Lunes, Oktubre 10, 2011

                                              
Lord, let me be just what they need.
If they need someone to trust, let me be trustworthy.
If they need sympathy, let me sympathize.
If they need love, (and they do need love), 
let me love, in full measure.
Let me not anger easily, Lord but let me be just.
Permit my justice to be tempered in your mercy.
When I stand before them, Lord, 
let me look strong and good and honest and loving.
And let me be as strong and good and honest
and loving as I look to them.
Help me to counsel the anxious, crack the covering of the shy,
temper therambunctious with a gentle attitude.
Permit me to teach only the truth.
Help me to inspire them so that learning will not cease at the classroom door.
Let the lessons they learn make their lives fruitful and happy.
And, Lord, let me bring them to You.
Teach them through me to love You.
Finally, permit me to learn the lessons they teach.

I want to teach my students how
To live this life on earth
To face its struggles and its strife
And to improve their worth
Not just the lesson in a book
Or how the rivers flow
But how to choose the proper path
Wherever they may go
To understand eternal truth And know
The right from wrong
And gather all the beauty of a Flower
And a song for if
I help the world to grow In wisdom
And in grace
Then I shall feel that I have won
And I have filled my place
And so I ask Your guidance, God
That I may do my part 
For character and confidence
And happiness of Heart.
                          
God grant me wisdom, creativity and love.

With wisdom, I may look to the future
and see the effect that my teaching will
have on these children and thus adapt my
methods to fit the needs of each one.

With creativity, I can prepare new and interesting
projects that can challenge my students and expand
their minds to set higher goals and dream loftier dreams.

With love, I can praise my students for jobs well done 
and encourage them to get up and go when they fall.
 
 
 
 

God, I have come to the frightening conclusion.
I an the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess tremendous power to make a child's
life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal.
In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or
de-humanized.
Grant me the insight and patience to make the right decisions 
to model Jesus in my classroom.
       
Everything depends on the person who 
stands in the front ofthe classroom. 
The teacher is not an automatic fountain from which
intellectual beverages may be obtained. 
He is either a witness or a stranger. 
To guide a pupil to the promised land he must have been there
himself.  When asking herself: do I stand for what I teach?  do I believe 
what I say?  she must be able to answer in the affirmative.

What we need more than anything else is not textbooks but textpeople.  
It is the personality of the teacher which is the text that the pupils read:
the text that they will never forget.
There they sit, Father,
a neat stack of yellow report cards.
And here I sit,
an anxious and bewildered Solomon, 
praying in my heart for wisdom,
while the controversy about grading surges on.

Should there be an objective standard
whereby children are measured against other children?

And how do we weigh a child's achievement 
against his ability and effort?
Can we penalize a child for having little natural ability,
when he can't get a high mark
no matter how hard he tries?
And what about the child for whom "A"s come easily?
Will he skim through school never knowing what it is to try?

And what is happening 
when an "A" becomes so important that a child will
cheat for it,
perhaps to avoid abuse at home?

So here I sit, Father,
forced to take these cards seriously
because other people do.
Long on questions,
short on answers.

Father,
as I reach reluctantly for the top card,
let me also reach for your promise:
"If any one of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God."
 

Linggo, Oktubre 9, 2011

Poverty, hunger prevent Filipino kids from getting basic education


MANILA, Philippines - Despite the annual increase in the budget for basic education, fewer children are enrolling in schools. The reason: poverty.

Twelve-year-old Marian (not her real name) is one of the millions of Filipino children whose education has taken a backseat due to poverty. The fifth of eight children, she fled her home when she was 10 because she said her jobless parents hurt her.

Marian is supposed to be in the sixth grade this year, but she’s currently enrolled as a Grade 1 pupil, learning basic language lessons and math skills in a public elementary school in Cainta, Rizal. A certain “Ate Rowena" took her in and convinced her to go back to school.

Marian has to face challenges in school. “Marami pong nanlalait sa ‘kin dahil Grade 1 ako pero malaki ako…hindi ko pinapakinggan yun kasi ito na po yung simula para maipagpatuloy ko po yung pag-aaral ko at makatapos po ako (Other children tease me because I’m still in Grade 1…but I don’t mind them because this is my chance to continue and finish my studies)," she said.

Despite the challenges, Marian is lucky compare to thousands of other Filipino children.

1 out of 6 kids not in school     

One out of six school-age Filipino children is not enrolled, figures from the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) revealed.

The net enrollment ratio (NER) or participation rate at the elementary level for school year 2006-2007 was 83.2 percent, down by 1.2 percentage points from the previous school year and a far cry from school year 1999-2000’s 96.95 percent.

The NER is the ratio between the enrollment in the school-age range and the total population of that age range. That means that out of all Filipino children aged 6-11—which is the official age range for elementary pupils—17.8 percent or almost one-fifth are out of school.

DepEd figures also show that from 1999 to 2007 participation in elementary education decreased, save for a 0.19-percentage point increase in 2002.

The rate of participation in secondary education is even worse. From 2002 to 2007, almost half or 43.7 of all Filipinos aged 12-15—the official age range for high school—failed to enroll. This is lower than the participation rate of 65.43 percent in 1999-2000.

With these figures the country is still far from achieving the Millennium Development Goal of providing basic education to all, the NSCB said in its report. The Philippines is also far from achieving its own Education for All 2015 Plan, which serves as the blueprint for the country’s basic education.

Disparity among regions

It is not just the overall figures that reflect that the country is unable to meet international and national goals for education. Government data show that there is a wide disparity in education figures among regions, with most of conflict-ridden Mindanao trailing behind urban centers.

The National Economic and Development Authority in its 2006 Socioeconomic Report observed that despite a 0.38 percent increase in the enrollment of children in 2006 compared to 2005, the figure is lower than expected.

NEDA’s figures show that 12.91 million of the 19.25 million children enrolled in 2006 are elementary pupils while 6.33 million were in high school. The overall figure is slightly higher than that of the previous year by only 72,969 children.

“An assessment of the situation points to poverty as the main cause of this lower-than-expected increase. This is further exacerbated by the high cost of schooling-related expenditures. High school students seeking employment to augment family income also contributed to the low increase in enrollment," the NEDA report stated.

The Department of Education admitted that the country’s “volatile economic situation" is preventing children from going to school. Even with the “zero tuition" offer of the government, poor families are hindered by lack of employment, hunger and malnutrition, among other problems.

“Time and again parents have complained of financial obstacles," said Kenneth Tirado, communications officer of DepEd.

Poverty to blame

Poverty is one of the main causes of the country’s poor education record and has affected participation in education in more ways than one, according to “Education Watch Preliminary Report: Education Deprivation in the Philippines," a study done by five advocacy groups including E-Net Philippines, Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, Action for Economic Reforms, Popular Education for People’s Empowerment, and Oxfam.

Citing data from the National Statistics Office 2003 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey, the study said the top reason of people aged 6-24 for not attending school is employment or “looking for work," with almost one-third or 30.5 percent citing that reason.

Lack of personal interest came in second at 22 percent, while the high cost of education came in a close third at 19.9 percent. Other reasons include, among others, housekeeping, illness or disability, failure to cope with school work, and distance from school.

“The lack of interest among school children indicates a weakness on the part of the school system to make education interesting for the students. This may be due to poor teaching quality, inadequate facilities and supplies and poor infrastructure. Poverty, social exclusion, school distance and poor health are, likewise, factors that weigh heavily on children and dampen their interest to pursue schooling," said the report.

“The challenge, therefore, is how to make the school interesting and encouraging rather than intimidating; how to make it inclusive, non-discriminatory and poor-sensitive rather than exclusive and elite-oriented; and how to make it accommodating rather than restricting. Finally, the education content, process and experience should be made more meaningful to the children’s life experiences by ensuring appropriate, culture-sensitive and values-based interventions," it added.

Increase in budget does not help

Government figures show that the budget for education has increased over a 10-year period – from P90 billion in 1999 to P149 billion in 2008. It does not include the P4 billion acquired in 2007 from the private sector, a dramatic increase from 2003’s P400 million after Education Secretary Jesli Lapus re-launched the Adopt-A-School program in 2006.

Despite the budget increase, government agencies observed a gradual decline in the net participation rate of students in the past nine years, especially in the regions.

Luzon has the highest NER, followed by Visayas, with NERs on the opposite side of the spectrum, and Mindanao with the lowest percentage of school-age children going to school.

The National Capital Region and Region IV alternately topped the NERs for elementary education, with the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon, having the highest NER from 2004 to 2006.

Even NCR’s relatively high figures—at least 92.6 percent since 2002—have declined by about 0.6 to 2.2 percentage points, except in school year 2006-2007 when it increased by a meager .03 percent.

Region IX or Western Mindanao posted the biggest NER decrease of 12.1 percent, from 89.7 percent in 2002 to 77.6 percent in 2006.

Surprisingly, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao placed 4th out of the 17 regions, with no less than 85.8 percent net enrollment rate. Unfortunately the trend didn’t continue until high school, where ARMM ranks lowest, consistently placing 17th with only 23.7 percent to 35.6 percent when it peaked in school year 2005-2006. The figures went down by three percentage points the next year.

In school year 2006-2007 alone 13 out of the 20 provinces with the lowest elementary NER were from Mindanao, while in secondary education 17 were from the area.

“Various programs have been created to cater to the lagging provinces in Mindanao. DepEd has been implementing these projects with assistance from the private sector and Official Development Assistance from the US Agency for International Development and the Australian Aid for International Development," said DepEd’s Tirado.

Tirado said AusAID’s Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao is seeking to improve the quality of and access to basic education, while USAID’s Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills focuses on targeting high illiteracy and drop-out rates.

“These two projects have contributed to the success of DepEd’s education interventions in Mindanao," Tirado said.

Another project, the Strong Republic Distance Learning School, was established in 2003 “to provide disadvantaged, impoverished sectors access to formal and non-formal school systems."

Tirado said the 2008 General Appropriations Act has a special provision for the construction of classrooms and school furniture and the hiring of teachers in the ARMM.

Peace in Mindanao needed

Education advocacy group E-Net Philippines pointed out that since poor education in Mindanao can be attributed to poverty and armed conflict, a long-term solution to address its declining enrollment would be to bring peace to the area.

“During armed conflicts, schools are used as refugee centers, thus disrupting classes. At the same time, children and teachers suffer from trauma which prevents them from effectively learning – or teaching, as in the case of teachers," said E-Net’s national coordinator, Cecilia Soriano, in an email interview with GMANews.TV.

She also said that since there is a concentration of Muslim students in Mindanao, the curriculum “should be founded on the Muslim wisdom while incorporating the core competencies that will provide children and youth the necessary knowledge to ‘compete’ in the labor market."

The group is also calling for a budget allotment of P70 million for Learning Centers in indigenous communities in Davao del Sur, Agusan, and South Cotabato, where education is virtually inaccessible, as well as an allotment of P800 million for alternative learning services targeting out-of-school youth.

The DepEd provided P420 million to ALS in 2006, according to its March 2008 Performance Report from July 1998 to March 2008.

Hunger, malnutrition

In a March 2008 report, the Education department said hunger and malnutrition are also barriers to participation in education. In 2007, DepEd improved its school feeding program, with 300 percent more beneficiaries compared to the previous year.

Tirado said that to make the distribution more effective, the DepEd-Health and Nutrition Council implemented a “targeted scheme" that categorizes “priority provinces" according to the severity of lack of food and vulnerability to hunger.

DepEd started implementing the Food for School Program under the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Plan during the last quarter of 2005. It was done with the Health, Social Welfare departments, the National Food Authority and local government units.

A daily ration of a kilogram of fortified rice is given as subsidy to families through preschool and Grade 1 pupils. The program, which covered 6,304 public schools nationwide and benefited 111,584 preschool and Grade 1 children, distributed a total of 25,338 bags of rice.

E-Net Philippines said the strategy is flawed. “As a motivation to go to school, it sends the wrong message to poor children: go to school to get one kilo of rice instead of the value of learning; it is also an added burden for children as poor parents encourage their children to attend classes to be able to avail of the daily ration," said Soriano.

Strategy for patronage

Soriano said the scheme has become a strategy for patronage as local government units select the beneficiaries of the program.

“In fact in 2007, in April, when there were no classes, and just before the elections, the DepEd released rice to preschool and elementary and high school students," said Soriano.

“There were also problems in implementing the [strategy] which were exposed during the 2007 budget deliberations, such as alleged overpricing of rice, deficiency in deliveries and low quality of rice," she added.

E-Net believes there are other strategies to keep poor children in school instead of giving rice. Addressing health and poverty situations that prevent access to education are among the group’s proposals.

Aside from the Food for School program, DepEd has also proposed increased funding for interventions aimed at children aged 5-11.

(DepEd claimed that there were significant boosts in budget allotment to certain programs in 2006. These include the Preschool Education Program, which went up to P2 billion from P250 million, the settlement of unpaid prior years of teachers’ benefits, PhilHealth and GSIS premiums, which were given P1.94 billion from nothing, and a P345 million boost in Alternative Learning Services.)

E-Net’s Soriano, however, said there should be “more targeted education programs for child laborers, indigenous people, children and youth with disabilities and adult illiterates and other marginalized groups."

Despite the odds, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus is optimistic. “The key reforms and well-focused policy directions to improve basic education are slowly but surely bearing fruit," he said, adding that the Education department “has been concentrating its human and financial resources on key performance indicators aimed at improving classroom instruction."

If it’s up to DepEd, the result of the National Achievement Results this year, where the mean percentage score increased from 59.94 percent in 2007 to 64.81 this year, the government’s Education project is a success.

Whether this indicates that the country can inch its way toward achieving the 75 percent target MPS by 2010, or if the Education for All plan and the Millennium Development Goal can be met by 2015 is still to be seen. One thing is certain though, efforts at boosting education will only be futile if the poverty situation isnot significantly, immediately improved.     

BALAGTASAN


PAARALANG ELEMENTARYA NG SAN ROQUE
                                               
PIYESA PARA SA PATIMPALAK NA BALAGTASAN

Tema ng Buwan ng Wika:     “Ang Filipino, Wikang Panlahat,
Ilaw at Lakas sa Tuwid na Landas”

Paksang Pagtatalunan:         Alin ang nararapat na maging Wikang Panlahat,
                                                Wikang Filipino ba o ang ating Lingua Franca?

Isinulat ni:   Mrs. Ucille P. Galvez
______________________________________

Lakandiwa:               Ako’y isang Lakandiwang nagbuhat pa sa San Roque
sa  Paaralang Elementarya na ‘king tinatangi,
at  ngayon ay boung galang na sa inyo’y bumabati
at umaasang nawa ang paksa ay mapaglilimi
Upang patimpalak na balagtasan ay magwawagi.

Paksang aking ilalatag, pakiwari’y mahalaga
Dahil ang  pagtatalunan ng ating mga  makata
Ay kung anong wika ba ang magiging wikang panlahat
Filipino ba na pambansang wika at kilala pa
O  lingua franca na sa pagkabata’y nasa labi na.

Kaya’t itong Lakandiwa sa inyo’y nag-aanyaya
Ng dalawang mambibigkas na mahusay at kilala
Upang pagtalunan ang paksang aking itinalaga.
Ang hiling ko lamang ay palakpakan silang dalawa
Panig nilang ihaharap ay suriin at magpasya.

Wikang Filipino:       Ako ay isang batang kay Manuel Quezon nagpupuri
                                    Naniniwalang, Wikang Filipino ang  minimithi
                                    Upang bawat Pilipino ay magkakaisa lagi
                                    Lahat ng hangarin ng mga damdaming sumisidhi.

Lingua Franca:         Ang iyong lingkod ngayon ay nagmula pa sa malayo
                                    Sa Balagtasang ito, magiliw akong sumasamo
                                    Gamit na wikang nagmula sa kinagisnang ninuno
                                    Aking ipaglalaban upang ating isasapuso

Lakandiwa:               Atin nang natunghayan mga makatang maglalaban
                                    Nagmula pa sa bayang kanilang kinabibilangan
                                    Ang isa’y nagmula pa sa pulo ng  Kabisayaan
                                    Itong magandang dalaga’y   sa Katagalugan naman.
                                   
Wikang Filipino:       Sa ating Wikang Filipino ako ay nagpupugay
                                    Wikang ginagamit sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao
                                    Kaya kilala ng lahat, ginagamit araw-araw
                                    Kahit saan ka magpunta, siya’y magsisilbing tanglaw.

                                    Wikang Filipino, narapat maging wikang panlahat
                                    Ito’y  pamana ni Pangulong Quezon para sa lahat
                                    Samantalang lingua franca sa pagkakaisa’y salat
Sa malalayong probinsya lamang ito nararapat.



Lingua Franca:         Dahan-dahan sa pagsalita katunggaling maganda
                                    Sapagkat nasasaktan mo mga taong maralita
                                    Sariling wika’y ‘di tumututukoy sa wikang pambansa
                                    Kundi sa wikang nakagisnan at laging nasa baba.

                                    Lingua Franka ay nararapat na hindi kalimutan
                                    Ito’y salamin ng kultura ng bawat lalawigan.
                                    Sa likod nito’y paniniwala ng ‘ting kababayan
                                    Sa Lingua Franka, tuwid na landas  ang magiging daan.

Wikang Filipino:       Nagkamali ka sa iyong paniwala katunggali ko
Ang sariling wika natin ay ang  Wikang Filipino
Surian ng Wikang Pambansa pa ang nagbuo nito
Upang magkakaintindihan lahat ng Pilipino.

Ang lingua franca ay hindi ko naman minamaliit
Ito’y atin na mula  noong  tayo’y isa pang paslit.
                                    Ngunit iilang tao lamang ang dito’y gumagamit
                                    ‘Di tulad ng Filipino, gamit kahit nakapikit.

                                    Filipino ang nararapat na maging wikang panlahat
                                    Sa kalakalan,  sa paaralan at maging sa simbahan
                                    Kahit sa pagbabalita, hindi mo ba nakikita
                                    Kapag Filipino ang gamit hindi ka matutunganga.

                                    Matuwid na landas, handog ng Wikang Filipino
                                    Gamit ng mga guro bilang kanilang wikang panturo
                                    Sa  simbahan man upang sa wastong aral ay matuto
                                    Sa  pamahalaan man upang batas ay mabubuo.

Lingua Franca:         Paano magiging panlahat ang wikang Filipino
                                    Kung ang  tao ay gumagamit ng mga dayalekto
                                    Lumibot ka sa ‘ting pitong libo’t isang daang pulo
                                    Mapapatunayan mo na sinasabi ko’y totoo.

                                    Sa paaralan, guro nga’y nagturo ng Filipino
                                    Ngunit isinasalin pa rin sa mga dayalekto.
                                    Sa paggawa ng batas, di ba Ingles din katuto ko?
                                    ‘Di mo masasalin ang Konstitusyon sa Filipino.

                                    Sa simbahan, gamit ng pari ay dayalekto
                                    Dahil kung hindi, mga tao ay tutunganga rito
                                    Kaya lingua franca, wikang panlahat ng mga tao
                                    Daan sa matuwid na landas ng mga Pilipino.

Lakandiwa:               Sadyang ang ating baya’y puno ng salinlahi
                                    Saan mang sulok may nagkakaisa’t may minimithi
                                    Gamit na wikang natutunan sa labi namutawi
                                    Ito’y pinapahalagahan at hindi winawaksi.

                                    Ang Lingua Franca’y simbolo sa mayaman nating lahi
                                    Lahing Pilipino’y laging angat sa anumang lipi
                                    Mga dayalekto hayaang mamutawi sa labi
                                    Ating salinlahi dapat ay ating ipagbubunyi.

                                    Bagamat ganun man, ating bansa’y nangangailangan
                                    Isang wikang pambansa na ating magiging sandigan
                                    Wikang daan tungo sa ating pagkakaintindihan
                                    At pambansang pagkakakilanlan kahit saan ka man.

                                    Wikang Filipino, ang siyang ating wikang pambansa
                                    Nararapat tangkilikin at dapat na idambana
                                    Ito’y magbubuklod sa mga dayalekto ng bansa
                                    Upang tayo’y magkaisa sa puso, isip at diwa.

                                    Ngayong napakinggan na natin ang dalawang makata
                                    Malalaman na ninyo ang hatol ng lingkod nyong aba
                                    Ang kanilang napiling wika kapwa ay mahalaga
                                    Maging Filipino man ang gamit o ang lingua franca
                                    Gamit sa kaunlaran ng ating bansang sinisinta.

                                   

Sabado, Setyembre 17, 2011

KEY ISSUES IN PHILIPPINE EDUCATION






Literacy rate in the Philippines has improved a lot over the last few years- from 72 percent in 1960 to 94 percent in 1990. This is attributed to the increase in both the number of schools built and the level of enrollment in these schools.


The number of schools grew rapidly in all three levels - elementary, secondary, and tertiary. From the mid-1960s up to the early 1990, there was an increase of 58 percent in the elementary schools and 362 percent in the tertiary schools. For the same period, enrollment in all three levels also rose by 120 percent. More than 90 percent of the elementary schools and 60 percent of the secondary schools are publicly owned. However, only 28 percent of the tertiary schools are publicly owned.


A big percentage of tertiary-level students enroll in and finish commerce and business management courses. Table 1 shows the distribution of courses taken, based on School Year 1990-1991. Note that the difference between the number of enrollees in the commerce and business courses and in the engineering and technology courses may be small - 29.2 percent for commerce and business and 20.3 percent for engineering and technology. However, the gap widens in terms of the number of graduates for the said courses.

TABLE 1: TERTIARY ENROLLMENT AND GRADUATION BY FIELD OF STUDY. SY 1990-1991
FIELD OF STUDY ENROLLMENT GRADUATION

No. % No. %
Arts and Sciences 196,711 14.6 29,961 13.6
Teacher Training & Education 242,828 18.0 34,279 15.5
Engineering & Technology 273,408 20.3 32,402 14.7
Medical and Health - related Programs 176,252 13.1 34,868 15.8
Commerce/Business Management 392,958 29.2 79,827 36.1
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery,
and Veterinary Medicine
43,458 3.2 7,390 3.3
Law 20,405 1.5 2,111 1.0
Religion / Theology 1,695 0.1 209 0.1
TOTAL 1,347,715 100.0 221,047 100.0



On gender distribution, female students have very high representation in all three levels. At the elementary level, male and female students are almost equally represented. But female enrollment exceeds that of the male at the secondary and tertiary levels . Also, boys have higher rates of failures, dropouts, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels.


Aside from the numbers presented above, which are impressive, there is also a need to look closely and resolve the following important issues: 1) quality of education 2) affordability of education 3) goverment budget for education; and 4) education mismatch.

  1. Quality - There was a decline in the quality of the Philippine education, especially at the elementary and secondary levels. For example, the results of standard tests conducted among elementary and high school students, as well as in the National College of Entrance Examination for college students, were way below the target mean score.
  2. Affordability - There is also a big disparity in educational achievements across social groups. For example, the socioeconomically disadvantaged students have higher dropout rates, especially in the elementary level. And most of the freshmen students at the tertiary level come from relatively well-off families.
  3. Budget - The Philippine Constitution has mandated the goverment to allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education. However, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to education among the ASEAN countries.