Outstanding college and high-school teachers
I was privileged this year to be one of the judges in the semifinals of the Metrobank Foundation Search for Outstanding Teachers.
My fellow judges, respected educators Graciano Yumul Jr. and Nilo Rosas, and I were elated by the quality of the teachers, as shown in their documented work and their teaching presentations.
Alleli Domingo of the University of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños wowed us with her efforts to make mathematics come alive through Philippine history and culture.
Eventual winners Allan de Guzman of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Dr. Jericho Thaddeus Luna of UP Manila made us laugh and cry, respectively, when they urged us to try out folk dances in education class, and examine the plight of women who could not afford good maternal care.
College winners
De Guzman has been teaching future teachers in the College of Education and the College of Nursing in UST for 18 years. In 2003, he introduced the “thesis-by-article format” to encourage researchers to communicate their findings in high-impact international journals, and to improve UST’s standing in Asian university rankings.
De Guzman has also used traditional Filipino arts, like pabalatart, puni, and taka-making, to allow students to learn from traditional wisdom teachers in the regions.
These activities have also become a source of recreation for elders in nursing homes and penal institutions who suffer from chronic illnesses. Reports of their effectiveness have been published in the “Journal of Cancer Education.”
De Guzman has also been involved in the Education for Peace Network, a project initiated by the diocese of Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur. By training basic education teachers to integrate peace values in the curriculum, he sees his work as vital in attaining lasting peace in Mindanao.
Luna has been teaching obstetrics and gynecology at the UP College of Medicine-Philippine General Hospital for 10 years. He champions maternal health by studying and writing about the prevention and management of postpartum hemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal death in the country.
Luna is the only gynecologic oncologist who can do vaginal radical hysterectomy and vaginal radical trachelectomy for early stage malignancies like cervical cancer. Patients can now undergo less radical procedures to retain their fertility without endangering their survival.
Doctor Luna and his colleagues have trained for doctors, midwives and nurses on the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) as an alternative to pap smear for cervical cancer screening. VIA was eventually adopted by the Department of Health as the national cervical cancer screening tool. He has also developed modules on prenatal care, obstetric emergencies and cancer prevention for municipal health centers.
High school winners
Chelo C. Tangan has been teaching social studies in Cagayan National High School in Tuguegarao City for 17 years. Her workbook “Sanayang Aklat sa Araling Panlipunan I” was adopted by the Department of Education division in Tuguegarao, and subsequently increased student mastery level by 7 percent. Tangan has also conducted studies and training on test construction and analysis for teachers.
Tangan also brought honor to the country when she became coach of Teach Philippines in the Fourth Asean Quiz Regional Competition. The team emerged as champion from among the 10 different nations. She is also involved in outreach activities that cater to abandoned children under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Lingu, Solana, Cagayan; and also to inmates of the Tuguegarao City Jail.
Buenaventura D. Luces has been teaching algebra in Lusacan National High School in Lusacan, Tiaong, Quezon, for 16 years. His teaching device, called “Math Checker” develops mastery in basic arithmetic operations, and is now widely used in Quezon. Luces invites people to freely download information through www.mathchecker.weebly.com. Together with teachers from Indonesia, India, Morocco, Bangladesh and South Africa, Luces has co-authored modules to develop critical-thinking skills for professionals.
As a church elder of the Santa Catalina Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Luces has provided groceries, free dental care and training for poor residents.
Vilma C. Ambat has been teaching Filipino in Baguio City National High School for 14 years. She introduced the “Mobile Learning Anytime, Anywhere” to address the needs of arts students who need to be excused from classes because of rehearsals and performances. Learning materials are delivered in audio or multimedia formats, depending on the devices the students have. Ambat became one of the finalists in the Worldwide Innovative Educators Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, and a winner in the Asia Pacific Regional Educators Forum in Singapore.
As a literary arts adviser, Ambat initiated the project “Paghahandog ng Ani ng Panitikan” to showcase the best literary pieces of creative student writers, while at the same time allowing students to interact with the less privileged through fundraising activities. Students experience real-life stories in the real world, and through outreach programs such as selling recyclables to junk shops, they develop concern for the welfare of others.
Maricel S. Franco has been teaching physics in Nueva Vizcaya General Comprehensive High School in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, for 20 years. Franco has developed innovative physics materials, such as instruction plans for natural hazards (used in the area three years ago), community-based instruction on Newton’s Laws of Motion as applied to land transportation, and an online web-quest activity on nuclear radiation.
A national trainer for the Intel Teach program, Franco is also the moderator of the school’s environment group and the leader of the church choir in the community.
(Next week: Elementary school teacher awardees)
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