I Am a Teacher

I AM A TEACHER
The alarm loudly buzzed off at exactly 5:00 in the morning. Though my head ached because of lack of sleep from the previous night, my feet searches where my bedroom slippers are. Finding them, I quickly arrange the bedcover and folded my blanket. Eyes half-open, I slowly made my way to the kitchen and filled the kettle. While waiting for the water to boil, I prepared two cups with coffee, sugar and creamer: one for me, the other for my father who is already physically incapacitated because of the head trauma he suffered from a vehicular accident some three years ago. Coffee prepared, I went to my parents’ bedroom and called them up. Slowly and unsteadily, my mother helped my father to get up. We had coffee together while engaging in our usual morning conversation. Thirty minutes later, I am pulling out from the cabinet my sangria red uniform. Done with dressing up, I made my way out of my bedroom and bid goodbye. I went out of the house and started my journey to where I worked. On the way there, things played on my mind: is the allowance I gave to my brother who is enrolled in a state university as a freshman enough for his meals and other miscellaneous expenses, mother has to go to the doctor for a check up, father is not eating well, electric bill is coming, the fridge is almost empty but for the bottles of water and medicines, payday is nowhere near. All these played in my mind, unmindful of the traffic and the number of pupils, employees, teachers all in a hurry to reach where they are headed.
Alas, I reached the gates of my workplace. As I stepped in, I heard loud and sunny greetings. “Good Morning, Maam”, echoes through the corridor as I make my way! Whoah! I snapped into realization! It is Monday morning. And those warm greetings came from my pupils. Their greetings pulled me back to today and the tasks I have to face. Their greetings touched me deep into my heart. And their friendly and hopeful smiles, brings joy and hope in me. And I remember! There is a lot to be bothered than my bills and other necessities at home. The moment I put on that sangria red uniform I should have woken up and put off the mechanical me. The instant I dressed up with that sangria red uniform, I should be bothered with what will I teach, how will I make my pupils learn, how will I make a change in their lives. Because foremost of all I AM A TEACHER. It is my task, my duty and my moral obligation to teach them and make them learn, to prepare them academically for the many challenges that life may bring. Teaching entails a lot of sacrifices and a lot more worries than being head of the family. With one single mistake, a teacher can ruin ones life. Doctors who by mistake cut up the wrong artery end the life of his patient. Engineers and architects who made mistakes can cause the building or house to collapse. A pilot can cause a plane to crash because of his errors. Unlikely, a teacher who wrongly teaches a concept to a grade school pupil will make that child remember how he has been taught because a child gives so much respect to teachers. Their teachers are their role models.
And this I have in mind, for teachers like me, forget your dot-like problems, set aside your worries and face the bigger challenge for foremost of all, I AM A TEACHER.

By: JANET MAGNO-DELA CRUZ Teacher I San Isidro Central School