4.1 Lived Experiences Indeed teaching is more than a job to every teacher.

According to the
participants, education allows them to do things with heart and dedication. Likewise, the following
subthemes were identified from the data-gathering and which are based on their own
perspectives. As shown in Table 1, the following subthemes include: passion, relationship building, and
fulfilled duty.

4.1.1 Passion According to the participants, one aspect of teaching that they enjoyed the
most was finding interest in their students' eyes and the smile on their faces whenever they were
teaching. It became their source of motivation and drove them to continue their passion for
teaching.

Specifically, Teacher no. 1 said; “Ang mga sandaling nakikita kong masayang natututo ang
aking mag-aaral sa aking subject. Ang kanilang mga ngiti at tawa ang nagbibigay sigla at motibasyon ko
sa aking pagtuturo. “ Teacher no. 8 shared the same sentiments; siguro everytime na lahat ay
interesado sa tinuturo ko or dun sa topic. Kasi kapag ganon parang nagniningning yung mga mata
ng mga estudyante na parang sumisigaw na sige Ma’am mag turo ka pa. Ang sayang tingnan kapag gusto
nila matuto at nagagawa ko ang tungkulin ko bilang isang guro. “ Their students strengthen their
passion for teaching. It became one of the reasonswhy they enjoyed every single moment of
being in front of their students, discussing the lessons.

Teacher no. 4 said that; “Masayang magturo lalo na’t nakakatuwa ang mga estudyante. “
Likewise, it supported the study conducted by Barnes (2018), who stated that teaching is exhausting,
especially in things that are hard to miss or forget. Even when grades are done, attending staff
meetings, and preparing students for the next exam was still yet to be done. However, Barnes
added that by focusing on passion, the occupations could be stretched and energized. For
instance, seeing an older student helping with a younger peer is adorable to observe. It indicates
that the things you have done became more meaningful once you witness the result of it.
Meaning, it is just about doing the things that the people personally loved.

4.1.2 Relationship Building According to the participants, students spend most of their time in
school. With this, they served as the second parent of their students. Specifically, Teacher no. 1
answered;

“Bahagi ng pagiging guro ay ang pagiging pangalawang magulang. Dahil sa mahaba ang
oras ng mga mag-aaral sa paaralan kumpara sa bahay, sinisikap naming gabayan sila sa panahong
kami ang kanilang nakakasalamuha.

“ Moreover, the experiences they had with their students enables them to build a strong
relationship with them.

Teacher no. 8 said; “Nako Nak! Nakaparami. Siguro everytime na may boodle fight sa klase.
*laugh* lumalabas ugali ng mga estudyante eh. Sa mga naubusan at hindi nakapasok, tapos
kwentuhan. “ Concerning these, the article in Waterford.org (NASAAN ANG DATE?) stated that
students who have had negative interactions with adults might have a tough time trusting
teachers. It is more likely that children from low-income or at-risk families have a poor
relationship with their teachers. Teachers are more likely to regard these students as possessing
personal prejudices. In some situations, these children do not have access to the transportation or
academic help they need to excel. On the other hand, if they know their teacher cares for them
and can help them excel, they are more inspired to attend classes. And these partnerships will
also boost student performance by enhancing school participation.

4.1.3 Fulfilled Duty Another subtheme identified in the study is fulfilled duty. According to the
participants, more than teaching their students, another reason for their happiness was whenever
they saw their students earned an accomplishment outside the four corners of the room. They
added that they were happy to be part of those accomplishments.

Specifically, Teacher no. 8 said; "Alam mo everytime na may contest sa school tapos
kailangan ko mag mentor ng estudyante tapos nananalo yung estudyante grabe yung galak ng puso ko
noon... " Teacher no. 2 shared the same thoughts;

“Ang paborito kong memorya bilang isang guro ng pampubliko ay ng maging isa akong adviser at
maging coach din. Lalo na ang mga pagkakataon na may mga kompetisyon sa loob at labas ng paaralan
at kami ay nananalo. “ Even though there were things that they did not know at first, this
challenge became their stepping stone to become a better teacher for their students.

Teacher no. 6 said; “Nuong simula ay maraming bagay akong hindi alam. Sinubok ng
pagtuturo ang aking pasensiya, sipag, at tiyaga, marahil sa pagtuturo ito ay katambal na ng isang guro.
Ang tumayo sa harap ng mga estudyante at magbahagi ng makabuluhang bagay ay isa nang kahanga-
hangang karanasan para sa akin. “ These experiences of the respondents supported the frontier in
Psychology (2019), which said that happy individuals are more likely to live happier lives. The
article also included that happiness in the workplace is frequently impaired by incidents that
involve one's own job activities. Compared to their baselines, there is evidence that people will
experience a higher degree of satisfaction than average days when they feel satisfied in
their fundamental requirements for integrity, autonomy, and connectedness in main tasks in their
workplace. Likewise, it only indicates how the teachers' job in and out of the classroom brought
happiness to their over-all duty and enabled it to be fulfilled meaningfully.

4.2 Challenges This subordinate theme discusses the struggles encountered by the
participants. Likewise, the following subthemes were identified from the data-
gathering and which are based on their own perspectives. As shown in Table
2, the following subthemes include lack of resources, handling students, and
submission and workload.
.2.1 Lack of resources According to the participants, the public school
system, such as lack of necessary equipment, brought hardship to the school's
key indicators, specifically, teachers and students. Teacher no. 1 said; “Ang
sistema sa pampublikong paaralan ang ilan sa nagiging hamon sa isang guro. Ang
kakulangan ng gamit tulad ng libro, upuan, at silid-aralan na nagiging sanhi ng
kahirapan sa pag-aaral. “ This particular problem limits them from
conducting certain activities.
As stated by Teacher no. 6; “Sa tingin ko ay sa kakulangan ng kagamitan.
Sapagkat may mga bagay kang nais na gawin ngunit hindi mo magawa dahil nga
kulang sa gamit pampaaralan. “ These findings supported the study of
Granthorn (2020). According to the latter, the Philippine teachers are mostly
and adamantly stressed due to a lack of budget. The study revealed that
teachers are in distress, looking for ways to ensure that their local
governments' given account would meet all of their students' needs.

4.2.2 Handling Students Aside from the number of students, another problem
encountered by the participants was getting the trust of their students and making
them realize the importance of education. Teacher no. 1 said; “Bahagi na ng pang
araw-araw naming gawain ang humarap sa mga mapanghamong ugali ng mga
mag-aaral. Kung minsan, may mga mag-aaral na mahirap turuan dahilan sa kawalan
nila ng interes sa pag-aaral. Ito marahil ay bahagi ng kapaligiran na kanilang
nilakihan. Mas nagiging mapanghamon sa amin ang kuhain ang kanilang loob at
imulat sila sa kahalagahan ng edukasyon. “ This finding supported the
statement of Wentzel during the episode of All4Ed's podcast. Specifically,
Wentzel's statement highlighted the necessity of building a trusting relationship
between students and their teachers; through this, it will never be hard to
motivate students to engage themselves in things that the teachers would like them
to do (All4Ed, 2018). Moreover, in this time of the pandemic, it is getting
harder for them to facilitate the output given to their students. Specifically, Teacher
no. 3 said that; “Ngayon talaga nahihirapan ako sa paghagilap ng mga estudyante
kung bakit hindi sila gumagawa o nagpapasa ng module at kung bakit minsan ay hindi
tapos. “ Problems were already encountered at school; however, studying in
the time of pandemic was not different; in fact, it was given worst according to the
participants. According to American Psychological Association [APA] (2020),
the students' inter and intrapersonal behavior can significantly affect their ability to
learn, thus, their academic skills in general. In a classroom environment, it is a
good thing that the teachers could manage the students' day-to-day behavior.
However, they added that handling the students' behavior at home is not easy,
specifically, because many parents and caregivers find behavior management
challenges while adjusting to virtual or at-home education.

2.3 Submission and Workload It is not just the students but also teachers who
encountered difficulties submitting paperwork and other tasks assigned to them. As
stated by Teacher no. 2; “Kapag nagkasabay-sabay ang napakaraming paperworks at
deadlines pero at the same time ay kailangan pa ring magturo. “ Moreover, tasks
such as the grades of the students also brought difficulties to them, especially
in the time of pandemic where communication was limited and challenged.
Teacher no. 8 said that; "Siguro sa deadline ng submission ng mga grades tapos
may mga bata na mababa ang grades. Syempre as an adviser ayaw ko naman na
may naiiwan kaya as much as possible ginagawan ko ng paraan. Ngayong may
pandemya ang hirap nila kontakin through online tapos minsan dalawa lang kami
sa google meeting. " Despite this, Teacher no. 8 cannot complain because
adjusting is what the pandemic really is all about. With this, the participant added
that; “Hindi ko naman sila masisisi or mapipilit kasi nga diba lahat tayo nag
aadjust kaya sana mabalik na yung dating normal. “ These findings supported
the study conducted by Aperribai (2020), which used an online survey to collect
quantitative and qualitative data necessary to explore how teachers have been
affected by the lockdown. Specifically, its impact on their mental health and their
relationships in three main fields: work, family, and social relationships, and identify
the role of physical activity among these three. The results revealed in the study
included that the teachers had experienced higher levels of distress due to the
workload generated during the lockdown.
4.3 Coping Mechanisms of the Teachers This superordinate theme shows
the coping mechanisms of teachers to handle stress and burnout. Table 3
contains subordinate themes perceived in the interview. The study shows that
seven participants utilize the right communication and understanding, whether
towards their students or with the parents. There are four of the teachers
who are being strategic in ways to cope up with the problems. Furthermore,
three participants employ adjustments and considerations, and one participant
felt comfortable asking for assistance.

Table 3. Coping Mechanisms of the Teachers Coping Mechanisms Frequency Right

Communication and Understanding 7 Being Strategic 4 Adjustment and
considerations 3 Asking for Assistance 1 4.3.1 Right Communication and
Understanding Misunderstandings are not exempted from the occurrences
in the school environment. This may be one of the factors that lead to stress and
burnout. However, despite the challenges, the participants showed that there are
still ways to cope up. Right communication and the ability to understand the
situation are one of those ways. This reflected in Teacher 1's statement below:
“Walang bagay na hindi nadadaan sa magandang usapan, sabi nga nila. Kaya sinisikap
kong kausapin at alamin ang ugat ng problema. Nililinaw ko ang aking punto
at humihingi ng dispensa kung malaman kong nasa akin ang pagkukulang. Dahil
hindi naman kawalan ang pagpapakumbaba lalo na’t alam mong ikaw ang
may pagkakasala. “ Also, these coping mechanisms are not just
applicable to students but are also implemented when it is necessary to talk to
parents. Teacher 2 said: “Kakausapin at aalamin muna ang dahilan kung bakit
niya nagawa iyun at saka ko pa lang pagsasabihan at pangangaralan. Kapag
kailangan malaman ng kaniyang mga magulang ay pinapatawag ko sila at
kinakausap din. “ According to Bharti (2015), teachers must learn the art of
engaging and communicating with students effectively, especially in this digital
age. Despite the difficulty in proximity, they should still understand and read
the minds of their students to have a healthy classroom atmosphere and
student-teacher relationship.

4.3.2 Being Strategic As an effective teacher, great strategies, approaches,

resourcefulness, and giving alternatives in times of difficulty inside the classroom
can help reduce stress and burnout. These ways allow the teachers to play out their
best. This supported by Teacher 1's statement below: “Madalas itong nangyayari
lalo na at ako ay isang ICT teacher. Kulang ang bilang ng mga computer
kumpara sa bilang ng mga mag-aaral. Dahil dito, mas nagiging maparaan
kaming mga guro kung paano didiskartihan ang ganitong sitwasyon. Iginu- grupo
ko na lamang sila sa kung ilan ang bilang ng computer. Pero sinisugurado ko na lahat
sila ay nakakagamit at nakagagawa ng mga Gawain. “ Moreover, even
strategic setting of rules and regulations inside the classroom to prevent
misunderstandings and disputes are applied. Teacher 6 stated: “Magsagawa ng
rules and regulations sa loob ng kwarto katuwang ang mga bata na siyang
mapagkakasunduan ng lahat. “ Being strategic in ways are helpful in times
of facing new stages and situations, especially this global pandemic. With new
platforms in instructing students, like Zoom, Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.,
teachers should learn how to be strategic and plan out ways to guarantee
meaningful conversations and good learning outputs to take place in a virtual
system (Hart, 2020). Educators should include a socially responsive education
and a safe web-based learning environment

4.3.3 Adjustment and Consideration In this new normal, flexibility,

adjustments, and considerations are needed based on how one understand,
respond, and manage an ever-changing environment. Even in the new learning
system, educators learned to adjust for those students who hardly keep up
online to maintain effective learning. Teacher 1 conveyed: "Pangunahing tungkulin
ng guro ang makapagturo ng maayos. Dapat masigurado niya na lahat ng mag-
aaral ay natuto ng kanilang aralin. Sinisikap niyang padaliin ang mga mahihirap na
paksa para sa mga mahihinang bata o mentally challenge at binibigyan ng hamon ang
mga nangungunang mag-aaral o fast learner. Ang tungkulin ng isang guro ay hindi
lang din natatapos sa kanyang pagtuturo sa silid-aralin, mahalaga rin na tuloy-
tuloy pa rin ang kanyang patnubay upang masigurado na maisasabuhay ng mga
mag-aaral ang mga aral na kanilang natutunan. " Teachers learned how to be
considerate of students' differences, and this supported by Teacher 2's
statement below: "Ang tungkulin ng isang guro ay magturo ng buong puso, isip
at kakayahan na may konsiderasyon sa pagkakaiba-iba ng kaniyang mga
tinuturuan at maging gabay sa lubusang pagkatuto nila. " According to
Pertuz and Sebastian (2017), to avoid inappropriate functioning and have a healthy
learning community, adjusting to the system is needed