Social media has been filled with a surfeit of greetings and posts in honor of teachers — from the primary, secondary, and tertiary level — who have, in one way or another, impacted the lives of their past and present students. I’m guilty of this as I also posted statuses in honor of my college and graduate school professors at Silliman University and my mother, Dr. Maria Elsa Ilona A. Bulado, who is a Mathematics professor, and whom I also consider as my first teacher.
When I was about two or three years old, my mother taught me how to read, which then led to my early fascination of history and geography. I remember stories retold by my family that around that age, I would memorize all the countries of the world and their respective capitals. (At present, I can name some countries and their respective capitals but sadly, not all of them anymore.) Perhaps it is indeed true that people at a younger age absorb more information; hence, it is better to take advantage of developing young minds.
Nevertheless, the celebration of Teacher’s Day last Oct. 5 seemed to be an apt reminder for Filipinos to honor and remember the valuable contribution of teachers in our society. Undoubtedly, my professors in college played an important role in molding me into who I am today. The moral compass I have developed somehow can be attributed to them, and their views and perspectives on history and politics.
Of course, not all people are the same; not all people have the moral compass and the knowledge of history to understand the course that we are going towards at the moment.
However, only a few teachers have the benefit of hindsight due, in most part, to their simplistic viewpoint on history and politics. In some cases, their misplaced loyalty and abhorrence towards certain historical and political figures may have also played a part in this. As a result, not all teachers have the right moral compass, and opt to support — oft-times, enable — people in power who are flagitious and corrupt.
These teachers tend to forget that some students look up to them and some, also because of their gullible minds, blindly follow what the teacher, whom they look up to, believes in.
Sadly, in the age of disinformation, many teachers also fall victim to fake news; most of them do not have any background in history, or at least some of them bumptiously assume they know their history.
Suffice it to say, these teachers have their own perception of truth. And when their beliefs are questioned, they most often bite back rabidly, and I believe they do so because of pride and insecurity.
I also know of some teachers who continuously share fake news in social media — some had even attained PhD degrees, but they still believe in fake news. I suppose they do not have time to check their sources? Perhaps it’s because the fake news that they share reinforce their pre-existing beliefs or confirm their biases.
Be that as it may, we, as teachers, should always make it a point to prevent this from happening, as not only will it damage our reputation, but it will also engender terrible ramifications to some students who idolize us.
On a positive light, however, I’m happy that I personally know — and try to surround myself with — more teachers who have critical minds, hold a proper moral compass, and who involve themselves actively in the fight for social justice.
These are the teachers whom I admire; not the ones who are so self-conscious about how they perform in class, or those who care most about how students perceive them.
They are those who speak their minds, who don’t mind if students dislike them for sharing their political viewpoints.
They are the ones who have the confidence to say what has to be said, even if it means being disliked by the majority.
They are the ones who think critically. They are the ones who are honorable, and will uphold their principles at all cost.
These teachers go against the tide — even if it means going against the majority. These teachers speak truth to power, and fight for social justice.
We need more of them in our society where being well-educated is frowned upon, given that the “majority” would always prefer “well-mannered” individuals.
The challenge now for teachers in all levels is to maintain that moral compass by upholding the truth, and teach their students not only the topics listed in their syllabi, but also help them distinguish what is right from wrong.
The challenge is to teach students how to spot the social ills in our country, as what our National Hero Jose Rizal did during his time.
The challenge is to teach them how to never forget the lessons of our country’s history. We can never truly move on from past atrocities when those who have committed them remain unapologetic, or continue to act without remorse.
Electing these traditional politicians once more into power does not actually mean we have moved on; it could only mean we never learned from our past.
As academics, we are urged to guide our students be vigilant about some powerful individuals who insist to control the narrative of our history so they get a tighter grip over the Filipino people (perhaps even brainwash them), and before we realize it, are able to hang on to power. We cannot allow this to happen!
The onus is on us teachers to ensure these unabashedly- corrupt politicians are not enabled to control our past, present, and future.
Rizal once observed that the problem of the Filipino people in his time was that they were too intimidated by those in authority, and as a result, became subservient individuals.
More than a century after Rizal’s observation, we unfortunately continue to be too intimidated and too subservient as a people.
Shouldn’t we, as teachers, emulate the path that our National Hero courageously took in combatting subservience?
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Author’s email: JJAbulado@norsu.edu.ph
