The Itinerants Path

Ah! I need to learn a lot at school about teaching profession! Until now, I’m still affected with the grades I gave to few of my students. I gave them a red colored capital F in their report card. I am still wondering whether it was just right, whether they really deserved to be failed in my subject. It is indeed the most difficult subject to teach. In fact, I don’t just consider Values as a mere subject but as a way of life, on how they value everything. Did my students value time and deadlines? Did they value the assignments I gave them? Were they responsible enough to do their homework?

We just distributed their report cards last Friday and the next day of that, Valentine’s day, I went out of Kidapawan not to escape from their inquires but to attend to a seminar related to Christian Living education given by Phoenix SIBS Publishing.

As I reflect about giving them a failing grade, I tried to look at my efforts of asking them repeatedly to submit their individual projects on time and of course, quality work! Most of them were not able to follow simple instructions. I was pretty sure of my clear instructions; it was reflection-reaction paper about the different Biblical text sources. We even discussed about those texts before giving the individual projects.

To fail? Or not to fail? One of my co-teachers told me that with all my efforts, even in giving them two chances to submit their late tasks, they just deserve to be failed. Before, I told myself not to fail any student of mine because all of us have values except that they different with one another. And yet, how would I know whether they are learning good values from our classes? I have to give valid tests, following the school’s regulations and procedures. Thus, they still need to study, review and pass the academic exams in order to get higher grades. Values, which is different, seems to be not like this. Yet, I am hoping, still that they will live what have have learned, their must be inconsistency on what they kept in mind and what they practice outside the classroom. With this I am resolve that in order to evaluate whether they really learned values, is to notice their behaviors and attitude towards others, not only inside the class but also outside. So I don’t feel guilty enough now, that I gave F to few of them. I believe that they must grow from it, valuing that they have learned and not be afraid of failing grades; these are just challenges for them to make it better the next time around. Whew!

Image courtesy of Esquire.Com

On this day..

• Ongoing Formation or Ongoing Frustration? - 2008