Act on a Dream

Prologue

My favorite elementary teacher, Ms. Aida, used to make us sing along with her. I Wanna Know What Love Is was her favorite.

She'll stop at random times in her discussion and just start singing, then she'll pause to listen to us sing the next lines and we'll sing the rest of the song together.

I love being her student. I look forward to seeing her and entering her classroom. With her, there was no pressure to learn. Just fun, and singing, and dancing. Oddly enough, it all made us want to learn. We perform better in her class than in any other subjects.

She loves it when we answer her questions correctly, so we listen to her discussions with eyes wide and ears open. She makes us happy, so we all want to return the favor. We want her to be happy; we want her to be proud.

That's the kind of teacher I aspire to be.

Be like Ma'am Aida, I thought before I enter the room.

"Good morning, everyone!", bati ko habang naglalakad patungong teacher's table.

Sabay-sabay silang tumayo at bumati.

"Good morning, Ma'am Kaia! Good morning, classmates! Mabuhay!"

May ngiting tiningnan ko sila bago magtanong.

"Who's assigned to lead the prayer today?"

"Si Chloe po, Ma'am", sagot ng president nilang si Myka.

Idinako ko ang tingin kay Chloe na nakatayo sa unang upuan ng second row at tumango.

"Let's bow our head and feel the presence of the Lord. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...", sabay sabay naming sinambit ang  panalangin.

"You may sit down now", saad ko pagkatapos.

Naupo na sila habang ako'y nakatayo sa harap ng mesa hawak ang class record.

"Say present as I call your name: Abanes", rinig ko ang sagot niyang "Present, Ma'am" kaya nagpatuloy ako sa pagtawag hanggang matawag ang huling estudyante sa lista.

"Panis."

"Your future flight attendant is present, Ma'am!", bibong sagot ng batang mas malambot pa sa marshmallow.

Umusbong ang ngiti sa mga mukha namin sa sagot niya.

"Sige nga, Mr. Panis. If you have sharp mind like a flight attendant, do you remember what we  discussed last meeting?"

Ilang segundo siyang tahimik. Itinaas ang noo at inilagay ang mga kamay sa bewang.

"I believe we discussed about substance and mixture, Ma'am. Thank you!"

Kumaway-kaway pa siya bago umupo. Tawanan at palakpakan ang naghari sa silid. Napangiti rin ako sa kabibohan niya.

"Very good, Mr. Panis. I think you'll be a good flight attendant someday."

"Beautiful flight attendant kasi Ma'am", napahalakhak ako sa hirit niya.

"I stand corrected. Let me rephrase: You'll be a beautiful flight attendant someday, Mr. Panis!"

"Thank you, Ma'am!", malambing niyang saad na sinuklian ko ng ngiti.

"Before we move on to our new topic. Do you want to play a game first or we'll start with the topic immediately para may free time pa kayo?"

As much as possible, I'd like to give them options para maramdaman nilang they have a say in their learning. Na hindi lang ako ang gumagawa ng desisyon palagi, kasali rin sila. That way they'll feel more accountable of their own choice. Na pinili nila ang isang bagay kaya dapat panindigan nila.