[Sour] Cream of the Crop

Teaching is a gift of immense power. As instruments of change, teachers are regarded as individuals worthy of respect and emulation. However, there is always a spot of imperfection to stain a pristine work of art that is the teaching profession. As we students continue to grow under the guidance of our so-called beloved teachers, this spot alarmingly grows too; it has now become a gaping hole that threatens to crumble the mighty wall of being a teacher.

As a graduating Araullian, I have seen too many teacher stereotypes pass through the haunted portals of our alma mater. I have encountered the enthusiastic and the apathetic. I have experienced the best and worst of classroom situations. During my 3 years of residency, the ugly truth gradually unfolded right before my eyes: we are not only haunted by ghosts living within the walls and pillars of our buildings. We are being haunted by the ghost of rotten traditional teaching.

You might ask, what is it I am referring to? It is authoritarianism, wherein the teacher is the sole source of knowledge and the students are just receptacles; the teacher is always right and the students cannot say otherwise. This shall never be a problem if the teachers are righteous in every aspect. Sadly, some of them who pass through our portals are either only waiting for their salary or the opportunity to slack off. Add to these the “ghost stories” about professors that create a steady buzz around campus: they seem to be traversing the wrong path in teaching by making things unreasonably difficult for students instead of facilitating productive learning.

On the other hand, we students allow the ghost to permeate our system as we continue to embrace mediocrity. We choose to remain silent despite our parents’ (or our own) hard-earned money going down the drain with the persisting presence of this culture. As for students who have already realized that they are deprived of their right to quality education, we are always given the choice to fight for what we deserve or to settle for less. Disrespecting or harassing these teachers is never an option, but expressing our desire for change is an imperative. After all, we are the center of the Araullian community. It is only proper that we contribute to the maintenance of the excellence we intend to showcase to the rest of the world. It is high time that we take the sour out of the cream of the crop. Ma. Gladys Repollo