Most of my high school classmates pursued a career in education. They said that it was the cheapest and the easiest in town – good for average students. Most of those in the class honor roll settled for the medical courses. Only a few, including myself, took up a degree in engineering.
I knew from the start that my ideas were never parallel to a teacher’s. Piles of unchecked papers and lesson plans are just few of the many things I hate to see. I dislike the way teachers would stay overnight to finish a class grade. Moreover, I never liked being with students, either.What I truly love revolves in numbers and complex solutions. The ones I crazily crave for are mind-boggling formulas and mathematical theories. I always go where Pythagoras, Des Cartes and Pascal abound.
I should know how an elementary teacher works and does his/her job. Mom and Dad belong to the same profession and have been very devoted to their more than 30 years of ardent teaching.Mom told me so many good things about the profession in all the years I was with her. If she would be invited to give a talk in a career symposium, she could easily lured everyone’s mind towards pursuing the teaching profession and making them believe it is the only immediate course in town.
Her passion for teaching could be the reason why she was never supportive of my own career plans. All she wanted me to become was an elementary school teacher. Her plans for me include pursuing a Masteral degree, taking up doctorate in Education and eventually landing a good supervisory task in the Central school in our hometown.
Dad is much different with regards to ideas and viewpoints. He loves the profession as much as mom does, yet he never told me to follow his own path or to suffer a rather tragic fate like he did. He once had a mild stroke while teaching a rowdy grade five class that sent him to a nearby hospital and eventually made him quit and resign from his teaching career. The sadness in his face then was a revelation of how much he suffered at that time when all he could do was to eat through his nose, sleep in agony and sit on his bed (with our aid).
Mom became unhappy when her drive of getting me into her own career path failed. I ended up enrolling to an engineering course. You should have seen Dad’s expression – he was celebrating.The story didn’t end there. Mom still had the chance of winning the next race – through my sister, that is. Indeed, she made her way so easily right straight to her daughter’s heart. Unfailing in all her helpful hints and guidance, Mom was ever present in situations where my sister seemed to be in real need of support.
Five years later, I had become a full-pledge engineer. I worked for about a couple of months in a construction company. Finding myself unsatisfied, I transferred to another. And another - like a bee discontented from a single sip.
But here comes the unexpected twist. A friend suggested that I should take a part time job knowing that I had ample of time after work. Earning extra money seemed a good idea but the type of job was, well, unexpected. It was simply becoming a teacher.
I laughed at myself. Of all people, why me? I would never dare to try something I have never loved. So I thought. Before I knew it, I was eating my own words. I accepted the after-five job, got myself hired and tried what Mom kept on bugging me about for years.
So what was interesting in the field of endeavor? The students questioning the strange and far-off? A student showing signs as if he's more knowledgeable than you are? What about students who tend to underestimate your competence and skill for that matter? Young, sexy and beautiful girls giving you an enticing look, asking for a private tutorial?
Truth is, teaching is fascinating and challenging. My patience was tested all the way but I loved it. One time I almost walked out in a middle of a discussion when my class of 50 students made such intolerable noise.
At that time, I didn’t give them an exam to sort of discipline them like what other teachers did. I just sat in front, kept my silence for a while and waited for the noise to calm down.
With students so unmanageable at times, I did not expect myself to like what I was getting into. What kept me strong and firm every single day and each time I sensed my students were on their “exceptional” attitudes again, was Mom’s perseverance and love of her work.
Most people say that teachers don’t earn much. It is an understatement and I do not care. I also do not care at all if they say that only the average-IQ people venture into teaching - I can always prove them wrong. Teaching is for everyone who has the conviction of sharing one’s life and values, knowledge and information. It is for everyone who loves to feel the warmth of a student’s ‘thank you’ on a very hectic day.
Teaching is for someone who believes in sweeter rewards after a sacrifice of patience. It is for anyone whose idea of sharing is not necessarily losing something.
I miss teaching already!
Labels: Essay, Philippine Articles
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