‘Tickle those taste buds’
Despite getting the biggest slice of the “budget cake” the Department of Education finds itself saddled with recurring problems related to over-enrolment, classroom shortage, lack of teachers, etc. every opening of the school year.
In a similar vein every teacher is expected to give each child the “best start in school” to enable that child to take that first important step up the learning ladder.
The key to successful teaching is to “tickle the taste buds” of pupils — with the teacher leading them into an adventure of delight; with lessons that will stir the mind, awaken the imagination and arouse new interests.
The teacher must believe that teaching is enjoyable. She has to assume the role of an advertising executive and proudly, even fiercely display her merchandise to enable the most blasé of consumers to take a bite?
A lesson will only be as good as the teacher wants it to be.
How inspiring indeed to watch a great teacher in front of her class. Fully aware of her power and magic inside the classroom she captivates, she motivates through the tone of her voice, a wave of her hand, a knowing glance, a smile, a nod, a tap on the shoulder.
In contrast are these unbelievable practices that stunt and impede pupils’ growth: forcing a pupil to swallow pencil shavings or chew a test paper with a low score, smacking a talkative pupil with an eraser full of chalk dust, pinching an ear until it bleeds, pulling down the underpants of good-looking boys “para makita kung binyag na”, branding a pupil as “gago” or “bobo” . . .
Seatwork exercises are given to strengthen or reinforce a skill taught and not to keep pupils busy. One time, while passing a room I overheard a girl, possibly the pupil leader ask “Ma’am tapos na po copy this, cop that naman?”
Looking back I am glad I became a teacher. I never wanted to be one; in fact I skipped one semester before giving in to the wishes of my mother, herself a teacher.
I could have missed a lot of life’s joys!
It takes faith, love, courage and common sense to touch the hearts of the young and reach out to children who have been ignored, abandoned, abused, to help them recognize their self worth; to lead them to discover their own talents and beliefs.
I miss the times I spent reading aloud stories to my Grade III class belonging to the last section. I gave my Grade V class in the star section opportunities to role play, to compose rhymes and poems and even set them to music. I utilized reading games and with the aid of cue cards and flash cards they climbed hills and mountains using prefixes and suffixes; crossed streams while jumping over synonyms and antonyms; picked fruits from a tree using root words. I eavesdropped on their never-ending tales of crushes. But my heart ached each time I failed to reach a pupil who was hurting.
Overworked and underpaid it takes the resourcefulness of a teacher to make her craft enjoyable and meaningful against these odds: handling more than 60 pupils in a class, doing regular substitution to offset the lack of teachers, using textbooks that need to be corrected for errors, pressure for high test scores, low quality tools and equipment which after initial use —trowels and pitch forks bend, hammer heads fall off, doing poll duties, etc.
It is sad to note that while government officials allocate part of their pork barrel funds for the construction/.repair/rehabilitation of school buildings much of these funds go to waste due to poor monitoring or lack of it. Several weeks after turning over the project: more leaks come from a newly-painted roof, replaced window panes cannot be opened, declogged, toilet facilities and drainage remain clogged, wooden beams that have been replaced are still full of termites, a portion of the perimeter fence collapses, etc. Sadder still is the reality that these projects are awarded to contractors who are either spouses or close relatives of the donors.
It is said that an open mind means a wide-open door to creativity. Most teachers view reform initiatives in a positive light. Many times, however the countless programs and projects introduced in a school reach only the launching stage complete with the usual photo opportunities. The teacher is then caught in a swirl of innovations without proper training, without the needed materials, and without any assurance of success in their implementation.
No amount of re-tooling, re-engineering or jump-starting can help the teacher if she is not willing to take a risk in the classroom — to make every child pass through that door that opens to a lifetime of learning.
(The writer is 70 years old, started teaching in 1958, retired in 2001 in the Division of City Schools,
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