The Eastern Samar Community Blog

She gives out a smile before introducing herself properly. She needs to say her name to them, unlike the usual scene in movies when women like her write their names on the blackboard before saying anything. After all, these are first graders. Most of them do not know how to read yet. And at the time of FVR, not all six year olds attended kindergarten and learned how to read before going to grade school.

She flashes a warm smile again and her eyes vanish for an instant. She is tilting her head towards them who still have their mothers at the back of the room. This is how she starts and how she will start till their last day of class come March.

She leads them in prayer and asks them to repeat every phrase she says, Our Father…and they follow suit.

Their eyes dodge across the room when they are told to be seated on the wooden benches that they share with a seat mate. There are huge illustrations around in red, yellow, blue, green and every color you can think of. There is this drawing right below the blackboard instructing how to sit properly. On the other side, posted is a drawing of a girl showing how to hold a book when reading silently and orally.

She commands attention when she says, Good morning children. They are supposed to respond good morning to her with her name at the tail of the greeting.

First agenda is to teach them a song. Hello hello hello! Hello, how do you do? I am glad to be with you. And you? And you? And you? Tralalalalalala…

After teaching them a little about shapes and colors, she launches the alphabet. One diagonal stroke from the top blue line to the bottom blue line and another diagonal stroke that mirrors then a line connecting both strokes on the red line. She teaches them how to say it properly, A. She tells them to smile when they say it.

They are asked to say it one by one. She has a black board pointer that extends from the front row to the back of the classroom and uses this to pick who would have to say the letter next.

It is an interesting scene how she managed to teach them the first letter they learned to write and read. It is even more interesting how she led them through their first step in reaching dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, artists… or, becoming someone just like her.

Everyday from then on, their days started with, Good morning children. Good morning Miss Cabo!

Miss Martina Cabo used to teach first grade in Songco Elementary School.