Confessions of a Part-Time Teacher
A housewife turned teacher talks about the intangible benefits she gets from the teaching profession.
I ended up being a teacher because there was nothing for me to do except becoming one. Some people, when jobless, wallow in self-pity. Others however become imaginative and they explore other untried fields. In the process they reinvent themselves. I experienced both.
I often regarded teaching as unexciting at the same time taxing: unexciting because of the confines of the four-walled classroom the teacher has to endure in her entire professional life; taxing because of the sleepless nights the teacher has to spend on reading and studying lessons. Why study when I already did this as a student? Why limit myself inside the classroom if I can work outside of it?
When a wife stops contributing some amount to the family’s budget, she starts doubting her significance as a person. When a wife earns no income, she begins restricting herself from activities she used to do and from things she used to have. The income from being a teacher became my greatest motivation when I applied for the job – the worthlessness I felt as a wife inspired me to do something.
Soon I became a teacher and I got an income.
If there was a change in my lifestyle, there was not much. The change was more on my activities as a person. As a jobless wife, I spent my nights watching television; as a teacher, I spend them on reading and studying lessons. In terms of physical location, there was still this confinement in space. I was previously confined to the four walls of the house; now that I am a teacher, to the four walls of the classroom.
I am teaching full-time, i.e., eight hours a day, but why am I called a part-time teacher? The word part-time refers to my employment status. Part-time because I am paid based on the number of hours I teach; part-time because I do not have the benefits the regular teachers receive from the government as teachers.
There had been discussions among part-time teachers about the unfairness and the unreasonableness of the situation. I genuinely understand them because I was once like them – dissatisfied: they, with their salaries; I, with the absence of it. When one is unhappy, he/she has to do something so that things can change for the better.
For four semesters, I have experienced how part-time teachers are treated unfairly by some university staff: from letting us, part-time teachers, work as (unpaid, unappreciated) volunteer production assistants cum snack servers to student performers during school programs to releasing our salaries only after the regular employees get theirs.
In this school wherein the employee’s salary grade is the gauge of a person’s worthiness, a part-time teacher cannot help but feel like a second-class citizen.
For four semesters, I witnessed the despair among part-time teachers. Still these have become the happiest four semesters in my entire life. It is not only about my contribution to the family’s income but more importantly it is about the sense of self I attained as a teacher – part-time or regular or permanent, it does not matter.
Next to the intimacy of the four-walled bedroom, I learned to enjoy the vibrancy of the four-walled classroom. The more I studied, the more I recognized my ignorance. The more I read, the more I realized that teaching does not confine the teachers to the classroom. Instead, it liberates them from being dull and uninteresting; it opens for them another realm beyond those four walls; it offers them a sense of longevity in this impermanent world.
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User Comments
marco m
On March 22, 2008 at 8:09 am
hi ate dorai! i am absolutely able to relate to your stories in this article. remember? i was once a part-time teacher more than 3 yrs ago. and yah..it wasn’t nice at all. though, i learned a lot from it. i believe i became more responsible after that. but, only i got to realize that it wasn’t really my world. and i had to move on. and now, i’m quiet happy and satisfied w/ what i do. however, surely life has something more in store for me out there. and i just have to continue trusting in the power of my dreams. (”,)
connie
On March 23, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Hi Doray,
I like how you share such an experience to others. I may not have the time to put into writing my ideas about it here because somehow, somewhere I believe that I can discuss it with you in person. Is it not something worth to look forward to??? Will keep in touch. I know where to find you.
Always,
Connie
richel
On March 24, 2008 at 6:09 am
“If you think you have a gift for teaching…don’t waste it…
kasi ang magaling na teacher, IDOL”…hehehe
kristy
On March 25, 2008 at 5:05 am
hi ma’am…
well, obviously, i can’t relate to how you feel but…it made me think “that must’ve been what my mother felt…maybe that’s the reason why she’s persistent in finding a job…” i understand her a little more now… ^_^
baying
On March 25, 2008 at 10:04 pm
di ko ka relate…
gara
On March 28, 2008 at 8:06 am
‘When a wife stops contributing some amount to the family’s budget, she starts doubting her significance as a person. When a wife earns no income, she begins restricting herself from activities she used to do and from things she used to have. The income from being a teacher became my greatest motivation when I applied for the job – the worthlessness I felt as a wife inspired me to do something.’–very true! haayy..kunta tuyangan namn ak pgwork.;).wish wish wish..nice article, ate.inspiring!
gara
On March 28, 2008 at 8:15 am
truly,”every work of genius is tinctured by the feelings & often originates in the events of times”.- IdI
chenney
On March 31, 2008 at 6:46 am
maam, a nyc work na naman..
gud luck sa sunod articles..
ireally love it oL..
mka rel8 man pd ta
serenity
On April 9, 2008 at 3:20 am
hi! I can relate to what you are feeling. i was once a teaching, too–an ESL teacher, specifically. I taught Koreans in Cebu. However, while teaching is my passion, I really didn’t enjoy the job. I feel used by these foreigners who wanted to learn English but were paying me too little. So, I resigned and thought, “Why not teach my fellowmen–the younger generation–than those aliens…and maybe earn more?”
dondon
On April 10, 2008 at 1:19 am
ang galing. . . nakarelate ako, dahil teaching profession na rin ang tinahak ko. hehehe. but it is nice to be a teacher. sabi pa nila, “teaching is a noble profession”, hehehe gasgas na statement. . but its true. Different nga lang dito ang experience ko abroad bec, i have to be strong, dealing with other nationalities who tends to pretend that they are the superior race, but knows nothing, hehehe. thats why filipino teachers here excels in w way that we are more intelligent than them. When I am reading your article, i remember the film by Maricel Soriano, MILA.
regards to your family. . . .
alex
On April 12, 2008 at 1:56 am
tdoray. . .this article opened old wounds sigh, but just the same, my stint as a part-time teacher was one of the most memorable collective memory i will always love to remember. i hope the school’s admin realizes how we felt during that time. and i hope they also realized that the school lost the best teachers (tayo yun, hahaha!).
nobert soloria bermosa
On May 7, 2008 at 1:20 am
nice article, i have a lot to say about this
but i would prefer to keep it myself,thanks
Rhodora Bande
On May 11, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Dear friends,
Thanks for reading and for posting your comments.
I wrote this one in my journal about 4 years ago when I was still working as a part-time teacher. That 5-year stint as a part-time teacher paved the way to my becoming a high school teacher in the same university. I may have sounded negative somewhere but generally, I feel blessed because of that experience.
By the way, Serenity, please leave me a message when you post an article at triond so I can also read it. I don’t know you personally but we can start a friendship right here.
To Nobert thanks for reading this as well as my other articles.
To Grace, you may also try writing for triond. This is very ideal for you.
Patz
On May 15, 2008 at 5:32 pm
I would say all of those who engage in the teaching profession start, well, as either part-time teacher, casual, contractual or that sort. But this is a transient concern because your performance will somehow bring you to a better position. And of course, undertaking and finishing a graduate degree matters.
acecampillo
On May 29, 2008 at 7:24 pm
You became a teacher because you are destined to be a great one. I consider teachers to be the heroes of the modern times. Great article. Thanks for sharing. God Bless You!
bj
On October 3, 2008 at 9:06 am
maam, ayOs baya nang magteAcher!!!
iTs a very nOble jOb!!!
-cHing!!!!!-
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