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If the law on anti-mendicancy were implemented strictly, all our teachers would be in jail by now.
A few weeks back, an honorable board member from Benguet province criticized some teachers for acting like beggars, soliciting for funds for their school’s activities such as sports competitions and press conferences.
Public schools, unlike some private schools, regularly participate in annual competitions that include sports, journalism, science-math quizzes, and literary-musical contests. These are aside from other official government activities and celebrations where schools are asked to join street parades and other field demonstrations under the scorching sun.
All these take a lot of time and effort from the poor teacher who has perfected the art of time management for her students and family despite her meager salary.
The board member’s criticism of the teachers may have good intentions “to protect their dignity as educators.” But knowing the teachers’ resiliency, not even the spears and swords of the entire provincial board can stop them from pursuing what is best for their students.
Education is not only learned inside the four corners of the classrooms. Character is borne and molded by how a child reacts and behaves in an actual competition or activity. Like mothers, teachers know what is best for their students.
Teachers have been known to go out of their way just to have their pupils participate in events, even if it would mean dipping in their own pockets if the school cannot afford to finance such participation.
Instead of accusing teachers of putting a bad name to their profession, the provincial government or any local government for that matter should instead pour more efforts, financially or otherwise, in assisting teachers and schools in their respective areas.
The school press conferences, for one, is mandated under the Campus Journalism Act of 1991 while Republic Act 9155, otherwise known as the “Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001,” clearly sets the goal of basic education to provide students with “the skills, knowledge, and values they need to become caring, self-reliant, productive, and patriotic citizens.”
The Department of Education got the biggest bulk of the 2009 national budget but not all reportedly reached its beneficiaries probably because of the same corrupt officials in the government who line their grimy pockets with kickbacks and commissions.
The begging and solicitation will go on because there is a cooperative and understanding private sector that believes and respects the teachers’ worthy objectives, even if it means they have to go waiting on doorsteps.
Come election time, it will be the turn of our honorable elected officials to solicit our votes. This act, however, is often seen in stark contrast to the good intentions of our teachers in soliciting money for worthy causes.
That is why teachers, not politicians, are said to have the world’s most noble profession. |
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