Stepping Up To the Game as Teacher-Innovators and Nation-Builders

Written by Laarnie Luna on September 16, 2019. Posted in Education, Media, Outstanding Filipinos

2019 METROBANK FOUNDATION OUTSTANDING FILIPINO AWARD FOR TEACHERS

STEPPING UP TO THE GAME AS TEACHER-INNOVATORS AND NATION-BUILDERS

By May Dedicatoria

Be it a doctor, artist or an engineer, no one becomes a fine professional without the tutelage of selfless teachers back in one’s youth. Being the children’s second parents, teachers are tasked to mold the students and help shape the society. In time for the celebration of National Teachers’ Month, four teachers who prove that teaching is a vital foundation in nation-building comprised this year’s Metrobank Foundation Outstanding Filipinos.

The four honorees in the academic sector are: Dorothy Tarol, Ph.D., Master Teacher II, Special Education-Integrated School for Exceptional Children (SPED-ISEC) (Iloilo City); Cristina Cristobal, Ph.D., Special Science Teacher 5, Philippine Science High School Main Campus (Quezon City); Ricardo Jose, Ph.D., Professor 12, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman (Quezon City); and Eva Maria Cutiongco-de la Paz, M.D., Professor 10, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila (City of Manila).

WESTERN VISAYAS’ PARAGON OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Iloilo-based teacher Tarol’s story reflects her solid stance on inclusive education. Progressively losing her hearing at 35, she has shifted her teaching career to cater to students with disabilities at the Special Education-Integrated School for Exceptional Students (SPED-ISEC) in Iloilo City.

She is best recognized for writing and implementing in 2011 an action research entitled Buddy-Mediated Instruction (BMI): Pivotal Strategy for Spelling and Social Skills for Students with Hearing Impairment, which aims to develop a student’s basic literacy skills.
Tarol also advocates for equal career opportunities for persons with disabilities. In 2007, she co-founded an organization registered as the Association of Late-deafened, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing for Education, Advocacy, Research and Support (ALDHEARS). She holds a Master Teacher II position at SPED-ISEC since 2015, and is a registered guidance counselor.

QUEZON CITY’S VETERAN INNOVATOR IN HISTORY INSTRUCTION

The legacy of Cristobal at the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) can be best captured by her initiative to inspire changes to the students’ perspective towards learning history. She introduced a teaching strategy that requires grade 7 learners to use primary sources in studying history.

The approach provides opportunities for students to analyze documents, review data and construct historical narratives firsthand — a deviation from the traditional learning through textbooks and memorization.
Outside the system, Cristobal actively engages in providing teacher-training for Islamic teachers. Together with Ateneo de Davao University, she organized Buklod Guro, a program where best teaching practices of PSHS teachers are shared to madaris (Islamic schools) in several schools across Mindanao.

PHILIPPINES’ FOREMOST WORLD WAR II HISTORIAN

Jose, an acclaimed historian, has spent 40 years filling the gaps in the country’s past, more profoundly on the subjects of Philippine diplomatic history, Philippine military history, the Philippines under the US’ colonial rule, and the tie between the Philippines and Japan.

Tagged as the country’s foremost scholar on World War II in the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific, Jose has produced a body of work that serves as the foundational literature on the study of the Second World War.
To many of Jose’s generations of students, he is often remembered as someone who would bring historical artifacts such as helmets, air raid sirens, and yellowing photographs during class discussions.

PHILIPPINES’ PRIME MOVER OF GENOMIC MEDICINE AND EDUCATION

De la Paz, a professor at UP Manila and executive director of the National Institutes of Health, has dedicated her 22 years in the teaching profession to a branch of biology concerned with the study of genes called genomics.

She has successfully led a special research project under the Commission on Higher Education – Philippine California Advanced Research Institutes (CHED-PCARI) — the newly inaugurated Shared Genomics Core Laboratory at the Philippine Genome Center in UP Diliman. This houses state-of-the-art genomic sequencing equipment that can significantly accelerate and expand discoveries run by Filipinos for their fellow Filipinos.

It is a valuable resource for higher educational institutions in their pursuit of higher learning and discovery, especially in the emerging fields of genomics to advance genomic medicine, to harness genomic information for food security and to better understand the genetic makeup of Filipinos.

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On the occasion of Metrobank’s 57th anniversary, it honors another batch of exemplary teachers, soldiers and police officers. By fostering excellence and paying tribute to these professions, more Filipinos are encouraged to dream big and achieve more in life. Through the promise of meaningful banking, more dreams can turn into reality.