IMPRESSION ON DISTRICT ECHO-TRAINING ON LITERACY INSTRUCTION

To our beloved District Supervisor, Ma’am Myra R. Labay, to our hardworking English
Coordinator, Sir Glen P. Espirituo, to our vigorous facilitators, namely: Ma’am Ma. Danilyn S.
Jambalos, Ma’am Marilyn M. Milambiling, Ma’am Vanessa F. Morgado, Ma’am Gemadette M.
Rolloque and Ma’am Roa S. Mercene, to the technical working group and to my dear fellow
teachers, a blessed afternoon to all of you.

When Ma’am Jenny May Castillo, one of my best colleague told me that I will deliver the
impression about our three-day training on literacy instruction, I felt nervous at the same time
excited because this is my very first training experience as a newly hired teacher of the
Department of Education. I am also beyond grateful to be given this opportunity to share my
insights on behalf of my fellow teachers.

Let me start with an adage: “ A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light
the way of others.” The main purpose of this activity is to enhance the teacher’s content
knowledge, understanding and pedagogical skills in Literacy Development in English and instill
strong commitment and advocacy towards literacy. I remember that yesterday, during our
second-day training, Ma’am Myra gave us this challenge: “How are we going to apply these
relevant teaching strategies in our lesson?” Right now, the question is, are we going to accept the
challenge? I believe that the answer is yes. Is it easy to implement? No, but it is possible.

On the first day of the training, the opening messages of our superiors made us realize the
main reason why we, teachers are all gathered here, that is to remind each one of us that we play
a vital role in developing our learners’ reading ability and that we are also responsible of those
learners struggling to read. Ma’am Jelly L. Sore, our Education Program Supervisor in English,
also encouraged us to remove the mindset of putting the blame towards another teacher when
one child can’t read. After the edifying messages of our supervisors, we have been taught about
the nature of reading, oral language supporting early literacy, phonemic awareness, teaching
phonics and word recognition for successful decoding skills, direct fluency instruction for
developing independent readers and lastly employing vocabulary instruction for effective word
structure and meaning recognition.
 When our first day of training ended, I was once reminded how significant reading is
among the children. Not only that it expands their vocabulary, but also it helps them build
independence and self confidence. Moreoever, it keeps them safe, it helps them make sense of
the world around them, it enhances their imagination, entertains them, improves their grammar
and their writing skills and leads them to future academic success.

On the second day of our training, exciting and challenging topics were discussed to us
by our facilitators. Such includes: different teaching strategies on making inferences and
predicting outcomes; noting significant details and textual evidences; determining cause and
effect relationship, and sequencing of events. Such topics blew away the clouds that covers the
minds of most teachers in the elementary level. By the facilitation of the said topics, questions
were answered finally. My personal question which is “How am I going to teach my learners,
paricularly the primary level, to read?” has also been given solution. Such will definitely help
and guide us to become better, if not best teachers to our valued learners. Such will also enforce
and equip us upon dealing and facing the many challenges and obstacles along the way. The
experiences that has been shared not only by the facilitators, but also my fellow teachers in this
training, somehow opened and awakened my mind. One thing is for sure: literacy instruction is
promising but it also entails lot of hardships and sacrifices. And one virtue that we must possess
is PERSEVERANCE. That my fellow teachers, is what the children need from us. As Thomas
Foxwell Buxton puts it, “with ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are
attainable.”

On the third day, our seminar came to a close and our facilitators still actively deliver the
final topics which include discovering tone and mood, strategies in getting the main idea/theme
of the selection, distinguishing fact from opinion, and last but not the least drawing conclusion
and generalization in the selection. These topics ended our three-day training and from that I
fathomed that all those lessons given by our facilitators from day one until day three are
considered as the backbone and foundation of literacy instruction among our learners. Without
such, the teaching-learning process will be impossible and tremendously difficult. That’s why, as
teachers, we have to bear painstakingly all the necessary and inevitable effects of such in our
own personal lives. All those lectures given by our facilitators somehow made me think and
decide that teaching is no joke and turning back is not even an option. Realizing the
consequences of my own philosophy about teaching made my decision to be firm on dealing
with the challenges that such entails.

As teachers, we have the mandate to teach, form and make new leaders and members of
our society. Whether we like it or not, we will always leave a mark to our students. With that
said, we should be careful on doing so because we can make or break the future of our students
and our society as well. William Arthur Ward remarked, “Teaching is more than imparting
knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring
understanding.”

Before I end my insights, I would like us teachers to recognize our dearly beloved
District Supervisor, Ma'am Myra R. Labay for letting us experience this intensive training on
literacy instruction, to Sir Glen P. Espirituo for constantly reminding us the importance of this
training, to our amazing facilitators who did their best in sharing their expertise to us, Ma’am
Ma. Danilyn S. Jambalos, Ma’am Marilyn M. Milambiling, Ma’am Vanessa F. Morgado, Ma’am
Gemadette M. Rolloque, and Ma’am Roa S. Mercene, to the resource speakers of the lecture
videos that are truly informational, to all the men and women of the Buenavista District
including the committee on registration and certificates, committee on documentation as well as
to those in charge of snacks, our technical assistants, and to all those significant persons who
made this seminar possible and fruitful, please let us give them a warm round of applause!

After this program, we would all leave but I do hope that our learnings and experiences
will not be left in this beatiful place, rather, I have a firm and high spirits that what we acquired
from this training will be shared to our fellow teachers who are not here with us, but most
importantly to our students, who are the primordial and vital reason why we became teachers.
Please let us try to remember always that “A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to
light the way of others.” Thank you very much and God bless us all!