As part of this trip we have been able to visit three different schools for a few hours. The first, on Thursday afternoon, was St Paul College, Pasig, an all girls private school. Our second school yesterday, was a public school called Benigno Ninoy Aquino High School, and the third, a public school with a science focus and an entrance exam, called Makati Science High School. In all the schools we were greeted by staff and students, were sang to by the school's chorus, did class visits, and were able to speak with students and teachers. All students wore uniforms, were incredibly polite and genuinely happy to meet us, and seemed to have formed strong relationships with their teachers. All the schools seemed to encourage parental involvement, both through the PTA and through educating the parents about expectations of the families in the schools. All the schools, as is the case for most of the Philippines I think, use modules designed by the national Department of Education (or DepEd, as it is referred to). While teachers can make modifications based on the school's focus and students needs, the 'lesson planning' part begins at a national level by specialists. Teacher evaluation is also plays a large emphasis here, although in our panel discussion it came across as a very collaborative initiative in schools, and required lots of communication. I spent time with the science chair at Benigno Aquino and she has to do 60 observations a month for the evaluations and has 42 science department members. Perhaps the most significant differences we have quickly observed here is the use of trade/Vo-tech programs in the public schools, (less need in the private schools). Teachers work with students in the lower grades (6th and below) to help guide them in to a trade and in the high school (7th -10th grade) students focus on the trade and do classes in this area in addition to the academic classes. For example, at Benigno Aquino, students can do electrics, dress making baking, technical drawing etc. Steve and I sat down at breakfast today and tried to peel back our feelings and thoughts about this....while I am a proponent of providing students with skills so that they can go in to a profession, there is a part of me that struggles with the lack of opportunity they have to probably attend college. Economics of the family does play a role in the future of the child. This is obviously not unique to the Philippines and a issue that is a global one. Equity. It also makes me realize that I know little about the college level education system here. Can a student that is in a Vo-Tech path in high school, graduate and then later, go to college? How hard is it to 'switch' once your choices have been made? It's reminding me of being 13 in England when we had to make choices for O levels.....how well did I and how well does anyone know themselves at the age of 13? Coincidently there is an editorial letter in the Philippine Daily Inquirer today that details aspects of this issue and looks at research and attitudes in countries about Vo-tech education. In the upcoming days I get to spend lots of time in one particular school, a private jesuit all boys school, that the current Filipino president graduated from....it will be interesting to be in a school for a while and to see what other observations and issues arise. We began Thursday with a seminar on the Philippine education system. Norberto went in to a lot of detail and tied it in http the history with the impact of the Spanish, Americans and Japanese. Prior to the Spanish leaving, there was no formal education system. In the last 100 years or so it has developed and flourished but is in significant changes right now. Over the next few years, the country is instituting a k-12 system, in effect, adding two more years of high school that currently don't exist. A main reason for this is to bring the Philippines more in line with other east Asian countries and it will make it easier for the Filipinos to study in other countries more equitably. All schools fall under the auspices of the National Department of Education although private schools have more discretionary powers. At the national level, policies are set, standards and learning outcomes and developed as well as else research programs undertaken. The decision to add two more years to the Education system is significant and has has huge ramifications, including changes in the structure of college education, the need for increased facilities as school populations increase and changes to the curriculum at the high school level, with trickle down effects. In addition, instead of teaching specific math and science subject at grades 7 and 8, changes are being introduced where all sciences are taught at each of these levels, so it is no longer just life science for example at 7th grade, but a multitude of topics to reflect the overlap in the sciences. As we learned more about the school system it was interesting to watch and listen to to our reactions....class sizes of 40-60, teachers having to furnish their own computers, two computer labs for a school of 4,000, the use of scripted modules for teaching....so very different to our experiences. The traffic here is nuts. There is no doubt about it. However by day two I am finding that I am not raising my eyebrows anymore and my blood pressure is low and I care not that our bus driver is pulling out perpendicular to the large city bus, and that on our right are four motorcycle buses and four jeepneys crammed full of passengers within six inches of our vehicle. Meanwhile the horse pulling the cart is taking its time, and the cyclist is weaving in and out of everyone. The color, sound, air pollution, and sheer variety depends on what region of the city we are in and indeed what street we are on. It is the morning of Friday June 27th. It's early but somehow we are all still not quite on the right time from traveling. We have done so much in the last couple of days that it is going to be hard to process and make coherent sense of....but here goes. On Wednesday we began the day with an incredible breakfast in the hotel that includes food from all over Asia and Europe...well, the world really. Quite obscene really but tasty. Then we met with Norberto and. Alex, our in-country consultants who are also teachers and they began to talk to to us about the geography and history of the Philippines. What stood out to me during this talk was the amount of recent history and events that are completely significant in bringing the country to its current position.....and it made me sit back and question if there is a 'timeframe' for significant events before a country gets in to a 'lull'....for example is the USA in a lull right now, or is it really more like the human body, where ailments and growth patterns happen at different stages in the life of an individual? The most current news is the impeachment of senators due to misuse of government spending and this is perhaps just the beginning of more things coming to light. In addition, they are working on a peaceful resolve with the peace process in. Mindanao where there is a Muslim minority seeking greater autonomy, and then maritime disputes with China over the South China Sea. While we don't have the same exact issues in New Mexico and the USA, it's interesting to see patterns and correlations across nations. ....corruption, access to resources and delineation of who owns what and who has power and access to rights. In the afternoon we were able to visit the US Embassy. We met with several people including Ambassador Goldberg. As each person spoke about the issues and programs that exist between the Philippines and USA, I began to smile at how insulated I am from the art of foreign policy and diplomacy and how hard it is to do do and how quickly it can change based on sometimes the smallest of events. What I had not considered before very much, although it started in our February meetings in DC, was the role education plays in building relations with different countries. The are many programs that have been developed between the Philippines and the USA, Palme beginning in 1948. Again, as as we all know and are in the midst of, there is nothing more significant than being in a country to learn about it...the stereotypical images are erased and a more internal and genuine understanding arises. So how do we do this more so that our children, no matter what country they are from, have a greater and better understanding of the situation and reality of others. Would the world be a better place if we could accomplish this? How do you balance national pride with global understanding and empathy? Been here less than 24 hours and felt a minor tremor this evening when we were having dinner. ....on the second floor of an old building....surely it will withstand this tremor?...so many more thoughts but time to sleep and process.... Here are some earthquake details from the USGS M5.6 - 14km NNW of Wawa, Philippines2014-06-25 11:52:03 UTCEvent Time
Location13.585°N 120.694°E depth=76.7km (47.7mi) Nearby Cities
We are off to start the day with breakfast, meetings and then to the embassy and some sightseeing. Feel like I am in Miami or alibi NYC from this view |
author: Helen Haskell
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July 2015
Categories“This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State blog. The views and information presented are the
grantee’s own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.” |