All out for Brigada Eskuwela

MANILA, Philippines --- A few days before school opening, people from the academe, government, corporate sector and even embassies are once again reviving the Bayanihan spirit to support the nationwide Brigada Eskuwela campaign.

The Department of Education initiated-program, are banking on the collective spirit of the various sectors in helping physically prepare the country’s thousands of schools in time for the opening of classes this June.

Volunteers from the Ateneo de Manila University, for instance, helped prepare 10 public elementary schools in Quezon City for the resumption of classes on June 11. A project of the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED), the Ateneo fielded about 475 volunteers to help clean, beautify and prepare the General Roxas, Payatas B and its annex, Culiat, Lupang Pangako, Manuel L. Quezon, Old Balara, Balumbato, Payatas C and Fairview Elementary Schools.

The volunteers, composed of Human Resources Management Office (HRMO), Facilities Management Office (FMO), Residence Halls, Ateneo Human Rights Center, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Graduate School of Business (GSB), as well as teachers and students of the Ateneo Grade School cleaned and repainted classrooms, chalkboards, libraries, building facades, corridors and murals in these schools.

Jano Cadiz, an 11-year-old student of the AGS who helped clean some classrooms at the Payatas B Elementary School, said that he wanted to have the experience of helping to become a habit.

Mel Oracion, ACED director specifically requested volunteers to paint chalkboards this year. She said that “only teachers understand how satisfying and motivating it is to write on freshly painted chalkboards.” She added that this is because writing on chalkboards “is an important part of the memories teachers form during the school year.”

Couple for Christ, ACED’s partners in their program called Cornerstone, will also be conducting its own Brigada Eskwela activity and focusing on donating chalk and painting chalkboards.

MORE LGUs UNITE FOR BRIGADA

Meanwhile, General Trias Cavite Mayor Luis ‘Jon-Jon’ Ferrer IV, his brother Congressman Antonio Ferrer, and Cavite Councilors Morit Sison and Kerby Salazar led the Brigada Eskwela project in their locality.

The group was joined by DepEd Superintendents Dr. Edna Bayot and Dr. Cantada, teachers, non-teaching personnel, parents, students and non-government organizations in cleaning up the Governor Ferrer National High in Barangay Pinagtipunan.

Mayor Ferrer is aiming for a 100-percent compliance of the municipality for the program to benefit the thousands of school children who will be enrolled this school year.

Rizal Governor Junjun Ynares lll also led the Brigada Eskuwela kick-off activity at the Old Bosoboso Elementary School, Barangay San Jose in Antipolo City recently. It was participated in by teachers, parents, policemen, barangay tanods, and local officials.

The Australian government, on the other hand, has provided approximately Php4.7 million (A$109,000) to support Brigada Eskwela activities in 80 public schools –30 in Metro Manila and 50 in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

AUSTRALIA REACHES OUT

Australia provided each school with at least Php60,000 worth of materials and supplies for minor repairs repainting and cleaning.

The Australian Embassy is likewise participating in the Brigada Eskwela activities at the Silangan Elementary School in Taguig City. Its staff will also participate in the painting and cleaning of classrooms this week in five schools in the city.

Australia and Taguig City are key partners in piloting a disaster risk management program called BRACE (Building the Resilience and Awareness of Metro Manila Communities to Natural Disasters and Climate Change Impacts). Australia, through the BRACE program, will assist urban communities “brace” for the impact of natural disasters. BRACE will demonstrate that by “building back better”, the damage bill for future disasters – both in human and economic terms – can be significantly lessened.

Australia is also helping to coordinate Brigada Eskwela activities in schools where there are large populations of indigenous learners through the Philippines’ Response to Muslim and Indigenous Peoples’ Education (PRIME) program.

“Our participation in Brigada Eskwela is part of Australia’s significant commitment to helping improve the quality of teaching and learning in the Philippines,” Ambassador Tweddell said.

Finally, one of the fastest growing developers, the Property Company of Friends Inc. (PRO-FRIENDS) has led in the kick-off of Brigada Eskuwela activities in the Pal-Agon, Amparo Elementary School in Pavia, Iloilo.

Volunteers from the company partnered with teachers, barangay officials and Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta in rehabilitating the school stage and re-painting classrooms. The volunteers also donated new reference books and materials for the school clinic. They also conducted a story-telling session to encourage the kids’ love for literature. One other integral part of their program is propagating a new vegetable garden to promote a healthy and nutritious diet to the students and volunteer parents.

source: mb.com.ph

Teachers Frown On 'Smile' Directive

MANILA, Philippines — Public school teachers said the Department of Education (DepEd) should focus more on how to prepare for the opening of classes on June 4 by addressing shortages in resources instead of issuing a “nonsense” verbal directive such as asking them to “smile.”

Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Secretary General France Castro said the DepEd should pay more attention to resolve perennial problems in public schools such as lack of classrooms and insufficient number of teachers among others. “This is a nonsense directive or memo,” Castro quipped.

During the launch of DepEd’s Child Protection Policy Guidelines on Thursday, Education Secretary Armin Luistro was quoted as saying that teachers who will not flash their smile when they face their students on the opening day of classes on June 4 should be marked “no uniform.”

When interviewed, Luistro clarified that asking teachers to smile will not be issued as a formal DepEd Memorandum or Order. “However, we strongly urge them to smile especially on the first day of school to make their students feel welcome,” he explained.

The DepEd chief said a simple smile can have a very strong positive effect on pupils and students—especially for those in lower grades. “This would somehow lessen their nervousness as the opening day of classes would also mean they would be meeting new and unfamiliar faces and be separated from their parents,” Luistro said.

He said teachers and other school officials should make it a habit to “serve with a smile” to encourage positive learning. “Kapag nakasimangot ang mga guro ng estudyante, mai-stress na sila at kapag na-stressed sila, apektado na agad ang learning (When the teachers are frowning, the students will be stressed and when they’re stressed, learning would be greatly affected),” the DepEd chief said.

Castro, however, maintained that even if Luistro will not make it as an official memo to teachers, school officials, and principals, “nakangiti pa din kami kahit madami ang problema sa schools (we will still smile despite the recurring problems that we will be facing in school.)”

ACT vice chairman Benjie Valbuena, on the other hand, said teachers, especially those who will be teaching incoming Grade 1 and Grade 7 (first year high school) students, may not “afford to smile” because of the implementation of the new curriculum as part of DepEd’s K to 12 Basic Education Program. He said teachers may not have enough training for the implementation of the new curriculum. Based on data from DepEd, a total of 140,000 Grades 1 and 7 teachers will undergo training this May.

Meanwhile, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) did not take Luistro’s “smile” comment very seriously. “Kahit naman di sabihin yan through memo, nature naman ng mga teachers na palaging naka-smile sa mga estudyante nila, (Even if this will not be issued through a memo, it is the nature of teachers to always smile to their students),” TDC national chairperson Benjo Basas said.

Basas, however, noted that DepEd should work harder on how to make the teachers’ smile “consistent.” “Kahit naman nakangiti kami sa first day ng pasukan kung puro problema naman sa mga kakulangan sa paaralan, mahihirapan kaming panatilihin ang ngiti na yan, (Even if we smile on the first day of classes but if problems continue to persist, we will have difficulty in maintaining that smile),” Basas added.

While both teachers’ groups see the wisdom behind Luistro’s comment on “smiling,” TDC and ACT said that DepEd should work more on addressing the needs of the public school system—particularly the lack of teachers. Basas said while gaps in resources are being filled, it should be done “holistically.”

“We see the efforts of DepEd in addressing the shortages but the main priority should be the lack of teachers because even if there are enough textbooks and seats, if the number of teachers remains insufficient, the quality of basic education would still suffer,” he added.

This coming school year, Luistro announced that two of the major problems in public schools—lack of textbooks and seats—will be addressed. However, problems in classroom and teacher shortage as well as lack of toilets would still be prevalent. In 2011, DepEd said classroom shortage stood at 68, 000 but will be greatly reduced this year with the construction of some 30, 000 classrooms under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program as well as from their regular funding.

Meanwhile, toilet shortage in the public schools stands at 135,847 but it will be reduced to 98,196 once the construction of sanitation facilities—a total of 12,651 in 2011 and 25,000 this year—is completed. Currently, the number of toilets in public elementary and high schools stands at 353,763 as of DepEd inventory.

When it comes to teacher shortage, DepEd said that 99,628 teachers are still lacking but will be trimmed down to 11, 648 after a total of 25, 450 have been hired in 2010 and 2011 on top of 13, 000 who have already been hired in 2012 while local government units have also hired a total of 49, 530.

source: mb.com.ph