“Super” teachers

By Marifi Jara

The beginning of every semester, like this week, never fails to renew my enthusiasm for teaching.

Although I must say that I do not dream of teaching at the primary and secondary levels, not that I am actually qualified at this point having none of the requisite education and psychology units. I cannot even begin to imagine how tedious the daily preparation of lesson plans is, of having to constantly think up classroom gimmicks to keep the interest of young students with their very short attention span, and maintaining a very, very long string of patience.

That is why I salute our country’s elementary and high school teachers. Especially those in the public education system. In our rounds for the Campus Journalism Workshop, an extension program that started last semester, it became even more glaring to me how  difficult, pathetic even, the situation is for so many of our  public schools.

Some of them do not even have a computer unit to produce a basic school paper, much less a budget allocation to source outside help. My heart bleeds listening to the teachers’ frustrations, especially after seeing and feeling how keen they are to do that extra job of advancing journalism in the campuses as well as winning in the annual Presscon competition.

And the government is talking about a P26.4-billion Cyber Education Project? The basic idea here is to link about 90% of the elementary and secondary schools in the country and have a “super” teacher who will be beamed simultaneously through the nationwide network.

I’m not sure what they mean exactly by a “super” teacher except for being supposedly an “expert” in the subject that will be discussed. But doesn’t having 50, sometimes even more, students in a dilapidated classroom with limited teaching tools require ‘super’ powers? And that’s what majority of our teachers have to deal with everyday. Given better conditions and more funding for further training, I believe every teacher now can be “super” in an expert-sense.

Am glad the CEP has been shelved following the controversy over the ZTE deal.

I can’t quite fathom how DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus could say that CEP is the “best thing to happen to Philippine education” even when he himself recognizes that our major education problems are down to the very basics of decent classrooms and school grounds, updated and accurate textbooks for each student, and enough well-compensated and motivated teachers.

Which brings me to another thought. It pains me how our government can dilly-dally in releasing the honoraria of teachers who served during the October 29 election. It wasn’t the first time that it happened and I bet it won’t be the last neither.

I don’t know how effective the move is of our provincial election officers of personally knocking at the doors of the Comelec officials at the headquarters last week, but the effort definitely deserves a long round of applause.

Our teachers are ill-compensated enough for their daily grind. Requiring them to undertake extra duties such as serving during election more than deserves the prompt   payment of their allowances. That’s the very least that the national government can do to honor them.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/roots/
Readers may reach columnist at marifijara@gmail.com . For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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