After a week-long break from the course Field Study in the first semester, I’m officially back! San Juan National High School is my training ground for acquiring the necessary knowledge, honing pedagogical skills, and mastering the subject matter on a day-to-day basis. I have set my mind to evolve and learn every time that I can because it will be a great asset when I become a teacher someday.

Accordingly, in this month of March, it is my time to shine. Unlike the field study days, we are only tasked to observe and assist our respective cooperating teachers. But this time, we were given the chance to handle and manage the daily classes. Since I came back on the last week of March, the class was in the middle of their 3rd quarter. I did not teach immediately because I need to confirm what lesson has been finished. Luckily, they only tackled two lessons before I came so, I have at least 5 more lessons I can teach them. I prepared all my lesson plans this quarter beforehand because I know it will be difficult if I didn’t know the flow of each lesson that I am going to teach.

The next day, March 21, I began taking over my cooperating teacher’s class and start the class by greeting my students, “Good morning, Class!” followed by a prayer to ask for guidance as we take on topic for the day. Since the educational resources are readily available in San Juan National High School, I make use of the television installed in every class for my presentations. In my presentation, it always begins by introducing the topic for the day and the lesson objectives students must learn. Regularly, review questions about the previous lesson are included in the presentation because it is important to connect and refresh their knowledge as often as I can in order to maximize their learning making it long-term.

Discussing lessons is the fun part because I’m able to share my knowledge with my students and we engage in a simultaneous conversation since I’ll be prompting questions every now and then to capture their attention as well as engage them in the lecture. Whenever I ask easy questions, I always followed with the question, “Why” or “How come you came up with that answer?” this is for me to know whether they really learned, or they just remember the easy parts. It’s easy to remember but, it is hard to understand concepts. Moreover, whenever they answer correctly, I made sure to commend them but if their answer is wrong, I never shame them hence, I let them know that they could try again or I’m looking for a different answer. I learned that students are afraid to join the class discussion even if they have an answer because others may judge them if they answer incorrectly. So, it is my job as a teacher to create a healthy and positive learning environment. 

The month of April came and there is not much difference in what I’m doing from when I’m teaching the class. But I think I’m getting better at managing the classroom because handling two grade levels is not an easy task. Everything that I do is “doubled” such as the lesson plans, presentations, assessments, activities, etc. It’s a hassle and I’m easily drained every day because I need to study two astoundingly different topics per day to prepare for my lecture with the Grade 9 and Grade 10.

In relation to this, my subject is Information and Communications Technology. I was responsible for instructing students in various technological concepts, computer skills, and applications. Despite teaching in a public high school in an urban community, there’s scarce access and knowledge to technology and digital resources. The students came from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and had varying levels of exposure to technology.

To enhance students' learning experiences, I focused on integrating technology into my teaching methods. I employed a blended learning approach, combining traditional classroom instruction with online resources and digital tools. I utilized interactive presentations, educational websites, and software applications to engage students and make abstract concepts more accessible. By incorporating multimedia elements, I aimed to stimulate their interest and promote active participation.

One of the significant challenges I faced was the limited access to technology and internet connectivity in the school. Many students did not have personal computers or reliable internet access at home. This a heavy burden that I must carry as an ICT teacher because I need to come up with various solutions to bridge the gap of knowledge of my students in technology. One thing that I tried and was useful is bringing examples it can either be pictures or videos that can simulate the theories learned in class or even having a demonstration using my laptop in class to exhibit what I was telling them in the lecture.

The San Juan National High School has yet to develop its computer laboratory room since they have been stuck ever since the pandemic. Nonetheless, they are developing it by this time of the month in order to provide the quality of learning for their students. Particularly, in the Technology and Livelihood Education subjects since it requires a well-equipped workplace for students and teachers to do their hands-on activities. 

It’s a tough month this May because there are lots of changes in the San Juan National High School because of the turnover of the new principal. He implemented plenty of changes within the schools and one of those is the room allocations per department. The entire TLE department was relocated to a new room, and we need to move everything at once while having to continue our daily classes.

Apart from the TLE room transferring, the designated rooms for TLE subjects are also required to be fixed immediately that’s why it is extremely tiring because after my final class has ended, we resume cleaning and fixing the room into a usable computer laboratory. Clearing all the things inside the room took a lot of time and I was drained for almost three days straight: both physically and mentally.

Aside from the room changing, it is the test week for students, and I have an advisory class. So, I was tasked to manage and watch the class for the entire testing hours. I set up rules to avoid academic dishonesty such as every bag must be placed in front of the room, and they must put their smartphones on my desk before starting the exam. I am very strict with my rules because the periodical exam must really test the gained knowledge of the students. It was a bit funny because some students whom I do not personally know or have minimum attendance in my class are always present in the periodical test. Good thing, my cooperating teacher set up a parameter for handling this kind of student where they must first call their parent before taking the test to verify the validity of their absences.

Lastly, this is the month where we undertake the final teaching demonstration as a student teacher. I really prepared a lot for this particular event since this is the moment where I’ll showcase what I have learned from teaching daily at San Juan National High School. I’m also happy and thankful to see Mrs. Caroline Sumande join the panelist in the teaching demonstration, it gives a little boost to see that my school, PUP, supports me by attending because it’s been a tough week before our teaching demonstration. (Thank you po, Ma'am Sumande! We love you pooooo!)

After the demonstration, I was relieved and happy that I pull it off despite all the accumulated stress, lack of sleep, and overflowing workload. Moreover, it is such heartwarming and fulfilling to see that I made it and TLE teachers, fellow student teachers, and my teachers are proud of my work. In fact, the Division Office of San Juan posted some pictures of my teaching demonstration online as well as my materials. 

This month of June will be my last three weeks in SJNHS, it has been a journey coming here from the 1st semester up to now. I already finished all of my 4th quarter lessons early particularly my grade 10 class since they will be having their moving up. It was difficult for me to handle all the work because it is extremely overwhelming to teach all day and do the other task in breaks or vacant hours.

As for my grade 9 students, the highlight of my lessons would be the topic “network cabling” because they are so immersed in learning and doing what I have demonstrated in creating a LAN cable. I had fun teaching them because they are new to this topic, and they have multiple questions for me which I patiently answer each by demonstrating the process over and over. Making a cable is a difficult task, especially for their level of impatience that’s why I’m surprised to see their eagerness to learn and produce a working cable. Whenever they test their cables if it is working or not, it feels like I’m watching a thriller movie. But when their cable works, they rejoice and I’m proud of each individual who tried their best.

Most of the time, I’m super occupied due to the overloading work such as checking outputs, recording outputs, creating summative and periodical tests, sorting the portfolios per section, encoding grades, etc. The pressure is so heavy that I have been burned out most of the time but despite those odds, I keep pushing myself because I’m doing it for my students as well as for myself. Though the back pain and stress still linger in me…hehehe

Lastly, the days I spent in San Juan is a whole new experience. The concepts, ideas, theories that I learned in class was put into practice and I tried a lot of teaching techniques in my classes to find the best teaching style for me and I’m glad that I learned a lot. It was a fun and challenging experience; I learned a lot from my cooperating teachers, Mrs. Marilou Ladia and Mrs. Corazon Calibara. Even the other TLE teachers, fellow student teachers, and more importantly my students have been a part of my growth. I deeply appreciate and value the support everyone has given me, it’s all thanks to them that I gained and develop myself as a better individual, as an aspiring teacher in the future.