Teaching is a passion

“Whatever you teach makes a lasting impact on children’s lives.”

So says 2005 Teacher of the Year Lavena Babauta, who expressed her passion for playing a role in the shaping of children’s lives as a teacher.

“Kids come to school longing to learn, and they’re hungry for knowledge, and you’re there making a difference, they would really appreciate that,” she said during an interview yesterday. “We shape, mold, and play a big part in their lives, and these are the lives of our children who are really wonderful.”

A mother of two with 14 years of experience as a teacher and another two as a vice principal, Babauta explained the sense of accomplishment she feels when positive results emerge from her teachings.

“It makes me feel that I accomplish a lot when my kids do a great job,” she said. “My friends would question me ‘how could I survive teaching’ and my reply is that I love what I do, I enjoy it, and there are no regrets with the path that I took to become a teacher. Just seeing the kids learning is a wonderful experience.”

“Students come to school from different walks in life, and you’ve got to just welcome them with open arms and try to make an impact on every single child. They look up to you as role model or someone that’s going to make a difference in their lives, and they would remember that,” she said.

Before finally getting the award this year, Babauta was nominated for the honor twice but this year’s nomination was the only one she considered due to the support she got from her family and principal Frances Ulloa.

“To be selected, you have to go through a tedious job. You have to fill up an application and prepare a packet, and not every candidate from each school prepares a packet. The first two times, I did not think about doing it…I did not pay attention to it,” she said. “This year, with the support of my family, I decided to give it a try and fill up the packet. We’re all great teachers.”

Lavena further recognized and extended her appreciation to her husband, Urbano Babauta Jr., and her family for their support throughout her tenure as an educator.

“My husband is the backbone of my career,” she said. He has always been there for me.”

She credited her father, the late Augustine Castro, as her inspiration to enter the field of teaching.

“My father was a teacher, and I would follow him to his classes and wait for him. His friends were teachers, and I would participate in many school activities he dealt with, and so I was very much exposed to the life of a teacher,” she said. “He was always there for us in terms of education, and it had a lasting impact.”

Babauta also teaches at the Santa Soledad Church on Saturdays.