UST breaks world record in celebration of Teachers' Month

(Students and faculty members of University of Santo Tomas (UST) formed “My teacher is my hero!”, breaking the Guinness World Record for largest sentence human formation. Photo by Rian Sablan, Dapitan Post)

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) broke the world record of largest human-formed sentence with 17,011 participants on September 29, Friday.

Wearing black shirts, students and faculty members participated in forming the largest sentence human formation, which was conducted at the UST Grandstand, with the sentence “My Teacher is My Hero!” in celebration of National Teachers’ Month celebration.

“Bilang pagpupuri at pagpupugay sa ating mga guro sa UST, ito ay isinagawa at pinangunahan ng kolehiyo ng edukasyon sa pakikipagtulungan ng iba’t ibang tanggapan at opisina sa ating pamantasan,” Allan De Guzman, dean of the College of Education, said in an interview.

Pursuant to the Presidential Proclamation No. 242 of then-President Benigno Aquino III, the National Teachers’ Month is celebrated annually in the country, from Sept. 5 to Oct. 5, which is the World’s Teachers’ Day.

De Guzman also said that the attempt to beat the record was only secondary to the main purpose of the event, which was to show people that Thomasians do commend the Filipino teacher.

“Ang main purpose talaga natin dito is to give and... make people know that Thomasian students do recognize, do appreciate and do praise whatever teachers... are doing in the classroom and we do recognize the very contribution of the Filipino teacher,” he said.

De Guzman stated that the event was successful and was enjoyed by students who were happy to say “my teacher is really my hero.”

“Parang nakakaproud lang isipin na tayo ang nagbreak nito. I’m just so happy na part ako ng moment na ito,” Estefani Ballelos, a senior high school student, told the Dapitan Post.

The Office for Student Affairs and Student Welfare and Development Board, with the verification of Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) Consulting, counted 17,011 participants present in the human formation.

ID terminals were stationed at the entrances around the UST Grandstand for headcount as students streamed in.

The sentence formation was completed at around half past 9 A.M.

Health desks manned by the UST Red Cross Youth Council were present around the venue to administer first aid.

The record was previously held by India, with the sentence “You can you will,” consisting of 16,550 participants.