Why is a Filipino teacher the noblest of all?

Teaching is the noblest profession, so they say and I agree not only because I am a teacher but because I have witnessed each of my fellows sacrifices as they fulfill their duties and responsibilities as teachers.

This article will enumerate points why is a Filipino teacher the noblest of all.

1.      Teachers earnestly do their job despite the low salary. Filipino teachers do not get the amount of salary that they deserve. Truth is, teaching profession per se is not included in the top ten high paying jobs list in the Philippines yet teachers still work and do their best for the students’ education.

2.      Teachers do extend hours in school for them to finish a plan for the next day,  to check papers, to accomplish extra assignments given by the principal and others. According to R.A. 4670, Article III, Sec. 13  “Any teacher engaged in actual classroom instruction shall not be required to render more than six hours of actual classroom teaching a day, which shall be so scheduled as to give him time for the preparation and correction of exercises and other work incidental to his normal teaching duties: Provided,however, That where the exigencies of the service so require, any teacher may be required to render more than six hours but not exceeding eight hours of actual classroom teaching a day upon payment of additional compensation at the same rate as his regular remuneration plus at least twenty-five per cent of his basic pay.” This is what the law says but this is not applied in every institution especially in private schools considering that private institutions make their own rules. Despite that, teachers stay in school beyond their working hours to prepare everything for the next day without demanding for an overtime pay.

3.      Teachers provide materials which are not made available by the institution. This explains why they have the biggest of bags and sometimes even bring more than one bag to school. In remote places of Mindoro, Palawan, Ilocos, Pangasinan and others, teachers use their own money for the provision of students’ learning materials.

4.      Teachers give their students food especially those who are in public schools. Students whose parents are incapable of providing them food are catered by teachers their very own food. I myself experienced this when I was teaching in a public school.

5.      Teachers take the place of those parents who work abroad whether the former like it or not. Students whose parents are OFWs seek their teachers’ attention, thus, they are found confiding with their teachers most of the time. Hence, the teacher automatically becomes the student’s counselor. For some, it even comes to a point that a student trusts his teacher more than his parents.

6.      Teachers fearlessly attend to their duties during local and national elections. It is they who confront dishonest voters and unscrupulous politicians, who suffer hunger should food for them are given late, who stay awake until ballot boxes are accounted for, above all, who patiently wait for the compensation which when given is usually not the same amount as promised by the authority.

7.      Teachers from public schools gather and participate in parades organized by public officials during the Independence Day, Labor Day and others. They are not compensated for such occasions yet they come and willingly walk from a certain point to another.

8.      Teachers affect their students’ life deeply. Most students remember their teachers’ instructions rather than their parents’. There are even some who take college courses due to their teachers’ influence. Others who used to be slow learners, bullies, bad influences among their peers become successful individuals because they were given attention and were guided well by their teachers.

Filipino teachers do not only teach. They are the students’ friends, providers, counselors, second parents and others. They are the government’s dauntless assistants and front liners, and for those parents who cannot attend school programs and those who come late on  commencement exercises, teachers are the greatest substitutes. Hence, they are the noblest of all professionals.