The new role of teachers in the republic

Title

Language

English

Year

1947

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

... I , .. _ ....... ,.:·t..C ... ~~ .. t~ .... · ~~ THE NEW ROLE OF TEACHERS · ' : IN THE REPUBLIC ~ ' . By CAMILO OSIAS ' ' Busily engaged in a nation-wide campaign, it is not to be expected that I can write exhaustively on the subject I am asked to discusS/: Yet my known devotion to education and· to the teache1·s preclude my refusal to comply with the request because education is the first and foremost ·business of the Republic. The Philippines has again become a Republic, free and independent. The teachers owe it to themselves and the country that gave them birth to help make our national independence -real, effective, and enduring. Independence means transfer of gravity from without the Philippines to within the Philippines. It means that the voice of authority must come from the Filipino people. It is the task of teachers1 in the Republic to implement such ideas and principles. The Constitution under which the Republic operates provides that the Philippines be a republican state; that sovereignty resides in the people and that government authority emanates from them. It is the privilege of teachers to instrument the ideals of republicanism and 'tiemocracy which inform the supreme law of the land. World War II was fought in the defense of four essential freedoms, to wit, freedom of thought and speech, !reedom of relitrion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The teachers have an unrivalled opportunity to assist in the preservation of these fundamental freedoms in the pursuit of their noble mission. The two World Wars that were fought in our generation were fought to make the world safe for democracy and to make democracy safe for the world. All the sacrifice in property and ·life can be partly justified by some such lofty principles. The teachers of the Republic have to labor to make democracy work and work successfully in the new Philippines. It was difficult and costly to win the war. It is going to be long and arduous to win the peace. All live elements, th~achers included, have to bear their full share to win the peace and make it real and lasting. Teachers in the Republic have to educate for peace. The Philippines is once again a Republic. This is a great and challenging contemporary event. The Republic of the Philippines is a full-fledged member of the United Nations Organization. This is another great and challenging fact of contemporary history. What do these require of men and women engaged in the sacred profession of 28 ~, ... :-~~.-.: . . ~ j-:."'.~!;'~;,¢ .~;:~ ... ~-.,-.....:~~:..~.~~ ~#)"''!• - . ~ l!'A"n·"'"' i-~ "" * .,·~ •• ... !,.~..,.: ... ' .. , • ~29 ~ .. ·~ "i ! -~-, -.-·· .~{: .. _ -'( - - . . . . • . ·:-~~~ ·· - At;le;st lhis: that they be thoroughly imbued with the twin·- \~ '):>rinciples· of ·independence and .interdepend~:r:ce .. Teache~s of th~ Re- · ,...;\~r: publiC have to be guided by the Ideals Of nationalism ana mternabonal- • -~~ ism. In the prosecution of educational work in the Republic of the Philippines it is imperative that teache'rs labor with an eye single to the general aim of securing for the citizen, for the nation, and for humanity the highest and fullest measure of efficiency, self-direction, and hap' piness. They have to keep in mind always the specific objectives en~ joined by the makers of ·the Constitution namely, moral character, personal discipline, civic conscience, vocational efficiency, and good citizenship. As a friend of education I earnestly commend these few thoughts to the . serious consideration of teachers and ·prospective teachers. If the rank and file of teachers observe these ideas and ideals society will more readily respond to the appeal that the loyal men and women who are teaching the boys and girls, the young men and young women be assured of a living wage, saving wage, and security for old age. To You of Little Faith ... <continued £rom page 4) We admit the PPSTA has not done a tremendous lot to date, but Ji it has done nothing but form an effective national organization, it will have done enough. You read the Presidential Table Talk in this and in previous issues for more details. Perhaps you wili be convinced. There should be no need for all these arguments and explanations, for the facts and the necessity for a national organization are obvious to most teachers, but we should like t_o have every teacher do right by his colleagues. If we can support the Red Cross, the Anti-tuberculosis Society, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scout.;;, and similar civic organizations, can we not also support our ·association which is dedicated to our own welfare? Can we not put in one peso as insurance of our group happiness? Are we not willing to pay one-third centavo a day just to be sure that intelligent and active people are day and night thinking, planning, fighting for us? If you al·e receiving a salary which satisfies you, you should give eight and a half centavos of it every month ·so your less privileged colleagues may have people to work for salaries that wftl satisfy them, too. If you receive _ starvation wages now, you should be able to give one centavo every three days just for the right to hope that you will be fed adequately by the leaders of the nation. Whatever your status is, the right of every teachers to happiness and the responsibility of every teacher to help insure that happiness is your rsponsibility to I_Jrotect and assure. Keeping away from the association is a shirking of a duty. We believe no teacher would fail to support the cause of the neglected and the downtrodden once he realizes what the issues are. You sureiy would not wish to be a party to the eternal neglect of teaching and the opportunities it should receive from the nation. You surely would lift a fi~ger at least ·so your colleagues may have -a better chance to depend their right to live and be free and happy. This cause of ours is yours, too. Do not excuse yourself. FO~ MODERN OPTICAL NEEDS-SEE KEEPSAKE OPTICAL-80 Escol~a ·.::~-·::· l ••

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