A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep in the safety of the fold to pursue the one that has wandered into the hills. It is a beautiful image of grace. However, walk into a typical public school classroom in the Philippines today, and you will see this biblical metaphor turned inside out, where the wilderness is no longer the exception, but the rule. When more than half of a class cannot read with comprehension, perform basic numeracy, or write a coherent sentence, the โlostโ are no longer the exceptionโthey are the crowd.
In the biblical sense, the โninety-nineโ represented stability and readiness. In the Philippine education system, the proportions have flipped. The โsafe in the foldโ groupโthose who are able, motivated, and willing to learnโhas become the small minority. These are the few students who can keep pace with the curriculum, while the vast majority drift in a sea of functional illiteracy.
The โlost sheepโ are the children who sit in the back rows nodding silently while understanding nothing. They are the students who have been โsocially promotedโ from grade to grade carrying the weight of unlearned lessons like heavy chains.
This reality forces the Filipino teacher to make a choice that mirrors the sacrifice of Jesus. To actualize the spirit of โNo Child Left Behindโ in a room where (more than) half the flock is lost, the teacher must perform a โsacrificial pedagogy.โ
Following the example of the Good Shepherd means the teacher must have the courage to โleaveโ the standard, fast-paced lesson plan to rescue those stuck in the thorns. It means slowing down the entire class to teach basic phonics to a twelve-year-old.
Like Jesus, the struggling teacher bears the burden of the โoneโ (or the many) on their own shoulders. This is not just professional duty; it is an act of profound love.
The struggle of the Filipino teacher is that they are often a shepherd with too many lost sheep. The systemic thorns of poverty, lack of classrooms, and hunger make the search exhausting. Yes, the mandate remains: No child shall be left behind. This policy is our modern version of the Shepherdโs vow. It demands that we do not settle for the success of the elite few. It insists that the โlost majorityโ is worth the search, worth the extra hours, and worth the heartbreak of the struggle.
The biblical story ends with a celebration when the one is found. In the Philippines, that celebration happens every time a non-reader finally “cracks the code” and reads their first paragraph. It happens at “Moving Up” ceremonies where a once-lost student walks across the stage, no longer a statistic of failure but a triumph of persistence.
The Filipino titser, standing in a crowded, humid classroom, may feel like a shepherd overwhelmed by the storm. But in every remedial lesson and every patient explanation, they are doing what Jesus did. They are proving that no matter how many are lost, the search is always worth it. Because in the economy of education, as in the economy of grace, every single sheep counts.
[inspired by Maโam Hermabethโs and Maโam Earlโs classes]
______
Words: Mrs. Beverly Briones-Ravago | Liberal Arts Instructor
Artwork: Denver John Cinco | The Josephinian
