As our adviser, he turned our classroom into our second home. And not just another homeroom adviser, he was our friend, our brother and our young father. He was very strict inside the classroom, but he always mingled with us outside of it. He actively participated in our activities, both inside and outside school. He brought our teaching and learning relationship to the next level, that of friendship. Some of the teachers disapproved of this kind of teacher-student relationship: they anticipated a biased grading. But we did not mind. We knew he was objective when it came to his job. During homeroom meetings with our parents, he always asked them about how we were doing at home, he updated them on our progress in our grades and academic performance, as well as in our behavior. He cared for us, more than any older teacher did. In a public school like the Aurora National Science High School, students are required to do cleaning tasks. He did not approve of “students only” cleaning the classroom and school facilities because, as he said, teachers also use them. He raised this matter during a teachers’ meeting and several teachers disagreed. Nonetheless, he still included his name in the group- ing of cleaners that took part in the cleaning. He encouraged us to take the UP College Admissions Test for an affordable college education. He convinced other teachers to give us free review classes on weekends, with free snacks. He reminded the teachers that many of us came from poor families, like him. Most of us took the admissions test and passed.
He tried to mold us into future teachers, even if very few of us had the interest to pursue a bachelor in education. He selected
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