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TRAVELOGUE OF AN INTERNATIONAL TEACHER
By
Fernando Habito
QPHS Class 1962
1968-1973 QPHS FACULTY
Waukegan, Illinois, USA
Praises to THE ALMIGHTY! I am a teacher, not a
“jueteng” lord, a loan shark, a corrupt government
official or a business tycoon who make million bucks at
the expense of society’s moral, social, and economic
sufferings.
Am I born a natural teacher? I can’t answer this
question exactly. My immediate response will be…I
follow the impulse of my “4-H head, heart, hands and
health” to keep me going , growing, and glowing in the
teaching profession.
My childhood dream
It was always my fantasy and dream since I was very
young to travel to different parts of the world. There
were nights that my mother had to wake me up because I
was shouting…China, Australia, Africa and America.
Every time she woke me up she saw that old geography
book under my pillow.
My childhood values and religious education.
I spent my elementary and high school education in the
public schools of Lucena. I don’t have the opportunity
or the luxury of attending private religious schools
such as Maryknoll or Jesus Sacred Heart College for my
religious education. My loving mother, Isabel
Llagas-Habito was the provider of my values and
religious education lessons. She taught me the value of
devotion and prayers to the Blessed Mother Mary so that
the Holy Spirit will guide me wherever I go.
My quest for higher education
Through the assistance of my Tio Celes and Tia Tina
Habito of Los Banos, Laguna I was able to study in U.P.
Los Banos. My studies had its ups and downs. I was
lucky I was not kicked out by the “academic terror” of
that college. In my batch about 50% of my
contemporaries were out of that school and after the
first and second semester in our first year. After four
to six years, probably around 20% to 30% completed the
degree.
There were times when I was about to quit but my mother
was persistent to keep me in school. She used to say to
me, “Nakakahiya kay Tio Celes at Tia Tina mo kapag hindi
ka nakatapos. Dagdagan mo pa ang dasal at debosyon sa
Blessed Mother.” With patience and perseverance as my
source of strength I finally completed Bachelor of
Science in Agriculture at UP Los Banos in 1968 while a
working student.
Working as a teacher in Lucena City
After completion of my BSA degree in 1968 I started
teaching in Quezon Provincial High School. I taught
Agronomy as one of the Exploratory Practical Arts
Subjects for the First Year students and I taught
Chemistry to the Fourth Year students. I also taught
other subjects such as Health and Physical Education
other academic subjects if ever there was no other
available teacher at the particular time. I don’t mind
teaching different subjects because while teaching I
learned also.
I remember I had numerous extra-curricular
responsibilities aside from doing my official
responsibilities in the school. I was also the Adviser
of the QPHS student government, Scout Master of the Boy
Scouts of the Philippines- Quezon Chapter, Coach or
Trainer of the Quezon II Archery Team, Organizer and
Coordinator of QPHS 4H-Club In-campus and Off-campus
activities, Acting Provincial Coordinator of Green
Revolution or Food Production, Nutrition and Population
Education activities etc. The P316 per month salary was
just for a fraction of my numerous hours work or
activities for the school.
The Quezon Province Mr. 4-H
My hardwork, education and efficiency in my teaching
jobs and extra-curricular activities were noticed by
Quezon Provincial government authorities. In 1972 the
Province nominated me to receive the 1972 National 4-H
Club Outstanding Rural Youth Leader Award. There were
94 candidates nationwide and to my big surprise I made
it to the Top Ten. Through their International Farm
Youth Exchange Program (IFYE) I became the Recipient of
the one-semester Study Grant of the Asia Foundation and
the Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Development
being implemented by the College of Agriculture of the
National Taiwan University.
The awarding ceremony for the National 4-H Club
Outstanding Rural Youth Leader Award was held in
Malacanang Palace in Manila. It was the first time in
my life that the then President of the Philippines shook
my hands in appreciation and gave me congratulatory
remarks. When I came back to my classroom in QPHS my
students and fellow teachers called me Mr. 4-H.
THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN)
It was first opportunity to travel overseas. I arrived
in Taiwan in July 1973 and was cordially received by my
study grant Directors, Dr. Chen-Liu and Mr. Lin-chang
Yu. Dr. Chen-Liu was a Lecturer/Instructor of the
College of Agriculture of National Taiwan University
while Mr. Lin-Chang Yu, was the Project Coordinator of
Sino-American Joint Commission on Rural Development
Programs of Taiwan. Both of them were former UP Los
Banos Research Fellows and our first meeting was like
Alumni Homecoming.
The study program that was assigned to me was more
off-campus field work. I spent only two weeks in the
National Taiwan University campus in Taipei for my
lessons in Basic Chinese language, History, Political
and Cultural Background of Taiwan. The focus of my
field work was regarding important Institutional
Programs that had significant effects to the success of
Taiwan’s Green Revolution (Food Production). Their
remarkable success could be a good role model for the
Third World Countries in order to be able to solve
problems such as food shortage, malnutrition and
poverty.
The Institutional Programs that I explored were those
specific programs of government agencies that had
tangible impacts to livelihood of rural communities in
the province of Nan-tou, Tai-nan, Tai-chung, Kao-shung,
Hua-len and Pin-tong. Specifically, I investigated the
following programs or projects.
a) The Farmers Cooperative Agri-Business which
coordinated and consolidated activities in bringing farm
produce to the markets;
b) The Soil Conservation and Reforestation Projects of
the National 4-H Club Movement;
c) The Public Schools Appropriate Technology Project
regarding Bio-gas as part of their Rural Electrification
and Energy Conservation Programs and their 4-H Club
in-campus and off-campus activities in Food Production,
Nutrition and Population Education Programs.
I had to interact with people from all walks of life
which made me also an “Ambassador of Goodwill”. My
experiences in Taiwan opened my mental horizon or
perspective to various socio-economic development ideas
provided to me by ordinary people who had no Master or
Ph. D in formal education.
Can Third World Countries like the Philippines copy the
same Green Revolution or Food Production?
I can’t exactly answer that question because of the
Philippines traditional politics, beliefs, attitude, and
lack of national discipline. Probably it will take a
long, long time to be able to achieve what Taiwan had
achieved which may be absurd because of the presence of
one of the best agricultural institutions in the world,
which is UP Los Banos.
THE AUSTRALIAN TRUST TERRITORY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
(PAPUA NEW GUINEA)
After my sojourn in Taiwan, instead of being back to my
regular teaching schedule in Quezon Provincial High
School, the Division of Quezon II Public Schools
assigned me to attend as Provincial Representative to
the National Food and Nutrition Program Planning and
Workshops, part of a project of the United Nations at
the Central Luzon Teachers College in Bayambang,
Pangasinan. While there I received a telegram from the
Department of Labor in Manila regarding an interview of
a possible teaching position in Papua New Guinea.
During that time that country was still an Australian
Trust Territory as assigned by the United Nations and
was still in the process of getting their independence.
After being interviewed by the Consul, the Public
Service Commissioner and the Director of Education of
Papua New Guinea asked me to make a draft of an Action
Program or a Plan about Community-based Integrated
Academic and Practical Subjects or Vocational Programs
suited to the Rural Communities of Papua New Guinea. I
was given two sheets of papers to write my ideas in 30
minutes. Then I was questioned about what I had written
and right there I was offered a contract to work as
Senior Subject Master III (Head of the Department) of
the West Sepik Province High School Integrated Community
Education Subjects. Two weeks after the interview I was
already boarding the Qantas Airline bound to Papua New
Guinea.
I landed Papua New Guinea safe and sound together with
other 50 Filipinos newly recruited by the government.
We were accommodated for 3 days at the PNG
Administrative College of Port Moresby, which is the
nation’s capital. We were given orientation about the
cultural, geographical, and political background of the
country including reports on “cannibalism” and “tribal
wars” in some places. These made some of the newly
recruited Filipinos to start crying and pack their
luggage to go back home. While I was boarding the
airplane going to my destination in West Sepik Province,
some of those Filipinos left behind in Port Moresby
shouted to me, “You are the first Filipino that will be
eaten by cannibals!”
I arrived Aitape, West Sepik Province safely and with
positive attitude ready to face all the barriers and
some of those negative information. As a Senior Subject
Master or Head of a Department in Aitape High School, I
had numerous challenging responsibilities, such as being
an Academic Teacher of Biological, Physical and
Agriculture Sciences in Grade 10, Mentor of Junior
Teachers, Business and Farm Manager of Food Sufficiency
Program and also an In-Service Coordinator. The Local
Board of Education of Aitape wanted me to create and
implement projects that will produce at least 50% of the
food supplies for the boarding students in the school
dormitories so they would no longer buy all of the food
supplies from the outside sources.
I approached that challenge through careful planning,
effective coordination and proper communication to get
the cooperation of all the people in the community and
government authorities who can work to achieve the
goal. I diligently search for proper contacts,
knowledge and information enough to turn my ideas into
tangible actions and results so that after a short
period of time the 90 hectares school campus turned from
yellowish-brown”cogon” grass to a flourishing green food
crop plantation of sweet potatoes, cassavas and other
leguminous crops, bananas, aihikas or spinach ,
pineapple, papaya and for the first time in Aitape they
saw rice plantation which made the school and the
community able to engage in rice production and
marketing.
Intercropping and multiple cropping projects worked
effectively with the cooperation of
everyone. In addition to the food crop production
projects we added poultry and piggery projects and the
school started selling eggs and meat to the local people
in the communities through our school “Tuck Shop” or
general merchandise store which also funded the school
Radio Aitape High School project for our Communication
Arts Classes. The support of the whole school and the
community and also the resourcefulness of the High
School Principal to order tools and equipments from
anywhere in the world made us attain the goal of
supplying more than 50%, of the supply needed by the
school dormitories and keep the school growing and
glowing.
LESOTHO (South Africa)
While in Papua New Guinea, I accepted the teaching
position in Lesotho as Instructor/Lecturer of
Agriculture Education at the Lesotho National
Teacher-Training College (LNTTC). My family arrived in
Maseru, the capital of Lesotho in October 1978.
Lesotho National Teacher-Training College was a
multilateral project of various international
organizations and about 60% of the faculty members were
expatriates. The UNDP/UNESCO Project Manager in Lesotho
informed me that I was selected for this position
because of the findings in the evaluation done by the
multilateral organization that the Agriculture
Education Department of the LNTTC was more of a training
for Agriculture Technician than for Teachers who will
teach Agriculture Science in the Elementary and
Secondary Schools. It was also found out that the
Department did not have adequate self-instructional
teachers guide or materials needed for In-campus and
Off-campus training program.
During my first year at LNTTC, I was given only 3 hours
per week lecture classes in Methods of Teaching
Agriculture Science. Our department gave me more time
to create and develop teacher’s self-instructional
materials.
LNTC had abundant resources for making instructional
materials. I devoted most of my time and efforts in the
production of 13 units or booklets, a series of
agriculture education self-instructional materials.
Through the help of my wife who acted as my proofreader
and secretary, I successfully produced materials which
rank as the number one favorite of the teachers-trainees
to use in their in-campus and off-campus teachings.
This was based on the result of the survey made by LNTC
Learning Resource Center on January 1980.
In Lesotho I acquired considerable amount of knowledge
and skills in teaching at the college level. I found
teaching in college much easier than teaching in the
high school. Academically and professionally I was able
to master the arts of lesson presentation for a large
lecture session. I learned to use various audio-visual
teaching aids and methodologies in making abstract
concepts clear and meaningful and easy to connect to
their experiences.
Due to the government’s localization of the development
programs and projects my two years contract ended so
fast. I was instructed by the UNDP Headquarter in
Geneva that my next assignment was either in LibeIra or
Equatorial Guinea in West Africa but due to harsh living
condition and the danger of civil war going on in those
countries I did not accept the position but opted to
accept the teaching position offered to me at Venda in
the Republic of South Africa.
VENDA, Republic of South Africa
This state in the Republic of South Africa did not have
the real independent status of a country recognized by
the United Nations. It was just a Black Homeland
Province in the Constellation of South African States
where the Black Ethnic Group called Vendans live. This
State was created by another version of apartheid laws,
which separated black people area from white people’s
area. The Republic of South Africa was then in dire
need of international teachers for that state. I
accepted the teaching position there because of the
hospitality of the people who recruited us, ideal
climate and its geographical condition. We arrived in
Venda August 1980 after about 10 hours of travel by car
from Lesotho.
In Venda, I worked as Instructor/Lecturer of the
Methodology of Teaching Biological Science for
teacher-trainees who were taking secondary teaching
diploma course in Venda College of Education and also
Biology 101 (Botany) and Biology (Zoology) Instructor at
Venda University for those taking Bachelor of Science
Degree Course. There, the South African government
tried to show to the world through us, the expatriates,
that they give Black South African people better
educational opportunities.
As catalyst to Venda Black and White society, I learned
and developed diplomatic skills and apply tactful and
prudent communication skills in my socializing with
people of various culture and colors. Instead of
worrying about the political tensions in this country, I
focused in learning more and teaching biological science
to advance my scientific adventure. I realized that
Venda has abundant learning resources, one of the best
natural science laboratory in the world. Just behind
Venda Univesity is the Kruger National Game Park, the
biggest and the most complete game park in the world.
It is scientifically and administratively managed by
the South African government. I had a rewarding
opportunity in this country to learn and professionally
involved in scientific exploration of the special
fields of Biological Science such as Botany, Zoology,
Genetics, and Ecology and my two-year contract ended so
rapidly. I was offered to become citizen of the country
or extend my contract to another 3 years but because of
a desire for more adventure or experienced working,
residing and learning another culture in another
continent, I accepted a UN HQ assignment in Honduras,
Central America.
HONDURAS, Central America
My family arrived in Tegucigalpa, the capital of
Honduras in March 1983. I was assigned to work for the
World Food Programme Project of the UN in this country.
My mission was to initiate and organize the Training
Programs of Local Project Officers and the Beneficiaries
of various food aid projects such as Food Aid for the
Community’s Malnutrition, health and Environmental
Sanitation Projects, Food Aid for Members of Farmers
Cooperatives to increase food production and livelihood
projects, Food for Work for reforestation and for the
rehabilitation of the misplaces people or refugees of
Central America.
I found my work as a big change because of the informal
education system I had to use. I had no curriculum
guide to follow, no permanent building, no classrooms or
laboratories or textbooks. Whatever training
activities, I had to use my creativity, initiative,
resourcefulness based on the needs of the learners, time
and location.
Food Aid as socio-economic development resources is
clouded with controversy. Like in many parts of the
world where food aid projects are being implemented, the
resources were vulnerable to corruption and misused. As
Project Officer who represented the World Food
Programme in the field I was in the front line who must
perform the troubleshooting and solve the logistics and
human resources problems. In that country the local
mass media (radio, TV and newspapers) were always
monitoring my presence if ever problems occur that were
related to the Food Aid because of the tendency of some
people to use thm for political or selfish interests.
In the UNDP in Tegucigalpa I was called as Mr. WFP on
the spot of trouble !!
My four years with the World Food Programme in Honduras
had major tangible effects. I was able to mobilize the
local project personnel and help them change their
attitude toward the project by making sure that the food
aids were given to the correct beneficiaries and that
they were used effectively during such time that the
farmers were waiting for the harvest season. I also
made sure that food aids were used as incentives to
start livelihood projects or income-generating projects
that improved their living conditions.
When the World Food Programme Rome Evaluation Team came
in 1987 to see the impact of Food Aid Projects in
Honduras, they were surprised to see many socio-economic
changes on the part of the beneficiaries, that they
concluded that the projects can already be localized.
They found that the series of training programs and
livelihood projects that I helped initiated and
supervised can already be continued by the local
government personnel without depending on the
international personnel. They commended me for being a
true international teacher who can make a difference in
the lives of the people wherever I go. They also
commended me for developing my communication skill in
the use of the Spanish language both in oral and
written, based on the feedback they received from the
local project personnel and also from the beneficiaries
of Food Aid in Honduras.
Sojourn in the PHILIPPINES
After 12 years working as an International Teacher
overseas, my family return to Lucena City in 1987. I
was so optimistic to share my knowledge and skills to
my alma mater, the Quezon National High School but I
realized that my expectation was a big mistake. The
basis of acceptance to the teaching position then was
“palakasan” and not qualifications. Traditional
politics, the cultural values of a confused society,
bewitched and beholden to politicians, idolatry or
Marcosism and Coryis, that permeated everything made me
felt like a fish out of water, misplaced to work and
live in my native land. It was so depressing for an
international teacher with eligibility, experience and
qualifications to find difficulties in getting a
teaching position in ones own country.
I volunteered to work as a Secretary of Quezon Province
People Economic and Coordinator of its Livelihood
Projects but I realized that it was just a political
agenda of the government. I then supported and
cooperated with the government’s investment program by
investing my hard-earned money to export-oriented
business project but I only suffered financial losses
because of government bureaucracy’s graft and corruption
and the inefficiency of the Buraeu of Trade and Industry
who instead of promoting business among the Filipinos
was promoting overseas deployment of the citizenry while
they were welcoming and cooperating with foreign
businessmen. Finally accepting the reality that my luck
to continue my teaching profession and live peacefully
was not in my native land, I had to follow the impulse
of my “head, heart, hands and health” that opportunities
for me was overseas.
Teaching in the USA
I arrived in Illinois in June 1990 and with the
encouragement and assistance of my relatives who had
been working and residing here for a long time, I found
my niche in Waukegan, Illinois and my family joined me
in August 1991. There was a shortage of high school
teacher in many public school districts in Illinois and
just for one application and one interview I got a
teaching position. I became a Certified Bilingual (
English-Spanish) Math-Science and ESL (English as a
Second Language) and Foreign Language teacher in North
Chicago School District then in the Waukegan Public
School District since I arrived here until now.
The real challenge in the teaching profession here is
NOT just passing the Teacher Board Exam and the
completion of subjects or coursework in education as
required by the US Department of Education to get the
Teacher’s License. It is how you are going to face the
highly stressful job of the High School teacher.
In the US, the mainstream high school students are
adolescents who have emotional problems or disorders,
learning disabilities and special needs in order to
achieve good academic performance. The Nintendo, Video
and Computer Games generation are confused, cynical and
without direction in their lives. They have no
spiritual values or moral values and their gods or idols
are sports personalities and rock or pop singers and
movie stars.
To stay longer as Public School teacher in the high
school, a teacher must be prepared morally, emotionally,
and spiritually matured to be able to understand with
patience the diversity of the cultural background of
each student. The teacher must keep on learning and
keep on applying new strategies to motivate the students
to study and to make a difference in their lives. What
keeps me going is I follow the “eclectic philosophy” of
education to meet the needs of my students. I always
try to learn new ideas, methodologies and strategies of
teaching. People keep on asking me whether I am not yet
“burn out” OF TEACHING. My response is , “Mot yet
because I am still empowered by The Almighty to keep me
“going, growing and glowing.”
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