The Essence of Me

Recently, I developed an addiction for GMA’s (the network, and NOT, I stress, NOT the president) late night News and Public Affairs programs, a luxury I never had when I was still working in the call center. With this addiction I rediscovered my soft spot for underprivileged children, especially for those who want to study but do not have the means. Dreams that have been long slumbering were awakened in me, and I realized that in my preoccupation with daily trivialities I have actually forgotten promises that I made to myself as an idealistic youth.

Education is not the course I would have taken, only the scholarship I got from the DOST excluded the ones I really liked such as Journalism, Creative Writing, and Comparative Literature. Under the scholarship program, I could only take courses that are Science and Math-related, and these included Education, with Science and Math majors. Being Science and Math-handicapped, I opted for a degree in Secondary Education with a major in Physics and a minor in Geometry. In my third year, I shifted my major to Special Education and my minor to Social Studies. Even after changing majors, it never occurred to me to change courses. This was at a time when most of my block-mates were transferring to other colleges. I was one of the few who truly felt at home in the College of Education. This wasn’t because of my friends, classmates, or professors. This was because it was here, in this college, that I began to dream. I began to hope that someday, I would be able to make a difference.

My favorite professor taught Social Studies, and our classes were held in an informal way. He departed from the usual textbooks and readings, instead, he shared newspaper articles on the Philippine education system, encouraged us to take to the streets and fight RBEC, and he opposed the idea of UP graduates teaching abroad. He lamented the ever-decreasing number of Social Studies, Values, and Filipino majors, because most students were taking majors that are in-demand in the US. It was very apparent at that time, because in my two classes with him, there were only six of us in one, and four in the other.  We were in serious danger of getting dissolved, but my professor fought it, tooth and nail… and I’m glad he did. It was through him and our discussions in class that I started to see that our education system is a mess, but not entirely hopeless. It began to dawn on me that my usual apathy for politics and the government in general did not necessarily need to include issues on education. Thus, I became passionate about the plight of school children, and I resolved that someday, I would make a difference.

Two of my most favorite features about education were Maki Pulido’s segment on Reporter’s Notebook, and the one I just saw last night, Jessica Soho’s Philippine Agenda: Edukasyon. Both featured schools in remote provinces with poorer than poor facilities. In these far-flung areas, the children have to walk for hours just to reach their schools, classes are held under the trees and in makeshift nipa huts, only one book for each class is available, and the blackboard is near disintegration. But the brave students are not deterred.

The urban public schools are no better. In some areas in Metro Manila, the students are lucky enough to have rooms, but learning is almost impossible because they are overcrowded. Imagine teaching 120 students in a regular-sized classroom, with not enough seats, not enough space, and literally not enough room for students to grow.

There were also children who were forced to quit school because of poverty. Some of these kids are so determined to go to school that they work for their baon. The most common way for them to earn money is to gather scrap metal and plastic bottles or what they call pangangalakal. It is predictable enough that when there’s poverty there is also malnutrition. The percentage of malnourished children in the public schools is downright scary. Rising to the occasion, the government implemented a feeding program, a short-term and unsustainable solution that included only a small portion of the affected children.    

Another issue that these features focused on is the lack of qualified teachers in the Philippines, and we all know why. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. Some of the best teachers go abroad where they are better compensated, and we can hardly blame them. Even if you want to stay and teach in the Philippines, a teacher’s salary here is not enough to feed even a small family.

We ask ourselves, why does the government refuse to invest enough in education? Are they too blind to see the obvious truth that the quality of our education is directly proportional to our quality as a nation? 

I guess, my predicament is, with my passion rekindled I am now faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of making a difference. When we say difference we think of big things, but the truth is, we can start small. If each and every Filipino tries to help our education system in his or her own way, then the efforts combined would definitely make a difference.

But how and where do I start? How and where do we start?