TEN teachers, four from elementary school, four from high school and two from college, received Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Teachers Award this year.
Last week, we looked at three teachers, who taught slow readers and learners to ensure that they developed fundamental literacy and numeracy.

This week, we look at teachers who have dedicated themselves to helping others develop themselves to the fullest, whether these are victims of abuse, indigenous groups, would-be dropouts or children with special needs.

Victims of abuse

Mercelita J. Labial has taught English language and literature at Xavier University High School in Cagayan de Oro City for 16 years.

Though her subject is a classic, she has kept up with the times, integrating technology in her teaching. She facilitates discussions and forums off school for her students through the Internet.

E-groups, e-mail and social networking sites are channels for Labial to maximize learning opportunities, her students able to express themselves freely and reflect on their lessons. She can also immediately address their concerns and measure their performances.

Even more remarkable, Labial spearheads Lipad, an advocacy program for girls under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Lipad, or Literacy Program for the Advancement of DSWD Girls, caters to victims of rape, abandonment and other abuses.

With the help of Xavier?s English department and School of Education Graduate School Council, the program aims to empower the girls with literacy and communication skills and raise their self-worth.

As president of High School Community Club, Labial also works to uplift indigenous peoples in Miarayon, Talakag, Bukidnon. Through her efforts, many teachers from indigenous groups have attended all-expenses-paid training workshops. Graduating students have joined guided tours to get a taste of urban life.

Dropouts

Estrelita A. Peña has taught English at Kabasalan National High School in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, for 12 years. Despite the peace and order problem in the area, where many teachers have been abducted by secessionist groups, Peña strives to make a difference in the lives of her students, particularly those classified as ?Sardos? (Students at Risk of Dropping Out).

As founder of the Sagip-a-Student Drop-Out Reduction Advocacy Association Inc., she has rallied students, teachers, parents, local government officials and community volunteers to her cause. Sagip has raised funds to help over 600 Sardos to date to finish high school. The dropout rate in the school has been cut in half?from 7.25 percent to 3.5 percent.

Sagip has other programs with catchy titles to generate support?reading remediation (A Word to Teach the World), funds for lodging and school materials (Adopt a Student) and livelihood training (Sardo Working Youth).

The projects have been adopted by more than 60 schools in the region and have served as benchmark for other areas.

In the community, Peña has raised funds for a Formation Center in her church. A member of the religious group Divine Mercy Crusade, she has joined efforts to provide prisoners with spiritual, legal and financial assistance.

But the youths she saved from dropping out remain her main focus. Peña dreams of building a dormitory and learning center for them. The provincial government has already given P500, 000 for this. She is asking other agencies and private groups for support. Winning the Metrobank Foundation award will hopefully bring her closer to her dream.

?I am an unknown teacher from an unknown distant province,? Peña says. ?This Metrobank recognition serves as an inspiration to my colleagues (that) despite the distance ... our efforts (can still) be recognized.?

Special needs

Miladith B. Polutan has taught SPED (Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment) at Oroquieta City Central Elementary School in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, for 19 years.
When she started as a teacher, Polutan taught ?ordinary? first-graders, but she found her true calling in working with special children.

?Changes crept in like autumn shedding leaves for the coming winter. My once normal first-graders were now replaced by children with special needs,? she says. ?Gazing but not seeing, communicating but not talking, going but not walking, they look typical but do not learn typically. This is quite a formidable task, but I took the challenge.?

Her pupils, aged one to 20, come from different municipalities just to be under her tutelage. Polutan teaches them to read and write through large Braille-written materials, and provides home-based instruction for those aged one to 5.

It takes a village to raise a child, particularly one with special needs. Thus, Polutan established Oroquieta Parents Advocate for Children with Disabilities, composed of parents, the government, civic groups, businesses and academe. It provides pupils with food, transportation, physical and occupational therapists, health checkups, school supplies.

Polutan is also active in Strategic Alliance for Networking on Disabilities, a group allied with the provincial government of Misamis Occidental that provides healthcare services and equipment support (canes, walkers, wheelchairs, braillers, communication devices, etc.).

Through her efforts, the pupils have learned to read and have joined regular classes. Some went on to high school and college. Others now support themselves as lecturers, preachers and musicians, or engage in livelihood projects.

Best of all, they have become ?normal.? Polutan says, ?Seeing pupils walk on their own, do chores, play like normal kids, laugh their hearts out, gives me a deep sense of fulfilment and happiness.?

(Next week: Toward world-class excellence)
E-mail the author at blessbook@yahoo.com.