The typical gameplan for a fresh college graduate is to immediately pursue his passion and find his place in the industry he’s always dreamed of becoming a part of. For Christine Fua, that passion was teaching. But instead of applying to become a teacher soon after finishing Psychology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, it was the actually the last thing on her list.
“I was a little scared about plunging in and doing it,” she admitted. “My mom was also a teacher and we used to have a school, but we had to close it down because the rent was expensive and as a profession, it seemed financially challenging.”
Being young and idealistic, Christine thought she’d rather join the corporate world first and travel like many people her age dream of. The irony of it is that she was doing that because she valued teaching too much. “I didn’t want end up regretting my decision to teach. It was much too special to me and I didn’t want to end up hating it. So I thought I’d go corporate first, save money, and then, when I feel like I’ve done all the things I wanted, that’s when I’d become a teacher.”
And so she joined a giant TV network and became a part of its Human Resources team. She resigned shortly after, as she applied for an internship abroad.
But the call of teaching was too loud to ignore. While waiting for results of her internship application, a friend told her about Teach for the Philippines, an organization that enlists promising young leaders to teach for two years in public schools throughout the Philippines. It piqued Christine’s interest and she immediately joined the program.
A different world
After two months of intense training which included taking up Masteral units at Ateneo de Manila University, she started teaching Grade III students at General Roxas Elementary School in Quezon City – and that was when she realized exactly what it was she signed up for.
“I did have an idea of the public schools’ negative reputation, like how the resources are limited. What I didn’t know was that when you become a teacher in a public school, you’d be expected to perform so many roles, such as being a second parent to the children,” she said, sharing how her students would join her in school even during weekends since their parents would be out working, and how she sometimes had to share food with the students who come to school with no baon at all.
The academic aspect had its own set of challenges as well. Low literacy was a common issue, and because she taught English and Filipino, that made her load quite stressful. “More than once I’ve cried while checking test papers. I felt like I was doing more harm than good because my students were getting such low grades,” she said.
While others would’ve become discouraged by the situation, it only added to Christine’s determination to stay on. As she learned more about the system, it became clearer to her why she needed to stay. Banking on her own love for books, she put up a mini library in her classroom and persistently encouraged the kids to read. It became a bonding opportunity for them, and, more importantly, her students began to love reading as well.
One of her favorite memories inside the classroom was with a student named Paolo, who was among the naughtiest in class. In the beginning, she and her fellow teachers thought that it was the kid’s behavior they needed to focus on; but halfway through the school year, somebody observed that it seems Paolo was a non-reader. Upon observation, Christine confirmed that indeed, Paolo couldn’t read. She felt bad about not noticing this earlier, and she also panicked because there was no time to get Paolo into the program for non-readers.
Christine took it upon herself to teach Paolo the basics; however, certain interruptions kept them from consistently holding remedial classes. Just the same, it became Paolo’s habit to hang out in Christine’s mini library in her classroom, where he’d always pick a specific book to browse.
“One day, I heard him making sounds as he browsed that book. I thought maybe he was making up stories based on the pictures. But then I realized, he was actually reading! Slowly at first, but he improved his pace with every day that he practiced,” Christine said. “I couldn’t believe it! He basically taught himself to read with the little knowledge I was able to impart. The funny thing is, Paolo couldn’t believe it either until I pointed it out to him – that he was actually reading!”
The confidence that the new skill brought him manifested in the classroom. Paolo became more disciplined, and was always engaged during class.
“In the classroom, you don't realize the progress right away. It's towards the end of the school year when it hits that there's been progress, that your hard work resulted to something,” she said. “The kids who couldn’t recognize letters before can now read. Those who used to be so naughty are now disciplined and would even take the lead in class. That makes it all worth it.”
From the classroom to the field
It’s not just over books that Christine bonds with her students but through sports as well. A softball player during her high school years, she created an all-girls softball team and an all-boys baseball team in the school upon her former coach’s prodding.
“She told me that our district had no team yet, so I agreed to give it a try even though it seemed impossible, what with all the equipment needed,” she said.
But as the saying goes, ‘if you build it, they will come.’ Sponsors eagerly donated, while her former teammates happily gave some of their own equipment such as bats and gloves.
Interestingly, sports attracted more of those from the “lowest sections,” or those which the system defines as having lower grades. Playing sports brought out a different side to them – they were very much disciplined and focused when they were on the field.
Not to say that it was entirely smooth-sailing. The students had to deal with their insecurities too, and this showed when they faced a team from a big private school: Miriam College, which incidentally was Christine’s very own high school and where she herself used to play.
“They felt that the championship already had Miriam’s name written on it, and that they had no chance of winning,” Christine narrated. “But then they managed to beat Miriam, and all of a sudden it dawned on them that they could actually go all the way to the finals!”
And, just as a sports movie’s storybook ending would go, they did emerge as champs, and some of the players were even recruited by the Quezon City team.
These feats earned them a spotlight at the school’s graduation ceremony, where students’ achievements are recognized. For many of them, it was their first time to stand before the entire school to be honored, especially since they belong to the “lowest section.”
“It became my mission to help them realize how good they are,” Christine said. “There are so many brilliant students that I couldn’t understand why they're labeled as “lowest section” and why people doubt their capacity.”
The good thing about it is that the other teachers, who have been working with the system very long, started to get it too. As the young athletes were taking the stage, a teacher approached Christine and said that she didn’t realize it was possible for kids from the “lower sections” to also be recognized. They’ve gotten so used to seeing only the top-ranked students do this, but now it has dawned on her that there shouldn’t be a monopoly to bringing pride to the school. “Pwede rin pala yun ano,” she told Christine.
Needless to say, it was a fist-up-in-the-air kind of moment for Christine.
For the long haul
Today, Christine is gearing up to go back to teaching after spending a year as part of the Department of Education’s headquarters team. She’s also continuing her MA in UP Diliman, which would give her the Education diploma needed to continue teaching in public elementary schools.
And she cannot be more psyched about this.
“I’m definitely in it for the long haul,” she mused. “When you go into this program, you think ‘I want to make a difference, I want to change the world.’ I thought I was teaching to change lives, but I’ve realized that that’s not my job. The kids just need someone to tell them they can do it and that they don’t have to be stuck in their current situation. I’m here to do that for them. And while I can’t do everything, I can certainly do my best.”
(Christine's solo photo courtesy of Jay Yao)
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