Borderless classroom

People learn in many ways, from a variety of situations and places. The sea is the sailor's classroom. Kitchen is for the chefs. And farm for the farmers. But to my college students, the classroom is anywhere, borderless.  

From watching a comedy play, last September 14, 2013 was a whole day but another once-in-a-lifetime experience for my Humanities1 A and B classes. They come from varied disciplines: Political Science, Mathematics, Management, Computer Science and Fine Arts.

Almost to wrapup the entire semester and as part of providing a refreshing, out of the ordinary learning experience, we went to various heritage sites in Cebu City.

First, we went to Museo Sugbo,the Cebu Provincial Museum,which was once called the Carcel de Cebu, the provincial jail of Cebu. Various pre-colonial, Spanish, American and Japanese artifacts were kept and preserved. Adjacent, a separate gallery housed the different kinds of plants and flowers that did not originate in the Philippines but were brought by the colonizers.

After the tour, my students had the chance to know what is etching. The guide, for the first time, demonstrated how to make an etching artwork using improvised materials like the styropor and cooking oil.

From Museo Sugbo,we walked to Casa Gorordo in the midst of the sweltering heat past 11 a.m.Casa means house.We toured the whole parts of the house. The house has a big space below for the produce and the garage.The house brought us back to a very simple lifestyle of the past but at the same time made us realize the kind of economic status and the religiosity of the dwellers.

We went to Parian and passed byYap-Sandiego ancestral house- the famous Balay ngaTisa. It's one of the well-preserved old houses in Cebu. The architecture and purposes of Spanish colonial houses and the way it is built enlightened us of how life was during the colonial times.

Then we proceeded to the Cebu Heritage Monument wherein different scenarios where depicted, among others likeLapu-Lapu's fight with Magellan, Jose Rizal's writing adventures and the Filipinos' defense for freedom from the colonizers.As we continued our trails, we passed by the obelisk's marker; an important symbol that cites Colon as the oldest street in the Philippines. 

We passed by the rest of the sites and esteemed their significant collective contributions: The Cathedral Museum, Metropolitan CathedralChurch, Basilica del Sto.Niño, Magellan's Cross, Cebu City Hall, Senior Citizens' Park,Malacañang sa Sugbo and Plaza Independencia.          

Reaching the final stop, the well-kept Fort San Pedro, students were mesmerized by the historical background of the place. Finding their own spaces, they started with the on-the-spot painting. Some admitted that was their first time but they liked it that even foreigners appreciatively took pictures and videoed them. Students' subjects, mostly, were on nature, old rustic lamp posts, walls, footpaths and staircases of Fort San Pedro. An experience that allowed them to creatively visualize what they appreciate.

It was indeed an activity filled with significant human experiences especially that majority of my students haven't been in those places. Far removed from any other activities, the tour didn't end up with just mere observing but "connecting with the past".

Undeniably, the world outside the four walls provides a different experience. It balances classroom learning. It is even beyond the acquisition of theories in the classroom. It endows with meaningful realizations that classroom instructions can't provide.

The tour was the call for my Humanities 1 classes. With incomprehensible reasons, others are nit-picking about such activity. But the truth is, with proper planning and well-intentioned objectives, students appreciate this educational and social experience because while learning they develop fellowship with other students in a relaxed environment. 

Educator, writer, Jesuit priest Fr. Joseph Galdon says learning is fun. And it should be. Let's not bore our students to death with lectures!

Let me borrow a line from one of my students: "A tiring but worthy activity...tan lines can disappear but the memories and the experiences we had will never be forgotten".