Kahapon ang kauna-unahang beses na nagdasal kami ng mga estudyante ko bilang isang klase (dahil akala ko, bawal ang pagdarasal sapagkat iba’t iba sila ng relihiyon). Ipinaliwanag ko sa kanila magdarasal kami at hihingi ng tulong sa kanya-kanyang Diyos upang gabayan sa pagkuha ng unang markahan.
Ang aming dasal… “Panginoon, salamat po sa isang araw na ibinigay Ninyo sa amin. Gabayan Ninyo po kami sa aming exam sa araw na ito. Tulungan Ninyo po kami na hindi mangopya sa aming mga katabi. Ipaalala po Ninyo sa amin ang mga leksyon na pinag-aralan namin. Amen.”
Pagkatapos ng aming dasal, may isang estudyanteng sumigaw: “Papasa kami!” at sinundan ito ng buong klase: “Papasa kami! Papasa kami! Grade 4! Grade 4! Grade 4!”
Habang nagbabantay ako ng ibang klase, hindi ako mapakali sa kakaisip kung papasa nga ba talaga ang aking mga estudyante… Buong araw akong hindi mapanatag…hanggang uwian, kahit hanggang sa pagtulog.
Ngayong araw, mas magiging positibo ako. Ngayong araw, maniniwala akong papasa sila. Ngayong araw, makikisigaw ako sa kanila ng, “Papasa kami!” Ngayong araw, kahit ano pa man ang makuha ng mga estudyante ko, hindi magbabago ang pagmamahal ko sa kanila. Mula ngayon….. sabay-sabay kami pupuntang Grade 4!
___
Yesterday was the first time my students and I prayed together as a class. I previously thought that this was prohibited since my students come from different religious backgrounds. I explained to my students that we will be praying to our own respective Gods to ask for help as we take our first quarterly exam.
We prayed, “Dear God, we thank You for this day. May You please guide us as we take our exam. Give us enough strength to not be tempted to copy from our seatmates. Please help us remember the lessons we have learned in class. Amen.”
After our prayer, one of my students exclaimed, “We will pass!” The rest of my class followed it up by chanting, “We will pass! We will pass! Grade 4! Grade 4! Grade 4!”
As I proctored another section during their exam, I could not help but wonder whether my students will actually pass their exams or not. I was anxious the whole day, until I got home, and even until I got to bed that night.
Today, I resolve to think positively. Today, I choose to believe my students will pass. Today, I will chant alongside them, “We will pass!” Today, no matter what my students score, that will not affect how much I love each and every one of them. From today onward, we will make it to Grade 4 together!
Carmina Regine Fernandez, 22, graduated from St. Mary’s College, Quezon City with a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with a major in English. She is one of five Fellows teaching in Pasong Tamo Elementary School.