PREPARED FOR A TRANSFORMATION

Change is inevitable. Even if we think that we have our lives already figured out, sometimes, a sudden change surprises us to the extent that we don’t know what to do next. What I mean of change here is the new education curriculum which also affects the lives of teachers in higher education institution.

An example to illustrate this reality is the life of a friend who has been teaching in a private university in Bulacan since 2012. He is a graduate of AB Philosophy who has found his passion in teaching in tertiary level. As he always tells me, he is enjoying each day of his life meeting his students of different courses and discussing with them Man and Religion and Morality. Each meeting is full of learning especially when his students engage in a debate where they deliberately express their sides about various issues in the society. According to him, he is also enlightened with his students’ perspectives.

The joy of his teaching experience led him to conclude that he will stay there for good. He told me once that he doesn’t have a plan to look for another job because he loves what he does. He loves his working climate and he grows where he is. He thought being a professor in that university is his destiny …

Then, just last week, he visited my place. I was surprised to see him but I didn’t ask him anymore why it was a sudden visit because I saw eyes tell that he needed someone to talk to. It was a long story but it boiled down to one, K to 12. Many employees of that university will need to have forced resignation because the subjects they are teaching will no longer be offered in college.

One of his greatest regrets is that he didn’t take master’s degree before. If he did, he might have the chance to teach in the senior high school program of that same institution which offers a very competitive salary. If he just only did enroll himself in a graduate school, he might have wider opportunities to go to.

Our conversation ended with a realization that we just need to accept what happened and will happen. Acceptance is the step for us to move on. Though it hurts, he is preparing to look for another job temporarily after his contact but he assured that he will finish master’s degree and go back to his first home.

Nothing is permanent in this world but change. We must equip ourselves to adapt with the ever-changing education sector. We don’t what lies next but we should be ready because indeed, this life is a survival of the fittest.

--oOo— The author is SST III at San Esteban High School