The importance of holding a national election cannot be overemphasized especially today when corruption, unjust ruling, and poverty are rampant. 

For social sciences teacher  Marco Paolo Lovendino, casting our votes in polling precincts nationwide shows that we are still eager in exercising our democratic rights to suffrage. 

As a teacher, Lovendino understands the heavy role he has on his shoulders–when it was time for him to pass his ideals to 26 students, he made sure that they will learn the importance of engaging in politics at a very young age. 

Instead of giving a long test on the ‘principles of democracy,’ Lovendino urged his grade 12 students to register as voters for the upcoming 2022 elections.

“As a social science teacher, it has always been my personal advocacy to empower my students. For this semester, we were talking about democracy in my class. At one point, I felt it seemed useless if I would simply teach them facts and theories about democracy,” Lovendino shared in an interview with The POST PH. 

“Then I realized, I guess this is the right time to integrate my advocacy. I told them, if all 26 of them would be able to register before December 5, I will not give a long test anymore. And they are very excited. I am quite surprised because as soon as I gave that instruction, most of them were able to register immediately,” he added.

Lovendino’s move inspired a lot of people–his Facebook post sharing the achievement of his class immediately garnered more than 1,000 likes and 570 shares a day after it was posted. 

The teacher hopes that the youth would recognize their power to mold the country’s future through voting. 

“To all students, let us always be the change that we want to see in this world. It is not enough that we voice out our rants and displeasures on social media. Go out, register, and vote for the rightful candidates in the coming elections. In the end, it is all about your future,” he said. 

Lovendino also reminded his fellow teachers of their influence not only to students but to the society as a whole. 

“For my fellow educators, let us always be reminded that we play an important role in our society. Teaching is about creating meaningful changes. In simple ways, we can motivate our learners to do their part in our society,” Lovendino said.