Returning home from Manila
Since I was 15 years old and before I finished my bachelor’s degree in 1987 through the national state scholarship program, I already had experienced teaching children and young people in church. With such informal training as a Sunday school teacher, I ventured into the world of teaching with the only aim to get paid, so I can support my siblings’ educational needs. Although extremely difficult, I accepted a substitute teacher post to teach in a chinese private school in 1988, and finally worked as a full time Biology teacher the following school year. Because I felt the need for equipping myself as a teacher, I took 18 units of professional education courses in order for me to learn how to “teach my students how to learn”. When I took the board examination for teachers in 1992, I asked God if He really wanted me to be a teacher. When I passed the teacher’s board examination without formal review classes, I fully knew God’s answer. When my youngest brother finished college in 1994, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Education. I finished my master’s degree in 1999 and then went on to pursue a doctorate in Education, which I didn’t finish when I came toNew York City
For 15 years of teaching secondary school students in thePhilippines
I have seen the Filipino youth for so long as someone who has a big head, yet small hands and small heart. When I became a teacher, I have committed myself to help the Filipino youth develop equally capacious hands and a noble heart. I have attempted to show my students the essence of knowledge that they can gain from books and experiments. I have also endeavored to transform their hollow hands into purposeful one through the basic skills building experiences in class. I have sought to define to them God’s standard of work and purpose, and contrast these to that of man. Up to this time, I still believe in the education of the mind, the hands and the heart.
My experience as an environmental science teacher made me realize that it is important for a teacher to understand how the earth works as a system and how it sustains itself. With this, I have come to appreciate and comprehend the important connections in life, i.e., connections between man and nature, connections between people and the rest of nature, connections among all peoples, connections between generations, connections among problems and the among the solutions to these problems. And such realizations never failed to get through to my students. It was also gratifying to see my students experience the real world outside the classroom every time I bring them out on ecological trips to the creek, rivers, mountains, waterfalls, watersheds, islands and even caves. Such trips did not only provide me and my students the actual experience of outdoor life, they also provided us genuine specimen from the places we went to, i.e., exotic corals, bamboo flowers (can you believe that?), shells, pitcher plants, algae, live moss, etc.
As a research teacher, I have also come to know the real role of the teacher: that of being a wisdom seeker, instead of being mere information vessel. In my research class, I have attempted to translate research principles into practical avenues to the society through their research findings. I have never imagined before that research can bring me closer to my students; working with them in their individual pursuit of excellence in their research projects has surprisingly ushered both esteem and honor that we have reaped in the division and regional level research competitions. I have never realized how important and rewarding my working closely with them until we have for many years enjoyed the opportunity to travel and represent the region in the national level Intel Philippine Science fair since 1999. My last year in the Philippines would have been more rewarding for me, for my students finally won the national best Science Project award during the school year I was ready to leave the premier high school in the country, and fly to a foreign land to teach foreign students of cultures more foreign to me than their language.
No matter how simple though, I have considered each of my effort important in the development of scientific culture in the region. I have committed myself to the improvement of teaching as I participated in seminar workshops either as presenter or resource speaker. Aside from teaching, I got involved into journalism with local newspapers, delivering environmental scenes and senses to the society. I have involved myself and my students in the advancement of environmental education in my city and the world, as each of them take turn in the GLOBE protocol measurements of environmental data to be sent to GLOBEWashington DC
It was painful though, that some people do not believe in my endeavors, as they rejected the use of my textbook in school, yet they now use it since they have no comfort from any sourcebook at all. And who ever realized I have done action researches about my students? Or did reliability testing of my monographs and research worksheets?
Oh well, I am convinced now that I am not a good teacher for the Filipino youths. So in 2004, I choose to suffer the shame and humiliation, the disrespect and insolence, the vulgarity and the callousness of myNew York City
Then again, I’m thinking, I am not in my home country, where the grass is constantly green, the sun is almost always shining brightly, and the river waters are crystal clear. Anyway, I just learned to count the hours, since I have proven to myself even without the Physics principles that the day indeed ends, and the payday comes just too soon.
Still, I am with theNew York Philippines
Since I was 15 years old and before I finished my bachelor’s degree in 1987 through the national state scholarship program, I already had experienced teaching children and young people in church. With such informal training as a Sunday school teacher, I ventured into the world of teaching with the only aim to get paid, so I can support my siblings’ educational needs. Although extremely difficult, I accepted a substitute teacher post to teach in a chinese private school in 1988, and finally worked as a full time Biology teacher the following school year. Because I felt the need for equipping myself as a teacher, I took 18 units of professional education courses in order for me to learn how to “teach my students how to learn”. When I took the board examination for teachers in 1992, I asked God if He really wanted me to be a teacher. When I passed the teacher’s board examination without formal review classes, I fully knew God’s answer. When my youngest brother finished college in 1994, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in Education. I finished my master’s degree in 1999 and then went on to pursue a doctorate in Education, which I didn’t finish when I came to
For 15 years of teaching secondary school students in the
I have seen the Filipino youth for so long as someone who has a big head, yet small hands and small heart. When I became a teacher, I have committed myself to help the Filipino youth develop equally capacious hands and a noble heart. I have attempted to show my students the essence of knowledge that they can gain from books and experiments. I have also endeavored to transform their hollow hands into purposeful one through the basic skills building experiences in class. I have sought to define to them God’s standard of work and purpose, and contrast these to that of man. Up to this time, I still believe in the education of the mind, the hands and the heart.
My experience as an environmental science teacher made me realize that it is important for a teacher to understand how the earth works as a system and how it sustains itself. With this, I have come to appreciate and comprehend the important connections in life, i.e., connections between man and nature, connections between people and the rest of nature, connections among all peoples, connections between generations, connections among problems and the among the solutions to these problems. And such realizations never failed to get through to my students. It was also gratifying to see my students experience the real world outside the classroom every time I bring them out on ecological trips to the creek, rivers, mountains, waterfalls, watersheds, islands and even caves. Such trips did not only provide me and my students the actual experience of outdoor life, they also provided us genuine specimen from the places we went to, i.e., exotic corals, bamboo flowers (can you believe that?), shells, pitcher plants, algae, live moss, etc.
As a research teacher, I have also come to know the real role of the teacher: that of being a wisdom seeker, instead of being mere information vessel. In my research class, I have attempted to translate research principles into practical avenues to the society through their research findings. I have never imagined before that research can bring me closer to my students; working with them in their individual pursuit of excellence in their research projects has surprisingly ushered both esteem and honor that we have reaped in the division and regional level research competitions. I have never realized how important and rewarding my working closely with them until we have for many years enjoyed the opportunity to travel and represent the region in the national level Intel Philippine Science fair since 1999. My last year in the Philippines would have been more rewarding for me, for my students finally won the national best Science Project award during the school year I was ready to leave the premier high school in the country, and fly to a foreign land to teach foreign students of cultures more foreign to me than their language.
No matter how simple though, I have considered each of my effort important in the development of scientific culture in the region. I have committed myself to the improvement of teaching as I participated in seminar workshops either as presenter or resource speaker. Aside from teaching, I got involved into journalism with local newspapers, delivering environmental scenes and senses to the society. I have involved myself and my students in the advancement of environmental education in my city and the world, as each of them take turn in the GLOBE protocol measurements of environmental data to be sent to GLOBE
It was painful though, that some people do not believe in my endeavors, as they rejected the use of my textbook in school, yet they now use it since they have no comfort from any sourcebook at all. And who ever realized I have done action researches about my students? Or did reliability testing of my monographs and research worksheets?
Oh well, I am convinced now that I am not a good teacher for the Filipino youths. So in 2004, I choose to suffer the shame and humiliation, the disrespect and insolence, the vulgarity and the callousness of my
Then again, I’m thinking, I am not in my home country, where the grass is constantly green, the sun is almost always shining brightly, and the river waters are crystal clear. Anyway, I just learned to count the hours, since I have proven to myself even without the Physics principles that the day indeed ends, and the payday comes just too soon.
Still, I am with the
Just like any rainy day, though, the gloomy and the dampening spirit comes to an end, and the rainbow that sweeps across the sky signifies the coming of the radiant sun, I finally found a better place to exercise my craft. After four years of earning my baptism of fire in this profession, I landed into a very welcoming and professionally cultivating school environment, where I can teach my students every moment of the class, and get my hands full of remarkable outputs at the end of the day. Despite spending more than an hour sleeping on the train to get home, I can smile at the dark and quiet moments of the night because I have given my best self for the day.
Now I am no longer surprised why God brought me into this path of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment