The SPCB teacher in this article isnt this writers favorite, but is the one hes most familiar with. Obviously and better be! She is headed to her 91st year come September 11. She now prefers holding on to a companion while walking, but refuses a cane. She rarely cooks because shes so forgetful, but eats what she pleases. She bests younger ones in aerobics in the seniors center. But it was many and many a year ago, to use Edgar Allan Poes words in the poem Annabel Lee, a piece she taught, when she was far more energetic ... CLASSES WITH CLASS The education career of the author’s mother Miss Carmen Reyes was salutatorian of her high school batch. A pointer-stick distance later, she majored in English and minored in Physical Education (PE), magna cum laude, in the University of Santo Tomas (St. Thomas) or UST. She never made it to the graduation ceremony because she was offered a job pronto. She didn’t finish her masters in English when she got married, but her credits qualified her to handle high school and college. She was overheard by Dr. Ricarda Sian, UST Dean of Education then, wondering with a fellow graduate where to work. The dean summoned mama to her office. The official then directed her to Mindoro Island where the Society of Divine Word or SVD priests set up Divine Word College. The president, the German Rev. Bernard Roos, interviewed her in the Espiritu Santo (Holy Spirit) Church, Santa Cruz, Manila. Then off she sailed to Calapan, Occidental Mindoro, to teach college clusters. She stayed in Holy Spirit convent. Aside from her salary, the padre paid for her board and meals. The sisters owned a high school nearby and wanted her to join their faculty. Father Roos did not want her overloaded so thumbed it down. As in the other places later, she taught Spanish, English, PE, and Music (as an academic subject). She staffed the library, too. She could have had imparted piano lessons, too, if asked. Attending an alumni homecoming one September, she yearned to be in her childhood haunt. “I want to teach here,” she told the head, Sister Maria Oandasan, DC (Daughters of Charity or Hijas de Caridad in Spanish). The nun was her lay instructor before and immediately accepted her. Miss Reyes or Mrs. Guballa never flunked anyone. She was compassionate. If someone cannot hack it, he or she was given a special project. Far better, she opined, than the humiliation and expense of repeating another year. Thus, she deemed, does one earn dignity, hard work, and accomplishment. She never believed or administered corporal punishment although she was in the receiving end of ear-pulling as a pupil for roaming and giggling. Maybe she resolved not to repeat the treatment. When a student, for example, became too loud, she would simply stop what she was doing. If that didn’t work, the offender received that stony stare. It was always successful. She did not subscribe to classroom yelling, tongue-lashing, or scolding. She believed they were detrimental to competence and confidence. She talked seriously, softly, and succinctly to troublemakers one-on-one. She went for affirmation and self-help. When youngsters, despite honest efforts, simply cannot cut it, she ensured the individualized assignment demanded time and effort. Research, for example. Not to say she was a pushover. When unruly behavior arose, she would abruptly stop talking. She could gaze at the disruptor who caused it so salient silence submerged the class. She must have drawn these techniques from her American high-school English teacher Miss Mary Tormey who, with her sister, taught in the all-girls Colegio de Santa Isabel (Santa Isabel College today) when mom was a preteen. The mentor was there to teach English when the country was a colony of the United States. She was the prim and proper type complete with a hat and invariably wore white. A stereotype of sternness, slimness, and strictness. She drove herself to work and Mass in the chaotic streets. No question who was the boss. Schoolgirl Carmen once turned and looked down to check her stuff when she suddenly noticed that the room became tomb silent. Unblinking Miss Tormey was staring at her and asked, “Are you trying to stand on your head?” She likewise was Girl Scouts chief in Divine Word and in St. Paul’s. PE sessions also involved calisthenics. Games included volleyball, badminton, and dodge ball. She flourished in having lines of teens do American; European, not merely Spanish; and Filipino folk dancing. In Music, it was imparting how notes are read, etc., although she was a polished pianist herself. She concluded her teaching career at St. Paul’s College, in her hometown of Bocaue, Bulacan, Word got around about the school founded by the white-clad Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres (SPC), originally a French order. She was hired by robust principal Sister Marie Gonzague Makiling, SPC. Of her five kids, only Maria Teresita or Tess was her student since all four boys spent high school elsewhere. She was awarded Teacher of the Year by Sister Rosario Domitilla, SPC. When she left, Sister Maurice de Sacre Couer, SPC, was in command. She was on her way to becoming Dean of Students. Reread this article. There are two or three lessons for us. She teaches us still! 06132014—754p
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:22:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015