MANILA, Sept. 5 (PNA) — The Department of Education (DepEd) lauded the exemplary service and commitment to deliver quality education to Filipino learners of the 2014 Metrobank Foundation’s Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT) awardees—composed of four (4) public elementary school teachers, four (4) public high school teachers, and two (2) college professors.
“We applaud the unwavering hard work of our educators in igniting the passion of each Filipino learner,” Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC said. He emphasized the important role of educators in waging the “battle against ignorance.”
Luistro added, “Each day you stand in front of the students in the classroom is another day of taking on the challenge of eliminating illiteracy and ignorance among the minds of the Filipino youth.” He emphasized the every educator is a community leader.
“Our 2014 Metrobank Outstanding Teacher awardees have dedicated their lives not only in teaching our young learners but also in empowering the communities in which they serve,” Luistro said. He added that they “represent the best during the worst of times—not only during the extraordinary moments but in the daily engagement with students.”
Anna Bella F. Abellera, English teacher at Naga Central School I and one of the 2014 SOT awardees, said, “Teaching is akin to a calling. It is an opportunity to reach out to more people in need. Stepping out of the classroom and applying the same dreams I had with my own students simply gives unparalleled gratification.” Abellera developed an award-winning reading program entitled “LEAP (Love for Extensive Academic Progress through Reading)” that aims to increase the number of “independent readers”. She also co-authored a compilation of lesson plans and workbooks for the English subject from Grades 1 to 6.
Another 2014 SOT awardee, Sharon Rose P. Puyo teaches children with hearing impairment at Cabadbaran South Central Elementary School SPED Center. She established a sign language class for teachers, parents, and other community individuals to improve the communication among people in the deaf community.
Puyo said, “Teaching the hearing impaired is not a lucrative job. A teacher must possess unique characteristics to be able to cope with the ups and downs of being with these children, but nothing compares to the feeling of fulfillment and happiness that I see in them.”
Luistro commended the awardees’ commitment to ensure that no learner shall be left behind in education. “May you continue to empower every learner and ignite within every Filipino the aspiration to achieve greatness—not only for themselves but also for others,” he said. (PNA)