The University Student Government (USG), in partnership with the Office for Student Leadership Involvement, Formation and Empowerment (SLIFE), held the culmination of this year’s Teachers’ Month celebration in the Research Commons of the Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall. With the theme Gurong Pilipino: Handa sa Makabagong Pilipino, students showcased their talents through various performances.
To open the weeklong event, a mass was held for the teachers last October 7 in the Pearl of Great Price Chapel. A Teacher’s Gallery was also set up in the center of the Corazon Aquino Democratic Space from October 8 to 10, sharing the stories of professors from different colleges and departments.
The teacher as a good shepherd
In his opening speech, DLSU President Br. Raymund Suplido FSC cited the contributions of St. John Baptist de La Salle for education, saying that he was able to make “education accessible to what we call the last, the lost, and the least.”
Quoting St. La Salle’s Meditations, Suplido emphasized the role of the teacher as a Good Shepherd for their students.
“The teacher is like a good shepherd; the teacher is the one that leads his pupils along the right path. The teacher makes sure that those who stray are brought back, even if it is just one out of 100. And the teacher carries him back tenderly and makes sure he is not hurt,” Suplido added.
A collaborative effort
“We really see the need for us students to give back to our teachers, to give appreciation to our teachers, and ultimately, give credit to where credit is due, and that is the change that our teachers provide for our lives,” USG Chairperson for University Events Lorenzo Verano said as he shared the weeklong celebration’s aim to give back to the Lasallian educators.
Raina Nivales, USG Chairperson for University Events and Project Head, expressed their team’s determination to celebrate Teachers’ Week as a University. “That’s why we wanted to partner up with SLIFE because we know that [by] partnering [up] with SLIFE, we would be able to really push [through] with the event, which the teachers really need,” she shared.
When asked about future plans for the possible celebration of Teachers’ Week once again, SLIFE Director Christopher Villanueva stated that they aim for the event to be celebrated on the actual National Teachers’ Month. The celebrations were delayed as both SLIFE and the USG experienced shifts in leadership, with Villanueva’s recent appointment and the conclusion of the USG General Elections last term.
Songs of gratitude
To close the event for the professors and faculty, a program was held in honor of their service as educators, featuring students who performed various song renditions.
Ibylou Bandala-Golla, Assistant Professor from the Physics Department, shared her appreciation for the student performers who sang in the program, “The songs rendered to us were nice. And the students were actually very eager in greeting the teachers today.”
National Teachers’ Month was established by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization to celebrate the efforts of teachers around the globe to educate the youth. This is the second time that DLSU has organized a celebration to honor National Teachers’ Month, the first being in October 2017.
