School Watch Philippines

SCENE ONE

Setting: supermarket.

Characters: Mother and Daughter.

Daughter says hi to Karen, a former classmate. Mom asks daughter who Karen is and where she studies.

Daughter says Karen no longer goes to their school: Catholic, has a high student population, and follows traditional academic teaching.

Mom asks why.

Daughter says: Because Karen is not smart. She’s a dropout.

END OF SCENE ONE

This is probably a common scene that most of us have experienced or even reenacted at some point in our lives. Haven’t we?

In the Philippines, most especially in Metro Manila, a lot of parents and students have this unshakeable paradigm that if a child does not seem to manage to get passing marks in his or her grades, and is asked to leave the big, traditional school, he or she is a dropout.

In many cases, it’s just one subject that students fail and then consequently, they get a sticky reputation as someone who is not smart. The majority of failures in my time were in Math: the great Waterloo of many. Isn’t it the same for today’s generation?

I have a nephew who’s currently struggling in a traditional, all-boys Catholic school. I’ve seen him study his eyebrows off. Is it his fault that he’s still failing?

Schools, most especially the traditional ones, have this standard that kids must reach. Aren’t schools supposed to be TEACHING and not just SETTING standards? In retrospect, there actually weren’t any programs in my former school (a traditional, all-boys Catholic school) that helped me get through the difficult lessons. My teachers would always say, “Go to a tutorial center.”

It could be possible that there are kids who don’t really learn in big schools anymore. They are all rather just measured, and no one is doing anything to help them in school. Thus, they fail.

Now, as soon as that flunked out child transfers to a new school, people would say that’s a school for dropouts.

Do you think it is solely the child’s fault?

Do you think that schools who accept students who didn’t make it in big schools are just dumping grounds for dropouts?

We send our children to the best schools we can afford to give them the brightest possible future. But when a child struggles academically or socially, many schools automatically, as a matter of policy, attribute the poor performance to defects in that student’s intellect, study skills, upbringing or family life.

To be sure, there are times when those issues are justified, but it is interesting that the school will inevitably leave itself out of the equation.

Can a school contribute to a child’s failure?
Certainly the answer is yes.

A big campus with lots of facilities, well-educated teachers, international standards, a comprehensive curriculum, these are all wonderful things. But in a way they obscure the main question: “Can you teach my kid?”

There are more than 8 identified learning styles, most schools can only accommodate 2 or 3 of them.

Social stigma
What if your child has a non-traditional learning style? Does that make them dumb?

There are few things more humiliating to families than when a child fails at school. Their classmates are merciless at pointing them out as the stupid kids who had to leave.

Ironically, studies have shown that there is a 50-50 chance that the kid who failed out will grow up to be the boss of the kids who did the pointing.

How can that be?
That’s because many of the kids who don’t do well are unconventional thinkers. It’s only later in life that the world discovers just how valuable they really are. Provided, of course, that they don’t lose faith in themselves because of all the ridicule.

Learn What You can do!
Jerome Castro, formerly of Ateneo de Manila University and currently Head Master of Reedley International School speaks out about the accountability of schools for results, how to find the real cause of your child’s school difficulties, and what to do about it.

Education for Parents is an ongoing series of talks designed to give you the tools you need to raise happy, successful children.

Date and Venue: TBA
Cost: Free
Speaker: Jerome Castro
Reservation: 631-2262 to 67

or

RSVP:
GeiserMaclang
Alma Buenviaje/Joyce Pogoy
0917.534.4624/0917.523.4624
Email: alma.buenviaje@geisermaclang.com

Email: alma.buenviaje@geisermaclang.com

This talk is brought to you by Reedley International School: A committed partner for academic accountability.