Dominador M. Orpilla, PhD
Teacher’s are considered modern heroes. But how can teachers be heroes if they are locked up inside a box? Wall of parents’ pressures. Wall of blames. Wall of lacking budgets. And wall of child’s protection. They are bounded with different struggles to get enough in performing excellently in their own fields yet expected by the government to perform boundlessly as they are paid for it.
Nowadays, other professionals tend to give up their finished courses and take the path of a teaching career. Is it because some professions are hard to get especially the permanent position? Or is it just because they thought that it is too easy teaching in front of the students? Knowing that it takes a lot of courage standing in front and doing lectures and everything in class. Well, teaching is really a noble profession as they say. But what really is the extent of being a teacher in this generation? Is it to touch lives and produce students who value their moral, integrate discipline, love their country and fear God?
Teachers today get confused. They really do not know what their limits are. They really are loaded with different tasks inside and outside their classes. They are expected to be the best that they can be inside the school and even on their own different personal lives because they say that teachers are the great examples. So, they must act accordingly because people are looking up to them. On the other hand, they are also tasked to integrate values in all subjects they teach. The stakeholders especially parents in the community are expecting them to still impose discipline inside their classes. If they do, they will probably be supported by the parents. However, teachers should beware of instilling inappropriate discipline because they might be charged of being rude and insolent perhaps because they shout at students to keep quiet or let students do this and that?
Foremost, a teacher is responsible for preparing lesson plans and teaching students at all levels. His/her duties include giving homework, grading tests, and documenting and evaluating progress of their students. He/she must be able to instruct in a variety of subjects and teach students with engaging lesson through differentiated instructions.
It is believed that teachers have endless duties. Teachers do not make it a secret that they care. They go the extra mile motivating students by encouraging them, rewarding them and getting them involved. They devote time in the education of their students by doing the best job of teaching them. Most of the time, they meet with parents during conferences and school functions. They send home notes about student performance. They usually ask how things are outside the classroom. They want them to succeed. They are committed to helping them realize and achieve their dreams. They show students that they care and love them as they care about their well-being and life beyond the classroom. Most importantly, they make students feel as if their lives and not just their homework, grades and attendance is of great importance to them. All these and more are the endless duties of a teacher.