My Hero, Our Heroes

`“Where are you now? ‘Cause I’m thinking of you...you showed me how...how to live like I do.”

`Do you still remember your kindergarten teacher? I know we don’t give it much thought- how our first teachers taught us the most basic thing we need to learn, things that we still remember now.

`I could still remember all the teachers I’ve had. Ma’am Pearly was my teacher in kindergarten; Ma’am Alaman in grade 1 and 2; Ma’am Feby in grade 3 and grade 6; Ma’am Irene in grade 4; Ma’am Ava in grade 5; Ma’am Jennylou in first year high school; Ma’am Jennette in second year and, of course, Ma’am Arceo in third year.

Every single teacher we’ve had taught us more than one important lesson. They let us learn from our mistakes and stand up every time we fall. Teachers don’t just teach knowledge from the book. There are things more important than finding LCDs and knowing the path of blood in the body. These things are the lessons from experience- from life itself.

Teachers are our second parents. We actually spend more waking hours in school than in our own house. Teachers watch us grow- physically and mentally. They teach us, they guide us, they love us.

One teacher I really can’t forget is Ma’am Pareja. She may be a strict teacher but that’s just because she wants us to be disciplined. She said to us more than once “You will not feel fear if you did not do anything wrong.” I’ve learned so many things from her- things which I doubt if the thickest book in the library had.

My mom, who is also a teacher, asked me once why Ma’am Pareja wasn’t applying as a principal. So, I asked Ma’am Pareja and her answer was she just wants to teach as a plain teacher. She wants to get close to students. I also asked her why she is teaching freshmen instead of older students and she said that younger students are easier to mold than the older ones-they are more obedient. She is the wisest teacher I’ve met. She knows how to make a student admit the wrong thing he did by just talking to him. She knows students’ body language. She knows if they are listening or not, if they understand or not and whatever going on in the student’s mind during her class.

Teachers are not just teachers. They are mothers. They are friends. They are heroes. They save students from ignorance. They open their eyes to knowledge. And they also teach the students how to face the “real world”. They give us lessons that can’t be reflected in class cards but those which reflect on how we carry ourselves in our daily lives.

“If it wasn’t for you I’ll I would never be who I am...”