Reflections on Education

Teaching in Manila Science is a remarkable experience. Good students, accommodating people and a conducive learning environment. There are a lot to learn from the teachers there,from my fellow practicumers and of course...the students. Indeed i am very luck to finish my college life training in that school. I am very grateful for the support of the Faculty and for the appreciation that I receive from my students.

Unfortunately though, I won't be able to experience these things:

Joey at A______ High School: Tutoring six freshman students who are non-readers with the aid of textbooks for third grade elem students.

Clarisse at A______ B________ Integrated School: "Buti nga ung mga studynte mo di lang nagbasa. Samin yung mga bata bagsak sa quiz! Paano hindi nakinig!"

Jill at S_ J__n National High School:
J: "Good Morning Class!"
Students: "Whooooo!!!!!!" (Yeah men!)

Another story from E____ A_________ Integrated School: One student strangling another student with the use of a copper wire; not to forget students who come to class at a high.

Katrina at S__ J___ National High School:
Kat: (Pointing to a chair) "Who sits here?"
Student: "Yes Ma'am."
And her countless dramatic monologues to help those students who are thought of by the teachers as "wala nang pag-asa." And she still insisted and told her students, "Ayoko maniwala na wala na kaong pag-asa!"

All of those numerous stories of bleeding noses and rising blood pressures - I have not experienced such, I know. But I am filled with pity. Not for my classmates but for their students. They are numerous. If I am to draw a venn diagram of their stories, the most common denominator that would lie in the middle is a presence of a desolate situation. Why can't they read? Why can't they comprehend? Why are they not listening? Is it because they are too stubborn? or is it because they did not get the attention that they deserve? or maybe the society has just stopped being patient for them. Tears well up in my eyes when I hear their stories. I'm wondering, what if I would be in the same classrooms they were in?

In this practicum, we've done our part to become heroes by helping to uplift the spirits of the young minds who were labeled and believed to be hopeless. They are poor and it is not their fault. And they need attention. How many more students would have to cramp up in a crowded classroom? How much more early can they wake up in the morning and how many more hours will be removed from their learning time? How many more shifts can we afford to have in our public schools? How many more teachers will have to either change their careers or go on teaching with an empty stomach? All for the purpose of covering up for the failure in fulfilling the responsibilty of  those people who are supposed to be answering these questions. in the light of all the corruption issues that befall our country, these conditions stagger in our faces.