The Many Faces of the Teacher 2008

Filipino teachers are more than just plain civil servants. They are mentors and guidance counselors, second parents and friends. They hold in their hands the minds, attitudes and values of future generations.

 

Though we put so much importance on the quality and standards of education in our country, it seems that an education degree is less desirable compared to other more sought-after college courses. This is a challenge by itself and every year many NGO’s and foundations seek to inspire more students to go into the teaching profession and for more teachers to undergo the training that is needed to improve their skills through various programs.

 

One such activity is “The Many Faces of the Teacher”. It is a search for the teacher that best represents the nobility of the teaching profession and who garners the inspiration not only of his students but of each person and life that they encounter.

 

The search and the careful selection of each year’s nominees and finalists have beome a major program of the Bato Balani Foundation Inc (BBFI) when it launched its advocacy campaign for the Many Faces of the Teacher in 2003.

 

This year’s finalists compose of twelve of the most inspiring teachers that we have today. They are examples of ideal teachers – teachers who go beyond what is expected of them, because of their passion and commitment to their profession. The panel of judges or the Advocacy Review Board for this year is composed of: TMFT Honoree for 2004 Dr. Onofre Pagsanghan; Dr Maria Lim Ayuyao, President of the Foundation for Worldwide People Power; Peter Perfecto of the Philippine Business for Education, former DepEd Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz and BBFI Chairman Saturnino G. Belen Jr.

 

The twelve finalists are:

 

Virgina Amanon, is a SPED teacher from Midsayap, Cotobato who has dedicated her life to teaching children with mental retardation. She has garnered numerous local awards for her contribution to her students and her community.

 

Jenelyn Baylon, is a Mobile teacher from Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. She travels distances to reach her students and as with all mobile teachers, they handle multi-level and multi-grade students and classes.

 

Leonides Bulalayao is a High School teacher from Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. A consistent honor student from elementary to college she went on to contribute her knowledge through teaching. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for projects featuring innovative programs for teaching.

 

Simon Chua is a Principal/School Administrator from Zamboanga. The author of numerous books on Mathematics, he is also a sought after speaker and lecturer. His experience and affiliations extend to international as well as local organizations. He is also the first Filipino to be given the Pail Erdos Award granted by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions.

 

Father Ewald Dinter from Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro has committed 40 years of his life to education and development in Mindoro and has lived among the Mangyans and served as their mentor and father figure. He travels as much as nineteen hours, sometimes on foot, to reach his Mangyan students.

 

Margarita Gabriel is from Macrohon, Southern Leyte. Through her guidance and tutelage, their school (Amparo elementary school) was one of the schools to top the National Achievement Tests.

 

Carmelito Lauron is a High School teacher from Consolacion, Cebu. He integrated the use of Information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching and created innovative ICT programs for use by both teachers and students which was recognized by their local government and other award giving bodies.

 

Enrico Morilla is a Mobile Teacher from Bataan. He has been given various awards and recognition for his innovative teaching methods and commitment to working with the Out of School Youth and Indigenous Youth specifically the Aetas in their community. His dedication has helped improve the lives of many students in Bataan.

 

Marcelo Otinguey is a High School teacher from La Trinidad, Benguet. Aside from his commitment as a teacher, he has given a lot of his time to youth development, cultural integration and has been recognized by various government agencies (DepEd, Civil Service Commission, Department of Tourism etc) for his work. He was also a finalist for the Gawad Genny Lopez award for dedicating his life in service for the poor.

 

Marjorie Palomo is the OIC of the Antonio Llamas Elementary School in Bataan. She has also been declared as the Most Outstanding Teacher in the Philippines by the Philippine Public School Teachers Association – one of the most extensive searches for outstanding teachers in the country. She has also consistently maintained high rankings for their school in the National Achievement Tests.

 

Armando Salarza has dedicated over 20 years of his life to music through the Las Pinas Boys Choir and the St. Josephs Academy, Bamboo Organ Foundation Inc. He gained his music and performing arts education from Vienna, Austria and has committed his profession to educating the youth and pushing for excellence in music and the arts.

 

Concepcion Tababa is a Mobile teacher from Tubungan, Iloilo. A multi-awarded teacher she has dedicated her life to the education of the youth and has worked with various NGO’s and LGU’s to promote the causes of the underprivileged.  

 

From the twelve, the list will go down to four. The final four honorees will be presented to the public on 27 September 2008 at the SMEX during Tribute to Teachers, an annual event that brings together the biggest gathering of teachers for a day of togetherness, inspiration and unity for the teaching profession.

 

For more information you may log on to www.batobalani.wordpress.com or email bbfi@diwamail.com.

 

Ching Jorge is the Director for Programs and Research of the Bato Balani Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization focused on uplifting the quality of education in the country. Email Ching at chingjorge@gmail.com.

 

Education for All by 2015, Will we make it?

As published in the Opinion section, Page A13, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 5 April 2008

UNESCO, through its Education for All initiative, posed questions in its Global Monitoring Report on the challenges facing efforts to achieve its target for 2015. The report, aptly titled “Education for All by 2015, Will We Make It?” shows developments in a global scale and cites highlights in each region, in our case, East Asia.

The question that we should ask ourselves is this, “Are we there yet?” EFA [Education for All] has six areas of concern: early childhood care and education, universal primary education, learning needs of young people and adults, adult literacy, gender equality and quality of education. According to the report, the Philippines—along with Cambodia, Guatemala, India and Nicaragua—has notably increased access to pre-primary education. The Adopt-A-School policy has been credited as a contributor to this positive development; incentives are provided to organizations that support this policy. The areas that still need improvement include quality of education, teacher-student ratios, gender equality and adult literacy.

Many organizations focus their efforts on the primary level: Sa Aklat Sisikat Foundation focuses its reading program on Grade 4 students. Union Bank of the Philippines addresses the needs of Grade 2 and 3 students in reading and values formation. The Bright Minds Read program of Ronald McDonald House Charities focuses on Grade 1 students. Petron Foundation’s Tulong Aral, which provides scholarships and meal allowances to Grade 1-6 students, recently had its first batch of graduates; under this very successful program, which was started six years ago, 1,000 students were able to graduate. Gawad Kalinga’s Sibol schools focus on the needs of preschool children in our marginalized sectors. Bato Balani Foundation has partnered with many of these organizations and provides educational materials and training for teachers and librarians, with focus on the primary and secondary level. Other organizations have also begun to set aside funds to enhance the quality of Math and Science education in both the primary and secondary level. There are many more organizations that deserve credit; many of them are corporate foundations which donate up to P1 billion annually to the cause of quality education.

If we take a look at the National Achievement Tests for Grade 6, its results in school year 2005-2006 show an overall Mean Percentage Score (MPS) of 54.5 percent, a decline from the previous year of 58.7 percent. But in school year 2006-2007, the overall MPS rose to 59.94 percent. As to the national ranking, the top 10—out of 186 participating provinces and cities in all regions—were: (in order) Southern Leyte, Ormoc City, Batangas, Digos City, Balanga City, Romblon, Maasin City, Eastern Samar, Calapan City, Siargao. In the National Capital Region, the Makati recorded the highest MPS (37th in the national ranking), while Quezon City got the lowest (146th in the national ranking). Sulu ranked 186th nationally.

The performance of the different provinces and cities indicate that collaboration between and among schools, communities and local government units is effective. EFA has recognized the distinct role and contribution of civil society in pushing for reforms and in providing aid and support for education. But education reform can be made more effective if we establish systems and processes for multi-sector collaboration with the local government as the “lead arm.”

Therefore, politicizing education reform makes a lot of sense. There are many initiatives and programs seen to be effective in improving the quality of education—all with very valid and laudable objectives; and the Department of Education has taken initiatives—most recently with the Education Summit—to bring together all sectors and get inputs for reform. Unfortunately, policy statements only end up just that—as policy statements. Cascading the implementation process down to the lowest level in the educational hierarchy needs to be seen and the local governments need to take a larger role in education reform.

As we move closer to the national elections in 2010, education stakeholders in the public and private sectors must begin to consider mobilizing campaigns pushing for education as a priority and critical agenda in political platforms. The voting public, most particularly the youth, must make the education agenda a major criterion for supporting political parties and individuals in both the national and local levels. We must make sure that political statements made on education during the election campaign are backed by solid data and speak of doable programs that can effect change in the education system; in other words, they must not remain as statements.

As the Foundation for Worldwide People Power puts it, we need an Education Revolution.

With proper policies, strong and consistent leadership in education, and the support of local governments and collaboration with the community and civil society, we might actually make some if not all the targets for EFA in 2015.

Natalie Christine “Ching” Jorge is the VP/Director for Programs and Research of the Bato Balani Foundation Inc. Jorge is also the lead convenor for the Young Public Servants (YPS-InciteGov) and chair of the Research committee of the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF). For comments/inquiries email: chingjorge@gmail.com or bbfi@diwamail.com, www.batobalani.wordpress.com, www.yps.org.ph.

A Tribute to Teachers (PDI Commentary)

COMMENTARY
‘A Tribute To Teachers’

 

By Ching Jorge

 

MANILA, Philippines — Today 15,000 teachers will gather at the Araneta Coliseum to celebrate the nobility of being a teacher. Over the years the face of the Filipino teacher has not changed. They are underpaid and overworked, and yet they are tasked to form the foundation of our future — by educating the Filipino youth.

Ours is a culture that puts little value on the teaching profession. Even teachers themselves seem to acknowledge this by adopting a “teacher lang” attitude, when in fact, it is the only profession that has a hand in shaping the nation’s future. Future leaders, businessmen, entrepreneurs, home-based professionals, all have their teachers to thank for their education.

Our teachers carry a heavy burden, in their hands lie the formation of the hearts and minds of the youth while they themselves have to embody the values and principles that they teach. Though far from perfect, we have many teachers who silently fulfill this task without asking for recognition or attention.

Teachers who put the country above themselves and their families to protect our votes; teachers who walk kilometers each day to reach their students who are waiting in their makeshift classrooms to learn; teachers who share their own meager salaries with students who cannot afford to buy books, pencils or food; teachers who act as second parents to abused, neglected students seeking love and attention not provided in their homes; teachers who have chosen to stay in the profession despite other better offers abroad or locally because they uphold the greater return of an inspired and educated youth. They are the “Filipino teacher” who lives for the benefit of her students.

Giving due recognition is one thing, but to enable policy changes to effect the needed upgrading of standards for our teachers is another. How can we improve the quality of our education system when the very basic issue of compensation for teachers cannot be settled? The private sector has not been remiss in its duties to uplift the quality of education; in fact it makes sure that its efforts support the Department of Education’s programs and policies. But the education department’s frequent change of leadership has made it difficult for the agency to follow through and maintain its programs

What is more alarming is that the education crisis is not even about just public schools anymore but private schools as well. Only a number of top-tier private schools can be labeled as successful, with the remaining private schools having to contend with students shifting from private to public and the lack of policy support.

Education expert Mario Taguiwalo and former Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad contend that the reform process in our education system is essentially political and it is important to recognize it as such.

Private sector resource mobilization efforts, such as the 57-75 campaign, are commendable and are steps toward creating a deeper awareness of — and triggering — structural changes in education. But the key still lies in the leadership and reform process within the education department.

Much still needs to be done, but we should celebrate our victories — the things that give us hope, that allow us to strive harder and aim higher. Our teachers are one of them.

The Philippines is highly respected in the specialized field of robotics. In the World Robotics Olympiad held in China last year, our students competed against the best of the best among 16 countries. We won the Gold Medal in the Open category for the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities in Tanauan City, Batangas, and the Best Team Spirit for Grace Christian High School.

Mylene Abiva of FELTA Multi-media — organizers of the Philippine Robotics Olympiad — said that the Philippines is indeed making a name for itself in the field of robotics.

The Department of Science and Technology is taking this on as a project for the youth. It takes a different skill set — one that involves creativity and innovation — EQ rather than IQ. It goes to show that there are other, more critical areas wherein which our youth can excel. More than just creating batches of American-accented English speakers for call centers, we can still venture into other areas that tap the resourcefulness and creativity of our youth.

This is the time for us to work hand-in-hand with our teachers to discover new areas of congruence, new solutions to old problems. It is time for us to thank them for the years of educating our children, for being role models and inspiring hope for our country.

Today we give honor to the countless, nameless heroes of our nation: our teachers.

“A Tribute To Teachers,” organized annually by the Bato Balani Foundation Inc. celebrates the nobility of the teaching profession. It also gives recognition, through the program “Many Faces of the Teacher,” to some of the most outstanding educators in the country.

Ching Jorge is the director for Programs and Research of the Bato Balani Foundation Inc., a non-profit organization focused on uplifting the quality of education in the country. Email Ching at chingjorge@gmail.com.