19/08/2026
🇵🇭✈️ I’ve been that teacher who ran to the bathroom and cried.
To the teacher who is struggling, exhausted, frustrated, or even scared to show up—I see you. You are not alone. 💗
As a teacher, I’ve also had one of the toughest classes of my teaching career. Little by little, nawalan rin ng ganang magturo.
There were days when I felt exhausted, frustrated, and completely overwhelmed. I can’t count how many times I cried, took a deep breath, and went back to my classroom.
So when I see teachers struggling today, I deeply understand.
And I want to be clear: I’m not romanticizing teaching abroad. The challenges we see in the Philippines are not only happening in the Philippines. Teachers everywhere are facing increasingly complex behaviors and needs—including where I work. Mas challenging pa minsan when working with a multicultural community, because children come from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences.
Pero I am grateful for having supportive school leaders.
When a situation became more than I could handle alone, there were people and systems in place to step in and help—such as school counselors, learning support, and individualized education programs.
I deeply pray na sana magkaroon din tayo ng stronger systems like these in the Philippines.
Because sometimes, the child we call “bad,” “disrespectful,” or “difficult” may actually be a child crying for help.
That doesn’t mean we excuse harmful behavior or remove accountability. It means we look beyond the behavior and ask:
“What is this child trying to tell us, and how can we help?”
But teachers cannot carry this responsibility alone.
Children need guidance and accountability.
Teachers need support and protection.
Families need to take responsibility and work alongside schools.
🙏 I pray that our educational system and government can build stronger systems that protect teachers, support children, and provide help when situations go beyond what one teacher can handle alone.
Because maybe we shouldn’t only ask:
“What’s wrong with this child?”
Maybe we should also ask:
“What is this child going through—and how can we, as adults, help?” ❤️🇵🇭
