The school is considered a playground for children. It is a place where they meet new friends and learn new fun things. They are unaware that the school is a laboratory working to mold their minds in preparation for their futuristic role of managing the country.

Ambasing Elementary School, which is three minutes away from our house in Sagada, is my home school. I attended this school for nine years. It is where I learned all the basics, from alphabets to counting to politicking.

Daycare Pre-School: Ambasing Daycare Center

At age three, I was already in pre-school. My teacher was Mrs. Rosaria Pang-et. Now, Teacher Rosaria is a retired community janitress. She has been awarded as an excellent worker by the national government. She is a neighbor of my grandmother Dolores and is more popularly known in Sagada as “Baket Lupitan”. Moreover, she taught me how to sing “Fly Fly Fly the Butterfly”.

Kindergarten 1: Ambasing Elementary School

I was a repeater in Kinder. I was always absent in class due to health reasons. Mrs. Susan Likigan was my teacher in Kinder. I attended both the morning and afternoon sessions. In our place, there is only one level Kindergarten. I was one of the unruly children inside the classroom. I loved going outside the classroom in the middle of a coloring session. Breaking rules that time was cool. Now, the world is a bit different.

Elementary: Ambasing Elementary School

At six, I was in the first grade. I repeated in the first grade (God, again). It was the decision of my mother. Of course, I passed all my subjects (with all grades that are range from 75 to 80). I was a top absentee of the class. I often skipped my classes for medical check-ups and hospitalization.

          Here is a list of my teachers in Elementary.

          Grade 1: Mrs. Patricia Piluden. She was my mom’s Grade 1 teacher also in the same school. She was a strict teacher who trained me how to write and read.

          Grade 2: Mrs. Monica Andawi. She was a typical grandmother who loves all her pupils, misbehaving or not.  She never whipped anyone of us.

          Grade 3: Mrs. Carmen Soliba. She asked us to copy the whole History book while she stayed at the back  of the class drinking coffee and eating bread at 2 in the afternoon. Need I say more? 

          Grade 4: Mrs. Rose Baaten, Mrs. Ofelia Guintodan, Mrs. Virginia Guitelen. Mrs. Baaten (my mother's teacher in Grade 4 also in the same school) was an excellent teacher who can teach any subject. On the other hand, Mrs. Guintodan was a sophisticated teacher who uses the meter stick to punish her misbehaving students. Mrs. Guitelen looked like an exam paper, who gives us seat works everyday of our Grade 4 life. 

          Grade 5: Mrs. Luisa Kilakil and Mr. Alfredo Soliba. Mrs Kilakil is more remembered of her lectures on giving blessings as a way of Christian life. Mr. Soliba, my favorite Math teacher, made me realize that learning is also fun. Mr. Soliba cannot miss a day without telling us stories of his childhood.

          Grade 6: Mrs. Leticia Domanog and Mr. Arthur Bosaing. Mrs. Domanog gave me and my cousin free banana cue one fiesta (sorry, I cannot bad mouth to the max). The ever handsome Mr. Bosaing proved me that male teachers are still and will always be the best Math teachers in the world.