Life of Public School Teachers: A Story Told by Their Daughter

I was very popular in school during my elementary days. The reason, my mom teaches in that same school that I attended. My father's a teacher, too, but he was teaching in a different school. He got transferred to our school four years later. Yeah!! I got more popular.. Kidding.

I enjoyed having teachers for parents. Who wouldn't? I got to play with the toys my father confiscated from his students and enjoyed reading the books my mom's students were using. It felt great until I came to understand how hard it is to be a teacher. Teachers have to talk all day, prepare visual aids, deal with noisy students every now and then, and on top of it all, they receive a meager salary.

my mom during a seminar/training

I remember tagging along with mom and dad whenever the month ends. They claim their salary (they were issued checks before) from the district office. After that, we would go to one of the big stores in town (no supermarkets in my hometown yet) to buy groceries and at the same time pay the debt mom and dad incurred the month before. 

It is a sad fact that some teachers are not even sure if they could send their children to college.When I entered the university, mom and dad had to apply for loans just so they can pay my tuition and other expenses. My brother entered college two years later so they had to send twice the amount they used to send me for our allowance. Luckily for us, we both studied in public universities so the tuition wasn't so high.  In addition, we stayed with our aunt and uncle so we didn't have to rent an apartment. 

I never wanted to be a teacher because I know how difficult it is. It made me wonder why my parents chose to be teachers. It was three years ago when I finally understood. I started working as a part-time English tutor to Japanese students. It makes me happy when my students say, "Thank you" because they got a high TOEIC or TOEFL score, they successfully entered an MBA program in the US or UK, and simply because I am teaching them. It's that kind of happiness that no amount of money can replace.

I wrote this post as a present for my parents and my former teachers. Thank you for sharing a part of you with us. Whoever we are now, wherever we may be, whatever we achieved, you are all part of our success. Happy Teachers' Month!! More Power!!

happy teachers!!