I Remember my Teachers Today

October 5, 2009

Today, Oct 5th, is World Teachers' Day. This year's theme is "building the future." I believe that a teacher can do this.

The key to comprehension lies on the teacher. A teacher can actually make or break a student. A good teacher can make difficult subjects easy. A bad one, can cripple a student's life for life.

I believe that teachers have a general impact on a man's life. That is why it's important we choose our teachers well.

According to their website:

5 October is a day to celebrate teachers and the central role they play in guiding children, youths & adults through the life-long learning process. This year, World Teachers’ Day will focus on the role of teachers within the context of the global financial and economic crisis and the need to invest in teachers now as a means to secure post-crisis regeneration.

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I have high respect for teachers. My grandparents were teachers, and so were their parents before them. My husband comes from a family of teachers, too. He was born with a family of teachers.

What I observe of families with parents as teachers is that their children grow to be successful and responsible. I've seen this in my family and in Wizheart's.

Which brings me to recall my favorite teachers, and those that have helped shaped me.

1. my Lola Petra. She was my paternal grandmother. I remember, she was teaching Grade 3 and I was two or three years old then. She would take me to her classes to sit in. She would even ask me to do their exercises as well. This is probably why I loved playing a teacher when I was in Grade 3. I had imaginary students, of course! :D
2. Baliling, my first teacher. From her I learned not only academics, but also about life.
   
3. Miss Gardenia, my kinder teacher. I remember her to be always happy and gay when teaching us. I loved going to school because of her.
4. I cannot forget Mrs. Fernandez, my Grade 2 teacher. She was a good teacher but I dreaded going to her class because of her heart ailment. She would often complain about chest pains, and would rest a while in between lessons. As a child, who would want to see a person possibly die before your eyes.
5. Mrs. Cañizares, my Grade 5&6 English (and Penmanship) teacher. She was beautiful and good. I cannot forget her bedimpled smile. I learned from her the virtue of being happy, too.
6. Mrs. Labao, my Grade 5&6 Reading/Language teacher. She was strict yet gentle. From her I learned that grades or academics are not everything. You have to be good in extra-curricular activities, too.
7. Bro. Bob Baldwin, our grade school principal. He didn't teach, but every time he interacted with us, he was always gentle and firm. He would never embarrass a person in front of everybody. I learned from him that talking is the best thing to solve a problem.
8. Mrs. Ymbong, my Biology teacher. She could never pronounce my name Merdekah correctly. She had been calling me Merdikah, even after I graduated college. I'm pretty sure, she would still call me Merdikah if we ever see each other again now.
9. Mr. Sarmiento, my Chemistry teacher. With him, chemistry was hilarious!
10. Miss Fagela, my high school English teacher. She was only a visiting professor from La Salle Greenhills, and I think, stayed for only a good three months, but from her I learned to write with vivid language, and think of concrete actions.
11. Bro. Andrew Jacobsen, my Algebra/Trigonometry teacher. What I liked about Bro. Andrew was that there were few rules. Formulae were displayed all over the classroom, and he was very generous about what he knows, his techniques, and even offers tutorial classes for free. You just have to do what he wants you to do, otherwise...
12. Miss Rama, my Shakespeare teacher. We called her Mrs. Shakespeare. She knows everything about Shakespeare and understands him really well! :D I learned not to steal the thunder from the other person. My time to shine will come.
13. Mrs. Lilia Realubit, my Stylistics teacher. She believed in me, that's why I succeeded.

To all of you, my dear teachers, THANK YOU! :)

Do you still remember your good teachers? Why don't you thank them now?