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The reason teachers are hired

One author wrote that schools exist and teachers are hired to help students achieve. All school-related activities and what a teacher does must contribute, one way or another, to the goal of helping students to learn. Anything a teacher does that does not have a positive bearing on his or her function as an educator can be considered as a waste of time. This may sound idealistic but it is the truth. And there is something good in remaining idealistic otherwise we will soon lose interest in what we do.

It is the beginning of another school year and we teachers are back to work. For another 10 months, we will be doing the same activities we have been doing year in and year out. These activities may have become routine, especially for those of us who are old in the profession.

When something becomes routine, we just go through the motions. We do things without exerting effort. The energy and imagination to be creative may no longer be there. Nothing is new, so there is little to tickle our imagination and sustain our interest. The result is that even at the beginning of the school year, we may feel already bored and start longing for the time the school year ends. If this happens to us, how can we inspire our students to learn? They will be as bored and as disinterested as we are. And yet we remember that we have been hired for one reason which is to help students realize their potentials and be good citizens.

There may be some of us who have lost the passion for teaching after so many years in the profession, but we are still here for one reason or another. It may be because teaching is the one thing we have learned to do. Or maybe we are sticking to it because there is nowhere else to go. Or we feel afraid of changing course at this stage because we are not sure we can do better in other jobs. But we are no longer teachers if we do not teach effectively. We cannot just go on mindlessly of the reason we are part of the school.

The story of a Buddhist monk can serve as a reminder to us. While meditating in the river bank one day, a Buddhist monk saw a scorpion that got itself entangled in the roots of a tree. The scorpion struggled to free itself. But the more it tried, the more it got entangled. Finally the monk got up to help the creature. But whenever the monk held the scorpion to pull it from the roots, the scorpion stung his hand, but the monk kept trying until his hands became swollen. A passerby who was observing what was happening asked the monk: “Why do you continue trying to free the scorpion when it keeps stinging you?” The monk answered: “It is the nature of the scorpion to sting, but it is my nature to save.”

Whatever the situation is, whatever feelings we have regarding our profession, whatever kind of students and co-workers we have, all these do not take away our nature as teachers. We can remain true to this nature, like the monk, if we maintain the idealism and commitment we once had when we were just starting our career. The only reason we were hired is to help students achieve. Any other reason is secondary.

Friendship with the young once

Will you agree if I say that a young one can be friends with the young once?

I say so, because I believe dealing with the elderly is exciting, especially if you spend time together.

I once spent my vacation in our province. That time, I visited an 85-year old friend, who is still strong but has tuberculosis. Despite her ailment, she remains strong and regularly attends the Sunday masses.

Being friends with a senior citizen makes you feel loved. It is a different kind of love that one person is searching for – love of parents, love of a friend, and even romantic love. No wonder why I feel this way when I am with her because of her kindness, care, and generosity.

I remember when I was a kid, she always gave me dolsi or Spanish tomato. If not dolsi, then corn. That was the beginning of our friendship.

I learned from my parents my friend is a distant relative.

One Sunday, I went to church to meet her. There, she told me about how she is ignored by her family. I realized there are people who do not value their parents and grandparents because they think they are a hindrance to their plans. They don’t realize that senior citizens contributed so much in our country.

Elders, especially those who have survived the war, are interesting to deal with, although there are times it is hard to understand them because they have a vocabulary that is hard to comprehend. The way they tell a story is also interesting. They always compare what happened on this and on that. They have funny symbolisms and also the way they count money. Compared to what the young ones are used to, we can see we’re really poles apart.

For example, when my elderly friend asked me, “Kindly bring out dos,” which I understood as P2, so I brought out P2. But my friend laughed and explained dos meant P200 because that was how they counted.

Dealing with people like my elderly friend allows you to learn a lot, like how they survived the war, what they did in a typical day, and how they adjusted to changes that they see today.