By Marivir R. Montebon
I always believe that teachers must be paid dearly as the basketball players of the NBA are. Their job of honing minds, hearts and character is in fact more valuable than winning a ball game. They teach people to deal with life itself, hence not much monetary reward could proximate the long-term value of teaching.
The standard of education in schools is dependent on the caliber of teachers they have. Teachers are like batteries, they bring real power to schools. They must therefore be given all the support to enrich their persons and profession so that they can usher in meaningful yet fun learning processes to students for them to become responsible and compassionate.
Unfortunately, however, societies all over the world do not remunerate and encourage teachers very well, making my crusade a lonely one. But I shall not grow tired in expressing my point whenever I can.
The seventh issue of OSM! gives focus on teaching, in the double feature of Jessica Garand, a young New York-based violist who just finished her Masters in Music at the prestigious Julliard School of the Lincoln Center. Jessica reaches out to young children who are musically-inclined but could not afford to study classical music through the viola.
We also feature Silvana Hermosa, who makes teaching seem like breathing for the past 30 years of her life. She has come a long way from the portals of the oldest Catholic girls school in the Philippines, the Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion, to two major education institutions in Singapore.
In the overall scheme of things (considering the dreadful diaspora of teachers from the Philippine educational system to other countries’), Ms. Hermosa takes heart by the fact that whoever has been her student would likely become skillful and insightful of life, whether the setting is in her home country or abroad, she has helped hone people to make the world a much better place to live in.
ALPHAY: Create balance in your life!
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