Our Day As Parent-Teachers To Young Jesuits

That Friday, we were very early in school, because hubby and I were both excited and curious about our special day as parent-teachers to our son's class. Several students out of 35 boys and girls in Jake's section were already in the classroom as well.

I could tell the students want to come in early so they could get extra time to play with their pet "kisses" stored in water bottles...

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... or drop to the floor on their hands and knees to play "dampa" with popsicle sticks...

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Hmm, no wonder Jake's hands and pants are grimy everyday. LOL

The bell rang and everyone scampered to their respective places amazingly without tripping over the big roller bags in between chairs. Geez, these bags were little suitcases!

Led by the prayer leader, the class recited their morning prayer, sang the Pambansang Awit, recited the Panatang Makabayan and Hearter's Creed. Then the adviser warmly introduced hubby and I to the class. We were greeted with a resounding "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. R! Let us do more and be more in the spirit of Magis!" Hihi. Such energy!

I wrote on the board the pages they were supposed to answer in their CLF Book. The students were also instructed to write in their notebook, a prayer in not less than 5 sentences. Hubby suggested that we call for volunteers to read their prayers to the class and several were eagerly raising their hands to be called. This class is active.

An hour later, it was time for Math and for the class to answer the activity paper I distributed. The room became silent again as they began to solve the equations with some of them counting their fingers. Cute.

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And then came the most awaited time... Just look at their faces after I said it was time for recess. Haha! Most of them didn't go to the canteen. Instead, they played with their pet "kisses" and popsicle sticks again.

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More seatwork and activities followed after recess and lunch. And hubby handled the Chinese subject, thankyouverymuch! One thing I noticed, the students were assertive and didn't hesitate in clarifying directions or giving other possible answers when we checked their seatwork. If I weren't quite familiar with the lessons, I would have been flustered...easily.

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projecting a serious look in front of the class

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hubby, the other half of the day's parent-teacher tandem

The rest of the day went without a hitch and hubby and I were generously provided with snacks, lunch and drinks. Since it was a Friday, the class was getting excited for dismissal. Halfway through the last period, one student stood up to mop the floor, another went to play with her pet "kisses", one slept on his armchair and some started standing or talking to seatmates.

The class president and vice president were quick to volunteer to list down the names of those who were noisy and those who were behaved. Impressively, as soon as the class officers began listing, the noise quickly simmered down. Good job!

Before we ended the day, the assigned cleaners straightened the chairs into columns and rows, picked up some trash, and swept and mopped the floor. I could only watch in awe. These kids could definitely teach adults a thing or two about discipline and respect for authority.

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That morning, hubby and I were clueless as to how the day would unfold. By the time we left the classroom, we learned not only how a typical school day goes. We also realized it takes a lot to be a good teacher. For one, it takes a big heart to shape little minds. 

I remember a quote from Aristotle which says "Teaching is the highest form of understanding". A committed teacher fully understands that the art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery... in this case, mentoring 35 active inquisitive kids who, like sponge, eagerly absorb new information and learn new skills.  Hats off to those teachers who do not intimidate but inspire the children to "do more and be more".

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very grateful for the unique experience...


"Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher."- Japanese Proverb
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin

Comments

  1. Teachers are one of the noblest profession and great people wouldn't be great without their teachers.

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  2. Salute to all the teachers out-there! I remembered those time at school and all the good memories with my classmates. I missed my teachers tuloy..

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  3. That's a certainly good experience.. great that your day as a teacher went so smoothly.

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  4. wow that is pretty experience.. my son loves to play dampa as well...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dampa is a craze in their school. lol

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  5. Great experience you have there. That is exactly why teachers should have the heart and the passion for teaching. It's a very critical task to shape young minds...and such a big responsibility too.

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  6. thank you all for sharing your thoughts! :) we hope to be able to do it again.

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