A teacher leaves her mark in her students' lives

When she was a high school junior, Maricar Pascua was asked by a literature professor a question she never forgot: Why do humans strive to be remembered in the pages of history?

The question was brought about by a news item of a twelve-year old boy who piloted an airplane, aiming to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records. On the day of the exhibition, the plane crashed and the boy died.

The class discussion made her stop and think. How does she want to be remembered? And then her teacher told the class her own take on the matter: “If you’re going to write your life, mark it in the lives of other people.”

I never forgot that discussion, she said, three decades after the incident happened. Pascua, now a teacher of Grade 1 students in her former alma mater in Cavite City, said that from then on, she strived to be the person who would leave a mark on her students.

“I believe that after the family, the school is the second most important institution,” she stated. “And the teacher can greatly influence his or her students.”

Teaching profession
During her senior year in Cavite National High School in 1990, Pascua initially wanted to become a journalist. Unfortunately, the course was offered only in Manila and her parents did not allow her to leave her hometown.

“I was small for my age so my parents were against the thought of me living alone in the capital,” she narrated. “I studied education instead—it was after all, my second choice.”

After taking up education in the nearby St. Joseph’s College, Pascua went back to teach in her old school, the Ladislao Diwa Elementary School, the local public school unit of Cavite city. Here, she handled 40 to 45 students, teaching all the subjects in one class.

“I taught for 10 years in a mixed class of 40 to 45 students, and they were harder to teach than the fast learners.” When the master teacher who handles the fast learners class retired, Pascua applied for the post and soon became the designated adviser for the said class.

Pascua said that handling first grade students were considered an ordeal for some faculty members. “They say that teaching Grade 1 students is hard and I will get older faster, but seriously, I find it rejuvenating.”

Outreach works

During the weekends, Pascua engages in various outreach programs in her community. She is a member of Club 8586, a club that engages in various outreach programs outside Cavite City but within the province.

On Saturdays, Pascua and her group go to different towns and communities to conduct values-formation, hygiene, clinic, and feeding programs. They have already conducted programs in depressed communities in Trece Martires, Dasmarinas, and Bacoor.

“I have been involved in such programs since I was third year in college.” Pascua narrated. She used to be part of the youth arm of Club 8586 but she is now with the missionaries group.

Aside from the streets and communities, the group also conducts weekly Sunday visits to the Cavite city jail, where they have a values-formation program for inmates.

“We have a little more than 30 inmates attending our sessions,” explains Pascua. “That’s the most number that we can accommodate in the laundry area of the prison.” The Cavite City jail has 130 inmates in a congested prison.

She had been doing outreach works for the inmates for two years now, and Pascua can already see the results of their efforts. “When we started, people would tell us that it’s dangerous especially if a riot occurs, but now, even the warden tells us that the prisoners are even more disciplined than the ones outside.”

When they talk to inmates, Pascua gets inspired by their stories, especially from those who want to change their ways and return to normal life outside prison.

Still teaching

Despite her community service, teaching is still the most important thing for Pascua. She had limited her community services to the inmates on Sunday classes so she would be physically prepared for her weekday class.

“When I stand before my students and I see them sitting there, listening, I see them eventually having their own families,” Pascua mused. “When that time comes, they will teach their children the same values I taught them.”

Although she has an affinity with children, Pascua, 35, has remained single, focusing on the responsibility she has at hand: teaching. She also chose to remain in the same public school despite a better paying stint in a private institution. She also chose to stay in her country and strongly dismissed the thought of leaving for abroad.

“I am content with the life I have here and I want to produce responsible Filipinos,” Pascua said. “I want to have an intangible presence in my students’ lives. They will carry a part of me with them and that is enough reason why I teach,” Pascua concluded.

Is Pascua close to leaving her mark on the children she taught everyday for the last 25 years? Yes, she said. One of her students, now a professional, nominated Pascua for the Geny Lopez Bayaning Pilipino Awards for her services and efforts.

“Knowing that my students have become responsible members of the community is an achievement in itself,” she says. “And it is something that I have started to write in my book of history.”
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Maricar Pascua is a finalist for the Geny Lopez Bayaning Gurong Pilipino 2009 Awards. This article was made for abs-cbnNEWS.com but was never published. Happy Teacher's Day to all the inspiring teachers of the Philippines.