Like the brightness of heaven

EDITOR’S Note: We would love to receive original personal essays from all kinds of teachers out there about why they teach, for possible publication in this column. We want to encourage more teachers to write, especially those who are tasked to teach writing. Essays must be written in English and must be accompanied by a solo photo of the writer. Each submission should not exceed 5,000 characters. We reserve the right to edit. E-mail your essay to [email protected] or send on a CD to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City 1204, attention: Learning.)

I grew up in a farm far from a town or city. My family raised livestock.

At a very young age, I learned to tend to native ducks or itik. I was happy to feed them pellets, kuhol and palay. Every morning, I was always excited to get up to see the eggs in their nests.

After graduating from high school, since I could not afford to go to college for financial reasons, I decided to work in a poultry farm in a nearby village.

My main goal then was to make more than a thousand itik produce as many eggs as they could. After months of close attention and sheer hard work, the ducks laid a hundred of eggs more than expected.

Later, I summoned the courage to enroll in college. Although I struggled at times, particularly during enrollment period, by God’s grace I was able to get a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education degree.

Now that I’m a full-fledged teacher, I want to impart to my students the same values that helped me get to this point. I give them value-laden lessons in Filipino, history and economics to make them productive citizens of our country.

I feel exhilarated every time I see my students win at various contests. When they receive awards, they do not only make their parents happy and proud, they also inspire others.

I feel even more exhilarated when I chance upon my former students who have become achievers in their chosen careers or professions.

It makes me happy to think that  I have been part of their lives.

Who would have thought that someone like me, who used to be a “poultry boy” looking after ducks, would become a teacher looking after boys and girls who could become future leaders of our country?

My efforts as a teacher were also recognized recently. To mark National Teacher’s Month, the Consortium of the South, composed of universities and colleges in the southern part of the National Capital Region,  paid tribute to teachers  in the elementary, secondary and tertiary levels whose dedication and outstanding achievements were examples for all to emulate.

To my surprise, I was one of the six awardees in the Search for STAR (Steadfast, Top, Achiever and Resourceful) Teachers  in the basic education category.

God has called me to be a teacher and I keep holding on to His promise in the book of Daniel 12:3: “Those who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

Froilan S. Rivera is a faculty member and head of the social studies/Filipino department at the International Christian Academy in Parañaque City.