Teaching

 I have always thought that teaching is a thankless job. It had been told that many times. Now that I have retired, I was surprised how some of my students I got to befriend or even just met somewhere, (I always run into them making my children say,"Papa seems to know a lot of people") come up to me, say "hi" and even recount our days together working in the classroom.

Now this. Not only did I get a thank you, she showered me and my family with love I got teary eyed reading her message. Her words are one of the kindest I have gotten so far. She just made me a very happy old man - feeling fulfilled and proud of myself.

I know there could be some who hated me, too, especially those who were under me during my last two years. You see, after a long period with the administration, I was assigned back to the classroom two years prior to retirement. I was already an old man, sometimes grumpy and probably out of reach with a huge gap in age with my students. Oh well, we can't always win 'em all.

Miki's message made me think, why did I ever leave the classroom? It might be possible that I didn't lose my touch and even got better with my relationships with my students both intellectually and emotionally.

At any rate, thank you MIki for your very kind words and your patronage. I am extremely happy that we reconnected after so many years, this time as true friends.

Tito Rolly

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We finally got our hands on a Tito Rolly, shipped all the way from the Philippines! It’s also our first ever art purchase so it feels like a milestone to celebrate. Sir Rolly Delos Santos was my art teacher in Zobel throughout grade school and high school (my lack of artistic prowess in no way reflects his teaching abilities ) AND my homeroom teacher in junior year. He’s not only an excellent teacher and artist, but also a very good writer. As my homeroom teacher, he would have us write essays for fun, which he would then proceed to read in depth - I always appreciated the thoughtful comments he’d make on mine and the insights he would share. He retired from teaching a few years ago and so has had more time to focus on his art, and I told myself if I ever got to a point in my life where I could set aside a little extra for art, he’d be the first person I’d reach out to. He calls this “Troubadours with the Red Guitar”, painted July 24, 2022.

Miki Litao-Goyokpin