My Journey

“What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and ends up losing his soul?” Why do we deviate from what we are meant to be? Until when do we deny to humanity the reality that we are God’s creation and, therefore, we are meant to be true; we are meant to be good.

Whenever major exam period comes, I always hope that I won’t find myself having to report students for CHEATING. It makes me downhearted. But the tide was against me because during the prelim exam I brought five names to the office of the guidance counselor. Three were caught discussing and passing a booklet; one was browsing a notebook; the other placed an open book in front of him. The most alarming part of all is the reaction of the class upon confiscation of exam papers and evidence–they burst into laugher. I haven’t even seen any remorse or guilt feeling on the faces of students involved! What happened to these kids? They seem to lack awareness of the gravity of seriousness of the act they’ve committed. What could have been a grave offense was fun for them. They do not realize that CHEATING is stealing, lying, and corrupting. CHEATING is a denial of the truth about our person.

My reaction maybe an exaggeration to others. They are taking this issue lightly but I am not. When I chose this profession, I am not only going to impart my knowledge on the students but am giving them proper guidance as a parent. This is part of the deal. Personally, I believe that the school is a place where these young minds should witness the light.

I am disturbed by the thought that the principle of honesty maybe clouded by the opposite principle the students experience around them–at home, in the community, in school…But isn’t honesty a universal truth? Notwithstanding, I feel that as an educator a great responsibility rests on our shoulders to lead the students to go beyond the knowledge of such truth and ultimately put it into practice. Finally, to be effective, we must walk our talk…..

REINA, JULIUS, ALBERT, CECILLE, GABRIEL, EDUARD, ARJAY, ROSE ANN, VIVIAN, ARLYN, KAYE, LOI, ROSE-ANN, JON-JON, ENRI, PAUL, APRIL, JULIE ANN, ANGIE, ABEGAIL. These names might be common but not the persons I personally know behind these names. Beautiful and true. Today, the heavens stormed me with angels through them. An hour or so, each one took turn to show me a picture of the beautiful side of this world with their “I am who I am.”

While others were more confident and spontaneous in their delivery, the rest were obviously fighting to conquer their stage fright and grammar and enunciation weakness. Because this was an assignment, they were aware that what and how they will present will determine the mark they will earn for that session. But if I were to grade them for the impact they have caused in me, everybody could have earned as high as 100%. I have had a lot of “aha” moments while listening to their stories. I experienced goose bumps; I almost broke in tears; I laughed and smiled; felt the leap in my heart. I was enlightened. The inspiration overflows.

It is not by chance that I met these young people. I am an educator. It’s expected that I will be with students, but of all, why them? Today, I’m sure none of the above mentioned names realized how much they taught me. As they sweat themselves in their P.E. class as of this moment, they don’t know that the lessons I’ve got have touched my whole being. I have become a different person–better this time. Once again, I got the affirmation that I am in the right job. My existence is more meaningful because I am taking an active role in molding young people to become responsible citizens of this world and they allow me to carry on such.

I could have sticked with concepts and theories and grade their outputs each time but a voice is telling me to go beyond that. It’s telling me to bring these young people to a level where they could appreciate life more by being able to explore more the person in them through the application of the subject matter. How do I make them fully human? How do I allow myself to become fully human through them? I feel that these are the more important questions in this profession where I am.

I can make or break. I can love or hate. I can smile or frown. I can be a mentor or tormentor. MAKE, LOVE, SMILE, MENTOR–my choice. My deepest appreciation to the BE3MA CLASS OF AICS-CALOOCAN for the opportunity. To Abegail, even your silence is something…