PHILIPPINE NORMAL UNIVERSITY

National Center for Teacher Education

MINDANAO
The Multicultural Education Hub

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NAME : CHRISTINE MAY B. BAGOT
COURSE : ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOME IN
SOCIALS TUDIES

MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Learning is an understanding that the purpose of the pursuit of knowledge does not end
at acquiring it but of instrumentalizing to be of use to others and the country that one lives in. If
these are the magic of teaching, I’d like to be used as an instrument.
As someone who grew up from a family that is categorized as poor, I’ve seen how driven
my parents and the hard-working nanay and tatay in my village were to provide for their families.
Not a single day to spare, every hour is dedicated because a penny takes a lot of sweat for
someone who hasn’t finished college and does not qualify in high-paying jobs. I thought and I
was taught that that was all to being a Filipino, work hard for the family, earn, eat, send kids to
school, get old and die. People were driven, very independent from any government assistance
to the point that voting every 6 years was the only hint that we were under the republic of the
Philippines. It was not entirely negative nor was it peaceful, but I would often hear blames from
them whenever the news says there’s another bombing in the Moro area of the country-- “mao
na kay mga terorista mo” or “kani gyud mga Muslim”. Money was not the only scarce among
them but also the foundation of political self-empowerment, recognition of individual rights and
the fact that they deserve to demand progressive governance. In short, they viewed themselves
helpless and wherever they are situated in the social stratification, that was all they deserve,
such thinking thrived until my generation.
I can never deny that they are not an isolated case, the thirst for international validation,
the series of bought victory in elections and the satisfied hands receiving 50 pesos “tilitili” prove
it’s everywhere in the archipelago. This is an epidemic we keep denying but I want my students
to be fully aware. Because of this, I value the message of patriotism or the sense of nation as
teaching credo, as much as I can, I’d like them to instill for themselves the thinking that
whatever they become in their future can be either a help or a responsibility of the country we
are in. It may be very hard to picture out, but I would like to help my learners to understand that
we are in one single space—a large community. I will remind them that Rizal’s words are not
just literary pieces we have to study at school, they are evidences of a progressive and
liberating thinking of an awaken Filipino. I’d like them to be motivated of being a Filipino and of
living life.
 To back this up, I will stay as a pragmatist social studies teacher, I value ideologies but I
understand that even in the setting where learning happens, those problems are very real. Most
importantly, I’d like to help my country to have learners who don’t only see problems and
recognize struggles but become social innovators who can encourage others to do so. I also
would like to have supportive feedbacking as center to my assessment for learning and assist
them to have ownership of their learning progress in social studies.
These all may seem idealistic for someone who hasn’t started, but these are really
making me excited of teaching and the complexity that comes with it. This is not just an
imagination of how I want teaching to be but a promise to myself and my country, I shall be the
teacher my nation wants me to be.