CLASSES have started, and just like most of my fellow teachers, I am looking forward to the next 10 months of tough but exciting work. It will be another year of molding young minds and helping shape their personalities.

When I was hired by Davao Christian High School two years ago, I was assigned to teach economics to fourth year high school students since that was the position that I applied for. But in the middle of the school year, one English teacher resigned and the job had to be filled immediately. Our first year social studies teacher was asked to assume the job since she is really an English teacher, and that meant someone had to take her place. Our coordinator asked me if I would be willing to increase my load and teach Philippine history. After some hesitation, I said yes.

The job was not that easy. Since our school uses a parallel independent learning system where three classes are conducted simultaneously, teachers must be very creative and efficient in the use of time. Throughout the remaining five months, I discovered new things, new ideas, and new hopes among my students. I thoroughly enjoyed my job.

I discovered great ideas from my 13-year-old students. In one of our lessons, I told them that we are lucky to enjoy freedom from the time we were born. But though we are free today, there are still a lot of things to fight for in this country. Then I challenged them, ?What revolution are you going to fight for the Philippines today??

Their answers surprised and pleased me. One student wrote, ?My revolution as a student will be in aid of children who need education. Education is important to the lives of the Filipinos. It trains one?s intellect and develops the capacity to conduct his/her own self properly.? This particular answer made me think: Many of our political leaders boast about being products of the best universities in the country, yet the same politicians are accused of fraud, corruption and other abuses. Have our academic institutions failed to inculcate morality among our students?

Two out of every five students said they were going to fight graft and corruption in the government. I was impressed by their awareness of this pressing problem in our society, but at the same time I was sad to know that at their young age they already knew about it. Corruption in Philippine society has apparently become so obvious and widespread that even the young know about it.

When somebody asks me what I do for a job, I proudly answer that I am a teacher. And I add that I teach economics and history ?Philippine history. Some of the reactions I get are sometimes insulting, but I don?t feel a need to defend myself or explain my reasons. I know why history is important. History is not about our past or a story about dead people and significant dates and unforgettable places. It involves investigating and evaluating historical events to determine the relevance of the past to our current situation. It is about understanding why our society is the way it is today.

Last summer, I conducted enrichment classes in math. Many of my students asked if I had plans of going abroad so that I could earn more and enjoy the good life. My response to them was to ask, ?Why should I??

I already have a life here. I live in a beautiful, prosperous and peaceful city. I work with professionals who try to bring out the best from our students. I have friends everywhere. I enjoy our food and our weather. I love the places I get to visit. I am living a happy life. And I admire the brilliance of the young minds that I teach.

Last school year, I asked the following question in the final exams for my fourth year students: ?Do you think that it is proper for students from developing countries like the Philippines to stay in industrially advanced countries to work and build their careers? Support your answer.?

This was Marie Go?s answer:

?No, because if these students ? who have no doubt graduated college and have high literacy/educational status ? work in industrially advanced countries, they will leave their nation at the mercy of incompetent, uneducated, unskilled people. If they use their their skills in other developed nations, those nations will keep on growing economically while their own country will suffer and lag behind.

?All these students want high-paying jobs, but they must first realize that if they sacrifice enough for their motherland, they will help the economy grow, and pretty soon they will get the high-salary jobs they desperately want. Not only that, they will be helping millions of fellow citizens, and the country too.?

I never thought teaching can be so meaningful and rewarding. Every time I read their answers and hear my students express their gratitude for what they have learned, I feel richly compensated. Not with money, but with something immeasurable and priceless.