Paying tribute to teachers
Next Monday, Oct. 5, is World Teachers Day, the one day that those of us lucky enough to have received an education should sit back and reminisce about our pet teacher. The one who touched our life deeply. The one whom we consider a primary influence, who molded us into who we are today. The following are first-person accounts of grateful students who salute you in advance.
‘My Man, JC’ by Monet Quiogue
“She introduced me to exciting men like Julius Caesar, shared secrets of seduction about Cleopatra and the carpet. She whispered secrets about Alexander and told tales of Charlemagne’s adventures. And she made all the old stories sound exciting because she didn’t lecture. She made you feel like she was sharing little-known tidbits, (and a bit of gossip) about other friends. She made you want to listen, pay attention and yes, do well in class. She was Miss Ramos, my first-year high school History teacher. And she made me fall in love with the past, long into the future.”
‘Thanks, Coach!’ by Jev Ramos
“Richard Croghan was my track and field coach and English teacher at Ateneo High School. As a coach, he encouraged hard work and dedication. Natural talent was nothing if one didn’t push himself to attain his personal best. As a teacher, he was just as exacting, assigning extensive reading lists and administering tough quizzes that entailed a thorough understanding and appreciation of the books we read. Under his coaching and tutelage, I learned to interchange the principles instilled at the track with those learned in the classroom. It was cool to be a jock and a nerd.”
‘Dear Miss Dolores’ by Sam Pasamba
“She ushered me towards a line of strangers in shorts and skirts giggling about something. Her instructions were curt: ‘Arms forward. No talking!’ Miss Dolores was the scariest teacher in Grade One Religion. Sometimes I wondered if God was on her side.
“After we greet her in melodic unison in class, ‘Goooood mooorning, Miss Doloooores!’ she would start her magic … Bible stories.
“Miss Dolores was a divine storyteller. I knew which side of the sky God was hiding behind when He scolded Adam and Eve. I felt Noah was seasick, loudly throwing up in his ark for days and days. Miss Dolores could be an elephant, a tree, a beggar, a soldier, a rainbow. Our eyes and mouths were wide open all the time.
“On my first day, Miss Dolores ushered me towards a line of giggling strangers. The laughter must have been about a Bible story they heard the day before.”
‘The Brain Mover’ by Rocky Tirona
“She was tough, and you always had to be prepared. If you hadn’t done your reading, you could be quite embarrassed in her class. Even if you had done your reading, you could still feel quite small and unworthy. But at the end of each Psychology class that Prof. Mita Jimenez taught, you left feeling like your brain had been to another place — where ideas ruled, where rigorous, critical thinking was all that mattered, and where your adolescent concerns were not important. After just an hour and a half, you actually left her class feeling smarter than when you entered. I ended up enrolling in three of her classes throughout college. If she had taught more classes, I would have signed up for even more.”
‘Teacher Bess’ by Ej Nitura-Dimaano
“She’d look at my test papers and smile knowingly. ‘Nakatulong ba review natin?’ (‘Did our review help?’) This was rhetorical, of course, so I’d just return her smile and dive into the next day’s lessons and a big bag of chips.
“I never felt like a prisoner in those afternoons when, after school, I’d pick up textbooks instead of pocketbooks. It was in a large part because of Teacher Bess.
“Teacher Bess is my aunt. She used to teach elementary kids and lovingly extended her passion and patience to me. She instilled in me a love for learning that has carried me through comparative vertebrate anatomy, and yes, hopefully through life.
“She now lives in the US.”
‘Florante’s Erotica’ by Ompong Remigio
“When I was still a student, Pilipino was a subject associated with droning, colorless teachers. They happened to be unmarried, unattached, or if they were married, uninspired. When they walked into the classroom, yawns chorused from the equally bland students. Somehow, the entire world paled and went on mute for an hour of Balarila or Panitikan.
“Until Miss Alday came along. She looked monochrome but when she lectured, the words danced for me. And Florante at Laura became sinful as the quatrains colored with a tinge of porn.
“She mouthed the verses with eyes closed, like she was in rapture. Though her voice stayed steady and serene, she relished the words like they were laced with cream.
“I found myself open-mouthed and wanting of a bite. That started my love for the language. Writing made me hear the words dance in sensuous rhythm. And having the flavor of deep kisses, warm skin and wanting bodies.
“Thank you, Miss Alday. It was Panitikan for you, but Passion 101 for me.”
‘My Favorite Nestle’ by Marl Villapando
“He had white hair and glasses. Had he been 20 pounds heavier and rounder, and had lots more hair, he could have put on the red suit every Christmas and gone ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ He looked like a benevolent grandfather, and he was, indeed, very kind. During quizzes, he would sing softly to himself as he walked around the classroom. That’s how he proctored exams. But the reason I remember Mr. Nestle with utmost fondness was that he was a teacher who made learning easy and enjoyable. I looked forward to algebra class! I believe that if everyone started his or her math education with a teacher like Mr. Nestle, we’d have less people who are so afraid of it.”
‘Thank You, Teacher Bing’ by Noel Orosa
“A few years ago, I decided to take a scriptwriting course from Armando “Bing” Lao. To those who follow Philippine cinema he is the most under-appreciated master of the field. Among his masterpieces are Itanong Mo sa Buwan, Takaw Tukso, Serbis and his most recent success, Kinatay, which won for Brillante ‘Dante’ Mendoza the Philippines’ first Cannes Film Festival Best Director trophy. Award-winning directors Dante Mendoza, Mark Meily, Socky Fernandez, and Jeffrey Jeturian were some of my classmates. Among the exercises he gave us, what sticks with me the most is character research. Sticking to a real-life character in the screenplay and finding out everything about him. I chose a cab driver who was disinherited by his rich parents for marrying a woman from the wrong side of the riles. Before I met him I had already plotted out his cinematic life for him. After I met him I knew I could never look at screenwriting and life itself in the same way. Though I’ve always known this lesson in my head, it’s different when you start learning it from the heart.”
‘My Teacher for Life’ by Mel Orlina
“I met my favorite teacher 10 years ago, when I was 21. He taught me how to invest. He told me that the best and most profitable asset worth investing in is myself. He taught me basic math. The shops will never run out of pretty things to buy. I, however, will run out of money. He taught me physiology. No matter how thin I am, my gut will still show when I’m seated. With a curriculum of Friends reruns, NBA games, crab dinners, cheap wine nights, Sunday ’silog brunches, and so much more, who can blame me if I never want to graduate? My teacher is the best. I’m so lucky I married him.”
‘A Shakespearean in Robes’ by Boboy Consunji
“A Salesian priest from Ireland opened up new worlds beyond Don Bosco and Pampanga. Before Fr. Christopher Kennedy came along, we thought the world was all about football and prayer.
“Fr. Chris, our high school English teacher in the ’70s, introduced us to Yeats, Shaw, Byron, Shelley, Galsworthy, Wordsworth. What I enjoyed most was Shakespeare. Fr. Chris knew that Shakespeare would be inaccessible to a class of vocabulary-challenged Kapampangans. So he taught Hamlet and Macbeth through the Royal Shakespeare Company, on vinyl. We read soliloquies along with Laurence Olivier and company. It was magical to be transported to the castles of Scotland and Denmark. Reading English literature was a deeper religious experience for me then.”
To our wonderful teachers, thank you.
* * *
Contact the author. E-mail ms.comfeedback@gmail.com.
