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Teaching, ROI material?

(Conclusion)
By Ernesto T. Lumaoang

Defining dignity
Dignity in the profession?  What is dignity per se?  Dignity is an intrinsic personal attribute and is associated with honour, worthiness, respect and high regard of and for a person.

Unfortunately, dignity is, for the most part, earned or is not given away for the asking.  In the masteral course on Trends and Innovations in Education this past trimester at our NU School of Graduate Studies, I posed a question to my students with the end in view of eliciting their position as to whether or not they still consider the teaching profession as dignified.  The individual responses or positions I received are as varied as their own personal experiences or observations.  While some presented positions to the contrary, the final tally revealed that these contrary positions are the exceptions rather than the norm or rule—in other words, they are just trickles in a big bucket.  The preponderant stand affirms that yes, teaching is still a dignified profession.

How can we, teachers, maintain and sustain dignity in the profession?  Nothing can rival the idea of modelling.  Teachers, more than any other group of professionals, are held in very high esteem.  They are looked upon as role models, as exemplars of good behaviour, conduct and high standards of ethical and moral values.  This is a tall expectation from society and as I indicated earlier, teachers are humans and being such, have limitations, thereby making the expectation hard to fulfil or live up to.  This notwithstanding, the fact remains inalienable that no amount of preaching, lip-servicing or one-sided advocating can ever replace modelling. As they say, act what you preach.  There is no place for double standards here where the teacher will say do this or don’t do that and yet he himself is doing the exact opposite—in which case, his credibility is brought to full scrutiny.

Apropos to the maintenance of dignity, teachers play a pivotal role—that is the role or inherent responsibility of arming oneself with a high degree of pedagogical skills, knowledge and expertise. How is this achieved?  Through constant in-servicing, training or schooling.  After all, did not we not say education and educating is a continuous process or life-long learning?  Be abreast with innovations and trends.  Be open-minded.  Recognize that there is no such thing as permanent except change itself.  The global climate in education is changing.  Rather than live in isolation, be interested in how teachers here and elsewhere deliver education in the name of competitiveness where excellence is the end result.  We are talking here about teaching techniques, strategies, styles and methodologies that make the teaching-learning process fun, interesting and effective.  Resourcefulness and inventiveness define the respectable teacher.  Exhibit or manifest mastery and skill.  Let me be clear, though, by saying that teachers need not be the know-it-all professional.  But there is a big difference in being the best facilitator of learning in the classroom or any learning setting.  The skill for being one is a tall demand.

External “dignity vestors”
Then there is the responsibility of outside forces or other stakeholders in education to make sure we have teachers who are dignified and worthy of our respect.  And I am talking about our tertiary schools, particularly teacher-training schools.  The only way we can produce high-quality and excellent teachers is for teaching-training or normal schools to impose a stricter admission standards to guarantee we weed out misfit teachers before they put their feet into the classroom.  Stricter admission standards take the form of higher entrance academic average, above average psychological tests and aptitude tests, among others—just like what institutions in Canada and the U.S. are doing where they also limit enrolment in teacher-training schools.

Another stakeholder, in fact considered a major stakeholder in education and one which can considerably vest teachers of the dignity that is acutely necessary in the profession is the government.  How can the government put back the lustre and dignity in a noble calling like teaching?  By guaranteeing a respectable remuneration package of decent, liveable salary, benefits and other perks commensurate to the work that they do.  Wishful thinking you may say but it’s about time the government seriously consider this side of the equation—the equation of economics.

Teaching is ideal and noble, no doubt, but the government should be able to strike a happy balance between idealism and harsh reality.  Teachers need to survive after all; they have families to support and they are supposed to keep their dignity intact.  A study of compensation rates of teachers all over the world places teachers from the Philippines pitifully wallowing somewhere at the bottom part of the list.  Individually or collectively, we can do something by rallying our legislators and lawmakers. I am sure there are nice legislations and enactments already there or are in the drawing boards but let’s keep the teeth grinding and implement these.  Sometimes I am tempted to believe what a friend of mine told me—that dignity is wallet size.  Societal attitude and basis for respect seem to be securely anchored upon how well lined your pocket is.  Or to put it more succinctly, how fat one’s bank book is.

Teaching, ROI material?
Having said this, if you had taken or are contemplating to take up teaching as a profession and expect a substantial ROI, I am truly sorry to disappoint you and to tell you that you’ve chosen or are choosing the wrong career path.  Because teaching is some ROI and then some.  Then some translates into unqualified feeling of fulfilment touching and shaping lives and justifiable pride in imparting positive knowledge and enduring wisdom that keep on rolling and transferring from one generation to the next!

Teachers, you play a crucial role in the future of our country and the world.  As shapers of men and future leaders, I exhort you to continue to discharge your duties and role with missionary zeal and dedication.  As teachers, you will not be contented with what is or just the bare minimum.  You will work for what ought to be.  You will not despair even under spirit-crushing challenges and stresses which are familiar elements in this kind of work.  Rather, you will because you must possess the faith and determination that you can’t afford to lose in this profession called teaching.  This brings to the fore the one guiding principle espoused by the presentor: Believe in yourself; in your capability to turn failures into shining successes.  No, you will not be defeated.  As William Faulkner once solemnly declared, “Man will prevail.” “If,” countered Paul Tillich, “he has the courage to be.”  Teachers, may I ask you point-blank:  If you don’t have what it takes or the courage to be in this profession, why are you even here?


(Reaction Speech delivered during the Education Forum 2014 sponsored by the Vedasto J. Samonte School of Graduate Studies, Northwestern University, February 8, 2014 at the New Media Hall and organized as one of the major highlights of the institution’s 82nd Foundation Anniversary.)

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