Many people believe that seven is a lucky number. I do not know where that came from but according to my research it might have originated from the Chinese Feng Sui. Anyway, I came to Easter College seven years ago and I did not realize until today that I have spent seven precious years of my life inside this campus already.
BY MARILYN BALABAG
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
When I first came here, I was thinking of staying maybe just a year or two. My first year here in Easter College was the time when the school was facing a little problem. I was doubtful also if I would be able to stay in the teaching profession since I did not choose to be a teacher. It was not my first choice but because it was the only course open when I enrolled (aside from engineering – which I know I cannot survive because I am not very good in Math), I had to take it. Anyway to cut the story short, here I am, a professional teacher since I passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).
What happened in the past years? Looking back, I did not even feel that I have aged seven years more. My first batch of pupils when I came here are already in their 3rd year of high school. They are tall; some are even bigger than me. The years had passed by so fast though I feel that it was only last year that they were my energetic grade three pupils.
In retrospect, I did not only teach students during the past seven years, I also learned a lot from them. When you are a teacher you automatically become their mother, yaya (nanny), janitress, rolled into one. You have to have a lot of patience, wisdom and love.
The pupils whom I have met taught me to have faith and trust that no matter how bad a person is, there is still something good in him or her. Though some pupils are branded “bad” because of their behavioral problems, you have to love them more because they are the ones who need and crave for more attention.
My pupils also taught me how to say what I feel. I was raised in a household where my family does not show their affection. In my dealings with the pupils especially the learners in the primary level, I have learned how to say “I love you, very good, you have done an excellent job,” more often without feeling embarrassed.
The innocent faces of my grade one pupils on the first day of school inspire me to work hard and learn more on how to teach them the skills, values and knowledge they should acquire. It encourages me to discover new ways of educating them. And at the end of the school year when I hear my once-timid pupils recite and to listen to them read and sing which they cannot do at the beginning of the school year, is the price of my hard work. It is more than enough to pay for the sleepless nights and headaches I had experienced just to give them my 101 percent effort and love.
In parting, indeed seven is a lucky number! For seven years of Easter life gave me seven batches of different individuals with varied learning experiences.
Now I can say with conviction that teaching is not a profession. It is a vocation that is very rewarding. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat.com
The author is a teacher at the Elementary Department of Easter College, Baguio City.
