Truly poignant narratives by two TIP vice presidents tell of public-school teachers in far-flung elementary schools where getting an education is hampered by poverty—or fraught with danger. Dr. Cynthia Llanes’s Grade 1 teacher in Dicamay, a godforsaken and NPA-infested barrio at the foot of the Sierra Madre in Isabela, taught her courage and the power of example; Engr. Severino Pader’s Maestra Moning, his teacher at an elementary school at the foot of Bantay Gusing in Santa, west of Abra, instilled in him a lifelong lesson on the importance of being “in control of yourself and fulfilling your duties and obligations the best you can,” even if it’s just sweeping the floor of the classroom and locking up after school. Cynthia Ferrer Gubler retells a story about Saint Peter and various professionals seeking entry into heaven, among them a teacher, that she had heard in a get-together or other with friends. We have decided to use the anecdote as an epilogue for this book, and fittingly so, because it’s one of the most beautiful tributes we’ve read about teachers. Even Saint Peter will agree. Lourd de Veyra is one of the youngest writers in this book. He’s a poet and musician, the vocalist and guitarist in a rock band. His mother, in her heyday a classical concert pianist, probably doesn’t appreciate rock, but she’s supportive of what Lourd is doing. He says he loves his mother very much, but he admits that his inspiration, the teacher who most influenced him in his career, was his UST professor, the lion of Philippine litera- ture, Ophelia Alcantara-Dimalanta. Miss Cacabelos would not come anywhere close to Dimalanta, but, God bless her, Miss Cacabelos was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. Next to my Tatang , my père , in his fractured French.
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