Sunday, July 20, 2008 Luab: What examples can do By Evelyn R. Luab light sunday
MOST of my employees come from the hills in the South. Their homes can only be reached by motorbikes. Usually, when a helper gets married or her husband has to relocate, she recommends a sister, a niece or a cousin (to take her place). The “replacement” is rather young, and training starts all over again.
Normally, because they come fresh from the hills, there is no sense of hurry. Their leisurely way of life is so engrained in them that often in exasperation we erupt, “Kusog-kusogi ug lihok. Mas kusog pa man ko molakaw nimo!”(Move faster. I move faster than you do!) After two months of everyone else encouraging the trainee to go at a faster gait, she finally learns. Then she opens her eyes to the way everybody else works, from the cook down to the caregiver of the family pet.
She notices that everyone does his or her job without any supervision. She notices the way everyone works, observes that the others pitch in whenever the work is too much for one woman.
Responsibility, being industrious and melting into the working machinery of the family of employees are traits we cannot teach. However, the examples set by others are better mentors.
Gina, my cook, is a woman who does not like her schedule disrupted. She hates it when people do not eat at the same time. There is a very big sign in our kitchen that says “lunch is at 12:30 and supper at 6:30 p.m.”
When our drivers and chamber boys popped up one after the other in their own good time, Gina decided to teach them a lesson.
Two employees came in late for supper. Both came in at 8 p.m. after watching a TV show. When they asked Gina for their food, Gina said, “Waa na! Dugay bitaw mo, nahurot na. Dagko man og kaon ang uban.” (No more food left for you. You’re late so and the others had hefty appetite and so now there’s none left.)
She added, “Maskin si Ma’am pa mangayo wa na koy ihatag!” (Even if Ma’am herself would ask for food, I have nothing to give.)
When she turned and saw me, she grinned and pulled out a tray with food. She told me: “Gipaantus ko lang na sila, Ma’am. (I’m teaching them a lesson, Ma’am.) Hiding my smile, I left the kitchen knowing that discipline was in very good hands.
Janice, another employee, is a neat person. The quarters, which employees share, have definite partitions (or cubicles). At the start, when I entered their quarters, I was stunned by the disarray in the other partitions.
After a time I observed that things begun to have order. Finally, I teased: “What miracle has come about that the place is very clean and neat?”
One voice said: “We felt ashamed when we looked at Janice’s portion of the room.”
We of the older generation do not entrust the cleaning of our bathroom to our help. We prefer to do the job. We prefer the restroom to be spic and span. While the younger generation may laugh at us, we still maintain that by example, we lead. Even the restroom in the helper’s quarters are kept shining white. Why? They don’t want to get embarrassed when the boss makes the rounds.
Our children are exact replicas of who we are. Even gestures are copied. Nobody beats lady Dame Example when it comes to teaching well.
My English teacher at University of the Philippines enjoyed so much her teaching stint that she inspired all of us to emulate her. It was a joy to listen to poetry under the stars or to analyze essays outside the classroom under the shade of trees in the campus. We began our love affair with reading under Miss Ching Dadufalza.
What surprises me today is that many of us are slow learners. Jesus taught us simplicity, humility, compassion, care, generosity, sacrifice etc. by example.
