Another Cor Jesian capped the Top 10 in the September 2023 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT). Kyle Lesther O. Panugalon, a Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Sciences made another big bang for Cor Jesu College as he landed in the Top 9 among 53,995 (56.26%) passers out of 95,969 takers from the Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED). This achievement led the College of Education, Arts and Sciences (CEDAS) to a back-to-back performance as it also produced a Top 3 during the LEPT on March 2023.
Overall, 147 (89.01%) out of 165 BSED and 23(95.85%) out of 24 BEED Cor Jesu Education graduates obtained their licenses in first take.
The Topnotcher
Kyle Lesther O. Panugalon graduated Magna Cum Laude in July 2023. He was a scholar of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). He marked a 93 percentile in the LEPT September 2023 edition.
On December 7, Panugalon received the results of the LEPT which he took on September 24 this year. For almost 13 weeks of cycling through resting and reviewing with multiple books, all his efforts finally bore fruit. Despite his confidence in his capabilities and the results of his hard work, Kyle Lesther shared the pressure and the doubts he felt as his review began and continued.
“I felt pressured about the immediate environment,” he recounted, in reference to the time when he was reviewing for the examination, “my parents, friends, and the people around me expected as well. Even from my professors and teachers – they saw how well I performed during the years I stayed in Cor Jesu, so they already had an idea on my performance as a student.” But as he opened up about these vulnerabilities, Kyle remained firm in his belief of not letting it hinder his performance.
The Preparation
In Panugalon’s experience, he and his fellow fourth year students had a 6-unit review course for Educ 11 A&B, for the first and second semesters, respectively. He said, “It’s not the same as an actual review center. It was more like a review that focused on our retention of subjects from first year to third year,” He and his fellow takers spent three months of preparation for the exam, which according to him, was the shortest review time they’ve experienced.
On the day of the examination, Kyle relayed the stark difference on what it’s like to review for the exam and to actuallytake the exam. “During reviews, you can access the concepts and the questions on the internet. The board exam questions on the other hand definitely shocked us.” He reiterated how this difference of the actual exam questions are to be expected, especially for the second batch takers of the new curriculum like himself. “It’s a test for your retention of all the subjects that you’ve already been introduced to, and the profession that you’ve chosen – so it’s imperative that you’re already familiar with the components within it,” he added.
The Growing Anxiety
While it is normal to feel pressured before and while taking an exam, Kyle expressed how he still felt a bit of worry and stress after he was done with it. “If you feel pressured before the exam, you’ll feel even more pressured waiting for the results. The pressure from before just adds up to what you feel now that you’ve already taken the test. The ‘what-if’s are still there, the doubt of whether or not you answered correctly, and as the days leading to the revelation of the results get closer, the pressure gets bigger.”
Holding on to that feeling of doubt while taking the test, Panugalon lamented the instances where he wished he could change what he had answered during the LET. “There are times I told myself ‘I could have corrected my answer on this one’, or questions that I couldn’t answer that frustrated me and only remembered the answer after it was all over. If I were in that situation again, I would change it.”
A Feeling of Reservations
On the other hand, Dr. Lemuel Sayao, one of the specialization professors of Panugalon has some reservations about the sustainability of Sciences as a major offering in the BSED due to a low number of enrollees.
He said, “like in previous experiences, those majors with low enrolment were phased out or frozen.” He is thankful that despite the low enrolment, “those who were in the program consistently marked a 100% passing since its offering” He exclaimed, “I am even more delighted that our program is a producer of topnotchers – Top 3 and Top 9, respectively, within the same year of licensure examinations.”. He is hoping that this recent feat will boost the enrolment of the BSEd-Sciences program of the college.
What’s Next?
The next Licensure Examination for Teachers will be on March and September 2024, and to the future takers, Kyle highlighted the importance of having an unwavering faith in God, “He provided me with all what I needed during the course of my review through other people’s hands.” He also encouraged the future takers to read as much as they can, “You will never be ready for the exam. You can never say that you’re ready for it because of how dynamic the body of knowledge is. I’ve read a lot of books and it still wasn’t enough preparation.”
Kyle Lesther O. Panugalon will pursue teaching now that he has passed the LET. Teaching has been his passion, and what he has been studying for four years. “I might pursue higher education in the future,” he stated. “But as of now, I’ll focus on teaching higher education specifically here in Cor Jesu.”
