My Teacher, My Hero

Today we appreciate the role of teachers worldwide with enthusiasm as we celebrate World Teacher's Day. In the Philippines, the Department of Education launches the My Teacher, My Hero campaign where everyone is encouraged to say thank you to a particular teacher who made an impact or difference in their life. In this modern age, blogging and social networking sites are expected to take a lead role in getting this message of gratitude across, precisely why I am blogging about it now.  

Similar to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), Filipino teachers are regarded as modern-day heroes thus their efforts also merit a nationwide celebration. In a country where public education is a continuing struggle, teachers have the most grueling task of educating more than hundreds of students everyday. More often than not, they do this in an environment non-conducive to learning and with a minuscule salary. Oftentimes, they even double as food preparer for their school's feeding program. Everyday is a constant fight for security, given the incidence of kidnappings in the South and isolated cases of killings. Yet despite the precarious living, Filipino teachers would shrug off saying, that's just the way the cookie crumbles. For me, teachers are still one of the most dedicated and committed workers you could find. To such a great extent, teachers bring out the best in us and inspire us to be hardworking. If you ask kindergarten students what they like to be when they grow up, you will find teachers on top of the list. That is how great a teacher's influence is on us.  

I believe at one point we all have teacher's blood running in our veins. We all want and aspire to become teachers in our own little way. May it be by teaching our children good manners, mentoring a cousin, sharing life lessons to a neighbor, demonstrating how to apply make up to a friend or through blogging or twitting a scripture passage to all of our friends. Part of us yearns to make a difference, a quality that teachers naturally possess. Last year, we saw this inspiration come to life in Efren Peñaflorida, who started a "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership. His teacherly efforts named him 2009 CNN Hero of the Year. 

Happy Teacher's Day Ms. Windsor!

For me, a good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others. A metaphor I associate with my third year High School homeroom adviser and English professor, Ms. Bernadette Windsor. After more than a decade of not seeing her, her face is the only one I vividly remember among all of my teachers. A powerful testament of the impression she left on me. From her I learned to come to class prepared, physically (standing up for the entire period for not reading the assignment) and mentally (getting an "A" in recitation). At 14, she taught me good grooming (by bringing a nail cutter to class during inspections), proper conduct (by giving me dagger looks when I misbehave) and that Anne Boleyn is one of the many wives of Henry VIII. An authoritarian with high expectations of compliance and conformity to rules and directions, I learned a great deal of discipline and in effect basic work ethics. Some may not appreciate her teaching method but she made a difference in my life as she pushed me to become a better student and eventually the person that I am today. With that, I am forever indebted to her tenacity.  

I assert that teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions. Now I am not surprised why many aspire to become teachers regardless of the complications. I am one of them. But until I gain enough courage to inspire other people, I will use my talent to acquire a greater understanding of the world and share it to as many people as I can. Hoping that someday I will be someone else's unsung hero.