CASE # 018: Kwentong Pangarap

Anong gusto mong maging paglaki mo? (What would you like to be when you grow up?)

Paglaki ko gusto kong maging labandera.

Siguro lahat tayo natanong nito noong mga bata pa tayo. I can't really remember what my answer to this question was. There was one point in my life I pretended to be a cashier, a saleslady, a pharmacist, an actress, a singer, a member of a rock band, a lifeguard, an assassin, a martial arts expert, a doctor, a lawyer, a witch, car racer, etc.


Pero wala sa listahan ang pagiging teacher. It was never my ambition to be one and I don't know why. Sure, naglalaro kami ng titser-titseran ng mga pinsan ko pero laro lang iyon. Wala nga akong tiyaga na turuan sila sa assignments nila.


When I was in high school, I discovered my passion for writing. That was when I started writing journals everyday. Simpleng rants at drama ko lang sa buhay. Tapos tuwing may play or skit na kailangan sa school, ako lagi ang gumagawa ng script. In my Junior Year, I joined the Creative Writing Club and our Campus Paper.


I also became interested in plays. Pero more on backstage roles. Floor Director, Scriptwriter, Director, Lights, Scoring. Nung nagsimula na ang mga entrance exams sa college, that was the time I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Hindi ko rin pinangarap maging writer. Siguro kasi that time mahilig akong manood ng mga TV Series na may lawyer characters.


I did consider becoming a doctor pero kasi takot ako sa dugo at injection. Hindi rin ganun katibay ang sikmura ko sa mga basag na bungo, labas na utak, atay at balunbalunan. So lawyer na nga lang. Good thing, hindi rin naman ako diniktahan ng Lolo at Lola ko kung anong course ang kukunin ko.



I finished my college degree at the Polytechnic University of Philippines. I wanted to take Political Science sana. Pero napaisip ako kung anong magiging work ko after college kapag iyon ang course ko. I took into consideration na hindi naman ako agad papasok sa law school kasi kailangan ko rin munang magtrabaho para may pang-law school.


Professor? Parang ang boring naman!


Eh since mahilig naman ako magsulat, why not Journalism? Mas exciting kasi pwede ako sa media, advertising, publishing, etc. Sige iyon na lang!

Eleven Years Later...

I found myself at school again. Sa lobby ng College of Education ng University of the Philippines-Diliman. Hawak ang transcript, certificate of marriage, birth certificate, at application form, buong ayos kong sinusulat ang sagot ko sa essay question na: "Why do I want to become a teacher?"

Orientation Day at College of Education

Feeling estudyante

Bakit nga ba?

All my life I was surrounded by teachers. Tita ko teacher. Lumaki akong playground ang public school kung saan siya nagtuturo. Pero ni minsan hindi niya ako pinilit na maging teacher.

Ang naging line of work ko for more than a decade ay sa mga publishing company na gumagawa ng textbooks. Puro teacher rin ang kahalubilo ko. At para na rin akong nagtuturo sa pamamagitan ng student magazine na sinusulat ko at librong ine-edit ko.

Storytelling event at Colegio de San Agustin

Product presentation at Le Sil Montessori in Muntinlupa Cty

Former office and team

Bakit hindi ko naman subukan matutunan kung paano ba talaga magturo sa loob ng classroom?



I took up 18 units of Certificate in Professional Education. Ito ang requirements ng PRC (Philippine Regulatory Commission) para makapag-board exam ang isang non-educ graduate. Kailangan kasi matutunan ang mga theories, principles, philosophies, pedagogy, at psychology kung paano magturo.

Mahirap kasi working student na ako. Para rin akong nag-masteral dahil inabot rin ng dalawang taon bago ko nabuno ang 18 units. Mahirap kasi this time ako na nagpapaaral sa sarili ko. Magastos mag-aral. Kahit sa state university pa ako naka-enroll.

Pero masarap. Masarap mag-aral ulit. Masarap kasi ang dami kong natutunang bago. Masarap kasi puro millenials ang kasama ko kaya parang pakiramdam ko bata ulit ako. Masarap kasi nasubukan kong magturo sa actual na classroom at na-enjoy ko. Masarap kasi alam mong may pakinabang ka sa lipunan.


Awa ng Diyos, natapos din ang 18 units. Nakapag-LET at pinalad na makapasa rin. I am now an LPT. Licensed Professional Teacher. 

Pero nang lumaki naging teacher...

...at labandera #dreamsdocometrue

It may not have been my childhood dream. But it had become one of the dreams I ended up fulfilling


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