UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS TUGUEGARAO

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES
CONCEPT PAPER (EXAMPLE 7)

The Unsung Superhero

BY Antonio

When I was a kid I idolized Darna so much. For me, she must be our national hero for she
serves anyone who is in danger. She was loved and known by everybody. As time passes by, the
Darna I used to watch on television was no longer available. Superheroes on television are so
unpredictable. Today, you enjoy them watching save lives, little did we know, tomorrow or later,
they will vanish again. That is when I realized that superheroes don’t really live long enough to
continue their legacy……to save lives.

One night, I saw my mom at our dining table, writing something in a big notebook. Out of
curiosity, I asked her about it, and she answered “This is a lesson plan. I make this for my class. I
write all the things I will teach them in this notebook. To help them build and achieve their
dreams.” I was dumbfounded by what my mom answered me. There are too many questions
playing in my mind that time like, “How can that big notebook of hers help the kids achieve their
dream?’, “Is that a magical notebook?”, “What exactly is my mom’s work?”, “Is she a hero too?” She
is far from being a hero. Well, she is not known by everyone. I can’t see any capes swaying on my
mom’s back.

Later that night, I have realized that being a hero doesn’t need capes and superpowers to be
considered as one. Sometimes they can be anyone who is not expected to be one. Anyone can be a
hero. It can be me, them, or you. We just need to see and help beyond what we can help and see.

What really is a hero? According to the Merriam Webster, a hero is a person who is admired
for great or brave acts or fine qualities. But for me, being a hero doesn’t need to be admired by
anyone to be considered one. A hero is someone who does the right thing not for himself nor for the
others but for the nation. Being a hero means not letting someone be the reason why a society is in
chaos. Being a hero means helping everybody to be a good citizen.

As time passes by, I have known that my mom’s work is being a teacher. After knowing that,
why do I feel like she is also a hero? Why do I feel like teachers are heroes? Most of us look up to
movie stars, pop icons, and even fictional superheroes. We fail to realize that those most deserving
of our admiration are the teachers who go about doing the noblest profession. Surely at one point,
teachers have had a profound and lasting effect in each of our lives. The qualities that make a
teacher most endearing to us are being generous, inspirational, fun, compassionate, dedicated,
creative, forgiving, trustworthy, patient, and they are also peacemakers.

I still remember the time when I saw one of our teacher buying things for her instructional
materials to be used for her daily. The shocking part is that she is using her own money to buy all
those things. That is when I realized that teachers are really generous for they can sacrifice their
own money for the sake of their pupils or students. Nothing is too big or small when it comes to
taking care of their students.

Sometimes, when we feel down, and we have no one to comfort us in our home, teachers are
always there willing to hear all our sentiments and give us pieces of advice that no one can ever
take it away from us. They can even tell their own stories to inspire us and to make us keep going
because they know that there is a great future waiting for us.

Krizza Marie A. Antonio 12-St. Aquilina of Byblos

 Making the student's life fun and challenging are also one of the hardest parts of a teacher’s
job. They need to make the students enjoy every little detail of their lesson to make them
understand it easily, for them not to feel sleepy in times of discussion, for them to fully participate
in any activities, and for them not to forget their lesson as well as their teacher.

Compared to other professionals, teachers work longer hours and even work on weekends.
Sure, their jobs require them to teach from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., but what about those other hours
they spend working on visual aids, giving students counsel after school, and making lesson plans?
Despite the long hours and the modest pay, teachers stay in the profession because of their passion
for kids and teaching.

Without meaning to, students can sometimes be unkind to their teachers. They see teachers
as cruel and unfair tormentors. They can say hurtful things and take their teachers for granted.
Despite this, teachers are always open and ready to forgive even students doesn’t ask forgiveness,
and ready to extend a helping hand to these same students. No matter how stubborn and hurtful we
get, teachers are more than willing to forgive us and forget any mishap that ever happened.

I thought of police officers, firefighters, and doctors but I really liked the idea of a teacher
who was also a superhero. Teachers all over the world are working hard and trying to make a
difference but they never get the recognition, respect or the pay packet that they deserve, but still
here they are, working with all their might, supporting all their students, teaching each one of them
not only to be good in academics but also for them to have a heart.

Teachers do teach not for themselves, not for the sake of others but for the sake of our
nation. A nation with a good people living in it makes it more peaceful. There are no doctors who
save people with sickness, there are no engineers and architects who build houses and buildings,
there will be no lawyers who save those oppressed people and there will be no peaceful nation if
there are no teachers. Therefore, teachers really are unsung heroes.

Krizza Marie A. Antonio 12-St. Aquilina of Byblos