November 17, 2014, the first-ever Voice Care for Teachers workshop was held at the Creativoices office in Makati. It was a free workshop in celebration of World Teacher’s Day. The workshop only had 3 participants, the first 3 Voice Care Ambassadors.

Fast forward to a year after, the Voice Care Philippines training team has travelled to various parts of the country to teach the Voice Care for Teachers workshop. From Luzon (Baguio, Pampanga, Tarlac, Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite), Visayas (Iloilo) and Mindanao (Bukidnon, Zamboanga), thousands of teachers have learned the science and art of voice, and how it can be applied to their vocation.

Voice Care for Teachers is the flagship training program of Voice Care Philippines, a training organization whose mission is to equip professional voice users with knowledge and tools to save their voice, save their career. The organization was founded by Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales – veteran voice artist, experienced radio broadcaster, internationally-awarded youth advocate, author and highly sought-after motivational speaker and trainer. With an innate passion to teach and pay forward, Pocholo has high respect for teachers and recognizes the importance of their role in nation-building.

“When I started thinking about how I can be of service to teachers, I took 2 of the things that I do best – voice acting and motivational speaking – together and created a program called ‘Voice Acting for Effective Teaching’. The goal was to help teachers use voice acting techniques to capture and sustain their students’ attention, especially with the young people today having short attention span and access to more information than they know what to do with.”

Pocholo recalls how the program had a very short lifespan. “I only did the workshop ONCE, in March 2, 2013. After my talk, a teacher approached me and said (with a hoarse voice), ‘This is great, but how can I (teacher) use voice acting if I don’t even have voice to begin with?’ That question struck me, and I realized that more than being able to PLAY with their voice, teachers have a much bigger need to learn how to TAKE CARE of it. Right there and then, Voice Care Philippines was born.”

For the first time in his 15 years as a motivational speaker and trainer, Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales comes back to his hometown in Mariveles, Bataan, to inspire and motivate his fellow Bataenos!

On November 13, 2015, hundreds of elementary teachers gathered in the covered court of Alasasin Elementary School as Pocholo and his team conducted a whole-day Voice Care for Teachers workshop. The program started with some opening remarks and introduction from one of Pocholo’s good friends in high school – now school principal – Elda Afable. She recounted her memories of the VoiceMaster back when they were students, and expressed her excitement to witness him become Bataan’s pride with all that he has accomplished. The VoiceMaster’s own father, Luis Gonzales, also took the stage to share his own introduction and remarks about his son.

After the opening ceremonies, Pocholo took the stage and delivered a motivational seminar entitled “Understanding the Generation Z.” He shared his knowledge and expertise in dealing with the youth, and inspired the teachers to be open and embracing of the new generation’s mindset and their need to be taught differently in the classroom. Pocholo also inspired the teachers to become an inspiration to their students, not by bombarding them with information, but by providing guidance and motivating their students to cultivate their talents and pursue their dreams.

The Speech and Theater Arts Guild in Education (STAGE) of the Philippine Normal University organized a lecture series called “PASSCODE: 3P – Pagsasalita. Pagkukuwento. Panonood.” The series aims to educate the students how performing arts skills such as speaking and storytelling can be used in the classroom.

On November 14, the first leg of the series, Pagsasalita, was held at the MB Auditorium. Around 50 students attended as the trainers of Voice Care Philippines taught about the importance of voice in teaching. In the morning, Voice Care Philippines’ Executive Director, Ada Cuaresma, delivered a talk entitled “Pagsasalita: Public Speaking 101,” where she shared her knowledge about effective public speaking. Ada started her talk with a dose of motivation, by sharing her journey as a motivational speaker and how she fulfilled her dream of becoming one. She then discussed the common fears in public speaking, as well as how to use the pitch, volume and tempo to create a more impactful presentation.

In the afternoon, the participants were treated to a mini-Voice Care for Teachers workshop, with Ada back on stage. She talked about the importance of voice, and the factors that make teachers prone to voice problems. Ada then walked the participants through exercises to correct posture and practice deep breathing. She ended her talk with useful tips on how to take good care of the voice.

After Ada, it was Andrew San Fernando’s turn to conduct his module, “Voice Acting for Effective Teaching.” Andrew started his talk by sharing his experience as a voice artist, and even showcasing his talent in imitating voices of some famous characters and personalities. He then taught the voice acting workshop proper, where he gave the students warm up exercises to explore pitch range, resonators and many more. He also explained how creating characters can help in teaching effectively in the classroom.

The “Pagsasalita” leg of the lecture series is, indeed, a success.

Over 100 Elementary and High School teachers of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan gathered at the conference hall of Grotto Vista Resort on November 2, 2015 for the 1-day “Voice Care for Teachers” workshop. The team of Voice Care Philippines came back to teach the second batch of teachers regarding voice care, following the success of its first run last September.

After the opening ceremonies and welcome remarks, the workshop began with an inspiring and motivating talk by Voice Care Philippines founder, Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales. He brightened the morning with his wit, charm, humor and even voice acting prowess. The highlight of his talk, however, is on understanding the Generation Z – the new generation that fills the classrooms of today. With his extensive experience of working with the youth, Pocholo shares his learning through research and experience regarding the lifestyle and behaviors of this new breed of young people, and how to best motivate them to learn. The teachers learned about the language, applications, games and many other tools that kids of today use, and caught a glimpse of their ‘virtual world’. Pocholo also motivated and inspired the teachers to love their vocation, which he considers the most influential vocation in the world.