In celebration of teachers’ month and Teachers’ Day, we talked to some of our beloved Lasallian educators and asked about their learning and motivations.
Who inspired them to go into teaching?
“My teachers, the La Salle brothers, were good people. You know, people who were sincere, competent, and people who cared [and] were helpful. They were genuine, sincere people—no airs about them. They cared for you. They understood, and they were helpful and, when you needed help, they were ready. They were competent [and] knew their subject, and so you learn from them. Generally, they were very approachable and personable and friendly. So they sort of inspired confidence, good will and helpfulness. So they were, what you might call, good examples of mature people you could emulate.”—Dr. Edgardo Gomez, national scientist
“My Grade 1 teacher inspired me to teach. She was so dynamic, and she was so full of life as if she knew everybody in class, and ours was not a small group. You could see that every time she goes into class, she was so alive and, uh, she wanted to engage everybody, and it really made me enjoy my grade school. I think, among my grade school teachers, she was the most dynamic and caring.”—Dr. Esperanza Cabrera, 2017 Metrobank Outstanding Filipino
“One of the things I learned interacting with various mentors is that the best ones, the best mentors are the ones who seek to train their students to exceed them. I think everybody should aspire to be like that.”—Dr. Wilfredo Licuanan, 2018 DOST-NAST Environmental Award recipient
“Si Dra. Quito, kapag siya’y nagsalita sa wikang Ingles ay [sa] malalim na Ingles. Kapag siya’y nagsalita sa wikang Filipino, malalim at dalisay na Filipino ang kanyang ginagamit. Si Father Peron ay elegante rin ang kanyang paghahayag ng mathematics. At si Bro. Vernon Pur ay gan’on din dahil isa siyang artist. So, ito yung mga nagturo sa akin o nagbigay sa akin ng inspirasyon para magturo.”—Dr. Tereso Tullao, DLSU university fellow
“I must say I was not taught to be a teacher and my models weren’t exactly what I figured a teacher was supposed to be like. I thought being a teacher meant imparting information. You should have seen my first lectures. It was I was like giving a seminar in a conference and it extended for an hour, an hour and a half. Can you imagine what that felt like as a student? I also thought students have the responsibility of learning and the teachers are only supposed to give the information, so I didn’t care if kids were looking at me or were listening to me or were actually getting it because I was just doing my job. So I thought that was what a teacher is supposed to be.
But as time went on and here in De La Salle University, my image of being a teacher changed. It’s basically what La Salle says: teaching minds, touching hearts, and transforming lives. So, now, if you are my student and you don’t look at me in class, I will see.”—Dr. Carmen Ablan-Lagman, full professor, Biology Department