Be a teacher/mother

Teaching is the noblest profession on Earth, they say. In no small way teachers’ skill, dedication, compassion and ingenuity keep students challenged and interested. Teachers nurture the young with joy of learning, helping them succeed in their journey to fulfill their dreams.

Three years of experience as one of special class Chinese teachers in the oldest Chinese school – the Davao Central High School – gave me the best opportunity to dig more deeply the unquenchable desire and legacy nobody can rob us of, that is, education. It is a continuing process for those who appreciate the good result and those who love the academe.

A month after I took over the class, inexperienced as I was, no idle moment made me retreat and surrender despite the challenges I faced – unmotivated, naughty, hard-headed and annoying students. In the course of those years, I can conclude that teaching Chinese will give one an edge, open one’s mind on how the language specifically Mandarin will become the most spoken language in the world. Although my specific lesson plan was to teach children of Filipino parents enrolled in the school, my primary task was to let them know and learn how to speak Amoy dialect which most overseas Chinese are using (it’s the mother tongue among us), to write the Chinese characters in its correct strokes, and sing Chinese songs and rhymes. Foremost is to spread the rich Chinese culture that until this very day continue to be amazing and a wonder.

The most uplifting session was the memorizing of the multiplication table religiously. Thus, Chinese kids are so good in Mathematics. My class was a mixture of students from Grades II to VI. In the process, the children would laugh at each other when they would speak the same words which are different in meanings and intonations.

Gone are the days and values that we were trained to speak and use the Amoy dialect in the household. Why I landed in this job was due to the encouragement of my late father, Bonifacio Romualdez from Dulag, Leyte. He used to exhort us to be teachers, but sad to note that he is no longer around to see/enjoy his dream.

Chinese teachers can be compared with the fish Lapu-Lapu, hard to get and expensive to buy. It’s quite a headache to scout for one. That’s why, many Chinese teachers from China and Taiwan are invited to teach.

It was an accident and there was a purpose why I was able to render three modest years. It was a time that the school was in dire need of a Chinese teacher. I realized that the payback of teaching goes far beyond a paycheck. My great gratitude to the institution and mentors who molded and trained my three children to what they have become, graduating on top of their class and passing the board exams with flying colors.

The beauty behind the four walls of the classroom is the contentment and fulfillment that you are able to inculcate, impart and nurture young minds on how to speak the dialect. I salute all the teachers who have spent several years of classroom service.

To satisfy the missing feeling of teaching, I’ve embarked on tutoring several children from five different schools, ranging from kinder to high school.

The most rewarding part of being a teacher once, is when you get to meet your former students, names whom you have forgotten, greeting and calling you Loashi/Siensi.

With head raised high, I can proudly say, “I’m a full pledged mother today and a devoted wife, yet a tutor for all season”.

(ROSALINDA QUE-ONG is a former Chinese Language teacher at the Davao Central High School, Sta. Ana Avenue, Davao City.)