Taught by a Champ

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Taught by a Champ

University of the Philippines in the Visayas. College of Arts and Sciences. Miag-ao, Iloilo, Philippines. 1992.

It was about 17 to 18 years ago. I walked into a room of a legend. I heard of stories about her. They said she pushes her students hard but keeps personal warm relationships with them. She comes to class always prepared - even if she only has one student enrolled in her Sociology major classes. I wanted to see it for myself. I wanted to know what it was like to be taught by a champ.

Her smile was irrepressible; it is one of those smiles that can intimidate anyone who was unsure of themselves. It's between a grin of victory and a sweet smile of success. And she wore it everyday - in the halls, in the classroom, and yes, even at the end of the day. The only mystery those smiles have to me, is its source. It almost roars as if to jolt the mediocrity out of you.

With her head tilted high, her short graceful regal frame makes lilliputs out of us. Not in a way that it makes us feel small, but in a way, that it makes us feel that we have a lot of growing up to do; to be able to tilt our head with such confidence the way she does.

The undisturbed graceful calm in her face is sometimes broken by her deep seated laughter that exudes predictable preparedness for battle. She laughs as if she has already won; and day by day I saw her winning over us. She expected nothing less than success; her bars were high; the miles to run were far - and she pushed, seemingly gently, but never easily gave up on even the most drunk of us. Oh yes, he was the only rose in the thorns!

Stories. She told us stories: about her husband and her kid, her teachers, her heroes.. With that, she became a real person to us, a human being, even a friend who seemed to have trusted us with her life story. Being in that class felt like sitting on her dining table and meeting her family through the sound of her familiar voice. Those were real present-day examples of the concepts we were learning in class - gender equality, socialization, deviance etc. And those were people we have seen her walking around with and got the pleasure to meet ourselves with such familiarity. Little did I know, that one day, I would be a teacher, and I would teach that very subject (Sociology) in a nursing college in the Philippines - and that, I would also share my personal stories and my students will love it; just as I did sitting in her class.

The value of telling stories never really dawned unto me; until one day I found my self telling stories again in my IB Psychology class in India and then years later, some of my students would tell me, that they would still remember that - the stories and the teacher who told stories about herself and her life. That bond, that I still keep from those stories - was planted in that university classroom in a small UNESCO heritage site town.

On Fire. She was constantly on fire and that flame never died out. Her body would move about, her hands would swing and she would stomp her foot to emphasize a point. At times, she would release that sheepish smile as she waits for our answers or release that laughter that makes us forget the norms of the heirarchy in a classroom.  She did not spare us of her pains and disappointments when we don't deliver the goods; but somehow she has mastered the art of loving. No one felt abandoned. Like a skilled parent, she knew how to discipline objectively; It was about our actions and not us as a person. Her smiles were not reserved only for the hard working students or the brightest, but also for those who were more or less - a lost sheep like I was. Someone who tried, but was never sure, if I had the tools for the academic battle. After all, I still wonder now how I passed that Ivy League university entrance exam.

Presence. She was ever-present in mind, body and spirit; she was there with us every single moment in that classroom. That powerful presence pulled us out of our daydreams because it made us feel worthy to be there. It was a sacred place where any trace of ego tripping melts before it surfaces. It was a real place; a safe one to be in - only if we felt ready for the class, that is. She will not embarrass us if we flaunt our ignorance but somehow ensures that her level of great preparedness will quietly show us our way to our very own doors of guilt.

I offered her a promise last year when I met her in a Redbolts (Social Sciences) reunion in the Philippines that I would like to blog about her since I have never quite yet found a teacher like her. I still have my streams of consciousness intact even after 17 to 18 years. In my head, I could still hear her voice and see her eyes glittering as she taught in excitement in our classes. Nothing much has changed, when I saw her last year, except that I remember her to be much  fairer those days. She must've spent some time under the sun that week.

Glimpses..

I can still remember how she would talk with much enthusiasm about the "Trobrianders" and those tribes in distant islands. She spoke as if she has lived with them because she made it so real for me. The discussions reminded me of my father's similar interest in culture and tribes.

Looking back now, I still search for distant lands and enjoy watching people and learning about their way of life. That spark has brought me to East Asia, South East Asia, Scandinavia, Western Europe and Southern Africa.

When I remember her words on "the challenges of intercultural marriage", I still giggle - as if it has something to do with my decision to marry a Hindu Brahmin from the most conservative religious state in northern India.

It is still clear to me, how she has always emphasized the value of strong pedagogy. She said something like "you will see the difference in teachers who studied how to teach what they know and the teachers who teach what they know but have not learned how to teach it." And yes, we saw the difference - at least, I did. Clearly.

Once again, I wonder if my decision to be a teacher has not only been influenced by my "Nature and Nurture" situation at home but also by her. I saw her happy, filled with excitement, energized and alive. It did not look like she was in for a boring career in life that is without reward.

"I always knew what I wanted to do and be" she said. "I would practice teaching in front of a mirror at home before going to the classroom the next day". I still don't know how she sustained that passion after all these years and surely, I did not miss on the opportunity of asking her that. And she gave the  answer:

"This, I feel, is the only thing I know how to do."

Maybe education is much more profound that what I know of it today. I remember one of my Psychology student in India who breezed through my class only for a semester; she ended up writing me a short note on Facebook saying "I can still remember your Psychology classes, it must've been that good." I don't remember her even particularly fond of me and I doubt that she will still remember my classes 18 years hence, but I still do so, of my Sociology classes. Not because I like Sociology but because Ma'am Lisa made me like it. I wish she was my Math teacher too!

I don't know if she still provides her students copious handwritten hand-outs in a yellow pad with definitions and examples - but in where I am right now; I would call that hard work and preparedness. Surely, in my time now these take the form of Power Points, YouTube video clips, Smartboard activities and maybe even podcasts - but how many teacher can consistently be as alive, energized, prepared, passionate, confident and humble like her?  Even if she has, I have never heard her complain about a student or make students sound like they are burdens to her life. I have never seen her look at her watch and act as if she can't wait for the class to finish.

She came to school everyday, as if everyday is going to be the best day of her life. She has always emphasized how important family is, and if we leave them for our jobs - that job better make us happy!

Everything was in the context of our lives. We spoke about sex, relationships, marriage and everything under the sun. Perhaps, Sociology is that which is always under the sun - but I know of teachers who can make any subject easily out of the sun and only within the black and white prints in those bounded sheets on our desks. There are teachers who are master passion killers out there who after years of teaching still haven't not found what they are passionate about in life. We've all had too many of them, and once in a while, we stumble upon someone, who, know what they want and do what they love.

And when we are graced to be in their presence, they change our lives forever.

Everytime I hear a student thank me; I simply reply - "I am paying it forward."

Thank you Ma'am Lis. For who you are.


Mataji T. Villareal - Sharma
BA PSYCHOLOGY
92-37792
UPV MIAG-AO

For more information about Mrs. Ma. Elisa Baliao please see this link:
http://www.upv.edu.ph/upv/index.php/faculty?id=553

Photo sources:
http://www.upv.edu.ph/faculty/view_researches_others.php?fid=289
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ma-Elisa-D-Baliao/177560395634367