A child success in school is a teacher behind!

by: Gella Tapay

A child success in school is a teacher behind. I remembered when our college professor told us a story of a teacher and an engineer, that if an engineer got failed in planning to build a house he just ruined the whole house, but if the teacher got failed in planning the curriculum and in teaching he is ruining the future of the students. It is true that teachers have a great impact to influence student’s life. And that’s what happened to me. My teacher influences me in many ways. And because of him I got to used to be in education. He gives me an inspiration in life, and that quite a year of being his student, I’ve learned a lot and I really enjoyed the moment he was teaching us.

Many teachers I’ve encountered during my elementary and high school days. Thou most of them I got to know with, but this unique teacher is I really like the most. I really much appreciated the way he teaches us. In the four corners of the room, he never let us to leave without learning anything. Once you enter the classroom, you will feel like you were in the battle. Everyone should have stock knowledge, information about the topic, props like books, and communication. Communication in your group mates, because the class set up is groupings. Every group will be competing with each other. And in every success there is a reward, so thus, once your group got correct answer your group will be earning a point. That’s set up our AP teacher always want. Yeah! It was like a battle, and yet it was exciting for us. We really enjoyed the pressure, but we used to manage it, because he teaches us how to appreciate the things we encountered and emotion we felt.

How do he teach us?

Our AP teacher is just entering the class with just his whiteboard marker, as if it is very important rather than his books. He don’t have anything props like laptop, tablet, books or even a visual aids. It looks like very traditional, right? But no! His teaching is not traditional one. Though he is not using any gadgets or modern technology, his teaching is very student-centered ever since. He always does brainstorming. He let us first to explore everything.  He asks and asks, and let the information came from us. And I was thinking that his curriculum designed was mostly learner centered design. Afterwards, it is now his turn to write those answers using his magical whiteboard marker.

It’s pretty cool the way he teaches us. He let us be out on a box. How? He loves role playing, so thus our talent will be exposed. By group, he gives us a particular topic to be acted. I was remembered when he gave my group a topic to portray the role of God and Goddess. Of course, we should be creative in playing those role with matching props and etc., and we acted it with a twist. Of course, that role playing has a rubric that serves for him as criteria for judging and also it was criterion referenced assessment that he has a standard on his grading system, and that was his curriculum evaluation that time. . And that makes us won. He never let us feels like we should be a genius that every time we need to study.  He let us play, enjoy, and treasure the happiest moment of learning. And thanks to him, I really enjoyed my 3^rd year high school life.

The teacher I’ve been talking about is no other than Mr. Dennis Gutierrez, my 3^rd year AP (Araling Panlipunan) teacher back then in Col. Lauro D. Dizon MNHS, and now a Research teacher in San Jose Senior High.

Now he is teaching Field Research in grade 12 senior high. Just like us, he still divided his class into groups. As I observed the class, they are enjoying the company of their teacher. I ask Mr. Gutierrez what is his strategies in teaching research and he said to me that, “Since G12 Laurel is major in Social Science, I allow them to use technology like cellphones for them to search possible title for their research. It is more on technological based. I also allow them to get out of the room because it is field research and it should have product or project or program.”

His approaches are still the same like he approached us, his former students before. Though there are some changes, but he is still our teacher we learned a lot with. His curriculum design is aligned in what is needed by his students. His evaluation is matched to his subject and topic. And he also said that after  all the hard work of his students there will be a final defense, and that serves as their evaluation because there are many questions be involve in their research.