During my school days, I had favorite teachers that stimulated, inspired, encouraged and guided me to become what I am now. To me, they were the best teachers I had in all of my school days. Truly, they were the paragons of good education in its truest essence. Surely, I shall always cherished their memories throughout my life.
In primary school, I had a teacher who was like a mother to me. Actually, she was a close relative of my father. She was my teacher in Grade 1, and she was so kind and loving to us. She would share her lunch with my brother and me, and she bought crayons, pencils and notebooks for us. She lauded my woks at school, and encouraged me to develop my inborn talent in arts. I learned from her to have self-esteem and self confidence.
During my Grade 2 year, she gave me a part for the closing ceremony – a long poem of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, “My Last Farewell” translated in our dialect. It was so long that I could barely memorize it. Thanks God, I was able to deliver it successfully. That was the best mental exercise that greatly developed my good memory throughout my school days from primary school up to college.
I had favorite teachers in the elementary school too. One of them was my teacher in Good Manners and Right Conduct. She was also a close relative of my father. She was a very good story teller of legends and myths. She taught Home Economics and Music too, and she had a very good voice. She was a strict disciplinarian, but loving and caring. When I did not have pencil, ball pens, or notebooks, she would send me to their family store and get from there.
When I was at Grade VI, I met an accident, and I was not able to regularly attend my classes for almost 4 months or so. She would send some food for me at home. She taught me how to be humble, and to be helpful and caring to my fellowmen. She taught me good virtues and moral values that guided me in my life.
My other favorite teacher in elementary school was my teacher in Math, Science and Social Studies. He was very intelligent, and fresh from his college studies. He associated with his pupils well, and he treated his pupils as his friends. He was the studious type who was very meticulous in facts. He taught very well, and his pupils understood his lessons.
Outside the class, he would invite us to their house to eat or play scrabble. His life of simplicity taught me to be honest and true in my dealings with all people, and to be content with what God has given me. His unpretentious mingling with the poor taught me to honor and respect the dignity of all people and treat them equally regardless of their social status.
In my high school year, I also had a favorite teacher. He was very strict – a stickler in fact that he was feared by all. But he was very intelligent – a genius. He was my teacher in English, and he was so precise and accurate in the usage of right words. He was a grammarian, and a very good writer. He was the best teacher I had in high school. I admire his intelligence, and moral rectitude and integrity. His memory was very sharp, retentive and photographic. He was a voracious reader.
In our class of forty or so, he assigned us to read a novel in the library for our term paper. You would not believe it – he knew if you copied it from the book, and he knew if it is not in the story. He knew all the books in the library, and the stories in those books, to be able to tell you who the characters are, and what they are in the story. And he meticulously read our reports one by one, sentence by sentence and word for word. He knew exactly which line is from which book in case you juggle up and create your own report. When the term paper is returned after being checked, you will see his numerous corrections in tenses, in word usage, in sentence construction, in paragraphing, in contents, and everything.
He was my coach who trained me for the Talent Unlimited contests which were held annually, and participated by representatives from various high schools in our province. I won the contest for 4 consecutive years, and I thanked him for the books he lent to me, and the guidance and support he gave me. I learned from him how to be precise and factual, how to be conscientious in my study, how to be confident, and above all how to be on time, rain or shine.
He was our ROTC commandant, and he punished late comers. He would guard the gates of the school compound, and those who would not pass by the gates are punished by letting them climbed back and pass over the high concrete wall where they entered the school premises. He is a small guy, but he shouts like a commander of the army. He was not only a stickler but a martinet too who was greatly feared by all. Most of my classmates had to “push up” many times whenever they are late. He does not accept alibis. To him, 5 a.m. is 5 a.m. – rain or shine! You must be on time no matter what. This is the best virtue I learned from him: to be punctual at all times whatever the condition.