RRSS News Online Newspaper ng mga Pinoy
KAPALONG, Davao del Norte – A Filipino educator, who placed 2nd in the Licensure Examination for Teachers, continuous to do acts of kindness through providing food, slippers, school supplies or clothing to young learners – among the reasons why Ma’am Benjelita Batao is a nationally-recognized teacher.
As disclosed by Philippine Scholar, Batao does this by using part of her salary to provide to the Ata-Manobo community where she teach. Moreover, she asks help from friends when the needs of the pupils exceeded her own resources.
While known as board exam topnotcher, the educator has chosen to work at a community which is close to her heart.
She would spend hours of travel to the mountains to teach. This includes riding a motorcycle, river crossing by bamboo raft, and (if route is impossible) long walks through the mountains.
The teacher would even stay in a cottage on the school grounds whenever it is difficult to return home regularly.
Teacher Batao initially handled multigrade schools and has witnessed how Tagasan Elementary School evolved from multigrade to a school having a teacher in each grade level.
The educator is well-decorated with achievements, including the national Bayaning Guro award. Still, she used a part of her prize to support the school and bring her pupils to a trip.
Meanwhile, Batao has received commendations from netizens. One said, “It’s total commitment. A difficult decision considering that there are many lucrative job opportunities for early childhood education teachers abroad. Your country salutes your patriotism.”
Source: Philippine Scholar
