Great Teacher Ponti

(google image)

Yesterday, I had a short but profound chance encounter with the legendary sir Ponti, one of my greatest teachers and mentors in CLSU. I say "greatest" not to render a cliche but to convey a reality. I say "mentor" not to make a cute statement but to make a fitting description of what he was (and is) to me.

We were both riding our motorcycles when we crossed paths at the intersection road near the CLSU Chapel where he'd turned right and I'd turned left. He was with his little daughter. We stopped for a brief chat. And since we were in the middle of a busy intersection, we only had the chance to ask each other how's it going.

I am more than happy to meet him after a long time. When I was hired to teach at the department of Social Sciences after my graduation, I had the chance to work alongside him for one semester. It was such a privilege. But shortly thereafter, he went out to study and finish his masters. Not that he still needed it, but university protocols require it. Some people don't need multiple degrees to be able to teach, and teach effectively. For me, what sir Ponti teaches from his big heart is more than sufficient. It is larger than life.

When he came back to teach at the university just last semester, I was already out of the academe and into a new work. I didn't realize it until that meeting yesterday that I was not able to inform him that I already left.

The student left without telling the master.

"Balita ko nasa PhilRice ka na?", he asked in his usual booming and fatherly voice.

"Yes sir", was all I can say. 

I know he was about to tell a story but we were in an awkward place and we're both going somewhere. So he just said with full affirmation, "Sige pagbutihan mo ha." And it took just that to calm the dragons of doubt.

The teacher, indeed, has appeared.

And here's the incurable romanticist student, again.

Well, it's not a romanticized cum intellectualized narrative. That simple encounter was profound not because of some engaging intellectual conversation and down-to-earth discussion of some philosophical issues as is characterized by sir Ponti's classroom lectures; but it was profound because of the honest sincerity that characterizes his life.

What I like best, or better admire, about sir Ponti is his down-to-earth persona that just tugs into you. His positive sense of self is contagious enough to make you feel sure about yourself as well. His sincere appreciation of talent and honest affirmation of strengths will make one defy even his or her greatest limitation. He was one of the reasons why I didn't want to remain a mediocre student who, according to him, has "a boring existence". I loved being a SocSci since then.

Plus, I'll never forget his engaging classroom teaching style. That classic, legendary helluva adventure in Philosophy which becomes alive at his words and descriptions and narratives. His lectures are a journey in itself. There's no better way of learning. His distinct teaching style was highly affecting.

It was a style I tried to emulate when I became a teacher myself. Simple but profound. And full of heart.

And thanks to the great teacher Ponti, I had such a wonderful teaching experience that will be cherished and remembered.

For as long as the dragons live, the student, who have now become a warrior, shall press on.