A friend of mine has wittily asked me if I still believe in election.  His question struck me.  It must be a very simple question to answer but I can’t explain why I was not able to utter my words of wisdom promptly and logically.  I even felt worried when I said “yes” because I know his ability.  He once told me that he even voted for Ferdinand Marcos, Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Erap Estrada and Gloria Arroyo as presidents of the Republic.  In that case I brought myself to a close that he is much older than me.  I supposed he can absolutely point-out the differences of these presidents in terms of performances.  I remember, he also said, “I have been a citizen of this country for several decades but the situation stays the same.  Nothing has changed.  Naaalala ko pa nung maliliit pa kami, panahon nun ni Marcos, pumipila kami noon sa munisipyo namin para makabili ng bigas, NGA (National Grains Authority) ang government sector ang namamahala sa national rice supply noon.”   He further complained, “Minsan nga nananghalian kami, kamoteng kahoy ang kanin namin tapos ang ulam namin sinigang na isda kasi wala kaming nabiling bigas noon.”   His story reminded me of the NFA (National Food Authority).  
It was just late last year when people flocked and single piled behind the Paniqui Arcade to buy two kilos of NFA rice for their yearning.  I unintentionally noticed that some of my students were waiting for their turn.  If I am not mistaken, their number can fill-in a small classroom.  I felt they were ashamed to greet me and I was pretty sure of that.  Some of them hid themselves behind the person next to them.  I tried to pretend as if i didn’t see them but I can’t  resist to catch their eyes against mine.  Certainly, that moment revealed the real living status of my students. The worst thing that happened during that time is that their “self-esteem” was hurt. From that time on, I have had difficulty on how am I going to boost their morale once again. Without their knowing, I also wanted to buy NFA rice but I sparely decided not to get along with them because I was still able to buy rice with Php 43.00 price per kilo, stretching out my 15 day living allowance.   I had to give up my privilege of getting a cheaper staple food because I was thinking that the supply of rice for that day may run out.
What’s the essence of telling this tale?  That moment has awakened my senses being a teacher. My responsibility as their mentor should not be limited within the perimeter of the campus.  My sacrifices should be extended beyond every thought.  I should have come to think that those parents prioritize education of their children before any basic commodity to provide for their family.  If I have to put myself in their shoes, I should have told my children that food is still the most important human need.  Education is a vague option of today’s situation.  But look at those parents, they still have the strong belief that education is still the most potent tool to combat poverty.  They have hoped that someday they will not get-up from their bed during wee hours just to catch a limited number of NFA rice.  Conscientiously, if I have one thing to remember always as a teacher, that is to give the expectations of those poor parents.  I know and I certainly believe that parents send their children to school because they are hoping that their children will bring home learning from school from time to time.