DEVELOPING 21ST CENTURY TEACHERS

Joshua G. Luzano

To teach is to touch lives.

The general notion about teaching is imparting knowledge to the young but, it counts more to that. Teaching is being a model of intellect and being a beacon of kindness that will inspire them to achieve. It is more than paper and pencil. It is more than recitation and test papers. It is being the solid rock of the students who struggle in the everyday fight to acquire a good education.

Teaching is not a profession but a vocation. It is a call to serve the world with willingness, excellence, and integrity. It is a complete devotion to the work to fulfill the oath of inculcating to every child the value of education.

Now, we are facing another paradigm shift in education. From traditional to authentic assessment, from teacher-centered to learner-centered approach, from the Basic Education Curriculum to Kindergarten to 12, teachers need to be flexible and adaptive to the needs of the ever-changing education sector. One of the demands of the educational change is for educators to be the facilitators of knowledge using technology. Their role of being a “sage on the stage” is already a passé and what they need to become is someone who draws out information from the students with the aid of computers and modern equipment.

Nonetheless, being a 21st-century teacher is more than the use of technology inside the class. It goes deeper to the teacher’s passion to teach the young generation to be well-prepared for the upcoming technological advancement, to embrace their role as a second parent to the student, that means, giving them the love that they need and to improve their personal and professional skill set through seminars and continuing education so that they will not be left behind with the unfolding of new knowledge.

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The author is Teacher I at Sulipan Elementary School, Apalit District, Division of Pampanga