As a young student growing up in a big traditional school, I always wondered if it was possible for teachers to have a more personal touch and to treat students as not just a class number. Sure, there are many nice teachers but it is obvious that there is still a line between them that students cannot cross.

Why can’t teachers play and laugh with us as we learn? Don’t they know that such is the language of children? To motivate us, they need to treat us with tender personal care. That would be tough to do if you are 45 in class.

So, I told myself that if I were a teacher, I will eat with my students and get to know them. Relationships develop over a meal.

I will laugh with them because laughter is music to the soul and it is the language of children. Or better yet, we will have a Laugh Time so we can share jokes together.

If I were a teacher, I will give children the option to work hard and have a break time if they finish early… just like in the real world of work. I will listen to their suggestions and ideas because they see things differently.

If I were a teacher, I will make sure to teach children life skills that really matter in the real world. I will motivate them to learn to write creatively, speak articulately, and calculate mentally (percentages and decimals are best appreciated during shopping and giving restaurant tips). I want them to know how to cook (eating is essential), clean and organize (less stress with less mess), save, invest and be debt-free (that’s when math matters most), eat wisely and learn proper nutrition (even teachers really need to learn this). I want them to know how to relate with others and keep their friends; apply knowledge in practical decision-making and making choices; learn history and geography through globe-trotting adventures; to be a savvy traveler; and to type fast, speed read and take notes efficiently (these skills are needed up to college and beyond). What about learning how to communicate persuasively and negotiate? Oh! There are so many things to learn which I realized I did not learn in school.

In school, there is so much emphasis in test-taking, note-taking, and listening to endless lectures. We learn how to meet deadlines but not how to live a life. So if I were a teacher, I will teach them to work hard and to relax and de-stress. I will present real and exciting books to read and not only textbooks.

Traditional education is a cookie-cutter study of conformity. If I were a teacher, I will celebrate the individual differences of each child and maximize each one’s strengths.

There will be lots of smart science experiments and explorations so that children will learn manual dexterity, aptitude and practical knowhow. There will be music every day and art will be a way of expression in everything we do. An artistic and musical lifestyle is a beautiful way to live.

If I were a teacher, sports will be an everyday affair to contribute to each one’s well-being. We will have lots of going-out trips for exploration because learning is more effective that way.

I will promote the love of doing things and not doing things just because. There should be a love for reading, love for math, love for science, love for art, love for music, love for sports, and love for people. Life ought to be full of love. Life is not a chore but a choice to fill life with love.

If I were a teacher, I will apply the marketing skills I learned so that I will present lessons attractively and engage the students to tune in. I will hug my students because it boosts brain development and inspires a person to do greater things.

If I were a teacher, school will be a place of pleasure and not of pain. After all, the word school means “ a place of leisure.”

If I were a teacher, I will test and check things out before I teach them. The word teacher means, “one who shows the truth.” As a student, I have been disillusioned by many things I learned in school, things I later found out to be untrue.

If I were a teacher, I will teach children to think for themselves and to check things out since I am not perfect and I do not know everything. That way, my students and I can learn and enjoy the journey of discovery together.

If I were a teacher, I will treat children for who s/he ought to be and not who s/he is at the moment.
Lastly, I will exercise faith because it is what all teachers need: faith that children can develop to be the best that they can be; and faith that the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow. If I were a teacher, I will introduce them to God, the source of life and wisdom.

I had so many wishes back then. I wanted so much to be able to do these things. That's why, I became a teacher.