Teacher Goes Beyond: How This Educator Helped A Student Mom Attend Class With Child

A few days before World Teachers' Day, heartwarming photos of a teacher carrying a baby while in class are making the rounds on social media.

No, it's not her child, but her student's. The teacher in the photos is Rosalyn Doma, a senior high school teacher at Allen National High School in Northern Samar.

Her older brother, Crescencio M. Doma Jr., granted Smart Parenting permission to share the photos. He shared the photos on his Facebook account on September 15 as an appreciation for her sister's gesture, until his friends asked him to set the post's privacy to public. Since then, media outlets have shared his post.

In his post, he explained the context of the photos, "One of her female students, a young mother, came to class with her baby since no one could take care of her at home that time. The baby fell asleep in the middle of the class and her mother cannot do her seat work while carrying the baby. So, my sister offered to carry the baby while doing her regular clasroom routine so her mother can continue with her class tasks. Some students apparently took these pictures."

Doma believes that what made his sister's photos go viral is because netizens were delighted to see someone doing something they are not usually expected to do.

"So far, most of the reactions I saw were positive. [People] were trying to tell other netizens that it was a great sight to see a teacher doing a motherly task by carrying her student's child in the classroom," he told Smart Parenting.

He shared that his sister sent him the photos from her students, thinking that he might be surprised if they reached him. "It was a very humbling thing to do in a classroom setting," he said.

'Young parents are in a complicated situation'

Doma is a retired teacher from the University of Santo Tomas, who used to teach sociology and other social science subjects. His mother was a teacher too. He stressed that more than a nod to his sister's gesture, the photos serve as a reminder for teachers to support their students, young parents included.

"I was once a teacher. We should give more attention and value the fact that the desire of the young mother to continue their studies is there. This is an opportunity, an entry point for intervention." —Crescencio M. Doma Jr. 

"Pursuing studies while at the same time performing their primary role as young parents is a complicated situation," he told Smart Parenting. "This is because young parents, as in the case of my sister’s student whom I call 'student-mother' will find herself doing not just one, but two or even more roles depending on her or his social circumstances."

Inspired by his sister's student, Doma said he came up with a recommendation, which he hopes could assist young parents who are determined to finish their studies. 

"A student-mother has two (2) major roles with associated specific duties: (a) being mother to the child and (b) being a wife to her husband. These are two important roles that she need to fulfill at certain points in her everyday life. Now, you add to these her school concerns. She has individual and group tasks to attend to in school. What about her other roles as a 'daughter' to her parents, 'Ate' or 'Kuya' to her siblings? How is she/he going to make sure that no expectations from all of these roles are missed?"

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He continued, "But then, the situation is something we cannot simply ignore. As we say it, 'Nandiyan na yan, eh.' Decisions have to be made depending on how the person involved would set her/his priorities."

Doma emphasizes that he does not claim to be an expert in this field, but he believes that there are more cases out there needing attention and concrete solution.

"We can work together with other professionals so that we can give our student parents more hope and inspiration as they continue with this new life journey." —Crescencio M. Doma Jr. 

"I was once a teacher. I've seen similar situations in the past too. We should give more attention and value the fact that the desire of the young mother to continue their studies is there. This is an opportunity, an entry point for intervention," he said.

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"This is a challenge for all our teachers on how we can live or practice the principle of loco parentis (in the place of a parent)."

He calls on everyone, starting with the school administration to look into this situation, "We can work together with other professionals so that we can give our student parents more hope and inspiration as they continue with this new life journey."

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Rosalyn's student, Rochelle, allowed Smart Parenting to share her thoughts. In a Facebook post, she wrote, "Dear teacher: you are the best example of why I will continue to study, thank you for your kind heart and concern for my daughter. I hope many more teachers will inspire their students whether they have children or not. You are the best teacher, ma'am. Thank you for caring about your student."

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