Terror of the High Schools
The teachers I remember most are, invariably, my English and Literature teachers. I remember Ms. Amelita Ros from my single year at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion on Gorordo Street in Cebu. No one was ever sleepy in her class, whether it be discussing gerunds or Gerontion.
After that I had Mrs. Rebecca Montaño for two years at the St. Theresa’s College - High School Department down on Mango Avenue. Madame Montaño had the gumption to pit sophomores (us) against seniors (really big girls) during the Forensics Club debate. We got creamed, of course, but the general impression she gave us was that we held our own quite well.
I remember both teachers as being the ones of whom the students were most afraid, and heaven help you if you were in their homeroom class. But for some reason, I was never afraid of either of them. In fact I wanted to be in their homeroom class, because being so meant I got first dibs on the stories or books to be discussed. Madame Montaño got us to read Collen McCullough’s The Thornbirds by implying that after we’d read it we’d never look at any Pope in the same way again.
I don’t know where they are now. They could be in heaven teaching English to a bunch of new angel recruits after all this time. I miss them now because there are precious few who are following in their footsteps, and even fewer who can fit into their shoes.
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Comments
I don’t mean to be a sipsip or to pander but my two best English teachers when I was in elementary and high school were Mrs. Delgado (Elementary) and Mrs. Gregorio (High School). Mrs. Delgardo taught English grammar in a strict and yet effective manner. She was also memorable for being proud of her Cebuana heritage, telling us that in Cebu, one was “trash” if one did not speak proper English.
Mrs. Gregorio, on the other hand, specialized in creative writing and in literature.
Both taught at Marist School in Marikina. Both are retired now.
I had 3.0’s and 2.75’s in almost all of my English class in UP High School. One of my teacher’s, Mr. M, is I guess the husband of one of your teachers. Maybe I learned a lot in high school that everything was a breeze in college.
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hello, i was under mdame montano too, STC Cebu HS 89. She sufferred from stroke a few years back after she was asked to resign from STC because she reprimanded a student with KAPIT,well, parents with daghang kapit. it was a sad news for us former students. she temporarily has speech difficulties, sakit kaayo akong dughan pag-kita namo kay bisag lisud kaayo cya sulti, she tried hard so hard. if you pass by CEBU and go malling, chance is magkita jud mo, she’s always making tambay in the mall with her husband. i saw her 5 mos ago,and her speech has improved a lot and less limping than before. thank you for the memories!