I was one of the Marikina Teach for the Philippines (TFP) Fellows fortunate to be partnered with a Loyola Marymount University graduate student in Urban Education. Rea, my partner teacher for the past two weeks, is also a Teach for America alum.
We started our days with the hourly commute, racing against time to make it to Santo Nino Elementary School by six in the morning. From 7 to half past eleven in the morning, it was a whirlwind of students and learning for all of us. We ended our days together with lunch or going to a local books and supplies store.
The first day was the hardest, but also the trickiest. I had to incorporate Rea in my class smoothly for my class to welcome her. It started with Rea helping me monitor and checking students’ works. One of my most memorable instance would be during our second day. I asked Rea to teach Music, having found out that she taught music for three years. Everything was going well, we were moving smoothly around the classroom, no plan needed. Just then, after recess, I was asked to attend a meeting, thus asking Rea to be left alone with my class. I could feel her uncertainty but I know she could do it. Being left with no lesson plans to guide her, a music lesson for thirty minutes, and 2 and a half hours to kill, she made use of the situation to her advantage. She taught Mathematics, having patterned it out from my lesson the previous day.
It broke everyone's heart when the two weeks were up and Rea had to go., Rea definitely was able to leave her mark on each of us.