BEYOND THE CLASSROOMS: EDUCATORS’ APOSTOLATE

NELIA C. GUINTO

Educators’ roles are not confined in the four corners of the classroom. Their roles go beyond the routinely duties of delivering relevant and responsive instruction and the preparations of documents to support the teachinglearning process. There are various ways and opportunities where they can find themselves fruitful and productive. One of these is through community extension, a mission, an outreach – an apostolate.

By helping others in the community, educators realize that they can be of great contribution to others even in their own simple ways. Through outreach activities, there is a realization that helping and sharing are at the top of all other intents and on acting on such intents, and educators, although having different learning areas and expertise, can be united for one mission and vision of #ParaSaBata and #ParaSaKomunidad.

Through outreach activity, educators come to realize that they can really be of help to others even in their own simple ways. Even sharing of a little of their budget and resources for outreach activity, it can be seen that this little help, combined with those shared by the other educators, can really make a community happy and feel the joy of being gifted. Through this apostolate, educators realize that despite their own weaknesses and poverty, they all have the capacity to become strengths to others, to become a source of spiritual wealth to others.

By helping others, educators also get to realize that helping and sharing are at the top of all other intents and on acting on such intents. Whatever they would like to do as educators and future leaders of our own institutions, all their intents become secondary to the main priority and calling for them to give a helping hand to others. More than what they can bring to students in the four corners of the classroom, what really matters most is their impact in their daily living, on the application of what they inculcate to their learners.

There is also another realization in conducting outreach activities: educators, although having different learning areas and expertise, can be united for one mission and vision of #ParaSaBata and #ParaSaKomunidad. When helping others, there should be no issue on whether one person is expert in one area and the other on another area. What shall transpire and what shall be observed is one, solid people – educators - with one goal of being of help to their fellowmen. Indeed, educators’ roles are beyond the classrooms!

— oOo—

The author is Teacher III at San Esteban High School, Macabebe, Pampanga