The Joys of Teaching

Teaching history or herstory

For my History classes, I asked them to write their town's history in the vernacular and from the point of view of the local residents (How the town's name was derived, their experiences during the World War II and the Japanese Occupation, the local political structure, etc). Some of them were surprised to discover that their parents or grandparents were actually some of the moving forces in their town's history.

For Literature, I made them write their family history. For this exercise, they discovered the place their parents originally come from, how their parents met, the hardships they encounter as a family and individually, and other things about themselves and their families. A few of them turn in emotional works that are a staple of drama anthologies on television. Some even included sensitive information of their family history.

Introducing theater

The culminating activity we did was the staging of original and adapted plays in the vernacular. My students went through the process of conceptualizing to producing and post-production evaluations of theater production. Those whose talents were in painting and sculpture were in-charge of the set design, the writers wrote the script, the leaders become the directors while the actors and singers took their parts seriously. Others were assigned behind the curtain. We invited other teachers and students to watch. In the succeeding semesters, our presentations become one of the most anticipated activities in the campus during the exams week.

Evaluating students performance

For their final grades, their academic and practical performances were given equal weights. Individual grades were based on individual contribution based on the group's leader evaluation as corroborated by the team members. I was very liberal in giving high grades especially to those who deserve them. Those who failed are those who did not show interest or did not participate in the different activities.

During the post-test at the end of the semester, most of my students said they appreciated the unconventional teaching method that I employed and they realized that art and history are very exciting subjects.

Some good things never last

However, even good things must come to an end. After four semesters, I surprised my self and my students with an announcement that I am leaving due in part to my desire to finish my thesis and because of the sorry state of the part-time teachers like myself in the university. A few students cried while I blink back my tears during my announcement after our final presentation.

Months after I left, some of my students were sending me text messages telling me that they miss me and they appreciated what I have shared with them. During such times, I avoided being emotional as I was taking on a different journey in the city. However, I have not completely turned my back on teaching because I do not see myself getting old doing any other profession. I may be enjoying my present job I still look back at those four semesters with a kaleidoscope of beautiful sounds and images, which have made an indelible mark on my memory. Right now, I am just preparing for my next classroom, which will be very soon.