No less than Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong emphasized that lessons on combating corruption should be taught in schools.
Ningning Doble shared this while recalling how upon hearing the local chief executive’s frustration, she and her co-volunteers in LINKS were both encouraged and challenged to create an interactive, highly visual module for schools that simplifies governance concepts for children called “The Vision Starts With Me”.
“It helps them identify the values leaders should possess and practice them in their own roles at school. The first time we delivered it, I was moved to tears seeing how receptive and idealistic the children were,” said Doble, who is also President of the said non-government organization, adding that given the chance, children’s openness and imagination show that they truly believe anything is possible.
She said that teachers especially those designated to be Supreme Elementary Learner Government advisers are included in the process so they can guide and help monitor the students’ commitments reflected on their Roadmap for Good Governance vision board for their Dream School.
To date, LINKS has conducted four good governance workshops for student leaders in Baguio City; Binalonan, Pangasinan; Cabagan, Isabela; and Aborlan, Palawan. Also, they have already established two Hooked On Books (HOB) Libraries in Baguio City and are set to launch three more within the year, all under of Mayor Magalong’s initiative.
Asked about why LINKS, their volunteers and partners believe that nation building begins with children, Doble explained “The best time to mold children is during their formative years. What they see and experience in grade school leaves a lasting imprint…While they may not grasp all the nuances [about governance models], they can already distinguish between good and bad values in leadership. This shows a strong foundation for raising future citizens who are aware, reflective, and capable of critical thought.
Last week, I had the chance to visit my former Algebra with Trigonometry, and Geometry teacher from Parañaque Science High School, Mrs. Doris Espino, who now serves as the Principal IV of my alma mater.
I never miss telling her, every single time we meet, that the moment Mathematics started mixing in letters like a + b = c, I knew I had lost it!
No wonder her husband, Mr. Armand Espino, our teacher in Advanced Trigonometry and Calculus, and later the Mathematics Department Head of Parañaque National High School, asked me at the end of the school year to buy a certain Math book, then told me to keep it as a gift to myself and to continue studying.
Our conversation led to lessons echoing Ernest Hemingway’s idea that life doesn’t stop when we are exhausted, and that it teaches us the relentless need to keep going, no matter what.
This World Teachers’ Day, there are countless ways to show our appreciation for teachers, but perhaps the most meaningful is by remembering and living out the valuable lessons they have taught us.