KWENTONG TEACHER || 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑀𝑒

By: Cirlynmae M. Gacosta, MaEd
Teacher III
Datu Mankumbate Elementary School
Agusan del Sur Division

Before I became a teacher, I was once a little girl with a simple dream: to go to school, learn, and have a better future.
When I was in elementary school, going to school was not easy.

Every day, I walked almost three kilometers from our home to school. It was a long journey for a young child, but I kept walking because I knew that education was important.

Some days, the sun was hot. On other days, the rain poured heavily. I remember arriving at school soaking wet, with my clothes clinging to me and no extra clothes to change into.

Yet, I would still enter the classroom and do my best to learn.

But one teacher noticed.

My Grade 3 teacher saw my struggles and, instead of simply teaching me lessons from a book, she taught me something far more meaningful: 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲.

Whenever I arrived at school wet from the rain, she would help me and even give me clothes to wear. Her simple acts of kindness made me feel seen, cared for, and valued.

At that young age, I did not fully understand how meaningful her kindness was. But as I grew older, I realized that she had left something in my heart that would never fade.

She became one of the reasons I dreamed of becoming a teacher.
Today, I look back at that little girl walking three kilometers to school and realize that every step was leading me somewhere.

The long walks, the rainy mornings, the struggles, and the kindness of one teacher all became part of the story that shaped who I am today.

Now that I am a teacher myself, I carry her kindness with me. I may not be able to give every student everything they need, but I can always give them something that costs nothing: 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀.

Because I learned from my Grade 3 teacher that sometimes, a teacher does more than teach a lesson.

Sometimes, a teacher becomes the reason a child believes in herself.
To the teacher who once saw a little girl arriving at school soaking wet and chose to care, thank you for becoming part of the reason I am here today.

And to all the teachers who continue to teach, inspire, understand, and make a difference in the lives of their students:
Happy Teachers’ Month!

May we always remember that behind every lesson we teach is a life we may be changing, one student and one act of kindness at a time.

END

𝐼𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠’ 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑙, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝐸𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡, 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑢_𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑎@𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑑.𝑔𝑜𝑣.𝑝ℎ

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