CABATANGAN, ZAMBOANGA CITY

MAY 18-21, 2009

 

By Khong Tawasil

 

Chinese writer and inventor Lin Yutang once said, “Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence”. 

 

To show our gratitude to USAID, EQuALLS2 and Synergeia for opening this road towards quality education in the ARMM region, we started the training with a prayer that every mentor’s heart will be full of hope and that pessimism will have no place in the group. (I think the prayer was answered because right after the opening program, some of them started were waving their USBs asking for a copy of “The Parable of the Four Candles”.) 

                                                                                 

The first day was spent for the refresher course focused on Science Process Skills and TIMSS Cognitive Domains.  Aside from the sample questions given by the UP trainers, we also used the questionnaire from the Third International Math and Science Study. The participants were very cooperative and they concentrated on answering the TIMSS and some of them even skipped their snacks. They were very enthusiastic when answers were being checked.  At the end of the day, they were reminded of their assignment to create a science activity following the scientific method and assessment items.

 

The 3-day core training (course 2) started on the second day.  The topics were based on items taken up in the classroom during the first two grading periods of each grade level from Grades 1 to VI.  These are selected topics in the Life Sciences – Human Beings, Plants and Animals.

 

The venue for the training was very conducive for activities on plants and animals. They could easily collect organisms such as grasshoppers, fish, algae, frogs and millipedes. Everybody was excited to go out with buri hats on their heads and a magnifying glass or fish net in their hands.  It was really heart-warming to see them running after flying and hopping animals.

 

It was also during this day when they were given the books provided by the EDC spearheaded by Ms. Melai. They were able to use these as references in answering some of the questions in the activities and in finishing their assignments (science activity and assessment items). The participants hope to receive more references in the future. 

 

The lesson on ecosystems can never be completely fulfilled without a field trip.  Nobody and nothing can thwart their excitement for the field trip.  Since Cluster 5 and 6 had the highest number of participants, they couldn’t be accommodated in just one shuttle bus. The ladies sat patiently (while holding their buri hats) for almost an hour while waiting for the guys to finish using the shuttle bus.

 

After the field trip, they expressed their hopes of bringing their students to the aviary and butterfly garden someday.  Some of them even approached their supervisors about the possibility of having a field trip from Jolo to Zamboanga.

 

A moviemaker on “Kapaligiran” prepared by Teacher Rose (one of the trainers) was shown to all the clusters at the end of the day and made an impact to them as Science teachers. Again, almost everybody wanted to have a copy of it.

 

The mentor participants showed their passion in Science, unceasingly participating with all of their hearts as discussions on the ecosystem, different plant processes, feeding relationships and human body systems flew around them. They generously shared their brilliant ideas. They were very willing to learn new things, re-learn for the better and unlearn the misconceptions that they had before.

 

In the afternoon on the last day (after the critiquing), a moviemaker showing all their pictures taken during the training were presented to them and they were in high spirits when they saw it – cheering and laughing at the stolen shots taken.

 

Somewhere in the middle of the closing program (before the certificates were distributed), a short movie entitled “Make a Difference” was shown to the group.  Right away, the exultant atmosphere gave way to suppressed weeping.  A challenge was placed in their hands – to also “make a difference” when they go back to their respective sites.  Most of them were nodding and wiping their cheeks at the same time.

 

The core mentors’ training in science culminated with high hopes and encouragement from the PMT members who were present from the first day to the last day of the training.