visitation of God

1. Kate AguinaldoStem 11-2
1. What came into your mind the moment you read the title of the story? Describe in detail
your initial reaction, your expectation and assumption about the story based on the title
alone.
- As someone whofirstencounteredthisstory,myfirstimpressionof the title wasthatitwas a
fictionstorycomposedof supernatural andincredibleevents.Atfirst,Iassumedthe storywas
aboutgods withsupernatural abilitiesandmagicthatliterallyvisitedacertainplace.Ithought
that there wouldbe thingslike protagonists(goodgods) andantagonists(evil gods) inthe
contentof the story.I actuallyimagine thatthere will be some conflictbetweengoodgodsand
evil godswhere the evil godswill emerge fromnowhere andtryto ruinthe visitationand
conquerthat place,while the goodgodswill trytodefendthatcertainplace andvanquishthe
evils.Asidefromthose conflicts,Ialsoanticipatedthatsome of the protagonistswoulddevelop
feelingsforeachotherand marry inthe final partof the story.Finally, asinotherstorieswhere
there wasgood andevil,Iimaginedthatthe goodside wouldface some difficultiesandbe on
the verge of surrenderinginthe midstof theirbattleswiththe evil,butinthe end,Ipresumed
that there wouldbe a plottwistwhere the goodgodswouldgainstrengthanda fightingspirit
that wouldaidthemindefeatingevil.
2. What is the actual problem that Ms. Noel encountered in the school where she was
employed? Who are the gods and why were they called such?
- In myown understandingof the story,the actual problemthatMs. Noel encounteredinthe
school where she wasemployedwasthe Filipinomentalitythatwasrunningintheirsystem.
Thisproblemincludesdiscrimination,invalidatingthe processof evaluation,anddenyingyou
the right to applyyourownprinciplesandopinions.Firstisdiscriminationagainst"unliked"
teachersandstudents.Thishappenswhenthe mostdifficultandproblematictasksoractivities
inthe school are purposefullyassignedtothemsothat if they refuse,theywill be punishedfor
insubordination.The secondisinvalidatingthe processof evaluation.Thishappenswhenthe
school preparesandhidestheirimperfectionsinfrontof the visitors,asif the school hadlived
withperfection.The whole processbecomesscriptedanditinvalidatesthe essence of
evaluation.The lastproblemisthatitdeniesyouthe righttoapplyyourown principlesand
opinions.Thismeansthat,nomatterhow gooda teacheryouare, youmustteach whatthe
higherauthoritieshave givenyou.There isnothingyoucando but disregardyourownprinciples
and opinionsjusttoimpressthemandfollow whattheyhave said.
- The gods that the title wasreferringtoare the superintendent,districtsupervisor,andthe
divisionsupervisorsthatare goingto inspectandevaluate PugadLawin.Inmyunderstandingof
the story,theyare calledgodsbecause of the waythe school prepareseverythingforthemand
makeseverythingperfectbefore theyarrive,whichsomehow canbe relatedtohow the
servantsina castle prepare everythingandmake everythingperfectbefore the arrival of their
God and Goddess.The pompouspreparationandservingof deliciousfoodsbyteachersand
studentscanbe comparedtothe preparationandservingof foodsby God andGoddess'
servants.Besidesthat,the waythe school'sfacultyandstudentstreatedthemwithflatteryand
gift-givingcanbe comparedto how godsare treated.
3. Is there a truth to the issues mentioned in the story? Provide personal or heard-of
narrative related to what you read. Do the events mentioned in the story actually
happen today?
- Yes, in my experience andobservation, thereis truth tothe issuementionedin the story, and I
could alsosay thatthe major events depicted in the story actually happentoday. Howcould I say
that?Well, my mother is a teacher, and I experienced being a studentin a public schoolwhen I
was in elementary. So, duringthese times, my motherand I haveexperienced all those
issues mentionedin the story. Firstis the discriminationagainst teachers. WhenI was in 3rd
grade, my motherwas in the lowest rank (teacher 1). She was being abusedby their headteacher
in a way that she alwaysassigned her to a lot of tasks. The worst part here is that many other
teachers can also perform all thoseduties, but their headteacher always choosestoassign my

2. Kate AguinaldoStem 11-2
motherto all thosetasksthat shewanted her to do. I felt sad andpity at the same time because
my mother hadto do all those taskswithoutthe right to complainaboutanything. Shespent
more time doingall thoseassigned tasksthanteaching her students. Shealso spenta lot of
money traveling to different places just topick up what their headteacher wanted her to get in
thoseplaces. Discrimination is obvioushere, because why wouldtheir headteacher alwaysassign
all the taskstomy motherwhen she knowsthat shecould also assignall of these tasks to her
other co-teacher?So, here youcould relate tothe part of the story where, “unliked”teachers
were being discriminated againstin the way that they assignedthem difficult tasks. The secondis
invalidatingthe process of evaluation. WhenI was in elementary school, our teachers always told
us tokeep quiet when the supervisorof our district came to visit ourclass. I also remember how
they prepared our schoolfor the visitationof the supervisorby schedulingthe cleaning of the
whole school. Aside from that, the teachers also usedto give those honoredstudents aquestion,
including its answer, that they had to recite when the teacher asked thatquestionin our class
duringobservationof the supervisor. Sohere youcan compare the part of the story where the
teachers try to hide all the imperfections in the schoolin such a way thateverythingis scripted.
The last one is denyingsomeonethe right to apply their ownprinciples andopinions. As I
previously stated, my motherhad the lowest rank (teacher 1) in their schoolwhen I was in
elementary, and her headteacher usedto abuse anddiscriminate againsther, so the same thing
happenedhere when my momtried to practice her own way of teaching with her studentsand
their headteacher happenedto passby her room. While teaching, the headteacher interrupted
andtold my motherthatwhat she was doing was wrong, and thenshe told her some insulting
thingsthat mademy mothercry in front of her students. Itwas like a combinationof being
discriminatedagainst, humiliated, anddeprivedof the opportunity toapply her ownprinciples
andopinions.
4. Being a student, what is your reaction to the issues related in the story and how do you
think such problems should be addressed?
- Beinga student,Ithinkwe shouldn’tnormalize these kindsof issuesthatare constantly
occurringin the systemof our schools.Itissomethingthatwe shouldputan endto. Honestly
speaking,these kindsof issuesdon’tactuallyhelpourschoolstogrow.Otherteachersand
facultymembersmaybelieve itisforthe best,butwhenwe examine whatwe are doing,we see
that these so-calledstrategiesthatwere made toimpressthe higher-rankingofficialsare not
helpingthe school togrow.Interms of evaluationsandinspections,we shouldnothave hidden
the imperfectionsinourschoolsorclasses.Hidingthese imperfections will onlymake ourschool
lookperfectfora limitedtime frame.Yes,we wantedtoimpressthe visitors,butimpressing
these visitorswithacompletelyfarcical andscriptedvisitwascompletelyuseless.The reasonfor
evaluatingistohelpourschool improve andbe the bestversionof itself.Itissomethingthatwill
helpourschool come up witha solutiononhow to improve itsimperfections.Ibelieve that
inspectionandevaluationinschool wouldbe uselessif we continuedtodothese hiding
practices. What isthe pointof evaluationandinspectionif we are justgoingtohide all those
imperfections?Yes,we couldsaythatwe wouldgethigherratingsinourschool,but thisisonly
for those visitorsthatwe have preparedfor,notforthose unexpected visitors.Allowingthese
kindsof practicesinour school systemisnot onlybadfor our ownschools,butalsofor all of the
individualswhoare studyingandteachinginourschools.Nextisintermsof the issue of
discrimination,favoritism,anddenying one’sprinciplesandopinionsinschools.Itisobvious
here that these issueswill neverbenefitour schoolswhentheycontinue tohappen.The
situationwill onlygetworse if we keepperformingthese practices.Openyourmindandbe
realistic;thisisatype of toxicitythatispoisoningourschool'ssystem, andwe shouldtake action
to endit because,tobe honest,continuingtodoso will onlycreate inequityforall faculty
membersandstudentsinourschools.
- In my opinion, theseproblemsare notthat hardto addressif every individualin our schoolshad a
goodmindset, goodenoughto think aboutwhat was the right thingto do onthese kindsof
issues. We are the ones thatare creating these issues, so I think the first step in addressingthis
kind of issueis toimprove ourselvesfirst. We shouldimproveour mindsetand exclude all those

3. Kate AguinaldoStem 11-2
toxic characteristics we have. We are the issue. We cannotaffect change or addressthese issues
if we are the cause of the problems. We shouldall be responsible for our actionsand try to be a
better personwith a positivemindsetor point of view on everythingbefore we think about
addressingthese kindsof issues. Second, we shouldenact laws and strategies in ourschoolsthat
will promotefairness and allow everyone to voice their opinionsabouteducationandour
schools, which we can use as a foundationfor improvingourschoolsystem. Last is thatwe should
do ourbest to find a solutionto the imperfections of our school. We shouldnothide them; we
shouldsolvethem. Hiding will never help any problem tobe solved. The bestway to addressthis
issue is to critically think abouthow toimprove the school'simperfections, even if there was no
expected evaluationor inspectionof supervisors.
5. If you were Miss Noel and you witnessed and experienced such in the school where you
teach, what would have been your course of action?
- If I were Miss Noel, I would chooseto be real rather thanfake everythingjust to impress people. I
would nothide any imperfections of mine or my class. I knowthat there mightbe hurtful
commentsaboutme, butI believe that it is somethingthatI needed tobe aware of my
imperfections andto find a way toimprove myself. Second, I would fight for my own principles,
rights, and opinions. Itdoesnot meanthat I woulddisrespect the higher officials' opinionsand
judgements. I wouldstill follow their advice, but I wouldalso stick to my own principles, rights,
andopinions. As long as I have a point andI knowthat I am right, I would rather get fired in my
professionfor doingthe right thingthan continuedoingthings thatwere addingto the toxicity in
the systemof the school.