As she prepared to take the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), mathematics teacher Erlyn Geronimo did not take chances.
Following common superstitions among LET takers, Geronimo wore something red, prayed in three churches and asked a former topnotcher, her colleague Joel Adamos, to sharpen pencils she was going to use in the test.
They seemed to work. On November 17, the 37-year-old Geronimo topped the LET for secondary teachers, an unexpected achievement for a former actuary who once “resented” the idea of teaching students how to crunch numbers.
“I was overwhelmed. I was actually praying just to pass. I said ‘Lord, it will just be a bonus if I’ll be among the top 10.’ That’s why I’m so grateful,” Geronimo told the Inquirer.
Geronimo’s score of 87.8 percent was the highest among 13,125 LET passers. A total of 41,729 examinees passed the LET for secondary teachers on September 25, according to the Professional Regulation Commission.
For Geronimo, passing the LET was finally an official recognition after teaching for some 16 years without a license.
“I am now more confident about my teaching and I am more inspired to do well in my profession. I feel like the Lord loves me so much. While other persons might be better than me, I topped the exams,” said Geronimo.
She said she had been anxious before the September LET, as her students expected her to top the exams. They were calling her “Ma’am Topnotcher” in school.
Students, as well as colleagues, even challenged her to bet against them on how well she would do in the test. The wagers ranged from French fries to lechon. Of course, once the results were out, she had to make good on the bets.
The math major from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman did not really consider teaching as her main vocation. She thought of it as just something to do on the side.
But after spending a year in an insurance company after graduation, Geronimo decided to teach math in UP to get one perk—free postgraduate schooling.
“That was my ulterior motive. I said, so I could do my masters for free, I might as well teach. In UP, if you’re a member of the faculty, you have a study privilege,” she said.
But once she started, Geronimo realized she had found her true love. After getting her master’s degree in math, she decided to earn education units at the Manuel L. Quezon University.
Geronimo now teaches math to education majors at the University of Santo Tomas. She is also a supervising math teacher at the UST Education High School.
“I have two aunts who are teachers—that’s why teaching is in my blood. But I used to resent being a teacher. But once I started, I began to enjoy it, especially when I had a family. I felt like it’s a very family-friendly profession,” said the mother of three.
And, despite the challenges of teaching math to the young with their short attention span, Geronimo said teaching had given her a steady supply of fulfillment.
“I get fulfillment because students are learning from me and it feels good when they are thankful and they remember me when good things happen to them,” she said.
“You should look at teaching as a two-way process: Teaching your students and also learning from them,” she said.