Footnote to the LNU LET Results, November 2012

We’ve never been much on the map when it comes to producing graduates who will top the LET. To date, we have produced only two topnotchers: one in 2001 and another in 2011, a decade later. Only few, and far between.

            As a teacher-training institution and as a Center of Teaching Excellence in the region, this performance is poor. Yes, we produce teachers who do well in the field, but this has never been reflected in the LET results. What ever happens inside our walls then?

According to Mrs. Antonia L. Sabarre’s dissertation, History and Development of Leyte Normal University as Center of Excellence for Teacher Education in Eastern Visayas, when LNU was established as the Normal Training Department or the Provincial Normal School, it ‘aimed to ‘produce the best teachers that will produce the best pupils.’” Our history shows that we have done exactly that for the past 91 years.

Under the able administration of pioneer educator Mrs. Jesusa Araullo Brillo, the Provincial Normal, which was eventually named the Leyte Normal School, was considered to be the best in Leyte and Samar not only by Taclobanons but also by non-Taclobanons. The school ‘was looked up to with respect and appreciated’ because ‘to be a Provincial Normal student was something’. The students in other courses like home economics and trade looked up to them with ‘high regard’ because the ‘Normalites’ were properly selected. The teacher-trained graduates who were the best in Leyte were guaranteed to be good, ‘even if they would be made to teach in Manila’.

                An alumna of LNS, Mrs. Cleofe Abellar, says that, “Life in Leyte Normal was not easy. We used to turn in book reports on four classic novels at every semester, and back then there were no photocopying machines yet so we would just take down notes from the book…But when we went to practice teaching, we were really prepared because our administrators and supervisors have carefully trained us.” To be recruited by the LNS was considered an honor, because ‘only the best teachers of the province, if not the region, were invited to teach in the school’.

When the Leyte Normal School was converted into the Leyte State College in Mrs. Magdalena Ramo’s time, the education graduates performed an average of over 60% passing the Professional Board Exam for Teachers. This performance reached its peak in 1992 when the LSC was second only to the Philippine Normal University in terms of passing percentage for the PBET.  And then we have our two topnotchers, Mr. Alberto U. Rañin in 2007 and Mr. Dennis V. Bondos in 2011.

These are all words that speak of our caliber. However these words are not reflected quantitatively. Surely, if we consistently produce teachers who excel in the field, won’t it be logical to assume that we should have produced topnotchers annually too? What happens between the expectations and the actual results?

The truth is, we’ve had a lot on our hands. As the teacher training institution which has the highest enrolment for teacher education in the country, we have a lot of minds to teach. What happens is that the gifted few are not given as much attention as the others. They are left to fend for their own.

Because we believe that everyone can learn, whether quickly or slowly, we do our best to accommodate everyone who comes to our doors. More often than not, we focus on the typical students; we take them in and do our best to help them make it. Of course these are would-be teachers we’re talking about, would-be educators who would be instrumental in carving the future, and they should be the best that they can be. But then again, that’s precisely what they are, would-be. For now, they are still students. Students who need help towards becoming the best teachers they can be.

Yes, the question is, how will they manage in our jungle of a world? How will they compete in a world where everybody wants to be at the top? How will they cope with the demand for excellence? But I think we already know the answer: they will manage as so many others have done. They will cope with the world. But they need teachers who will help them how to do it.

This is the true job of a teacher: to teach not only those who work fast but also those who might be a bit on the slow side. Because they need our help the most. They should not be left behind.

Statistically, this would never be a formula for producing topnotchers every year. But then true teaching has never been solely concerned with producing topnotchers. We do our best with our assessment methods but real learning can never be quantified. Sometimes, it just sits there, waiting to be discovered. It’s about time that we remind ourselves that education is not only for the gifted. It’s for all.

And yet why should we care if we do not produce topnotchers every year when we do the true job of a teacher anyway? On the contrary, we should care more. The fact remains that we have slipped from our standards of excellence, however inadvertently. We have done our best to help the average majority, now we should also consider the gifted few. Because out there, it’s cutthroat competition and we wouldn’t want to feel the shame burning in the backs of our necks when one student from a top performing school tells us they have four topnotchers this year and we could only nod our heads in polite response because we don’t have any. We have established ourselves as the teacher training institution in the region, now it’s time to soar in other horizons.

 LNU, it’s time for the country, it’s time for the world.