04/10/2025
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ธ
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ดโ ๐๐ข๐บ, ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ.
Here in Catanduanes, one unfinished building stands as both a monument of betrayal and a stage of resilience. What should have been a place for learning now shelters vendors. Its walls echo the silence of promises never kept.
And yet, where concrete fails, chalk prevails. Teachers like Cherilyn M. Aguinillo of Viga Rural Development High School (VRDHS) continue to stand tall. With sixteen years of experience, she carries not just lessons but also the weight of a broken system. โTeaching has really been my passion,โ she says. โWala akong ibang alam na trabaho kundi magturo, and Iโm happy to still be learning and growing with my students every day.โ
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ
Every nation claims to value its teachers, yet many give them hollow promises instead of halls to teach in. The unfinished building located at VRDHS was supposed to cradle learning, to host experiments, and to widen the horizons of young minds. Instead, its cemented shell has turned into a marketplace, a space meant for ideas now used for transactions.
Cherilyn does not mince words. โHonestly, itโs quite disheartening to see that the building meant to provide additional space for our students remains unfinished and is instead being used by vendors. As a teacher, I know how much our students need proper classrooms to learn comfortably.โ
In overcrowded classrooms where students are packed shoulder-to-shoulder, heat pressing like a heavy curtain, and noise leaking from nearby rooms, she presses on. โOne of the biggest challenges when classrooms and spaces are lacking is feeling like Iโm teaching inside a sardine can, siksikan at mainit,โ she explains. โMinsan parang may battle of the bands sa paligid.โ
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐๐๐๐
Chalk is fragile. It breaks easily, leaving dust on the hands that hold it. Yet in VRDHS, chalk stands stronger farther than any concrete. Teachers here turn limited resources into knowledge, often without the tools their subjects demand.
โWithout that facility, teaching has definitely been more challenging,โ Cherilyn admits. โyung hindi natapos na building mayroon sana doon ng two Science laboratory rooms. Because of the lack of proper laboratory rooms, my teaching and my studentsโ learning have been affected.โ
Instead of hands-on experiments, she often relies on lectures, simulations, or demonstrations with limited materials. โThis means students donโt always get the full experience of exploring and discovering concepts on their own,โ she adds. And the students can definitely sense it too. โMaโam, kutana ikan kitang kunto,โ they sometimes joke, wishing they could finally perform experiments instead of only watching them on videos.
But despite their frustrations, resilience blooms. โWhat amazes me is how they still cope,โ Cherilyn says. โThey adjust by being resourceful, creative, and patient. Minsan, they even joke about the situation to lighten things up. Na kapag naging successful na sila, madonate sila ning kunto kuninyan.โ
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป
Despite the harsh reality, Cherilyn refuses to back down. โGiving up is never an option,โ she insists. โI try to manage by being creative and resourceful, using engaging activities, visuals, and sometimes even humor to keep students interested despite the cramped setup.โ
Her secret is not found in facilities but is found in the heart. โTheir curiosity, their small victories, and even their funny little comments in class remind me why I chose this profession in the first place,โ she shares.
This Teachersโ Day, she carries a message. โTo my fellow teachers, letโs continue to stand strong and support each other. Alam ko mahirap, pero sama-sama nating kayang lampasan ang challenges. To my students, never lose your love for learning. You are the reason we keep pushing forward.โ
The unfinished VRDHS building is more than a failure of governance. It is a mirror. It reflects a country where corruption cements itself deeper than classrooms, where funds meant for children are pocketed by leaders who forget their oath.
โA complete and safe classroom isnโt just a structure,โ Cherilyn reminds us. โItโs an investment in the future of our children.โ
This Teachersโ Day, let us not only applaud our teachers but also fight for them. They can build futures out of chalk, but it is time the nation built the walls to match their courage. If there is one lesson the Philippines must finally learn, it is this. Societies collapse when teachers give up, but they rise when teachers keep writing on the board even when the walls around them fall.
