Edwin Oscar, Jr. Gutierrez

I am a top-ranking, nationally-awarded high school English teacher in the Philippines with a strong background in journalism and creative writing.

Graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education, Major in English from Ateneo de Davao University, I ranked 8th nationwide during the April 2008 Licensure Exam for Teachers by the country's Professional Regulation Commission.

In my more than ten years as a teacher, I've not only served as a classroom teacher in various subjects such as English and Social Studies, I was also a campus minister, attending to students' spiritual guidance.

More importantly, I've also taught campus journalism, which my students competed in and won, perennially up to the national level.

As a communications teacher, I place importance on mechanics as far as they help in the understanding process. For me, what's vital is that the speaker and the listener understand each other: we can iron out the kinks as the interaction progresses. That's why I favor drills and exercises that simulate real-life situations, such as role-plays and dialogues. Of course, preparation is half the victory, and I perform due diligence to ensure that I'm ready for anything reasonable that may arise during the lesson.

My most recent work was as an associate editor for a local online news site based in Olympia, Washington State, where I copyread, edited, and published our reporters' work. I was also the training officer for new hires, as well as serving as liasion between the US-based publishers and management, and the Philippines-based reporters and staff.