Ills Outweigh Thrills: The 7 Deadly Sins of a Filipino Teacher

Education, one of the basic needs of man, is undeniably an inevitable tool to combat the hardships of life and the world in general. Truly, no man on this planet would even dare not to go to school and opt to learn the thrusts of reading, writing and arithmetic. Education is a vital part of our existence and essence as a human being—whose intellect and rational understanding is way far than those of other organisms in the Animal Kingdom. Through education we learn to envision ourselves in the future, soar the pinnacle of success, attain perfection and even forge our dreams to come true.

Education is a prime commodity to save ourselves from the bounds of ignorance and help us discover the life and the world given by the Creator. Truth be told, we are just like an empty cup waiting to be filled with experiences and knowledge when we were born. Now this is where the real essence of education plays its part, for education is filling a cup with useful things and not just letting the cup to do magic on its own. My friends, there is no magic in education, but an interplay of values such as patience, love, understanding, care, commitment, passion and dedication among others. We learn through our experiences, by observing and in going to formal education!

Above all, we could not take into consideration the humongous help given by our parents who were our first teachers. They taught us how to walk and utter words such as “Mama” and “Papa.” Our second parents, our primary, secondary and tertiary teachers, whose cunning and wise advice helped us reach our goal. Whatever you may call them; they are the unsung heroes of our time. Our teachers! 

They wear those programmed uniforms from Mondays to Fridays and guide us in forming the premises of our understanding towards learning. Indeed, teachers serve as a vital instrument in formal education for they do not only teach us the basics of the three Rs, but they also allow us to strengthen our values and achieve things which we think are way beyond our imagination. 

What would the world be without these unsung heroes? Will there be doctors, engineers, computer programmers, pilots, armies, priests and nuns without teachers? Will we attain the life we have now without their help? Will we help our nation and the world rise from the economy if not for the sincere advice of our teachers before? These questions are just few if I’ll tell the limitless capabilities of a teacher. As the saying goes “Teaching is the only profession that teaches all the other profession,” which I for one of the many who have been touched by this line, would definitely agree.

However, the turn of fate has been changed. We see the world in chaos where people are tempted to steal your wallet if you give them the opportunity to do so. We are living in a devil-may-care environment where peace is farfetched. We keep on arguing things for we think that we are already the most learned organism. We love to fight and to corrupt someone else’s idea. We have lost our patience, our creativity, our love for other people and the things that God has created, and above all, to ourselves and to God. We see people killing each other. These individuals have lost everything that they have learned within the four walls of the classroom!

Most people forget to read the Bible thus they hastily go to the wrong path. Most forget how to write pleasant words so in return, a verbal joust of disparaging remarks were fired like cannonballs. Others have put arithmetic in oblivion that is why they even steal from someone else’s pocket even if theirs is already full. We have lost our values. We have degraded ourselves. And considerably, the most affected individual when blaming of the aforementioned takes places… is the teacher.

What did your teacher teach you? Did they shift from their realistic teachings to being an idealistic one? Did they teach you bad deeds? Where there instances when their actions do not mirror what they teach? Follow what I say; don’t follow what I do. This is hypocrisy if this comes from their mouth. 

The teacher really has a direct effect on the development of the individual. Imagine this: an academic school year covering at least 40 weeks (that is 200 days) of meetings in the classroom where teaching and learning occurs. Imagine if the teacher espouses her ugliest behavior within these days. Imagine if the teacher gives her lousiest performance ever due to old age, laziness, or inadequate knowledge. Try to think if no learning occurs within these days and just mere humiliation and terrorism. Imagine if nothing noteworthy happens during these days.

Imagine if the teacher is useless.