Parent applicant: Are the teachers in here from the USA and UK?
Me: Majority of them.
Parent applicant: But I heard there was one from the Philippines or
was it Singapore?
Me: You are talking to him.
Dead silence.
After so many years of being here and in an international setting, it is still evident that people are still into racial superiority and blatant discrimination. I kept on asking what's wrong with being an Asian or a Filipino if all I ever do is deliver good, quality education.
New people in the community do not know me, as well as those who have not heard of my name. So what they see when I meet them is always the outside. And this outside hides a great teacher that only opens up once a child is inside his own class.
The applicant-mum is a local but holds an Australian passport. This makes me admire the true and real Australians I had in my class which are open-minded, accepting of colours, and devoid of any racial slur.
As I celebrate another year in my teaching career, I wanted to share a letter from an Australian couple I had this last term. They will be moving to France as they embark on another journey in their lives.
Dear Teacher Jonathan,
Words cannot express the gratitude Bel and I feel towards
you and your kind care of our most prized possessions of Louis
and Millie. With Millie in particular, you have been amazing and
this has been highly appreciated - she is really maturing beautifully
into a strong young girl that will no doubt lead into more positive
things in the future.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your care and
tutelage. We wish you all the very best for the future.
Yours sincerely,
John and Bel Popovic
May ganung 'factor' pa rin pala sir Jonathan...
ReplyDeleteHindi pa rin nawawala ang racial discrimnation.
Kahit sa mga kababayan natin sir Jo, na-oobserve ko yang ganyang attitude.
Nakapunta lang sa ibang bansa, nagkaroon lang ng dual citizenship, o kaya ay may residency abroad, pag umuuwi dito kala mo nabura na ang pagka-Pilipino :)
Nakakataba naman ng puso yung sulat na ibinigay sayo, mabuti pa sila walang 'sinisino'.
:)
An affirmation that you are where you are meant to be Cher Jo.
ReplyDeleteIt is super heartwarming and genuine :)
Nakakamiss din ang mga ganitong sulat lalo na sa unang taon ko nung pagtuturo. Tunay na nakakapagpalubag ng loob at nagsasabing kahit di ko alam kung may kabuluhan ang ginagawa kong pagmamahal sa mga bata, kapag galing sa magulang nila ang mga salita kahit paano pala ay nagawa akong tama.
Hello Cher Jep,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was teaching in Manila in a Chinese school, walang discrimination. I was regarded as one of the best in my school. I always have a full class. I was always overflowing with gifts during special occasions. When I moved to an international school in Manila, the guards alone discriminates toward those who were Pinoys. Then I moved to an international posting and it was the same. Asians against Asians, so sad. It just so happen that I had met many wonderful people who does not look at colours or races and so I stayed. It is their lost if they don't want me.
Hello Cher Kat,
ReplyDeleteThe letters I receive every year make me want to continue teaching but it still bothers me to hear comments or remarks from aspiring parent applicants. After her application, I marked at the end of the application her comments and hew attitude towards school. This become the basis for her child's acceptance. We only take children whose parents we feel would be great partners in their child's education. We have the right to reject applicants since we are already full up to the school year of 2018. There are many schools, it is their right to find one which they think is better.
Kahit po sa barko sir Jo, mararamdaman mo minsan ang discrimination. Aside from that, meron pang regionalism, mas pinapaboran ng mga Bisaya ang mga Bisaya, Tagalog sa Tagalog, Ilokano sa Ilokano, etc.
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to become a teacher too sir Jo. Kaso minsan nagda-doubt ako kungmadedeliver ko ba ng maayos. Reading that short letter makes me feel that there is really something priceless that you can get from teaching. More power sir Jo!
Ito ang pampa good vibes talaga.... Ok din ang mga parents na nakiki collaborate sa mga teachers. Sa tingin ko importanteng factor yun. Maiiwasan ang pagdami ng mga pabebe. Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteAwww... kakatouch naman ng letter ng parents for you sir Jo :)
ReplyDeleteAt least sila, na-appreciate ang husay nyo sa pagtuturo.
Hayaan nyo na lang yung iba jan ahaha!
Hello Froi,
ReplyDeleteGanda naman ng sinabi mo tungkol sa rewards of teaching. Hindi mo malalaman kung puwede kang maging teacher until you tried.
Alam mo bang in every situation may pangkat pangkat but in the case of the mother, she became someone indifferent to her race just because she became a citizen of another country. I also know someone who is a local here na super duper hate niya ang kanyang kalahi. Sad!
Hi Mr. T, yung mga parents namin sa school, all out support and you get either good feedbacks or bad ones kasi most of them attended international schools or graduates of universities outside of their own countries. Sila yung may respect to all cultures dahil nga expose na sila while there are some who are different because they chose to be close minded.
ReplyDeleteHi Fiel,
ReplyDeleteAlam mo bang hindi ko masyadong ka vibes yung mga parents na ito. Both are consultants and they travel a lot around the globe. Feeling ko aloof sila when they do visit me in school. Sila pala yung very honest, very accommodating, and gives importance to those who touched the lives of their children. Love them so much!
Aw, nakakatouch naman. Parang ang sarap magturo tuloy. Sure, there will always be racial discrimination, especially sa set-up mo, but I guess what matters most is the fact that you were able to touch the lives of the students. Yun palang, bawing bawi na ang pagod eh :)
ReplyDeleteJhanz | www.jhanzey.net