“We are the World”
When I said I would not sing in class again, I really thought that was the end of it. But I was wrong. I did it again. But before that story, I want to share about what I went through mentally in the morning. For some reason, I woke up this morning feeling unsettled. It was like there was something that was bothering me but I do not know what. I felt very nervous and unsure of everything. I spent the morning just staring at the ceiling, getting chills all over my body. I said to myself, “Am I in the condition to teach today?” “What is going on?” “Can I do this?” Self-doubt plagued me and I was so close to just giving up. My co-student teacher had stomach problems because of what she ate yesterday and said that she was going to go to school late. I went by myself to school very anxious of myself.
Today I had class in Grade 9B. I was tasked to teach a song and I chose to teach about Peace, which is a very relevant topic in our world today. I was nervous because there is a different approach to handling older students. I was happy when they told me there were 6 students in 9B. Six female students should be manageable. But the world had other plans. The teacher of class 9C agreed to swap schedules so I had the six students plus all of 9C. Older students plus the number of students in one class made me more nervous. But surprisingly, I am my own enemy again. The class went well. The only thing that I wish I could have done was to ask them to sing some more in class. I ended up singing again and laughing at myself as I explained the lyrics of the song. I had to sing and to act so that they will totally understand. My gestures were very exaggerated to make the lesson enjoyable.
Another thing that I have learned from my students that day was how talented they all were. I asked them to draw their own symbol of peace after hearing the meaning of the song “We are the World.” and they were very creative. The ones who were not paying attention in class were the ones who produced beautiful insights and drawing, which made me very happy. I will surely keep all their drawings with the hope that these students will be bearers of peace even in their own little way.
After a wonderful session with them, I felt very relieved. We had to have lunch with the Dean of the Education Faculty of UMP and our mentors. It was very nice to be followed-up by the dean himself. He asked each one of us how our teaching experience was so far and we got to share our experiences with him. We had a wonderful time and we got to go home early after that. Some of my co-student teachers were not feeling well but we still tried our best to really comply with our responsibilities here. As a teacher and as a person, self-doubt is very dangerous but it is something that cannot be avoided. With this experience, I know I can fight through this and I can also help my students fight through their own self-doubt, as well.
