Feature Article
5
NSTP – LTS: The Beauty of Sharing and Teaching Experience
by Garred Matthew Damaso
The Literacy Training Service (LTS) component of NSTP refers to the program component designed to train students to teach literacy and numeracy skill to school children, out-of-school youth and other segments of society in need of their service (NSTP Handbook, 2013). It entitles students the opportunity to teach and impart knowledge on other people, especially to those young children who came from poor families. In UST, students who enrolled in this NSTP component are required to take up online modules, answer online discussion boards, and read electronic documents through the university’s online student learning blackboard, the UST eLeAP (Electronic Learning Access Program). NSTP Activities like Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) drills, community walks, interviews, seminars, and inspirational talks happen in concurrence with the online activities during the first semester of the school year while the fieldworks and magazine projects take place during the second semester.
I chose LTS because teaching has been one of my passions ever since. When I enrolled for this course, I saw myself as someone who drafts lesson plans, creates exams, and tutoring a child like what I used to do here in our community. I used to play “schooling” with my neighbors inside our compound; hence, we create lessons and do quizzes out of the various textbooks that we have. During those times that I am in the public school, I am even getting those excess copies of exams from previous school years (that are going to be thrown anyway, and are already prepared to be thrown together with other excess papers) and use them during our “class discussions and exams” inside our neighborhood.
As I take my journey as a student of LTS, I realized a lot of things and had developed a greater love for my passion of teaching. Aside from this, I became the Academics Committee Head of the UST College of Science Mathematical Society, which offers math tutorials throughout the college. We create reviewers and do tutorial sessions every two Saturdays before the week prior to the major exams, free of charge, except if you want to have a personal tutorial session (different from the Saturday tutorial) with one of the tutors. This proved how my passion to teach and share knowledge with other people has grown throughout my sophomore years here in the university.
ne Saturday, one of my classmates asked me this question on Facebook for their NSTP Magazine: “Which NSTP–LTS activity (e.g. assessments, community walk, first aid training, fieldwork, etc.) do you find the most enjoyable to work on? Is it also the easiest to accomplish? If not, why?” At first, I was hesitant in answering the question
because I felt like it was just a question out of nothing or he was just asking about my experience in NSTP–LTS. I did not know that it was a question from their interview for their NSTP Magazine until he told me. I asked him why he chose me to answer it and he told me that it is because I am good in English. I found that answer somewhat a kind of enticement – he is really baiting me to answer his question! Since I think I can give a good response and I want to help his group, I just agreed to answer it.
His question made me really think and ponder about my thoughts regarding LTS. What did I really learn from LTS? Did I enjoy taking up the course? What valuable lesson did I learn from it? What activity did I put my best effort and why? What did it do to mold me as a student and my character? Did it affect me or what? Why is there a need to do online modules in LTS? Is it required to do a magazine for it? A lot of questions kept popping out of my mind. After five minutes of reflection, I started typing my answer. As I type it, a lot of thoughts kept coming out. I continued re-reading it, inserting and deleting various points until I become satisfied with it. Then, I gave my full answer after eighteen minutes have passed.
Here is my answer to his question: “I find the fieldwork the most enjoyable to work on since it fulfills my desire to teach and interact with children. Being able to hone the young minds of these kids, sharing the things that I know gives me a feeling of satisfaction and bliss. For me, having the opportunity to broaden the knowledge and skills of other people is a must, for it does not only benefit the one being helped but also the one sharing his own intellect as his social and emotional skills are being strengthened. On the contrary, I do not find it the easiest to accomplish since you need to do a lot of preparations before doing the work. You need to create a lesson plan, worksheets, and exercises in order to facilitate an organized teaching session. You also need to prepare yourself as you recall the things you have known, restudy those things that you have forgotten, and research as you discover greater things regarding the topics that you are going to teach. In the end, despite the stressful preparation, I know it is worth it for these kids will bring the knowledge I have imparted on them for the rest of their lives. Nothing is really hard, even the hardest things to do, if you will have the will and the desire to go on and finish it.”
After giving my response, I still carried on in examining myself. It may be funny to look at, but that question that I was reluctant at first to answer gave me the motivation to write this article and share my views and learnings to those who will read it. Having the LTS experience in my college has brought me to new dimensions in life and gave me deep realization regarding my passions and dreams. As I continue on my journey as a college student, I will also continue applying the things that I have learned, always remembering the experiences I had, making me a better person.