All of the lights have gone dark . Those whom we once looked to for wisdom and counsel are now like the students they teach . All are all powerless in the face of the pandemic which has rocked our ways of life , and yet they still never fail to instill the spark of hope that students need to keep on living . Although their presence may not be felt physically , their impact still ripples through the course of our very being . These people are our teachers and they will never give up on us .
Throughout these dark and troubled times , they have never failed in their duty to illuminate the paths before us with their fire . As steady as they may seem , they too have been troubled with woes and have become weary as well . Their hearts face a different crisis daily . Fear lurks within everyone , but they cannot falter because what they are fighting for is a righteous battle . Our teachers continue to teach not simply because it is their vocation , but because their hearts tell them to .
No one is exempt from the isolation and loneliness that we all feel right now . “ Parang
nakatali ,” said Coach Edcel Ronda , a Grade 11 PE teacher who has now spent two decades teaching in La Salle Green Hills ( LSGH ). He too has been no stranger to the feelings of depression that everyone has faced one way or another throughout this whole ordeal . Seeing his family and friends become sick has taken a toll on him , but he remains hopeful . In the past year , he has encountered losses financially , socially , and mentally . He was forced to sell his Grab units and had to change his normally active routine to one that fits within the confines of his own home . To keep his routine intact , he stayed busy by posting basketball trick shots on YouTube and even became a plantito . In his eyes , the best we can do right now is keep ourselves holistically healthy as one ’ s mental state is directly affected by how the body feels .
Everyone has faced their fair share of difficulties and challenges throughout the pandemic . No one could have gone through it alone without anyone supporting them . For all his efforts to teach his students , Mr . Noel Banawis , a Grade 9 Christian Living ( CL ) teacher in LSGH , feels that there is no true satisfaction in what he has done because he feels as if he could do more . This is the dilemma that a teacher faces today because their passion for teaching is unparalleled and they desire to do more for their students . After all the troubles Mr . Noel has faced , the most prominent feeling in his heart is that of gratitude . He expressed this sentiment “ I will still be there for everyone .” Even after the school year is over , he is more than willing to give back to all of those who helped him in his time of need , including students , colleagues , friends , and family .
Undoubtedly , the one thing that can help us go on is our mindset . No matter how bizarre the situation has become , the one thing that affects us the most is how we perceive the affairs unfolding before us . Before the pandemic , people would have scoffed at the prospect of spending an entire school year online , and although online teaching has had its share of limitations , Mr . Arvin Macahiya , the current Student Affairs Central Body ( SACB ) Moderator , admitted that he can now
handle more workload in this set-up . To sum up his sentiments , he shared this quote from Edutopia , “ As
teachers , we cannot demand normalcy if the set-up is abnormal .”
Everyone is left with no choice but to simply acknowledge and embrace the events that have transpired and continue on with the right mentality of acceptance and hope . Nonetheless , the face-to-face experience is still sorely missed as building relationships is integral to the teaching process . For Mr . Macahiya , the pandemic has caused him a lot of anxiety and fatigue , but he has also taken advantage of all the opportunities that have been presented to him at the same time . Lastly , he had this to say as words of encouragement for all of the people important to him “ Congratulations for making it this far ! We ’ ll get through this [ and ] I am just so really really excited to see you all again soon .”
We are all tired . We have all gone through so much , but let the stories of our teachers serve as a reminder that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel . We may not have reached the end yet , but we will . This journey has almost finished its course and we are all going to make it .
STORIES OF THE PEOPLE
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