How did I become a Teacher?

Whenever I am asked what course I would like to pursue in College, I never thought of becoming a teacher. I always tell my friends that I wanted to be a nurse. But when it was time for me to choose the course that I have to take in College, I have no choice but to apply in Education to get the scholarship that my school was offerring. My parents could not afford to pay the tuition fee for the course that I wanted then. It was hard for me to accept it but, eventually I learned to realize that I am destined to be a teacher or I believe that God had brought me to this career for His purpose. I found out that my father finished a course related to Education and I have relatives that are teachers too. When I was in College, I became involved in our Children's Ministry. I taught little kids about the bible and eventually became the Children's Ministry Head for our church. Being a teacher and Head of this ministry, I was able to apply the teaching principles and strategies that I am learning in College then. After graduating, I became more involved with our church activities and I taught not only our children but also the adults about the bible. I felt so good being a teacher in our church and because of this I eventually apply to one of the best schools in our country. I underwent series of tests. Because of my experience in the Children's Ministry and the confidence that I have built up in teaching, I finally got accepted in this school. This is a Catholic school and most of my students come from very rich families. I have students who are children of a politician or celebrity artists. I have experienced a lot of challenges in this school but thank God I was able to survive them. Some of them are student-related but not as hard compared to the one I have experienced here. I enjoyed teaching in this school and I stayed there for 18 years. In fact, I had dreams that I am still teaching in my former school. I really miss this school especially the friends that I left there. We are still communicating and some went here to visit me.

In my entire teaching career in the Philippines, I never really followed one single teaching philosophy. We were taught of the different philosophies such as Perennialism, Idealism, Realism, Experimentalism and Existentialism in College. But when I taught in a Catholic school, the philosophy that we follow is based on the teachings in the bible and the school has its own educational philosophy. Our school's educational philosophy has incorporated some of these famous philosophies to accomplish the vision-mission of our school. Now that I am here now in Baltimore, my educational philosophy is centered on the idea that students can learn no matter what status he or she has in life and I should do everything to make my students learn.

Most of the teachers that I had were really good. They played an important role in molding me to become a better teacher. I like teachers who are open to communication, know the subject area they are teaching and do not threaten students. I work best if I feel confident about the teacher just like with Ms. Gerri Bohanan, my Reading teacher now. She models the kind of teacher that I would like to be.

I decided to teach in Baltimore because I wanted a change in the environment and experience new things in my career. I also decided to teach here because the School District offered us a better salary than what I have in the Philippines and the Health benefits are better. I never dreamed of becoming a teacher here, but when the offer came and I got accepted in the interview, I decided to accept it.

This is my third year teaching in Baltimore City and in the same school. I must say that so far everthing is taking into its place. There are still challenges but I am getting there. My two years were really a challenge and adjustment to the new environment. My students, co-workers, and administrators are getting to know me better and I also get to know them more too. I learn to adjust to their needs and they learn to appreciate what I am doing for them.Each day is a learning process and everything that happens whether success or failure, I consider them as a link to the chain of life that I have now.

My husband is the only family that I have now. I have a sister in Canada and during Christmas holidays and summer , she visits me. I have an uncle in Washington, D.C. and we visit him also if we have the time. So far, my husband and I are still adjusting to the kind of life here. We find life here difficult because of too much work. For us not to be overwhelmed by this, we go out, shop, visit places and have get-together with other teachers here. We were able to go to California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada. For us not to miss our family so much, we call them every weekend and visit some of our relatives here.

I hope that through this blog, you were able to get to know me better.