Can Your Children Get An Adequate Education In Cebu?

[JJReyes]

JJReyes, on 11 Feb 2013 - 14:51, said:The process would take one year and we would have to pay for the testing.why was the reason they wanted them to be "TESTED"? and what would have been the cost to the testing? JJReyes, on 11 Feb 2013 - 14:51, said:These were donations! The textbooks ended up in a landfill. could they have been sent via "THE BOX" to the school and then let them determine what to do? at least it would not be trashed.. last, not to be rude,, is this typical.?? that you have something GOOD to help, and either some "rule" prevents it or they just give some excuse of why they cant accept it. what can be done to change this crap so it doesnt happen in the future,

 

One possible reason is DeptEd personnel were trying to extract money from the "Rich Amerikano."

 

My wife and I use to send balikbayan boxes filled with educational materials. I would drive to various public libraries to check the exchange tables for such items as National Geographic magazines. Another item the students wanted were illustrated dictionaries. No acknowledge whether or not the box arrived. At least from Bruce and a street children NGO we support, there is an email message whenever a box arrived safely.

 

One of the grandfathers on my Mother's side was a former Undersecretary for Public Instruction during the Commonwealth Era. There is a school with more than 4,000 students named after him. The Albert clan decided to move their every other year reunion to the school grounds on a Sunday. A scholarship fund was established for the top graduates. The problem was the teachers became very demanding. They wanted us to buy them laptop computers. Several teachers showed up at a reunion to make pleas for donations over the PA system. The reunions are now held at some hotel ballroom.

[relcarve25]

 

Mike B said..      Are you familiar with Sacred Heart School, I have heard that is one of the better ones. We have time, our child is an infant, but this is obviously a big issue. I fear the schools outside the cities are at an even lower level and I can't see moving back to Cebu City, I hated it when I lived there. Thanks for sharing your experience. 

I understand your question. At the time I left Cebu Sacred Heart seemed to be making big inroads into recruiting pupils for its schools. They opened a large purpose built school in Talamban and were immediately oversubscribed. Quite a few parents moved their kids from Bright to there and I heard that the class sizes were very large- 40 - 50 per class. I didn't fancy that. Also their schools are very religiously based and I've encountered so many people from many countries who suffered at Catholic Schools. My wife went to one in Leyte for several years before money ran out and she hated it- especially the nuns who sounded positively evil. But perhaps my biggest caveat against sending my son to there was the fact that I was not satisfied with the resources for most subjects- I don't just mean textbooks but all the ancillary equipment and materials which are required for supporting the less academic, but nonetheless very important non core subjects. For instance Bright had no art resources or classes at all- there were no workshops or Technology courses. Domestic Science ( cooking and needlework) had so little equipment that they were pretty useless and as for sports...I was horrified. Pure elitism- no interest in general fitness for the majority. As for IT it has been remarked upon already. I observed that the fifty or so computers were so slow as to be barely usable and there was no technician for maintenance so that many were always out of action. Of course every parent has their own views about what environment he/she wants for their child's education but I personally wanted Sean to be exposed to as many different subjects and skills as possible without affecting his learning in the 3 key areas. (English, Maths & Science.)

 

SubicSteve, on 12 Feb 2013 - 00:00, said:

I'm curious as to why you didn't enroll your kid in the public school and then as a teacher, also home school him with your own curriculum?

 

   A very good question, Steve. Just before I sent my son to Bright I was very much of that opinion myself. I felt strongly that I wanted him to mix with children from all backgrounds and races and that, because I was a teacher, I would be able to supplement any inadequate teaching and Syllabus omissions with my own training. To a certain extent I did that- especially in my main teaching area of Science. But you see you can only do that to a certain extent.  The English taught at school was the only subject which I was quite happy with, and as I have a TEFL qualification also it was easy to cope with that. The Philippines equivalents of Geography and History were largely irrelevant to going out into the real world and were almost entirely Philippine biased for 3 Grade Stages. Maths wasn't a problem but it should have been. To explain- in Grades 1-4 the only Maths they studied was Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. Over and over again, year after year, they retaught the same material which my son largely knew before starting at Bright. I discussed this at length with both the Math Department and the Head Teacher but they weren't open to what they only saw as a foreigner telling Filipinos what they should teach. They didn't even initiate Algebra, Geometry or Graphic work. My son, and his peers were bored rigid with this vital subject. Finally, before we left, they taught ONE LESSON on Pie Charts and Bar Graphs- probably because they were sick of me telling them how bad it was. Tagalog was taught incredibly badly- after 4 years my son couldn't speak more than a few words or write a full sentence and yet his teachers said he excelled in the subject. (Upon return to the UK Sean started to learn French from scratch. Within one year he was able to write paragraphs in grammatical French and talk at a basic level about many topics. Now, after 3 years he is the top student in his Year, is taking his GCSE a year early and is expected to get an A+ grade.) So where did the fault lie? As for Science- don't get me started on that. That would be a post in itself. But perhaps it might help someone if I say..."Don't just believe what you are told by the Headteacher or Senior staff about science teaching in their school." In Bright I was told there was a really modern laboratory which was well equipped. I looked at it and it seemed not too bad- pretty small but serviceable . I was told that all the children after Grade 1 would get to use the lab. After 4 years my son had not had a single lesson in the lab so I tackled the teachers and Deputy Head (British by the way.) I found out that no classes in Grades 1-4 were timetabled for lab work. In addition the lab was empty 2/3rds of the time in the upper grades. I had volunteered to teach some Science lessons to classes (free) so that they would experience proper lab work but was always politely turned down. Finally, after deciding to take Sean back to the UK, I was asked to conduct some laboratory training with the Science Department.I found out why it wasn't being used. I had supposed that the teachers were probably scared to do practical but I wasn't quite correct. Most of them were willing, and quite able to do such work but they didn't because of the conditions in the lab. They felt it wasn't safe and they were right. The gas generator was faulty and dangerous. Many of the bunsens were the wrong type and should have been used with Natural Gas which meant that they continually went out leaving the room to fill with gas. The ventilation was poorly designed- the lab got so hot if the bunsens were used that fans were turned on which in turn blew the bunsens out. The equipment, and especially the stock of chemicals was completely inadequate and I was told by the teachers that if they requested anything they were told that it was too expensive. Finally it was too small and cramped for a whole class to use at once. The teachers were terrified that some pupil, the son of a rich or influential parent, would be injured and they would lose their jobs. Do you blame them?

   So if a school tells you proudly that they have one or even two labs you know what to look out for. Don't just assume they will be good.

   Perhaps you can see why I didn't just want to try to supplement Sean's school curriculum and do an internationally recognised Correspondence Course,- of which there are many good ones. He would have been spending most of his day being bored rigid with substandard or didactic teaching with few resources being used. (Chalk and talk at it's worst.) Most of their day the students were bored and wasting their time. It was a long school day- up very early to commute to school and home quite late. When would I spend the necessary lengthy time to teach him...he would be tired. And you can't just leave it to the long summer holiday which is family travel and experience time. I couldn't supply the expensive resources which UK schools have and which I believe to be very important to provide a rich and balanced learning environment, and the older he gets the more important this becomes.

   As good parents we should know our own children better than others and it was my judgement, right or wrong, that for HIM a local school and correspondence course would not be the best thing. I AM NOT TRYING to knock Home Schooling. For many children this will probably be the best option- but not for mine. We know our own children and try to do the best for them.  Chris McG. 

[relcarve25]

JJ Reyes said:   Did you consider correspondence or home schooling?

 

Years ago, our older son was attending International School in Manila. We left the Philippines for a round-the-world trip lasting one year before resettling in the United States. Uncertain on how to continue providing a structured education, my wife enrolled him in a correspondence course. The correspondence exchanges with the teacher were c/o American Express offices. Seven months were spent traveling throughout Europe on an RV. We were following a route so it was possible to calculate when we could check for mail in a particular city. Our younger son was still small at the time, so we did "read aloud" every evening with him.

 

If you and your wife are busy, hire a school teacher. Make sure she familiar and able to teach using the "inquiry" method rather than "knowledge" or memorization, which is more popular in the Philippines. Top local teachers will jump at the opportunity of make extra money. Also ask around for a returning Overseas Filipino Worker who is a teacher. Find out if there is someone who was employed by an International School or DODEA (Department of Defense Education Administration). These are the 222 schools located in US military bases. The reputation of DODEA schools is excellent. While preference is given to American teachers, they can't hire enough Americans for overseas assignment.

   I was very interested to hear your story about your World Trip. That was a very big step to take and I'm glad that it seemed to work out for you. What age was your eldest son at this time?  Also I had no idea about the DODEA schools you mention. Do I understand correctly that there are 222 such schools in the Philippines on US Bases? Like most people, I think, I thought that the American military presence is now quite small in the Philippines. I am not naive enough to think that all the US influence has gone!

 

Pittman apartments Sgn, on 12 Feb 2013 - 02:25, said:

JJReyes, on 11 Feb 2013 - 14:51, said:The process would take one year and we would have to pay for the testing.why was the reason they wanted them to be "TESTED"? and what would have been the cost to the testing? JJReyes, on 11 Feb 2013 - 14:51, said:These were donations! The textbooks ended up in a landfill. could they have been sent via "THE BOX" to the school and then let them determine what to do? at least it would not be trashed.. last, not to be rude,, is this typical.?? that you have something GOOD to help, and either some "rule" prevents it or they just give some excuse of why they cant accept it. what can be done to change this crap so it doesnt happen in the future,

      I had a similar experience. I tried to link my ex school in the UK with a local Primary School in Leyte. I offered to ask the UK school to assist with money, books and computers. At first the headteacher was delighted but a few days later he visited me and said that it would be better not to accept anything from my school. I asked why and was told that he was afraid that other local schools would be jealous and accuse him of trying to take advantage of the fact that they would not be able to get the same help. Very sad- it is a real problem here that there is a lot of petty jealousy everywhere. People are always trying to pull others down as well. It is a trait which is talked about in Filipino Social Science textbooks written by Filipinos themselves. It is called 'crab mentality.'   Chris McG.

[JJReyes]

I was very interested to hear your story about your World Trip. That was a very big step to take and I'm glad that it seemed to work out for you. What age was your eldest son at this time? Also I had no idea about the DODEA schools you mention. Do I understand correctly that there are 222 such schools in the Philippines on US Bases? Like most people, I think, I thought that the American military presence is now quite small in the Philippines. I am not naive enough to think that all the US influence has gone!

 

No. The 222 schools are all over the United States and globally wherever there is a large American military presence. Since the two large bases, Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Base are no longer under US control, I don't think there are any schools in the Philippines. American teachers are recruited for the DODEA schools. It is easy to fill positions in schools located in the United States. The difficulty is finding American teachers for schools in military bases like Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Kwajelin, a South Pacific atoll. The Filipino teachers will go anywhere because the salaries are equivalent to what teachers make in the United States. On or off base housing is provided. Depending on the location, PX (Post Exchange) shopping privileges are granted.

 

Our older son was around eight years when we left the Philippines. He is highly gifted. At twelve years, it was discovered that he was extremely talented in mathematics. They found that he had a different approach to problem solving during a national math competition. Like a gifted athlete, certain resources were opened to him. This also meant his mom and dad not paying a dime for his college, master and his doctoral degree in mathematics. Tuition was fully paid by someone else and he received a stipend for expenses. Summer employment was also guaranteed. He received tenure at 26 years, so lifetime employment is guaranteed. 

 

The younger one was around four years when we left the Philippines. He is equally gifted, but he had to work hard to maintain his A average and 4.0 GPA. The University Lab School was very good to differentiate the two. The older played the violin, so the younger one was asked to play the tuba. The older one acted in school plays, the younger went for debate and speech. Both played basketball and volleyball, but the younger one is taller and more athletic.

 

In my opinion, extensive travels had a very strong influence in their development.

[samatm]

wow some very gifted kids jj .  cool     I feel so Guilty  for bringing my kids to Cebu at ages 12 and 9    now they are 14 and 17 and my daughter just enrolled at Southwestern University.     She is so depressed and aching to go back to Texas even to go to a real high school again would fit her fancy where the schools actually have a library and athletics and etc. etc. ...  I tell ya I  now hate to hear folks back home complain about the US educational system.   There is so much there if the students want to take advantage. 

[JJReyes]

wow some very gifted kids jj . cool I feel so Guilty for bringing my kids to Cebu at ages 12 and 9 now they are 14 and 17 and my daughter just enrolled at Southwestern University. She is so depressed and aching to go back to Texas even to go to a real high school again would fit her fancy where the schools actually have a library and athletics and etc. etc. ... I tell ya I now hate to hear folks back home complain about the US educational system. There is so much there if the students want to take advantage.

 

Your daughter needs a period of adjustment. The situation will change once she makes a couple of friends.

 

You might consider hiring a graduate student versed in the discovery method of learning to moderate group discussions with your children on all kinds of global subjects. One example is everyone reads about current events like the demonstrations in Turkey. Everyone through round table discussions expresses an opinion. Is the government right or do you think the demonstrators are correct. There are no right or wrong answers. Next. Where is Turkey? Why does the United States government consider Turkey to be an important ally? The children need to gather more information for the next get together. Overtime, your children will want to bring up subjects they feel are important.

 

This forum is enjoyable for me because the format is somewhat similar. The topic, "Can your children get an adequate education in Cebu? is an opening line for a lively discussion.

Edited June 13, 2013 by JJReyes

[Tukaram (Tim)]

I worked for our public schools back home in Texas, so of course my kids went to private school.  For high school we used American School, a correspondence school out of Illinois, I think.  It is accredited so if they decided to switch to a regular school the credits would transfer over.

 

I hope to not have any more kids but that is still in negotiations...(I seem to be losing the battle ha ha).  But I would probably put them in the local public school.  And use something like American School to round out their education.  That way they would grow up Filipino and fit in here, but have a little more book smarts as well.

 

I would not move back to the US for their education.  I like the Filipinos and don't have any problem with kids growing up as Filipino.  But then again I enjoy my nipa hut so what do I know   :tiphat:

[Thomas]

Grades 1-4 the only Maths they studied was Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. Over and over again, year after year

I don't remember when they started teaching harder Maths when I were a kid in Sweden, but I believe it WASN'T higher than that (except perhaps a bit geometry) in that age. But I remember I were very booooored. They didn't let my study more than maximum 2 chapters ahead, so I spend most of my Math lessons waiting for the others to catch up. Most of the time in my Math lessons, I spend making cars from erasers with thumbtacks as wheels... :bash:   :)

--

I plan to let my future kids to go in the closest school of geting friends living rather close reason,

but improve their education by let them be home schooled 1-2 days per week INSTEAD of going to public school. (Probably teaching them myself in the most important subjects, if I have time enough.)

NOT force them to EXTRA learning on top of a full time school, that's why skip the normal school some days. Because it's very important they keep WANTING to learn things.

After kids have been teached reading, they can learn most things good by THEMSELVES anyway, at least subjects they are interested in.  

(A rather big part of the education from High School and up I have teached myself, and made tests to get grades, when I have bothered.)

 

---

Some harder if wanting DOCUMENTS of having higher exams (and of course for jobs which demands exams)

than if the KNOWLEDGE is enough. (As it is if it's in own business or as employed in a company where they count knowledge as the important. I mean if they know you have it. Of course it's harder to get such employments without formal exam, if they don't know you. But we can get higher jobs anyway by take a lower job in such company and SHOW them you know. (E g I got a Planning boss job already as a teenager, after they had employed me first in the production so they saw how fast I got things done as group leader too.)

---

Btw - I happened to see a Montesory school, when I studied Philippine maps  :)     

I have some mixed feelings for such schools (=Good at keeping kids wanting to learn, but some fuzzy concerning what they teach).

Do anyone have experience from any Philippine Montesory school?

Question,

 

I have a potential plan to enroll my Filipino/Canadian child in correspondence classes from Canada at the same time as he attends regular school in a Philippine province.  It occurred to me that he would have the cultural experience and school qualifications of his filipino country mates while also obtaining an eventual high school diploma from Canada.  Would this work to avoid the poor quality of education available in the classrooms here?

I don't know for Canada, but Sweden have teacher lead educations through Internet for Swedish kids living abroad as e g kids to businessmen, "aid personal" and missionaries.

(But it wouldn't function for my future kids in Phili, because I don't plan to teach them Swedish.)

State schools have inadequate buildings, sanitation, resources, textbooks and numbers of teachers.......

As in some schools in Sweden then   :mocking:    I suppose it's similar in UK.

[JJReyes]

I worked for our public schools back home in Texas, so of course my kids went to private school.  For high school we used American School, a correspondence school out of Illinois, I think.  It is accredited so if they decided to switch to a regular school the credits would transfer over.   I hope to not have any more kids but that is still in negotiations...(I seem to be losing the battle ha ha).  But I would probably put them in the local public school.  And use something like American School to round out their education.  That way they would grow up Filipino and fit in here, but have a little more book smarts as well.   I would not move back to the US for their education.  I like the Filipinos and don't have any problem with kids growing up as Filipino.  But then again I enjoy my nipa hut so what do I know  

 

Whether in the United States or the Philippines, parents entrust their children's education to either public or private schools. This is wrong. We believe that's only half of the learning process. The parents daily involvement is important by exposing the children to all sorts of new experiences. I would add grandparents now that we have a granddaughter. The learning system is very simple. We took a two years old grand nephew to a supermarket. My wife and I pointed and named everything on the aisles like carrots, broccoli, string beans, cereal, oatmeal, etc. By the third visit, he wanted to name all the items. He got upset because there were no yams. It took us a few minutes to figure out why he was crying.

 

Our granddaughter is coached by her father in chess, bridge and poker. They go for hour long walks and he teaches her mental math. That includes the ability to add and subtract three digit numbers. Her mental multiplication and division is still single digits, but she should be able to do three digits by the end of this year. For language, the school requires all the children to learn in English, Spanish and Chinese. 

[earthdome]

 

I worked for our public schools back home in Texas, so of course my kids went to private school.  For high school we used American School, a correspondence school out of Illinois, I think.  It is accredited so if they decided to switch to a regular school the credits would transfer over.   I hope to not have any more kids but that is still in negotiations...(I seem to be losing the battle ha ha).  But I would probably put them in the local public school.  And use something like American School to round out their education.  That way they would grow up Filipino and fit in here, but have a little more book smarts as well.   I would not move back to the US for their education.  I like the Filipinos and don't have any problem with kids growing up as Filipino.  But then again I enjoy my nipa hut so what do I know  

 

Whether in the United States or the Philippines, parents entrust their children's education to either public or private schools. This is wrong. We believe that's only half of the learning process. The parents daily involvement is important by exposing the children to all sorts of new experiences. I would add grandparents now that we have a granddaughter. The learning system is very simple. We took a two years old grand nephew to a supermarket. My wife and I pointed and named everything on the aisles like carrots, broccoli, string beans, cereal, oatmeal, etc. By the third visit, he wanted to name all the items. He got upset because there were no yams. It took us a few minutes to figure out why he was crying.

 

Our granddaughter is coached by her father in chess, bridge and poker. They go for hour long walks and he teaches her mental math. That includes the ability to add and subtract three digit numbers. Her mental multiplication and division is still single digits, but she should be able to do three digits by the end of this year. For language, the school requires all the children to learn in English, Spanish and Chinese. 

 

 

I would add that all too many schools, especially public schools, harm your child's education rather than helping. The most damaging thing they teach children is that learning is not fun and should be avoided. When learning really is very natural and almost all children through their play are actually learning life skills. If I had children I would keep them out of formally organized schools whether public or private and try unschooling and peaceful parenting.