AlternativEd

MANILA, Philippines - Have you ever thought that you’re just not cut out for traditional schooling? You don’t enjoy spending countless hours studying about things you wouldn’t even need in your everyday work life in the so-called “real world”? In that case, what you might need is an alternative education.

Contemporary space: New schools do not require hectares of land for its compact facilities.

Alternative schooling is not a new concept in the Philippines but it is an option not pursued by many. After all, most students would probably choose a traditional school for its tried-and-tested formula of churning out graduates, rather than some corporate college that hasn’t been around for long and would have skeptics raising an eyebrow in doubt of their academic credentials. But together with the long scholastic history, those traditional schools might also have age-old, archaic methods of teaching that need to be updated, according to Hendrik Kiamzon of Meridian International Business, Arts & Technology College (Mint), one of Manila’s emerging alternative schools founded by renowned educator Baltazar Endriga.

Traditional schools mostly offer courses that are common by today’s standards. Alternative schools, on the other hand, either specialize in courses not available in other traditional schools or offer the same courses with a different approach. Offering courses in business, arts and technology, Mint has further modernized and upgraded the basic offerings in most traditional schools by integrating theory and practice which gives them valuable hands-on training that guarantees them a “smooth and seamless transition into the professional world.” One of Mint’s courses, Music Business Management, a first in the country, focuses on the business side of music wherein students are taught management skills that will help them establish careers in the music business not only as the “talent,” unlike what other music schools offer.

Real-world touch: Mint College at McKinley Hill (www.mintcollege.com) promises actual professional work in its teaching method.

Aside from the relevance of the courses to the current needs of the times, Kiamzon emphasizes the need for the educational system to be brought into the 21st century through the use of technology in delivering education, just as how they will be doing in Mint this November. Its campus in McKinley Hill will be utilizing a computerized system wherein students can view and review classes previously conducted by their professors in recorded videos uploaded at the school’s website as well as take online courses that make use of multimedia and information technology. They also have a well-equipped library in the form of an Apple Experience Center wherein iPads carry digital books (imagine: the same room that only housed about a thousand books will now be able to accommodate as much as the iPads’ memories will allow).

But more than the jaw-dropping facilities, alternative schools take pride in their roster of teaching industry practitioners. Kiamzon adds that having working professionals as department heads to oversee the courses will be more enriching and fulfilling for students who want to see what’s going on now and what they’re going to be doing in the future. “Instead of having a faculty who might have been in the industry 10 years ago (or) who might now be out of touch (with the current practices) and focus only on teaching theory, what we have is the best of both worlds — professors teaching theory and actual industry practice,” Kiamzon adds.

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Mint College is located at 2F CIP Bldg., Campus Ave., McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Contact 223-MINT (6468) for details.