FINDING ANSWERS
Former Senator
Atty. Joey Lina
Now is a perfect time to honor and pay tribute to teachers and their vital role as we celebrate National Teachers’ Month.
According to Presidential Proclamation No. 242, series of 2011, which declared Sept. 5 to Oct. 5 of every year as the period for celebrating our teachers, “it is essential to revitalize the image of teaching as a vocation by increasing public awareness on the value of teachers in Philippine society and national development.”
“The occasion can be used to celebrate the unique role and service that teachers play in guiding families, strengthening communities, and building the nation,” the proclamation said.
There’s no doubt that our teachers, whether in private schools or in the public school system, play a vital role in shaping the minds of students especially those in grade school and also in pre-school where young minds are taught not only how to read and write, but even how to think.
At that stage in a student’s life, the role of the teacher is very crucial. If after Grade 3 a student still fails to comprehend lessons, the inability could last a lifetime, according to Lovelaine Basillote, executive director of Philippine Business for Education (PBED). Thus, tireless efforts of teachers in helping the young develop and strengthen their mental faculties, as well as their efforts in character and values formation, are truly essential.
There are countless stories about the sacrifices of many teachers in public schools of very poor communities – how they go out of their way to ensure their pupils keep coming back to their classrooms and don’t go astray, how some teachers even share their food or shell out money from their own pockets to help students without any “baon” who go to class hungry, how others endure untold hardships just to teach in far-flung areas.
Yet amid the heroic efforts and sacrifices of our teachers, there are still other grim realities that have to be told. The PBED continues to point out that issues on the poor quality of education, low proficiency of some teachers on what they are supposed to teach, and the dismal results of Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) are still much around.
But there has been marked improvement on LET results. Compared to previous years since 2009 when the passing rate of teachers averaged only 31 percent, way below government’s 53 percent target passing rate, and “behind the average passing rate of those who took up medicine, the sciences, maritime, engineering, accountancy and agriculture,” the latest results were very much higher.
In the LET conducted last June 26, 2022, the Profession Regulation Commission and the Board for Professional Teachers said 8,667 elementary teachers out of 17,149 examinees (50.54 percent) and 10,193 secondary teachers out of 20,191 examinees (50.48 percent) passed. Averaging 50 percent from a measly 31 percent is quite an accomplishment, but teacher education institutions (TEIs) have to do more.
Other issues facing the teaching profession relate to being overworked and underpaid. While they are getting pay hikes as mandated by the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, wages are still low if compared to those of police, military, and other uniformed personnel. And to increase salaries of public school teachers without improving the plight of private school teachers could lead to more transferring to the public school system, resulting in more private school closures.
Despite all the problems affecting the teaching profession, teachers are indispensable to society. And I’m proud to say that my late father belonged to this very noble profession. So are some of my siblings. I’m also a teacher, although part-time, at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila where I teach law.
I’d like to conclude this column with a Prayer for Teachers which Proclamation No. 242 endorsed to be recited at this time. Here it goes:
A PRAYER FOR TEACHERS
Giver of All Wisdom and Greatest of all Teachers, Look upon our teachers with love Grant them the resolve To nurture our eager minds And to never give up on us who fall behind Bless their hearts For they rejoice when we succeed And encourage us when we fail Endow them with gentle patience For the path of learning is never easy Kindle a spirit of passion in them It is the flame that ignites the love of learning in us Help them see the potential in each student Their belief in us means much more than the grade we make Instill in them a commitment to keep on learning It shows us to not fear new knowledge and experiences Inspire them to touch the future They influence how big a dream we dream for ourselves Bless our teachers who have come before For their work endures to this day Let the light of Your example shine upon all teachers: To build up with their words To love with their mind To share with their heart Amen.
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