‘Thank you, teacher’

Do you know that in a year, a teacher spends 1,200 hours teaching students? I did not know that until I read it from the quick Guro Inforgraphic posted at the Department of Education (DepEd) website. This refers only to nationally hired public school teachers of DepEd.

As of last count by DepEd, there are 583,812 public school teachers all over the country, 15.6 percent of whom are male and 84.35 percent female. This number does not include the principals and other teachers serving as school administrators.

Of this total, 52.8 percent have zero to ten years of experience of teaching. This is because, DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro explained, they have hired more public school teachers for the past three years that have reduced the teachers’ shortage problem in the country.

Over a luncheon gathering he hosted with several editors last week, Luistro told us DepEd is celebrating a month-long observance to honor teachers as heroes and role models.

President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III has signed Proclamation No. 242 that declared September 5 to October 5 of each year as National Teachers’ Month. Naturally, the lead agency here is headed by Secretary Luistro who himself is an educator when he taught religion at De La Salle University (DLSU).

Luistro came with a “Thank you, teacher! My teacher, My Hero” pinned on his white polo shirt. The pin has a picture of a red apple to symbolize the fruit we give to our favorite teacher. He told us the pin was part of the project of Metrobank Foundation to help promote the observance of Teachers’ Month.

The Metrobank Foundation, headed by its chairman George Ty, is principally backing DepEd in their yearly observance of the National Teachers’ Month. In fact, Metrobank is the chief sponsor and organizer of the annual Search for Outstanding Teachers in the Philippines.

To cap this event, the DepEd will spearhead the holding on October 5 of the World Teachers’ Day celebration at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

During our informal chat Sec. Luistro made a simple request to us columnists to help DepEd promote ThankYouTeacher campaign by writing about our own favorite teachers. I don’t want to miss thanking anyone of them but let me express my gratitude through this special “Prayer for Teachers” said in yesterday’s masses all over the country’s Catholic churches.

A Prayer for Teachers

Over the weekend, the DepEd launched #ThankYouTeacher  conversation at DepEd Twitter page. It started last Saturday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. and generated a total of 27 tweets while hundreds were posted on other social media accounts.

To start the ball rolling, Secretary Luistro posted the first  #ThankYouTeacher message @DepEd_PH Twitter account: “We are where we are because of the teachers that have touched our lives.”

Herself a former awardee of Metrobank’s Search for Outstanding Teacher, now DepEd Undersecretary Dina Ocampo posted this: “Teachers are the fibers of our society.”

And here were some of the noteworthy posts that day:

-- From @HopiBogs: I had a high school teacher who always told me “Dare to be different.”

-- From @juliennneee: Shaping minds, touching lives. This is what teachers do!

-- From @mhelpolicarpio: A good teacher teaches you not by mind, but by heart.

-- From @eeellimaC: #ThankYouTeacher for treating us like your own children.

-- From @EsKWELAPlanner: Natuto ka na matuto sa mga pagkakamali mo.

-- From @Myr_domo: #ThankYouTeacher for being my 2nd parent. :)

-- From @MaiilaRose #ThankYouTeacher for all the sacrifices and for the patience:)

-- From @Chrschntwst #ThankYouTeacher: for teaching us not only the lessons in different subjects but also the attitude of valuing our lives.

-- From @MarcoSardillo: We love our teachers because they see the potential that we otherwise might ignore and waste away.

-- From @ninaterol: Our teachers saw the diamonds in us long before we saw it in ourselves & they had the patience to polish us.

There are quite a number also of tweeters who posted not-so-nice messages. We won’t print from where they came from, though they sounded funny more than anything else:

-- #ThankYouTeacher for torturing us with homework.

-- #ThankYouTeacher for making me hate school.

-- #ThankYouTeacher for making my life miserable.

-- #Thank you teacher for making me having panic attacks.