School teaches kids… and parents

CEBU, Philippines - The first school in the country that caters not only to children but also including tagging-along parents in the learning process is in Cebu with the Smart Start Schoolhouse, which has a soft launching yesterday at Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City.

This was confirmed by Dr. Roderick Motril Aguirre, a kindergarten, reading, language consultant and specialist who is also part of the technical working group of the K-12 curriculum of the Department of Education.

Aguirre said that the school is designed with a progressivist perspective wherein there is an establishment of a concrete relationship with the children and their parents.

He said that there are also other progressivist types of schools in the country but Smart Start Schoolhouse is the first to have this kind of children-parent bonding and learning as the parents will have a separate session on how they will guide their children in the learning process.

Aguirre is also a current faculty member of the Languages and Literature Department of  the College of  Liberal Arts of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas.

Aguirre explained that there will be a specific day wherein the parents and the caregivers of the children enrolled in the school will have a parenting session or seminar and will be taught on how to facilitate the learning of their children at home.

The school’s administrator Rosalyn Banzon-Dumaraos, who is also the owner of the school, stressed that they do not only cater with normal children but also those with behavioral problems, wherein it will be a therapy session for the latter.

Interestingly, Dumaraos decided to establish the school based on the experience that she had with her son, Leandro, who underwent therapy for language delay.

“During our journey of seeking professional help we met various specialists and spent a lot to get answers on how to help our little boy. Ultimately we came to the conclusion that what helped my son was time we spent reading to him. That is why we launched the play school which will focus on learning through play with emphasis on reading and language development,” said Dumaraos.

With the experience, Dumaraos had the legacy to give affordable quality education to middle income parents, especially to those parents with children who have behavioral and literacy problems.

Their main objective is to plan a holistic development, facilitate by engaging in learning through purposeful play and collaborate with families to enhance the children’s learning.

A typical play-based program will be expected from the two-hour sessions and will cover the areas of language and literacy, numeracy, motor skills, aesthetics and creative expression, environmental awareness, as well as socio-emotional development through monthly themed topics.

The Smart Start Schoolhouse will officially open yet on August 1. The school offers affordable session at P250 for children two to four years old.

Both Aguirre and Dumaraos, also planned to cater K-12 special training for teachers in the public and private schools.

Inclusive education

The EDSA People Power Commission is pushing for inclusive education in all schools across the country by the year 2014.

This was revealed by Commissioner Anton Lim yesterday when he attended a whole-day inclusive education workshop for students at the Cebu Institute of Technology University Auditorium.

Inclusive education, according to Special Education Teacher Evita Ngo, is the allowing of children who have disabilities to interact and participate in all activities in their respective schools.

This is done through different teaching strategies and an adaptive curriculum which would fit all types of students — with or without disability.  The EPPC wants to empower educators as early as being a student on how to implement inclusive education.

“Dapat hindi yan nga you cater only to regular students tapos pinagbale wala lang yung may disability. Dapat lahat ng bata kasali sa ginagawa,” Lim said.

There are already laws which mandate inclusive education in schools such as the Education Act of 1982 which provides free primary and high school education to children with disabilities and the Philippine Plan of Action for Children which unifies all government efforts to provide education and welfare for the same children.

However, Lim said that these are not yet implemented in all schools.

“There is no perfect school as this is a work in progress. Hindi lahat na- intindihan kung ano ang inclusive education at kung paano gawin kahit mayroon ng mga SPED schools. Kaya we want to bring this (workshop) across the country,” Lim added.

The EPPC was created through Executive Order 82 in 1999 to perpetuate and propagate the spirit of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. But according to Lim, EDSA today is not about ousting a legislator.

“Hindi na ito political. It’s people coming together for a  greater  cause.  It’s bayanihan,” he said.

EPPC plans to conduct workshops in other parts of the country to promote their advocacy of inclusive education. — Marigold P. Lebumfacil and Annie Fe Perez/UP Masscom intern (FREEMAN)