10 Questions with Allan David Pedines Valdez – Straight from the Heart

“Dream big, work hard, stay focused, and surround yourself with good people.” — Anonymous

Let’s witness an amazing journey from one of our colleagues in the department, his frankness and enthusiasm in sharing his wisdom with us really speaks volumes. Without further ado, let’s seize the present moment, now, by learning a thing or two from Mr. Allan David Pedines Valdez, teacher / trainer at Camp Tinio Elementary School, Cabanatuan City, Philippines.

1. Tell me about your first teaching experience. When did you go, what did you see / hear / notice about your first school assignment, kinds of things, and how did it make you more determined to be a person to move on and make a difference?

In 2007 I got my first teaching job at a Montessori school where one of my favorite college professors first taught. He encouraged me to apply to said school, knowing that it could be an advantage. Taking that challenge, I went ahead and proved that I really am an asset by etching the name of the school in the field of campus journalism.

During my time of employment, I observed that the school focuses on academic excellence. The teachings were rigid and methodical. I followed what the culture of the school dictated, so I taught rigidly and methodically. Making a difference was not on my mind. What I had was to teach because they paid me for it. My age must be blamed for this immature thinking. Most young teachers probably don’t have the mindset to make a difference to their students. But as a teacher gets older, I think, the idea of ​​making a difference begins to emerge.

2. How did you recover from that, if there was ever such an unpleasant experience as a rookie? If neither, you were lucky enough to be free of it. You can mention here your mentor who helped you a lot to become a teacher, trainer or whatever is effective.

As a rookie at said school, I never encountered an unpleasant experience, probably because I had a lot of co-workers as friends. The school administrators were also very supportive of the teachers. I can also explain my great school experience to the training I got at the university. All my teachers during college were my mentor, but I can particularly identify Dr. Regidor Gaboy, Dr. Danilo Tan, Prof. Vilma Salas, Sir Jaypee De Guzman, Professor Quicho, Dr. Rolando Dollete and Mrs. Jhundhele Parungao as those who most taught me the knowledge and skills acquired.

3. After 8 years in the service, what are your achievements so far, recognitions received, research carried out, among other hallmarks of a high-performance learning facilitator?

After being a teacher for eight years, I can consider the recognition I received in the City of Ormoc in 2013 as one of the most outstanding elementary school paper consultants in the country as the highest and most important recognition I have ever received. Next to him is the Researcher of the Year (2014) awarded by the Cabanatuan City Division for my study entitled “Evaluation of the Journalistic Competencies of School Paper Advisors in the City of Cabanatuan”.

Four. Being a journalism consultant, receiving accolades and the like, what have been your strategies to ensure an incremental or should I say remarkable journey to the top?

Passion and continuous learning is my key to winning in the area of ​​college journalism. But when it comes to specific strategy, I often use a sequential structure for each area of ​​journalistic writing. Since elementary school students don’t have a deep flow of thoughts, the sequential structures, which they can follow, really helped. I gave journalists on my campus a specific structure to follow. Structures train them to write in the correct way.

5. We met at a regional seminar, right? If I am not mistaken, it was during a Regional Seminar of the National English Proficiency Program in 2008. I saw a good aura of excellence in you, which you very confidently demonstrated as an active participant in that seminar. What is, for you, a measure of a successful cascade of wisdom from attending seminars to implementing changes in the assigned school?

I am always motivated to attend seminars and trainings and I always make sure that by attending I should not be a passive participant. Because I believe that in active participation I will learn more — by learning more, the more I can apply the learning to my station. So, for me, the measure is the degree of participation.

6. What are your views on any of the following: K-12 implementation, Asian integration, being a global teacher, blended learning, innovation in teaching, and other topics that you would like to shed light on?

As a DepEd staff, I would like to delve into the pressing issue of K-12 implementation.

We teachers should be on the front line in supporting DepEd programs first and foremost.

Although DepEd’s recent social branding initiative, which is “Tayo Para Sa Edukasyon,” calls for all sectors of society to stand up for K-12, teachers bear the greatest responsibility in supporting K-12 among all other entities.

However, we are generally the main attackers of our own system; we realize their shortcomings and we tend to criticize the programs started to improve the quality of education.

In the case of K-12, we see on the news public school teachers rally and shout for dismissal from the program during school hours. Instead of spending their time on the streets condemning the government, they are supposed to teach in their classrooms. I cannot imagine how the school principals handled the classes of the teachers who left.

Even in the classroom, when we encounter students struggling academically, we cannot deny that we generally blame programs, curriculum, deficiencies in learning materials, parents, and school culture. But we rarely blame ourselves. We always say that we have done everything but in truth our efforts are not enough or we have not yet done our best.

It has been proven even before, that teachers are the heart of the problem in the educational system as stipulated in the 1991 Report of the Education Commission. Twenty-four years have passed and yet the problem, the teachers, continues to appear.

We don’t need to wait any more years before we finally erase our bad image. We do not need more years to show that teachers are the key to achieving an education of the highest quality. We can prove it by adopting K-12 and filling in its gaps. Rather than criticize the programs of our system, it is better that we fight for them against those who oppose them. Instead of finding fault with them, we had better discover their beauty.

With them, we can show our firm position in raising quality education in our country and we can be taking our first step to change our image as vanguards of the system.

7. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Five years from now, I believe that I am already a school division superintendent initiating policies and programs for the improvement of students and teachers.

8. What are the things you would like to achieve in order to achieve that dream?

To achieve that dream, I need to finish my PhD and of course become a supervisor of education programs this year and finally pass the CES board exam.

9. Who, for you, is an outstanding teacher?

An outstanding teacher for me is one who contributes enormously to the system to which he belongs.

10. Parting words to our readers who are always hungry for inspiring stories from inspiring colleagues like you.

Avidly and ethically aim for promotions. This will be your impulse and a reminder that you should do your best in an upright manner.

That was so attractive, Sir Allan! With his shared wisdom, I’m sure everyone in the department applauds his brevity and honesty, as well as his courage and passion for his work, not just as a classroom teacher, but as a multi-award-winning campus journalism trainer.

Hopefully we have inspired the novice teachers in the department to dream big, work hard … to become an inspiration to others too!