EDUCATOR

I may have had pursued a different major in the University – Bachelor of Arts in Journalism – to hone my gift more than just basic writing, but I also have had experiences in teaching. I started out as an assistant to the teacher in DVBS. The next time around as a lead teacher and from that turned in as a Sunday school teacher for quite sometime.

A decade in the making – that’s how I developed my passion as an educator – which I would have not acquired without the help of every mentor along the way – especially venturing into the fragile heart, and mind, and world of every fragile being called “kid”.

When I pursued another path at Ebenezer College, minored in music – Piano and Choral Conducting, teaching was also inseparable. There, thankfully, was but tremendous journey learning and relearning becoming a confident teacher more than just a sound one.  

As far as I can tell, I took necessary units in the hope of becoming a teacher - from simple methods to complex ones; from olden to modern; from mediocrity to creativity; from a predictable principle to out of this world; from conservative to radical thinking; and the like – all these in the name of education. But more than all these units, each student was given equal opportunity to teach or “hands-on” which I preferred to call it in my time.

Thanks a million to such institution and to great mentors for sharing their batons. From these lives, each student has gained great confidence.

So, never ever raise your intimidating eyebrows if one day I’d profess to you that I am an educator.

Please, don’t!

Can’t believe I’m counting on my twentieth year in the service. It is, in case one asks. But, hey, I valued my call – and wasn’t just pretending. I say this one more time, never have I taken my class as a joke – whether I was teaching back home and here abroad.

“What do you do?”

One question if I had a choice wouldn’t ask. But I always get the inquisition, myself. I think it’s so unavoidable for as long as I’m here.

“I am an English teacher.”

And don’t get me wrong for my answer nor give me that frowned face because I really am a certified TESOL teacher. Fortunately, I didn’t take mine on a jet plane, but busted my butt on this. Sure enough, I’m no typical passenger who eventually turned in an English teacher as I got on board.

In respect to others, I also invested my resources, my time, and my health for the sake of the training – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – that I may be qualified to teach anywhere in Southeast Asia.

It was so intense (for it was an intensive training course, indeed), but had completed all the requirements one mind thinks so impossible to complete. Not to mention those sleepless nights, those load of works to do, those number of materials to make, those pressures and stresses due to constrained time , blah, blah, blah, but was worth an experience to recall. Thanks to God’s sufficient strength, wisdom, and grace so abounding.

By the way, I was just fortunate working with people who take TESOL seriously – we just didn’t teach, we also developed our strengths – we had constant TDP (or Teacher’s Development Program) – so we were able to guard our mistakes.

And so because of TESOL, we were able to organized English Clubs in the city for years. We were not only facilitators or lecturers organizers ourselves – we touched lives through this gift.

 

Last month, over dinner, my friends and I were talking about our teaching experiences. Then one acronym a way (TESOL), we stepped back in time to how our lives started out a ride that has changed us consequently becoming English teachers.

Undeniably, there were dramas and challenges so to speak, but there were good things to name in the differing side.

What shall I say then?

Thank God for this awesome opportunity engaging in a world of TESOL.

Hope you don’t roll your eyes on me this time since I’ve laid everything in the open. After all, no one makes a good living by rolling eyes on someone.

Distantly, I always wanted to teach outside my known world aside from cross-cultural immersion. That’s when I went to grad school and concentrated on Intercultural studies. But then I thought teaching was out of the question – it wasn’t in fact. We co-teach with our professors – it is called cohort – we learn and teach or vice versa.

So that’s how I dedicated my life as an educator even before the existence of TESOL. I had both actually. Hope I’ve confessed enough – more than enough to make it known – that I’m an educator – because I am.