By:

Catherine F. Guadayo

Teacher III, Filipino Dept.

Life, as they say is a big play, and the world is our stage. On a day-to-day basis, we oftentimes create the stories that would make us either proud of ourselves or be discouraged about it in the future.

Being a secondary school teacher in one of the biggest schools in the province of Masbate, I always make sure that I remain updated with what the world of education demands in terms of coping up with the modern ways of teaching. For a decade and a half, I continuously see to it that I ride with the waves of the contemporary classroom situation.

Fairly enough, in this generation, teachers should become more adaptable, competent and relevant in order to make the classroom easy and comfortable to everyone. He or she should be able to develop the sense of understanding the key roles that one should take into consideration in order for the educational process to unceasingly develop. After all, teachers are the builders of a nation’s foundation and no child could ever be productive without the aid of teachers. Let us try to get to know the roles of a teacher.

TEACHERS ARE MANAGERS. In order for the classroom to thrive academically, the teacher should know how to manage the people inside his/her abode. Classroom management is a vital skill that every teacher should possess.  This defines his/her ability to make sure that everyone behaves accordingly and gets the important lessons of the day. A good director leads the classroom to the path of righteousness and godly acts. In case of the different distance learning modalities, teachers are still able to apply classroom management as they have to virtually attend to the students with their needs and demands.

TEACHERS ARE ENCOURAGERS. When students seem lost over their personal or academic life, teachers are there to give the utmost encouragement and help they need. Valuing the flow of learning, as well as developing a sense of individuality is important for children in the adolescent stage. When one learner feels encouraged, a deeper sense of appreciation and respect for the teacher is developed. This also applies even in the new normal. Teachers are able to help with the mental and emotional development of learners through their extened

TEACHERS ARE EVALUATORS. In order to fully assess the overall performance and level of comprehension of the students, teachers serve as the assessors and evaluators of the students’ outputs and written works. Not only do they record the results of these outputs and participation, but they also make sure that everyone learn from the mistakes committed based on their submitted outputs. When giving feedbacks, teachers should put into consideration the sensitivity and importance of how each comment is given for this leaves a lasting impression on the child, which either elevates skills and competencies or give off counterproductive results.

TEACHERS ARE PLANNERS. In order for work to carry on successfully, a comprehensive and detailed planning should be done. This probably is one of the most tedious tasks a teacher does in his/her daily life. Planning requires time, deep understanding and thorough mastery of the subject matter taught in order for it to be fully effective. From the daily lesson activities to the weekly and monthly checking of outputs, planning is needed in order for it to fall in the guidelines of observing time-on-task and effective classroom management.

TEACHERS ARE PARTAKERS. One cannot give what one does not have. In order for teachers to fully dole off a holistic teaching experience for students, they should first become the learners. This happens when they attend online or virtual seminars and trainings to elevate their dexterity in the subject they are teaching. If the teacher has the first-hand experiences on how students deal with the topic discussed, he/she knows how to simplify or make innovative interventions in order to make the topics more understandable for the students. The manner of applying what is learned in life makes teaching far more satisfying.

TEACHERS ARE COACHES. In times when students need more one-on-one learning, teachers serve as tutors. They are the ones who unceasingly make sure that the students absorb the most essential learning competencies. This role of teachers makes the profession nobler as they do it from the heart and not to gain monetary benefits from it. Now that distance learning is the new normal in teaching, teachers go beyond their ways in ensuring that their students gain the necessary aptitudes they need in life.

Teaching, like most professions can be very taxing for an individual, nonetheless, no work is not tiring. While others rant about the exhausting tasks they have done for their jobs, one should be more open to the fact that if he/she loves the occupation he/she has, then that someone does not work anymore.

In this lifetime, whatever profession we have, if we continue to play perfectly the roles assigned to us, we would never get lost and we will always have a more contented feeling and deeper self-appreciation at the end of the day.