Ma’am Aning

There are people who pass our lives and make contributions to our life stories. Some of them play large roles and make deep impressions. Some of them open for us a whole new perspective and vision of the world. Some leave us with everlasting interest in something which is to become our passion. Some of them touch our lives and inspire us with their generous hearts. I have been so fortunate to have met many such people. One of them is my Grade 1 teacher, Ma'am Aning.

Ma'am Aning occupies a soft spot in my heart. The story of our friendship dates back to my first encounter with classroom learning 23 years ago. I was only 6 years old then and was very excited to be in school. I was considered not a "regular" student because I was underage. But because my mother had patiently taught me at home before I entered school, I easily understood the lessons. While my classmates were learning ABC, I was already combining words and phrases to make sentences (mayabang ba? ).

Ma'am Aning noticed it when I started to get bored of the lessons. So she provided me with advanced lessons and activities. But life was hard in the province. Students and teachers did not have access to many "advanced" learning materials which students and teachers in the cities enjoyed. To address my needs Ma'am Aning devised many learning materials especially for me, using cigarette boxes, old calendars and used manila papers. At first, I wondered why I had to do different activities from those which were done by my classmates. But later on I realized it was her way of shooing away my boredom while nurturing my learning ability. At an early age, I realized the efforts she had put up and it made an impact in my life as a young learner.

The next school year, my family moved to another town. I remember asking Nanay if I could send a letter to Ma'am Aning. I was happy when she volunteered to drop my mail in the post office. A few days later, I got a reply from my dear teacher. It was the start of our snail mail exchanges. Her letters provided me encouragement and comfort especially in my high school and college years when, most often than not, I felt low and homesick being away from my family.

Last May, Ma'am Aning was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her doctor did not recommend chemotherapy. But she was advised to undergo a costly treatment (through injection) for six months. She was in Manila last week for another checkup and I was happy to have the chance to take her with me to visit some places. In November, she will be back here in Manila for her first treatment. Her family and I are praying and hoping for a positive result of the treatment.

I took Ma'am Aning to the Manila International Bookfair. Being a teacher, she enjoyed the varieties of books on display. I also invited her to the storytelling session where the storytellers put up a grand show for the kids who had lots of fun meeting interesting "live" characters from the storybook, Why Do Birds Build Nests? We also went to Museo Pambata where she had a great time trying out the broad range of activities for kids . I did try out some of them and had a great time, too. Well, I've always been fond of kid stuff. We also went to Baywalk (which she fondly calls Dewey Boulevard) and Mall of Asia.

Ma'am Aning profusely thanked me for what she called my "treat." But there was no need to thank me. I told her parang Nanay ko na siya. Mas masaya ako to have had the chance to spend two days with her after so many years.

I am sure there was such an inspiration for you, dear readers — a teacher who saw your innate talent, made you see it and nurture it; a teacher who went beyond being a classroom teacher and became a very good friend; a teacher who has taught you not only the things you ought to learn in the classroom but also some things you ought to learn about life.

Ma'am Aning with yours truly at the Museo Pambata.