Hasty preparations mar implementation of K to 12 program

“We have pointed out even before that the government should address the shortages first before they throw money into the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum. It is like wasting money while nothing is being solved.” – France Castro, Master Teacher in Mathematics and ACT Teachers’ Party second nominee.

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL Bulatlat.com

MANILA – The Department of Education is implementing the second phase of the K to 12 curriculum in grades two and eight or second year high school for the academic year 2013-2014. However, France Castro, second nominee of the ACT Teachers’ Party and a Master Teacher in Mathematics said the problems identified in last year’s implementation of the new curriculum have not yet been addressed.

“Teachers who attended the recent training said there is still no teaching module for grades two and eight. Modules for grades one and seven, which were implemented last year, are not yet complete,” Castro told Bulatlat.com.

“It is much like going to war without weapons,” said Castro referring to the incomplete modules and textbooks for the implementation of the K to 12 program. “There is nothing new, really, as we said before, the implementation was in haste. There are not enough materials to use, and if there is, it is insufficient; not all affected teachers have their own copies,” Castro said adding that the burden to reproduce the modules is left to the teachers. Teachers also had to improvise because there are no teaching guides and modules for grades one and seven last year. Now, Castro said, teachers are facing the same problems.

The K to 12 program is the flagship program of the government of President Benigno S. Aquino III. It initially implemented the first phase of the program for grades one and seven last school year 2012-2013, while the Universal Kindergarten was implemented earlier in school year 2011-2012. The implementation was started even before the K to 12 Act or RA 10533, the Enhance Basic Education Act of 2013 was signed into law by Aquino recently.

“Naninindigan pa rin po tayo sa ipinangako nating pagbabago sa edukasyon: ang gawing itong sentral na estratihiya sa pamumuhunan sa pinakamahalaga nating yaman: ang mamamayang Pilipino. Sa K to 12, tiwala tayong mabibigyan-lakas si Juan dela Cruz upang mapaunlad – hindi lamang ang kanyang sarili at pamilya – kundi maging ang buong bansa,” (We are still true to our promise to implement changes in the education system. Central to this strategy is our investment in our most important resource: the Filipino people. With the K to 12 program, we are confident that we could equip Juan de la Cruz to develop not only himself and his family but the whole country as well.) the President said in his speech during the launching of the K to 12 program in April last year.

But progressive groups are not convinced. They have pointed out, even before the Universal Kindergarten was implemented, that the so-called ‘education reform’ of the Aquino government would not solve the perennial problems of the education system in the Philippines.

“We have pointed out even before that the government should address the shortages first before they throw money into the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum. It is like wasting money while nothing is being solved,” Castro told Bulatlat.com.

No evaluation after one year of implementation

According to a paper on the education system produced by the Kabataan Party, the government is not ready to implement the K to 12 program. “With RA 10533 signed into law, basic education institutions will be compelled to follow the new program, despite the fact that there has been no concrete scientific evaluation of the program’s efficiency and effectiveness after its first year of implementation. In fact, the curriculums for grades two and eight have just been completed and will be haphazardly implemented this school year without any proper assessment.”

Same as last year, teachers interviewed by Bulatlat.com said the curriculum for the whole school year 2012-2013 has yet to be finished.

The implementation has also caused confusion as the mother tongue as a subject was introduced. “Some reports coming from teachers who handle grade one reveal that children are confused because of the use of the mother tongue,” said Castro. In the K to 12, mother tongue is a separate subject from grades one to three aside from Filipino. The medium used in teaching all subjects in grades one to three is also the mother tongue. For example, in the National Capital Region, the mother tongue is in Filipino, thus, the medium used in teaching subjects like Math, is in Filipino. By the third grading period, English is introduced.

Castro said their office received numerous reports regarding this. “In Cagayan Valley province, for one, their mother language is Ibanag; teachers, therefore, teach subjects using the Ibanag language. By the second semester, they shift to English so the children are getting confused.”

Louie Zabala, third year Social Studies teacher at the F.G. Calderon High School in Manila and president of ACT-Manila said for as long as the needed materials to teach the K to 12 curriculum, such as modules and other learning materials, are not complete then the objective to produce more competent students is futile.

“Last year when the K to 12 curriculum was first implemented in grade seven, teachers were confused on how to teach using the new curriculum. The modules were distributed late, and when it arrived the copies were insufficient. The teachers have to shell out their own money so that they can have their own copies,” Zabala said in an interview with Bulatlat.com. He said the modules arrived by the second half of the school year, and by the end of the school year, the modules for the whole school year were still incomplete.

Zabala also said the training of teachers for grade eight is also too short. “The teachers undergo training for one week and there are not enough reference materials. How could a teacher effectively teach the new curriculum using limited materials?”

Zabala added, “In the new curriculum, the teachers would have to involve students in activities rather than use workbooks. The teachers would have to use technology and other materials for better absorption of the learnings by the students. While the intention is good, however, teachers would have to produce the materials needed for the new methodology on their own. Once again the teachers would have to shell out or produce what they need from their own pockets,” Zabala said.

“That is why,” Zabala said, “no matter how much the government tries to show that it is instituting reforms in the education system, the same old problems greet students every school year and it is even getting worse.”

“The solution of the government would always be not suitable or applicable to the existing problems for as long as the major stakeholders – the teachers, the students, and the parents – are not involved in planning and implementing such reforms. And as we have said before, the government would have to address the fundamental needs of our education system. It’s much like, before students learn about cosign or algebra or algorithm they would have to learn the basics of arithmetic first,” Zabala added.

“The K-12 scenario bodes ill for millions of basic education students, as it adds more burdens while ignoring the chronic crisis in the country’s basic education system,” Kabataan Party-list said.

Producing more cheap labor

The additional two years of the K to 12 program are called senior high school (SHS), comprising grades 11 and 12. The first four years, grades seven to 10, are called junior high school.

According to www.gov.ph/k-12/, “Senior High School is two years of specialized upper secondary education; students may choose their specialization based on aptitude, interests, and school capacity. The choice of career track will define the content of the subjects a student will take in grades 11 and 12. The SHS subjects fall under either the core curriculum or specific tracks.”

Grades 11 and 12 students can choose from technical-vocational-livelihood; academic; sports and arts. According to DepEd, after finishing a technical-vocational-livelihood track in grade 12, a student may obtain a National Certificate Level II (NC II), provided he/she passes the competency-based assessment of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The NC I or Certificate of Competency (COC) is obtained after students graduate from grade 10.

“The NC II improves the employability of graduates in fields like Agriculture, Electronics and Trade,” the government website read.

“That is the main objective of the K to 12 program: to produce semi-skilled workers for the country’s supply of cheap and docile labor. At the age of 17 or 18, the youth would already be peddled to multinational companies. Where do semi-skilled workers go? To factories, to big foreign companies where they work as slave labor,” said Zabala.

Zabala added that with the worsening unemployment situation in the Philippines, graduating from grade 12 is no guarantee that one would land a job.

Meanwhile, Kabataan Party-list said, the Philippines, which has a predominantly young population, has the highest overall unemployment rate in East Asia and the Pacific Region. It also has the highest youth unemployment rate, according to a 2003 study by the World Bank. “Young Filipinos are twice as likely to be unemployed than those in older age groups. This condition was further worsened when the economic recession kicked in because of massive retrenchment and lay-offs.”

Therefore, the group said, the K to 12 program is designed to reinforce the production of cheap semi-skilled labor for foreign needs. “The current proposal adopted by neoliberal pro-globalization die-hards aims to meet standards for ‘global competitiveness’ and demands of the ‘international labor market for semi-skilled labor.’”

Kabataan Party-list said the K to 12 intends to strengthen the colonial orientation of Philippine education: to serve the cheap labor needs of foreign capital and businesses. “Our education system must have a pro-Filipino orientation and must serve the needs of our nation and people.”

Zabala added, “What we need to produce are more professionals or scientists who will help us industrialize the country. We don’t need the K to 12 program that intends merely to produce semi-skilled workers for exploitation by multinational companies, which profit from our cheap labor.

Effective Classroom Management Is About Getting Pupils To Follow Your Instructions Every Time

Classroom Management | By: See Author Box (03/18/07)

by Rob Johnson

When we are put in stressful situations the directions and instructions we give out to pupils who are annoying us are often very unclear and often impulsive. As such they virtually guarantee conflict when they are stated.

Children become confused unless the instructions we give them are very specific - especially when they are in a state of anxiety themselves.

Vague instructions give them choice, and if you want them to behave in a certain, specific way, you need to tell them exactly what that specific way entails - choice is the last thing you want to give them.

Let's not also forget that a large proportion of pupils in our classes are EBD, ADHD or on the autistic spectrum and as such, have a genuine need for unambiguous, precise instructions.

The following example illustrates this need perfectly:

At the first EBD centre I taught in, the pupils (11-14yrs) were allowed on the yard at break to play football.

These sessions were a living nightmare for whoever was on duty because even when the boys were given explicit instructions to "walk down to the yard quietly", they were unable to contain themselves for more than a few steps before tearing off shouting and yelling at the tops of their voices and running wild in the school grounds.

The solution to this problem came when I remembered that the same 'chunking' method I used in class with these boys, whereby their work was broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks, would be necessary in all their activities if they were to be kept under control.

The instructions, which sound incredibly pedantic, broke the short 200 yard journey into very small segments and went something like this...

"Stand silently behind your chairs." (wait for them to stand in silence before giving next instruction) "Walk across the hall to the fire door and wait in line." "Go though the doors and walk down the corridor to the outside doors. Wait in line at the doors, don't go through them." "Now walk to the gate and wait in line."

.. and so on.

At every stage, if a child misbehaved in any way they were sent back to the previous door to have another go at following the instructions properly. And in their eagerness to get to the yard, they complied every time!

Whenever a child continued to play up, they were calmly reminded that the consequence of their silliness was that they were missing their break. Again, this usually resulted in a compliant child without the need for tantrums from either the staff or the pupil concerned.

These extremely tight, precise instructions transformed break-times from a living hell into an enjoyable activity for everyone. The boys appreciated the tight boundaries because they could have a full 20 minutes of football - whereas before, they weren't even getting a game started; and the staff were no longer having to spend 20 very stressful minutes chasing wild boys round the grounds, and then a further hour calming them down in class.

By giving directions that are specific and unambiguous, we alleviate the need for us to raise our voices or get annoyed and we eliminate all tension from the situation.

The key is that the child's options are reduced to a minimum and they know exactly what is expected of them and exactly what they have to do in order to succeed. Isn't that better than repeating a vague command over and over again, becoming more exasperated and frustrated each time we are ignored?

Here's another example to show how vague instructions are such a waste of time...

On the way back from the yard at break one day, Mark was deliberately lagging behind, bouncing the football.

"Come on Mark, quick... Hurry up Mark, lessons have started... Mark! Break's over Mark!... Come on... Quickly Mark!... Mark!... Stop that and hurry up!"

After a few minutes of totally ignoring the first yells from the teacher Mark eventually complied perfectly with the final request - "Stop that and hurry up" - by standing still and bouncing the ball as fast as he could, with a sly grin!

Mark then proceeded to enjoy the undivided attention of two members of staff as they altered their approach from friendly cajoling and encouragement to aggressive shouting and frustrated threats. The incident tied up all three of them for the whole morning as Mark became more and more abusive and aggressive - incensed at the unfair punishment he believed he was receiving.

Had the teacher altered her instruction slightly at the beginning, the situation could have been very different. By giving one clear, specific direction and an explanation of the consequence for not complying, she could have remained in total control, Mark could have returned to lessons and the other member of staff would have been free to teach his

"Mark break is over. You need to bring the ball here now otherwise you will be paying time back next break."

You'll see how this incident could have been resolved calmly and efficiently - even if Mark had still refused to follow the instructions when you read The Three Requests Technique in my new ebook - "Magic Classroom Management - How To Get The Most From The Worst Kids In School"

Lapu school bags awards in 'Save the Corals' art tilt

The Marie Ernestine School campuses in Lapu-Lapu City and barangay Talamban in Cebu City bagged several awards in the "Art of the Triangle" contest sponsored by Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa last June 9.

The contest was aimed to show support for saving the corals surrounding the "Coral Triangle," a triangular area of the tropical waters of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste that contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each ecoregion.

All entries highlighted the protection of corals and the different bodies of water.

The contest was divided into elementary and high school categories.

The winners in the elementary division were all from Marie Ernestine School, namely Marie Ernestine Dominice F. Pegarido (first place), Janna Victoria D. Torralba (second place) and Prince Albert Redido (third).

In the high school division, Iolo Juan Emphasis and James Hans Nave Uy from the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu placed first and second respectively, while Mae Marie Alliana Manubag from Marie Ernestine School placed third.

The said contest did not only bring fun memories to the students but also make them realize the importance of corals.

- See more at: http://cebudailynews.ph/news/story/11829/lapu-school-bags-awards-in-save-the-corals-art-tilt#sthash.HFCQE38f.dpuf

 http://cebudailynews.ph/news/story/11829/lapu-school-bags-awards-in-save-the-corals-art-tilt

K-12 (Future of Philippine Education)

Mangyan’s lit-num schools face seemingly insurmountable challenges

The schools of the Mangyans have to deal with shortages, water being cut off during heavy rains, and harassments from the military. But they persist and are even planning to expand.

Read also: All the Mangyans want is for their children to learn

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Edgar Banaw, 25, a Hanunuo-Mangyan, has been teaching at the literacy school of their community in Sitio Gaang, village of Panatayan, Mansalay, Mindoro. He is called a “para-teacher,” as he is not a licensed teacher under the Professional Regulatory Commission. But for five years now, he has been teaching Mangyan children in their sitio or sub-village the “nine basic lines, the Filipino alphabet, numeracy and literacy.” Banaw was encouraged to teach by fellow Hanunuo and pioneer lit-num teacher in Mansalay, Ernie Uybad. Two years older than Banaw, Uybad first taught Mangyan children and even elders to read and write in 2007.

Uybad first taught in another sitio after talking with Mangyan leaders, and then he became a volunteer-teacher under the Integrated Development Program for Indigenous Peoples (IDPIP) of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)-Southern Luzon Jurisdiction. He took seminars on teaching and school administration. He trained other Mangyans to become teachers and one of them is Banaw.

Shy and soft-spoken, Banaw describes his pupils, the children as energetic, sometimes to the point that classes are disrupted. But if he has any problem with the children, he said, he just talks to the parents. The problem is usually acted upon immediately.

Literacy-numeracy schools like the one where Banaw teaches regularly hold meetings with parents to discuss the development of their children. In these meetings, the parents ask them how their kids are doing.

They conduct classes under the trees. Banaw said they have a school classroom, but sometimes, he said, under the tree is just as good as any place to teach the children the nine basic lines, reading and writing.

He said they hold classes only on Mondays and Tuesdays every week, because the schoolhouse is far from where some of the children live. Young students have to start walking at 5 a.m. just to get to the school at 7 a.m., Banaw said. It is not that the school is in a different sitio, he said. It is just that for some of their students, there is no straight, easy route to the school. The children have to trek up and down the safer side of the mountain to get to their school.

The students’ ages range from 5 to 12 years old, Banaw said. There are also the occasional elders who wanted to learn to sign their own name, at least.

Given the relatively wide age range of students in his class, how does he teach them? Banaw replied that it is not really difficult, though he admitted that teaching older persons, especially those older than him, can sometimes be more trying.

“Teaching older persons is harder. You give them a separate set of stories and instructions. They don’t always follow the instructions. Besides, they have more distractions. They have a lot of work to do.”

Aya Andig, 22, another Hanunuo-Mangyan para-teacher in a different sitio of Panatayan village in Mansalay, Mindoro, told Bulatlat.com that they also have older students who want to learn to at least write and sign their own name. But the older ones find it difficult to focus on their lessons.

Older persons, he said, seem to find it harder to learn the basic lessons. Some just give up in the end and go home or go to their work.

Challenge to Mangyan literacy schools

Aside from the periodic visits and questioning by the military, Mangyan literacy schools regularly grapple with the problem of lack of higher education to give to their older students. Once their students graduate from the literacy schools, the next step is to enter the elementary or high school system. However, these schools are often situated farther from their communities.

In fact, even their literacy schools can already prove a challenge to their students, given that their makeshift houses are scattered up in the mountains, where they live by farming and hunting.

Banaw and Andig said parents find it hard to send their children even to their literacy school because they have no food to send to their kids when they leave the house.

Their school’s source of water is sometimes cut off, especially during typhoons and hard rains. Mangyan communities source their water from springs in the mountains. They connect a hose from the spring to the community schoolhouse. When rains come down the mountain though, the spring water could be contaminated and they would not have clean water for days. Sometimes, as what happened to Edgar Banaw’s lit-num (literacy-numeracy) school, they have no money to replace a damaged hose, even if it costs less than a thousand pesos. Though their houses may be in the mountains, Banaw said, they also suffer from floods and flashfloods.

Like other Mangyans, Banaw and Andig also work the fields planting bananas and other root crops. These are what they regularly eat. They have rice only when they have money. And they earn money only when they sell their bananas or root crops at the weekly market.

The two para-teachers said that like other Mangyans living in far-flung communities, they also experience harassment from the military. They told Bulatlat.com that the women especially feel threatened, when soldiers ask them the whereabouts of the New Peoples’ Army as they make their way to the field. Almost every three years, the para-teachers recall instances when the women could not venture out of their community to work at their field for fear of the military.

At least, their lit-num schools have continued operating. Four others have remained closed after last year’s intensive military operations, the Haggibat leaders said during their annual Mangyan Day, held every April since 2008. They are still working to reopen their abandoned lit-num schools, and to open new ones in other Mangyan communities, so the children won’t have to trek two hours just to get to the school. 

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Philippines' failing schools

educational materials and facilities of public schools in the Philippines

Balikatan 2013-Maruglo Elementary School Visit (Capas, Tarlac province)

Preschool pupils must not be over 5—DepEd

By Dona Z. Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Read more:  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/306252/preschool-pupils-must-not-be-over-5-deped#ixzz2Wnl9f2up
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How old should a child in preschool be?

With kindergarten now mandatory under the K to 12 program, the Department of Education (DepEd) has required preschools and day care centers to comply with the standard requisite age for preschoolers.

The preschool age should normally be up to 5 years old only, since by 6 years old a child is expected to be in Grade 1, according to the DepEd.

Under Republic Act No. 10157 or the universal public kindergarten program passed last year, the DepEd made one year of kindergarten compulsory and a prerequisite to entering Grade 1.

Kindergarten is free to 5-year-olds in the public elementary schools under the K to 12 basic education reform program, which consists of kindergarten, six years of elementary, two years of junior high and two years of senior high school.

“Private (pre)schools should follow (the standard),” Education Undersecretary for Programs and Projects Yolanda Quijano said.

“Whether they have nursery, kinder 1 or kinder 2 levels, they should now follow [the standard] that kinder is for 5-year-olds and Grade 1 is for 6-year-olds,” she said.

Quijano clarified that while the DepEd required only one year of kindergarten, parents who can afford private day care centers or preschools can have their children start school as young as 3 or 4 years old to prepare them for regular schooling.

Before the mandatory kindergarten, some private preschools had pupils as old as 6 and 7 years old.

Quijano said that having “over-age” or older than 5 years old pupils in kindergarten would apply only to exceptional cases such as a child who has learning issues.

“In other countries, there are Grade 1 students who are 6 or 7 years old. But for us now, Grade 1 is for 6-year-olds,” she said.

For kindergarten, the DepEd said the pupil’s mother tongue or the language used at home shall be the primary medium of instruction under the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) method adopted under the K to 12

program.

Around 1.7 million 5-year-old children are currently enrolled in kindergarten in both public and private schools, according to Quijano.

But the DepEd believes that not all 5-year-olds this year were able to enroll in kindergarten.

Quijano said they would conduct a summer kinder program at the end of the school year for incoming 6-year-old Grade 1 students who missed kindergarten.

Read more:  http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/306252/preschool-pupils-must-not-be-over-5-deped#ixzz2Wnkp6IHT
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The Problem of Rural Education in the Philippines

March 2, 2010 by Josh Weinstein

In this journal, I have discussed the relationship between education, poverty alleviation, and economic development. The link is critical and the three are self-reinforcing.  Education creates greater opportunities for the youth, who go on to work decent jobs in cities like Bacolod, Manila, and Cebu.  The children remit money back to the parents, who spend on home improvements and the tuition fees for the younger siblings.  College-educated individuals are much less likely to end up impoverished (about 1 in 44).  Trade schools also create opportunities, with only one in 10 people with post-secondary degrees living below the poverty line.  Unfortunately, the ratios drop precipitously after that.  One in three high school graduates and half of elementary school grads are impoverished.  Here are the sobering education statistics:

The long-term outlook for poverty reduction doesn’t look good either, unfortunately. We all know that there is a very strong link between education (or lack of education) and poverty—two-thirds of our poor families have household heads whose highest educational attainment is at most Grade 6. Well, the education statistics (all from the NSCB ) tell a very sad tale: elementary school net participation rates (NPR)—the proportion of the number of enrollees 7-12 years old to population 7-12 years old—have plummeted from 95 percent in school year (SY) 1997-98 to 74 percent in 2005-2006, as have high school NPRs.

Cohort survival rates (CSR) have also dropped: Out of every 100 children who enter Grade 1, only 63 will reach Grade 6, down from 69 children in 1997-1998. In high school, CSR have dropped even more: from 71 to 55. Which means, of course, that school dropout rates have increased. Which is one of the reasons why, in 2005-2006, for the first time in 35 years, total enrollment decreased in both elementary and high school: although private school enrollment increased, public school enrollment went down more.

The correlation is not difficult to see, but fixing the problem presents a challenge for several reasons.  According to some observers, the Department of Education Culture and Sports (DECS) in the Philippines is one of the most corrupt government entities in the country.  It has a budget equal to 12% of spending, but is riddled with graft from procurement (buying textbooks and other supplies), grease money, and bribes for just about any sort of movement within the bureaucracy.  The impact on the education system is detrimental:

Embezzlement, nepotism, influence peddling, fraud and other types of corruption also flourish. Corruption has become so institutionalized that payoffs have become the lubricant that makes the education bureaucracy run smoothly. The result: an entire generation of Filipino students robbed of their right to a good education.

This corruption leads to poor allocation of resources.  Teachers are underpaid and treated poorly.  In 2005, the Philippine government spent just $138 per student, compared to $852 in Thailand, another developing country in Southeast Asia.  But graft and corruption are not the only issues.  Poverty is a vicious cycle that leads traps generations of families.

About 80% of the Filipino poor live in the rural areas of the country.  These are towns located deep in the mountains and the rice fields.  The population density in the rural parts of the country is low, and there is a corresponding deficiency in schools and classrooms.  Public school is free, but families still cannot afford to send their children for a complicated network of reasons.  In this editorial for the Pinoy Press, one author delineates the key issue:

With around 65 million Filipinos or about 80 percent of the population trying to survive on P96 ($2) or less per day, how can a family afford the school uniforms, the transportation to and from school, the expenses for school supplies and projects, the miscellaneous expenses, and the food for the studying sibling? More than this, with the worsening unemployment problem and poverty situation, each member of the family is being expected to contribute to the family income. Most, if not all, out-of-school children are on the streets begging, selling cigarettes, candies, garlands, and assorted foodstuffs or things, or doing odd jobs.

Beyond the selling goods on the street, children in farming families are expected to work in the fields during harvest time.  In agriculture-based communities where farming is the primary livelihood, having children around to help with the work means more income for the family.  In a recent trip to Valladolid, someone told me that children are paid 15 pesos for a day’s work in the blistering heat.  They are pulled from school for two or three months at a time and are irreparably disadvantaged compared with their classmates.  So, they may have to repeat the grade, only to be pulled out of school again next year.

Transportation is another big problem.  Kids walk 2-3 kilometers or more to and from school every day.  They have to cross rivers and climb hills with their bookbags.  The ones that can afford it take a tricycle, but that is a luxury.  Schools are sometimes too far for the most remote communities to practically access.  So the families can’t afford to pay and the children are pulled from school.

It seems like an intractable problem.  Corruption in the education bureaucracy and a lack of resources make delivering a high-quality education to all Filipinos a challenge.  Microfinance is one way to help.  With the assistance of microcredit loans, women can pay for the education of their children – to purchase uniforms, textbooks, lunches, and rides to school.  Also, by creating another source of income other than farming, the children do not have to come help the family work the fields.  When I talk to NWTF clients about their dreams, they unfailingly say they hope for their children to “finish their studies.” History has shown that it is an achievable goal.  But real systemic change needs to come from above.  As long as corruption and bureaucracy paralyzes the system, the goal of delivering a decent education to children – which pays dividends to the country in the long run – will remain out of reach.

For the rural poor, non-profits exist to help in the mission of education.  While looking up pictures for this post, I came across a Filipino organization called theGamot Cogon (“Grass Roots”) Institute:

The Gamot Cogon Institute (a non-stock, non-profit organization) is an Iloilo-based cultural institution working to transform society through human development approaches including education and training. GCI also prototypes or demonstrates alternative approaches to education, agriculture, health, and full human development.

DepEd policy protects children from bullying

By Nikka Garriga

PASIG CITY, METRO MANILA—The Department of Education (DepEd) issued a landmark policy that aims to protect children from violence in the school environment, including bullying.

The Child Protection Policies and Guidelines will safeguard the welfare of children from all forms of violence and exploitation that may be inflicted by adults, persons of authority, and their fellow students.

The policy will be used to develop information, reporting system and recommendation to address and prevent child abuse.

In brief, the guideline listed down the specific acts leading to abuse and violence that public and private schools can use to address what the bureau states as a “silent but very social” problem.

A Child Protection Committee (CPC) will be established in all private and public elementary and secondary schools. The committee will be composed of school officials, teachers, parents, students, and a community representative.

One of the committee's duties is to draft a code of conduct and a plan ensuring the safety and protection of children, which will be reviewed every three years.

All schools are tasked to build the capabilities of its personnel, students and parents to understand what child abuse is and how to deal with such issues through seminars, positive peer relationship, and emotional competence.

“The objective of the policy is to observe and promote zero tolerance on any act of child abuse, exploitation, violence, discrimination, bullying, and other forms of abuse in school,” said DepEd secretary Armin Luistro.

Schools are likewise encouraged to use training modules that include positive and nonviolent discipline methods in the class setting.