Editor's Note: Lina Gabata has written the following story about her experience as a 44 year teacher in a 3rd World country. I have found her experience and insights fascinating and look forward to publishing future stories.
Have
you ever had a glimpse of what is life in the 3rd World Economic Country? Can
you imagine how poverty envelops most families there?
Allow
me first to tell you about it and the hope we as Filipino people share in
education of our children.
A Philippine
Folk Song acknowledges that Planting Rice is Never Fun. I say
this to stir your imagination on the hardships that farmers undergo to produce
the food we serve on the table in our island country:
Planting rice is never fun
Bend from morn ‘till the set of sun
Cannot stand and cannot sit
Cannot rest for a little bit . . .
https://filipinofolksongsatbp.blogspot.com/2011/01/filipino-folk-song-rice-planting-lyrics.html
For
people living in a First World economic country, readers of Mr. Liston’s blog may
find it difficult to picture our Third World hardships. Google has reference to
this Philippine folk song illustrated in pictures. A visit there will help
readers realize the difficulties farmers experience in producing the food we
eat. Rice is a staple food in our culture.
My
point is this: Rice will not grow without our human touch. Farmers must wade
in muddy fields, bending to plant through the entire day. After planting,
farmers must spend most of their times under the heat of the sun to weed and
protect the plants from pests until the grains can go through the growing and ripening
process before harvest.
My own
family members are mostly hands-on farmers. Nobody among us is exempted from
working the farm.
It was
this life of hardship that motivated me as a young woman to pursue higher
education. I promised myself that I will make a difference in my life by making
a difference in other’s lives. I determined I will go back to the farm not as a
laborer--who tools in the muddy fields, plants seeds, and becomes sunburned
under the heat of the sun all the days of my life. I aspired to impact future
generations!
Gaining
higher education is not easy for poor Filipinos. It takes cooperation between
parents and children. Children must value every cent their parents spend in
sending them to school. Children also must be patient, diligent and persevering
in walking the sometimes long distances to reach school and return home after a
day of learning.
As a
child during my primary years, I walked a kilometre through tall grasses to
reach my school. Learning occurred over a whole day session; I brought my lunch
of rice and dried fish. I relied on the fruits I picked from trees along my way
for snacks.
After
my primary years I left my family in the village and went to stay with my
grandparents in another town at age 12 to continue my secondary program. There
were no public high schools so I enrolled in a private school managed by Catholic
nuns. There I had to wake up so early, and walk three kilometres to school and return
the same distance in the afternoon. We had no means of transportation; we relied
on the strength of our feet to bring us to school and back home. After four
years, I successfully graduated from high school, in 1966 at age 16.
This
was the deciding moment for what career to seek. I wanted to be a pharmacist
but poverty hindered my ambition because my parents can only afford to spend
for a teaching course. I did not complain because I knew this will liberate me
from hardships of a farm life. I never forgot a promise I made to myself that I
will make a difference in my life. That I will go home as a professional
teacher!
Career
Choices Determined My Future
I
enrolled in college at one of the prestigious schools run by the Jesuits in
1966. It was my first time to set my feet in the city. I was so naive of the
city life! I had a terrible culture shock in my new environment. I had to cope with
any circumstance to fulfill my dreams. I never lost confidence on myself. I
stayed firm in meeting the standard.
I took
up teaching Mathematics because I wanted to be competitive in finding a job
after graduation. Mathematics is the doorway to business and technology. After
four more years of study, in 1970 I finally graduated with a Bachelor of
Science degree in Education (BSE) majoring in Mathematics from Ateneo De Davao
University, Davao City, Philippines. I was proud I finally made it! My parents
were proud of me, too!
Later
I gained my Master’s Degree in Education from University of Caloocan City,
Manila
But
that was only the beginning. As a new teacher I had many things yet to learn in
my craft. Over the past four decades as a teacher I never stopped learning new
things every day. This was not the same as doing the same task over and over in
muddy fields. This required preparation, presentation, classroom management,
fair assignments and appropriate grades for my students. I wanted to provide
lifelong skills for students facing a Third World Economy and strong man
government.
Being
a teacher has made a tremendous difference in my life, which I hope to share
with readers of this blog in future columns.
My
favorite saying is: If you aim high, you will not give failure a chance.
