Tag: #educationgovernance

Dagami Elementary School:  A hilltop school in Maasin,  Iloilo

Posted on by Florendo Guevara

Our visit to Dagami Elementary School in Maasin, Iloilo was intended  to  find out  why Grade 3  learners  scored  very low in the  reading assessment test  conducted  last year.   Based on the test results,  there are  children who could not answer even one comprehension question correctly.  These  findings were validated  when we  had a  session  with  two  Grade 3  classes – Sections  Sterling and Euro.  

Dagami is one of the 50 barangays  in the Municipality of  Maasin,  Iloilo.   An upland barangay,  it  is  675  ft  above sea  level.   The road to Dagami  Eementary School  is  long  and winding.   When we  reach the school,  we immediately visited   a  Grade  3  classroom.  Upon entering the room  we noted that children are  timid,  they  look sad,   others are  expressionless  and always  facing down.    Most children  are  stunted  or  small for their age.     Most  are  9  years  old but  they look like they are  only  5 or 6 years old.   

When  tested in Reading,  children  can  recognize  sounds of letters and do simple  blending.   And the good news  is  they can read simple words  such as  “bag”.   It was  a  challenge  for them to read “teeth”  and  “morning”   but  they are able to do so  when  guided.    However,  they do not understand  English questions.  They cannot answer  basic English questions like  “what is your name?”,  “how old are you?”  Teacher Mary Jane said  they are not fluent in English and  Filipino language.    Hiligaynon is  used  as  medium of instruction.    Children  understand Hiligaynon better  but they are being   transitioned  to  Filipino and English  according to Teacher Mary Jane.    Another  observation is  they  do not know  how to compare and contrast.   They have   difficulty  processing   “short” vs  “tall”,  “small”  vs  “big”.    It appears  they  need  help  in developing  critical thinking skills.   

Mam  Nene  did not do a  story reading  and instead  asked  the children to sing two songs.    It was a  joy  to  hear them  sing   “this is the way we brush our teeth”  and  “when you’re happy and you know it – clap your hands,  stomp your feet,  twist your hips”.   The children grin from ear to ear.

During conversation with parents,  they  share stories of  daily struggles in life.   Rain or shine, they walk with their children to school every day.    Going to the school entails   2  to  3 hours  of walking.  Since it is an upland area  they start trekking  as early as  5AM to be in  school before 8AM.    Children take breakfast while  walking to school.    Breakfast  consists  of  rice  and  coffee.     Going home,  children get so tired  and they fall asleep right away.

When asked what support  parents  needs  from the Local Government,  a mother with seven children  becomes emotional and  said  her eldest  son needs P3,000 for his TESDA  NC2  assessment on shielded metal arc welding.  She has saved up  P1,000  and  needs to save more  to complete payment  for  the assessment fee.    To help out,  Maasin SB John Mondejar committed to provide the remainder of  the TESDA fee.   Another  mother  said  the trek to the school is  rough  and  asks  for  medical assistance  for  her son who has difficulty walking.     A father who works  as a driver   said  he supports  his family  and  sends  his children to school.   His wife is an overseas  worker.     All they  want is for their  children  to complete  education.  

Geographical disadvantage,  hunger,  and lack of better opportunities.    We can feel  the struggle of parents.    Against all odds they do  what is  best  for their children and family.    

Education Summit in Sara, Iloilo

Posted on by Florendo Guevara

Once a battle-hardened warrior on the battlefields, retired general and now Mayor Jon Aying’s transition as a civilian leader has been remarkable.  As 200 people from different walks of life trooped to Sara National High School gymnasium to attend the municipal education summit,  Mayor Aying stood tall as he delivered his Education Address to his constituents. He reviewed the schools’ performance indicators, explaining what the figures meant. Starting from enrollment figures for the past three years in elementary and high school, he explained and gave comments for his constituents to clearly understand what those pie and bar charts mean in every performance indicator flashed on the LED board. When he came across the reading proficiency and numeracy indicators, he correlated them to the dismal performance of our school children, who lagged, as shown in the PISA results with the rest of the countries of the world. He also highlighted the nutritional status of the schoolchildren. His message is to develop strategic maneuvers to teach the kids competency in every ladder of their education journey. He told his constituents how the local government spend its Special Education Fund where they matter most: payment for additional teachers, infrastructure upgrades, and community engagements. He ended his message with his favorite African proverb, “It takes a village to educate a child.”  He wanted the children of Sara to remember his administration, not for the battles won but for the futures secured.   

In the workshop that followed, the participants coming from the PTAs, SGCs, Barangay Captains and the Kagawads in charge of education, LGU officials, Members of the Sanggunian, the religious sector and the CSOs were unanimous in their answers.

For them, the most essential learning areas we need to improve are:

  • literacy and numeracy,
  • good manners and right conduct, and
  • nutrition.

Among the members of the PTA and the SGC, they push for the active involvement of parents in reading, numeracy and nutrition. A group of parents shared that they have been doing rounds of bible studies in schools to teach the kids the correct attitudes and values. Admittedly, school heads observed a decline in the enthusiasm of school children to learn because of the influence of gadgets. The heads of offices and the sanggunian members were passionate about pushing for the improvement of the health condition of the school children by actively supporting programs on health and nutrition by the local government. They commit to legislating local initiatives to improve children’s nutritional status in the first 1000 days. The barangay captain and their kagawads quickly added that every barangay and school should have their community and garden to provide vegetables for the school feeding program.    

Mayor Aying presented the syntesis of their first education summit in a manila paper which he named as the Education Governance Framework.

After attentively listening to the workshop reports, Mayor Aying presented his synthesis in a Manila paper he illustrated called the Education Governance Framework. Real-time feedback based on the answers to the workshop questions showed that the various sectors in the Municipality of Sara were pushing for improving literacy and numeracy among the school children to address the continuous decline of the state of Philippine education. Corollary to that is the concern and observation of  everyone that today’s schoolchildren hardly say sorry, excuse me, and thank you, to the dismay of everyone. Aside from their nutritional status, it also affects children’s memory, attention, and cognitive abilities. Mayor Aying pointed out that the identified problems are offshoots of the environment surrounding the child, which is the school he goes to, his family including its moral and spiritual orientation, the system of governance both at the local and national levels, and the kind of peace and order situation where he lives.   His marching order for everyone is for all stakeholders to cooperate and collaborate towards ensuring a better future for every Saranhon.

Can teachers free our children? (Part 2)

Posted on by Florendo Guevara

A two part series on Teachers’ Training in Iloilo under the Proof of Concept initiative on the devolution of basic education to  LGUs.

Part II. PS, I will make you read.

A teacher left a letter for Juan and it reads:

Dear  Juan,

Thank you for appreciating what we do for you. I will admit to you that it
is not easy and very frustrating at times.

In many ways, we are loved. But in some ways too, we are blamed for your
failure- to read, to learn and to be your best.

We realize we have to become our best too for you. Don’t worry, we will be
relentless and hardworking in creating miracles toward a better future for you,
for ourselves and for our country. Eventually, you will be free from ignorance,
poverty of learning and knowledge and inequality and inequity.

PS. I will make you read.

Your teacher, Maria

This letter anchored the new learnings and ideas the teachers gained from
the Synergeia training on Reading to become better miracle workers.

The teachers learned that:

A. Reading is about systematic phonics instruction from connecting sounds
with printed letters to the progression of phonics skills of sound recognition
and decoding words to vocabulary building and fluency to comprehension and
analysis.

B. Teaching reading is about creativity and innovation. The power of stories
and storytelling stirs interest in reading, fosters listening, attention and
participation and boosts imagination.  Reading aloud to children combined
with actors’ voice, timing, expression, and a musician’s rhythm
matters.   “Acting out”  the words and making sound effects
stimulate the desire to read. 

The teachers read “Ang Batang  Bayani”  and  “The Man on the
Moon”  which are  both original stories by Synergeia’s Dr  Nene
Guevara. They also practiced reading three short  stories:  
“The Dark House”, “Si Lola Sima”,  and “The Little Red Hen”.  

C.  Reading is about the development of comprehension, higher-order
thinking, and analytical skills. At the core of this capacity is a teacher’s
ability to know and excel in the Art of Questioning.    The
questions teachers ask children from the stories being read must make children
explain,  describe or discuss and allow them to interpret, demonstrate or
solve.  Children must develop analytical skills by making differentiation, 
comparison or contrast and examination.   They must develop how
to evaluate by defending, arguing, critiquing and judging. 
They have to be motivated to exercise creativity by designing, developing and
investigating. 

D.  Teaching reading can benefit from arts education which can help:

◆    Develop social, emotional and interpersonal skills;

◆    Enrich  a child’s experience;

◆    Develop the ability to handle criticism;

◆    Increase  academic achievement; and

◆    Improve focus.

E. It is important for teachers to regularly monitor the progress of 
learners.  They must conduct pre and post assessment to determine if
learners improve over time.    

F. The use of data and its proper analysis is critical to proper and more
insightful monitoring and assessment.  The value of organizing and
validating data was emphasized.   Teachers must 
make the data simple and easy to understand.   Only
the important data must be included in the assessment and  to
ensure that percentages or ratios are calculated before making
inferences.   

G. The concept of personal well-being and happiness is integral to becoming
good teachers-miracle workers. If teachers take care of themselves, they can
teach better.

H. There is a need to further build capacities toward the implementation of
the so-called 15% solution by making the child whole –  “read, think and
create”.   Reading is important as it  will enable
children to learn other subjects like Science and Mathematics.

The teachers were able to affirm that teaching reading is indeed an art and
a collective pursuit that carries with it a big responsibility and commitment
to keep pushing and overcoming challenges and achieve results.

Can teachers really free our children?

Let us support our teachers and their quest for long-lasting freedom of our
children towards the better quality of life they rightfully deserve.