KWENTONG TEACHER|| 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝘆 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝗠𝘆 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

By: Marjorie Joie Lacaza-Belloco
Division of Agusan del Sur

𝗔 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺

When I was a child, my dream was simple: to experience the things other children had, like tasting a birthday cake. Growing up in poverty taught me early that even simple dreams could feel impossible. In high school, I dreamed of becoming a policewoman, but financial struggles led me to choose Education instead.

𝗔 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵

At first, I was unsure if teaching was truly my path. But during my field study, I met children who reminded me of my younger self—their struggles, dreams, and limitations. I began to realize that perhaps teaching was not just a second choice, but a path God had prepared for me.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁

After graduation, becoming a teacher was not easy. For five years, I worked different jobs, volunteered, became a substitute teacher, worked as a COVID-19 contact tracer, and served as a PSA team supervisor. Those experiences taught me patience, responsibility, and perseverance.

Finally, I received my teaching item, and I felt that God had given me the opportunity to fulfill my purpose.

𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺

My first teaching assignment was far from home and challenging. There, I discovered that some of my learners went home during recess simply because they had no food to eat. I realized that they were not only carrying academic difficulties but also hunger, poverty, family problems, and struggles that were invisible inside the classroom.

From then on, I began looking beyond lessons and grades. I brought food, school supplies, vegetables, and other simple things for my learners. I conducted home visits and tried to understand the reasons behind their struggles, especially those who had difficulty reading.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗲

One day, I asked my learners what they wanted to become. One child told me he wanted to become a fisherman because he believed he could not continue school due to poverty.

His words reminded me of my own childhood.

I shared my story with them, and we cried together. At that moment, I understood more deeply why I had become a teacher.

𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲

I realized that my struggles were not wasted. Perhaps God allowed me to experience poverty, rejection, waiting, and hardship so that I could understand children who were experiencing the same things.

Today, I know that teaching is more than preparing lessons, checking papers, and giving grades. It is about caring, listening, understanding, loving, and giving hope.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀

I may not have become the policewoman I once dreamed of becoming, but I became someone who protects children in another way. I protect their dreams, encourage their education, and remind them that poverty does not have to define their future.

The little girl who once dreamed only of tasting a birthday cake has become a teacher who dreams of giving children something greater: hope, love, education, and the courage to dream.

This is my journey.
This is my story.
And this is more than my profession—it is my MISSION.

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