Honoring Filipino educators on Teachers’ Day (loqal.ph)
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA — The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) has been pursuing several social programs aimed at improving the country’s education sector. During the local celebration of the World Teachers’ Day, the organization honored several Filipino educators who have dedicated their lives to being role models to students but as agents of change.
Here are two teachers who are among those that the PBSP deem as role models:
RUSTICO ENTERO: RISING FROM THE ASHES
A classroom is a place where goals and ambitions are formed. But what happens when a place that was supposed to be a haven for dreamers has suddenly turned into ashes?
That night on August 21, 2001 was one of the big challenges in the life of Rustico Entero, principal of Lo-ok Elementary School in Basilan. It was the height of the Lamitan Siege, when rebels from the Abu Sayyaf Group invaded the city and burned the school.
“Nang paalis na sila, may nagpaiwan pang kasama nila na ang intensyon talaga ay sunugin ang school namin. (When they (rebels) were leaving, one stayed with the intention to burn our school.),” Entero said.
He felt doomed when he saw the school the morning after the ill-fated incident. The place which served as the student’s beacon of hope was gone in just a snap of a finger.
“Doon napaiyak ako pagtingin ko. Kinabukasan nandoon na kami lahat ng mga guro. Tinanong ko sila, ‘Paano natin aalagaan ‘yung mga bata na mahigit 200 kung wala na tayo ni isang room?’ (When I saw the school, I cried. The next day, I was there with all the teachers. I asked them, ‘How can we take care of the more than 200 kids when there is not a single room left?’),” he recalled.
Life goes on
Instead of letting grief and despair take over, Entero and the teachers worked together to think of ways to provide continuous education to the children, despite what happened.
With the help of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) and barangay officials, Entero and his teachers built makeshift classrooms in a church’s basement and in a barangay hall. They set up alternative dividers so they could hold multiple classes in one place.
“Nagkaroon kami ng apat na klase doon sa loob ng basement. Tapos ang dalawang klase namin doon sa barangay hall. (We held four classes inside the basement of a church, and two more in the barangay hall.),” he said.
Classes continued unhampered throughout the school year, but the number of students attending dropped from 200 to 170. Some of them transferred to other schools in adjacent barangays due to the limited resources and uncomfortable environment.
New building, new hope
Entero searched everywhere to find assistance for their situation. He first went to the Department of Education (DepEd) Division Office where he learned that a friend who is working for Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) could help them. He visited them in their makeshift classrooms and from there, things started to become bright again.
In 2002, Petron Foundation through PBSP donated a school building to Lo-ok Elementary School. The building had two classrooms with all the resources and amenities. According to Entero, it had the most beautiful classrooms at that time.
Entero and the rest of the teachers were very grateful for getting much more than they expected. More than the new school building, they had also gotten back their old students who were eager to return with the new facilities.
Now, Lo-ok Elementary School is one of the top performing schools in the National Achievement Exam in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“Kung ang mga bata nasa ilalim ng kubo lang, wala sigurong bata na magiging interesado sa pag-aaral ulit. (If the classes were held under a makeshift hut, there would be no child who would be interested to study again.),” Entero said.
Maribel Daisog: The gift of reading
How crucial is education in a child’s formative years?
Many would agree that the first five years are when milestones are supposed to occur—one of them, the ability to read. This is also one of the deciding factors that will determine how a child will fare for the rest of his or her student life.
Teacher Maribel P. Daisog has been tirelessly helping her students develop their reading skills for 13 years now. Apart from teaching Kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils, she is also the remedial coordinator of P. Manalo Elementary School in Pateros. She holds a special place in her heart for these students in her remedial class who, unlike their peers, need more time and guidance in practicing their reading skills.
Creating joyful centers of learning
Daisog is one of the teachers from five schools in the National Capital Region (NCR) that went through the Reading Enhancement training of Mondelez Philippines in collaboration with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP).
Seeing the need to reinforce the literacy and healthy lifestyle campaigns of the government, Mondelez Philippines (formerly Kraft Foods, Inc.) partnered with PBSP for the inception of Joy Schools in 2013. It aims to create joyful centers of learning and empower families to live healthy lifestyles. This is done by transforming schools with highest cases of wasted and severely wasted nutritional status of students into the top schools in their cities. The Php8-million grant from Mondelez also includes training on how to conduct feeding programs.
The five schools in this campaign are Bayanan Elementary School (main), Muntinlupa; P. Zamora Elementary School, Pasay; P. Manalo Elementary School,Pateros; Gen. Vicente Lim Elementary School, Manila; and Sampaloc Site II Elementary School, Parañaque; with the addition of Panalaron Elementary School in Tacloban this year.
Teaching for joy schools
While Daisog still has a long way to go in terms of helping her students in reading proficiency, she believes that slowly but surely, she will be able to accomplish her mission.
“Para sa akin, kapag nakita ko ‘yung mga pupils ko na marunong nang magbasa at pag nakapagtapos na sila. ‘Yun talaga masasabi ko na fulfilled ako. (For me, I will be fulfilled {as a teacher} when I see that my pupils are properly equipped with reading skills and when they finish their studies.),” said Daisog.
She credits her own improved skills in teaching to PBSP and Mondelez.
“Napakalaki ng naitulong ng PBSP at Mondelez. Sabi ko sa mga co-teachers ko, ‘We are the lucky ones dahil sa support na ibinigay nila sa amin. (PBSP and Mondelez helped us a lot. I told my co-teachers, ‘We are the lucky ones’ because of the support they gave us.),” she added.
Her passion for teaching has indeed paid off because until now Daisog continues to serve as an inspiration even to her former pupils.
“Thankful ako na ‘yung mga dati kong pupils, bumabalik sila para magpasalamat. Meron nga magpapatulong sa akin sa assignment. Natutuwa din naman ako kasi kilala pa rin nila ako kahit malaki na sila. Thankful din ako kasi naturuan ko sila magbasa nung bata pa sila. ‘Yun talaga ang pangarap ko para sa kanila. (I am also thankful that I still have former pupils who still come up to me to thank me for the help that I have given them. They sometimes even ask for my help with their assignments. I am happy they haven’t forgotten me. I am also thankful that I was able to teach them how to read when they were young. This was really my dream for them.), said Daisog.