EDUCATION REVOLUTION STARTS HERE

EDUCATION REVOLUTION STARTS HERE

By

RACHEL BARAWID

(Manila Bulletin, Education Section, p. 1, May 3, 2012)



MANILA, Philippines - The students of Darwin International School (DIS) System in the quaint towns of Pulong Buhangin and Bagbaguin in Sta. Maria, San Jose del Monte City and Malolos in Bulacan may literally be labeled as probinsiyanos and probinsiyanas but they are not the least bit backward, in terms of education.

In fact, the students who are all fluent in speaking English, are globally competitive and equally brilliant, perhaps even better than those from Manila and elsewhere.

Apart from topping the National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) results in the province and the region, they also end up getting accepted to all the top schools in the country such as the University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. This is largely due to the unconventional, out-of-the-box and unique system of education being offered in the school.


ONE-OF-A-KIND TEXTBOOKS
First off, the students from preschool to grade school don't have the usual textbooks that are commercially found in the market. Neither do they use imported books. Their simple resource materials in all subjects except Math, are actually in black and white, typed in bond paper, photocopied and bound together. These serve as their textbooks.

But one shouldn't be quick in judging its cover though, because as soon as you open the pages, you'll see that it is far from its simple and ordinary exterior.

The books, written by DIS president and headmaster Professor Rolando S. Dela Cruz, are cutting-edge, unique and filled with relevant words and concepts that students need to be able to think critically and compete globally.

The English book for preparatory students, for instance, contains vowel and consonant sounds, spelling and advanced vocabulary. Words like edifice, abbey, hilarious, cactus, iceberg, Koran, palette, queue and their proper pronunciation are being taught to these kids in the context of a sentence and not just through memorization.

"Yung libro namin mukhang kawawa pero ang pinag-uusapan ano yung laman, paano ituturo at ano yung method sa pagtuturo. In English, I need to give even prep students advanced vocabulary because my goal is to produce globally competitive students. So I engage them in critical thinking. If the words are deep, they can absorb ideas and express themselves. Through ideas, they can be able to test concepts. But that can't happen if they learn only simple words," explains Prof. Dela Cruz, an A.B. Philippine Studies (major in Political Science and Film) graduate from UP Diliman.

The English book also has poetry, literary activities such as reading a classic and analyzing the setting, characters and the story. It also includes English expressions.

The English Grade 6 book has a practical exercise that enables students to discuss their weaknesses, allowing them to express themselves. Dela Cruz says this activity particularly trains sixth graders to pass a job interview, a skill normally learned while in college!

Prep Science books, meanwhile, consist of topics on animals, plants, human biology and astronomy. Dela Cruz reasons that the abstract concepts in this book may be hard and advanced for their age but if taught using the right approach, they will be able to absorb it easily. Science, like all the other subjects, is taught in a multidisciplinary approach. Art and language are incorporated in the subject, as students learn to draw the animals they read about and also test their spelling skills from the new scientific words they've encountered.

Filipino and Civics books, on the other hand, have an English translation for every word, much like a dictionary. And then the lessons are taught in Filipino and English, on a different day, so the students who are adept in English can have a chance to understand the concepts in their preferred language. "I allow the children to master the Filipino topics first. But I don't deprive them the opportunity to learn in English. So now, we have students who can express themselves in a particular topic in two languages. That to me is the real bilingualism," points out the 48-year-old Dela Cruz.

At the DIS however, everyone including the janitors and guards are required to speak in English at all times, even during recess and lunch break.


TEACHING HUMANITIES EARLY
Another important feature of the DIS education is the integration of the Humanities, a first year college subject, in the preschool and grade school curricula.

Prep Humanities, for instance, teaches kids about prehistoric art including pottery, the first human beings and cave paintings. They also learn Achilles in Greek art, the Renaissance as well as legendary musicians, literary greats, and artists from Mozart to Lea Salonga.

"When I went abroad, I saw French preschool kids analyzing art at the Louvre Museum. My goodness, what an injustice to Filipinos! `Yung pinag-aaralan natin ng college, pinag-aaralan na ng preschool kids sa France! So I said to myself, when the time comes that I will put up a school, I will not deny them the opportunity to learn world art at the earliest possible time. I believe Humanities should be taught throughout the learning process from preschool to college," reveals Dela Cruz, a three-time Palanca awardee and two-time Cultural Center of the Philippines awardee in playwriting.

While the parents of his students were shocked about the inclusion of the Humanities in the lower levels in the beginning, he says eventually they realized that there is nothing wrong with learning about the best in world art and culture at such a young age.

Some textbooks at Darwin, also have footnotes that include bibliographies, links and additional readings that even teachers and parents can look up. Dela Cruz believes that they too should engage in lifelong learning to be able to effectively teach their students and children.


STUDY TOURS AND FORMAL DINNERS
Darwin International School also differs in the way it conducts its field trips which it would rather call study tours. Instead of amusement parks, the students are taken to historical, science and art-oriented places such as museums, famous landmarks and even puppet shows. In its recent study tour, students were taken to the Quezon Memorial Circle where they learned about the tomb of former President Manuel Quezon, as well as the architecture, art and history of the place. They also went to the PNP Museum where they were exposed to the concept of guns, as a tool to ensure peace and order. During the tour, students engage in complementing activities that enhance the lessons.

Every year, students attend formal dinners at DIS where they don't just learn social etiquette, table manners but also discuss serious, relevant issues with their teachers and school officials. Other extra-curricular activities include a Sports Festival, English Festival, Talent Olympics, Dream Day, Cosplay Festival and Battle of the Bands.

Apart from the small class sizes, the school has no top ten classification. Instead, all students are required to maintain a grade that can make it to either of the five classifications: first class honors, high second class honors, low second class honors, high third class honors and low third class honors. Those who do not fall in any classification will be provided with an intervention to improve his or her performance. Otherwise, a student will have to transfer to another school. What's good about this classication, adds Dela Cruz, is that everyone are motivated to study hard and give their best effort due to the equal opportunities to excel and be part of the honors class.


INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR FILIPINOS
Established in 2003, the Darwin International School is a fulfillment of Dela Cruz's dream to provide international education to Filipino students. The wealth of knowledge offered and unconventional method used in the school are products of a rich educational and teaching experience, mostly culled from his learnings in UP, as well as from his postgraduate studies at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Japan, University of Leiden in the Netherlands and the University of Cambridge in England. The curriculum is likewise an enhanced version of the basic education curriculum of the Department of Education.

While he had already made significant contributions to UP, producing books and journals for the UP Law Center and teaching Political Science students for a long time, Dela Cruz felt that he would be able to give back and help improve education in the country much more if he could reach out to a greater number of students at a given time. And that would be possible by putting up his own international school for Filipino students.

"My idea of an international school is to produce students with international orientation but with a strong dedication as Filipinos with a big heart. My goal is not to destroy their being Filipino but to strengthen their identity and nationalism. I want to produce Renaissance men and women with 21st century skills who will work hard for their country," stresses Dela Cruz.


ACADEMIC AND MORAL EXCELLENCE
Third year high school student Donalyn Natorilla of DIS in Pulong Buhangin, Santa Maria, says her Darwin education has taught her to be "learned" and not just "formally educated." "Being "formally educated" means one is only excellent in academics. But being a learned individual has both academic and moral excellence," she says.

Her classmate Andrew Pesebre, meanwhile, has learned to think critically and developed the confidence to stand in front of a crowd.

For parent Alvin G. Buenaventura, his son Aaron, this year's class valedictorian and incoming Engineering freshman at UP Diliman, has developed into a walking encyclopedia. He credits this skill to DIS who trained him well. He is confident that his three other children will graduate with the same skills and grow up to be equally responsible and extraordinary citizens.

Like the students, DIS teachers continuously develop to become better educators through constant trainings.

"The trainings have provided me with the techniques on how to maximize the time for each subject, how to deepen the discussions, how to ensure effective student participation and how to facilitate collaborative learning. Therefore, I became goal-oriented, focusing more on target skills that students must learn and the mastery level that they must attain. I am very fortunate that this institution keeps on nurturing me to become an efficient and effective educator," ends DIS head teacher Mary Grace R. Domingo


(SOURCE: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/education-revolution-starts-012020080.html)


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NOTE:
I would like to thank the author, Rachel Barawid, for the piece. Special thanks goes to the Manila Bulletin's Education Section Editor, Ivy Lisa F. Mendoza. - PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ

REVISITING MY YOUTH AT U.P. DILIMAN

Revisiting my Youth at U.P. Diliman

By

PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ
Educating a Nation


RETURNING TO MY ALMA MATER

As the buses entered the University Avenue from Philcoa, memories of the 1980s flowed like rivers in my consciousness.

Those were the turbulent ‘80s. Often, classes were boycotted by the Student Council and other student organizations. Radical and sympathetic students, and even some professors, held classes and staged plays on the streets.

Back then, students were politicized by the socio-economic and politico-military tensions. Many students did not only have to contend with “distractions” to traditional learning, but rather combined both street and classroom learning.

It was common then for the lower and middle classes to moan about Philippine underdevelopment. The decade started with the 1981 presidential elections anomaly, followed by the deafening 1983 gun fires at the tarmac, climaxed with the 1986 EDSA Revolution, and ended with a denouement of disappointments. It was an era of intertwined politics and emotion emulating a roller coaster ride.


CHANGES, CHANGES
I recently visited the University of the Philippines in Diliman with my Basic Education students. Security was noticeably heightened, given the recent reports of rape, theft, and other forms of crimes. I reckoned that it was a more tolerant atmosphere way back. The U-Av before, as people would call the main road to the UP administration building, was not strictly guarded all the time. Anyone and any vehicle can pass through it. Yet, we thought then that the period was already the most dangerous days of our post-war life. The 1980s UP Police force can usually be seen only during fraternity rumbles, amiably tolerant.

Today, UP seems to ape the martial law years with the extensive presence of guards in key entrances and exits which, admittedly, is better than risking the lives of its community members to unscrupulous elements. The crimes today on campus, perhaps, are nothing but symptoms of the overall economic as well as moral decay in society.


THE UNIVERSITY IN NATIONAL LIFE
Indeed, the country has changed a lot, for better and for worse. But there are things that do not seem to change, like the attachment on things one experienced as a teenager.

Entering UP, two and a half decades after I first set foot on it, is indeed a homecoming. There are more buildings, one-way street signs, plants lining up the roads, plenty of space for joggers, academic courses, and a lot more freedom for students to choose subjects for their General Education requirement.

But despite these changes, the essence of UP life seems embedded in the consciousness of its graduates. Thus, the effervescent saying: once a maroon, always a maroon. The pride is in the heart. With this pride runs the tradition of alumni who have become important players, again for better and for worse, in national life.

It was in UP where I personally met people whom I only read in my High School books or in newspapers. Many are members of the UP community, while others came to UP since they cannot afford not to be there. Some have become Presidents of the Republic, Senators and Representatives of the Legislature, Justices of the Supreme Court, National Artists, or giants in the world of science and business.

UP is a very dynamic place where one participates in the dialogue between the past and the future, between the impossible and the possible, and between preservation and change. It is so vibrant that it is quite unlikely not to be infected; so forceful that one is inevitably confronted by the challenge to leave a footprint, one way or the other, through deeds that can have an effect on the lives of others. That is what being Iskolar ng Bayan is all about.


A HOMECOMING
I went back to the fold of my alma mater that cultivated me in my earlier years, the university that is nestled in a 493-hectare prime land - with my Pre-school up to High School students from Bulacan. I brought them there not only for them to see the campus of my youth but also for them to feel the UP spirit as I narrate to them the history of struggles in the minds of its constituents.

But more than anything, I brought them there to dream of entering this top school, or any other high-standard university for that matter, when they reach college. Being in such a place will challenge their capacity to imagine not only their own future, but the possible future of a beautiful, united and progressive society.

One day, I want them to have a homecoming of their own: a time when they would have realized that, like children capable of molding clays into incipient sculptures, they are also capable of molding the institutions of their incipient nation.



An alumnus and former faculty member of UP Diliman, PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ is President of the Darwin International School System. He studied in Osaka University (Japan), the University of Cambridge (England) and at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands).

(Source: MANILA BULLETIN, May 10, 2012)

(Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/359233/revisiting-my-youth-up-diliman)

REFORM SHOULD BE BOTH RADICAL AND INCREMENTAL

Reform should be both Radical and Incremental

By

PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ
Educating a Nation

MASSIVE SUPPORT FOR CHANGE

The administration of President Noynoy Aquino has both fortune and misfortune on its side. It is lucky to be enjoying massive support akin to a post-revolutionary spring of hope. It is in the best position to forward meaningful changes that could have lasting effects, boosted by the trust rating Aquino enjoys. People believe that he is anti-corruption and incorruptible. It is in this context that the K-12, a program which revises the curriculum in Basic Education and extends it by three years, operates.

Aquino is again lucky that he starts implementing K-12 on his second year. The negative impact in terms of additional tuition and other fees on those who will be Grade 7 by June 2012 (1^st Year High School) will start on their Grade 11 which is in June 2016, the month when a new President will take his oath. Any complaints, therefore, for new tuition and other fees for their additional full Grades 11 and 12, will be made when Aquino is already out of power for about 12 months, enjoying his retirement.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND PRESSURE

Aquino, however, suffers also from the misfortune of high expectations and pressure. He has to implement K-12 early in his term to harness immediately the support from the people, especially the business sector which looks up to him to implement changes in educating those who will man various industries. He is also pressured to implement a program that cannot be altered immediately by a new President who might be against him or his program. To assure that his program stays, he has to attack the very structure of the educational program of the country.

But implementing the K-12 immediately beginning School Year 2012-13 exposes the program from the same possible problems that all other major reforms had suffered in the past, like the lack of intense ideas and preparation to address the heart of the problem. One really wonders how deep is the preparation of the Department of Education (DepEd) from May 2010 up to May 2012 to implement such a radical reform by June 2012.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Some questions are worth noting, however: 1) Why do most, if not all, schools up to this writing have not received yet the K-12 curriculum, at least for Grades 1 and 7?; 2) Where are the books to be used?; 3) What will happen to the colleges which will have no high school graduates to absorb in SY 2016-17 and SY 2017-18?; 4) Are all High Schools ready to absorb the deluge of excess students during these two school years in terms of capability to produce the quality graduates DepEd expects?; 5) Is the preparation of DepEd enough to produce a new breed of Filipino graduates who can all think critically and creatively, instead of being of the same kind as the country produces now but only with two extra years of schooling?; and, 6) How does the Philippines ensure that it executes K-12 in a way that is correct, effective, efficient, national-life altering, and successful internationally when measured?

Absent concrete answers to all the above questions, the nation will probably be shocked after the product of the K-12 starts graduating by March 2018. K-12 could just be the legacy of success or failure of Aquino in our nation’s history.

HOLISTIC AND INFORMED

Reform has to be holistic and informed of the factors that can undermine it. Indeed, the act of reforming education is an explosive political act. However, the essence of reform which is genuine learning of Filipino children ought not to suffer from the politics of haste, insensitivities and un-historicity. Indeed, reforming Philippine education is one of the most difficult to undertake because it cannot depend only on one man, one party or one Department. Reform has to be made in the context of Philippine politics and culture – sensitive to the weaknesses and strengths of the both ordinary and powerful people, and perceptive as well of the way we value and waste educational opportunities as a people.

Reforming Philippine education should be radical, indeed. But its unfolding has to be inevitably incremental: crossing one island to another at a speed effective enough to take root; its pantheon served by one government to the next without fail and without betrayal; its absorption by the Filipino soul undertaken by one generation to the next until such time we are ready to once more overhaul it not because the Filipino soul is changing but because that soul has to thrive and win in an ever-changing world.

  

An alumnus and former faculty member of UP Diliman, PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ is President of the Darwin International School System. He studied in Osaka University (Japan), the University of Cambridge (England) and at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands).

(SOURCE: MANILA BULLETIN, April 26, 2012)

LEARNING FROM PAST EDUCATION REFORMS

by

PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines — Any country in the midst of quagmire welcomes change. Unfortunately, not all change is for the better.

This is why it is so vital for the government, in its effort to reform Philippine education, to learn from past mistakes.

President Noynoy Aquino’s goal is crystal clear: bring Philippine education to the 21st century. He meets the problem head-on by transforming the current 10-year system (i.e., Grades 1 to 6, and 1st year to 4th year high school) to become the K-12 system with a 13-year required academic program (i.e., Kinder, Grades 1 to 12).

But what is there to learn from the past?

ABORTIVE  NCEE: ENTRENCHED LACK OF QUALITY

One such effort was the imposition in the 1970s of a college qualification through the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE). Those who did not meet the grade cut-off were forced to give up their dream to enter college and instead proceed to vocational courses.

The theory was that the colleges would produce quality graduates since those to be admitted as freshmen were well-prepared. Those unqualified to enter college, thus, were better off in the vocational fields.

Merely raising the bar, however, became useless because it did not solve the problem of quality itself that was virtually unshakable. Worse, an unintended net effect was the creation of a label that the vocational tract is a mark of failure.

The policy proved inutile as the yearly cut-off grade was lowered because more students did not meet it. Its eventual abolition only strengthened the resolve of many to obtain a four-year degree to avoid the stigma of vocational courses. This led to the establishment of commercialized colleges trying to address market demands, further intensifying the crisis of quality.

BOTCHED BILINGUAL POLICY: FAILURE TO UTILIZE LINGUISTIC RESEARCH

Another reform was the bilingual policy intended to make Filipinos proficient in both Filipino and English.

The theory was that subjects related to being a citizen like Filipino, Social Studies and the Arts could best be taught and learned in Filipino, while subjects that could make one competitive in the world of work like English, Math and Science could best be taught and learned in English.

More than three decades later, Filipino students in general are still known to be weak in all these subjects! For instance, Filipino students almost always rank very low in international education studies and surveys in their age brackets in English, Math and Science.

The bilingual policy failed to consider the simple linguistic fact borne of research that people learn best and faster in their own native tongue. A foreign language competing with a local language in the minds of young people is a sure way to raise children in schools half-baked and with severe issues regarding their cultural identity.

Ideally, teaching in various areas using two or more languages could help develop critical and creative thought since multilingual learning could facilitate rewiring of the brain. But this assumes high-standard teaching which, of course, was virtually absent in the country. In the end, bilingualism only damaged the Filipino as a student for its failure to make his mind and heart whole.

REFORM WITH EYES WIDE OPEN

Based on these failed reforms, the Philippines should learn that it pays to study well a measure, not only in terms of the theory behind it but also in terms of its practicality, prospective efficacy and potential drawbacks. To be merely intoxicated by the promise of a potential harvest leads to waste of time and resources.

In the case of the K-12, is the government doing everything it can in order to prevent foreseeable mistakes?

Has the DepEd already learned enough from earlier errors to ensure that policy makers and implementers consider glaring factors that could undermine the success of K-12?

Is the K-12 going to be a solution or a simply catalyst for new problems to evolve, just like what happened to both the NCEE and the bilingual policy?

There are ideas which really look bright, beautiful, logical, relevant, sensible and promising. However, a policy could also turn out to be producing the opposite of its intended outcome. Worse, such policies could even create new situations that might be more difficult to unlock, if not more embarrassing to live with, than the initial problems it sought to solve. The only antidote to these, then, is utmost lucid thinking no less.

An alumnus and former faculty member of UP Diliman, PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ  is President of the Darwin International School System. He studied in Osaka University (Japan), the University of Cambridge (England) and at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands).

NOTE: THIS IS A REPOSTING OF AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE MANILA BULLETIN ON 29 MARCH 2012.

(SOURCE: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/355720/learning-from-past-education-reforms)

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/355720/learning-from-past-education-reforms