25/09/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ | ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Chills run down my spine.
The street hums with the rush of cars and chatter, but all I hear is the drum of my footsteps echoing against the pavement. My bag feels heavier with each step, as though the books inside conspire to slow me down. The air clings to my skin, thick and restless, like it, too, is holding its breath for the final bell.
Up ahead, a figure anchors the chaosโsteady, immovable, like a lighthouse in a storm. His uniform is pressed crisp against the late morning heat, his cap casting a shadow that swallows half his face, but his eyes are sharp, scanning the flood of students as though every life were a page in his keeping.
I quicken my pace, heart rattling like loose coins in a tin can. No textbook has ever taught me discipline quite like his silence does. No chalkboard has ever carved lessons as deeply as the crease of responsibility lining his brow. No pen has ever stained my notebooks as lasting as the ones etched silently by this teacher.
When I finally pass him, his gaze flicks toward meโnot scolding, demeaning, nor condescendingโit is a look that says, โAs long as I stand here, nothing will touch you.โ
In that moment, the sidewalk feels less like a race to the school gate and more like a haven for learning, where respect is our watchword, where discipline is the first lesson of the day, and where the teacher needs not technical apparatusesโnot even a classroomโto instill in me wisdom beyond pages of dust-laden books.
Mr. Bienvenido Lindayao Jr., Mr. Rayman Requieron, Mr. Donald Taboada, Mr. Jonel Aballe, and Mr. Joel Fernandezโfive torches whose steady light has guided countless footsteps, whose lessons are not measured in grades but in the safety we inadvertently take for granted.
In a bustling school like Science High, where studies clamor for studentsโ attention, we sometimes fail to harken the subtle call of safetyโfragile, like a wet glass that could slip from our hands at any moment. As such, their importance cannot be overstated. Without them, the school would be a ship adrift, vulnerable to storms. They are the first line of defense, the upholders of discipline, and the guardians who ensure that learning can thrive without fear. Their presence is tantamount to the feeling of reassurance, the knowledge that every student who passes through these gates leaves unharmed and secure. Dr. Marilou Dela Cuestaโthe head teacher of Cebu City National Science High Schoolโstresses this, with her message being โthat they will always be committed to securing the life and limbs of all persons as well as the safety of all properties, and that they would render service above self.โ
Truth be told, these men are teachers in their own rightโeducators of character, discipline, and respect who merit laud for the tireless work they do behind the scenes.
That is true education.
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