What School Principals Should Be

(An Excerpt from Renee Paz De Leon or Calm Renee’s letter to her tutor SEAMEO I-EXCELS Scholars, March 11, 2008)

A rapidly changing world and new technology has created a society craving for speed and action. As leaders of the new generation, principals face incredible pressures to deliver immediate results, to do more with less, and to manage an ever-increasing personal workload. The pace and urgency of daily demands can make it difficult to see more than a step ahead into the future. But in a world of changing conditions and priorities, leaders and individual contributors alike must be able to look beyond the “now” and take a more strategic leadership approach to their work.

Image courtesy of zazzle.com

Many principals do struggle with meeting the demands of a globalized society and local constraints. In a sense the world is becoming one place. Today, the stability of all institutions including Department of Education is challenged by the rapid speed of change driven by globalization, shifting populations and integration of advanced information and communication technologies which diminishes the impact of time, space and distance.

The values of education have invariably been associated with access to a successful life and employment, scholarly activities, political activities, freedom of choice, intellectual pursuits, and most recently diversity. The academic landscape of most higher education institutions is one in which momentous changes and challenges are occurring. Portugal (2004) asserts that as student populations continue to expand nation-wide, colleges and universities will continue to offer employment opportunities for those individuals who rise to the level of quality and scholarly practice necessary for employment.  This is a challenge for all us in the academe. All of us envision that our graduates in the elementary and secondary schools shall belong to the groups that shall enter tertiary level and shall soon graduate and eventually gets employed or established his own business to support himself and his family. We leaders in the academe should have the ability to enable and develop performance of our faculty and students. Leading with vision in a constantly evolving society is paramount to the success of department of Education and the overall success of his or her own school.

Educational leaders being transformational  assert certain leadership qualities, as described by Schermerthon (1996), as having ideas and a clear  sense of direction, communicating them to others and developing excitement about working hard to accomplish shared “dream”; charisma: arousing others” enthusiasm, faith, loyalty, pride, and symbolism: empowerment: helping others to develop and perform, removing performance obstacles, sharing responsibilities and delegating truly challenging work; intellectual stimulation: gaining the involvement of others by creating awareness of problems and stirring their imagination to create huge-quality solutions; and integrity: being honest and credible, acting consistently out of personal conviction.

Leaders of today and principals of the new generation are faced with developing a new leadership framework. Principals as educational leaders should understand their strategic context and remain confident, competent and flexible in order to adapt in their continuously changing environment.

LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, AND PLANNING to help you reach your visions. Remember that strategic people think and act before they have to, before they are forced to take up a defensive or reactive position. True leadership entails ability to make sound, reasoned decisions- specifically consequential decisions with grave implications.

Real happiness is ...

• giving up personal attachments, recognizing that nothing and no one truly belongs to us, since all is GOD's...
• is a humble heart, free from pretensions, aware that nothing man can do is of everlasting  importance...
• . . . is kindness, seeing others as extensions of one's own self...
• . . . is doing joyfully and willingfully whatever needs to be done...
• . . . is the desire to learn, rather than to teach... . 
• . . . IS THE ABILITY TO CONGRATULATE ONESELF HAPPILY ON ONE'S OWN   UNIMPORTANCE WHILE OTHERS VIE TOGETHER FOR SUPREMACY...
• . . . is understanding that man's highest duty is to love...
• . . . is a heart reaching out to embrace all mankind as brothers and sisters...
• . . . is seeking one's work as service...

Calm Renee
3/11/08

BRIGADA ESKWELA in Contrast with Gawad Kalinga

By:  Gilbert M. Forbes

Those who think that our nation is hopeless and will forever remain stuck in the mire of poverty, helplessness and despair should listen to Tony Meloto, the guiding spirit of Gawad Kalinga. Or better yet, join him in his endeavor to correct some of the social and economic inequities in our nation.

Children has to complement the absence of responsible adults.

Meloto told the story of Filipinos abroad who are coming back to help or are contributing funds to help build Gawad Kalinga villages in the Philippines. He told stories about some “crazy people," like two former top business executives who left high-paying jobs to take up key positions in Gawad Kalinga. He told the story of a “crazy New Zealander" who quit a high-paying marketing and IT job to help out in GK.

He recounted the story of his son-in-law, the millionaire Dylan Wilk, who left a life of ease and comfort in Great Britain to help raise funds for the construction of houses for the poor. He told the story of his own children who quit good jobs in big corporations to help their father with his project.

At the reception, Meloto’s own story was recounted. A marketing executive, he experienced his “epiphany" in 1985 when he joined the Couples for Christ. It was an encounter that changed his vision and priorities. He brought the Couples for Christ to Negros Occidental province and helped put up the CFC Family Ministries in 1993. Two years later he launched an anti-poverty program in Bagong Silang, Cavite, which evolved into what is now known as Gawad Kalinga, which means “to give care."

The mission of the movement is to empower communities and improve the living conditions of slum dwellers. With the help of Couples for Christ, Meloto transformed Bagong Silang into the first Gawad Kalinga Village and built decent houses for the community.

One of the conditions for Gawad Kalinga’s projects is that while beneficiaries don’t have to pay for their new homes, they must help the volunteers who build them. This concept prevents beneficiaries from developing an attitude of mendicancy and dependence. It illustrates the saying that “God helps those who help themselves," and it helps in the formation of strong, self-reliant families.

Gawad Kalinga draws sponsors from expatriate Filipinos, civic organizations, schools, government agencies and big corporations. Aside from building houses, it also takes care of the health, educational and livelihood needs of the villages.

Today there are 1,400 Gawad Kalinga villages and the movement has set a goal of building 700,000 houses in 7,000 communities in 7 years, with 2010 as the target date for delivery. Landowners, businessmen, big corporations are donating land. Gawad Kalinga has an army of 200,000 volunteers, a force that is much bigger than the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is 130,000 strong.

Many Filipinos have been complaining about the economic and social situation in their country. They say that there seems to be no hope for their nation, that it will not be able to rise from the despond of poverty and despair.

But they should take heart from the words of a new American philanthropist, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent $8 billion in 12 years for world health programs and US education. In a recent speech at Harvard, Gates said: “[H]umanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries -- but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity -- reducing inequity is the highest human achievement."

Meloto has the same idea. With his Gawad Kalinga, he is trying to reduce social and economic inequity in many areas in our country. And while helping the poor rise from their poverty, he is moving them from charity to genuine Christian stewardship. He is one Filipino who is not taking the usual recourse of cursing the darkness. He has lighted a candle that will help banish the darkness.

The Gawad Kalinga concept, replicated thousands of times all over the country, may yet be one answer to the problem of poverty that has kept millions of people locked in its pitiless vise.

Gawad Kalinga and the BRIGADA ESKWELA

What about in education particularly in our schools, how could the spirit of Gawad Kalinga be replicated to help build more school buildings or at least maintain, strengthen and beautify current school buildings.  What about in raising learning achievements of pupils?  What can an ordinary citizen do about it?  Shall he just do the critiquing but not giving solutions?

This is the very concept of the BRIGADA ESKWELA but many just don’t take it seriously.  Sad to say but some just take it as merely a yearly rendezvous, a requirement particularly to many of the parents.  As I personally look at some of them, they seem to take it as an ‘abala.’ 

Be as an irresponsible as they might be, they just arrive without anything at hand.  The same with the politicians who’s support just come during election season.  BRIGADA ESKWELA isn’t that strong particularly in urban areas unlike in rural areas.

On a nation wide scale, still of course, the impact could already be good but on individual schools, it could be not that significant except for some lucky ones.  It It is indeed something that should challenge not only school leaders but the community as well for as an African proverb say’s. ‘it takes a village to educate a child,’ nothing more, nothing less.

With funding now coming from the national government through MOOE on a regular basis though still not enough but quite a big help, many schools are now finding volunteer workers essentially difficult.  Very seldom that we can now expect free labor.  What is worst, even many of the hired laborers are abusing by not accepting work on a daily basis.  They mostly preferred contracting-scheme (pakyaw system) charging amount usually greater than the allowed amount.  If entered into a daily labor practice, work usually seen to be too slow so that they could charged or be paid more-- another Pinoy character dilemma.

For school leaders who are just getting familiar in basic construction and maintenance schemes will take time to learn and to adjust until they could get control of the situation.  This is a sad case that should not be happening and should be stopped before it get worst.

No matter what, still, it is a fact that education is the single best solution that will reduce inequities as well as change how individuals view themselves, their values and the world.  You change ones attitude and values and you has empowered him already to rise from where he is.

Reference:

High Achievement, an Editorial, Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 2, 2007

Under Dynamic Learning Program, No More Boring Teachers, Schools and Homeworks

Say hello to the Dynamic Learning Program (DLP), which proponents say is not only the answer to perennial problems like the lack of public school teachers and textbooks and what might be boring learning sessions but also a 21st-century method that need not rely on high technology.

Students work on their own under DLP.  (Photo courtesy of www.smartschools.com)

At least 157 public high schools in Basilan, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental provinces are deviating from tradition by adopting DLP, a teaching technique developed by Christopher and Ma. Victoria Bernido, the physicist couple who earned the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2010.

The Dynamic Learning Program works on the principle of “learning is by doing”, it is student-centered, it’s a system of teaching that focuses on student activity rather than on traditional classroom lectures. The set-up is 70% student activity–30% lecture/discussion, and usually national experts do the majority of the lectures via video. The students learn independently, because each activity is provided with a clear, learning target.

The student will try to understand the lesson on their own by reading the concept notes and by doing the exercises before the lesson is discussed and explained. Some examples of student activities are solving exercises, answering guide questions and copying notes. Each student keeps a portfolio of his work as a representative documentation of his schoolwork. This would later on serve as his reviewer and proof also of his performance in school.

With this, the teacher just facilitate the learning and because they only facilitate they can now handle three classes at the same time on any given concept, for example Math. The program has resolved the problem of  lack of teachers since a single teacher can now handle more sections.

DLP is 70 to 80 percent student activities and only 20 to 30 percent lecture. It is designed to solve existing problems plaguing the academe like the dearth of qualified teachers, few or error-filled textbooks and the large number of students per classes in public schools.

The activity sheets form part of a student’s portfolio which will be the basis for grading a student’s performance. Students cannot take their activity sheets home so that the students can really rest and relax when they get home or help their parents in their livelihood.

And because so much work is already done in class, there is no more need to do assignments at home. The program also allows students a “strategic break” from academics every Wednesday, when they focus on physical education, music and arts classes.

Teachers can plan and prepare the activity sheets for the whole school year before classes start in June using DLP modules designed by the Bernidos. Even those who teach multiple classes may find it easy to follow the program.

In a DLP orientation video, Christopher Bernido further explained: “For example, (if) I have three biology classes, I (can) hold these classes simultaneously (even if I) cannot be in three places at the same time.  (Since) teacher intervention will be limited… the teacher would give a lecture for 15 to 20 minutes in one section, transfer to another section and lecture again for 15 to 20 minutes there, and so on.”

Just pen and paper
 No textbooks, notebooks or high-tech learning devices required—just pen and paper. Students may even write on the back of old calendars if they run out of activity sheets, which they can later file in different portfolios.

“It’s plain hard work. When we visited one of the schools (during the pilot run), I saw that the students even put rubber band or tape around their pens to have a better grip because they used their pens quite often,” said Smart public affairs chief Mon Isberto.

“And these self-driven students are the kind of students we need in the 21st century, students who can acquire new skills on their own,” Isberto said. DLP is “a no-tech but 21st-century method” that can work even “without textbooks or classrooms,” he added.


CDO experience
9,000 Cagayan de Oro high school students who had tried the DLP showed a “highly significant” improvement in their English, math and science tests in March 2012 compared to their test scores in June 2011.

The Cagayan de Oro experience mirrored that of students at CVIF, where the Bernidos first introduced the method in 2002.  Since adopting the program, the school has consistently produced successful examinees in the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (Upcat), considered one of the toughest college entrance exams in the country.

Stephanie Orlino, a community partnerships officer at Smart explained that it’s very encouraging. Despite the fact that we had birth pains in the first year and (Cagayan de Oro) experienced Tropical Storm ‘Sendong,’ and despite the fact that the students had only four academic days, with no homework and less contact time with teachers, they improved in all subject areas.

Judee Dizon, Smart’s program officer in CDO, said DLP also enabled seven high schools devastated by Sendong in December last year to bounce back immediately and resume classes the following month.

Smart is currently supporting the Bernidos by reproducing DLP materials and assisting the couple in training more schools heads and teachers via teleconferencing and other tech-savvy methods.

Isberto said spreading DLP is Smart’s first step in developing a generation of students best suited for e-learning. “Once you have these self-learning students gradually introduced to e-learning tools on top of the [DLP] system, these students will fly,” he said.

You may also like reading:

When Party List System Becomes a Mockery of Philippine Democracy

What is Good Attitude

References:  

Dynamic Learning Program helps students cope with Sendong trauma

School opening surprise: No more homework