Often overworked and underappreciated, teachers have a passion for teaching that is so profound and immeasurable that they continue forging ahead despite the challenges.
Unless we ensure the dignity of our educators, freebies, discounted items and concerts remain vacuous and devoid of any meaning.
Hardly any other work compares to the level of selflessness the teaching profession demands of its practitioners. Few other professions could lay claim to being as noble.
The nobility of the teaching profession cannot be overstated.
As a former teacher myself, as someone who taught in different universities for 15 years, in both full-time and part-time capacities, I have experienced firsthand the difficulties and the stresses. The nights spent checking papers or preparing lectures, tasks which often spill over to the wee hours of the morning or a good part of the following day. Weekends are almost unheard of.
Unless we ensure the dignity of our educators, anything else—like freebies, discounted items and concerts—remains vacuous and devoid of any meaning.
I have handled classes of 40 to 50 students, with each coming from a different background, each with slightly—sometimes even glaring—differences in needs, competencies, attitudes. Other teachers, those teaching in public schools, have it much worse. Classroom management can be overwhelming.
I have barely scratched the surface of what teachers must go through, day in and day out, 24/7, 365 days a year.
And yet the compensation and the benefits in most cases, as in mine for many years, always seem to be never enough, never commensurate with the gargantuan efforts teachers have to put in on a daily basis. Teaching can be a thankless job.
But a teacher’s heart is so big, their passion for teaching so profound and immeasurable, that they continue forging ahead despite the challenges.
That is why hardly any other work compares to the level of selflessness the teaching profession demands of its practitioners. Few other professions can lay claim to being as noble.
When I was still a full-time teacher, I always took immense pride in telling people I was a teacher every time I was asked what I did for a living. I wore it like a badge of honor. I still do.
Having a dedicated Teachers’ Month every year is a great idea; it’s always nice to commemorate our educators’ hard work and dedication. It’s great to have a month of activities lined up honoring them. Any teacher would be happy to have 30 days of discounted meals, movie tickets, and other perks.
But we should go beyond the optics of tarpaulins, the veneer of festivities, the fleeting joy of vouchers and freebies and concerts.
We should put in more effort in uplifting the uplifters.
A dismal, disheartening situation
To say that the state of education in the Philippines is dismal is an understatement.
In the State of Philippine Education Report 2023 conducted by the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), it was categorically stated that there is an “education crisis” in the Philippines.
The findings were disheartening. For a country whose Constitution enshrines the protection and promotion of the right of all Filipinos to accessible and quality education, cracks—or should I say gaping holes—in the Philippine education system persist.
Perhaps the most alarming finding was how 9 out of 10, or 90%, of children aged 10 years old, were unable to read simple texts.
The study also found out how equitable access to quality education remains elusive throughout the years of formal education. In 2019, while 82.4% of Filipinos aged 25 and over have reported completing primary education, completion rate for secondary education significantly drops to 30.5%.
Hardly any other work compares to the level of selflessness the teaching profession demands of its practitioners. Few other professions can lay claim to being as noble.
Completion rate for a bachelor’s or equivalent degree decreases even further to 24.4%. Additionally, while 49% of the richest decile attend higher education, only 17% from the poorest can do so.
The enrollment rate in Philippine higher education is on par with middle-income countries’ average. This is, however, “rapidly” dropping as neighboring countries continue to rise, meaning our country’s enrollment rate has stagnated.
Results from the 2018 PISA or the Program for International Student Assessment
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an international assessment that measures 15-year-old students’ reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years, were nowhere near optimistic.
The Philippines ranked last among 79 participating countries and economies in reading, and second to last in science and mathematics. At least 78% of students in the Philippines failed to reach minimum levels of proficiency in each of the three PISA subjects.
Moreover, the low share of 15-year-olds represented in PISA reflects a large student attrition rate and a huge number of out-of-school youth in the country.
Overworked, underappreciated
These critical gaps in education stem from a host of factors, with lack of teacher support and teacher quality issues as two of the most significant.
How can teachers perform their duties properly when their workload is oftentimes “inhumane,” as the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) put it? The heavy workload of schoolteachers, especially those teaching in public schools, inevitably affects how they fulfill their most important duty: teaching.
What most people—government officials in particular—seem to forget is that teaching is just one of a multitude of responsibilities teachers must fulfill. They also have to prepare lessons, check outputs, compute grades, and monitor student progress.
Some teachers also have other non-academic work, such as administrative duties. Participants in PBEd’s research and consultations shared that teachers are unable to teach because they are “forced to comply with other non-teaching requirements in the form of administrative reports and committee work.”
Then there’s also the question of teacher quality. One of the most pressing issues is the difficulty of attracting “better quality students to become teachers,” according to the same PBEd study.
Participants agreed that the current context of the teaching profession is unappealing to potential student-teacher applicants, resulting in teacher courses relegated to being backup options if they do not get accepted in their preferred course.
Teachers also pointed out that their “teacher education curriculum in college is non-responsive to what’s needed in the K-12 curriculum and in day-to-day classroom management.”
They said that there is a misalignment between the pre-service teacher training offered by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and teacher schools, the teaching skills needed by the Department of Education (DepEd), and the metrics measured by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to become a professional teacher.
Addressing the gaps
Support gaps leave our teachers overworked, underpaid, and oftentimes disillusioned with their profession, compelling many to seek better opportunities abroad.
Meanwhile, gaps in the teacher education curriculum, as well as the teaching profession being seen as unappealing, remain as obstacles in the recruitment of potential teachers, promotion of the teaching field, and the recognition of its prestige.
It is also worth emphasizing that students’ learning conditions are affected by the educators’ working conditions. So if we want a better, brighter future for our country, these concerns should cease to be concerns for our teachers and, consequently for our learners.
Unless these issues are addressed, unless our teachers feel that they are valued through more humane working conditions, then every activity, every tribute, accorded to them are reduced to being mere frivolities.
Unless we ensure the dignity of our educators, freebies, discounted items, and concerts are but vacuous, devoid of any meaning.
Unless we are able to uplift our uplifters, unless we are able to make them feel appreciated in an oftentimes thankless job, a more meaningful and uplifting Teachers’ Day celebration remains out of reach.
This story is dedicated to my mama, Myrna. Best mom. Best friend. Best teacher.
