This is a post Teachers’ Day article. I did not submit my article for an October 5 publication as my article may have killed the vibe, commonly referred to as “taga basag ng trip,” as I am seeking to inform the public about what lurks behind the “martyrdom” of teachers. 

Every student who has taken an education course asked at some point, what is the return of investment for being a teacher?

Being an education student is not an easy task. You have to memorize mostly obsolete and inapplicable ideologies and theories and go through the torture of study papers, revising voluminous lesson plans, and endless projects that require “aesthetic.”

In one’s fourth year, you face the nitty-gritty of the course – being a student-teacher. In some cases, student-teachers face subjugation by mentors, in the form of paperwork disguised as “training;” and that’s only the starting point of the exploitation.

After graduation, one is given the choices of private schools, which offer salaries of P10,000 or below for fresh graduates without a license – some may make P15,000 or more, but that also comes with a greater work demand; while others may opt to work in an office or a call center, as the work is not as limiting as that of a traditional teacher.

After a year at the private school, it is time to apply for a job at a public school – better benefits and more secure employment. However, the transfer process requires “politics.”

With the multitudes of education graduates entering the workforce every year, along with many fighting for their rank to be employed at a public school, superintendents come equipped with their personal protégés for positions.

Based on society’s view, the teaching profession is a second class profession.

Theoretically speaking, it is a noble profession; however, it does not attract the best and brightest to teach in public schools.

Aside from the politics, is it an underpaid profession that comes with a lot of work and pressure from the public. They are always mentioned when it comes to national development plans, like wage increases, yet, things like the two-month paid leave for summer is a hoax. Why? There is still a ton of paperwork to complete, reports, in-service trainings, and Brigada Eskwela to occupy that “vacation” time.

Training for teachers is nothing but monetary accumulation, rather than augmenting opportunities for learning. They’re typically generic programs that bring in boring speakers who have spent their entire lives in “ivory towers.” Yet, these trainings are mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd) in order to claim they have provided teachers with professional development. Hotels and organizers profit from these seminar-workshops and the majority of those in attendance rarely practice what they learn.

It’s all part of the promotion – which is a primitive concept; they wait for a vacant position to fill, but, more often than not, that promotion is not made based on merit. Many are not deserving of promotions, while others remain at the entry level Teacher 1 position for their entire life. It’s why there has been a rise of “diploma mill schools,” handing out graduate degrees in order for teachers to increase their ranks.

Teachers with higher ranks make more money; however, those in the lower ranks cannot even make ends meet. Many are left selling yema, ice candy, and peanuts within the classroom; others sell Avon or Natasha beauty products.

Teachers are also denied family time due to their work load.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who I consider a bastard, did not approve the P5,000 chalk allowance, saying, public schools use whiteboards. Of course, a no-brain government official would be ignorant of the struggles teachers in rural areas face, who could have used the chalk allowance to improve the classroom environment. It is why teachers often patronize loan sharks – where teachers are tagged as “taga London,” meaning “Loan dito, loan doon.”

Our society believes education is a powerful tool that can change the world, but how can we change the world when we cannot rid education of corruption and bad practices? Teachers continue to be underpaid, with a lack of social recognition after retirement. These unsung heroes of a societal institution that have the ability to change the course of humanity are taken for granted, exploited, and underestimated.

Better compensation would improve teacher morale, but a cultural overhaul is required./WDJ