Good Morning, Teacher

GOOD MORNING, TEACHER!

Natatandaan pa ba ninyo ang kauna-unahan ninyong araw nang pagpasok sa iskwelahan? Ako'y tandang-tanda ko pa. Limang taon ako noon. Kasama ng aking Inang, nagtungo kami sa Malolos Elementary School na malapit lamang sa aming bahay. Dinala niya ako kay Miss Pangindian, isang kamag-anak na teacher.

Sabi ng aking Inang: Irene, baka pwede na itong bata...

Tinanong ako ng titser: Ilang taon ka na?

Palihim akong nagbilang ng daliri sa aking kamay: Payb...

Sabi ng titser: Bata pa ito, Nana Maria.

Sabi ng Inang ko: Saling-ket.

At doon nagsimula ang aking edukasyon. Saling-ket. Ito siguro ang equivalent ng mga nursery, kinder at prep ngayon bago maging grade one. Pero, sama-sama nang lahat ang mga ito noon. Sa saling-pusa!

Kaya lamang, kilalang istrikto si Miss Pangindian. Isa siya sa mga itinuturing noon, sa lenguahe ngayon ng mga istudyante sa kolehiyo, na terror kumbaga. Sa Grade 2 ay si Mrs. Javier, isang kamag-anak rin. At sa Grade 6 ay si Mrs. Gatchalian. Mga terror na kinatatakutan ng mga musmos. Kaya, ang nangyari, madalas na ayokong pumasok sa iskwela. Minsan, ikot ako nang ikot para mahilo at maidahilan na may lagnat ako. Kaso, hindi ito nakalulusot. Sa madali't sabi, naging Grade 2 ako. Kung ano ang final grade ko, di ko na matandaan. Baka pasang-awa lamang. Ibig sabihin, seventy-five!

Pero masasabi kong mula Grade 4 hanggang Grade 6 nag-bloom naman ako. Lagi nang Section One. Late bloomer yata. Ang Grade 5 adviser namin at guro sa Pilipino, si Miss Villegas, ang paborito kong teacher. Tandang-tanda ko na may kwento siyang nalathala sa Lingguhang Liwayway noon na ulit-ulit kong binasa. Noon ko sinabi sa aking Inang na paglaki ko, magsusulat rin ako sa Liwayway. Buong-buo ang aking paniwala sa aking kakayahan na magagawa ko ito. Talk about desire, belief and expectancy. Mga factors na nasa likod ng tagumpay ng isang minimithi. Subconsciously, natanim na ito sa aking kaibuturan. Gusto ko, naniniwala ako sa aking kakayahan, inaasahan kong mangyayari. Kaya kahit walang pormal na leksiyon sa pagsusulat, kahit walang masasabing naging mentor, natupad rin ang pangarap kong makasulat.

Sa high school, ang paborito kong guro ay istrikto rin. At kamag-anak na naman. Pero sa kanya, walang kama-kamag-anak! Ito ay si Miss J. Ladia, ang teacher namin sa English & Literature. Hanggang ngayon, kabisado ko pa ang ilang linya ng mga poems na ipinamemorya niya sa amin. Come Live With Me by Christopher Marlowe -

Come, live with me and be my love...
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills and fields,
woods or steepy mountain yields.

And we will sit upon the rocks
seeing the shepherds feed their flocks
by shallow rivers to whose falls
melodious birds sing madrigals.

And I will make thee beds of roses
and a thousand fragrant posies
a cap of flowers, and a kirtle
embroidered all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool
which from our pretty lambs we pull;
fair lined slippers for the cold
with buckles of the purest gold;

a belt of straw and ivy buds
with coral clasps and amber studs;
and if these pleasures may thee move,
come live with me and be my love.

Sa kolehiyo naman, ang naging paborito namin ay ang Cost Accounting professor namin na si Prof. D. Pasion. Dahil bukod sa magaling siyang magturo, istrikto rin, pero laging nakangiti, ipinakikita ang kanyang malalim na dimples. Ang natatandaan kong sinabi niya noon nang napansin niyang mahiyaing sumagot o kimi ang mga istudyante, parang takot sa mga teacher ay ito: “Nauna lamang kaming ipinanganak, kaya kami ang nariritong nagtuturo at kayo ang istudyante. Wala kayong dapat ikahiya.”

Noong 1993, itinakda ng United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ang ika-5 ng Oktubre na World Teachers' Day. Dito naman sa Pilipinas, sa halip na isang araw lamang, ginawang buwan ng mga guro ang Setyembre 4-Oktubre 5. Kalimutan na natin na marami sa ating mga guro ay nasa ibayong dagat na hindi pagtuturo ang trabaho. Isaloob na lamang natin, na sa kanilang ginagawang pagpapakasakit para sa kanilang pamilya, may itinuturo silang leksiyon sa lahat, lalong-lalo sa mga kinauukulan sa pamahalaan. Na sana, hindi na nila kailangang umalis ng bansa upang magkahanap-buhay.

Sa puntong ito ay nais kong batiin ng isang Happy Teachers' Day ang isang kilala kong Teacher/Mama, isang ina na hino-homeschool ang kanyang mga anak. Lifted from her blog (with permission) are the following entries -

Three reasons it is good to be alive and homeschooling.

1) Seeing the girls read, and read, and read some more. Then right after, requesting that we go to the library to, what else? Get more books to read!

2) Going to Mass on a weekday, just because, or celebrating a solemnity or a favorite saint's feast day.

3) Doing Botany at Green Springs Garden, or learning about animals at the National Zoo, or finding out how gargoyles look like by going to the National Cathedral. We're in DC and we don't just live here, we LIVE here.

At isang halimbawa ng ginagawa ng teacher/mama na ito -

The shortcut to nature will be Botany, and an entire year's worth of it too. Instead of dipping into different and minute amounts of a variety of science topics, we'll focus on plants: growing and harvesting them; watering, or not, and finding out why they failed to thrive; smelling, touching, and hopefully, marveling in them. With the help of one book to guide us, plenty of cut-and-paste for the younger one and experiments for the older one, this shouldn't be too stressful. (At hands-on silang nag-garden sa likod-bahay nila. Ginampanan nila ang bawat step ng pagtatanim, pagdidilig, pag-aalaga sa mga halaman, hanggang sa pag-ani ng mga bunga nitong carrot, sili, pipino at iba pa. Kasama na rin sa leksiyon ang pagtungo sa mga park at pag-aaral sa mga halamang nakatanim doon, at pati na ang mga scientific names ng mga ito.)

Religion will be plenty of read-alouds, a favorite activity gone the wayside as the girls learned to read silently. I am hoping that years of reading aloud to them will put me back on track easily. Same with coming up with cute crafts, which nobody is ever too old to do!

Filipino? Short of a complete immersion, learning the language and appreciating the culture can only come in spurts: festivals that inspire girls to want to be more brown than white. In the absence of those fun fairs during the colder months, books and CDs will have to do. Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin is still being copied and memorized, and if Joseph Esmilla can inspire, we'll play violin music during our weekly Tsokolate at Tagalog afternoons. Fall may be harvest time in north America but in our house, we'll be collecting vegetables by way of Bahay Kubo and Gusto ko ng Gulay. (Paborito kong kwento tungkol sa pag-aaral nila ng Pilipino ang pagpapaskel ng lyrics ng "Lupang Hinirang" sa dingding ng isang kuwarto sa bahay na lagi nilang pinupuntahan.)

Math isn't making me nervous but I'm a-quiver to find out how these fun lessons will turn out. I expect a year of sanity spiced with some craziness, and hope that these girls will learn along the way. (Sa pagbili sa tindahan at sa pagbabayad, hinahayaan ang mga bata na sumahin kung magkano ang sukli sa kanilang ibinabayad. Kung saan pumapasok ang mga fraction sa paghati-hati sa isang pizza.)

They've tinkered with the piano for more than a year, and learned enough on their own to play simple piano pieces. But today, we started formal lessons, complete with Theory, Technique and Artistry, and Performance. After a few minutes on the piano for basic keyboard identification and fingering exercises, which both found too easy already, we moved to the table for theory lessons. It was a fun way to remember what they know; use of colored pencils, though optional, added variety.

Today was our first day of basketball. P.E., at least before cold weather sets in, will never be the same again. This good workout gave them ruddy cheeks, a good sweat, and some surprisingly coordinated body movements. (Kasama na rito ang swimming at dance lessons. Pumapasok na rin sa art & crafts ang painting, drawing, potmaking, knitting, crocheting, sewing.)

At dahil binisita sila ng lindol at bagyo ngayong 2011 -

There's nothing like a "hurriquake" to get the girls tuned in to this year's Science. Or Geography. Somehow, weather is included in our study of maps and mapping, and also in astronomy. The girls are quick to cite tidbits about retired hurricane names, or the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon (none!) now that we've entered hurricane season. They ask to have the weather books from the library extended for another three weeks.

Leksiyon kapag panahon ng Easter at Advent at nang mag-first communion -

In six weeks, the girls will be going to First Confession. I don't remember much from 2nd grade, and nothing at all from the sacraments I received that year. Preparing the girls had given me an opportunity to understand, at a 2nd grade level the basics of the Church's teachings. With an eye towards appreciating this great gift. Without the stress of performing.

For the next six weeks, we'll start talking in earnest about the sacrament: examination of conscience, sorrow for sin, purpose of amendment, confession of sins, penance, and the mechanics of the sacrament. We'll read and narrate the familiar parables: the prodigal son, the lost coin, the vine and the branches, the lost sheep. At night, we'll start saying the Act of Contrition --

Easter - As of today, it will be a study of the Easter Vigil Mass... hymns and the order of that Mass. Bits and pieces of prior years' work will now come together: the Litany of Saints, the Paschal candle, all 9 Bible readings, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (pretty much all of their First Communion studies), plus new things that they've seen but were too young to understand: the Baptism of Catechumens and Confirmation of Candidates, and the Service of Light. By the end of six weeks, they would have gone through copywork and projects and lessons because I couldn't leave it alone. And they'd have to learn hymns on top of it all!

Advent - With Advent comes a new Marian hymn to learn: Alma Redemptoris Mater. Piano lessons has fallen by the wayside but the tinkering continues. Between this new hymn and learning the round, Dona Nobis Pacem, we have our Latin and Advent music lessons ready-made for us. For their enjoyment, I've borrowed The First Noel, A Child's Book of Christmas Carols to Play and Sing. The girls will be ready to show off by the time Christmas comes!

At bukod sa Teacher/Mama na ito, nais ko ring batiin ng Happy Teachers' Day ang mga volunteer teachers ng Paaralang Pinoy sa Virginia, na matiyagang nagtuturo sa mga Fil-Am kids ng mga awitin, sayaw, tradisyon, kaugalian, at wikang Filipino. Nakatataba ng puso ang makatanggap ng balita at makapanood ng video ng mga batang isinilang at lumalaki sa America na umaawit ng “Ako ay Pilipino”, “Pasko na Naman”, “Saranggola ni Pepe” at nagsusumikap na makapagsalita at makipag-usap sa wika ng kanilang mga magulang.

MABUHAY KAYO! MGA TUNAY NA GURO SA PUSO, DIWA AT GAWA!