The Itinerants Path

Summer vacation has just ended and the school days are fast approaching. Here in Kidapawan City, though I can’t say that I feel totally at home here, I found myself quite busy preparing myself with my new assignment. No more time for escapade and recreation. Just this week, the Principal of Notre Dame of Kidapawan College, High School department, through his Assistant Principal, gave me the task for this school year. I will be handling an advisory class, the Saint Marcellin second year class. Aside from the advisory, they asked me to teach Values-Religion Subject for the first and second year students; which means, I will prepare two lesson plans for a week. Another taks is to moderate a student organization. This is not just an ordinary club for me but a special organization: the Saint Marcellin Champagnat Club. I consider this as not an easy task but a challenging one for a Marist Brother.

Since there are few days remaining before classes start, the Guidance office facilitated a seminar-workshop for all the faculty and staff. Ms. Framer Cristy Mella, a psychologist by profession gave us inputs and strategies on handling adolescents in today’s time. We started the workshop by putting our observations in and outside the campus regarding with the adolescents. Though the reports of each group were substantial, Ms. Mella began with the nature of the young adolescents. This is the stage when the adolescents faces psychological crisis; when they ask questions like, “Who am I and what is my goal in life?” It is an important, crucial, transitional period for them, when they search for identity. She further elaborated the “identity versus role confusion” of Erikson’s theory. Most of the teachers concluded that most of the young ones are misunderstood by most adults.

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Ms. Mella challenged us to be creative and innovative with our strategies in teaching. We must engage them into more participative learning like workshops, story-telling and movie viewing. To work in partnership with the parents of the students plays a vital role in monitoring their achievements and difficulties. The students themselves are to work with their group in order to learn from one another.

I got insights from my Marist formation: to accompany then in their life’s journey. Maybe a group sharing per group is possible once a week. Still, the Marist education guided by the principle of Saint Marcellin Champagnat, “In order to teach children, you must love them equally.” I am hoping for a good school year for both teachers (include me, please…) and students.