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Today
is Appreciation Day, so I'd like to talk to you about our teachers and
staff. I'd like to share with you…"ten things we don't know
or often forget about our teachers" here in Xavier. Of course this
is only a drawing. Our teachers and staff look much much better in real
life.
First:
let's look at their foreheads. Usually, we can tell the AGE of people
by looking at their foreheads. How old do you think most of our teachers
are? What do you think is the average age of our teachers and staff in
the Grade School? Let's see…
How
many of you think that most of them are between 21 to 30 years old? 31
to 40 years old? 41 to 50 years old? 51 to 60 years old? We did some computation
to get the average age. As you know, you get the average by adding all
their ages and dividing the total by the number of teachers and staff.
The average age is… 36 years old!
Second
item: Let's look at their feet. How many hours a day do you think do our
teachers stay on their feet teaching? We found out that many of them teach
for four periods a day. That's almost three hours. Sometimes we forget
that. Often by the fourth period, our teachers are already tired because
it's already the fourth class that they've taught that day.
Item
no. 3: Let's look at their hands. Many of us don't know the kind of work
they do outside the classroom. Many of our teachers and staff stay in
school beyond 4 pm and work overtime.
When
many of you are already home, some of our teachers and staff are still
in school correcting papers, working on lesson plans, preparing Powerpoints.
I hope we remember that the next time our teachers teach us in class and
we feel like misbehaving.
Item
no. 4: Let's look at their hearts. Too often we forget that our teachers
have feelings too. We forget that they feel bad when we don't do our work,
and they get hurt when we are disrespectful to them. Maybe we can begin
trying to be more sensitive to how they feel, especially by trying our
best in our work.
Item
no. 5: Many of us forget that we only see one side of our teachers. They
also have their own life and their own home too. After school, they go
home to their own family, and they have their friends.
Which
brings me to Item no. 6. Our teachers also know how to have fun! They
are very much like us and they also like to have fun. When there are no
classes, they also go out with friends, watch movies, and basically enjoy
themselves. Everyone needs to relax especially our teachers and staff
who work so hard during the week.
Item
no. 7: Let's look at their feet again. Do you know that many of them spend
a lot of time traveling during class days? Some of them live as far as
Laguna and Cavite, and they have to drive or commute for as long as 5-6
hours a day. Try to imagine how tiring that is. When they get to school,
they have to do their work.
Which
brings me to the next item which will focus on their hand again. When
they get home, after a whole day's work in school, and after traveling,
many of them have their chores. Many of them have to cook at home, take
care of their children, and take care of their home by performing chores.
That's why sometimes, if you look at their eyes, you will notice that
they lack sleep. Because of all the things they have to do in school and
also at home, they have to stay up late and wake up early.
Maybe
starting today, we can pay extra attention to our teachers and staff and
see how we can make them happy. Actually, it does not take much to make
them happy and to show your appreciation to them. All you have to do is
to try your best and to say "Thank You" once in a while. So
since today is Appreciation Day, let us offer this Mass for them-our teachers
and staff in the Grade School-for everything that they do which we often
forget and not notice. Let's say a prayer together for them.
Dear
Lord,
Thank you for giving us our teachers.
Help us to remember how hard they work
and how much they care for us.
Help us to show them that we care for them too.
Please bless them and all the people whom they love.
AMEN.
FR.
JOHNNY GO, S.J.
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