After Graduation – Leonor

After Graduation

For myself, I only wanted to complete the required four years of service, and to do my work well during those four years. While doing so, I took courses in computer programming, operations research, to prepare me for life outside of teaching.

I taught for 3 years at PNU, but I couldn’t stay longer because I had some disagreements with the system- like the senior profs get better skeds and lighter loads (Algebra, trig, at most two preps) and of course higher pay while us the juniors (mostly graduates of 7405ed) had to teach the major courses, with about 4 preps, with early and late classes.

So I moved to DLSU and has been here since then. Though the setting wasn’t ideal, I got to pursue my masters and the kind of education I didn’t get in college. I still resisted looking at teaching as a lifetime profession, and postponed taking further studies in math for 6 years until I was certain that teaching was what I really wanted to do.

Teaching afforded me the freedom to do what I wanted and try to be the best that I can be with my work without having to kiss ass (sorry again) so you can move up. I don’t think I could have handled all the interoffice competition and intrigue that working in industry would have subjected me to, and I liked the rather flexible schedule, although checking papers still kills me up to this time. But more than anything else, seeing these kids transform from froshies who don’t seem to know anything better to more mature and more capable young men and women has been a very fulfilling experience. And as Jo said, these kids keep you young, not necessarily in how you look but in how you look at life. Now, if only one could get rich in teaching… oh well