‘Lolo Maestro’: A nonagenarian still teaches Physics at a high school in Aklan

• A nonagenarian in Aklan still teaches Physics to high school students
• Teacher Gonzalo Maravilla is still sharp and competent at age 91
• Sir Along avoids vices and eats healthy foods while reading books to continue expanding his knowledge

“If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes,” Guy Kawasaki, an American marketing specialist and author said once. And today’s news prove what a superhero this nonagenarian is, who is still passionate in teaching Physics to Grade 10 students at 91!

Gonzalo Maravilla, also known as “Lolo Maestro,” dedicates his life to teaching matter, including its motion and behavior through space and time, to high school students.

“Sir Along,” as he is fondly called by his students, still has sharp memory enough to talk about equations and studies related to entities of energy and force.

He has been teaching since 1950 and is currently employed at the Madyaas Institute in Albasan Numancia, Aklan for over 69 years. Lolo Maestro even shared that his own father, Miguel Maravilla, was one of the founding fathers of their school. He had devoted his long life to sharing wisdom ever since.

Most of the teachers, and even the school principal, Franklin Ituriaga, had been under Sir Along’s tutelage. And they all have high respects for the senior teacher who had been a constant authority in their lives now.

“Wala akong anting-anting,” answered Sir Along, when asked about his secret to long life. He does avoid vices and chooses to eat healthy foods like vegetables. He also walks every day from home to school as a form of exercise. He continues to expand his knowledge by reading books and newspapers and on his spare time, he would tinker with electronic gadgets. He lamented, though, that the gadgets have made the students of today a bit lazy.

Most teachers retire when they reach the age of 65 and the Department of Education mandates this retirement age but Principal Ituriaga explained that Sir Along is still competent at what he does. And as Madyaas Institute is a private school, they decided to allow the old man to continue teaching.

One of his students, Faye Villorente, shared that Sir Along is unlike other elderlies who are often forgetful. He is sharp, smart, and obviously cares for his students. Aside from teaching them about Physics, Villorente said Lolo Maestro also takes his time to remind them about good manners and belief in God.

Jacques Barzun, the French-American historian known for his studies of the history of ideas and cultural history, once declared that “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition,” to which Sir Along’s story helped disproved, due to his dedication in his line of work.

Sir Along is turning 100 years old in less than a decade and his passion to teaching gathered a lot of praise from netizens.