SHS conducts Speech and Poetry Recital

Great moments with SHS PTs

BNHS - SHS Official Uniform Designs

BNHS - SHS Official Uniform Designs

VP Leni Salutes Surigaonon Teachers

AFTERMATH: The teachers' heroic stories after the quake

aftermath

The teachers’ heroic stories after the quake

(Randy P. Lamanilao)

              TINDOG SURIGAO! BANGON TA!

            These have been the lines of the ever courageous Surigaonon sent through text messages and posted in social media sites after the historical 6.7 magnitude tectonic earthquake hit the province and the two hundred and more aftershocks felt every now-and-then after a couple of weeks. Donors of varied relief goods, rescuers and stress debriefing facilitators, volunteers from both public and private sectors gathered to help the people for one most unforgettable disaster happened in the history of Surigao. In the course of getting up from being stumbled, teachers’ heroic stories rise.

           

            San Francisco (Anao-aon) is greatly affected by the quake. The Anao-aon Bridge connecting the two municipalities namely San Francisco and Malimono to Surigao City has fallen. Many schools in both Malimono and Anao-aon Districts have been rescheduling classes, restructuring classrooms, and debriefing students. Its intensity left cracks on the walls, scattered instructional materials, broken bricks, devastated classrooms and buildings, and worst, broken hopes for a conducive classroom environment for teachers and students in the next months or years to come.

The daily means of transportation haven’t that easy for the teachers residing in the city or outside Anao-aon to transport going back and forth. That is, they have to wake up early in the morning to cope with the early departure of only few public utility vehicles going to Anao-aon. From there, bringing their portable PCs which are of great use in making their lesson logs, papers to be checked, and all other documents in their bags, they have no option other than to cross the fallen bridge either by walking onto the ladder up and down or cross the wide river separating Brgy. Honrado from Sitio Aton of Brgy. Ipil Surigao City. Indeed, it’s not that easy especially for the aged ones.

Here we go! After the breath-taking moments in the bridge, our so-called passionate people to mould souls in the far flung areas painstakingly answering the call of teaching profession, are now about to wait, perhaps for half an hour or almost an hour at the seat of another PUJ to transport them to their respective schools. Of course, another fare for that, well according to my co-teacher who daily undergone the same experience, “it’s part of the job”.  However, there are teachers who have motorbikes as their partner for easy transportation. I’m sorry. Not that easy for them as of now because their motorbikes will be carried by the four people who will be sharing their fifty pesos fee for crossing the bridge. Therefore, a hundred peso should be left in the pocket for back and forth. Heroic isn’t it?

On their way, the anxious faces display upon looking at their watches as they patiently travels broken roads. As they reach their stations, it’s sad to note that the aftermath of the quake has left many reminders to teachers and students. The bulletin board is now out of its place, the same with other classroom structures so as quizzes and other outputs of the students are now out of the cabinets, cracks on the walls are somehow alarming during aftershocks, and students are afraid to stay inside the classroom.

After the heart-breaking experience, a heart-tugging heroic story has unfolded. Despite the condition, teachers continue teaching. Yes. They do. Life has never been that hard when you try to cope with things you are capable of doing so. Classrooms may gone, students don’t. They stay. Unlike epic stories and world’s most famous fairy tales, teacher’s job doesn’t always end with “happy ever after”, but rather contentment to one’s heart.

After a day, another endeavor has to open the minds of the teachers as they go home. New adventures await. Nevertheless, the challenges that the teachers are facing on the aftermath are blessing in disguise. This, in the other hand, measures pledged commitment to mold individuals, deepens passion to teach, and widens love for the welfare of the people. They, who were gifted to develop young minds into great ones with the right values. The 6.7 magnitude was then a great awakening to rebuild broken relationships inside our respective stations, break up with what we used to do with our classroom routines and a chance to make it new, get out from the comfort zones and deeply understand the meaning of life by continuously discovering and thus, doing its purpose.

My deep salutations to my fellow teachers who conscientiously render their full potentials to their students despite the recent challenges! This time, it’s not “epic fail”. Indeed, in the quest of solving the puzzle for our country’s success, we hold the missing piece! Bangon ta! ###