A lot of people keep on asking me this question. Some may raise their brows and judge my decision. Some will say "It's a stable job already, why leave?"
It was not so long ago that I entered the public school. I entered DepEd at 20 years old, a fresh graduate, and was assigned to 90+ students who are mostly older than me and now I am 25 years old. It was not an easy job, heck handling those 90+ students in one classroom. That was the most exhausting year I've had, but the most fun! These students will always be in my heart.
The pandemic starts and we all shifted to distance learning. I cannot see my students and I realized that I prefer having a crowded classroom than just having it on my own. I start to question myself at this time, "Am I still a Teacher?" "Can I still teach effectively?"
But fast forward school reopened and everything seems to be back to normal. I am very excited to welcome students again. Luckily, I am assigned to the STEM Class, where all students are top students.
After 2 years of the closure of the schools, I am very excited to teach again. This group of students has been excelling in all that they do, and I make sure to give them all the support and care that they miss after the 2 years of distance learning because I know that it's harder for them than for us teachers.
I guess I am successful in showing them my love and support because they never fail to make me feel loved. They are good students that do their tasks without being asked, they excel in all their classes even with the little resources that our school has, they are well-mannered and respectful and they always make an effort to have a small celebration for me. All sections that I handle show the same care and love to me.
Everything seems to be fine, so why leave?
Every day that I see my students it is every day that I remind myself to be better. As I teach them I am reminded that there are still a lot of things that I do not know. I want to grow. I want to be better. I want to learn new things. I want to expand my knowledge so that I can provide a more valuable and amazing learning experience to these students because this is what they deserve. They deserve more.
And sad to say, I feel like I am not growing I am not improving. I feel like I am contained in a transparent jar where all the other people are getting all the fruits and opportunities, and I can see them.
So I decided to leave.
I decided to leave because I want to explore, I want to experience new opportunities out there for me. One reason also is to have a better income, I am working for years and I think the only thing that I acquired is backpains.
But kidding aside, I am not leaving the Philippines because of the kids. I left not because I hate them, I left not because I don't love teaching in the Philippines. In fact, I am doing this to improve myself and be better so that when I go back I can provide a better learning experience for the students. Some may find me a hypocrite because of this reason but this is the REALEST reason.
Leaving is not easy. Most especially if you already love what you're doing. Leaving is the decision that I think would be necessary in order for me to grow and be the person that I want for myself, for my family, and for my students. In this new journey of mine, I know I will emerge strong.
I am thankful for all the experience from all the years I have been a teacher in the department. I met a lot of people who added quality to my life. All the years I am with them made me strong that helped me to take this big decision.
If you reached this far, I know you have a question in mind. "So, would you go back and teach in DepEd?"
I did not initially plan to become a teacher. But I cannot imagine myself doing another job besides teaching. It's a profession that I learned to love. My students are the reason why I decided to take this new learning journey. So YES! I will go back to the Philippines and share with the Filipino students the learnings I will get in this new journey.
My journey has not yet started, and I know that this will not be easy. But I am excited to take on this journey and improve myself. So laban lang and never give up!
Thank you so much for reaching this far! This is a long blog after the pause I took here in HIVE, but I will try my best to be more active and share with all of you my journey and experiences as a teacher here in the USA.
P.S. I am writing this blog in my apartment right now fighting homesickness huhu pero laban lang hekhek
