Thank you to great teachers

A teacher affects eternity; He can never tell where his influence stops.” Henry Adams

In a recent Teacher Quality Forum held last week, the final week of the National Teachers Month,  Javier A. Luque, World Bank senior education specialist said: “ ...consensus that education quality is one of the main predictors of long term growth...Great Teachers is a fundamental piece to achieve and maintain high educational systems...Teachers are the most important factor in the education process ( excluding families).” In his talk  ‘On the Quest for Great Teachers,’ he asked: “Are the best students interested in becoming teachers? It is not only  necessary to attract the best candidates, but to ensure that the best are selected to teach.”

It seems that we need to exert more effort to attract the best to become teachers in this country. The quality of our education is lagging behind many of our ASEAN neighbors. In the 2018 Times Higher Education - Reuters ranking of the top 1,250 universities in the world, only two Philippine universities were included – University of the Philippines and De La Salle University. In comparison, Thailand had 12 universities, Malaysia had 11, and Indonesia had four universities in the world rankings. Singapore also had two but one was No. 21 and the other one was in the top 100. 

In my lifetime, I have served in the highest levels of government, engaged in the corporate world as consultant and board chairman, and in media as a columnist. I also taught for two years in the business department and 22 years in the MBA program of De La Salle University.  I can sincerely state that it was teaching that was my most meaningful profession. In fact, I saw teaching as a vocation and not as a profession. I would have continued teaching beyond the 22 years if not for the fact that I had reached the mandatory age of retirement for teaching in La Salle. 

I do not remember ever consciously planning to be a teacher during my school years. But after I finished my college and graduate school, I started working; but, I decided to teach on a  part-time basis. I think that unconsciously or semi-consciously I have always been inspired by the great teachers that I was blessed to have in my life. 

During my grade school years in La Salle-Bacolod, I can still vividly remember Br. Gratian, FSC who taught Religion. During that time religion was so boring to a child because masses and services were in Latin. But he taught me the first Christian hymns which we sang aloud during class. I discovered that religion could be fun. Br Gratian had a winning way with kids. Later on he would leave the Brothers to become a secular priest and worked full time with the Boys’ Town in Negros Occidental. 

The Brothers who taught me were all Americans until my senior high school when I had my first Filipino Brother as a teacher – Br. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC. He had just taken his vows and La Salle-Bacolod was his first teaching assignment. He would later become president of De La Salle University. Today there is an Andrew Gonzalez Building in his honor.

He taught us Literature and his teaching style left a vivid imprint in my memory and imagination. He would read passages from novels in dramatic fashion and he never sat down during the whole class. He would stride back and forth on the platform in front of the class and he would gesture with his hands while reading. I would later realize that almost all the great teachers I had never sat down.  Brother Andrew always seemed like he was performing on stage while teaching. 

He also introduced theater to our school. I cannot remember the play but I can still recall we performed in the gym because our school did not have any theater at that time. The microphones broke down and our audience were not able to hear the dialogue. But this introduction to the stage and to plays was a great discovery for me. 

My college years were spent in La Salle College- Manila now known as De La Salle University. It was an all-boys school; and, all our teachers were males. There were several teachers that would always be memorable.

There was Sixto Sandejas, my Accounting teacher. He had a way of forcing us to prepare hard for his class or face his taunts during class. If you failed to give the correct answer, he would go to you and toss you a ten centavo coin – the jeepney fare at that time – and tell you to go back to the “province.” Dr. Aurelio Calderon taught Medieval History and he would also read out loud lessons in Greek history and mythology. He made the topic so fascinating that up to now I still have a collection of Greek and Roman historical books. 

Dr. Ariston Estrada was already a legend when he became my philosophy teacher. He was strictly a Thomistic philosopher. I had just discovered existentialist philosophy and I was into Sartre and Kierkegard. So I had some interesting debates with him. But he was a Great Teacher with a brilliant mind and a British accent.  He always came in a brown suit and gave frequent tests. I was very lucky that my first  encounter with economics was during my college years with two memorable professors – Dr. Bernardo Villegas and Fr. Piron. Both of them were demanding teachers; but, they spent time and effort to make economics come alive and not just be definitions and numbers. It was an example that I would try to replicate during my teaching years. I wish I had more space to write about other great teachers in my life like  Robert Lane (Western Civilization ), Br. Fidelis, FSC (Religion) and Dean Gabino Mendoza, my Marketing professor in AIM and my model when I had to teach case studies. 

I have had many good teachers who instilled knowledge and learning in me. I am very fortunate, however,  that I have had some teachers who also served as my inspiration for the rest of my life. To all of them – thank you for being my teacher. 

Creative writing classes for kids and teens

Young Writers’ Hangout on October 13 (1:30pm-3pm; stand-alone session) at Fully Booked BGC.  For details and registration,  email [email protected].

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Email: [email protected].