers, most of them in public-school education, all of my life. I will always celebrate them and be thankful for their generosity, their wisdom, their selflessness.
Of course, there are rotten teachers, but I doubt if the number of bad teachers will ever surpass the number of bad politicians and local government leaders. I doubt if that number of ill-willed teachers will ever reach a significant number compared to those in higher offices and in more well-paying jobs whose sense of self is considered to be good and admirable.
Most of them have worked as teachers because that is what they are good at. A significant majority of them do not work for the money. Teachers have always been there to teach, to open the eyes and mind of young children to the most basic of literacy—reading, writing and thinking. Remove these and the nation is free to commit any injustice to people. Remove the teachers and you remove the beginning of knowledge of any form.
And yet, we are never kind to our teachers.
Some weeks back, an arrogant post surfaced online celebrating the failure of many would-be teachers in passing the Licensure Exam for Teachers or LET. The exam must be tough, one must say to oneself, but this person proceeded to berate the examinees, scolding them for being dumb and irresponsible enough to try to be teachers.
I checked the web site of PRC containing the information about LET and the exam coverage. Here is what I got. For General Education, the exam shall encompass the following:
1. English (Study and Thinking Skills; Writing in the Discipline; Speech and Oral Communication; Philippine Literature; Master Works of the World);
2. Filipino (Komunikasyon sa Akademikong Pilipino; Pagbasa at Pagsulat sa Panananaliksik; Masining na Pagpapahayag);
3. Mathematics (Fundamentals of Math; Plane Geometry; Elementary Algebra; Statistics and Probability);
4. Science (Biological Science, General Biology; Physical Science with Earth Science); and
5. Social Sciences (Philippine Government New Constitution with Human Rights; Philippine History; Basic Economics, Taxation, Agrarian Reform; Society, Culture with Family Planning; Rizal and other Heroes; Philosophy of Man; Arts; General Psychology; Information and Communication Technology).
And that is just for General Education!
Imagine the person who passes the LET. Where does he or she teach? What kind of classrooms will he or she be using? Who are the pupils or students in the public educational system? What educational devices are there for him or her to use?
I grew up watching my father make the so-called “devices” for my mother when the periodic evaluation comes to her school in San Fernando, Ticao Island.
Later, the smart and witty teachers of the town concocted a new name for Evaluation. They called it “Eval-eat,” the reference being the use of the occasion for education officials from the regional and central office to partake of the sumptuous feasts prepared by teachers. The funds all came from the teachers’ pockets.
Have you heard of the Teacher’s Pavilion in the Quezon Institute (QI) , which is the institution that manages the detection, control and treatment of tuberculosis in the Philippines?
Many cases have been written about teachers who are confined in the Teacher’s Pavilion. Years back, I encountered a story about a teacher who contracted pulmonary disease because of her being a teacher. The story was how, one day, during the height of a strong typhoon, this teacher had to rush back to her classroom to save the books and educational materials there. Days after she felt weak, had a fever and never recovered from the affliction. Many years ago, I was told she was there in that Pavilion in QI, that special hallway for teachers.
My introductory class in sociology and anthropology in the old Jesuit school had the privilege of having Soxie Topacio, the theatre and film actor and director, as a lecturer. He told us of a school somewhere in the Visayas that was located in an island. There were only four classes in that school: Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4. There was only one teacher. She would teach in one class in the morning while one class was doing seatwork, and the remaining two would have activities in the school garden. She would do this in rotation. When she got sick, she asked the boatman to bring to the school tasks and seatwork so that the pupils would not miss a day.
I have written about this story of Soxie, but I will be forever writing about this just to remind us about the teachers we love to criticize in our correct English.
Online again, a teacher posted how the lack of spaces in their school have pushed them to use the toilet area for lounge. If we are to believe what appeared online, the teacher has been reprimanded.
I have written this many years ago, but let me write about this again:
During the late ’80s, when martial law was losing steam and vile power, teachers finally staged a strike. For decades, it was always impressed upon them that, as teachers, they did not have the right to go on a strike or demonstration. But one day, it did happen, for the first time.
It was raining then. As a non-activist, I thought to be around them would be my simplest way to show my support of teachers. Perhaps, I was thinking of my mother and all the other teachers I knew—Tita Ampy, Tita Ely, Mama Pening, Mama Toying, Manang Sue, Manang Letty, Manay Doring, Tia Enta, Mrs. Antonio…
I remember it rained hard that afternoon. The teachers were huddled in front of the old Congress. Many were sharing umbrellas. Under one tiny umbrella, three female teachers stood. I remember looking at them, their uniforms partly wet and seeing their shoes. The shoes were also wet but, more than that, they were worn-out, the heels almost scraped out.
The rain was strong. I tried not to cry but I just found myself in tears. I was angry. As I am angry now because no one has the right to tell the teachers of this nation that teaching is not all about the money. No one, no one at all.
E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com
Image credits: Jimbo Albano
1 comment
Indeed, such is the plight of public education teachers. It has not changed despite the decades and government leaders that had passed. I hold them up high in my own altar of heroes, especially the ones from grade school. (Some of those you mentioned were also my teachers, 😄.) I owe them what I am now. Thank you for the tribute.