CAMAGÜEY.- I always wanted to be a teacher. I had very good role models and I remember them fondly. From them I learned that a teacher does not only teach, but also educates; that in a class, other than the contents, you can share about life and bring up experiences; that the teacher can be a friend and even an accomplice. Life took me on a different way, but always admiring those who did follow that path.
Every October 5th, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) pay tribute to this profession, so valuable within any society, by instituting the World Teachers’ Day that this year has as slogan “Young teachers, the future of the profession”.
To celebrate this day Adelante Digital approached several teachers, among them, those who are still in training in the Provincial Teachers’ School Nicolás Guillén Batista.
Although it was not her dream career, Thalía Velázquez Val, a second year student of English, was taken when developing her first internship: “I know that I have to try harder to teach quality lessons, support the students, make them learn. When you are a teacher you become a second mom and you have to talk to them about everything. I remember many teachers, but specifically, Rosa María who was my English teacher in the secondary school Paco Borrero, she always supported me in everything and when I solicited the career, she told me that it was very beautiful and motivated me”.
Adriel Lorente González is preparing to be a primary school teacher, he is barely in the first year of the career: “I like working with kids, have them learning in classes and preparing for life. I want to be a good teacher, educate properly, to be like Mailín, my Mathematics teacher in the secondary school Asamblea de Santa Cruz, in La Jagua. She was always by my side in the hard times and gave me council when I had a problem”.
Luis Miguel Mora Navarro, with eight years of experience, knows very well his responsibilities: “Before anything, the teacher is a role model for the students in every way, from the way he talks, his clothes, his behavior”.
Licensed in Marxism-Leninism and History. Professor of Political Culture in the 1st and 3rd year of the Provincial Teachers’ School Nicolás Guillén Batista.
— Which are your main challenges?
— To educate them, to pass my knowledge, form them in the values of the Revolution and the legacy of the figures of José Martí and Fidel.
— How is your relationship with your students?
— Very communicative. I try to get to know them as much as I can, where they live, who do they live with, their economical and social situation… because if you work on those bases and you keep up with their problems you can help them better. You have to know what is happening to them at every moment. You get fond of them but at the same time I am very demanding, about doing their homeworks, using their uniform, their behavior.
—Any message for the students?
— Study hard, participate and create in class. Prepare for life because in the future they will be the teachers of the country, our replacement.
Virtudes Urquiza Rivero has devoted her life to her profession: 47 years. When asked why she rejoined the school three courses ago, when she was already enjoying her retirement, in the primary school Pepito Tey, she quickly answers: “To contribute to the development and the formation of the new generations that so badly need our experience”.
— How important do you think your work is?
— Education is a paramount step in our society. In primary school, specifically, you take the first steps to learning. It has to be a daily and systematical work to form the new man that is required these days.
— How do you combine teaching and learning?
— You have to carry them close to one another because teaching requires the successful learning of the contents and educating is the forming of values. They cannot be apart.
— What do you suggest to future teachers?
— Love your career, show all your interest in this beautiful task that is teaching-learning.
- Translated By Elianna Díaz Mendieta