The Things I Learned this Academic Year

A new academic year, new subjects to be taught, new colleagues, new students, different experience. Here are the things that I have learned for the past 10 months or so:

1. This is a confession. I admit that when I was at school, when I was the age of my students, I used to despise some of my teachers – especially those who do not teach well. And now that I am a teacher for one-and-a-half years, I see my old self with some of my students. And I find it amusing, entertaining, and inspiring. I think that is the secret on understanding our students – by putting ourselves in their shoes. Empathy, if you may call it. Or metaphysical and psycho-emotional transcendence. I love students who challenge their teachers, who are not afraid to speak up and ask questions. And I am thankful that this school year, I already found some and they are also the reasons why I won’t leave this institution after this school year. I love challenges. And I love to speak with intelligent and brave students.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Fight for what you think is right, not for yourself, but for the future generation and the younger ones who look up to you. Last August 26, together with thousand other concerned taxpayers, I joined the so-called Million People March in Luneta, a protest against the pork barrel issue. It was a memorable experience for me as a concerned Filipino and as an educator of high school students. I used that experience to teach my students, especially in my Religion classes, the virtues of justice and honesty and the sense of social awareness. Before I became a teacher, I have this blog called Juan Republic and I used to contribute for different websites about my opinion and stand on different socio-political issues. And I have to say that my articles on the internet gained popularity and influence among young professionals and teenagers who follow my blog. And I told myself that I should use that influence to inspire the still-malleable high school students. Because I believe that these lessons will be carried by my students as they grow up, that they will remember life’s practical lessons more compared to Algebra, the different elements in Chemistry, and the memorized things inside the classroom.
   
   
3. Rest, if you must, but don’t quit. This academic year has been more tiring and burnout-inducing compared to last year because I hold 4 subjects on 8 sections. And I have less vacant periods this time (just one hour per day, usually the first period reserved for Class Advisers). I admit I almost gave up and ask for a relieve because doing 8 classes per day is exhausting and draining; I cannot do other responsibilities (doing lesson plans, checking test papers, and stuff) and I am always knocked out at the end of a day. But then I thought of my students, I thought of the young ones who are looking up to me as their teacher and their inspiration. So I decided to carry on. I think the secret of this craft is to use our time wisely (which, I am glad my 8-year stint in the Seminary has taught me), to balance work and other stuff, and to look at the students as an inspiration on everything that we do. At the end of the day, all things will zero in to our students. I vowed to teach them, to be an inspiration, to share my knowledge, talents and skills, to be of service. And that is one hell of a big responsibility. Who am I to give up and leave the future of the Patria Adorada hanging in mid-air?
   
   
   
4. Pursue your passion.  When the Priests asked me to undergo the regency program, I told myself that I will continue to do the thing that I always like – to write, to talk, and to inspire young people. This profession, or shall I say, this vocation is not financially rewarding. I may not get rich by teaching but this dictum has been my mantra for some time now: Choose the job that you want and you don’t have to work for the rest of your life. If I work just for the money, I have long abandoned this institution. But life is all about happiness, and as long as I am happy with what I am doing, I will still stay on the same ship.
   
   
   
5. Thank God for everything. This school year has been a blessing for me in all aspects. And I thank the Lord for giving me an opportunity to stay on the institution and to continue to be of service to the young generation.

This academic year has been a fun ride. I thank my students, colleagues, superiors, and friends who in one way or another, has accompanied me on this journey.

 I’ll see you soon. And by that time, we will start writing again another chapter of this fun-filled journey called life.  Au revoir!

Note: This article is originally my year-end report for this academic year. I have decided to share this in my blog to give the readers a view of my life as a teacher - and the lessons that I learned from it. Some parts have been tweaked for brevity and clarity but more or less, this is the original report.

15 Minutes of 'Cyber Fame'

I was a late convert of Esquire Magazine. I have always wanted to buy (and collect) this magazine since their maiden issue with Manny Pacquiao on the cover but I can't manage (financial-wise) to maintain more than one magazine subscription. You see, I was a huge PULP Magazine collector then but things changed since their magazine turned into an Avon magazine-brochure (But that's another issue. Let's not go to that awful story). 

But things started to change when they featured Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile last year. You see, sans the issues surrounding the old man, I am a huge fan of the Pinoy Palapatine. And when they featured him on the December-January issue last 2012-2013, it was a no-brainer that I buy it. I found the magazine classy, substantial, and educational so I dumped my old collection and on that moment, my relationship with the magazine began.

I have learned a lot about life, trends, culture, politics, literature, and social issues since I started reading and collecting Esquire. It is not your usual bikini-clad, sex talk-filled, AB Market-catering magazine. It has substance. It has sense. For me, this is the magazine.

As of writing, they have just previously released their March issue featuring the 90's It Girl Mai Mai Cojuangco. And the new issue reminded me of something 'crazy' that I did last month, something that I forgot to blog, and something that I will forever cherish.

Last month's Art issue of Esquire Magazine features a 'back portrait' of John Lloyd Cruz. Most people do not know this 'other side' of John Lloyd - that he is a huge collector of local artworks and that his house is a mino-art gallety of sort. Personally, being an occasional artsy-fartsy that I am, I was also surprised that this A-list actor has a different persona away from the lights and glamour of show business.

I am not a die-hard John Lloyd fan. I haven't watched all of his movies. I am just that regular viewer who watches him on TV every time I have the chance to do so. (Though I admit I am a huge fan of 'Rovic and Eds' - his loveteam with Kaye Abad during their Tabing Ilog days.) But John Lloyd Cruz, being the epitome of guwapong-lalake-pero-walang-6-pack-abs, is the inspiration of my 'alter ego'.

I am a high school teacher and my students fondly call me "Sir John Lloyd". It started when I declared myself as a John Lloyd look-a-like. And whenever they tag me photos on Facebook, I would always comment '#TeamJohnLloyd' - indicating my self-proclaimed resemblance with John Lloud Cruz. I even went into putting John Lloyd Cruz's photo in my test papers with an 'inspirational quote' (basically quotes from his movies) from the great man. (I am telling you, I am one hell of a crazy teacher. Haha!)

So when Esquire featured John Lloyd Cruz (again, having graced the cover before on their The State of Man issue) on the cover of their Art Issue, I decided to do something crazy. Just for fun, I told myself, something to 'cement' my claim that I look like John Lloyd Cruz.

With the helped of my siblings, I made a 'back portrait', imitating John Lloyd's pose on the unique cover. I started sharing it on my social media accounts - Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - for the purpose of bringing a smile to people's, especially my students', faces.

And then the unexpected happen. The official Twitter account of Esquire Philippines tweeted my picture with the caption "When Life imitates art. An Esquire reader does his own version of the February cover" 

And then it snowballed. They also featured it on their official Facebook page:

After the photo was posted, I was bombarded by messages and reactions from my friends, praising, laughing, and basically astounded by my crazy antic - and its unexpected aftermath. Being a man contented with third world cyber joys, I was so elated when the Esquire did this. I even joked that this may be the key on finally meeting John Lloyd Cruz. And fist-bumping and bro-hugging him if possible.

I slept that night with a smile on my face. Seriously. Tangina John Lloyd Cruz yan eh! Sorry, I just have to let that out.

Sans this '15 minutes of Cyber Fame', I would like to express my admiration and gratitude to Esquire Philippines not for featuring my photo on their social media accounts but for providing readers with features and articles with substance. I wish longevity and more success for this badass magazine. I can't wait to grab myself and read the latest issue.

And oh, Esquire Philippines, I am dead serious about meeting John Lloyd Cruz. It will be my greatest joy if this would see the light of reality.

Salary Grade 20 for Public School Teachers: A Few Thoughts

Senator Antonio Trillanes wants a Php 36,567 minimum salary for public school teachers.

As an *coughs* underpaid *coughs* private school teacher, these are my few thoughts:

1. This will mean a massive diaspora from private to public schools by teachers. Even before the proposed salary increase, it’s happening now. Private schools are experiencing a mass resignation and transfer of their teachers to a higher-paying public school. We cannot blame those who leave. Their family needs them. There was even one joke among us teachers that “our take home pay cannot take us home”. With this in mind, this will lead to…
2. The ‘death’ of some private schools that cannot match this salary grade. Take away the teachers from your school and what do you have? Nada. Or take this for example, if a school has no permanent teacher every school year (i.e. they transfer to public school after gaining a year of teaching experience), it would not thrive. There won’t be a continuity of the academic programs if you have new educators every year. 
3. If this would materialize, there will be an increase in enrollment of education-related courses. I have nothing against that. We need teachers. But what we need more are quality teachers. Better teachers. Best teachers. Especially with the new K+12 curriculum. There are some teachers who are only good in demo teaching. Trust me, I know. Heh!
4. I hope this would not be like what happened in the past when there was a sudden increase of students who took up nursing - only to end up being jobless and some nursing schools being closed due to its poor performance. We should not compromise quality of our educators by producing products of a another diploma mill.
5. I hope they also consider those minimum-wage-earning private school teachers who would be left behind, if this would see the light of reality. I suggest they increase the FAPE subsidy that they give every year. As of now, licensed private school teachers only receive 10,000 pesos in Government subsidy (sans the tax) every year as a way to ‘level’ them with public school teachers.

I have nothing against public school teachers (Salute mga Ma’am Ser!) and Sen. Trillanes’ proposal. I just care about my comrades in the Private School. I do not plan to be a teacher forever. I just consider this as my ‘past time’, a furlough of sort while waiting for a better career option. But, just maybe, I reconsider my options since I love what I’m doing right now.

And to cap this post, here are some unnecessary pictures of me, being happy with my job, er, service as a private school teacher:

Mabuhay ang mga guro!

Please take note that the things written here are my opinion and they do not reflect those of my employer’s and the school system that I work with. Thank you.