TUKAD, TIOS asin HERAS: My Advocacies as a Teacher

The slogan sums up the changes and the advocacies I want to bring
in my teaching career for it encourages learners to explore different
adventures outside the classroom, to develop an unwavering spirit
amidst adversities and to live a life with greater purpose.
TUKAD(Exploring Different Adventures). ​The primary and
the worst hit industry because of the pandemic is the Tourism
industry. The lockdowns and the subsequent social distancing
measures forced businesses in the tourism sectors to shutdown or file for bankruptcy. As we enter the new
normal, most of these businesses will not be able to return to their previous state easily. Being a tourism
professional myself, I will ensure that I will inculcate to my students to help the local tourism industry by
exploring our own country first. Even before the pandemic, I was really an advocate for Rural and Ecotourism
in order to help the people in the peripheries. There are many things that travelling can teach one person
which will never be replicated in a classroom set-up. I will make sure that I will integrate in my lessons the
hidden gems of the Philippines and to expose them through educational tours when the situation permits. I will
also open myself to become a free travel consultant to them as they plan their own travel suited to their
budget.
TIOS(Unwavering Spirit). ​All of us will face various challenges and adversities both in life and in
learning as we journey towards our goals. I will share with them my guiding principle of surviving my own
battles which is best encapsulated in Neitzsche's words, “He who has a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any
‘how'’”. Personally, I have been continuing to struggle with Bipolar Disorder since I was diagnosed in 2013.
There has been a perennial stigma towards persons with mental health problems which discourages us to
finish our own studies. This results in the increasing unemployment rates among our population. Thus, I will
strive to normalize the idea that a person with mental health disorder can be functional and accepted in a
common educational institution. I will educate my students so that all of them will be emphatic towards
persons with disabilities and be able to mingle with PWDs by being positively sensitive to their traits and
peculiarities. Moreover, I will also help my students to strengthen their own spirit by being a dependable ally
for this post-pandemic era is too uncertain and the trauma it caused to us is uncharted yet.
HERAS(Living with greater purpose)​. My life as a scholar since high school gave me a direction to
think bigger than myself and to make sure that everything I have learned is contributing towards that goal.
Upon graduation, I vowed to myself to help at least one hundred scholars in my lifetime in whatever
profession I will choose. Now that I have an opportunity to educate others as a teacher, I will also hand this
down to my students. In order to create a larger community of scholars, I will request to my students that as
they become professionals in the future to support at least five scholars in their lifetime. Increasing access to
education by making more scholars is the way I want to leave this world to make it a better place for our
children’s children.

Submitted by: Ramon Dominic A. Nobleza