The First Seat

February 15-19, 2010








When I entered in Grade V and introduced myself as their student-teacher, I still have my heart to my Grade II pupils. It is like a break-up with your partner and it is very difficult to move on and love again. Hush! This is how a teacher finds it hard to leave his very loving pupils.

I know, I would be very careful with how to portray myself to them as a teacher. I was thinking that each of them has already a pair of horns and ready to create a hell of class.

But I was wrong. Really, you will be dealing with misbehaviors all the time but if you already put your heart to them and they started knowing you, you will know how to control them.

In this first week of being with them, I was starting to know my students individually and like other students in my previous practice teaching, they are very intriguing. In my On-campus, my students would always ask me about my wonderful life experience as if I also came from a rich family. They would ask me what movies I have watched, which of them I liked most. What gadgets I have at home? Do I have PSP, personal computer, ipod or iphone? Thanks to my laptop, I have one gadget to show them. They would always notice my clothes so like an actor, I avoid repeating my clothes when I had my On-campus at NCF.

In my Off-campus first shifting, my students would let me share some of my experience which they can relate like going to the field every weekends when I was a child, being bitten by a dog, seeing supernatural being like ghost, tiyanak or aswang), and even how our house look like was being intrigued by some of my students. They would ask me whether our roof was made of nipa and do I sleep in soft bed, or on the floor?

Now, my students would always ask me if who among my co-practicum students was my girlfriend. How many girls I had relationship with? How many times I was broke up? Did I ever experience to run away home? Everything I really enjoyed sharing with them and they were also sharing their own life experiences.

One thing I can never forget is when I answered them; I don’t have a girlfriend at this moment. They were looking for girls I can court with. (Hahaha.) The following day, I will receive a lot of text messages from girls I don’t know yet telling me that my students told her to be my gf. But of course, I don’t take them seriously.

They wanted me to tell a story at vacant time. We will then group together and they will tell me a topic I can share with them. Boys would ask me about how painful circumcision is. Girls would let me share how I can tell whether it is a true love or not. I ended up being a storyteller again, but somewhat the same with being guidance councilor.