Yesterday was our first National Service Training Program (NSTP) fieldwork.
If you have no idea what NSTP is, it's a curriculum requirement for all Filipino college students under Republic Act (RA) No. 9163, and it's all about serving the country. There are 3 programs that you can choose from: the ROTC (military training), the CWTS (community service), or the LTS (literacy program).
I chose the LTS over the CWTS and ROTC for a few good reasons: I love kids; I came from a long line of teachers; and I like teaching more than building or cleaning stuff. So yeah, LTS for me.
Our location for yesterday (and for the rest of the school year) was in Asuncion Consunji Elementary School (ACES) Samal, Bataan, and we were to teach the subjects Maths and English to children from the Grade 3 level. I thought it'd be easy enough. What's Grade 3 Maths and English, anyway? But when I was reviewing the exam I'll give my learner, I realised how much I've forgotten about my grade school lessons! Embarrassing.
We arrived at ACES at around 10 a.m. and the children were waiting for us. They sure were excited, but when we entered their classroom, most fell silent and shy. They eventually chose their teachers for the day (I was one of the last to be picked), and the lessons kicked off.
My learner's name is Alena Grace Martinez, the third and youngest child of a security guard and a sari-sari store vendor. She's really sweet, and you can see in her the desire to learn. She's a smart kid; understands the lessons easily, although she finds English and spelling quite difficult. When she makes mistakes, she just smiles at me, waiting for me to help her spell out where she left off.
I let her call me "Masterji". I dunno if I deserve such a respectable title as I'm just a student like the kids we taught; however, it's so cute when Alena calls me "Masterji"! Haha!
Our lesson in Maths was all about the places of numerals in thousands and some simple mathematical problems, while we had pronouns and proper usage of words in English. Don't get me wrong, though. The lessons may seem easy, but it's really difficult making an eight-year-old understand what you mean. My challenge was to use the simplest words I know to communicate with a kid (geez, I'm old!). That made me realise what a difficult job my mum (and all the other teachers) has. To all the teachers, I salute you! You all are the true Masterjis of the world!
We were done before noon, and that's when the children began playing and screaming. It was such a joy watching them play, for I saw my Grade 3 self in them - hyper, know-it-all, but still innocent.
There was a feeding program at lunch facilitated by the HRM students, and after the kids' stomachs were filled, it was time for us to go.
It was a bit sad, but it's all right, since we'll be back next semester.
♥Andz
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