Prof. Ruth Gelvezon, Metrobank Foundation's Most Outstanding Teacher Awardee
"As a teacher, I should embrace the mothering virtue of loving unconditionally without counting the cost, distance and time. I do believe that a teacher's and mother's love is parallel. If I can be a mother then I can endure all the sacrifices needed to develop my learners into a total person." -- Prof. Ruth Gelvezon
Next to God, a mother's love is second in bestowing a patient and caring devotion that entails great steadfastness of sacrifice in pain, believing that it is not a choice to unconditionally bequeath it where no amount of human capacity can measure the amount of this affection but an extraordinary privilege from God. Becoming a teacher is motherhood exemplified. It is where a great source of strength and aspiration remarkably extends in molding and recognizing each individual's uniqueness, assisting the learners as if it is her own child to evolve from dark realms of ignorance to the beckoning light of critical thinker, self-reliant and life-long learners.
Prof. Ruth Lebes-Gelvezon, views her lifework as that of being a mother, a mentor and a missionary. In seventeen years of service in her vocation, her passion lead her to find the significance of transforming her students into well-integrated, total persons and acquire her missionary zeal to implicate the best values of motherhood in order to become an exceptional educator. She has endlessly deemed goodness in every child, believing in the soft spot and Divine character of her learners thus capitalizing on this to encourage each one to gain knowledge, desirable traits, skills and positive attitude. She continually enriches her mind and soul as the key handler in being bestowed the responsibility of maximizing each child's potential towards excellence, not leaving even a trace of mediocrity to profoundly substantiate her valuable role in cultivating the capability and knowledge of our future's offspring. This is only among the enumerable reasons why she was chosen as a winner of Metrobank Foundation's Search for Outstanding Teacher.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo poses with the
winners of the 2006 Search for Outstanding
Teachers after conferring on them the Gold
Medallions in ceremonies Wednesday (August 30)
at Malacaņang's Rizal Hall. The awardees are
(not in order): for the elementary category --- Ruth
Lebes-Gelvezon of West Visayas State University
in Iloilo City; Evelyn Kimpo of Banga Elementary
School, Banga, Aklan; Editha Banguilan of Cabagan
Science Elementary School, Cabagan, Isabela;
Ofelia Lonoza of Lucena North Elementary School,
Lucena City; for secondary category --- Olivia
Caling of Ramon Magsaysay High School, Manila;
Gelly Alkuino of Irineo L. Santiago National High
School of Metro Dadiangas, General Santos City;
Isabel Eman of San Policarpo National High
School, Calbayog City; for the higher education
category --- Ambeth Ocampo of Ateneo De Manila
University, Quezon City; Raquel Del Rosario-Fortun,
M.D., of the University of the Philippines, Manila,
and Soledad Roguel of the Central Luzon State
University, Science City of Munoz in Nueva Ecija.
Also in photo is George Ty (fifth from left),
chairman of the Metrobank Group and Metrobank
Foundation Inc. (Exequiel Supera - OPS-NIB Photo)
In its 22nd year of existence, Metrobank Foundation adopted the theme, "Honoring Teachers as the Foundation of the Country's Future", to pay tribute as recognition in accordance to their aim of granting the honor upon the teaching profession as primary nurturers of the youth with exemplary competence and dedication and selecting outstanding teachers who served as models of excellence and morality in their respective sphere of influence. Since it's launching in 1986, the Search has awarded a total of 256 outstanding teachers instructing in the top three fields of specialization—Science, English, Math from all over the country. This year the Foundation received a total of 158 nominations from all over the country. Of this, 111 were identified as second round qualifiers; 36 as semi-finalists and 18 as finalists. Ten were finally chosen as awardees, broken down as follows; 4 from the elementary category, and three each from the secondary and the higher education categories. The winners were chosen appropriately for their sense of duty in the teaching profession, personal integrity and character, instructional proficiency, and community involvement. They are the achievers who measure success not necessarily by their professional achievements and financial rewards but by the triumphs of their students.
Prof. Gelvezon is the third awardee from the university and the 8th to receive such honor from Iloilo City. Her passion and dedication not only limited her merit as a Science teacher to grade levels 5 and 6 but on her own, her various noteworthy attainments and awards collected affirmative nods among prestigious jurors and judges which included members of the Cabinet, the Senate, The House of Representatives, the Judiciary, Media and Academe, as well as key officials of the government's educational agencies.
"Ruthie" as she is popularly known to her colleagues, graduated with a degree in Master of Arts in Educational Management, Master of Arts in Reading, Bachelor in Elementary Education major in English (Cum Laude) at West Visayas University. In pursuing her craft, she has been granted a Certificate of Merit as Facilitator of the Philippine Grade Three Elementary Science Demonstration Class by the Department of Science Education Programs of Tokyo Gakugei University in Tokyo Japan (2003), Certificate of Award as Editor-in-Chief/Author of the BDF Africa Planning, Research and Documentation Division by the Bashorun Descendant Foundation, in Nigeria Africa Asia Liaison Office in Tokyo, Japan (2003), Certificate of Award as Primary Trainer Finalist to the 26th Annual Academic Excellence Contest by the Rotary Clubs of Bacolod-Iloilo South in 2001. Her major contribution to education comprises of serving as a Study Leader in a research entitled "Mathematics and Science for Parent and Child Experiences: Engaging Parents with Kids Learning Experiences in Science and Mathematics", which are slated for 2 international research presentations in August and November in Singapore; produced 2 researches all presented in national levels; conducts extension work of the Regional Science Teaching Center serving teachers, parents, pupils and local government units in Region VI; and closely guides student teachers during demonstration and observation through program introduced, "Pre-Service Mentoring: A Lesson Study in a Novice Classroom."
Personally mentoring students, among them Claire Samantha Juanico, she has helped her to develop a love for reading and be consistent in all her output for which the professor has chartered her life to become respected researcher in the Philippine Science High School during her secondary years and receive a research grant from a medical company.
Her involvement in the professional organizations, socio-civic and community services involvement also adds up to her versatility as a conscientious individual and professional educator. She is a Bachelor in Elementary Education Research Coordinator in the West Visayas State University College of Education Research Council, Vice-Chairperson of East Valencia Baptist Church and Technical Director of Avila Umilig Baptist Church, regularly facilitating the conduct of gift-giving and other outreach projects.
Coming from a generation of educators, she believes that teaching is the legacy their family can offer to humankind and the award is a confirmation of their university status as a "center of excellence in teacher education." With great joy, she takes pride in possessing a persevering attitude in exceeding the expectations of her students and exemplifying the inner strength of maximizing their natural potentials.