“Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai said ‘Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world’”
GOING through an old university syllabus today which we wrote and updated as necessary for more than a decade, we immediately saw the image of Francisca teaching in separate years the old cartilla to her six sons prior to there being enrolled in the grade school in northern Philippines.
Then we saw Bernardo under the same roof teaching his seventh son how to write his name in longhand; grade school teachers Julia, Mariquita, Agustin, Serafina, Manuela, Vicenta, Eden and Zita; band leaders Feliciano, Honorio and Adriano; English teachers in Manila Paulino and Laureano, humanities professors Harmony and Ann Marie, guidance counselor Maria Rosa, journalism professor Ben as well as philosophy doyens Recaredo and Generoso.
They share a commonality: they are all teachers, and all but six gone beyond the hills or have since retired, as it were, but are among those always honored, if quietly, by their former students for their significant role in shaping individuals and society.
The erstwhile students have, with their individual stamps, gratitude for their teachers’ dedication and advocacy for their rights and status, the significance pretty much multifarious, encompassing appreciation for the knowledge and skills that teachers impart.
In separate years and sites, they inspired and demonstrated mentoring influence.
It’s not lost on us that today, when the world celebrates Teachers’ Day, there is a call to action to improve teaching conditions and encourage future generations to imprint indelibly in their systems the discipline and the proper templates for behavior.
These templates refer to the demonstration – either seen by others or not – of basic, universally accepted social values and proper behavior, encompassing etiquette and ethical conduct, to show respect for oneself and others in a community.
It involves acting with integrity, thoughtfulness, and consideration for others’ feelings and rights, fostering harmonious relationships and building a positive society.
Teachers’ Day, which has been celebrated since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
This year’s theme – “Recasting teaching as a collaborative profession” – highlights the inherent collective nature of teaching and emphasizes the importance of collaboration for educational transformation, better teacher support, and professional fulfillment.
Today is a significant time to express sincere thanks for the hard work, dedication, and transformative impact teachers have on students and communities.
Education experts and other academics say World Teachers’ Day acknowledges teachers are essential to the holistic development of children, fostering critical thinking, inspiring dreams, and helping build peaceful communities.
The celebration serves as a platform to highlight the professional status, rights, and working conditions of teachers worldwide, stemming from the UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
This day also fosters a culture of gratitude, aims to inspire new talent to pursue teaching careers and motivate existing educators by reinforcing the importance and value of their work.
Of course it should not be lost on education authorities that this day provides an opportunity to focus on and address the main challenges faced by teachers and educational systems, working toward equitable and quality education for all.
When all is said and done, teachers are the architects of the future, shaping leaders, scientists, and artists; thus celebrating them ensures their crucial role in shaping future generations is recognized and supported.
Beside the syllabus, yellowed by time, we found in clear cursive writing notes, excerpts from which we quote for brevity:
“I must pause from my news editing chores in a tension-filled laboratory of human character and remember, with enormous gratitude and affection, the first teacher I met – for there were many after her – who taught me the cartilla, a primer book when I was was still in pre-school years.
“The same woman who said in her own language (which we translate into English) ‘the things you effectively learn will give you light on your path, they will give you the right direction and will lead you off the cliffs of danger.’”
The writer added his mother and the other teachers in their closely knit clan “went through punctilious zones of preparing lesson plans, and prepared themselves properly before their pupils and students who looked up to them as role models.
“But for now, let me raise my cup of gratitude – as I always did 24/7 for 365 days every common year since my pre-school years – to these teachers, in the different levels of informal and formal schooling.”
He quoted the American lawyer and politician, Charles Bradford Henry, the 26th governor of Oklahoma, as saying “a good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.”
Somewhere in Asia…the youngest Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education who turned 28 last July 12, said “Let us remember: one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.”
In the Philippines, former DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones has said “no other profession deserves the highest form of gratitude and appreciation than teaching…a vocation, a passion and a calling. it is staying true to the arduous mission to improve the life of every Filipino child entrusted to the teacher’s care through the delivery of quality, accessible, relevant, and liberating basic education for all.”
