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TEACHING IN THE BARRIO By: Eden C.

Franco
While the popular maxim for people who want to seek greener pasture is Go West! or even Go Abroad! (at least for us Filipinos) there is a handful among us who would still !hoose to go to the not so finan!iall"#rewarding dire!tion to sta" in the !ountr" and serve our people in the !ountr"side$ %n the past de!ades there has been an exodus of Filipino professionals who !hoose to go abroad and find emplo"ment in foreign lands where the pa" is mu!h rewarding$ We have heard !ountless stories of nurses do!tors and even tea!hers who leave the &hilippines even if the" seem to have stable 'obs here$ (he !ommon denominator of their reasons is almost alwa"s finan!ial$ (here is nothing wrong with !hoosing to seek for better pa"ing 'obs and opportunities even if that would take working overseas and leaving one)s famil"$ Working abroad has its own set of sa!rifi!es$ (his is the reason wh" overseas Filipino workers (*FWs) are !alled modern#da" heroes$ %n re!ent "ears the list of Filipino professionals who have taken the path of working overseas in!luded not onl" medi!al pra!titioners su!h as nurses and do!tors but also tea!hers$ (here is a parti!ular migration of our tea!hers to the +nited ,tates whi!h is regarded as the promised land of greener pasture$ Filipino tea!hers tea!h in the publi! s!hools of the +nited ,tates$ From news a!!ounts we have heard a number of su!!ess stories of our Filipino tea!hers who tea!h in the +,$ -ut we have also heard of sad stories su!h as Filipino tea!hers experien!ing sorts of dis!rimination issues not onl" from their emplo"ers but even from their students$ .es there is a big sense of finan!ial reward working overseas !ompared here in our !ountr"$ -ut there are also a lot of trade#offs whi!h are not measured in terms of dollars and pesos$ /hoosing to sta" and work here at home also has its own set of sa!rifi!es$ -ut even if it is not mu!h finan!iall" rewarding the sa!rifi!es and diffi!ulties of working here at home % believe are worth enduring$ % have been a publi! high s!hool tea!her for about two de!ades now$ % started tea!hing when the pa" for a publi! s!hool tea!her is not as !ompetitive as it is toda"$ With m" salar" % tr" and exhaust all means of budgeting 'ust to make ends meet$ % !an sa" that % am getting b" with ea!h

passing da"$ % live from pa" !he!k to pa" !he!k but m" famil" and % survive with God)s gra!e$ (here were times when % thought of !hanging !areer and even set m" sights on working overseas$ -ut % de!ided to sta" home and work here even if it is not mu!h finan!iall" rewarding$ % tea!h in the barrio where % reside$ (he 0epartment of 1du!ation home# based poli!" where a tea!her is assigned to tea!h in her pla!e of residen!e is of big help to me$ % do not have an" expense for transportation$ % walk ever"da" to and from s!hool$ (his is not onl" good for m" po!ket but it is also good for m" health as walking is a good exer!ise$ % do not have to enrol for a fitness program$ ,in!e % tea!h in the barrio % breathe fresh air ever"da" eat fresh food for merienda like banana !ue and !amote for merienda and fresh fish fruits and vegetables for lun!h$ Although there is mu!h !omplaint among our publi! s!hool tea!hers nowada"s regarding the la!k of dis!ipline of students % !an sa" that our students in the barrio are better#behaved and loving !ompared to those who are in the urban !ommunities or in the !ities$ % also personall" know most of our students be!ause the" !ome from the same baranga" % !ome from$ ,ome of them are alread" the !hildren of m" former !lassmates$ (here is not mu!h diffi!ult" !ommuni!ating with their parents be!ause the" are m" !lassmates m" neighbors and even relatives$ %n the !lassroom and in the s!hool % am the tea!her$ % tr" to give m" best 'ust like the tea!her tea!hing in the !it" or even the tea!her tea!hing abroad$ -ut % !an sa" that % have m" own sense of fulfilment tea!hing in the barrio$ (here are man" !hallenges and diffi!ulties su!h as the la!k of fa!ilities and even instru!tional materials but % tr" to do with what % have and what is available$ 2" students ma" not get to bu" the most expensive of materials for their pro'e!ts but the" are the most resour!eful as the" get their materials from indigenous sour!es available in the barrio$ At the end of the da" it is the learning that takes pla!e that is most important$ 3ere in the barrio tea!hing has its own uni4ue and spe!ial reward$ %t ma" not be as finan!iall" rewarding !ompared to tea!hing in foreign lands but it has its own and spe!ial kind of fulfilment$ 3ere life is simple$ 5ife is beautiful$ (The author is Teacher I at San Pedro National High School, San Simon Pampanga).

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