EDUCATORS' NIGHT 2009
(Speech delivered during the Educators' Night 2009 - Catarman Town Fiesta)
Tonight
I am very much privileged to be given an opportunity to once again greet our
tireless educators in this occasion solely dedicated to honor you and your
profession. I feel grateful too for the
feeling of being one of you in this profession not only because I have spent
these past few years teaching medical courses in the Colegio de San Lorenzo Ruiz
de Manila of Catarman but also of being
a son of teachers. My father, a DepEd
Regional Director, Dir. Celedonio L. Layon, Jr. and my mother, Juanita L.
Figueroa, an Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, did not only raise us
on the sweats of their brows as teachers but more importantly imbued on us the
values for which teachers live—commitment and dedication to ones profession,
integrity and social sensitivity to be always attuned with the pulse of the
community, and sharing ones fortunes and extending helping hands to all. The profession of teaching has taught me that
it is not enough to do the expected but to do more than the limits of one’s
capability. These are the good values I
learned from my parents and to the teachers who have left indelible marks in my
life.
These
could have been the reasons why I digress in the practice of a profession where
I spent several years of my young life to finish and to master. I started to love teaching and found joy and
fulfillment of the things I have done.
It is a rare happiness that I always feel whenever a student start to
find his ways in the maze of the difficult medical disciplines. It is always a profound relief that the once
rough and seemingly happy-go-lucky students have been transformed to enviable
gems due to the efforts I have expended as a teacher. I am sure you must have moments of euphoria,
just like I did, whenever you see an understanding glint in the eyes of a
learner where formerly all you could see where clouds of doubt, ignorance, and fear. I know the deep pleasure you feel for the
littlest success and learning acquired by your pupils because of the little
push you have given them. As teachers,
you built strong foundations premised on right values, proper work ethics,
community and social sensitivities that they could use for a much better
tomorrow.
The
experience, the pleasure, the values and the opportunities for greater service opened
my eyes to venture into other fields. I
tried to dabble in politics to make myself relevant to my belief to be of
greater service and to give full meaning to the lessons I learned from my
parents and to be able to reach out to a much greater constituents. Teaching has taught me the realities outside
the classroom. Teaching has opened my
eyes of the social malaise that has debilitated our communities and made the
playing field not even especially among the marginalized and
underprivileged. It made me look into
myself—the purpose of my life and the thing I am capable to do to change the
situation. I felt I could do something,
insignificant it may be, to dissipate the condition by dedicating myself to the
pursuit of the education ideals we teachers hold dear.
From
the time you have given me the privilege to serve you and other constituents as
Provincial Board Member was the time I started to fully understand the need of
our communities, our schools and our teachers.
A day never passes without a teacher, a barangay official or a parent
knocking at the door of our poor home bringing some concerns about their school
and the schooling of their children. In
addition to school problems a lot of our underprivileged constituents brought
even personal and family problems like illness in the family, food for their
table, problems in their work, seeking jobs and the like. I am just fortunate that I have siblings that
feel the way I feel about these constituents—this is a strong influence of my
teacher-parents. My two sisters, Dr.
Christine Layon-Estanislao, an OB-Gyne, and Dr. Catherine Layon-Miral, an
Internist and Diabetologist and my elder brother, Dr. Gilbert Layon, a surgeon,
together with their spouses, Dr. Joseph Estanislao, the present head of the
Northern Samar Provincial Hospital, Dr. Reuben Miral, a radiologist and Dr. Ann
Marnie Tancio-Layon, a dentist give their time and special attention and
service to those who come for medical service to assist me in this venture.
My
stint in the Provincial Board gives me great pleasure for the opportunity to
serve our schoolchildren, our schools and our teachers. I hope our partnership of service to the
young Catarmananon continues so that not one among our young boys and girls
will mature without the benefit of education and the pleasure of your caring
hands in bringing the best from each of them.
Thank
you for taking the lead in the full development of Catarman through these
children. Thank you for having
experienced what it is to be a teacher. It is indeed a rare honor to be one of
you. Thank you in behalf of our good
governor, Gov. Raul Daza, who could not make it tonight. Thank you and good evening.