BeBetter.com.ph Provides Useful “Tips & Tricks” for Teachers


In just a few clicks a wide array of information can be viewed on the world wide web! This is an advantage to people who want instant access to things they want to know, especially to the students and teachers. Now you don't have to scour the whole library just to finish you assignments.

But this can be viewed as a double-edged sword because “wide array” can also mean “wide disarray” what with the scatter of websites and blogs out there. So unless a teacher or a student finds that reliable website in his or her search engine queries, there’s going to be some trial and error to be done. This prompted SMPC President Jerry Vicente Catabijan to start www.bebetter.com.ph – the CSR website of his company, Saint Mary’s Publishing Corporation (SMPC), which aims to provide information and material for teachers who want to further their learning online in order to become better at what they do.

“While it’s great that the Internet is just abounding with information for the teacher who wants to learn,” says SMPC President Jerry Catabijan, “it just might frustrate someone who has limited time and patience to look for that site that can be of help. So I thought, humbly, how can I help here? So that’s what led me to create an online resource site that will cater to teacher solely. Here, teachers can read up on a lot of practical articles that can help them become better educators, plain and simple.”


BeBetter.com.ph was launched last year and the website provides  lots of free articles on a variety of topics like teaching tips, book features, profiles on writers and other educators. The whole site was developed by a dedicated editorial team and has other contributing writers who are teachers themselves. The website hopes to aid teachers in the country for starters, particularly those who don’t have access to further education. “Of course, our website, like any material, will have its limitations but any kind of learning helps and goes a long way than none at all,” Mr Jerry said. The word “better” in Be Better is actually an acronym which stands for “Better Education Thrives Through Endless Reading.”

Mr. Jerry Catabijan belongs to a family who’s been in the textbook publishing business for over 47 years. So ever since he began working for Saint Mary’s Publishing Corporation (SMPC), he’s been finding ways how to give back to the teachers and schools his company works with. And putting up www.better.com.ph is the culmination of all his efforts.

As a graduate of a teaching course, I believe this website will help a lot of teachers around the country. Be Better aims to become a complete resource material for teachers who simply want to get better at what they do. I personally liked the article entitled, “How do you get back into top teaching form after a long vacation?” which talks about useful tips by teachers/professor on how to get to top teaching form after a long holiday. A lot of teachers can learn tips from this article especially now that we're on a Yuletide break.

Be Better's website also has regular sections like “Feed your need to read” that presents a list of recommended books based on certain themes to “Shaping the self-learner,” a series that aims to live up its name to the “Be Better Spotlight,” which has profiles on notable people in education, the website has something for every teacher out there.

“Be Better is not just a website – it’s a philosophy that my company lives by and the website is perhaps its most visible expression right now,” says SMPC President Jerry Vicente Catabijan.  – such sums up what Jerry Catabijan is doing to achieve. “When we talk about ‘endless reading’, we’re not only referring to the students but the teachers as well,” he adds.

Check out www.bebetter.com.ph and sign up for its regular newsletters to stay up to date.