WHEN I first heard “Teach Your Children” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in 1980, years after it hit the American Music Charts, I instantly liked the song.
Forty years later, the song and the lyrics resonate deep within me.
“You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by.
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye.
Teach your children well,
Their father’s hell did slowly go by.
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picks, the one you’ll know by.
Don’t you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry.
So just look at them and sigh,
And know they love you.”
It has been an emotional week for me—teaching-wise.
This past week, I ended my first term handling the wellness sessions of the faculty at Eton International School, and I said goodbye to my two freshmen classes at Mary the Queen College in Pampanga. My online journalism and creative writing classes that saw me teach three batches and a total of 54 students from this past July will wrap up this Wednesday, December 23.
Save for my online journalism and creative class (that is slated to return with a fourth batch early January 2021, I think I have sung my swan song with the two aforementioned schools.
When I was in fourth year high school at the Ateneo de Manila, all seniors had to teach in public schools in the Marikina and Quezon City area in the Tulong Dunong program. We taught a variety of subjects that included English and Math to elementary students. Those who did well took an entrance exam for different high schools and were known as Tulong Dunong scholars.
Would you believe I enjoyed it? When I was in college, I got invited to teach during an Alternative Class Day at Xavier School and Immaculate Conception Academy in Greenhills.
So teaching became an option for me (along with becoming a professional musician and a soldier).
While my career went down a different path as I started out in advertising and then marketing after which I plunged into the world of journalism full-time, I managed to squeeze in teaching in my alma mater from 2010 to 2013. It was enjoyable and more so to see students respond to a totally different methodology where I talked journalism in a highly experiential and hands-on manner.
This pandemic, after losing my corporate job, instead of feeling down, I immediately figured out what I could do and that was to return to teaching (online though) while tackling other communications work in addition to my writing. It is one of the best decisions I made in my life.
It has been immensely gratifying. For my online journalism and creative writing classes, I have taught students across the archipelago including foreign nationals in countries like Australia, England, Kazakhstan and Malaysia. One-fifth of the attendees (who go through a two-month class) are current students either in high school or are in college. The rest are businessmen, professional athletes, coaches, people in the entertainment industry or media colleagues.
Fourteen of them were able to find work or were picked up after the classes.
For my communications classes at MTQC, like what I did at the Ateneo, I re-tooled the syllabus to make it practical, enjoyable and experiential for them. I had to re-think my methodology since online teaching requires patience and making sure you are able to reach out to your students.
Furthermore, I saw first-hand the inadequacies of our educational system. I knew of it before having given lectures as far as Northern Luzon and General Santos City. A person from southern Philippines personally told me that what I was taught in Grade Four was their Grade Seven.
I came across concerns about poverty, broken families, family working as domestic helpers abroad, not having enough money especially in this pandemic, doing work in farms to pay for tuition and having teachers who themselves were struggling.
When we were in school, we had all sorts of excuses, real or imagined. But you have to figure it out—what to believe, how best to listen and how to bring out their best.
My first tasks were to build their confidence and ability to express themselves. I made use of social media as well to bring that out of them. And I am happy to say over the course of 28 sessions for the semester, the students responded magnificently.
I am proud of the work they did and the progress they made.
Not coming back (well, I am hoping for a miracle because there are other concerns and overlapping work) to MTQC has upset both the students and myself. I was hoping to come back at least for one more semester to handle them. And I have to say, I love these kids.
They are full of potential, life and dreams and if I have pushed them towards a direction they should take, then that is good.
Right now, that is uncertain. But teaching is something I enjoy as much as being a journalist and a music man.
But I thank God for this opportunity and hope I can continue to do this.