You can earn your way to be a dancer with the right training. You can do field studies to be an archaeologist or you can be a programmer with the access of computer studies but to be a teacher? It requires a lot of effort, attitude, and determination. You have to work your way up. Loads of paper works, clearances, class records, and a fitting uniform do not define a teacher alone but it is the passion that they pour and the commitment that they give. Style and theory comes second to work ethics and positive attitude of a teacher with a low income but with a big profit in this world.
In my 23 years in service as a teacher I see myself as a beacon of hope in every student that I tapped and touched. It is not only in the four corners of the room ended my training but also beyond those doors and upon those floors they are bound to. They will not be facing a fairytale ending or a fantasy world out there. You’d rather scan the pages of a reality check and find that the world is an array of books waiting to be read, to be proofread, to be analyzed, to be applied, to be fixed, to be arranged, and to be done. They will be prepared and geared up in the battle of life and to a test of time. It is my delight to see people who are before stubborn and hard-headed but now they are the successful people in their respective profession and the great individuals in our society. The time I spend with my class is beyond measure and the memories carved within the classroom are treasured. It is with priceless memories I find happiness and satisfaction in my work.
Down the memory lane, I always see myself not a teacher but more of a shape-shifter. I do not only teach but I mold. I do not only mold but I change people. It is one of the greatest achievements a teacher can be really proud of. It is indeed hard to be one of us, not to mention our low salary and loan updates. It is also because we are into a job of multitasking. It is like speaking while eating or dancing while singing. It is not only teaching what is on the class record but speaking to the hearts of each person that is willing to learn and to enter into the deep realm of knowledge. Teaching is more than an obligation. It is more of a mission, a vocation, or a calling. It is my duty to guide my students but it is within them where they can find the true meaning of learning. As what Galileo Galilee said, “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find within himself.”
Dancers, Archaeologists, Programmers, and all types of profession do have one thing in common. They have teachers to serve as their guide, without them the world will never be a world.
No comments:
Post a Comment