Honoring classroom heroes on WTD

FOR THESE teachers,World Teachers Day is a red-letter day.

More than 7,000 public school teachers from the National Capital Region (NCR) and Regions III and IV-A were entertained and honored on  Saturday at PhilSports Arena.

GOOD SPORTS Public school teachers from NCR and Regions III and IV-A join in the fun.

Department of Education (DepEd) officials led private organizations and the entertainment industry in the massive celebration of this year’s World Teachers Day (WTD).

As early as 5:30 a.m., busloads of teachers were welcomed at the DepEd complex with entertainment by marching bands and cultural troupes. By 8 a.m. the show was on.

Actress-singer Joy Viado joked, “Teacher din po ako … sa ‘Got to Believe’ (a TV series),” but turned serious as she thanked the teachers for being second parents to children. ABS-CBN artist Tippy dos Santos was cheered when she announced she was majoring in early education and stated, “Walang engineers at doctors kung walang teachers.”

Singer-activist Noel Cabangon was singing his hit, “Ako’y Isang Mabuting Pilipino,” just as the guest of honor, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, walked in. As Sereno took her seat next to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, Cabangon’s lyrics, “Tapat ang serbisyo ko

sa mamamayan, ’di ko ibinubulsa ang pera ng bayan,” brought the house down.

David Linao, a student from President Corazon Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City, led the Prayer for Teachers, which was recited simultaneously in various WTD celebration

EDUCATION Secretary Armin Luistro recalls the heroism of teachers.

venues in the country.

Luistro then addressed the crowd, saying that the longest celebration for teachers is held in the Philippines. Reminiscing about his decision to pursue teaching, Luistro recalled a saying that teachers did not need advocates to get to heaven because their students would usher them in.

Luistro also praised the heroism of teachers, recalling an incident in  a Zamboanga school where teachers protected their students from a rampaging madman. At the same school, Luistro recalled one election when a teacher refused the money offered by candidates because she was a teacher and teachers simply did not accept bribes.

In Tanauan: Pampering treats for teachers

Text by Vaughn Alviar

Photos by Arnold Almacen

TEACHERS, 811 strong, are welcomed to the FAITH campus for a “Thank You Teachers!” celebration.

It was not the kind of setup teachers would want in their classrooms.

People moved around, changing seats as they pleased. Many talked at the same time, occasionally breaking into riotous laughter. A few busted a move to Rihanna hits.

But on this particular day, the teachers enjoyed the circus-like atmosphere that would normally be their nightmare.

After all, everything was being  staged in their honor.

First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) in Tanauan City, Batangas, organized one day of pampering for the 811 who came on its campus, preparing special treats to show  appreciation for the teachers’ hard work and dedication.

It was an advance celebration of World Teachers Day, observed globally the following day, Oct. 5.

FRANCISCO thanks the teachers;

“This is their day,” said head organizer Judith Elic. “Throughout the year, estudyante lang ang inaatupag nila. They (teachers) deserve this.”

Booths offered food, massage, makeup and haircuts for free. Nursing students conducted free blood-typing and blood pressure reading.

Games were organized.

Twenty-six were honored after topping a voting among FAITH students, whom  they mentored in the past, as their favorite teachers.

FAITH vice president for administration Gay Marie Francisco said the “Thank You Teachers!” day, only on its second year, was a time to honor them.

“We chose the free services based on what we thought they needed badly,” said Elic.

Kapuso stars led by Alden Richards and Aljur Abrenica also greeted the teachers in an audiovisual presentation.

PAMPERING stations for teachers

Love makes it easy

“[A teacher’s] life is hard but it [feels] a bit easier when you love your job,” said Berna Libang, a teacher for more than two decades.

She said her first assignment was in a far-flung elementary school in Laguna province,

18 kilometers from the highway and up in the mountains. “There were rebels,” she recalled. “You really had  to sacrifice.”

A Visayan in Southern Tagalog, Mary Jacqueline Gilles is a newly hired high school teacher. “Wala namang ganito sa amin (There’s nothing like this back home),” she said, as she stood in line at the photo booth.

“My students laugh at my accent,” the teacher from Southern Leyte said. “Sometimes I don’t understand them, too. Their ‘hindi ba’ is ‘hindi ga.’” But teaching was her childhood dream, so she was committed.

Navarro wins the P10,000 raffle prize.

“At work, there are targets [to achieve] … constant pressure, a lot of work,” she said. “This is a time to enjoy and relax, lalo’t malapit na naman mag-periodical test.”

Joel de la Costa, a high school teacher for 13 years, sat in the bleachers and watched her colleagues swarm the booths in front of him.

When asked what he liked among the freebies, he raised a hamburger and said with a laugh, “The free food … As a teacher, especially in a public school, you have to dip into your own pocket often.” The free food was a welcome treat.

Teaching livelihood subjects to five sections with at least

55 students each, he said,  could be taxing. “We have to relax sometimes. I hope I win in the raffle,” he added.

He did not, although there were 52 winners. Juana Marasigan-Navarro, 57, went home with the grand prize of P10,000. “This is an advance  Christmas gift,” she said.

Sporting a new hairdo she got at the fair, she said, “It is my first time to win anything in my 33 years of teaching. In my delight, I forgot to thank the sponsors.”

PANTAY National High School teacher Jalo Mecabani after her makeover

The teacher, who will retire in 2016, said she would use the prize for her grandchild’s tuition and treat her coteachers, too.

Francisco said they would continue holding the event and said teachers could expect new gimmicks every year.

Two public school teachers underwent a makeover, were given new clothes and had their hair and faces done. Their new looks were revealed to the audience during the program.

Elic said the first time they held the event, some teachers were reluctant to participate, thinking the “all for free” offer was too good to be true. But now, Francisco said, “It is already the talk of the town.”

On this special day, the honorees realized that “My teacher, my hero” were not just words on T-shirts people wore.