20/08/2026
I've been posting free worksheets on this page and thankful that a lot of teachers find it useful.. Nawili din kasi ako sa paggawa, but today, I just want to let this out kasi it's been on my mind and I just couldn't focus on making worksheets like how I usually do every night.
Disclaimer: Long post ahead 🧡
I've been seeing posts, rants, and memes about what Ante Kler said, but I never felt the need to argue with anyone about it, whether on social media or in person. I honestly never thought I would reach a point where I had to explain why teachers are upset or why I should convince people not to invalidate the feelings of educators who openly called out Ante Kler's statement.
To start this... YES po, I am fully aware that she used the word "ibang" in her statement: "Minsan na po nating nakita, mismo ang IBANG mga g**o ay lumalabag sa ganitong klase ng moralidad. Sila minsan nagtuturo sa kanilang mga estudyante kung papaano maging walang modo."
While I know this argument has merit because she technically did not generalize, let me tell you why this statement had me and my fellow co-teachers outraged.
Una sa lahat, hindi ito simpleng usapin ng listening comprehension.
We heard what was said. We understood that the word used was "ibang" and not "lahat."
Pero bakit kami offended kung aware pala kami na IBANG TEACHERS lang naman ang sinabi sa statement?
It's because as teachers, we naturally put ourselves in other teachers' situation. We ask ourselves: "If that happened in our school, what could we have done? Could we have prevented it? Could we have protected our students better?" We carry those questions and responsibilities every day, so we can easily empathize with other teachers who are carrying the same burden, which is protecting our students' well being while they're at school with us.
It's easy to say, "Edi don't put yourself in that situation! Wag mong imaginin na mangyayari rin sayo ang nangyari sa kanila para di ka affected!" 🙄
...
(a moment of silence.. let's reflect on that kind of response po..)
Now if you're the kind of person who replies rudely like that... good for you po 🙂
Kawawa nga lang ang taong kausap mo because you are quick to invalidate people's feelings.
...
Well, perhaps this is what many people fail to understand. Human beings do not always react as isolated individuals. We react as members of communities, professions, and groups that matter to us.
So even if the statement was not technically a generalization, many teachers still felt affected because we identify with the teaching profession as a whole.
When one teacher is criticized, many of us instinctively reflect on what it means for all of us because we share the same struggles, responsibilities, and public expectations.
That does not mean we misunderstood the word "ibang." It means we care enough about our profession to feel concerned when teachers are singled out in a national discussion.
Can you honestly blame teachers for feeling offended?
Mahirap maging g**o sa Pilipinas.
We are underpaid, overworked, and constantly expected to be perfect role models. We handle large class sizes, mountains of paperwork, and responsibilities that go far beyond teaching lessons inside the classroom.
At the same time, we are constantly reminded that discipline must be exercised with extreme caution. We are expected to shape children's character, but we also operate within limitations that the public often fails to recognize.
Hindi na biro kung gaano kahirap disiplinahin ang mga bata ngayon di tulad ng dati. And let us not forget the fact that: teachers are not the only people who shape a child.
Children are influenced by their homes, parents, peers, social media, online content creators, communities, public officials, and society as a whole. To focus on teachers in the middle of a discussion about violence and student behavior raises a valid question:
"Where did this assumption come from in the first place?"
If there is evidence that a specific teacher encouraged improper behavior, then address that individual. Hold that person accountable.
I understand that Ante Kler also called for schools and society to help guide our youth. But if that was the point she wanted to make, why not simply leave it at that? Why insert a statement about "ibang mga g**o" supposedly teaching students to be walang modo?
The call for collective responsibility was already valid.
The additional remark about teachers was what many of us found unnecessary, especially at a time when the conversation should have been focused on school safety, violence prevention, mental health support, and the welfare of both students and educators.
Why not acknowledge that violence among young people is a complex issue that cannot simply be traced to one sector?
The truth is, many teachers are exhausted.
Exhausted from carrying responsibilities that society keeps adding to our shoulders.
Exhausted from being expected to solve problems that require the cooperation of families, communities, and government institutions.
Exhausted from hearing criticisms while many of our long-standing concerns remain unanswered.
So no, this is not about being unable to understand the difference between "some teachers" and "all teachers."
This is about asking why teachers, once again, seem to be among the first mentioned when something goes wrong, but among the last remembered when support, protection, better compensation, and safer working conditions are being discussed.
That is why many of us reacted.
And that reaction deserves to be understood, not dismissed as a failure in listening comprehension.
