‘Your Voice, My Future’ – a Voice Care for Teachers Workshop in Zamboanga

Over 200 teachers from various schools in Zamboanga City filled the HRDC multi-purpose hall for a whole-day seminar entitled “Tu Voz, Mi Futuro (Your Voice, My Future): A Voice Care Seminar/Workshop for Teachers”.

Organized by the DepEd Zamboanga City Division in partnership with Junior Chamber International Zamboanga La Bella, the workshop aimed to equip the teachers with the knowledge and tools to protect and care for their most essential tool for teaching – their VOICE.

The workshop began with a motivational talk from Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales, who not only entertained the audience with his wit, humor, and voice acting talent but also talked about the Generation Z – the young people who are the students of the modern-day classroom. He shared how these young people think, compared to the previous generations, and how their lives have been greatly influenced by touchscreens and the World Wide Web. He posed a challenge to the teachers to understand the mindset of this generation if they were to be effective in fulfilling their role as children’s second parents.

The VoiceMaster also motivated the teachers and gave them a boost regarding the importance of their vocation in building a better nation. He talked about our National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, who was and will always be the epitome of greatness and excellence in every Filipino. He once again challenged the teachers to not only mold today’s youth as the “hope of the nation,” but rather to mold them as the FULFILLMENT of the hope of the nation.

After lunch, Voice Care Philippines Executive Director Ada Cuaresma took the stage to do a mini-workshop on voice care. She shared valuable information about why teachers are at high risk of developing voice problems, and empowered the teachers not only with knowledge but more importantly, tools and exercises that they can use to prevent vocal strain. She also shared tips on how to take care of the voice.

The workshop was concluded with a speech from DepEd Region 9’s OIC – School Division Superintendent Pete Natividad, who challenged the teachers to share the knowledge they learned to their colleagues. He also expressed his gratitude to Voice Care Philippines for having developed the first and only workshop that teaches teachers how to take care of the voice and expressed that the workshop is only the beginning of the partnership to reach all teachers in the region.