Special Program in the Arts
Personal Experience as a Student Teacher
Ejay F. Barcinilla
“Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” ~ Nikos Kazantzakis
TEACHING PROFESSION,
MY PASSION
“Good teachers share one special quality. Good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. It’s about caring for your craft, having a passion for it, and conveying that passion to everyone, most importantly to your students.”
- Prof. Richard Leblanc (York University, Ontario)
Teaching is a challenging profession as it requires long hours of work and preparation. Moreover, it necessitates skill in planning and skill in the classroom. It was a fine day when our mother institution, our University, had finally thought and decided that it was the rightest time for us to be sent out to our cooperating school for us to practice our craft in teaching... to link the theory and principles we learned and had in the past three years to the actual school setting. It was on the 24th day of November, 2014 when I first set off my foot at the ground of my cooperating school.
Initially, I was being assigned to teach at San Rafael National High School, a big and really a performing school somewhere in Tigaon, Camarines Sur. But in the later part, it was still the decision of our Dean, Dr. Gloria B. Osea, that was ruled out, that I together with new fellow student teachers, will be assigned into another big and perhaps a SPA school in the province – Justo V. imperial Memorial High School (every so often known as Baao National High School Annex Campus). I really felt that I'm really a teacher! I was with two superb language teachers, Jeff and Dan, and Jon-jon, a Filipino linguist. There, I was also with Dennis, a math enthusiast and Cherry, a science geek. And I, Ejay, was known for being an IT expert! Our first week of cruising the wide and briny ocean sailed so smoothly.
There came when Dennis was being subjected to a circumstance that turned out to be the reason for him to be sent back to our mother institution. Auspiciously, on the other hand, Jessica, another witty English student teacher from the Main Campus of the same school was being transferred in the Annex Campus. Our team stood so strong and high!
My first day in that school went so fun and droll, and for me turned to be an epic fail yet full of learning. First and foremost, when I, together with my co-student teachers, were all completely set in the school to look for the principal and present the official communication and endorsement letters and other documents to her, and alas, just to find out that she was at the Main Campus. By then, we decided to ride on a tricycle again and fetched back going there. More or less, it's just a hundred meters away from the Annex Campus. Upon our arrival, a regional conference was being conducted there. Everbody seemed so busy. I am quite disappointed. What's more, it was the first day of our deployment when teachers there had mistaken us for a student. Since we were wearing the blushy rose pink uniform during that day and that seemed to be like the uniform of the students there, they thought we are really their students! The scenario looked like a crowded public market. People were really in a wanton mode because the DepEd Regional Director as well as the schools division superintendents from different provinces of the region together with the district supervisors were coming together. We just neglected it and thought that anyway to mistake someone for somebody else is no big deal.
There we were found being ordered to help for the preparation of the venue, the foods and many others. It's okay to help, but being ordered to fetch liters of water, bundles of glass and other utensils as well as the foods up-and-down the stairs from the third floor to the base for twenty times and above, is no joke and is really a tough one! My legs were really shaking. But then again, we thought that it was the perfect timing to show off what we've got. Magpakitang gilas, not magpakitang-tao!
After the affair, that was the time when they finally realized it was the day that the student teachers from CBSUA were being deployed. They examined us and wondered why was that our polo has pleated stitch. "Oh, poor student teachers of ours," they told. After the strenuous and very exhausting day of making a back-and-forth errands, finally they have recognized us!
On the next day, we are told to report in the Annex Campus, our official school of deployment, for us to meet out cooperating teachers and to be familiarized with the school surroundings. I was assigned to a very generous and passionate teacher, Mr. Rhoderick Bigueja. He is an artist. He teaches media arts and other ICT-related subjects. I was given loads to teach SPA students --- Grades 7, 8 and 9 as well as the 4th Year.
Many days and weeks have come and passed. Each teacher can recount numerous highs and lows in his or her teaching career. Personally, having been assigned in Justo V. Imperial Memorial High School, I experienced many great moments while having my off-campus teaching. These were days when I ended so happy and enthusiastic that I knew I had selected the right course, perhaps the right profession yet to come. On the other hand, I had days where I definitely questioned teaching as a career. These were days where the students seemed uninterested, too talkative, or even worse a blow up occurred and nothing got accomplished. Thankfully the average combined with the positive days outshine my negative days.
Through my almost three months of stay at the "Annex", one event stands above the rest as my absolute best teaching experience. My heart was filled of bliss and the excitement is really extraordinary when I was tasked by my cooperating teacher to assist him to coach students for a competition. I once became a coach in division and regional contest events. Participating in the STEP Skills and Regional Bicol Patiribayan are few from the list. I was also the one who made the tarpaulins used in the Patiribayan, BADISTEA and many more. Through these experiences I learned so much about teaching and dealing with my students. My hope is that the students involved were at least partially changed for the better from the experience as I was. I also hope that there is something in this story that can help inform and inspire other students who also aspire to become a teacher-educator, a Prometheus of Light. All my learning become genuine and worthwhile.
What Went Right and What Went Wrong
Over and done with my experiences in the actual field of teaching, I had learned that teaching is a process of facilitating the learning among our students. There is a need for us to demonstrate good teaching in the classroom. Good teaching is not only motivating students to learn, but teaching them how to learn, in a manner that is relevant, meaningful and memorable. It is about bridging the gap between theory and practice. It is also about listening, questioning, being responsive, and remembering that each student and class is different.
Sir Dhick, my cooperating teacher once said that good teaching is about not always having a fixed agenda and being rigid, but being flexible, and having the confidence to react and to adjust to changing circumstances. He also told me that good teaching is entertaining. Effective teachers work the room and every student in it. It is about humor. It’s about being self-deprecating and not taking yourself too seriously.
I learned that teaching is about caring, nurturing, and developing minds and talents. It’s about devoting time, often to every student. Most especially, teaching is about having fun, experiencing pleasure and intrinsic rewards despite of the many fatiguing and energy-draining activities not only in the school but also at home. Also during my stay in the same school, I had witnessed, and it is true, that good teachers practice their craft not for the money or because they have to, but because they truly enjoy it and because they want to.
Learning more, teaching others, riding the good times, fighting off the bad times, having the most from possible while doing all the above. We’re all teachers. Whether we realize it or not, every single one of us is a teacher in some capacity. We teach ourselves and we teach each other. We teach our colleagues, our teachers or even our principal. We teach our siblings and our parents. We teach our acquaintances, our friends and we even teach our enemies. Throughout the course of our lives we never stop learning or teaching. Through the universality of teaching we understand its importance and can easily tell when it’s done well… when it’s not.
I believe in what Lisa Wells had posted on her blog, and I quote, "When we talk about our students, teaching has to be done well. It has to be done exceptionally well by great teachers. While we are all teachers in some capacity, very few of us are great teachers. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Every single one of us, with the right motivation, education and knowledge can be a great teacher. We are a teacher. We can become a great teacher!"
My short stay in the "Annex" will definitely help me to become really not only a good teacher but also a great one! I will always treasure and bring with me the genuine experiences I had in "Annex". My sincerest gratitude to my cooperating teacher, Sir Dhick, my SPA students, Mrs. Salvacion B. Asis, the school head, teachers and the entire community of Justo V. Imperial Memorial High School. Credits shall also be given to my University, especially to the College of Development Education, for making me the person I am now. My heartfelt thanks also to Prof. Charlie P. Nacario, our supervising professor in Off-Campus Teaching, for his continuous support and aspirations.
Finally, I want to end up this article with a thought to ponder: Those who appear in our lives, whether to help or to harm are all given by God. We should meet them with a kinder heart, but with a warrior's spirit. We will fail many times. But in failing, we will learn, and in learning we will find our ways. There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. And lessons will keep on repeating themselves until learned.
EJAY F. BARCINILLA
Student Teacher
Continuation...