You know FB really is a great, great way to connect with special people from your past. I was doing my normal online routine when i decided to check my facebook account (yes fb is no longer part of my early morning routine lol) and a status comment on my sister’s wall got my attention.
It was from my favorite teacher in elementary and she commented ‘Hello! cmzta akong favorite pupil?? How many years ago na, Diane??” Heyyyy! wait a minute! It’s Mrs Rigodon! SO of course, I click the Add Friend button right away. 😀
I’d like to believe I am one of Ma’am Rigodon’s favorite pupils for my batch (hahahah naay qualification lol) because she is by far my most favorite teacher, and one of those teachers that have have made a great impact on my journey as a student, and as a young adult.
Looking back, one of the earliest pivotal moments in my life happened after my English teacher and Grade 6 classroom adviser, Ma’am Florenda Rigodon uttered these very kind words “..kaning bata-a maayo man ni ba..” (this kid is good hahaha ^_^) while reading an entry in my English theme-composition notebook. She was not talking to me but conversing with someone else. I was just eavesdropping hehe.
I remembered being so down that day, I think I was feeling a bit depressed at that time because I will not be among those who will represent my school in the district spelling contest … I lost in the pre-qualification round conducted the day before because of the word ‘colostrum’ hahaha.
(btw, i still can’t spell that word right, the first time I typed it t’was misspelled, good thing WordPress has an in-built dictionary and word correction facility LOL)
I was an emo child + insecure – what can i say? 🙂
Those kind words were like rays of sunlight clearing off the dark clouds hovering over myself that day and the words got stuck in my consciousness.
‘I am good’, and I am good in English writing. It mattered to me because I love writing, and to have your English teacher affirms it, t’was like winning the lottery to a 12 year old geeky kid.
*I didn’t know then that I’d be blogging, writing articles in English in my adult life. 😀
Pinanghawakan ko yun.
I hold onto those words when I was thrust to a high school full of the brightest poor but deserving students in Cebu.
My high school classmates were full of confidence and really smart. A good number of our batch mates were valedictorians, salutatorians, and graduates with honors from our respective elementary schools. It was intimidating.
I felt like I was this *tiny* fish from the backwaters of Opon thrown deep with the more colorful and interesting fish in a big pond. (emo nga lol hehe)
It took a long time before I finally start believing in myself. Those words from my long ago elementary English teacher helped me a lot, a whole lot. And I am forever grateful.
So anyhow I am still waiting for my favorite teacher to accept my Facebook friend request and maybe she will comment on my wall too along the lines of.. “ how is my favorite pupil (of your batch)…’ hahahahaha 🙂
Thank you Ma’am Rigodon! Hail to your retirement! Enjoy Life!
p.s. the title says this is an ‘ode’, pero this turns out far from a poem heheh
Ah, yes, our teachers. I owe a lot to my teachers. Would you believe that I am still in contact with my first grade teacher? We lives miles apart but we’ve managed to keep in touch for almost 30 years! And it always makes me smile thinking that we’ve gone through different means of communication—snail mail, telegram (yes, pati telegram haha!), courier, text, email 🙂
wow! first grade teacher, that’s really something! tsaka telegram! hehehehe it’s wonderful to remain in contact with people that have influenced our lives 🙂