I will not be another socrates

Title

Language

English

Year

1947

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

..... f ,._· WILL r. , -~· ~ ;: .·. . f~. . ' -:~'';H ' / .. ~~- ~ ·;-- ... . . ., .. • u By ERNESTO R. BARBO.SA First Vice~President, Marinduqu.,e Teachers' A'8~oci<ition ' .,.·. The mistaken conception of some per"verted minds that teachi.ng is· a degrad~ ing profession has always discouraged many promising young men and women from choosing this noble career. A &· great majority of , teac~·ers now in, our sch<lolS are high schooL graduates. I : · know a great many teachers wlio have left the teaching profe;,sion to look for a more remunerative job. Some of them have strved as teachers patiently for .1 · years, but seeing the same treatment -and prejudice accorded them year after year, I can not see how they could have done otherwi&e. ' I There is also a prevailing but wrong notion among the less-informed that only lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, engirleers, dentists, etc. are professional men . 'l'his is a gross 'error. A real teacher undergoes .an intensive and thorough preparation for the great responsibility she is to handle in rearing the youth of our land. If other professional men are required to.'undergo a thorough and rigorous preparation for their work, do teache_rs not undergo a similar course of training? Do they not study science. hrt, philosophy,' history and ethics of education before being permitted to "practice"? Is a teacher not required to pass civil service examinations before being classified as a qualified civil service eligible? Let anyone who thus criticizes the teachers and the teaching profession try to qualif~ in' the rigid entrance examination requir-ed of applicants· for ac!mrssion to the Philippine N:onnal School ~and stu_dy there for eyen one semester in ord~r to find out for himself how a teacher is made; or 20 let him qualify in the civil service examinations required of teachers . and see for himself . if such things were as easy as saying "teacher only." , I am a teacher, too, but I will not tolerate anyone td affix .the word "on-. ly" to my profession. I c~nsidet my chosen profession as noble 135 any in existence. Those who would ' look down · upon a teacher with derision, contempt, and, mockery are ingrates of the worst type. Let anyone who would call me a "teacher -only" come to me, and I will ask hi,m, should he possess some education, if he had ·become a professional man 'fithout being taught by a teacher I/ in the gmdes. If my critic is a parent, l will ask him whether he has a ' child in school. I wonder if there would ever be lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, engineers, etc., if there were no teachers. That wo.uld be tantamount to climbing a tree without beginning at the bottom. ' ·I am revolted and my blood boils whenever I think of this great injustice done to teachers and the teaching profession. The eagernes·.:; for a square fight which has not left me since the tl'agic .days in Bataan still surges within my veins. I eannot /1-emain silent now. I will not be another Socrates who calmly submits to his fate by drinking a cup of hemlock. I know I am teaching day after day, not for my own good but for the good of my country and my people. I am not afraid to ·assert, much les.:; ashamed to be called a teacher. I can face anyone squarely, may his sta.: tion in life be high .or low, and proudly e, t . raise my head and 'S'ay, "Yes, I am a teacher!" J ' "<.'' ,,

Media