hephaestus

I just received a copy of my performance evaluation for the second semester of SY 2008-09.  Outstanding!

For the past four years, I have been receiving good comments from students telling me that I am 'mabait', funny, 'masayahin', 'magaling magturo'...  It's actually, overwhelming but I guess I am looking for something that would satisfy my hunger for appreciation.

Looking back at the past years, the comments are actually getting better.  During my first two years of teaching, students complain about my 'mahinang boses', 'masyadong mabait', and 'mahirap magpa-exam'.  At least I got rid of the vocal issue, but leaving me almost suffering from pharyngitis.  It's difficult to compete with noisy students especially those who prefer to sit at the back of the classroom and talk with their seatmates.  About the 'masyadong mabait' thing, I explained once in my class that I try as much as possible to pacify the class in a much less violent and verbally abusive manner because they are already in college.  They are no longer high school students who need to be reprimanded from time to time for being noisy or for not doing their homework.  And so that leaves the 'grade conscious' making 'shhhhhh!' everytime the class becomes phonetically active.  About the exams, well... after four years of experience, I found out that students hate modified true or false, essay, identification and problem solving.  On the other hand, they will love you for making an exam rich in enumeration, matching type and multiple choice... Unfortunately for them, since I love them so much and I don't want them to be 'kabisote', I crossed out the enumeration and matching type from the list, and fused problem solving, identification and true or false with multiple choice.  I crossed out essay for my sanity's sake.

Wow!  That was quite a journey!  Going back to the discussion, my evaluation got better and better as semeters passed, however I am still looking for a simple comment from my students.  It's not 'ang bait nyo pong teacher' because teachers are 'mabait' in the first place.  We just have different ways of showing them but the bottom line is, we care so much for our students.  It's not 'masayahin po kayo' because we are not clowns.  We have to carry a small package of humor inside a classroom not to make you laugh but to help you stay awake.  It's not 'magaling po kayong magturo' because we were employed to teach in the first place.  The 'magaling' there is very relative.  What's 'magaling' to you may not be 'magaling' to some.

The magic words here are: 'I learned a lot' or 'I'm a better person because of you'.  The only instance that a teacher can say that he did his job well is when he sees his students excel in their respective academic fields, discover their talents, and make teachers out of themselves.  I think teachers are called such not because we relay what is already written in books but because it is our role to help the students discover their inner self, gain wisdom and be more independent.