PD 5: Life Models and Mentors
22 July 2022
This post is part of my blog project “Pedagogy Discourses (PDs),” which is a course requirement at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU).
This is in response to the activity on role models.
My Role Models
I have encountered many role models and mentors throughout my existence. However, I would like to mention four models - all are good angels - who have so far stood out and left a lasting positive impression on me.
| Role Models and Mentors | Their Contributions |
|---|---|
| Rachelle B. Lintao | Dr. RBL, my master’s thesis supervisor, provided critical insights and meticulous feedback as she patiently guided me through the journey of writing a master’s thesis. She was also supportive despite her busy schedule as a department chair and my personal struggles. |
| Alejandro S. Bernardo, | Dr. ASB was my undergraduate research supervisor and was also incredibly supportive of my research endeavors. He motivates me and his other students to never settle for second best and compromise our integrity as learners. In fact, he encouraged us to submit our thesis in a journal and gave us advice in the publication process, which was a great learning opportunity. In addition, I consider him as a creative communicator model in the sense that he injects a good kind of humor even in discussing difficult and dry topics, which gets the audience’s attention most of the time. |
| Chad Booc (+) | I never met Chad in person but have interacted with him online before his unjust death. I see him as an education role model: He helped Lumad learners by teaching them content areas for free. He has a deep understanding and respect for their culture. He also has critical insight of many problems in Philippine education. As a teacher, he did not ask for a salary in teaching Lumad learners, nor did he see this as a burden. He also fought for indigenous sovereignty and human rights; he has given a great deal of service and radical love to these communities. |
| Odette Gapas | My mother is the first person I look up to in terms of perseverance, compassion, and firmness. As a single parent, she worked very hard to provide and support my needs and personal endeavors. Moreover, she is compassionate and cares very deeply for those at a disadvantage and in poverty. At times, her selflessness shows when she gives any form of assistance that she could to those who really need it. She has partly influenced my sense of justice and service. |
The Role Model I Want to Become
When I work with others, particularly my (future) students, I hope to become a role model that is:
(1) Socially aware and active: I hope to serve as a model that promotes their criticality and social consciousness to develop learners that can contend with and challenge inequality and the structures that perpetuate it.
(2) Ethical and responsible glocal citizen: I also hope to become a role model that embodies social justice and fairness in thoughts, words, and actions. In addition, I strive to be able to guide others in coping with 21st century demands with a deep sense of social responsibility.
(3) Compassionate: I aspire to become a model that is able to support and sympathize or empathize with people in their sentiments and experiences.
(4) Competent: Teachers are by definition interdisciplinary and need to demonstrate disciplinary depth and breadth. As such, I also wish to be a language teacher (and eventually, a teacher educator) that demonstrates such competence in both content and pedagogy. In aspiring for competence, I aim to develop multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary expertise and affirm my dedication to lifelong learning.
(5) Empowering community builder: I hope to become a community builder that can cultivate healthy, prosperous relationships between diverse people of all stripes. As such, I hope to become capable of mobilizing groups to address various issues in our communities.
My Ideal Education Mentor
When I think about my Ideal Education Mentor (IEM), I think of the qualities of different educators who had left a positive impact on my professional growth as a teacher. Firstly, my IEM has an established expertise in terms of content and teaching practice. They are actively engaged in professional development and research, which in turn supports or informs how they facilitate classroom teaching.
Secondly, my IEM continues to be humble despite their expertise, because they know that teaching is, at its core, a service. They are not self-centered and do not brag so much about themselves. Instead, they continue to support the best interests of not only their students, but also their colleagues. For example, they guide fellow teachers regardless of experience and provide them with sound, realistic, honest, and clear pieces of advice when needed.
Lastly, my IEM exhibits soundness of values and astuteness of judgment. This means that they do not compromise in their integrity in any of their educational pursuits. They also ensure that their professional decisions are ethical and respectful of other educational stakeholders.
Integrating Role Models in My Life and the Classroom
I have already found models and mentors in my language teaching career such as my former and current supervisors. I also take part in professional meetings such as conferences and symposia to meet and interact with other teachers from whom we could learn from each other. In fact, as someone who has given trainings to teachers before, I can say that many of the educators I met can qualify as one of my IEMs. Furthermore, I am keen in taking part in initiatives where communities of practice between teachers are established, as they can be places where my desired role models can be found.
As for my students in the language and linguistics classroom, one of the ways I can bring models into my students’ lives is to become the example of what to follow. In other words, if I teach courses such as Purposive Communication and Academic Writing, I must make sure that I practice what I preach. For example, I must ensure that I am a competent and ethical communicator and continually engage in academic writing.
In addition, it is my intention to introduce them to different people who can become models, depending on the lesson at hand. For example, I can illustrate videos of good inspirational communicators such as Julia Gillard that exemplify good public speaking skills. If it is possible, I could also other educators and researchers to speak in the classroom as a guest.