An invitation to Brother Armin Luistro to discover the secrets of childhood

As a La Salle Brother, DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro lives by the Christian view of life, that every child is the vessel of divine life. Education therefore must seek to develop the full potential of man from infancy to adolescence. The Geneva Convention of the Rights of the Child defines childhood as the period of Man’s construction from birth to 18 years of age.

By 2016, Operation Brotherhood Montessori School would be celebrating its 50th anniversary, having set the trend for UNESCO’s 21st Century Education, the foundation of quality Basic Education from K to Grade 12. OBMC managed to accomplish this ideal curriculum in a shorter time, using the Montessori system. This includes a college for preschool education and a culinary institute as well as a horticulture farm in Sulsugin, Alfonso Cavite bordering the Tagaytay highlands. How? I would like to invite DepEd Sec. Armin Luistro to observe how we do this at our Greenhills headquarters — the sooner, the better.

The UNESCO 21st Century Education

Twelve education experts of the world formulated the so-called 21st Century Education in Year 2000, the New Millennium. For this, the team headed by the Finance Minister of France Monsieur Delors wrote the book “Treasures Within.” It cited the four pillars that should embody quality education.

Pillar I Learning to Be – From birth to 6 years the child’s absorbent mind is already learning spontaneously to be a human being, speaking and walking by himself during the first three years, and can be scholastically directed from three to six years old in a Prepared Environment of work, not play. Pillar II – Learning to Learn, 6 to 12 years old, a period of intense reasoning power as well as the acquisition of morality requiring a culture-loaded curriculum with hands-on material for all subjects. Pillar III – Learning to Work, the quest of the 12 to 18 years old to become economically independent. Six years of high school in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia provide technical training in construction, basic food service, health care and housekeeping, clothing industry, agriculture, performing arts that readily employ students for apprenticeship. These are then concluded with Pillar IV – Learning to Live in Harmony With Others at 18 - to 24 when the adult matures and begin to serve society.

The CRC guarantees the right of the child to quality parenting and quality education

In 1990 the Philippines was one of the first 35 countries that signed the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC). By 1995, A delegation of government officials headed by Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Alma de Leon with DECS Deputy Secretary Linda Pefiangco, DSWD, DOLE, DOJ and DOH officials presented to the UN International CRC, chaired by Madam Hoda Badram of Egypt, the Philippine Plan of Action for the Child Beyond 2000 drawn up by President Fidel Ramos, continuing the work of former President Corazon Aquino. Two members of Congress were Congresswomen Leonor Ines Luciano (a former Justice of the Court of Appeals and legal expert on child abuse), and Rep. Teresa Aquino Oreta.

Dr. Nina Yuson, director of the Museo Pambata and I as a UNESCO commissioner, OB Montessori president and Philippine STAR columnist were invited as NGOs. Dr. Pefiangco admitted that we have more than 400 laws intended to protect the child, but many of them are not enforced. Babies for instance, born in inaccessible places do not get registered officially as Philippine citizens because the local midwives have not been properly trained. Birth statistics are needed to provide enough school facilities.

Upon our return to Manila I was appointed as chairman of the CRC Popularization Committee. I joined the delegation in Pampanga, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro and Davao to work with the assembly of DILG, DOLE, DOH, local courts and police officers to reinforce the treaty. We discovered that only half of the police force is available in most cities of the country.  Thus, reprehending child traffickers proves difficult. The delegation tried to set up the missing Juvenile Court and the Council for the Welfare of the child.  

Public elementary school teachers look up to Pagsasarili preschool

In 1996, about 350 district supervisors, principals, and master teachers of Negros Oriental joined Provincial Governor Dr. Emilio Macias II and his mayors at the NLCC launching of the 1996 National Literacy Awards , on February 27 in Valencia, the municipality of Mayor Edgardo Teves. It is adjacent to Dumaguete, where Siliman University is.

As a member of the technical panel of the National Literacy Coordinating Council (NLCC), I was invited by Dr. Metodio Gapasin, school division superintendent of Negros Oriental to speak and demonstrate the O.B. Montessori Post-Literacy Program for village mothers and their children to the Negrense educators.

A couple of supervisors asked to consult me after my demonstration. The sample Math and Geography materials excited them since they revealed that a more psychological approach in learning could answer their problems. They have implemented the eight-week preschool program DECS compiled to help the sixes adjust to grade I. They were never exposed to kindergarten. The supervisors observed that the children were rather restless by the second week at school: “After an hour of activities, they would run all over the classroom. The teachers are helpless and confused. We fear the drop-out problem will worsen,” they anxiously remarked.

What can a 6-year-old do?

Last week, part of my column titled DSWD and DepEd ECCD Framework Urgently Needs the Pagsasarili System to Prevent Gr. I Dropouts referred to “The Inaccuracy of ECCD R.A. 10410.” Both frameworks failed to follow the international chronological ages of preschoolers (3 to 6 years) and grade school students (6 to 12 years), as confirmed in UNESCO’s 21st Century Education four pillars due to the psychological nature of the four stages of childhood development used in the world. Extending Early Childhood Education from 0 (birth) to 8 years fail to adhere to the standard 0 to 6 years when the young children are motor oriented and prone to work. R.A. encroached into the 6 to 12 age group, the very sensitive period for intellectual pursuit, which, if fulfilled would prevent the frequent failure of high school students. As their intelligence then weakens, it should be replaced by livelihood skills training in their psychological quest for economic independence.

The missing factor in conventional education is the Prepared Environment of manipulative, self-learning apparata for Practical Living exercises in Personal Grooming and Housekeeping, Language, Math, Geography/History & Social Studies, Botany/Zoology – the P65,000 package given to a Pagsasarili classroom is so rich in activities that it could be used up from K to third grade. Given these work materials by which the children can control their errors (not the teacher), the classroom must have open shelves to contain each of the 5 sets of materials. They are not duplicated but one of a kind ready in individual box, tray or basket for a child to choose.

The cycle of work and the gradation of difficulties

Each one can therefore work independently after finishing his “cycle of work.” Rules they easily observe are to respect a seatmate and wait for one’s turn. Sandpaper letter in lower case are traced while emitting its sound, leading on to kartilya cards for reading syllables until the child learns to read nouns, then adjectives. Verbs and adverb cards are dramatized until the child can read full sentences or primer booklets. This is how the “gradation of difficulties” in Reading and Writing take place. In the same way Numeration is made easy from 1 to 10, make use of wooden Number Rods corresponding to Sandpaper Number cards. This advances to Decimal Unit beads, 10 bars, 100 squares and 1,000 cube with number cards, making possible four-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Montessori lessons, unlike the traditional lessons go from general to particular, since the mind comprehends a larger framework of concept such as knowing the World with the 7 piece puzzle map of 7 continents, then the puzzle of Asia with 27 pieces, ending up with one’s country, the Philippines. History is learned with the child doing his “time Line of life”, writing down his age with a centimeter paper, parallel to his younger sister’s, the age of his mother, father and grandparents. Picture history cards of animal and plant growth complement this.

Scuola Professionale preparation for the adult world

Dr. Montessori perceived that high schools for 12 to 18 years old should have technical training for employment in the adult world, which our government has only realized now. Thus the last two or three years are called Scuola Professionale. In Europe, high school students are exposed to learning several European languages since their commerce relates to various neighboring countries. In the past decade O.B. Montessori Professional High School has added European languages, Basic Accounting, Laws on Person and Relations, Food and Agri Business, Functional Mothercraft Literacy training in laborers’ community. This has helped the students foresee their future career.

A world waiting to be born

During DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro’s watch within President Benigno Aquino III’s governance, only two years remain. I believe Brother Armin wants to play a role in the transformation of the Filipinos. I am sure he wants to help make the change through education. He sees “A WORLD WAITING TO BE BORN.” Sixty-eight years since we gained our independence in 1946, and yet our country has not gained true freedom within the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2015). How can we even reach the global UN Millennium Development Goal 2015? We have remained dependent on other countries. Our people have been indulged to depend too much within an extended family of relatives and government officials.

It takes courage to be a follower of Christ for one has to be counter culture to this materialistic world. But we must all discover the powerful secrets of childhood. Brother Armin must see how the Filipino child is truly the bearer of the Light of God.

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