NEWS

Ateneo High School’s Noel Miranda Gives Follow-Up Session for NNHS Teachers

On July 17, 2019, around one hundred forty (140) Junior and Senior High School Teachers from Navotas National High School (NNHS) attended the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Leadership Journey (NCALJ) Follow-Up Session given by Ateneo Senior High’s Associate Principal for Student Affairs and Formation, Mr. Noel Miranda. The session was held at the NNHS campus.

Dr. Maria Cristina Robles, principal of NNHS, was also present for the session – encouraging the teachers to listen well to the talk and imbibe it into their own lives as teachers and formators. NCAF Program Director, Mr. Jampao Reyes, served as the session’s main facilitator, introducing Mr. Miranda, as well as engaging the teachers in the Question and Answer activity.

Mr. Miranda talked about the process of falling in love and related this to the “vocation of teaching.” He identified three (3) steps in this process: 1) Falling In Love, 2) Falling Out of Love, and 3) Choosing to Stay In Love. Using examples of relationships, Mr. Miranda shared how, oftentimes, teachers have moments wherein the teaching profession becomes attractive to them. Whether through an inspiring teacher or a sense of fulfillment helping another in school, or otherwise, each teacher has that “high” moment wherein they “fall in love” with the idea of teaching. However, Mr. Miranda said that this does not come without hardships. Many times, teachers encounter difficulties inside and outside of the classroom, and may even have moments wherein they wanted to resign. These are moments, much like in relationships, wherein one discovers the unattractive side of the teaching profession, but, as Mr. Miranda explained, it is when one chooses to remain a teacher despite and in-spite of these hardship and challenges, when one can truly say that he or she has loved and given love to teaching.

Afterwards, Mr. Reyes invited the teachers to share their own experiences as a teacher, especially in the moments when they fell in love with teaching and moments wherein they felt they fell out of love for teaching. The participants were encouraged to reflect further on their journeys as teachers and formators, and see whether they can and will fully commit themselves once more to choose to stay and love their work, students, and colleagues. To end, the NCAF Music Ministry serenaded the teachers with Gary Valenciano’s, ‘Warrior Is A Child,” and “How Did You Know?”