A group of teachers from Hopwood Junior High School is urging the media to focus on their efforts to educate the students rather than highlight their diversified ethnic backgrounds.
The seven teachers said the teaching staff’s multi-racial origins benefit the students because they are exposed to cultures other than their own.
The teachers said they were “hurt” when an official of the school singled out Filipino descent teachers as “Hopwood’s pride.”
Twenty four of the school’s teachers are of Filipino descent. The rest are from the U.S., Micronesia and the CNMI.
“It doesn’t matter what his or her background is. I’m Chamorro and I may teach a Chamorro child but that doesn’t mean that we separate this child from the others,” teacher Eileen Alepuyo Babauta said.
Teachers Jackie Limes, Darlene Sabino, Rose Villoa and counselor Rufie Miles said all of them promote the school’s “I Believe, I Can” program.
“We’re here to teach students not to promote just one group,” said teacher Sharleen Crisostimo.
Another teacher, Cherlyn Cabrera, has this to say: “We don’t need to put anybody down. That’s discrimination. I don’t think that’s necessary. There’s really a lot of good people here.”
Sam Joyner who works with the music club seven days a week said the difference in the teaching staff’s ethnic backgrounds shouldn’t be an issue.
Miles said majority of local teachers devote more than 40 hours a week at Hopwood without extra pay but were not given due recognition. Thus, they felt slighted when the official singled out Filipinos as the “pride” of their school.
