Eastern Samar State University

Don't ask me why ESSU is called Eastern Samar "State" University when clearly the Philippines is not divided into "states" but eh. They shall do what they shall do. 

Anyway, if you've been following my scattered thoughts and journal entry-blogs you'll know that the High School English Teacher position that I had originally secured fell through upon my arrival in the P.I. Which led to about two and a half weeks of what I like to call the "limbo state" until finally one of my relatives heard my sad sob story and spoke on my behalf to the local University: ESSU-Maydolong. The main campus is in Borongan, but ESSU-Maydolong is a branch located less than three miles from my house. Also, it happens to be the school that my cousins go to so...it was an obvious choice seeing as Joey, Kimberly and I could go to school together and I wouldn't feel so...alone. =] Add into the mix that a lot of my new friends from CYF are upperclassmen as well and I was pretty much set to be eased into my new life.

 

So, in comparison to ESSU-Main, which looks like a Cal State School, ESSU-Maydolong is a relatively small campus with a population of maybe 1,000 students. It was a high school the last time I was here, but since I've been away it changed from an Agricultural High School to a University offering degrees like: BE-ED: Elementary Education, BS-ED: Secondary Education, BS-IT: Information Technology, and BS-Criminology.

It's a relatively "simple" school, much like everything here in Eastern Samar. I first came to visit with Kimberly during her registration where she and many other students had to sit for close to half an hour filling out eight class schedules by hand, which were already assigned to all third year students (they don't pick their classes), to be distributed to different administrators on campus.

Back home we're so spoiled with all of our computer systems and everything is automated, as well as the vast array of classes to choose from. Students at ESSU don't choose, they are given the classes required to graduate, which...makes me wonder who has the better system seeing as most of the DO graduate in four years. (Save for the few who can't afford school, get married, or get pregnant and can't finish.)

 

 It's a nice change from the massiveness of a Cal State school. It almost feels like a private school and holds it's own quaint charm. For instance, every Friday, there are no "classes" but all students are required to come to campus for "classwork". Now, when I first heard this I thought Joey and Kimberly had to go to school to do homework stuff, but...no. It's Compulsory work. They go to campus to clean the campus. Sweep up the leaves, clean their classrooms, etc. etc. Granted, it's not all work, once they are done most students stay on campus with their friends, but if you don't go, it's a fifty peso fine.

Which reminds me...

The trees are mango trees, so towards the end of the school year there are a lot of mangoes to go around, though the students are discouraged from picking them off the tree (it's also a fifty peso fine). And the machine that keeps the grass trim and tended to? Carabao and goats.

Moreover, during actual classes in the week, the students don't actually move around from classroom to classroom, the teachers do. So, unlike a Cal State campus where you sometimes get stuck in a class with people from other majors that you don't know, all of my students spend all day together in the same classroom with their batch. They even have class officers and daily sweepers.

Imagine my surprise, the first day, when I said, "Alright, you're dismissed," only to be told, "Ma'am we stay here, in this classroom." I laughed it off, completely baffled and replied, "Oh, then I guess...I'm dismissed..." Yeah. A real comedian I am, though to be fair I was battling about five hundred butterflies in my stomach.

Which brings me to my students. I teach English courses: Effective Writing for BS-ED Second Year and Study and Thinking Skills for BS-IT First Year. Most of my students are around my age or...around the age of the CFBC Youth, so they are easy to get along, in addition to the fact that they are bred to be respectable and hospitable, but I won't deny that we were and...still are...a little more than fascinated with each other.

Recently, I spent some time with a few of my BS-ED students outside of class and learned that when I first walked in they all thought I was one of them. They all assumed that I would take a seat beside them and silently wait for the teacher. They watched me in complete surprise head over to the podium and proceed to nervously meander through all of the things in my bag. I was their teacher. I was the "Ma'am".

Currently I'm writing a narrative of that first experience, but I praise God for my 2nd year class. They are very different than my 1st years and remind me of home. They remind me of CFBC and the youth.

 

(I'm missing maybe ten of them in this picture, but overall they are an incredibly welcoming class.)

My 1st years are a little different. They can be successfully separated into two groups: the more vocal and more reserved. I have a lot of male students are very quick to compliment. The fact that I am twenty-two and a US citizen adds to my appeal of course, but they all listen during lecture and all participate to the best of their abilities.

I think the difficulty with this class is that, I wasn't their teacher on the first day of classes. I spent Monday, June 4 on a van to Borongan to meet with the President of the ESSU schools and get proper clearance to be taken on as a teacher. I came to them on Wednesday after they had already Ma'am Gemma and, because I hadn't been given their syllabus yet, we were a standstill haha. Every day it gets better, though sometimes I feel like there is only so much i can tell them. I learn more and more from their writing, as well as who does and doesn't do the work, but....even if they underestimate me now, they won't underestimate me once the semester ends. I remember who leaves class and who doesn't come back. I remember who pushes off the work to someone else. I know. I may be young, but I'm not stupid. Haha.

Overall, teaching is one of those experiences where you go into it with a game plan, just to throw it out the window. And yet, I do enjoy it thoroughly. There is something to be said about being this kind of observer. I don't think they realize how much I learn from them and how...it's, hopefully, just as much as they learn from me.

ESSU-Maydolong has never had a volunteer teacher before. So, I think it's safe to bet that this will be something my students remember. I can only hope that they'll remember more than the novelty of a teacher that was younger than them, or a teacher that was from California. I hope that they remember me and everything I tell them about writing and reading and understanding the English language. I pray that God uses me to do more than just lecture. I want to teach. That's why I'm here. So, let's hope and pray that I do God proud and make a lasting impression. =]

I'll hopefully be able to blog more within the next few days. In addition to introducing my new cousins and friends, there are a lot of school events and town events that I'm looking forward to writing on. For instance: The ESSU-Maydolong Founder's Day Anniversary and the impending Intramurals. We don't have stuff like this back home...but man...it should have a come back. Haha

Until next time.

-Aarika