Pinoy TV personalities you didn’t know have passion for teaching
National Teacher's Month is celebrated from September 5 up to World Teachers' Day on October 5. Nevertheless, today's unsung heroes should be celebrated every day.
Teachers are one of the most important members of our society as they strive hard to make the children of today the leaders of tomorrow. Many consider them as their second parents away from home, as they instill in their students not only knowledge but also values we all need to succeed in life.
In line with this, take a look at these famous local TV Personalities you never knew were once educators or are still currently teaching.
Marian Rivera
Aside from portraying a teacher in her hit fantaserye Super Ma'am in 2017, Marian Rivera-Dantes told PhilSTAR L!fe that she was a Special Education (SPED) teacher who once taught students with special needs.
The actress also revealed this during an interview with Shopee Philippines wherein she was asked if being an actress was something she has been wanting to pursue in life.
The Kapuso star replied, "To be honest hindi after ko maka-graduate, nagtrabaho ako as SPED teacher, and then nagtrabaho din ako sa mental hospital in Mandaluyong." She added, "Mahilig kasi ako sa mga bata so ayun 'yung pangarap ko, maging teacher."
Marian finished college with a degree in AB Psychology at De Lasalle University-Dasmarinas prior to starting her career.
Boy Abunda
Boy Abunda was once a professor who taught Radio and Television Practices and Principles at the Philippine Women's University in addition to being a television host and a publicist. The renowned talk show host first announced it during an interview with ABS-CBN's now-defunct talk show Showbiz News Ngayon.
"First time ko po maging teacher ng Radio and Television Practices and Principles dito po sa Philippine Women's University," he said in the 2010 interview. "Excited [ako] sa bagong kabanata ng aking buhay. One of the things that I've always wanted to do was to teach."
"Baon-baon ko rin po lahat ng aking mga karanasan, lahat ng mga palabas na ginawa ko po sa telebisyon, lahat ng mga TV programs na aking ginawa," he continued. "Lumalawak na, ika nga, ang ating mundo, as loob ng studio, pero tayo ay pumpunta na ngayon sa eskwelahan. This makes me very happy."
Abunda is a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Development with a communication degree. According to a report by entertainment portal PEP.ph, he also served as a coach for Miss Universe winners Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray for the pageant's question-and-answer portion.
Camille Prats
From being a famous child star to a celebrity mom, Camille Prats-Yumbao is already a bona fide educator who used to teach in junior pre-school in their family-owned school Divine Angels Montessori of Cainta, Inc. Camille, who used to dream of becoming a teacher, is now the school’s director.
The TV host gave a tour of their school during an episode of Viva TV's online program Starbiz in July 2018. "Noong panahon when I was thinking of what business to open up, I wanted something that has to do with children, with education," Camille said.
"When I was pregnant with Nathan, I took a montessori course in the States kasi ang tagal ko doon. I had to make use of my time being productive rather than just waiting to give birth. Pag-uwi ko dito, 'yun yung io-open ko, so it started as a preschool talaga," she continued.
Isabelle Daza
After graduating with a degree in Early Childhood Education at De La Salle University, Isabelle was once a preschool teacher. She revealed this in Wil Dasovich's vlog last March. "I was a preschool teacher for two years and then I went back to school because I didn't earn anything. Like, the salary was low... but I loved every minute of it," she said.
"So I did that and I went back to school because I thought I wanted to become a doctor so I took up Biology for two years and that didn't go so well because it was just like not me," she continued. "I didn't get into med school and got into showbiz."
Isabelle, who was also PhilSTAR L!fe's cover girl last April, is now a mother who devotedly teaches life lessons to her sons, Balthazar Gabriel and Valentin.
Ruby Rodriguez
Ruby Rodriguez worked in Mead Johnson and as a teacher in OB Montessori before she appeared in several TV shows in the late '80s and became one of the hosts of GMA 7 noontime show Eat Bulaga. According to a report by Philstar.com, Ruby has a Business Administration degree and also studied special education to understand her son better. She is currently residing in Los Angeles and is employed with the General Consulate of the Philippines there.
Ramon Bautista
Ramon Bautista teaches film at the University of the Philippines in addition to his work as an actor, TV personality, and radio DJ.
In his column titled Direct Line in The Philippine STAR, Boy Abunda described the self-proclaimed "Internet Action Star" as a "true-blue Iskolar ng Bayan." Ramon studied in UP from nursery up until college, with both his parents working in the UP administration. He graduated from the university with a degree in Film and Audio-Visual Communications prior to his teaching and showbiz careers.
Bullet Dumas
Filipino independent singer-songwriter Bullet Dumas is most recognized for his "raw, earthy," and uniquely Filipino contemporary folk sound. In addition to this, Bullet also works as a math teacher.
In his interview with Coconuts Manila in May 2014, the singer described his job as a math teacher as one that is tedious. "Teaching math is really heard," he said. "Teaching math to adolescents is harder. Teaching math to adolescent girls is the hardest. Ever."
The task may be challenging, but Bullet makes sure to keep it fun for his students by inventively incorporating music into his lessons. "I use music in my lessons all the time, just to get their attention,” Bullet said. “I rapped to introduce divisibility and geometry. I used bossanova for finding patterns. I used jazz and progressive rock for Least Common Multiple. I used Filipino music for set theory."
Kara David
One of the renowned Filipino journalists and award-winning documentarians, Kara David once had a wish to teach history. Kara is currently an assistant professor and the Department of Journalism chair at UP Diliman. It was in the same university where Kara completed her Master's degree in Philippine Studies.
Lourd De Veyra
In case you didn't know, journalist, host, singer, and activist Lourd de Veyra was also once a teacher. He served two terms at De Lasalle University-Taft, teaching Pagsulat sa Media and Popular Culture and Film Criticism. He obtained a journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.