Meet Chito Atienza, the Pinoy who has taught English to US immigrants for 28 years

“A IS FOR (BIG) APPLE”
Dokumentaryo ni Sandra Aguinaldo
June 3, 2013

We will always have teachers we won’t forget—mentors that have patiently nurtured us and helped shape who we are today.
In New York, there are a group of Filipino teachers who are making great strides in the field of education, teaching English as a second language to immigrants.
 
For the students, learning the English language is a necessary life skill—it ensures their integration into society, and prepares them for a life in America. In a small training center in Brooklyn, a Filipino English teacher together with his students from China, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, Ecuador, and other nations gather everyday to learn with, and from each other. They learn to tell their personal stories, no matter how difficult. In this classroom, there are no right or wrong answers.

Chito Atienza, their teacher, lovingly coaxes them to speak even though most them arrived in his classroom initially not knowing the difference between “yes” or “no”. For 28 years, he walks the streets of New York picking up lottery tickets and restaurant menus to bring back to his class as reading materials.
 
For his efforts, in 2008, he was awarded the ESOL Teacher of the Year by the New York Times. In his speech then he said “ I would like to believe that I have given my students enough words and numbers to live by...in the ESOL classroom, the teachers and students keep hope alive because without hope, dreams die.” Indeed, Atienza’s classroom is brimming with hope... their smiles, like a ray of sunshine on a cold winter day.
 
This Monday, Sandra Aguinaldo learns the poignant and inspiring stories inside a New York class room. “A is for (big) apple” is an I-Witness documentary special co-produced by the US State Department.
 
FILIPINO VERSION:
 
Lahat tayo may kinahahangaang guro mula sa pagkabata. Sila ang mga gurong matiyagang nagturo at humubog kung sino tayo ngayon.
Sa New York, may isang grupo ng mga Pilipinong malaki ang nagiging kontribusyon sa larangan ng edukasyon. Nagtuturo sila ng wikang Ingles sa mga immigrant.

Para sa kanilang mga estudyante, ang pag-aaral ng Ingles ay isang mahalagang bagay na matutunan para mabuhay sa Amerika. Araw-araw, sa isang training center sa Brooklyn, kasama ng isang Pilipinong guro ang mga estudyante niya mula sa China, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, Ecuador at iba pang bansa na masanay sa isang wikang dayuhan sa kanilang lahat. Sabay-sabay rin silang natututo sa mga kuwento ng isa’t-isa.
 
Matiyaga silang inaalalayan ng kanilang gurong si Chito Atienza kahit pa noong simula, karamihan sa kanila ni hindi alam kung ano ang “oo” at “hindi” sa wikang Ingles. 28 taon na siyang lumalakad sa mga kalye ng New York para makalikom ng mga menu mula sa mga kainan at mga lottery ticket para maiuwi sa classroom. Ginagamit niya ang mga ito para matutong bumasa ang kanyang mga estudyante.
Dahil dito, ginawaran si Atienza noong 2008 ng ESOL Teacher of the Year Award ng New York Times. Sa kanyang talumpati noon sinabi niyang “sana nakapagbigay ako ng sapat ng salita at numero para makapamuhay ng maayos ang aking mga estudyante...gusto ko ring paniwalaan na sa loob ng aming classroom nananatiling buhay ang pag-asa dahil kung walang pag-asa, mamamatay ang mga pangarap”.

Ngayong Lunes, matututunan ni Sandra Aguinaldo ang madamdamin at kahanga-hangang kuwento mula sa isang classroom sa New York. “A is for (big) apple” ay isang documentary special ng I-Witness, co-produced ng US State Department.

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Want to #ChatWithSandra?

Documentary filmmaker Sandra Aguinaldo with be online this Monday (June 3, 2013) to share behind the scenes stories and answer viewer questions as the documentary is airing.

Tweet her your questions using the hashtag "#ChatWithSandra" and she will answer as many as she can starting 11:30 PM.

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