Cornered Sphere

Fourth year teachers are required to make a list of the ambitions of their graduating students before school year ends in the preparation for the yearbook of the batch. In my case, I have been teaching fourth year for three (3) years already and based on my own observation, most students are still undecided. Besides, although they are decided they are not permitted by their parents to take that course they prefer.

I can still remember some of my students say, “Ma’am, paano na po ‘to? Kahit ano nalang (course)?”The question only requires a simple answer, a big YES or a No but honestly, that was one of the tough questions I have encountered in my life.

A teacher is a parent, a sister/brother, and a friend in one. If I will let my motherly instinct to reply I will respond like a parent saying, “Obey your parents, they know what is best for you”. While if I will be a sister giving my piece of advice about the matter, I might say, “Ask them again, they may understand your point”. But if I will be a friend for that moment my student might hear me say, “They should respect what you really want to take in college”.

I am a protagonist and an antagonist in my own story during those times. And every time the school year ends, I am having a hard time choosing the best words to use and say.

Today, as I browse the list of my literary works back in college, I find my article which solves my dilemma. This made me realized that my students are not really expecting an advice, instead they prefer words of wisdom to make them accept the fact that at that point of their lives, they have to obey, to follow and to respect their parents’ decisions and plans.

World is not a sphere, it has sides…and perhaps my students are searching for those corners. Every one of us has a reserved and assigned corner in this world. We only have to realize it. Certainly, whether we like it or not, we all come to a point of feeling at a lost, a state of catastrophe wherein we tend to yearn for a sense of belongingness.

It is indeed a hard-hitting task for students to search for a corner where they can shine, a place which they can call their own, where they are appreciated and considered significant, and a particular spot where people can feel their existence.

Thus, as a teacher, our duty is to continuously guide and direct them. We may not be their legitimate parents, but their faith in us is more than anyone else. Therefore, any word we say has a strong impact in their perceptions to things and actions in life. We may not be able to decide for their future but we can be their lighthouse during those tough times that they thought they’re against all odds.

Our students do not wish us to build their castles; rather they want us to watch over them while they build those.

Henceforth, as a teacher, the best thing we can do for our precious believers is to open and extend our arms for them to realize their place in this world.