Like the other topnotchers who spoke in front of you, I was also informed to deliver this speech just a while ago. So this one can either be an extemporaneous or an impromptu. Please bear with me.

I want to say something about the situation of education that is taking place in our country.

The world is now witnessing a period of rapid transformation in the ways we behave as humanity. Some people call this the age of globalization, some call this the age of collaboration, some call this the Information Age. It’s an age of innovations, a turning point in history when there is always something new somewhere.

To keep ourselves abreast with the times, we must adapt our system of education with these changes. No longer should we teach learners the way our teachers taught us in the past. The past restricted our ways of thinking, rid us of our creativity, and made us submit to the system like fearful employees in an industrial factory.

I was a product of public education. When I was in grade 3, I let my first criticism out saying, “Hindi naman tinitingnan ni Sir Gonzales yung tsinitsekan niya.” With the culture of competition prevalent in public school classrooms during those times, my statement immediately reached the teacher, who became severely offended. And you know what he did? Binatukan niya ako sa harap ng klase, a shameful experience for a boy pupil vying for honors.

I was already lucky. There was another teacher who told my classmates to pull their shorts down as punishment for their misbehavior. Traumatized, I could see that it was one of the reasons why they dropped out of school some years later.

Is voicing out your thoughts as kid a misbehavior? Is thumping your desk to reproduce a beat you heard on the radio a misbehavior? Is giving funny answer to a difficult question a misbehavior?

Those teachers were my inspirations. At a very young age, I came to make a decision – I will NEVER be like them!

What were called misbehaviors back then, today, in this age of collaboration, may just be called flashes of creativity. The people who succeed today are NOT those who are learned but those who choose to stay foolish. What did I just say?!

Believing we are still foolish, that we still lack knowledge, we won’t stop learning. The people who solve our problems are NOT those who have resistant mental attitudes. The people who solve our problems are those mad innovators, the ones who set the trends through their creativity and through collaboration.

So let us stop teaching with the destructive ways we were taught in the past. Let us start equipping them and ourselves with the knowledge and skills that are most important to succeed in the present .

Earlier, I heard one of our speakers encourage us to contribute in our country’s development. Make it progressive, industrialized, a tiger economy, in short, a rich country.

On the other hand, we almost always hear destructive “dictums” that keep us, teachers, away from giving remarkable contributions. Such myths as

“Teachers have to make lots of sacrifices,”

“There is no money in teaching,”

and

“If you want material gains, do not delve into teaching.”

We were fed with these myths making us think that “teaching” and “prosperity” are antonyms, two sides of a duality, heaven and earth. In my mind, this is very dangerous.

We were told to make this country a better place. We were told to move our country toward all kinds of development. It is our national goal to make our country rich!

A country can only be rich if its people are rich. The people will be rich if they have learned how to become rich. But how will these people learn to become rich?

How can we, teachers, teach these people to become rich, to make our country rich, if we ourselves are not rich?!

You’ve been brainwashed, wake up!

In my mind, we can only empower the people and take them away from the clutches of poverty if we train their mentality to become rich.

For the sake of our learners, for the sake of our country, teachers, let me take this appeal – let us all strive to become rich teachers!

Like what the other topnotchers did, I also would like to share my experience during the exam.

I went to the testing site one hour late and tired. I smiled to the proctors who nicely gave me my questionnaire and answer sheets. I started answering knowing from within that I am going to be among the topnotchers.

What made me think this way? Willpower, belief in my abilities, enough preparation. When the result was out, I was surprised to see my name in the 7th place. I thought I was in the 5th!

This is what I really intend to say. Work hard. Believe in yourself. Have willpower. You will eventually achieve your dreams.

Before I end this speech, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the following:

To my parents for all the care and support I received from you. I love you so much.

To my alma mater, De La Salle University – Dasmariñas, for providing the great environment that made me grow into a healthy and mature young man. In this great institution, I came to find the persons that had the most lasting influence on my life.

To the kind Ms. Alice of MindGym for all the assistance you gave me. I went there and told her about my goal to top the LET. She encouraged me to do so and gave me the privilege to attend parts of their course and use their materials all for free.

To all the beautiful girls out there who keep me inspired.

To all the manly guys who serve as good role models.

And to God Almighty who keeps pouring His blessings upon me. You give me everything I need.

Thanks so much to all of you.

 

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