“Once a teacher, always a teacher."

“Once a teacher, always a teacher."

But one must be a better teacher tomorrow.

Teachers from schools in San Vicente Ilocos Sur, led by James Harley R. Giron (right, top photo) visit the Living with Nature Center. The following quotations were derived from an interview with Abercio V Rotor, Ph.D. (center, top photo) retired university professor (UST) and founder of the Center.

“We best remember the teacher who influenced us most in our present life; he is the one who enlightened us. Enlightenment is the gauge of being truly learned, it is from it that we draw lessons from the Great Teacher.” – A V Rotor, My Vision of a University

“We admit that there are many things that cannot be learned – and even if we do, the more we are led to wonder, puzzled yet humbled by the enormity and magnificence of the world we live in. It is like going up a mountain. The higher you go, the wider and farther your eyes can see but cannot decipher.” - avr

“However good a teacher is, or any leader for that matter, he is aware that these are but general statements of truth and wisdom. They are seldom scrutinized or raised in debates, but now and then they creep in surreptitiously in the middle of the night and disturb the good sleep of teachers, educators, scholars, governments.” - avr

“The 3Rs of Literacy (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic} cannot meet the criteria of today’s requirement for literacy, a challenge posed to schools, to social media and globalization. Scientists argue whether or not our world is getting truly literate. If literacy is the magic wand that bails a person out of being poor, why is it that half of the world’s population remain poor?” - avr

Success is not an end. Success is the one that motivates you. It motivates you for a cause bigger than yourself. You know, you don’t die for an enemy that is smaller than you are. You must have to die for a cause. You must have to fight something that even if you lose, people will win. Success is not an end. It is a motivator for you to do more and to have a meaning in life.” - avr

I have this one characteristic which I realized lately – it is the last mile. I don’t give up. I go for the last mile. I have friends who tell me, ‘Tama na, Abe. This is the end.’ Then they will find me still going on and on.” 

“A strong and responsive leadership though proven in the past and present, is committed to the continuity of progress, that ‘life must go on,’ and we mean an enlightened, compassionate, loving, fulfilled - and above all, a life by the people, for the people, of the people, with the guidance of the Almighty.” - avr

“Once a teacher, always a teacher. But you must be a teacher that is better tomorrow. Your conscience must be formative. Your thinking and feeling must be formative. There is no end to goodness. Superlative is not an end of the ultimate goodness that one can do.” - avr

- Quotations from an interview with Abercio V Rotor, Ph.D. by Prof. James Harley R. Giron, January 29, 2024