Pathways Visayas: November 2005

My parents are both teachers but I never imagined myself doing the same things they do inside the classroom - dirtying my hands with chalk dust, speaking to a crowd of thirty or more students, and worrying about what my next lesson should be. Not until I was drawn into being a Pathways volunteer.

Now, I realize that teaching is fun and self-enlightening at the same time. It's a two-way process, indeed. I get to share with our students the little knowledge I have and I get to learn more from their own ideas and experiences - things that I never would have considered if it were not for them. We teach them grammar, matter, equations, and principles. In return, they taught us that hapiness is found even in simplest things, that poverty is not a hindrance to success, that education is a top priority - in short, they taught us about life itself, which is more meaningful than any works of art or any anthology of books we could offer. They thank us for helping them; we thank them even more for opening our hearts and minds.