May I pour my thoughts about the teachers I recently met
these days? Teachers had always been good influencers and I can never forget
the greatest of the teachers I had back then. Mrs. Sonia Bruan-Santiago (THE
IV), , Mrs. Luzviminda Miguel (VE VI), Mrs. Juanita Lagmay(Gr6), Mrs. Andaya
(THE I), Mr. Nestor Londerio (Physics IV HS), Mrs. Minerva Ranieses (Eng.
Prof.), Mrs. Helen Bulatao (Dean /Acctg. Prof., Mrs. Remedios Ala (Gr3 Eng.),
Dr. Regino Paular (Current Issues).
These are not so good things that are
needed to be said to challenge the teachers of our new generation. It will be up to them to take this negatively
or positively to improve themselves and abhor such deeds mentioned here.
The Quiz Bee Cheat-chers?!
Contrary to what others might suppose on my divulging of this
hateful fact, I wanted to help ignite back the integrity of SOME of our noble
teachers. I do not have any idea if whether winning on quiz bees give them,
teachers, extra points or promotion because SOME but NOT ALL are staking their pride and honor just to help
their coached students WIN.
This is what I have observed in the recently concluded Quiz
Bee my daughters had participated in:
1. A teacher coached a student (maybe on the same school she is in
–because not only now I met the student and teacher tandem, they represent
Science V last year and they obviously cheated then too but landed only 3rd).
You know why, because I recorded the whole competition on video and they found
it difficult to signal.
The student always glance on that teacher before she answers,
the Easy
and Average levels are to be answered with letter of choice ONLY which is 20 points when totaled if I am not
mistaken. The wise teacher, pulled her chair back to where my camera can not
caught her and she just moved her chair when the two rounds are finished
because dictating or signaling complete words on the difficult round is not
easy that is why she stopped there. I
noticed that she only helps in the first two rounds. Glad that they were not
able to make it to the top2 then.
This year, the tandem have succeeded, the student ranked 1st
this time, it so happened that my digicam is not prepared – low battery and I
left the memory card for longer recording time, there is no way I can video
them. The teacher sat just one seat apart from that same student
last year. Now, she whispered every letter of the correct answer, I was able to
read her lips when it opens – it will be too
many to call it coincidence. The wise teacher noticed that I was staring at
her and the student with a long hair – glancing all the time to her or listens
to her every dictation. I only learned she is the TIMER when she softly uttered
‘STOP’ that is just when she felt I was guarding her. What she did is
whispering while pretending to look at her phone or writing on a piece of paper
– I do not know if she is also writing every letter of the answer. But mouthing
letters a, b or c or the word stop moves one’s lips differently
that is why I am precisely sure she is dictating answers and you really would
not notice she is timing the Quiz at first because she only started talking a
little louder when she noticed me. I knew almost all the answers because it
took me huge time writing the Science reviewer for my child aside from what her
teacher has provided. I just thought before that she is just there to observe
the competition but…imagine one seat apart from the student, she is facing the
door while seating on the last column.
The student sat in the column before her, facing the blackboard. The
distance is only the narrow aisle that is approximately one seat away. Imagine
14points out of total score that brought her in the advantage of around 6-8pts
from the 2nd placer is obtained from cheating! I felt sad to
the 2nd and 3rd placer who have exhausted efforts on
reviewing just to be cheated, it so happened that my daughter’s score this time
is far from winning, I chose to keep silent.
I thanked the situation because if not, I would not keep my mouth shut
and expose the cheater oh, I mean teacher
and the pretending-to-be winner student.
How can they managed to accept
medal without honor at all, they knew for themselves that it does not
belong to them. That is why I could not
help mentioning to the other spectators that the 2nd and 3rd
placer are more deserving of the medals.
This became so rampant that Angel
became a victim too last year on a different district here in Quezon province.
1. The students were asked to
share a number of questions representing their respective schools English IV, I
forgot if it is one or two questions each.
2. The Quiz Master seated at the
back of the seat rows doing her thing while maybe an ‘intern’ or assistant
(not wearing uniform) asked everyone to put their share of question in the box
in front of the blackboard. Each question has the answer provided to guide the
Quiz Master.
3. The Quiz Master still seated
at the back, reminded everyone with a loud voice the number of questions each
should submit – a student stood up and uttered she has submitted questions one
more than is required! The QM’s assistant asked the student to find her questions
among those questions in the box
submitted from all the schools to compete in the district.
4. The maybe STUPID assistant
asked the student to come in front and look for her submitted questionnaires
and get it back. The student almost read five questions and still not finding
hers, I was staring at them and can not
help stopping the student – I told the assistant that the student is already VIOLATING
fairness by reading each of the questionnaire from other schools (with answers
therein) just to find hers!
The assistant even retorted when I entered to complain that NOTHING was
read, BUT HOW CAN THE STUDENT KNOW WHAT IS HERS IF SHE IS JUST MERELY LOOKING
AT THE PAPER when she is really reading each one by one as all the other
contestants in the room are innocently looking while I, being a mother (by the
window) can not let this pass.
5. The Quiz Master went enraged
and asked all of us parents to stay away from the window and even rudely
closing all the windows in the quiz area, I just reported the issue to the
teacher from our school.
I will not forget that rumored former Beauty
Queen spinster teacher from Cal---- District School. Oh, my! After the Quiz, we
standby longer than usual in the room. The student’s (who dared to CHEAT)
mother came to the Quiz Master – the student is her CURRENT STUDENT because the
mother is asking about a project her daughter needs to submit. How can I be
sure? The student went near her mom while embracing her arms! See! That is why
the Quiz Master stayed deaf from my complaint and even secluded the room (all
windows and door closed) till the Quiz is finished – annoyed from my unexpected
intervention.
Anyway, one of the teachers from
our school went inside. Glad that my daughter still brought home the Gold Medal
from Monograde EnglishIV competition and just landed silver on the Multigrade
Level. They did not even awarded the Gold medal for the Monograde competition
to my child saying they ran out of it. Tsk, The teacher even started the Quiz
on time and almost on the Difficult Round when a coach and student arrived,
complaining that the Quiz should have not been started earlier because they
knew its 1pm – so the session became void! Okay I have to keep my mouth shut
even my child is leading – that maybe fair enough to accept. But the Quiz
Master should know WHAT SHE IS SUPPOSED TO DO as well as her LIMITATIONS.
Our home school just provided the
medal to my child on Recognition Day. Why is there someone like that teacher
who is never conscientious of what she is doing?! This does not only being
unfair to the children who diligently reviewed for weeks or late nights and the
parents like me who is very supportive of my child, modesty aside. The GREATER
damage is to their REPUTATATION as teachers – teachers who are supposed to exhibit
exemplary attitude and character aside from teaching academic lessons and the
psychological and emotional trauma such incidents are bringing to children must
be weighed-in for consideration. Is that the price they had to pay for winning
fraudulently?
I hope that the dignified
teachers will continue to uphold the HONOR and GOOD REPUTATION attributed to
the calling of their profession and will look for ways to make every
inter-school competition for students CREDIBLE and WORTHY enough to spend time
for by every student or teacher-coach coming even from the remotest Barangay in
every district excited to engage in the Battle of the Brains that in truth
became Battle of the Wise Cheat-chers.
The Quiz which my younger
daughter won second, I caught the teacher standing before a student inside the
Quiz Room, I knew the answer is ‘La
Estudyantina’ I read her mouth uttering such. I let it pass, that student
and my child reached the clincher round because of a TIE SCORE, I caught her
uttering ‘Tubbataha Reef’ too when I
objected, she denied dictating answers so I asked her what is she whispering
the student she just told me she is just reminding her that it is ‘pabilisan’ (Take NOTE, she did not deny
that she is whispering!)far from Tubbataha
Reef she is mouthing - I may accept if she may insist that SHE IS
JUST READING THE ANSWER on the child’s answer board because I was staring at
her not on my daughter.Then she immediately say, the student is finished and
she won the Quiz even my daughter got the same correct answer alone by herself
without dictation from anyone! My daughter landed second.
They did even disqualify ‘Hazard
Maps’
my child has written instead of ‘Hazard Map’ I reminded her coach to
tell the Quiz Master that there are different kinds of Hazard Maps (Landslide
Prone Area Map/Flood Hazard Map/Fault Line Map) mentioned on the reference book
but still the Quiz Master and the assisting teachers in the room REFUSED to
accept it. Tsk where is the committee on that subject that supposed to decide
on the matter? I just kept quiet but exploded on the dictation matter. The
teacher said that the child is not her student – hers is higher level, what
more can I say?! I forgot to ask how about if they represent the same school or
whatever reason she has to be biased that I am not really aware of?! She is
that supportive standing at the back of her chair clinging to it, that near! Is
there not any TECHNICAL VIOLATION on that?!
The last Quiz Bee my younger
daughter attended is MAYBE honest except for the doubtful DISQUALIFICATION of
the Quiz Master ALONE of three questions (never consulting or telling the
quizzers or co-observer teachers inside )WHY the questions are not read and
accepted- she read them ALONE and set them aside). I really wonder when even
the exact
height of a certain falls in meters has even passed her scrutiny and
accepted as a question – that not so important matter at all! In fairness to
her, everything that can be read from the reference book may be asked – I just
wonder what is with the three questions she eliminated?! Maybe not reviewed by
her student?! She even uttered ‘this is
my question’ when she picked another while smiling.
Another style, I noticed last
year is regulating the size (bond paper maybe 1/8 crosswise rectangular long)
of the questionnaire but this school submitted a different size (larger and
square), from the host school. And I
heard the coach teacher knocked the table when she put the questions inside the
Difficult Box – she is the last to submit too. That meant she put the
questions at the bottom MAYBE to surely PICK it – I am not sure if there is
connivance happening because I always hear this conviction that it is an insult
to be defeated by schools from the barrios. To be fair, I have to say the Quiz
Master is NOT that coach but they belong to the same school. Understanding it
scientifically, there is no way she can knock the table when she was the last
to put questions on the pile of paper questionnaires from different schools
(more than 12 competing with two each for every category if I am not mistaken).
I became a keen observer after the bad experience before it.
I sometimes lose
excitement of letting my children join Quiz Bees if things like those happen. I
might choose to save their effort (and mine too- I honestly and fully support
my children on reviewing) from WASTING TIME on UNFAIR competition. It is but
quite easy to accept loss from inadequate reviewing efforts BUT from cheating
is FAR MORE a different thing.
ABUSIVE ?!
I can not forget this male
teacher in a District School, he displays attitude that is more than required
of him. I saw his two female students
drinking softdrinks while clinging to his side (with their bodies-torso) and
embracing his arms while walking the school’s aisle. I surmise that in a school
like it (where I saw children walking barefoot or just wearing slippers and
donning wrinkled uniforms matched with their worn-out bags), forgive me if I am
thinking that the ‘softdrinks’ might
be a treat from the teacher. I am not insinuating that it is purely the fault
of the teacher that created that situation.
The students are tempting the teacher to abuse them. I really do not
know what more could there be inside the classroom when there maybe chances
they will be left alone, I can not help but imagine the worst! It will still be
up to him to CONTROL the situation. Anyway, he knows what is RIGHT than these
children do.
And a friend told me that her
daughter is telling her that whenever they were not able to do their
assignments on that same teacher I mentioned above, they are humiliated in
front of the class thru pulling their skirt and pants – I almost can not
believe it but I refused to meddle because my children are not directly
involved in it. This needs to be said for the DepEd to keep on reminding the CONSEQUENCES
of such CONDUCT UNBECOMING OF A PUBLIC SERVANT especially supposed-to-be ROLE
MODEL teachers.
A teacher should always keep in
mind that HUMILIATION has long term effect on children – their self-esteem,
sociality and their molding into better citizens without negative perception of
the society.
ACHIEVEMENT TEST ASSISTMENT (not ASSESSMENT)
Once, my eldest child has studied
from a District School wherein the actual Achievement Tests for their grade level are reviewed. The school will
surely get HIGH passing rate and an ultimately high TOP SCORE, because the only
reason the student might not able to answer the exam is that he forgets the
answer from the review, although they are SURE not given answer’s key to copy
from. Reviewing the same questions given on the actual test, oh my! Is it not a
qualified CHEATING?
Learning that it is possible, I
lose my complete admiration for schools that get higher ratings on the
Achievement Test, again from experience I can not help but think they MIGHT
have done the same. How can we gauge the effectiveness of the educators nor the
real achievement of the students that way?! The students must answer the questionnaires based on their learning – if ‘there
is retention, if the teachers have performed well in doing their duties of
teaching each and every lesson? Is there any HONEST ASSESSMENT in that way?! I
know this is hard to regulate on the part of the DepEd, the integrity of it
LIES IN THE HANDS of the school administrators and the teachers themselves.
Teachers GUILTY of those CONDUCT
UNBECOMING may be ENRAGED to read themselves written here but those who are NOT
GUILTY may be INSPIRED and PROUD TO SAY,
they do not belong to these rotten tomatoes.
May the teachers of this
generation TAKE THE CHALLENGE of continuously setting good example to the youth
of the future generation. I do hope that the ROTTEN TOMATOES on the shelf be
rapidly eliminated before they can contaminate the roster of the RESPECTABLE
educators.
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