The Philippines needs a Hero

Again, this week, I am sharing my Friday column from SunStar Davao Newspaper.  I hope you enjoy the article.

Every country needs heroes.  Every group of  people needs heroes of it’s own.  It’s something in the human spirit, having heroes helps us do better ourselves.  Somehow we want to emulate the person who has achieved hero status.

Politicians, these days, don’t make for good heroes, they are too divisive.  Half the people revere a certain politician, the other half hate him.  It is very rare in this age that there is a politician that is looked up to by a big enough percentage of the populace that they could be considered a hero.  Sure, a certain politician can be a hero to his followers, but not so much to an entire nation.

Who are the heroes of the Philippines?  Without much doubt, the number one hero of the country is boxer Manny Pacquiao.  Manny has another bout coming up in just a few weeks, and you can bet that the nation will come to halt for a few hours to watch their hero go to battle (and hopefully win!).  Manny brings pride to the Filipino people, and rightly so.  But, in the end, Manny is a Sports hero.  Sure, he will contribute some money to some causes in the country, but how much can a Sports hero really do to make the nation rise to greatness, let alone his individual followers make the same rise?

CNN, the Cable News Network, is having it’s annual (I think this is the second year for the event) search for heroes.  Right now, they have narrowed the search down to 10 candidates.  One of those candidates is a Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida.  Efren is on a mission to teach kids.  Destitute kids.  Kids who are not in school, and some of whom have no homes except the streets.

Peñaflorida has his own “school of the streets,” he has a pushcart that he loads up with books and other learning materials, and he pushes his cart around the streets of Manila.  He goes out and finds kids who need to learn, and he teaches them as best he can.  Peñaflorida goes out and finds kids who are in gangs, and he takes them out of gang life by giving them an education.

One of the students said it all:

“I thought I’d get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve,” recalls Fajardo. “I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict — if I hadn’t met Efren.”

Saving kids from going to jail, and instead giving them an education is something that only a hero could do.

Peñaflorida, who is only 28 years old, has been doing this for 12 years already.  Can you imagine, the fellow started at the age of 16?  I wonder how many kids he has saved from gang life, even death in those years?

Where does Peñaflorida find his students?  Well, all over the streets of Metro Manila.  Even at the garbage dump.  Now, in addition to his “pushcart school,” Efren also operates a place where these poor children can get a shower an start off the day clean and ready to learn.

This contest to find CNN’s Hero for 2009 is something that you can make a difference in.  You can vote for your hero, and when the votes are summed up, that is how CNN’s hero will be chosen.  By visiting CNN’s Website, you can cast your vote for who you think the hero is.  Hey, let’s face it, any one of those ten who are in the finals are heroes in their own right.  But, for me, Efren is a real hero by helping these kids make something of themselves.  If you agree with me, please go and vote and make Efren the CNN hero.  If he wins, he will get $100,000 to advance his work.  Efren has said that it is his goal to spread his pushcart schools all around the Philippines, and to help more children through the effort.  You can do a small part by going and voting for Efren now!

The Philippines needs more heroes, and you can do your part by voting now!

Educational Experience

An experience indeed.

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What I am clamoring about is the educational process as observed by a foreigner here in the Philippines.

You would expect a high school student to be held accountable for their attendance, grades, behavior, and ability to achieve academic excellence by their own actions however I have observed the schooling we have provided for our teens living here in Tagum, and it just drives home the point, we’re not in Kansas!

And in the school system’s defense, not all students have the means and ability to go to their assigned classes and participate due to family hardship etc.  But is that fair to the remaining students that are looking for a quality education.

I have read some articles that Bob wrote about the differences in public and private schools there in Davao and there is a world of difference, organization being a key factor. I have observed for example one of our kids here in our home is a junior in high school, one of the classes she is required is Filipino, which I suppose is no different then English as a required subject in the US, but it seems so fundamental and the quality of their educational process is, well in my opinion, less than adequate.

I am interested in history and subjects like that and do a lot of research on the Internet as well as learn from my peers here in the Philippines about this country and its historical attributes, and when I ask our teen about certain periods of history, she explained that wasn’t taught in public schools. I asked simple questions that was about one of my favorite history subjects WWII  and the Japanese invasion, and about the reclamation of the Republic after the war and how it was reorganized to being a Republic of it’s own sovereignty. Nope, not taught, I would have thought this was an important time in history for the Filipino people.

I tried to persuade our teens here to attend the private school of St. Mary’s but they wanted to go to the public school here that just doesn’t demand very much in the way of responsibility or accountability from their students. There is no attendance record even. Our junior is learning freshman mathematics and I just wonder when the shock will come here to the kids that graduate public schools without being held accountable when it comes time to compete in the real world.

Is an education of any quality only for the more fortunate even if the less fortunate have the desire and aptitude?  Maybe my western culture has demanded I be skeptical.

What is your experience?

I need an education!

What is a C.A.T.?

For high school in the Philippines almost all students will go through the CAT before graduating. You would probably wonder what is a CAT? CAT means Citizen Army Training. Just like the military. We have to go through the drill and formation. For most of the schools here private or public it’s really mandatory for a senior student to have the CAT. In my school, being just girls exclusively and not many senior students, that’s why the junior students were called to filled in. With the CAT it also had a band that played while we were in the formation.

Our CAT uniform was really like the military, and we had a rifle too. Were using the fatigue and the shoes has to be really shiny and the belt. Our Colonel really checked our belt if she could see herself, just like a mirror. If she could not, then it’s not shiny enough. You got punished for that. Also, there was a certain way to fold the handkerchief and the way to put the hat. If you had long hair you had to tie that and tuck it in inside the hat or use some hair clip that would hide your hair so that it wouldn’t go in your face . The clip to be used had to be black. They really were strict on that.  Can you imagine the drill in the hot sunny day over 100 degrees. We got sunburned a lot. If there was a contest against all schoosl private and public school (GenSan and the neighboring provinces) we would really have the drill (practice) for a whole day with Saturday and Sunday whole day too. Sometimes one of the students would pass out being under the hot sun for hours. Try not to pass out because the punishment will await you. To be honest I passed out one time.  I think if I remember before going to school that day I didn’t eat breakfast. Man I really suffered later. I just fainted while in the drill. When I felt  better later I had to give 20 push ups. I’m not happy to give but had to do it. Luckily it doesn’t happen a lot. I think being an all girls school we wanted to prove to everyone that we can do it. To be honest we really got good marks during the contest. Scores for the contests were really for the formation, rifle assembly, the band and discipline of course for the Cadettes.

One thing too on the training, don’t be late on the drill because the punishment would really be more than the push ups. Honestly on the military thing like the CAT students were not late. If our Captain leader said be here at 15 hundred we would be there 10 minutes before the time. But if our class president say we have a meeting at the classroom by 9am most of the classmates would be late like 10 to 15 minutes. I think because no punishment. With the military right in front of everybody you get punished.

In all honesty I’m glad to have the training. Just didn’t want it to be 2 years. It’s harder if your the lower year because as if your the slave. You will serve the higher years. It’s like payback time. Since they were punished a lot in the junior years they will pay it back when time for them in the senior years. I guess I had resentment at that time. Looking back now its kind of funny and fun. It was fun though like all of us be punished and all of us do the push up or sitting in the air. Were so serious in the drill but when we get back to our classroom we would be bursting in laughter, but we would not let the officer know that we are laughing on that. We might get more punishment next time we have the drill.

One time during our junior years one of my classmates, she’s really the clown in the class. Right before our CAT time, my clown classmate made a fashion show in our classroom using her rifle. She’s really making all kind of tricks with her rifle. Of course we were all laughing at it. We didn’t realize that one of the officer passed by the corridor in the classroom and saw what my classmate did. The officer didn’t like it. We all got the punishment. She told us to give 50 push ups. She immediately said that it’s a fault for all. We didn’t say anything, we just followed because if you said something they would give us more punishment.

I will share next time our training its not an easy one especially if your aspiring to be in a higher officer and my best friend was the lucky one to be chosen as the Colonel.

Mabuhay!

A memorable High School life

If you asked me what years in school I had fun with, I have to say it would have to be my high school days. I think the reason for me enjoying the high school life would have to be that I was beginning to be mature in mind. I started to be deciding for myself (not really) a little. Here in the Philippines Mama & Papa decide everything for the kids.

It was really a challenge for me to be in the private school (Notre Dame of Lagao for Girls Dept.) during high school days. To be honest, I would rather study in the nearby town of  our farm to start my freshman year. My parents wanted me to study in the private school since my older siblings studied in the private school already. It was hard at first because all my best friends from grade school studied at the nearby town in the farm. I am the only one in the group to be studying away from our town. I was so devastated and lonely. They envy me, and I envy them. I used to come home every weekend to the farm to see my parents and best friends.

At the school it was hard at first for me to adjust. I felt so alone. A lot of my new classmates already knew each other, some were classmates or school mates from the nearby grade school. Most were graduate students from NDLFG grade school department. There were just a few of us that were students from other towns or provinces. Gosh, introducing ourselves for the first time in class was really nerve wracking. I remember, me and my new found friends were really shaking. Got so scared, but after the first introduction for our first teacher and our adviser we were at ease then.

After that I made some friends slowly. I was in the second section when I first entered my freshman year. The first sections really were almost all the students from Notre Dame. Its okay though for us. Throughout the end of my freshmen I already made a lot of friends and had some best friends. During our Sophomore year I remained in the second section and most of my classmates from the previous year were still my classmates in the 2nd year. I meet some classmates that were transferred from other schools. One of them become my really close friend until now. I think that at that time we created our own group of friends. During recess time we hung out in the Grotto of the Virgin Mary in our school. In our group we belonged to were the kids that didn’t have money. So, during recess time instead of going to the cafeteria, me and our group would be at the grotto just talking until the bell rang for our next class. The rich kids would be at the cafeteria to hanging out. No hard feelings. That was just our life back then.

That was the cycle until the end of our Sophomore year. Comes Junior year. Our first day the group got the bad news.  Some of us in the group were being transferred to the first section. We didn’t like what we heard. So what we did, we knew the adviser of the second section and we really liked her, she’s our favorite teacher. We really asked her for help to let us stay in the second section. We were practically crying for mercy to be with her. We don’t want to be in the first section. We just didn’t want to separate the group. Yeah we would always see those other schoolmates but not like we bonded them. So we asked the Principal. Luckily she let us stay in the second section. We were really happy to be there. I think the teachers just want the group to be separated. We never created any problems. I think they just wanted us to be with the other schoolmates too. At that time we really hate it.

During Senior year the group were really forced to stay in the first section. We tried talking to the teachers and Principal but no luck they didn’t let us transfer. So we stayed in the first section. The group was so unhappy at first and later we did accept it and just stayed until graduation time. Earlier in the article, I showed our last Christmas together in Senior year (1984). Some of us in the group went abroad, some stayed and some had successful business, some full time Moms, some still single and available, 2 that I know of were dead already. Our adviser, she’s our English teacher too. She’s happily married to an American. She’s my English teacher from freshmen until Senior year.  Thank you so much Ma’am Mae.

I enjoyed my high school life even though we didn’t have much party going on. Me and my barkadas just hung out a lot, sometimes in our house,  sometimes on one of my friends house. Our parents knew who each of us. 3 of my best friends went to our farm one time for the fiesta and they really had a blast.

My classmates will kill me for posting our Christmas Party picture. Don’t worry classmates still looking good anyway.

To all graduates of Notre Dame of Lagao for Girls Dept. Grand Reunion next year. Still deciding the date. If you email me I will forward your email to Shiohara Reyes or Leila Cosio. Hope to see you guys there.

The Quezon Connection

It is August 19, the birthday of the First President of the Commonwealth, Manuel L. Quezon.  President Quezon and I have a connection.  No, it’s not walking ashore together when we had returned to the Philippines.  Two others had that wartime pleasure – not President Quezon or I. Neither of us was around for that historic moment.

Just what is the connection?  Well, I’ll be the first to admit it is a little weak, but it is a connection nonetheless. The Pasuquin Central Elementary School, celebrating “Buwan ng Wika ‘09” (“Month of Language ‘09”), presented a program that honored both President Quezon and me. Some days it is rewarding to be part of your community. I am writing this article after returning from school.

Remembered as the “Father of the Philippine National Language,” the school program honored the results of President Quezon’s efforts to unite Filipinos with a common language they could call their own. Filipino, formerly known as Pilipino, is an enhanced version of Tagalog that employs words and some syntax from other languages and dialects spoken in the Philippines.

Though I am not on the same level of greatness as President Quezon when it comes to achievements, I did have the privilege of being the “Guest of Honor & Speaker” for the wonderful program put on by the teachers and students. I also had the privilege of swearing in the 2009-2010 officers of the Parent-Teachers’ Association. My wife, Emy, had the privilege of swearing in the 2009-2010 teachers of the language, Filipino.

All grades participated with skits, songs or dances – each related to the program’s theme: “Wikang Filipino: Mula Baler Hanggang sa Buong Pilipinas” (roughly, “Filipino Language: From Baler [Quezon’s birthplace] to all of the Philippines”). I apologize for my rather poor interpretations of the National Language – I’m still learning.

The digital camera was along for the ride and finishes this report with images of the program.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.  I cannot begin to describe the wonderful performances put on by these young ladies and gentlemen.

June Pride

When I called my Dad the other day, I asked if my niece was in school that morning. He said no because she was still on vacation. I realized that the Philippine school year has not even started yet. But it should, soon.

Unlike here in the United States, schools in the Philippines open in June. After a brief Christmas vacation, classes resume usually after the Three Kings in January. And close in March. During my time, we did not have semestral breaks. I was told they started those in 2005.

I feel a little disappointed in myself because I haven’t finished packing the box that I have been meaning to send to my niece who will be in third grade this year. It contains a new school bag and other school supplies among other things. I also got her a pink rain coat because I know that the opening of the schools is also about the beginning of the rainy season.

I bet she is so excited. She goes to the same school that I went to. When I went back in 2007, her book bag was worn out and torn on the side so I bought her a backpack. She probably used it until the end of last year. I better hurry it up and send her box. It won’t get there until a few weeks after her first day of school.

There were several things me and my brothers used to do before school started. From first to third grade, we were required albums instead of notebooks. A pad of ruled paper fastened together and onto a folder that served as the softback. When we started using notebooks, we pulled out the spirals that held the pages together and then sewed the leaves back together with a yarn. It prevented the pages from tearing easily and if the notebook was going to last a year, the spirals would most likely bend to one direction inside the book bag making it hard to turn the pages.

The first day of school was something I always looked forward to. I used to put on my uniform and practiced carrying my packed school bag. My dad would always tell me that I’d ruin something before the first day of school. The closer the day got, the more excited I felt. I was like an anxious bride. And in the beginning of a new school year I had something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

‘Something old’ were my classmates of the previous year. In most (if not all) public elementary and high schools, the kids are grouped into sections according to learning speed. During my time, there were at least 35 students in each section and about 10-13 sections, the first being the ‘cream of the crop’ and the last needing the most assistance. So you see pretty much the same faces and  have the same  classmates unless a student makes a very recognizable and significant change in performance. They did happen but not very often. I grew up with more or less the same set of friends. The kids did not move or transfer schools as much as I have noticed they do here in the States. If there were transferees, they were seldom and usually settled in and stayed until they graduated.

Another ’something old’ were my uniforms. Elementary and high schools, public or private have uniforms. In grade school, our uniform was a white blouse with a sailor collar, black and white checkered skirt, white socks and black shoes. I certainly didn’t get new uniforms every year. In fact, I used one of my Kindergarten uniform skirts up until I was in third grade. Four years! They sure got old and way too short and I begged my mom to please buy me new ones. I think I cried everyday for a week and then she finally had new skirts made for me in the middle of the school year.

‘Something new’ were of course my school supplies. I loved the smell of new paper and pencils. One could have witnessed the makings of a nerd. I felt my mom used to buy supplies very late that it always got me worried. And she would always tell us, “Oh, you wouldn’t need that.” I’d say, “But Ma, that’s what the teacher told us to buy.” Then my mom would sternly say, “Michelle, I am a teacher. I know what you need”.

Usually my school shoes were new, too. I guess my mom didn’t have much choice because I of course outgrew my shoes almost every year. But they were not always new from the box. I was often given shoes that still had life in them. But they were certainly new to my feet! I used to polish them so it would not be too obvious that they were not brand new. A black Kiwi shoe polish and an old rag and presto! They were shiny and new looking!

‘Something borrowed’ were the books. The government provides public students with academic books. Definitely not new because those are lent and are expected to be returned at the end of the school year, and will be reused for the next. Our books then were old and needed restoration right when we received it. They used to not print enough, either. The books were distributed in ratio depending on the number of students. Often, it was ‘one book is to two students’. It was hardly ever ‘one is to one’.

‘Something blue’, make that somebody blue was usually my brother whose birthday is in June, around two weeks after school has started. So by the time our parents have spent on tuition fees, school bags, supplies, uniforms and shoes on all four of us, there was no more left for his birthday celebration. My mom used to console him by saying “at least you got new school stuff”. But so did the rest of us and it was not even our birthday. Many times, he felt disappointed on his birthday.

I imagine my parents felt as blue as (if not worse than) my brother. Tuition fees during my primary years did not get any higher than 60 pesos. I believe it doubled by the time I was in sixth grade. But things would all add up and always used up a budget that was already thin in the first place.

At a young age, I understood the meaning of and the feeling when ‘the pockets are empty’. So when there was ‘no more’, none of us siblings pushed either of our parents to produce. That’s why even when my things were not all new or I didn’t have everything that was written on the requirements list or when my brother didn’t have a party on his birthday, we still anticipated school. We were just glad that they put our education before anything else.

Education is a priority specially in poor Filipino households. Sometimes, they even sacrifice the food on the table as long as the kids get to go to school. Being able to send a child to school is a pride for the parents. You would usually hear them tell their kids, “Education is the only thing I can pass on to you.” They want their kids to have a better chance at life, something maybe their own parents were not able to do for them or for whatever reason they obviously did not get to live.

I know it is true that education is something parents anywhere in the world, always want their kids to have and being able to give them education gives unmatched pride and fulfillment. But growing up in the Philippines, I saw how it was always put first on the list.

Davao writers workshop 2009

Well its not often I feel like proud parent, especially when considering I am gay, but this week I felt just like it.

A few weeks ago Migs submitted an essay to the Davao Guild of writers and was accepted to go on a prestigious workshop at Ateneo de Davao University.  He was one of a hand full of people across Mindanao and beyond who was chosen to help fine tune their talents, and make them even more able to open up those talents.

The morning was open to special guests and families and me!! The speakers at that time were very well known national and local writers of influence, who between them held many international and national awards that seemed to go on for ever.

Prof Godofredo Rojo, Prof. Ricardo de Ungria, Prof. Jhoanna Lynn B Cruz,Mr Dominique Cimafranca, Dr. Majorie Evasco were the names of the people that the students listened to intensively.

All those chosen are now fellows , this in itself is a major help to their careers, and needless to say putting that on a resume will raise a few eyebrows.  As Migs was introduced I felt such pride that here I was with someone who was being so recognized by people that matter, and here I was the only foreigner in the room.

I was amazed that two of the fellows were under 18!  I so hoped that no one was going to ask me to make a speech for any reason, as if you are a foreign guest you usually get asked to say something.  Thankfully it did not happen, as the day remained focused on the needs of the fellows.

Those of you who have read older posts by Migs Bassig will know he has a huge gift of writing, and lately has had many published items appearing. I am so proud!!

As I sat and listened to the speeches, a lady next to me introduced herself as Aida Lourdes the founder of the Ford Academy of the Arts Inc., here in Davao City. She was a very willing participant in the mornings activities and bounded with energy, even though she was born in 1929!   A wonderful lady who has invited me to  her college for a tour.

That afternoon the fellows alone went to a new location in Davao, without the parents and special guests to have five days of in depth training and critiquing of work.

Migs was so pleased to be involved, really what an honor. At the end of the first day when I collected him from the hotel he was fully excited about his day and was looking forward to the next few days.

But life never goes to plan does it? Here we are now with something he has so worked hard for and life plays a bad card. What happened? Well fever and hospitalization is the answer.

That is the next article, and at the time of writing this Migs is still hooked up to THREE drips and confined to hospital.

Home schooling debate

Last week, I got an e-mail from my good friend, Dave Starr.  LiP readers will know Dave, because he is a fellow writer on this site.  Dave and I have been friends for a couple of years now, and communicate almost daily about anything in life.

Dave’s e-mail to me read:

As both a live in the Philippines expert resource and a current dad I think it’s pretty appropriate.  Have you ever seriously considered home schooling your children here in the RP and if you have been close’ to doing so, would you have been in favor of it for elementary years, high school or even college.

Well, I’m not sure how much of an “expert resource” I am, but I do my best.  Anyway, here is my response to Dave:

Actually, I think you asked me this question in a recent e-mail, and I overlooked it.  I am bad about doing that.  I get focused in on replying to one topic, and forget about other stuff in the e-mail.

In our case, we never considered home schooling, either here or when we lived in the States.  I feel that there are benefits to home schooling, and there are downsides too.  Of course, the biggest downside that you always hear about is the lack of socialization.  I believe that is a problem, but not as big a problem as it is made out to be.  As we both know (I am sure) there are groups of home schooling parents he have things like get togethers for the kids and such to make up for the in-school socialization that the kids miss out on.  For me, as an expat family, the biggest downside to home schooling (or schooling in a very exclusive “foreigner-only” school) would be the lack of cultural exposure.  This is especially true in the case of our family, because I expect that our kids will probably live here for the rest of their lives.  Living in a home with expat parents (Feyma is quite American after 10 years there) and not getting exposure in the school to the culture, I believe, would not expose them to enough culture to help them fit into the society as they grow older.  Now, if we were a missionary couple or something like that who expected to be here 3 or 4 years and then go back to the States, then I think that the culture thing would be much less important.

Another thing that I consider a downside to home schooling, whether in the Philippines or in the USA, is that neither Feyma nor I are trained as a teacher.  In some subjects that might be OK.  In other subjects, I feel it would be a huge disadvantage for the kids.  One example that comes to my mind immediately is that I know that Feyma could not adequately teach me to speak Bisaya.  She is not a language teacher.  I feel that an example like this could be extended to the kids on some subjects.  I just feel that it is better to have a trained educator do the educating.

If I were leaning in this direction, I would be more likely to look into some of the newer online learning solutions that Tom Nixon refers to often.  Tom is a real expert in this area, and I’m not certain why you are asking this, but if you have need to do something along these lines, I think that Tom is a good resource that you might consult.  The types of things I am talking about are online High School, even Elementary School and College classes given over the net.  I believe this is something that could well become quite popular in the future.

Another factor in our case is that Feyma and I live a pretty busy life.  Our lifestyle, I feel, would not fit the home schooling lifestyle.  My kids come first, but I feel that it is better to let others educate them for many reasons.

Those are my thoughts.  If you have other specific questions that I did not address, please just let me know.

If you are an expat, considering Home Schooling is something that will probably pass your mind (assuming that you have children of school age).  For me, personally, this just was not the right move.  It is a highly personal decision, though, and must be made on a personal level.

Early Enrollment

We accomplished some big time stuff yesterday. Our kids are already registered (enrolled) in school for 2009/2010 school year. Two of our kids will study in Ateneo.  My goodness I didn’t know how much the high school tuition for the freshmen student until I was ready to pay at the cashiers office. I asked the guy at the counter how much is the tuition for the freshmen student for the entire year. He told me its Php60,474.05.  He then gave me the copy of it. My gosh, I can’t believe looking at it that the tuition for freshmen and sophomore were 60k. The junior student its 62k, the senior student is a little over 65k.

Thinking about it, by the time our youngest son (his tuition right now in grade school is almost 44k) would be in senior year the tuition could reach up to 100,000 pesos per year. Wow, that’s really something. Just looking at it right now even though the tuition is so high a lot of people still sent their kids to Ateneo. The thing is, its one of the best schools here in Mindanao anyway. Parents will really dig into their pockets to send their kids to the best school in town.

Our daughter Jean Jean will study in another of the good schools here in Davao. We wanted for her to study in Ateneo, but she doesn’t like to be in Ateneo. She studied there for 2 years and she’s not happy being there. I think too much pressure for her. She will be studying at Davao Wisdom Academy. Not too far from our house and we heard from some people that this school that she chose is good too. Its a private school and not that many students compared to Ateneo. One good thing for her to be there, the school is giving her a scholarship. She got a high score on the entrance exam and she was an honor student at her previous school. We are so proud of her. Honestly it will be good for her self esteem there. After we registered her yesterday, she seemed very happy and excited to be there. The tuition there is just 1/3 of Ateneo high school.

As you all know with the crisis right now that is happening in the world a lot of people really struggle sending their kids to school. Here some parents would even borrow money for their kids education. Back when I was a studying my parents would sell copra, corn and pigs for us to enroll. Still happens right now in the province. I also know some of my family would put their land as collateral just to borrow money for enrollment of their kids. It would be fulfilling for the parents if the kids study very hard and finish the degree.

I wonder if theirs a big decrease of enrollees this year because of the global crisis?

A tale of two schools

As I wrote a while back, two of my kids graduated from elementary school this year.  That was a few weeks ago now, and I’ve been meaning to write about attending the graduation ceremonies, because it was an eye opener for me.

Over the past, I have been to Ateneo de Davao (ADDU) campus a number of times.  My son Aaron goes to school at Ateneo.  He has been attending ADDU ever since we lived in Davao.  Ateneo is probably the best school in Davao, and even all of Mindanao.

My daughter, Jean, attended Ateneo in the past, but decided to transfer to Rizal Memorial College (RMC) a few years ago, it was her choice.  RMC is a private school not far from my house.  While it is a private school, RMC is much less expensive compared to ADDU.  I have been outside of the RMC campus, but had never gone inside before.

Attending the ADDU Graduation was what I expected.  Nice campus.  Very well organized.  First class facilities.  There were nearly 500 kids graduating from Elementary School.  The ceremony started with a full mass (it’s a Catholic school) followed by the graduation of nearly 500 kids.  The entire ceremony, including the mass took almost 3 hours.  This included giving a diploma  to each kid individually, awards to various kids and such.

The following week, we attended the Graduation of Jean at RMC.  As I said, this was my first time to visit the RMC Campus.  I knew that it would be of a lower class compared to ADDU, but I was surprised at just how much difference there was.

At RMC there were 21 kids graduating.  There was no mass.  The ceremony took more than 2 hours!  Organized?  What is that?  During the graduation, people were playing basketball in the same gym where the graduation was taking place!  Some of the graduating kids were up in the bleachers running around and playing!  It was totally unorganized.  It was hot and uncomfortable.  The wood floor of the gymnasium was rotten and the boards would give way under you.  I was shocked at the sight of the place.

I don’t really regret having sent Jean to RMC, because she was not happy at ADDU.  She did excel at RMC, which I am happy about.  It gave her confidence, and a belief in herself.  Next year, for high school, she is transferring to a better school, and I am sure that she will do well there.  I know that she was happy during her time at RMC, and that makes me happy too.

So, if you are thinking of coming to live in the Philippines and you have kids, this just shows that there is a huge difference in the schools here.  Just because a school is a private school doesn’t mean that it is of similar quality to other private schools.

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