by Marjorie A. Maido
With my sociology background, it has not occurred to me that I will be handling an Ethics course after a five-year study leave. I am having mixed emotions. I am excited but at the same time nervous that I am now back to teaching. Excited, as each day is something surprising, students will be having different responses to lessons, and I will be listening to different stories. And nervous, as I am quite unsure whether I still have that “fire” to inspire students, or plainly to impart knowledge.
And so, I step on the halls that looked familiar to me and started my journey as an Ethics teacher. Despite my nervousness, I am quite confident that I can deliver more than what the course outcomes have projected. I dare not claim that I am with a flawless moral character, but I am confident that I have a solid moral foundation. My parents brought us up within the bounds of the teaching of the church. Moral values are discussed, taught, and critiqued inside our house. Boundaries were clearly set. If this would give you an additional grasp of how religion and values are strongly taken by our family, my youngest brother is a few years away from the priesthood. However, I consider my reflective nature to be the most essential asset of an Ethics teacher.
As we often act by listening to our gut feel or intuition, I am not spared for some instances that I acted before I deliberately and consciously thought about the situation. It has become my habit to reflect on my actions, whether those actions may or may not have affected another person. I admit that I could be blunt, but speaking the truth has always been my second nature. And some people get offended by hearing what is true. I am not against the use of euphemisms and all, but sugarcoating is something I am not really fond of.
Teaching Ethics became an avenue where I get to share my journey to my moral development and also to instances where I faltered. Some things I regretted saying, doing, and the reflections I had after processing the situations. I also get to observe how my students would tend to deal with their moral dilemmas, as I try to get to know them deeper than only being my students. Even before midway through the semester, I fell in love with ethics, the way it added to my understanding of how moral character is more essential in life than any other cultural capital.
At my age, I have had a fair share of moral dilemmas, but one thing for sure, more often than not, we are given enough time to deliberate which of the actions we hope to pursue is more rational. Now, I look forward to meeting my classes and sharing another set of stories that made me better than I was yesterday.