BY: Telly Gonzaga Ocampo
If I could just turn back the hands of time!
If I could bring back the hands of time, I would opt to go to the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. During those years, there was no kindergarten yet in our public school system. And I would still go back to public school where the best years of my life were spent.
Those were the years when we went to school with our neighboring classmates just by ourselves. Walay mga yaya nga muhatud namo. Hamugaway among pagpadulong sa tulungha-an ug pagpa-uli gikan sa tulungha –an. We were not afraid to cross the streets and we were always safe as we walked by the side of the road. The drivers were kind, careful and mindful of our safety.
In the classroom, we were supportive of one another. Competition among us, the children, was very minimal because we were very contented with our pencils and crayons. We didn’t have any gadgets nor calculators but we knew how to draw the beautiful images of nature and we were skillful in solving our mathematical equations. Yes, to develop our sensory motor skills, we only had crayons, pencils and rulers. But, our margins were straight and our colors were precise.
We enjoyed developing our writing skills at the start of our schooling as we used the paper with double lines and as we held our pencil which we called the eboy. Mao ni kadtong lapis nga dagko kaayo ug agi ug itom kaayo ug kolor. Dugay pa kaayo maputol ug dugay pud kaayo mahurot. Our teachers taught us simplicity and frugality. They never demanded from us several varieties and layers of crayons. It was enough that we brought the ROYGBIV colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Our school life, then, was complete, simple but colorful.
And why did our teachers understand the plight of each pupil? It was because the teachers bonded with the parents and the families. They conducted school visitation; and they talked to our parents; and they saw how we lived; and they empathized with us. Ang among mga magtutudlo kaniadto, nakasabut sa kahimtang sa matag pamilya. Nasuta nila kung unsa ang kapasidad sa usa ka ginikanan aron makapadala sa mga anak ngadto sa tulunghaan. Wala nila pugsa ang mga ginikanan sa pagkab-ut sa langit kung dili namo kaya. Labaw sa tanan, wala kami pasul-uba ug mga bistida nga singko sentabos na ang plete ug makakita ka na sa “langit”. Mao kini ang ilang gitawag karon ug “heben heben”.
We took care of our morals. We were very keen and cognizant of what was right or wrong. Looking back, I really valued the significance of home room guidance sessions. I longed for those days when parents would meet in school to discuss the concerns of the children. While the parents and teachers were in the classroom having a meeting to formulate guidelines for our welfare, we, the children were at the school playground enjoying the games of biko-biko, bato-lata, tago-tago, etc. We never knew how it was to suffer from eye strain because we did not focus our sight on the “mobile legend” craze, or on the latest fad of the emoticons, etc. on the phone.
I remember our classroom desk before. It had a small circular repository carved at the rightmost or leftmost corner of the furniture. This was for our crayons or dried brown sasa seeds which we used to form several figures like small chairs, rats and balls. This exercise was for the development of our sensory motor skills and our creative skills. In the process, we also ate the fresh green sasa seeds. Yes, these seeds were edible and they were good agents of digestion. Kung makakaon gani mi sa mga sasa nga seeds, hanoy gyud ug malampuson gyud ang among paglingkod sa “trono” sa among “gingharian” sa pansayan. It was a good laxative, indeed
As we were post war babies, it was always injected in our young minds the idea of frugality – pagdaginot. We wore dresses and shoes called the “hand me down”. Our parents bought us pairs of shoes nga ug mahimo pa, would last a lifetime. And shoes then were black and white.
Growing up during the restoration years after the war, I remember that electric power was only from 6pm to 6am and it was available only in the Poblacion area. Hence, it was necessary that every household had a kingkilya or lamparilya fueled by gas or petroleum. But we never complained because we enjoyed such kind of life. Despite the dimness of the lights, we saw how bright our future was.
The boys in school went to the workshop and the girls to the Home Economics class. “Pepe and Pilar” was the book we read which truly gave us strong family values. The book showed us the tatay coming home from work at sundown to help nanay in the household chores. Wala gyu’y hapit– hapit sa beerhouse aron mag-inum. The book also showed nanay keeping the hearth burning to prepare food on the table. Hujop–hujop pa ang gigamit ni nanay sa dapog. The house shown in the book was small but was kept clean and orderly with the children helping out nanay together with the dog named bantay.
Ah, what a simple but beautiful life.
The transistor radio was a welcome treat. We had soap operas like Korak, Hari sa Kalasangan or Diego Salvador with his amazing tigidig–tigidig nga kabayo. During the day, when the sun was up and strong, ibuwad name ang Eveready battery aron andam na usab kini nga among gamiton sa tulumanon sa radyo ni Inday Nita Cortes da Luz nga nag-uluhan ug “No other Love!”
Last May 15, 2024, we celebrated the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. How different fiestas are celebrated today as compared to how they were celebrated in the yesteryears. Our center of the festivities before was the chapel and the offering of our produce at the altar. In the afternoon, just before the holding of the procession, we had the SINULOG dance as a form of offering and thanksgiving to the Heavens above where, as young people, we danced to thank for the sun and the rain helping us in the tilling of our land.
And today?
If I could just turn back the hands of time!
