5 Things Teaching Taught Me

It had been a subject of debate between me and my mom as she wanted me to take up education but the stubborn child in me believed I can change the world if I become a journalist. As years went by, I started to weigh my options and after much thinking, decided to take up further studies. I knew it then- I wanted to have the qualifications to teach.




The road to teaching never came easy of course, I thought it would never come but then enter Cordova Public College and two friends who are more than eager to have you in the faculty room (let's just call them "Irene" and "Ivy"). In a span of days, what was just a joke to us became a reality thus, even if I was nervous, I braved the small stage of the Speech Laboratory and became a true teacher.

When I was a student, I used to hate a few teachers especially when they make unreasonable demands. There are some teachers, of course, who left a mark because they inspired me.

I never thought that there will come a time when I would be called to teach and it had been a roller coaster ride. And much as it is a cliche, there is always truth to the saying "You learn more from teaching." Here are things I've learned:

1. Your students will come in different colors, shapes, attitudes and backgrounds.
When I was a student, I already know that my classmates have different backgrounds; some will be beautiful and fair-skinned while others may prefer the simpler look; others may be “naning” while others don’t give a damn. When I taught a bunch of college students, I realized that every person in the world is unique. There are some who are focusing on their studies while others work and study at the same time. Also, there are those who can be like your barkada while others are simply afraid at the sight of you.

BEED 2 C and D: Definitely the loudest of them all.

BEED 2A: The "nanings".

BEED 2B: The only class I walked out on. Peace!

2. The level of interests towards your class will be varied.
Much like how I was when I was a student, some classes sounded more interesting to me than the others. Teachers need to really find a way to make their classes more interesting like adding contests and other activities.

3. You will remember more of the “sipat” than the very silent ones.
Many of my students are really very loud talkers when talking about their other classes or when they are teasing each other. Once you call them though, they start to get really quiet. As for me, I remember more of the sipat ones because they always followed me around and treated me as if I am just a classmate.

There are also silent ones who made me so proud because they showed that they can deliver what I expected of them.

4. For a person who has jitters when talking before a crowd, I surprisingly survived one semester.
When I was in Grade 1, I was tasked to teach my classmates how to read the ABC and Abakada. I think this is where my mom saw a potential teacher in me. However, as I got older, I tend to be afraid of talking in front of a crowd. I didn’t even become an excellent speaker during college days.
It came as a surprise for me that I was able to hold myself together and continue with the 1.5 hours session per class during my first day. The successive days became easier.
The experience helped me see that I can actually speak in front of people and execute it (I am teaching Speech and Oral Communication after all) only that I have probably always thought that I can’t.

And I have taken those jitters off and morphed into a very strict teacher. Knowing how "cheating" happens inside a classroom, I tried to curb the habit and has since been known as "the teacher who collected phones during exams".

5. Encouragement is more valuable than textbook lessons.

Teaching doesn’t just involve teaching your students the lessons about the subject you are handling, you should also teach them that they can do better than they believe in. When we started, many of my students felt uncomfortable in using English but at the end of the semester, I saw them improve.
I wouldn’t take credit for the new-found confidence of course. I just see now that if you want your students to achieve more, you need to tell them they can instead of telling them that they can’t.

I am often silent about teaching but when people learn about it, they would always ask me where assuming it is in one of the big universities in the city. Of course, I had to explain about CPC and the students it is catering to. While some people think I am in it only for the money, I think that they will never fully understand the satisfaction of being "that teacher" they can sit with and pay their cup of lugaw.

Why do I have to teach in a large school when there are these kids who may not have that much of resources but have the potential?

Yes, I am a believer of this children.

What is your superpower? Me? I teach.