Four exceptional educators honored in 'The Many Faces of the Teacher'

 

Four teachers were honored last Friday for their heroic efforts in educating students and inciting a positive change in their communities.

A program by the Bato Balani Foundation Inc. (BBFI), in cooperation with Diwa Learning Systems Inc. (Diwa), The Many Faces of the Teacher awarded educators Dr. Teodora Balangcod, Julieta Serrano, Randy Halasan, and Dr. Jesus Insilada for overcoming Herculean hurdles for their commitment to the profession.

The explorer

Balangcod, lovingly known as "Dora the Explorer" to her students, uses her published work on plant biology to help her students and indigenous communities in Benguet.

She said the win caught her off-guard, as she was not used to being recognized for her work.

“Hindi ako sanay, dahil kung minsan lagi akong nagtatago sa likod,” she said.

The University of the Philippines-Baguio assistant professor also takes her family and some willing students to areas affected by landslides to aid in their rehabilitation.

“Ever since [my children] were small, lagi ko silang sinasama sa mga field trips. Enjoy na enjoy naman ang mga ito,” she explained.

Balangcod explained that she could not just only be a teacher, and so spent extra hours to tutor her students and develop research projects for indigenous communities.

She said, “I find fulfillment, especially if they really are very cooperative and they want to learn something from us.”

Champion of special education

Though she started with only her district supervisor supporting her career, Serrano survived a rocky start and managed to set up a Special Education department in San Joaquin Central School. Under ULIKID Foundation, she facilitated the Special Olympics for children with disabilities during the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week in the Municipality of San Joaquin.

For her, there is nothing more gratifying than seeing her students excel in competitions. During the photo op after the event’s press conference, she received a text message from a student, and gladly informed the room that her student won a regional qualifier for a math competition.

Serrano said that her student told her they were both going to receive awards that day.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your pupils receiving a diploma, an award, medals. Especially when they go out of your classroom, they’re wearing smiles,” she said.

Building bridges

A known community leader, Halasan has moved beyond the confines of the classroom in helping the community of Pegalongan to rise from poverty. He helped organize the Pegalongan Farmers Association, a satellite high school, and was instrumental in getting the Department of Education (DepEd) to build additional classrooms and turn wooden classrooms into concrete ones.

Halasan travels two hours by bus, another hour by habal-habal, then another three to four hours of trekking, including two river crossings, which had almost claimed his life.

“Nagtatawanan na lang kami ng mga teachers habang nagko-cross kami ng river kasi nagsasabi kami, ‘Sino kaya unang mamatay dito?’,” he joked.

The light-hearted teacher, however, became serious when he asked for a sustainable development for indigenous communities—and for bridges in their community.

“Kung wala silang pwedeng tignan kung anong pwedeng i-improve, walang model, hindi pwedeng ma-uplift yung [livelihood] nila… Hindi pwedeng… bigay ng bigay [lang] kailangang may sustainability rin yung projects. Kasi ‘yun yung mentality ng tribe- basta yung mga malalayo, kailangang bigay ng bigay,” he said.

Advocate of Hiligaynon
 
Palanca Award-winning Dr. Jesus Insilada writes workbooks and modules to use in classes as supplementary materials. He also helps the writers' group Sumakwelan Iloilo in the implementation of projects such as the Hiligaynon grammar guide, an English-Hiligaynon dictionary, and the compilation of the best works in Hiligaynon.

“I am blessed I was given this opportunity. Yung iba nga, nagpapakahirap to be a teacher… the thought that I was given these talents, I am inspired na i-share ko,” he said.

When asked why he advocated teaching Hiligaynon and Kinaray-a, he said, “I like my students to express themselves in their mother tongue. I believe when they do that, the feeling is authentic and from the heart.”

Despite having all the opportunities in the world to teach abroad, the teacher only thought to receive more training in a foreign country in order to teach more efficiently to underprivileged youth.

“I am proud to be a teacher because I am in the profession of the professions,” said Insilada.

Brian Vincent Belen, son of the founder of Diwa, explained that BBFI was created to help uplift Philippine education.

“Ever since we were founded in 1991, our strength has always been in teacher training and programs designed to help improve Philippine education,” he said.

He also explained why BBFI created The Many Faces of the Teacher: “We hope that through an advocacy like this, where we can show inspiring stories of what teachers can be in the Philippines, we can also help inspire the educators in the future.”

The selection process for the competition lasts for six to eight months. The organizers spend two to three of those months by selecting at least 24 actively-serving teachers from the hundreds of applications. Those 24 nominees are then visited by members of the Advocacy Review Board, who will select the finalists.

Next year’s selection process will begin after BBFI’s calendar of events finishes this month. — BM, GMA News