By Nicee A. Lumanog
On October 5, Grade 10 student Samantha Nikkol Bertis presented a piece of poetry at the Teacher’s Day celebration that utilized the components of a plot to tell the tale of a teacher. She presented her piece, “A Short Story of a Teacher: Through the Struggle,” with confidence. It began as follows:
Act one: The Exposition
The lights close, and the scene presents something we might all be familiar with.
We see a person on a desk, moving tensely;
It makes you wonder what they were tinkering with,
But as you observe, just a little more,
You see what happens with a mere score.
They seem distraught…
Ah, it was a student you were looking at, and you realized.
But their heads whip around, and you finally understand who that was and why they looked so flat.
They looked as if the world had crashed for a minute and a half, and they felt themselves crack in half.
The scene moves, and we see caps thrown,
A celebration fully wide and blown.
We saw that same person again, but this time they rejoiced.
I guess they moved on and now have a voice.
The scene rummages itself, and we see them in front of people.
Thoughts pour through your head this time,
But the confusion leaves, and the understanding settles in.
Although there have always been times when we were at our lowest, I may not be speaking for everyone when I say that I just want to skip those moments where I struggle and rejoice in the outcome of our hard work, wanting to fast-forward or just skip. Samantha takes us to a scene where we can see a student who is struggling and seems to be dealing with all the issues in the world. However, the picture abruptly changes to graduation, at which point they have overcome all of their difficulties. Everything now made sense, and everything became obvious.
Act two: The Rising Action
They talk and talk, maybe just a little too much at times.
Maybe too little sometimes,
But things end smoothly for them.
The discussion didn’t feel like a thread roughly pulling through a hem.
They get up to leave, satisfied with their work that day.
You wonder at this time if they still remember those days.
Discussions would occur wherein our teachers wouldn’t feel as well. Since they are also people, they experience fatigue, exhaustion, and stress. However, they are expected by society to mask those emotions and present themselves as patient teachers who can go on and on about their lessons. As students, we are aware that they make an effort, but we can always tell if they aren’t feeling their best by hearing them continue their lessons in a bleak voice, getting up to go to their next class, and worrying whether they gave it everything each class they have despite traveling on an unpleasant path.
Act three: The Climax
Wait… there they are,
Looking like they remembered that star.
The start that they pointed at,
The one that landed them in that presently unfortunate position.
They did look a little tired, a little overworked, and a little… miserable.
Something must have happened to them; maybe that’s why…
You really want to comfort them, ask what was wrong, and hold them through that high.
But the scene changes again, and there they are…
Right in front of you.
Every educator has traveled various routes to get where they are now. When they were younger, they were students who desired to become teachers. Wishing upon the stars that their dreams would come true, they worked tirelessly to get to this position, only to work even harder to keep it. You want to help them and try to make them feel less stressed when you see them working for hours on end. Because their primary goal in accomplishing all of this is to train us so that we can develop into adults who are competent and accountable. The falling action starts as Samantha makes yet another change.
Act four: The Falling Action
You realized who it was, and then you yourself rejoiced.
The person was who you thought it would be.
The one who held you that very first day in school,
The one who stood by that door and made it all go away.
It was your teacher.
The one who was in that room, the one who rejoiced, the one who went through it all,
That was them…
It simply makes sense to want to take care of your teachers like parents because they have always supported you through both good and bad experiences, stressful times, and happy instances. They were the ones who stood by you when your parents weren’t there, to lead you to the places you spent 8 hours every five days for ten months. Sometimes even your parents are unaware of your problems, because you would rather tell your teachers. They were the ones standing behind you, encouraging each and every action, word, and behavior.
Act five: The Resolution
The conflict seems to disappear, like smoke disappearing into the horizon…
Ah, wait.
My teachers are watching, and too much flowery language might do my poem wrong.
So here’s my “opinion” on things:
I love my teachers.
Maybe not everyone does, but I do.
So now I stand before you all with an assertion:
Teachers do their jobs, and teachers care.
Teachers care!
Whether with their pen and marker or with the resounding laughter that pours from their mouths.
They have all decided to go through the hardships and decided that their students’ burdens were theirs.
They love, they love!
They love the intensity of a thousand discussions comparable to the burn of the heating sun.
Teachers love…
And all that you and I have to give in return is our own.
Your problems start to ultimately fade away all of a sudden. Samantha shows us the hidden struggles of most teachers, unveiling their hardships just to provide education for us. She points out numerous times that they were always there for us, no matter what our problems were. Most people might argue that teachers are to blame for their problems because they assign homework and demand engagement with activities, although Samantha and some of us believe that teachers care about us and give us the homework and projects we need to learn and eventually function as members of society. And they don’t even stop at school-related issues; some teachers are willing to listen to you out and will try to assist you in any way they can. We can give back some of the love that our teachers have shown us, but nothing we do will ever be enough to match what they did. In Samantha’s words, we love our teachers, though maybe not everyone.