A Teacher's Retirement Speech

It felt nice making a retirement speech, as if! :) No, I am far from even touching that treasure chest of vast wealth of knowledge and experience that comes with retirement, but was excited to do one for my father-in-law, a very dedicated pre-school teacher who's scheduled to retire this coming December-- but of course his employer requested him to stay on for at least 6 more months. Masipag kasi ang Pinoy kaya malaking kawalan kung Filipino teacher ang mawawala sa kanila. Parang 3-4 na tao daw kasi ang katumbas ayon sa ilang nakausap kong nag-eempleyo ng Pinoy sa ibang bansa. From experience and from those of family and friends working abroad, I would say that it's pretty accurate. Anyway, here's the draft.

For Papang..

Good morning/afternoon/evening everybody. Thank you all for being here with us today.

The idea of retirement brings on so many different feelings for me, and so to keep my little speech short, I have decided to read to you what I have to say today. Otherwise, I might be too overwhelmed and talk all day/night about my 45 years of teaching and be remembered as the teacher who bored you all to sleep with his speech before he retired.

Anyway, I just would like to take this chance to share with all of you some thoughts that I have collected from my experience over the years:

1) A Filipino hero called Dr. Jose Rizal once said that “The children are our future”, and if this is true, then teaching, is really a noble profession, because parents (parents please remember that you are your children’s teachers too!) and teachers like us who guide the young ones have the wonderful privilege and great opportunity to shape the future.

2) Because of this great privilege, the responsibilities of teachers then go beyond teaching A,B,C’S or 1,2,3’s. We then must also try to teach our little ones
a. To always DO the best they can;
b. To BE the best they can; and
c. To try to BE A GOOD PERSON as best as they can.

3) We, as adults also have to remember that what our children learn in their early years, they will bring with them as they grow up. There is a nice book entitled All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum [that I have been sharing with my son all these years] which talks about this, and what the author says there really makes sense—that if we take what is taught in kindergarten like sharing everything, playing fair, not hitting people, putting things back where you found them, cleaning up your own mess, not taking things that aren’t yours, saying you’re sorry when you hurt somebody, washing your hands before you eat, flushing, warm cookies and cold milk are good for you, living a balanced life, and many other basic things like love, the Golden Rule (which tells us to treat others as we want to be treated), and cleanliness and apply them in our adult lives, life might be more orderly, simpler and happier. We don’t have go to graduate schools to have wisdom, because wisdom might just be there, waiting for us in the sand pile at our children’s school.

With this, I would like to sincerely, thank you all--- my superiors, my fellow teachers, all the parents, guests, and most of all, the wonderful children who have been a part of my life and made me a part of theirs too—one way or another. As I have said earlier, retirement from teaching brings on many different feelings for me. Sadness, because I will be leaving behind the people—big and small --that I have fondly worked with; and at the same time—fulfillment, because I know that I have shared the best I could with you and with your children, and finally--happiness, because now I would be able to spend more time with my family, specially my grandson and four granddaughters who are all, by the way, aged between 4-8 years old. And though I would be moving on and would no longer be here with you very soon, as I share with my own grandchildren the same happy thoughts and humble knowledge that I have shared with you and all our children here, you will all be warmly remembered for sure. Again, thank you and good night!

Why Our Lady of Sorrows School is Important to Me

Had to sprint this little piece for my niece at the request of my doting mother-in-law. This piece is supposed to be an "example" for a requirement. Shortcut if you will. Sure it would have been great if the kid did this on her own, no doubt about that, but that's not my point. What I'm driving at is this. It never fails to put a smile to my face whenever I see ates, kuyas, parents, grandparents and other relatives personally supervising the "learning process" of the children in the family. I remember my mom literally breathing down my neck in the early evening, as soon as she gets home from work, to check if I did my homeworks correctly-- of course to explain things if i did not, and to cheer me on if I did. I miss those pat on the backs, as most times in our adult life, we have to pat our backs ourselves.

For Riz

Being with my classmates and friends is fun,
I enjoy stories, snacks and playing under the sun.
But everyday that I'm in school,
I'm always learning things, which I think is cool.
I learn about words, numbers, and reasons,
Including manners and christian values for all seasons.
My teachers are all helpful and nice,
Teaching me about God and Jesus Christ.
Here, I'm happy and content as a kid can be,
And this is why the Our Lady of Sorrows School is special to me...