Parents of elementary and high school students of Valenzuela City recently attended “Nanay-Tatay Teacher” training camps organized by the city government on November 15-16, November 16-17 and November 27, and facilitated by Synergeia mentors.  We are pleased to see many parents in attendance–there were 150 to 200 participants per workshop schedule – – and we are so heartened by their commitment to become better “teachers” of their children at home.

One activity that was quite interesting was on gender sensitivity.  Parents were asked what comes to mind when describing a “man,” “woman,” “lesbian” and “gay.”  Here are some of their responses:   A   female is the home maker  and  carer of the family, loving and affectionate, emotional,  submissive  and a nagger.  The male is the breadwinner  and   head of the family: superior, domineering, and physically strong, hardworking and responsible.  On the other hand, a lesbian  is  labeled as  macho, demonstrative, generous, possessive, and tends to be the jealous type.  A  gay person  is described as flirt, creative,  loud, has a happy disposition, soft-hearted, and sociable.

While having distinct roles and characterizations, gender sensitivity also means understanding and not stereotyping what a man, woman, lesbian and gay can do or feel.  With Sir Wacky’s guidance, one group reflected that a woman is caring but  a man, by being the provider for his family, shows care to his loved ones.  The characteristic of caring for another also came up when this group described a lesbian and a gay.

Teaching children to be gender sensitive and avoid biases might be tricky but one mother shared how she did it with her four sons while they were growing up.  She insisted that each of her sons took his turn washing the dishes, and that the chore was not solely their only sister’s.  Simple trick, this mother said, but it worked for her four sons!

A participant from Councilor Rovin’s group said that Filipino culture during the early times was not accepting  of  the third sex.  Fortunately, this has changed and there is now greater acceptance of  homosexuals  as  they are.  We see their talent and  creativity in many fields like fashion, arts,  entertainment, media   and  beauty care  industry.    However, this has not come easy.  A participant   shared about  her  gay nephew who used to be bullied  in school.   The  parents talked to the school’s  guidance counsellor and insisted on their child’s right to express himself as the normal thing to do.  The offender was  sanctioned by the school authorities and eventually, the school  community stopped ostracizing gay or lesbian students.

The  lesson   that  came  out  of  the  workshop   was  any person, regardless of  sexuality,  should be  considered , treated   and valued  equally.

Synergeia’s philosophy and approach to education is premised upon the idea that it takes a village to raise a child. Indeed, the bulk of Synergeia’s efforts toward building  various districts has included the presence of not just educators, but the local government units as well. Another major component is the inclusion of the parents in helping the children succeed. After all, learning, while done largely at school becomes more successful when reinforced at home.

In August, the municipality of San Jose in Antique held a Parent Leaders training session to help teach parents how they  could be more involved with their children’s education.

The activity began with a sharing on what practices were already being done at home. Two mothers started sharing one after the other. They both have OFW husband.  The first shared about her difficulty in disciplining her children.  She emphasized the she has to muster enough patience to discipline her children especially those in the puberty stage. She cited an incident before she left the house. Her child who really wanted to practice driving bumped their car in their garage that caused dent on front portion of the vehicle. Another OFW mother said that his kids have the tendency to scatter their things around the house. A father stood up and shared his parenting style.  For him the best way to hone the values of the children was to read bible stories to them because in the process the love for reading was being developed

Synergeia also became privy to the issues and problems faced by the parents when it came to their homes lives and heir children. For example: A mother of three whose children are not her biological children affirmed the difficulties in parenting especially of children coming from different family backgrounds.  She was crying as she shared her woes with her three children and her struggles on how to make them at peace with each other.  She was grateful though that this training provided her some simple ways of dealing with her children as shared by some parents.

One of the cornerstones of the training session was the story “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch, a sotry about how a mother remained devoted to her child throughout all the years of his life. The story served as a reminder of what the parents were working for and why it was important that be engaged and involved in their children’s lives.