INTERVIEW OF AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER IN THE COMMUNITY

An outstanding teacher for me is someone who faces challenges in the

teaching profession without letting the burning passion to provide quality

education to wane. I understand that teaching can be tedious, redundant, and

monotonous, an outstanding teacher is someone who always finds joy in

doing her job.

Josiebel J. Mahusay is a 31-year-old elementary school teacher, single,

a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Major in English

and has been teaching for seven years. I chose her for this interview because

she embodies the qualities of my outstanding teacher. Shes tenacious,

motivated, committed and passionate with her job. Miss Mahusay used to

teach in private school where she was, in fact, awarded a Plaque of

Excellence by the Municipality for her handwork and commitment. After

years of serving in that school she transferred to public school. This didn't

come easy for Miss Mahusay. The convenience of teaching in a private school

was replaced by a hazardous set up. The school that she is assigned to is in a

remote mountainous area in our municipality. The only road going there is a

narrow unpaved road and motorcycles are the only means of transportation.

During rainy days the road is very difficult to pass as the soil would turn into

thick, deep muds, making motorcycles dangerous to ride on so she has no

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choice but to walk her way through. Despite this situation, shes never

discouraged.

I did not have a face to face interview with Miss Mahusay as Im here in

the Middle East so I sent her the interview questionnaire via email and made

some follow-up questions using Facebook Messenger. I was anxious to bother

her because I know that teaching can be hectic that she might not be able to

spare time for me but fortunately she agreed. It would have been ideal if I

could come to her work to do the interview and, at least for once, experience

her everyday battle but as I have mentioned, it is impossible.

Miss Mahusay had three things that led her to become a teacher:

financial capability, talent in art, and her love for children. Financial

capability because Education course is more affordable than any other

courses. Her parents only source of income is selling homemade candies.

Being next to the eldest with eight younger siblings, she was aware of her

familys financial limitations. As for talent in art, she believed that it would be

useful when making instructional materials. It would help kids to become

more interested in the lessons. Lastly, she loves children. She loves spending

time with them, telling them stories, and even singing to them. She first

experienced handling kids in a semi-formal setting at their church.

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 Despite the hardships that she goes through everyday, Miss Mahusay

continues to be a teacher because of the emotional gratification that comes

with it. She feels the joy when a kid learns from her and when parents

appreciate the results of her efforts. Also it gives her financial stability that

although she cannot afford all the things that she wants, at least she can

afford what she needs. It also allows her to provide for her parents and

siblings, a reciprocation for all the sacrifices they made for her in the past.

Her most memorable experience as a teacher was when one of the

graduating students surprised her by writing a note on the board expressing

how thankful she was for her and requested from all the 5th graders in that

room to behave and avoid making her mad. It was very touching for her that

she couldnt forget it. The most challenging experience that Miss Mahusay

had was dealing with one student who usually initiates disorder in the

classroom by pinching, touching, and kicking everyone. Despite the previous

efforts that she exerted to change him, he never did. Until one day she sat

him down, talked to him heart to heart, thats when she learned of the kids

background, that he lacked affection and attention from his parents. The

following days after talking to him, the kid became positively active in the

class.

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 For Miss Mahusay, Teacher Education and Training is important

because it enhances the skills of teachers and also helps those who are new

in the field. Practical knowledge by veteran teachers during trainings are of

great help to the younger ones. Books are reliable but tips from the

experienced ones are also very helpful.

When asked about the K-12 program, she said it helps graduates in the

global employments. Also, the use of mother-tongue as a language of learning

makes comprehension of the lesson easier for the kids. Usually kids get

anxious during first day of schooling but because of the mother-tongue, kids

feel comfortable as they can easily express their ideas and needs.

Miss Mahusay believes that the Philippines need more teachers, police,

and social workers. The current ratio of teachers vs students, according to

her, is 1:60 so theres still a huge requirement for teachers. She also believes

that there should be more men in the police force to match the surge of

criminalities nowadays. And lastly, the Philippines still suffers from poverty

and social workers can help in guiding poor families and assist them through

livelihood programs.

She also said that officials in the educational system must be

hardworking and knowledgeable and must be willing to heed the voice of

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teachers so they can implement guidelines suitable for what is needed in

certain situations.

The importance of education in the Philippines is greatly recognized

considering the huge budget allocated for it. Despite this the governments

effort to reduce the teacher-student ratio seems to always come off short.

The reasons behind it could be insufficient budget (although it has the

biggest cut in the pie), poor projections on student entrants, short supply of

teachers, or maybe just insufficient budget. If the government wants to

improve the quality of education in the country they should work double time

in coming up with solutions on existing problems. Education is an

investment. It is integral part in the countrys development. Its a chain that

cannot be broken. So it is just fitting that the government must double their

efforts to address the problems in the educational system. Corruption,

unsound foreign and national policies are the factors why the countrys

economic condition is still not in good shape. Bad economy means less

budget on infrastructure, less budget on education. There are many places in

the country that are still in the state of the 80s or 90s no proper roads, no

electricity, so left out by the growing world. These things affect the quality of

education. Its all in the governments control to fix these issues; Otherwise,

we will remain a third world country.

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