Pedagogy with a heart

I have been teaching for 21 years. My teaching experience is truly a learning process, especially after I transferred to a public school in Metro Manila.

Before that, I was a teacher for 16 years in a Catholic school in Batangas, my late husband’s hometown.

Moving involved a great adjustment—from a rural to an urban setting and from the private to the public school system.

What made me stay and like teaching where I am now is what I gained from my old job.

My former school is run by a relatively-unknown congregation, the Oblates of St. Joseph. The pedagogy is inspired by the teachings of their founder, St. Joseph Marello.

I learned and embraced three of his educational principles, which also shaped my teaching philosophy.

The first principle: “Men of genius are worth nothing; it is men of great character that bestirs the world.”

For St. Joseph, what is truly important is that students not only learn the subjects but also learn how to transform themselves into better persons through the education they get.

In the four classes I handled, I always insisted on and instilled in my students the value of discipline. This was done not by threats or sowing fear but in a diplomatic way.

At the start of a school year, I would make a covenant with the students, lay down the rules on behavior and penalties for violations.

Every quarter, each pupil got a “deposit” of 50 points for their class standing; any proven misdemeanor would result in a withdrawal from this deposit. Good behavior was rewarded with an increase in deposit.

I took their ESP (English for Specific Purposes) class as an opportunity to impart important lessons in life, many of them based on my experiences.

I also handled pupils that my colleagues had branded as “notorious” but they changed a lot when they came to my     class.

A boy named Marnel had to repeat a class. On his third year in Grade 6, he was placed in my advisory class. Today, he is a Grade 10 student and I have not heard a complaint against him.

Character building is a collaborative effort involving not just me and my students, but their parents and guardians, too.

I consider their involvement in the formation of their children important, their primary responsibility, in fact.

To involve them not just by supporting class projects, I held open dialogues with them about their children’s behavior in school, telling them how their children improved in class or how they could help them improve.

St. Joseph’s second principle is related to the first: “Cultivating the intellect alone does not suffice and is often harmful if the heart is not also educated.”

Teaching in a public school is really an eye-opener for me. It shows me various types of pupils, especially those who do not know what they want to do in life. But I do not give up on them.

Inspired by the saint’s words, I make them realize the value of education and of growing up with a heart. It will always make me proud and happy if my former pupils visit me and tell me how I influenced their lives.

My classroom has a poster with the saint’s words on it so we are always reminded.

The last principle is more of a motivation. St. Joseph teaches us: “Be extraordinary in ordinary things.”

Inspired by these words, I always challenge myself to improve my teaching methods, especially with the great advancements in technology.

Although they were expensive, I invested in a laptop and an LCD projector. I learned how to make PowerPoint presentations and put my lessons on tarpaulin.

For the past two years, I have been composing and compiling booklets on different Science lessons.

My efforts are rewarded when my pupils become more participative in class and their academic performance improves.

I do not regret the sacrifices I have to make. What is more important is to effect a personal renewal among my pupils.

Edelynn S. Calizar is a Grade 6 Science teacher of Ninoy Aquino Elementary School in Malabon City.