My Teaching Philosophy

Seven years ago when the president in my former school gathered all the new teachers and asked why we chose to teach; I gave an uncommon answer. For me, teaching is a vocation. It is God’s invitation to be holy and a call to be a living witness of His love and mercy to others. More than attaining personal sanctification, teaching is my means of helping create a better society. I believe teaching is an effective means of influencing the Filipino youth to act to build a just and humane society.

The Philippines is one of the poorer countries in the world. Poverty in the country exists because there is a perverse uneven distribution of wealth. The rich lived extravagant lives, squandering national resources for their personal benefit. On the other hand, the poor and the marginalized sectors of the community lived in deplorable conditions. Corruption in all levels of society aggravates this poverty. However, it is simply a manifestation of a deeper problem. The kind of values people have towards self and others hinders the country to attain full development.

When people value comfort and luxury more than simplicity in lifestyle; power and fame more than humble service and respect; dominance over the environment rather than stewardship of it; then people are motivated to earn and live for themselves without regard for others’ welfare. Principles do not matter. Moreover, lack of mutual values, encourages the creation of a society that is corrupt, disunited and impoverished. To solve such harsh realities, we must strive to influence people (particularly the young ones who will be future leaders) to adopt and advocate a different set of values-- compassion, honesty, hard work, social responsibility, respect, love of country, and service to the community. This is my dream, to nurture a group of young Filipinos from the affluent sector of the society who, guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ, will commit their lives to eradicate poverty, fight social injustices and attain economic prosperity for all in whatever profession they choose and with whatever resources they have.

I am now living in another country but the purpose of my teaching stays the same. Young people in the UAE may not be living in poverty or government corruption may not be a problem, but conflict, famine, poverty and social injustice beset the greater community to which it belongs. Hence, to have a group of influential people with shared common values can make a great impact in solving these human tragedies. If people uphold and share common values, then effective implementation of concrete actions is likely to benefit all.

Formal education plays a very important role in molding the minds of young people. In today’s society where the youth faces rapidly changing and confusing norms and the family is inadequate to address these, the schools must provide needed physical, psychological and moral support. The teaching of the different disciplines must not only aim to relay information and knowledge to students. Impart values so students would effectively utilize their acquired knowledge. I believe to instruct the most brilliant minds to pursue academic excellence is commendable. However, to lose sight of instructing the heart to what is true and good, defeats the purpose of teaching in the first place.

Having said these, to be a teacher is to see students as persons who have different potentials and capacities to contribute in creating a world of unity and respect. I acknowledge that students are not only recipients of information but sources of God’s wisdom as well. Each student has unique attributes, specific needs and learning styles. Thus, my job is to motivate and inspire these students to bring out their best ideas and encourage and guide them to use these ideas effectively to benefit others.